Disneyland = Disappointment

[tanyaegangibson]

It was incredibly hot, humid, and crowded during our summer trip this July (20th through 24th). I'd figured it would be crowded, given the 60th anniversary, and by the time we left Northern California, I knew it would be hot in Anaheim. (The humidity was unexpected. We don't get a lot of that where we live.) But because DD10 and DS7 and I came in to the vacation understanding that the weather would be uncomfortable and the lines would be long (I probably reminded them about the possible length of lines about 25 times during the drive down!) we had an amazing time nonetheless.

We have fun whenever we go to DLR (two or three times a year for multiple days), but that's because we've gone enough times (and go for a long enough time each time) to have just as much fun just walking around or going to restaurants (we love restaurants) and looking for hidden Mickeys as we would going on rides. Also, my kids love, love, love hotel pools.

That said, I do think that if this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, getting on only a few rides the first day (didn't get into the park until 4 the first day--thank you I-5 for being worst highway ever) and then just going to the parks in the mornings (with no EMH because we were staying off-property) and after dinner would probably be disappointing. So I think it's super important that posts like the OP's exist on the forum. If someone is coming from far away, spending a ton of money, and/or planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip, he or she can *decide* if it's worth his or her money and time to tour this way (or, alternatively, stand in long lines).

Reading on this forum how crowded the parks still are, and seeing that the DLR hotels are all sold out for our October dates prompted me to plan out our next trip even more carefully. (My in-laws, who are coming with us, are not going to be standing in long lines.) Already have a lot of restaurant reservations and other non-ride plans for the week.

 

[wdwfan22]

I want to clear a few things up. We have been to Disney several times. We have gone during spring break as well as for cheer competitions. Ou last trip was two years ago this same time. In all the times we have gone, we have never had the issues with crowds, rides breaking down, etc...No, Disney is not responsible for the weather, but it was simply stated as one reason for our choice not to return in the future. We have always used fastpasses, but you can only hold one at a time, so it really doesn't benefit a whole lot. We always go early in the morning, and leave in the afternoon for a break and stay late. I never saw a decrease in crowds, even with the rain and magic morning. We are not newbies who lack experience.

I respect your right to not be happy with your trip. But I am surprised since you say you are not a newbie that you don't understand FP. You can hold more than one at a time, in fact you can hold several depending on how you pull them. Usually it doesn't work out that way because DLs FP usually have pretty close return times. Well, except for RSR. Add in being able to hold for more than one park at a time, and your options are limitless. I'll take paper FP over FP+ anyday!! But that's just me.

 

[Self-Rescuing Princess]

We go about every two months for many years now.. We have gone on the weekends and Weekdays. We have been there on the 24 hours(which was a blast!) Christmas, Halloween and every July. It's our happy place. We go for 3-4 days. Park the car and really never leave the whole resort.

I won't say there are not issues. My main problem is how they handle getting into the parks and lines. I think they should have a few AP line only and then let all this using paper tickets that have to be signed and pictures taken use the others. We had some issues last time and called Disney about them and they took care of it and us. No complaints. My motto is everyone makes mistakes, it's what you do after that really counts.

There are always rude people everywhere you go. I refuse to let them ruin it for my family. I just smile at them and do my best to redirect us to a more positive place. My main issue on that one is the ones that take their 6-7 year old boys into the women's bathrooms and allow them to crawl under the stalls.

I think all the changes are really cool. I am so excited about Star wars land. I am sad about the snow, but it will be back next year, and that castle is gorgeous now. Rides do go down, but usually you can get a fast pass to come back of use on another ride if you ask nicely.

With the Fastpasses, we have learned to go back and forth between the two parks while using them and usually can get ALL the rides we want fairly close together in the same day. My husband has figured out a way to knock them out, take break, eat, see a show and go back for more. You just have to figure out that particular days crowds coming and goings.

We tend to like to walk and look at the shops, sit with coffee and people watch, eat at restaurants in Downtown Disney for high crowded times to give us some breathing room, and switch back and forth frequently form park to park. Never a bad day at Disney and always wanting to stay longer and eve go home.

