Disneyland fire trap

[kiwitravel]

I Maybe they are at a loss and have no idea what to do, because if they did start putting up 'lanes' for people, it would slow down the number of people who could be flowing through Main Street at one time, and they may see that as a bad thing. They allow a certain number of people in the park at one time, and they have no way to really manage all those people in the heavily congested areas (like in Adventureland). I guess it is a lost cause.

Adventureland always seem congested not because of too many people but it is just too narrow, by comparison the frontierland area is free of congestion because it is wide open. So if Disney wants to accommodate the numbers of people they want to let in then they have to widen those key areas. We never saw Main St congested other than during the fireworks and parades. I do think they need to rethink how to accommodate people for fantasmic and the fireworks though, we didn't bother watching either on our second trip because of the crowds...

 

[Sherry E]

Adventureland always seem congested not because of too many people but it is just too narrow, by comparison the frontierland area is free of congestion because it is wide open. So if Disney wants to accommodate the numbers of people they want to let in then they have to widen those key areas. We never saw Main St congested other than during the fireworks and parades. I do think they need to rethink how to accommodate people for fantasmic and the fireworks though, we didn't bother watching either on our second trip because of the crowds...

Yep, Frontierland does seem wide open in comparison to Adventureland. Even Tomorrowland is not too congested. Sometimes Fantasyland can be, though. When I was at DLR on New Year's Eve back in 2000, I thought Main Street was just super-crowded because it was the (actual) millennium celebration (most folks celebrated going from 1999 into 2000, but 2000-2001 was the real changing of the millennium), but apparently it is crazy like that every NYE! And, unless I am forgetting something, I wonder why everyone is congregated on Main Street. We escaped Main Street and went to Tomorrowland to stand and watch New Year's fireworks at midnight, but all the people were packed along Main, not budging an inch. Does something happen there at midnight that I am forgetting about?

 

[Dizneydaz]

I just read the first and the last few pages and have to say I am sorry about the situation the OP found themselves in. Yes, the crowds can be scary at times. And yes, it does seem almost insanely crowded when you are trying to get anywhere after something ends (parade, fireworks, closing time). Thats why last night (Friday) DD9 and I decided not to stay to watch the fireworks in the park (and I love to watch them with the music) but to head out early enough to watch them from the parking structure. We parked just one story from the top.

We ended our evening in TL and barely made it on the train in time to get out of the park before showtime. (Don't even ask me about being stuck on Autopia for 10 mins. waiting to get out of our car and how bad the fumes were! -that can't be healthy) We basically ran to the tram (had to skip getting kettle corn, the line was too long) and got off the tram just after 9:25 (fireworks start). We got up to the 6th level of Mickey and Friends and picked out our spot to watch the fw. Funny thing happened last night-the fw were about 20 mins. late and since we weren't inside the park we didn't know what was happening. I can't imagine how it was standing on Main St. waiting for them to start. We saw people sitting down waiting as early as 7:30. DCA closed at 6 for Mickeys ToT and DL got pretty crowded.

We watched the fireworks and after they ended at about 10 p.m. we got to our car quickly and got out of the structure before the crowds starting exiting. In this way we saved being caught in the massive crowd and Main St. as well as being in the crowd waiting for a tram. That's what planning can do for you. Had we stayed in the park to watch the fw we wouldn't have tried to exit the park until at least a 1/2 hr after. Even if we just sat and waited on a bench. It's the best way.

I do agree with others that people do seem to be getting ruder everytime we go. I am constantly amazed at the audacity of some moms. Last week we waited about 1/2 for the nighttime parade to watch me nephew's friend perform. I was saving our spot (for 6 of us) along with my DD9 while my DM and DSis got their AP. Then my nephew took my DD to the bathroom. At this point there were 3 of using saving our spot. A mom and her son pushed my stuff out of the way and sat down. I explained to her that I was saving space for my family. She said "Well, there not here now, are they!" Was she *($#*("#$() kidding me! I explained to her that they were in the bathroom but she just ignored me. This was about 10-15 min. before parade time. Then one of the CMs got all the kids up to play a game of Mickey Says while waiting. I got up to take a few pix of DD playing (the rest of my group spread out to save our remaining spaces) and while watching the game I saw another mom and kid sit down in an open space. The man sitting nearby said "those spaces are for my family. They're playing a game" She said "Well, they're not here now, are they? (I think she must have been related to the rude woman who grabbed our spots.) The man just looked at her. His wife, who was in the street with her kids also turned to look at her and said the same thing. The woman basically ignored her and said to her son "you sit right here on the curb and I'll stand behind you." Like she was doing the other family a favor by only stealing one spot.

