Disneyland fire trap

[outofdisney4ever]

This is my first post but I think it's very important that people are aware of this problem.

Friday the 10th of October around 7 P.M. we were trapped in the ice cream parlor for over 40 minutes, But first let me set up the what had happened .

We had resevations made at the Blue buyou four weeks before we had planned to be there, we requested and was told that we could get seating next to the water for six and that the dinner ran about 20.00 to 25.00 per plate.

Reality : we showed up ten minutes before are reservation and checked in and waited 50 minutes before being seated next to the kitchen on a table made for four, the dinner prices started at 29.95 and went up from there. The kids menu was for 3 thru 9 year olds so for my daugther and friends son it would have cost us 60 dollars (what B.S.) We walked out mad as hell.

On the way out of the park is were all the trouble started , we were diverted thru the hot dog area (which use to be carnation) went thru the candy store to the ice cream parlor which turned into total grid lock we waited about ten minutes and the line of people did not move. So we decided to get in line and have some ice cream that and just sit and wait it out.
But the people just keep coming and pretty soon THE PLACE WAS PACKED things were getting scary, My daughter, wife and friends started to panick so we got out thru the employee only exit.
The people running the ice cream parlor were not very happy about it but at this time I really did not care.

I wonder if the California fire marshall KNOWS OF THIS PROBLEM ? I'm sure disney is aware of it. Had there been god forbid a fire or earth quake there would be know possible way for anyone to safley get out.

For disney to shut down california adventures early and push all the people into disneyland is A complete diasaster waiting to happen.

Here are some of the problems that make disneyland the not so happiest place on earth

1 . Early entry and only tomorrowland open, If your going to open the park early open both parks completly .

2. Closing C.a. early this is just plain stupid .

3. Not having a safe way to control crowds, No excuse

4. Over near splash mountain they need to make larger walk ways this is nothing more then a bottle neck, they could take out the trees and planting area and make it much easier to get around , better yet fill in part of the pond and make the splash mountain area connect with the toon town area like on the back side of big thunder moutain. having it dead end back there makes no since.
5. bring out mickey mouse so the kids can see him or better yet have 5 mickey mouses and put them all over the park I saw three different charactors for the 4 days I was there never any princesses.
6. Make the food more afforable, 2.95 for a .40 cent bottle of water is robbery, I'm all for disneyland making money but this is way over the top.

7. limit the amout of people who can enter the park just like having a sold out football game. don't keep selling tickets.

8. ban the double wide strollers.

9. eject rude out of control people ,I never met more rude get out of my way people in my life.

I could go on about many more problems but what's the point.

Reading some of the post on here where people make disneyland there life is so hard to beleive, why in the world anyone would want to go back and deal with this place is beyound me. I have a picture of the way over the top crowds but my post count will not let me post it . gee I wonder why ?

OUTOFDISNEY4EVER

 

[CrAzY4DL]

Not to be rude but more room for me! Disneyland is an amazing place if you stop and smell the roses. I have done the "all-go no stop" commando type trip and I have done the "eh whatever" trip and somewhere in the middle works for me. You can't have 4 or 5 Mickey Mouse's (hee hee Mickey Mice?!) in the park; after all, there is only one Mickey Mouse!! It does suck that your Blue Bayou experience was so terrible but in my opinion, there are better (and cheaper!) places to eat. Crowds are really terrible, I know, I have been there but Friday was one of the nights for the Halloween parties. If a little research had been done, maybe it would have been easier and you would have known what to expect? This year will be our first year visiting the parks during the parties ( we aren't going to the actual party!) and I am anticipating huge crowds once DCA closes and not getting a lot done. I believe if you are prepared, you can make anything fun. Best of luck to you in finding an amusement park that isn't crowded or overpriced.

 

[pixleyyy]

You know, I think there's some people who take Disneyland/Disney World for the magical place that it is and others who just don't get it. Maybe you just don't get it. And that's ok... it's not for everyone.

I know that it's not always perfect, but it really is an awesome, wonderful, magical place.

 

[SILLYANDI]

Not to be rude but more room for me! Disneyland is an amazing place if you stop and smell the roses. I have done the "all-go no stop" commando type trip and I have done the "eh whatever" trip and somewhere in the middle works for me. You can't have 4 or 5 Mickey Mouse's (hee hee Mickey Mice?!) in the park; after all, there is only one Mickey Mouse!! It does suck that your Blue Bayou experience was so terrible but in my opinion, there are better (and cheaper!) places to eat. Crowds are really terrible, I know, I have been there but Friday was one of the nights for the Halloween parties. If a little research had been done, maybe it would have been easier and you would have known what to expect? This year will be our first year visiting the parks during the parties ( we aren't going to the actual party!) and I am anticipating huge crowds once DCA closes and not getting a lot done. I believe if you are prepared, you can make anything fun. Best of luck to you in finding an amusement park that isn't crowded or overpriced.