Just my two cents.

 

[Kiotzu]

I have not posted anything negative in this thread so maybe have more latitude to respond open mindedly than others who have posted something negative.

This is a DLR forum. It touches on many things. Negative experiences posted here are helpful to at least some readers and these definitely belong here just as much as the positive experiences.

It is always helpful though to get context for the negative. The folks who complain about crowds and heat I usually want to know how they tour. Do they sleep in every day and/or eat long breakfasts and show up 1-2 hours after the park opens? Do they stay through the whole afternoon rather than take hotel breaks? Do they leave early every evening because they are so tired from a long afternoon that they miss the late hours at DLR that are usually much less crowded and have nice and cooler temperatures? Do they know how to use FP effectively? Some folks make all the basic mistakes and thus I personally discount their negative experiences.

However, others know how to tour in a smart way and those folks I pay more attention to when they say something negative. Some of the regulars on this forum like bumbershoot I take even more seriously their negative experiences because I am confident they know how to avoid novice mistakes.

As for folks who have bad experiences because of hot weather or rainy/cold weather (in December or January more typically) that happens. Sorry. Most of my summer trips have had moderate temperatures. This summer in mid-August (right before the D23 Expo) we encountered some pretty high temperatures on a couple days. It does make the trip less enjoyable.

In any case, I think the negative posts are welcome here when posted in a thoughtful and constructive way, and even more helpful when it is clear the poster knew what they were doing.

For me personally, the last few years I have had usually two trips to DLR a year - one longer 3-4 day trip in the summer and a shorter 1-2 day trip during Halloween and Holidays. I am nowhere close to being as negative as some on this thread as I have not seen a trend in the negative direction for DLR. On the contrary I see many more positive trends than negative. But if I have a negative experience that I think will help others I will post it here. Where I think it belongs.

Forums like are for posting positive and negative experiences, tips and tricks, new things that are cool (or not), old things that are no longer cool (or still are), rumors, speculation, strategies, etc., etc.

This is a discussion board and with that comes positive and negative. If you want to keep it positive, one of the Disney sponsored news outlets may be a better option because I think they censor those pretty well so only the positive shows up. Also, you never know if what you are posting here (that you think is positive) is something that is a big negative to others and what is negative for me may be positive for someone else.

Our reason for not renewing our passes after so many years has nothing to do with crowds, weather or rude guests (we have encountered far more nice people than rude people over the years). It is due in part to the changes that are being made around the park. But those changes may be exciting and welcomed for someone else. I'm not happy that we don't get the traditional holiday features this year, but to others, they may be happy that they get to see all the 60th activities during their December visit. Different strokes for different folks. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to share my feelings about the changes.

We have had 15 great years as Annual Passholders. My kids have grown up with Disneyland as their playground and I remind them often how blessed they are to have had that. But we are not feeling the magic as much these days. So better to stop our passes while we still have all the happy memories. I'm sure we will be back again, even after our passes expire. But hopefully by then we will be looking at the parks with a new attitude instead of just seeing all of our old favorites disappear.

Everyone here has a right to post their opinions and experiences, good or bad.

I grew up in SoCal and have been going to Disneyland since the 1960s. I've lived on the east coast for many years and made my first trip back to DLR (and first to CA since it opened) in July 2014. Quite frankly, DLR seems pretty much the same as it has always been, usually crowded, very hot in the summer, and lots of pushy, rude people. The main difference is during our visit, I was surprised at how often rides were broken down. We never had a chance to ride Radiator Springs Racers (despite me waiting over 30 minutes just to get fast passes), because it broke down constantly over the span of two days. A number of other rides broke down as well. I can't remember this happening so often in earlier years.

I also visited this August with a number of family members and we had a great time. Yes, it was very hot and busy, but we had a touring plan which worked well. A few rides broke down (Indiana Jones, POTC), but were fixed fairly quickly, and I finally got to ride Radiator Springs a Racers (twice!)