Both those incidents really bothered me and just reiterated why I don't like to watch parades at DLR. People are rude and pushy, and most of them only care about their kids. How many times have you (after waiting a long time) had someone try to push their kid in front of you once the parade starts?

 

[kiwitravel]

Another area that gets congested is just as you go into Critter Country, it narrows up there as you go past the start of the Splash queue. It would not take much to widen these areas, they mave have to move some shops and move the entrance to the Tiki room and the Aladdin thing over to the sides of their buildings, for Fantasyland I think the problem is more the queues that seem to spill out on to the walkways, but with a bit of a redesign of the frontages this could be sorted.

 

[Gisele]

As I have 21 years as a Firefighter, I currently hold the position as Fire Inspector and AP holder I wonder if I should comment?

I second bumbershoots response.

 

[honeymom]

I haven't read the whole thread - read the 1st page and the last page.

I guess I'm a bit astounded at how mean everybody gets when someone doesn't tell the Disney fairy tale.

I have been going to DL on and off for over 30 years. DL used to be a truly pleasant place. Not only could you enjoy the rides and the magic, while there were often big lines for rides it didn't used to feel so gridlocked/logjammed while walking around.

The good news is that with Fastpass, we rarely hit any big lines anymore.

The bad news is that the streets, walkways, stores are often jammed. Don't kid yourself into thinking that this is somehow safe and that DL is not to blame. While yes, they employ strategies to control access to the park, they are either still letting in too many people or they are not exercising proper crowd control techniques once people are in the parks. This is especially true around Main Street. I think they like the logjams because it sends people into the stores/restaurants to shop/dine.

As to the OP being shocked at BB prices, perhaps she didn't know about All Ears. Some of us are really good at doing the research, others are not. It is perfectly reasonable to expect the Disney Dining castmembers to give the correct information since that is the one official Disney information line.

I still enjoy DL. I try very much to focus on the positives while there and not the negatives. However, I do remember a time when it did seem more like a fairytale. Now it seems to be a little less about the fairytale and a little more about the almighty dollar and how to make more of them.

 

[JaneJetson]

If people are looking for wider walkways, they should go to WDW.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

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 .


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.


OUTOFDISNEY4EVER

1.&2. That would cost Disney more money to staff, etc. So would you like to pay $6 for water?

8. Then Disneyland can be a magical place for YOU. How about for little kids? Do you know how hard it is to push those things around and how many people just cut us off at the last second. Why don't they just ban wheelchairs and ECVs too? Then YOU can around much easier!

9. Wouldn't you be mad when they kick you out? J/K but seriously, the tone of the post makes you sound like the rude one.

Situations are not always perfect. But overall if you realize that you are sharing this place with the rest of the world, and it's not just for your personal enjoyment, then you may have been able to appreciate it more.

Sorry you didn't have a good time.

 

[Sherry E]

I haven't read the whole thread - read the 1st page and the last page.

I guess I'm a bit astounded at how mean everybody gets when someone doesn't tell the Disney fairy tale.

I have been going to DL on and off for over 30 years. DL used to be a truly pleasant place. Not only could you enjoy the rides and the magic, while there were often big lines for rides it didn't used to feel so gridlocked/logjammed while walking around.

The good news is that with Fastpass, we rarely hit any big lines anymore.

The bad news is that the streets, walkways, stores are often jammed. Don't kid yourself into thinking that this is somehow safe and that DL is not to blame. While yes, they employ strategies to control access to the park, they are either still letting in too many people or they are not exercising proper crowd control techniques once people are in the parks. This is especially true around Main Street. I think they like the logjams because it sends people into the stores/restaurants to shop/dine.

As to the OP being shocked at BB prices, perhaps she didn't know about All Ears. Some of us are really good at doing the research, others are not. It is perfectly reasonable to expect the Disney Dining castmembers to give the correct information since that is the one official Disney information line.

I still enjoy DL. I try very much to focus on the positives while there and not the negatives. However, I do remember a time when it did seem more like a fairytale. Now it seems to be a little less about the fairytale and a little more about the almighty dollar and how to make more of them.