Yeah! I second that...

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I think Disney controls crowds better than anyone in the game. Disney also does have an attendance limit and has been known to close the gates in accordance with fire marshall rules.

As previously mentioned, Disneyland isn't for everybody and obviously not for you.

I'm sorry if you didn't feel the magic.

 

[bumbershoot]

In case you come back...


First, "we showed up ten minutes before are reservation and checked in and waited 50 minutes before being seated next to the kitchen on a table made for four, the dinner prices started at 29.95 and went up from there. The kids menu was for 3 thru 9 year olds so for my daugther and friends son it would have cost us 60 dollars (what B.S.)"

When you made the call to Disney Dining, they almost surely would have stated CLEARLY that it is NOT a "reservation" but a "priority seating", which means you have priority over walk-ups.

I'm very sorry you didn't make use of the excellent resources online for getting menus and prices. Allears.net has DLR menus, as does [edited]. They might not be absolutely immediately up to date, but you would have had a head's up BEFORE waiting so long (or before making that PS) on the prices there.

Also, there is an option for splitting an entree for only 4 (at lunch) or 4.99 (at dinner) extra.



You are not the only one who mentioned a recent serious bottleneck. I would bet that you all are talking about the same night. Sounds very scary! Also sounds very ABnormal. We have experienced slow movement getting in or out, but not an absolute stop. I would bet there was some reason at the center of the knot of people, and unless someone who saw the reason reports on it, we might never know why.


And for really busy nights, the staff has abilities to open more routes out. There is a route, I have heard, behind the stores that they open on particularly crazy nights, and that takes some pressure off the thoroughfares.

It was also reported that usually the CMs will have those entering the park use the sidewalks while those exiting use the street, but for some unknown reason that didn't happen on this one night.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I agree that maybe DL just isn't the place for you. Stuff like that can happen anywhere and if you think about the crowd levels they deal with every day then one little bottle neck for a few minutes isn't bad.

Something similar happened to us at WDW. It was christmas day at the MK and early afternoon a terrible storm rolled over. Heavy downpour and thunder and lightning...the works. Well people were hiding in the tunnels by the trainstation to keep dry. This caused a huge bottle neck for people trying to get out of the park...the people in the tunnel REFUSED to move. I was six months pregnant at the time, soaking wet, separated from my group, and getting shoved in all directions...into people even. It got scary and finally disney showed up and made them move. I think if they had known about the bottle neck they would have tried to ease up the crowd...probably broke up soon after you bailed out.

 

[LMO429]

I noticed that it was the OP first post and I am usually cautious when someone makes a somewhat negative or critical comment on their first post on the dis, that being said I too was at Disneyland this past Friday from 6pm until well after the firework show that was at 9:25pm...I have to agree with the OP it was a complete zoo after the parade was over, I think this had alot to do with California Adventure being closed at 6pm for the Halloween Party! Cast members were doing there best to regulate crowd control by putting ropes up especially in tomorrow land where we got "trapped" we went to exit the store (sorry I forgot the name of it the one with the neon mickey with the spacesuit) and were told we could only go in one direction towards fantasyland and were told we could not make a left and go towards main street (we had fast pass to indiana jones). It really was chaotic and multiple guests were being told they could not go in certain directions, we basically just stayed put by space mountain until the crowds died down... I consider myself a WDW veteran and a Disneyland Rookie (1st time visitor to disneyland just got back yesterday) and I have to admit I too was also scared at one point it was very overwhelming. I do have to admit though that we did stay for fireworks and it was not nearly as crowded as when the parade was over. Is it a "fire hazard" possibly? I'm not a fire marshall but I do know as a guest I did feel uncomfortable for my first time ever at a Disney park this past Friday.

 

[tink2dw]

I'm sorry that happened to you all. And that you were frightened at Disneyland. I got caught up in a crowd one New Years day. I had a ECV scooter and the crowds swarmed around me. My Little Daughter got in front of the scooter and made a path for us to get out of DL that night. But it was partly my fault. I had flown in on Jan 1st and was not going to go to the park that night. I had been warned on the boards that DL would be full to capacity. but I was tired and Dh and Dd talked me into going to see the Fireworks. Well we got caught in the after crowds after Fantazmic rushing to leave the park.