Okay, I understand your sides to this, and I will i guess clarify, I don't think your views should be censored, I just think that there is an overwhelming amount of negativity, I have no problem with people posting constructive things about less than positive experiences at DLR but OP made no attempt to say anything that would help another, it just seemed to be whiny to me. That is my two cents and I understand that I am the minority so I will just do myself a favour and avoid threads such as this one in the future if I feel it is to whiny.

 

[Malcon10t]

A number of other rides broke down as well. I can't remember this happening so often in earlier years.

The reason for the majority of breakdowns are guest related. Many rides have load times. Rides have to be loaded at a certain speed. If the guests fail to load in a timely manner, the ride will cascade and have to be cycled. Example - Last spring, my daughters rode Matterhorn single rider. Older daughter loaded in the first bobsled, younger daughter was a few bobsleds behind her. As older daughter was coming into the load area, she sees this family arguing over who was going to sit where. The grouper was trying to get the family to load. The ride cascaded. Younger daughter was stuck overlooking Pixie Hollow for about 40 mins....because a family couldn't follow directions. I've seen this happen on Big Thunder, Space Mountain, and on RSR also.

The MAJORITY of time when a ride goes down, it is guest related (Indy is an exception.)

FP - wdwfan has it pretty much right. You can hold a second FP for another ride after 1. 2 hours has past or 2. the time begins. You can also get a FP anytime for Buzz. And you can hold one in each park.

 

[Self-Rescuing Princess]

We are from Northern California, so high heat doesn't bother us. LOl. We spend more of the day time in CA. But there are many places and rides inDL to hide from the heat. Rain... if it ever happens again.. bring it on. Excepts for some o fate roller coasters, Disney and rain is a blast. And Empty.

The only time the crowds every bother me is IF we get trapped in the aftermath of fireworks/parade. But we have learned to duck into shops, use walkie talkie(cause cell reception sucks) and eat dinner when ever one is trying to leave after the first one.

I too have noticed most of the ride issues are related to guest issues..mostly people refusing to follow directions. Losing stuff on the ride they should have secured. Disney had to ban the self sticks for this reason.

Everyone has different opinions of what makes a great vacation, but I think as with anything in life sometimes reality and fantasy don't play nicely. Then you have to ask why. Most of the time it's because your expectations were to high or you were not motivated enough to change the course when your day went south. Either way.... how it ends is always up to only you.

 

[SMD]

The reason for the majority of breakdowns are guest related. Many rides have load times. Rides have to be loaded at a certain speed. If the guests fail to load in a timely manner, the ride will cascade and have to be cycled. Example - Last spring, my daughters rode Matterhorn single rider. Older daughter loaded in the first bobsled, younger daughter was a few bobsleds behind her. As older daughter was coming into the load area, she sees this family arguing over who was going to sit where. The grouper was trying to get the family to load. The ride cascaded. Younger daughter was stuck overlooking Pixie Hollow for about 40 mins....because a family couldn't follow directions. I've seen this happen on Big Thunder, Space Mountain, and on RSR

I've also had this happen when I was about to load on Space and RSR. On RSR they had to walk everyone who was in a car off the ride and then run a full cycle, which takes 30 minutes or more on that ride. Earlier this summer an alarm went off when I was in line for BTMRR and we were forced to evacuate back through the line very, very quickly. I never found out if that was guest related.

I've noticed that guests have been having some of their party get in the vehicle and then taking pictures before loading themselves. They're clearly not thinking of the fact that there are other vehicles moving on the ride that will have to stop if they can't get into the station because loading has paused for their picture.