I think OP is a male, not a female! (He has a wife.) Maybe you just skimmed his post? Anyway, it might be a good idea to read the whole thread. I don't think any of us were being "mean," In this day and age, you have to do research for a DLR trip or risk having a miserable time or missing out on a lot of things and not getting your money's worth, and just the fact that OP came here to DISboards shows he is resourceful but it would have been a BIG help in researching if he had come here prior to the DLR trip! You don't need to know about AllEars to simply type in "Disneyland menu prices and options" in the browser and see what comes up! Disneyland Dining does not tell people, for example, that they take "reservations" because they only take "Priority Seating." It is much different. But people still think they are getting actual reservations, they hear what they want to hear, so by doing some additional research, OP could have discovered the real behind the scenes scoop. And if he had come here first, we all would have told him everything he needed to know. Furthermore, you can't come to a largely pro-Disneyland board and expect that we are all going to jump on the "we are never going to DLR again either" train. We all discuss the pros AND the cons of DLR on this board, but basically it is dear to all of our hearts and has been for decades (like in your case) and we know of ways to make the trips better and more cost effective, more efficient, etc. because of being on DISboards and doing lots of research!

 

[BlueBayou]

I am kind of surprised they did not open up back-stage if the crowds were so bad. A few years back we where caught in a massive crowd in December (It was the first Friday that Fantasmic was back after being dark for months).

When entering the park they did not let us walk up main street - they had us walk to the right and go backstage where the parade ends and we came out near the baby change area near tomorrowland.

I will say the crowds were very, very scary that night. We started traveling in Oct. after that - because I did not want to get caught up in that.

I am a little claustrophobic and don't like crowds anyway. Maybe I am just naive - but based on my experience - I have always assumed that say the main street train station or town square became blocked for some emergency reason - they would just let people start flowing out the back of the stores along main street into the backstage area. Since on extremely busy days they let crowds flow backstage - I have assumed in an emergency they would open up the floodgates and let people out backstage. Particularly on the tomorrowland side they have office buildings and stuff back there that I am sure people get to without going into the main gate.

 

[BlueBayou]

I wanted to get in that mob just to be able to go backstage and see what was back there. Probably nothing interesting if those hallways are just to direct people.

Not hallways - just the backs of buildings and equipment. I liked getting to see it - but it was nothing special. They did have a whole crew of castmembers directing you exactly where to walk backstage. I thought I saw the back side of the grand canyon building on the train route. The buildings did not have a fresh coat of paint like the onstage areas of Disneyland

 

[Sherry E]

I am kind of surprised they did not open up back-stage if the crowds were so bad. A few years back we where caught in a massive crowd in December (It was the first Friday that Fantasmic was back after being dark for months).

When entering the park they did not let us walk up main street - they had us walk to the right and go backstage where the parade ends and we came out near the baby change area near tomorrowland.

I will say the crowds were very, very scary that night. We started traveling in Oct. after that - because I did not want to get caught up in that.

I am a little claustrophobic and don't like crowds anyway. Maybe I am just naive - but based on my experience - I have always assumed that say the main street train station or town square became blocked for some emergency reason - they would just let people start flowing out the back of the stores along main street into the backstage area. Since on extremely busy days they let crowds flow backstage - I have assumed in an emergency they would open up the floodgates and let people out backstage. Particularly on the tomorrowland side they have office buildings and stuff back there that I am sure people get to without going into the main gate.

It seems like DLR is starting to clamp down on allowing folks to enter the stores when it gets really crazy crowded now, according to a PP. It does make some fiscal sense to let them do it because it will attract more folks to buy things, but I guess when SO many people start using the shops as an escape route, maybe it gets too hectic and unmanageable in the shops??

 

[amyamya]

It seems like DLR is starting to clamp down on allowing folks to enter the stores when it gets really crazy crowded now, according to a PP. It does make some fiscal sense to let them do it because it will attract more folks to buy things, but I guess when SO many people start using the shops as an escape route, maybe it gets too hectic and unmanageable in the shops??

Right Sherry. I think I am the PP you refer to as I was denied both entrance to, and later after being let in by CM due to my meltdown, exit from the Emporium the night we got stuck. It was weird and another thing I have never experienced before. Not sure what their purpose was, but they were VERY clear no one was going in or out.