Since then I always go at Value Season it is the least expensive and least crowded times.

Check www.MouseSavers.com for all the best info and discounts.

 

[NostalgicDad]

If there's any place I'd like to be trapped, it's at the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor!

 

[nunzia]

I can relate in a way. We once were trapped in a very bad, tight crowd at Fantasmic. The worst I've ever seen. We had little kids and holding on and not getting split was very scary. It was awful. The crowd control CMs were hollering and doing their best and finally it cleared enough to shuffle out.
I don't know who told the OP the BB prices, but if it was Disney folk they have cause to gripe. If there's a next time, hopefully she'll use Allears. I'll never eat there for a full meal again, but maybe dessert?
One thing I totally agree with. Disney should have standards of behavior and enforce them. It wouldn't take long for guest behavior to improve if they saw people being escorted out by Goofy.
I hear that Cedar Point is very strict with line cutting and other bad guest behavior. If they can do it Disney can.
I have no grief with ridiculous prices (ok..maybe the pretty icky coffe at the really icky price bugs me) You can bring in stuff, if you plan you don't need to buy anything, and I believe that the gate prices pretty much only cover costs..just think of all you can do and see in a day?? It's really a bargain. So I don't mind a $4.00 churro or tub of popcorn.
I hope OP will come back at a slower time (if there is such a thing anymore) I thought we were in a depression?? what's with the huge crowds??

 

[Capt.Bane]

Just going to weigh in here a bit...I was in line for the Tick or Treat Party watching the crowds from DCA pour out and across the entry way towards Disneyland...Im sorry you got caught in the Maelstrom of Humanity..but the fact that the trick or treat party had been announced and Advertised for months before should have sent warrning flags.

As for banning double strollers it will never happen too many families come in with more than one Child. Also like my self some use the extra space for bags and souviners picked up at park.

As for crowd control I found the CMs (as long as they were paid attention too kept the flow fairly well.) Yes you will have to wait a bit but you'll get out eventually and if you let the Disney magic work it wont seem that long.

As for Magic Mornings its been clear for a long time now that only Fantasyland and tommrowland are the only two lands open for that. Since everyone heads for Nemo anyway it makes a certain sense. And Toontown doesnt open for an hour after the rest of the park...

But as others have said Disney simply isnt for everyone...without trying to sound mean or rude...I think a bit more research was required.

 

[amyamya]

I have to weigh in here because on Thurs night we were stuck in the exact same predicament, just a little farther up Main Street. I have another thread on it so won't go into details but I have to say if that was one of your first experiences of the park, I totally understand why you would not want to go back. The crowds that week in the park were INSANE and I am not the only who is reporting that. I have been to Disneyland many, many times and never seen it like that with the exception of Christmas Eve 1984 but I was 10 and only remember tons of people, no details.

My DD was a fire chief and I was thinking about fire danger as well as we waited an hour in a solid mass of people that reached from one side of Main Street to the other. Please don't make light of OP's experience, it was one of the scariest situations I have been in and I'm sure for the OP, too. My little one in his stroller was screaming with all these huge people towering above him and pushing. This wasn't waiting in a slow moving line, enjoying the magic--this was humans crammed in as tight as can be and NO movement for way too long a time. This was pushing and screaming and being absolutely stuck with no where to go...

OP go to the park on a foggy weekday in Jan or Feb and you will fall in love with DLR, and not have to wait long for anything.

 

[Sherry E]

There are a lot of things and very valid and true points to address in your post, OP, but all of the PP's have handled that quite well, so I will just address your Blue Bayou issue because this is a hot topic on another thread!

Let me state that many people love the Blue Bayou for its ambience and its food, no matter what the price. I don't take that away from anybody because this means they have all had experiences there that they were satisfied with. For me, the BB is not personally worth it under most circumstances, but I totally understand why those who love it do love it. It is a beautiful place. However, we also had a very long wait in the hot, crowded parlor/waiting area, which was not fun at all. I understand your frustration over that.