 

[tiffjoy]

So, when people tell me that either they aren't at all interested in going to DL/DW or they they went and didn't like it and don't want to go again, I have zero interest in convincing them otherwise. One less family to fight in the crowds! Lol

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your trip, OP, but I think things just are what they are sometimes. Rides break down (mostly because of guest misbehavior), weather is sometimes very hot in SoCal, it can rain or be cold or windy or anything really besides snow, people can be rude, and Disney has zero control over crowds unless people want to pay a ton of money to go to the parks for a week only to be told they aren't allowed in because Disney has now set capacity at low crowd levels to increase enjoyment. I'm being facetious, of course. I get it. I've had those trips, too, but for me, the good outweighed the bad, and we focused on enjoying what we could.

I appreciate that you shared, and I think your view is valid, even if it's one I don't share.

 

[iKristin]

I was there Sunday morning just after rope drop and there were no crowds for the few hours I was there. When I was leaving, the trams coming to the park weren't even half full. Yeah it was humid and hot, but no one has control over that.

Also, people complaining about price...It is $99 for 40+ attractions at Disneyland. It is $95 for 8 attractions at Universal Hollywood. Who's really ripping who off now. I feel like the price of Disneyland is more than reasonable for all that you get to experience. The park alone is a premiere experience.

 

[wildflower329]

I wonder if touring styles play into a persons experience as well. We will go to DL once every 2-3 years. When we do go, we go for 5 days. This gives us time to not stress about getting everything done. Kids want to go on a ride fore the third time in a row? Fine. A ride breaks down? We will catch it later. We like the smaller rides and are not just about the big roller coasters (although we love those too, and use fast pass combined with rider switch (the four year old was still too short this time for a lot of the rides). We are fine with doing those rides when the big rides have long lines or are down. I can imagine if you are only there for a day or two and want to mostly do the bigger rides, you might get cranky when things are broken down. Or if you have a plan of how to get everything done and a ride down or long line throws off your plan, it may throw off your whole day.

 

[bumbershoot]

The 60th IN JULY?! Ugh. No wonder it was miserable! We went end of Jul (or beg of Aug?) right after Cars opened. Yeah, never going that time of year again. (Famous last words...) We went after Memorial last couple trips and it was so much better. Give me a couple grad nights to avoid anytime over those crazy family summer crowds! Here's hoping your Star Wars trip is better!

A few years ago we were there in July, before and after being in Phoenix, and the weather was actually really good! I just didn't realize how BAD it could be.

And the people were just horrid. At least the ones we encountered.

Also going for SW weekend... See you there Bumbershoot!

I don't understand what people expect out of Disneyland, obviously there are going to be large crowds.

Disney has zero control over crowds

There can be better people-management and crowd-control, though. They should be experts at this. When I looked out on main street, while trying to get the heck OUT of there well before the fireworks, and it was a sea of humanity, to an extent I have never once seen (not even at WDW), that's too many people for that space. If there were a fire, it would be devastation. Alas, they didn't think it was crowded enough to open the extra exit area, until we were already there.

Some of the regulars on this forum like bumbershoot I take even more seriously their negative experiences because I am confident they know how to avoid novice mistakes.

Thanks, Hydro. You can only imagine how surprised I was! And you can guess how heartbroken my feelings about my feelings are, if that makes any sense.

Plus the changes at DL, the changes at WDW, the changes on DCL...it's all just too much.

Is it bad that my first thought is, "good, more space for me to walk next time I'm there"?

I think it is bad, yes. It's not kind, that's for sure. This experience has definitely opened my eyes to the negative experiences of others.

Even my worst day at Disneyland still is better than a day at work or a day just sitting around in the real world.

I'm going to think you haven't had a truly bad day at DL, then. I'm very happy for you.

 

[tiffjoy]

There can be better people-management and crowd-control, though. They should be experts at this. When I looked out on main street, while trying to get the heck OUT of there well before the fireworks, and it was a sea of humanity, to an extent I have never once seen (not even at WDW), that's too many people for that space. If there were a fire, it would be devastation. Alas, they didn't think it was crowded enough to open the extra exit area, until we were already there.