Fire Marshall Davo- please respond! Is this a safe situation?

 

[Sherry E]

Right Sherry. I think I am the PP you refer to as I was denied both entrance to, and later after being let in by CM due to my meltdown, exit from the Emporium the night we got stuck. It was weird and another thing I have never experienced before. Not sure what their purpose was, but they were VERY clear no one was going in or out.

Fire Marshall Davo- please respond! Is this a safe situation?

Yes, you were the one I was referring to, Amyamya! I didn't know if you wanted your name mentioned again about that, so I left it out! But, yes, it is weird that they are cracking down on not allowing people to escape into the shops. I wonder if they have had some episodes where maybe the entire crowd from Main Street tried to pour into the shops and basically created more chaos!? Otherwise, it would seem like not everyone knows that you can take that little walkway to the rear of Carnation and cut left through a shop to another part of Main Street to escape. They must have had some fairly recent incidents which now ruin it for anyone to use those 'alternate routes.' Because I think people 'in the know' have been doing that for years and it has been okay.

 

[Leofoenget]

I have been there when things were nutso, and I have seen CM's shuttle people out the back of the main street buildings to clear the congestion. I think if things got B A D they would open up everything and let people out. Yah as for closing DCA first and shuttling everyone into DL, they just do it they do it in WDW too. Not every park stays open until midnight.

 

[Albort]

Again, the # of guest that are allowed by the fire marshall is controlled by how many people can fit in the safe haven zones.

Crowd control has been a tough issue lately. Ive seen it personally when I see CMs screaming their heads off, the guests still wont listen to them and do their own thing acting like the CMs just dont exist.

Yes, they have been opening backstage access for guest and it works well, but i believe they open it from the # of guest in the park.

 

[Disney Dreams]

There are a few issues with overfilling the stores with people.

1 - capacity, fire exit issues
2 - increase in shoplifting, more difficult to control

...And, unless I am forgetting something, I wonder why everyone is congregated on Main Street. We escaped Main Street and went to Tomorrowland to stand and watch New Year's fireworks at midnight, but all the people were packed along Main, not budging an inch. Does something happen there at midnight that I am forgetting about?

Music was being played by a DJ. Hats and noisemakers were handed out. There was a stage and Mickey (maybe Minnie as well? can't remember) came out to do a midnight count down. Nothing like counting down with 20,000(?) people! During the fireworks there were special effects on the castle.

 

[Sherry E]

There are a few issues with overfilling the stores with people.

1 - capacity, fire exit issues
2 - increase in shoplifting, more difficult to control

Music was being played by a DJ. Hats and noisemakers were handed out. There was a stage and Mickey (maybe Minnie as well? can't remember) came out to do a midnight count down. Nothing like counting down with 20,000(?) people! During the fireworks there were special effects on the castle.

Okay. That is good to know - that there was some purpose to the crowds packing onto Main Street on NYE. At least there was going to be a stage of some kind with a countdown. I guess we missed that because we escaped to TL. I thought they were all just squeezed in there because they thought that was where they were supposed to be standing at midnight!

 

[Disney Davo]

I second bumbershoots response.

Ok, here goes. Ultimately I think Disney does a very good job incorporating fire prevention and life safety into the attractions. The ques/waiting areas for rides etc... this would be my primary concern for anything being named a fire trap. If you have noticed the exits from stores/shops are very wide, numerous and open, there actually is no door to push open. In most cases I feel Disney meets or exceeds the intent of the Code for both. Which when your building the Temple of the Forbidden Eye that is no easy task for the Fire Prevention engineer to review those plans. A major element to safety is how the CM is prepared to handle an emergency on a crowded Friday night. I have not been in the parks to witness this so I can't really comment other than the staff better be prepared and properly trained.
It is very obvious to many that the width of certain outside walking areas is very narrow and gets very congested on busy days. I've been going to DL for many years my first trip probably 1968 and I don't think Walt was planning for the numbers he has today. Crowds can be very dangerous and again staff training is of the utmost importance. But to think accidents don't happen at Disney would be foolish, I think differently than most, I always have an exit strategy and I always keep an eye on my family.

 

[amyamya]

I always have an exit strategy and I always keep an eye on my family.

I think this is what freaked me out the most, I had no exit options. I rarely let myself or my family get into those situations.

Thanks for weighing in!