BUT, that said, with a little online research (which is what many folks are doing on DISboards), you would have known what the prices were like at BB ahead of time - the menus and prices for all the DLR restaurants are in a few places on the Internet - and you could have learned the difference between a "reservation" and the DLR "priority seating." And to be fair, Disneyland Dining, perhaps, should be more clear with people on what the Priority Seating means...which is not much. DLR restaurants do not accept reservations, but that is the word/term that we all are accustomed to using for restaurants, so we tend to fall back on it, but it IS misleading. They do not hold tables for anyone or "reserve" them for any of the DLR dining establishments, not even the Blue Bayou. In fact, Blue Bayou is now the only restaurant in DLR (from what I was told at the Dining number) which REQUIRES Priority Seating to be made. They used to accept walk-ups, but not really so much now (although I think they may squeeze a few in if it were a slow day!). All of the other restaurants do not require PS's, even though it is a good idea to make them for most to minimize your wait time. If you don't make a PS for, say, Cafe Orleans, then you will have to usually wait longer to be seated than someone who has made a PS. But that is not even always the case, because depending on the number of people in your party, if a table opens up that can accommodate the people without the PS, then they will seat them first, whether you have a PS or not.

So the Blue Bayou now demands PS's simply because it is so busy, but it is really just a way of keeping the guests organized in a loose fashion. It does not guarantee you a table, nothing is held for you, it does not even guarantee you will be seated at any specific time. You may have an 8:00 p.m. PS for 4 people, but if a 9:00 p.m. PS group of 2 comes in while you are still waiting, and a table opens up that only hold two people, they will be seated before you. That is how it works in the PS system. Many of us tried requesting waterside tables - you cannot make this request on the phone with Dining when you make the PS. You can only make it when you walk up to give your name to the host or hostess, and he/she will tell you that it will be an extra hour AT LEAST if you want to wait for a waterside table. Probably much longer. They don't guarantee because it is only a PS, not a reservation! We also got seated in the back of the restaurant, and so did other folks who asked for PS, but that is just the way it works. It may suck, but that is it! It is either worth it for you or it isn't. just as DLR is either worthwhile or not. And clearly, you have said it is NOT.

Many times, a lot of problems people have at DLR can be avoided by doing online research and planning beforehand. And as for the crowds on Main Street - yes, they can be scary and oppressive, and it seems there should be better traffic-control measures taken, not to mention safety measures, but welcome to pre- and post-parade time on Main Street. It can be terrifying and claustrophobic for a lot of people. It is human gridlock. It comes with the territory! For most of us here, the DLR experience on a whole is SO worth it for the joy it brings us that we can live with and/or avoid the momentary inconveniences - and prices !!

 

[Capt.Bane]

Let me just say that I dont think being caught in knot of human bodies is any fun or laughable. There must have been somthing going on causeing the stalemate...and Im sure it was scary. The crowds last week were quite large and not at all what I was expecting. Or from what I heard the CMs were expecting either.

Im just saying that there are other things the OP could have avoided with a little research either here or on the other vairous Disney boards that have been brought to light.

 

[olivejuice]

That sucks but why post? and for double stroller duh people have more than one kid. And im sorry you had a bad time but as for the rude people it sounds like you werent very polite either. owell I cant wait to go back

 

[perlster]

I saw a photo on another board (sorry, I can't find it now) that showed a mass of humanity on Main Street - think it was from Sunday. To me, it not only looked very uncomfortable, but potentially dangerous. I, too, think a disaster could be in the making if something started people stampeding.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i dont even know what to say i agree with all those who posted here before me im with capt bane with the dubble stroller never gona happen. Its a grate place to go if you know what to excpect. this week was the most crouded. friday morning was the best time tho we got so many rides in you just have to know what to do.
(get in line first in morning)
dont check in bb 10mins before. check in half hour at least.
The kids meal sucks so your kids didnt miss anything
share your meal much cheaper.
Just get desert.

MM i wont even say anything on im pissed at that. had to use mine monday even tho was told didnt have to all well all in all good trip besieds ppl being sick.

maybe dl isnt for you dont go to the world you may hate it more.

and the parade the only way to see it is in front of train station 430pm and wait on the bench hay it was grate seats. right in front.
I know where you were when you got traped tho. i was traped there thursday line was 20mins long and out the door and we were trying to get back before the parade startred i did it.

 

[Queenbillabong]

That sucks but why post? and for double stroller duh people have more than one kid. And im sorry you had a bad time but as for the rude people it sounds like you werent very polite either. owell I cant wait to go back

I think it is an appropriate post - sometimes people have bad experiences and it's good to know about those as well. I love Disneyland, but it's not always fairy dust and magic. It also gives people who are researching their trips something to think and potentially plan for - say the upcoming Fridays in October when DCA will again close early and there will be a mass exodus to DL.

 

[Capt.Bane]

I agree with Queen...it is good info to have. But I still say a bit of research would have avoided the Blue Bayou situation. Perhaps not the huge crowd at Main Street. (I dont think anyone could have foreseen that happening)