They are experts at it, though. I have never experienced crowd management like I do at DLR. They put a lot of effort into controlling crowds. I have certainly seen that area very crowded, and it was when we were there for the fireworks. People everywhere. I'm also going to repeat what I said about the anger they would face if they continually shut people out because they want to keep low crowds. I think a fire in an amusement park would be cause for issues regardless. I am constantly aware of my surroundings when I am with my kids, and situations like that can happen anywhere in a crowded area, unfortunately. And as you say, they opened up the extra exit areas, and just because it wasn't when you thought it should be doesn't mean they aren't doing things right.

Again, as I said, I'm sorry you had a rough go of it. Your feelings are valid to you. But if you are trying to continue to convince everyone to agree with you, it's going to be an uphill battle. Many have already said they get what you are saying, and others have had the same crowd experiences but look at it differently. Many have also said they appreciate the heads up. We were there in August and it was super hot and intensely crowded. We had a wonderful time, so I don't agree with many of your observations, but that doesn't make either you or me wrong.

 

[Malcon10t]

There can be better people-management and crowd-control, though. They should be experts at this. When I looked out on main street, while trying to get the heck OUT of there well before the fireworks, and it was a sea of humanity, to an extent I have never once seen (not even at WDW), that's too many people for that space. If there were a fire, it would be devastation. Alas, they didn't think it was crowded enough to open the extra exit area, until we were already there.

The bigger issue really is people who don't follow crowd controls directions. There is a reason they are routing you the way they are, and opting to go against the grain really doesn't help. I love the back street exit, and have been surprised by the number of people who pass it, then opt to grip about how crowded it is on Main St with people waiting for fireworks.

 

[Self-Rescuing Princess]

We went the weekend of D23. Had a blast. It was VERY hot and during the middle of the day DL seemed almost empty. I ma sure many went back to hotels and pools. We loaded up on water, sunscreen and dove in.

This will be my last year with a stroller, but even with we would park it one land(usually by pirates) and come back for it later. I think it does come down to your personal expectations. Know when you need a break and space yourself.

We always duck into the stores at the end of fireworks. Walk around and wait... good time to try and get ice cream...

 

[jeanico2000]

There can be better people-management and crowd-control, though. They should be experts at this. When I looked out on main street, while trying to get the heck OUT of there well before the fireworks, and it was a sea of humanity, to an extent I have never once seen (not even at WDW), that's too many people for that space. If there were a fire, it would be devastation. Alas, they didn't think it was crowded enough to open the extra exit area, until we were already there.

You summed up so well what my daughter and I encountered this June; people-management and crowd-control are indeed big issues, especially since DL is so compact in layout. We've been going to DL for quite a few years now (including several other times in June over the years, since it's my daughter's birthday month) and NEVER have we been so overwhelmed by that tightly packed 'sea of humanity' you talk about! It was absolutely insane, plus we didn't know where to turn anymore as a lot of things were either closed or blocked off because of F!/the fireworks/the PTN parade. An absolute mad house! We were also thinking that if ever, God forbid, anything should happen to spark a panic in that type of crowd, it would indeed be devastation. Too many people crammed in too small an area, for sure.

We are planning to go back for a couple of days in early December to celebrate my husband's 60th, and I found out (after flights and hotel were confirmed) that it's the Candlelight Processional weekend. Yikes!!!

 

[pindecisive]

This will be my first time going outside of June and January in a very long time (Oct). I'm expecting a mass amount of crowds but also a really great feeling of community because I'm going during Gay Days. We'll see. For me there's a whole nother park next door if DL gets too crowded. Plus the hotel or DTD for some down time if needed.

I'll never understand fireworks/parades so I tend to stay out of those discussions and away from those areas when they're going on. I've run into issue with teenagers before on rides, but Pin Trading is everywhere, so I don't get too bummed if certain rides are closed. My expectations are usually fairly low and I plan pretty well so I don't go into things blind.

I've done 1 days trips and those are usually the most stressful for me. We're there three days this time. Plenty of time to explore!

 

[grnflash]

Okay, I understand your sides to this, and I will i guess clarify, I don't think your views should be censored, I just think that there is an overwhelming amount of negativity, I have no problem with people posting constructive things about less than positive experiences at DLR but OP made no attempt to say anything that would help another, it just seemed to be whiny to me. That is my two cents and I understand that I am the minority so I will just do myself a favour and avoid threads such as this one in the future if I feel it is to whiny.

I got your point the first time. The OP won't deal with crowds (below), went to DL, it was busy. Unfortunately their trip was destined to be a disappointment from the beginning.

"We have a trip planned for Sept. 13-16, and I've noticed that all of the nearby & onsite hotels are booked up. We got our room months ago, but I've been looking for a larger one. There is some solar convention during those dates. Could that be the reason, and do you think that will affect crowds at the parks? We went 2 years ago around the same time and while we felt there was a lot of people, we had minimum wait times and often could just walk onto rides. Very worried this won't be the case and we will not enjoy our time. I know it is what you make of it, but we've gone during peak times in the past and refuse to deal with the crowds/waits again."

 

[Sherry E]

Sorry to be a downer, but this will be our very last trip to Disneyland. Between the hot, humid days, rain and unbelievable crowds, ride closures, it has been anything but fun. We fully expected Sunday to be busy, but wow! Then come Monday and Tuesday, hopes were high it would be less so. Not the case, at all. Then you've got the huge increase of Scooter use, and more strollers than I've ever seen on any trip to the parks. When you are fighting all of these factors, it feels a lot like swimming upstream. Last night, we had a great spot for watching fireworks(in front of the castle), half the crowd was polite and considerate by sitting down so all could see. Where we were sitting, a large group of mostly adults and older teens decided to come stand in front of us, making it difficult for my daughter to see. So very rude. That said, I hope the rest of you will enjoy your vacation, but this family will be making plans for elsewhere in the future.

I definitely have to agree with you about the heat... it has been very hot, and abnormally humid (for Southern California) for days and weeks on end, with only short breaks in between waves of humidity. It's not even the hottest September I can remember in recent years, but it has been very uncomfortable. And this is coming from a lifelong SoCal resident who expects -- but loathes -- high heat. I can't stand it, and I know it's very hard to be in a place like DLR when it's that hot and uncomfortable.

The rain a couple of days ago was a wild fluke -- we normally don't get rain like that (which was substantial enough to cause some outages in my area) on a random day in September. I remember some heavy off and on rain in September 2007, which was a mess, but it's not typical for that month.

The crowds... well, it's combo of Halloween Time crowds and 60th anniversary crowds, among other things. I think that this year has been and will continue to be more crowded than usual while the 60th anniversary festivities are going on.

 

[ginag2010]

i agree that disneyland seems to have lost some of its magic. i have been going since i was a little girl and we still love it, but it's just a step below how amazing it used to be. it feels like they are much more focused on cramming bodies in to make a buck than providing the top notch customer service and experience it used to be. there are so many people it seems like it would be impossible for them to keep up with! it's not impeccably clean/maintained anymore- i've seen broken lights and trash something you never used to see! and i even noticed less maintenance people. we still love it but it makes me a little sad.

 

[DharmaLou]

We were there this July for the 60th...from 6/28-7/2, and the crowds were great. No excessive breakdowns were experienced. We had a fantastic time. It was our second trip during this time. We avoid Grad Nights, the So Cal AP's are blocked, and before the July 4th craziness.
Way better than going over Christmas/NYE.
I am going next week, and am curious how bad crowds will be. Also going for SW weekend... See you there Bumbershoot!

We were there the 26th-28th and it was as good as it could be considering the heat. Of course rides like Splash had long lines, but we didn't wait long for much of anything.

I guess it's all what you're willing to pay for. I love Disney - lines or not. I love the magic of being there. But I know that not everyone tolerates that. We went one year the day of CHOC walk when it was insanely busy, and no we didn't have a good experience that day because it was SO crowded. But we still managed to have fun. We just didn't accomplish everything we wanted to, but we ate food we wanted and enjoyed the decorations and just BEING there.