Disneyland - it's crowded!! 1-1-09 & 1-2-09

[Disney Hot Mama]

We decided to take a VERY last minute trip to Disneyland to start the new year off. At 3 PM my DH said lets see if we can get a reservation for a good price and head to DL now... Well you don't have to tell me this more than once. I hit Priceline and booked a great room at the Anaheim Hilton for 49.00 (62.00 including taxes) 3 1/2 star, Disneyland area, one room, first bid acccepted at 49.00!!!!!

We packed quickly, told the kids to get in the car and were on our way by 4:30 PM. The drive was uneventful and we were at the hotel and in our room by 6 PM. After a quick unpacking we headed to Disneyland and make a quick detour at Millie's on Harbor for dinner. We were in the park by 8 PM and noticed it was rather crowded for that time of day. We were able to ride Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion and then we caught Fantasmic and the fireworks from the Fantasmic area. It was very overcast so the fireworks were visable but I think a clearer night would have been better to view them. We don't usually stay to see fireworks though..... We decided to head back to the hotel and come back the next day (Fri 1-2-09)

Today - 1-2-09 we slept in which was strange and didn't make it into the park until about 10 AM. The lines outside to purchase tickets was INSANE! They wove back and forth and then back again. We were scared of the amount of people in the park but decided to head in anyway... WELL..... it was PACKED!!! And I mean PACKED. I think we are a bit spoiled though as we visit often and usually don't have long waits for rides. Well it was packed from main street to any direction you wanted to walk. We didn't even ride anything in the park and after walking around for a bit headed to DCA. We did manage a few rides there as the amount of people there was not to bad. We headed back to DL but it was still packed so we took the monorail to DTD and shopped a bit and then came home much eariler than planned.

I have never been this time of year. Probably won't again .... BUT it was still fun as being at DL anytime is enjoyable....

If you are planning to hit DL this weekend get there early and use your fast passes....

Any questions.....

 

[Gisele]

Thank you for your mini-trip report.
I wonder if Dl is normally packed with people on Jan.2? From what I have read on this forum, NYE and the day after is rather insane, when it comes to crowd levels.
WOW, crowded lines at the ticket windows, winding a pattern about the park. Now that is rather scary!
How fun though! To be able to plan a last minute trip to Dl.
I am glad that you and your family were able to still have fun and enjoy your visit.
For the Hilton,what a great price! I have not tried price line, et al. because I worry that I might end up too far from DL.
Your DH sounds like one very nice and good man. Those are rare, in my opinion. So many men can end up being toads, instead of remaining a prince. I rather decided sometime ago, that it is not so much a matter of a man changing from prince to toadie, but rather said man was a toad, to begin with. It can just take awhile to see the chinks in the armor.

 

[lilp]

yes it was super packed today we have aps and decided to go, bad decision. the ticket booth was insane when we arrived i saw it had a two hour wait to buy tickets and inside disneyland was more insane so we went to dca for a while then came back home.

 

[toocherie]

the ticket booth was insane when we arrived i saw it had a two hour wait to buy tickets and inside disneyland was more insane so we went to dca for a while then came back home.

recession? what recession?

 

[Krissy Marissy]

recession? what recession?

You said it! Man...sounds like a crazy day there!

 

[Bread&Butterflies]

I think a lot of people made this a 4 day weekend since NYD was on a Thursday, they took Friday off too.
Hopefully the crowds will thin out after the weekend is over.

You have a great attitude OP. Glad you made the best of it.

 

[Disney Dreams]

recession? what recession?

Well... don't forget to account for how many of those people are APs that many very well have been bought long ago. That's the beauty of an AP: entertainment that is paid for long ago and is still there when you can't really afford it anymore.

I was there yesterday for a couple hours as well to enjoy the Christmas decorations one last time. It was packed!

- Dreams

 

[PinkBudgie]

I was there those exact same days! I didn't see this post but posted my own crowd observations on a thread that says "Now I know the answer".


I also noted the sea of people at 10am in the courtyard there. I don't even want to guess how long those people waited in line just to buy tickets!

 

[tonaly]

recession? what recession?

Exactly! Over the past 2 weeks that we were there my dh kept saying, "I'd hate to see what this place looks like in a good economy at this time of year!"

Although, my reasoning was people like us who are fairly local (an hour away) may have opted for Disneyland instead of a trip that required more travel. We considered Disney World, but for the price of airfare, etc., we figured the money was better spent on Premium Annual Passes that we can use all year.

Alyson

 

[MateasMom]

We were there on the 2nd also and couldn't believe the lines outside! The line to get into the park was short, but the line to get tickets hey wound around and round through the area between DCA and DL. Hundreds of people per line, easily. It was INSANE. I've never seen anything like it at DL, ever.

The line for small world was 2 hours long . We opted to go into toon town, which had reasonable lines. We also walked onto Splash Mountain (yes, we're idiots). Spent most of our time over at DCA though, and the crowds were reasonable (especially when taking advantage of all the single rider lines ).

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We went Friday morning to redeem my son's & his girlfriend's (Nick & Yasmin) APs, and these are the crowds we saw.

Waiting to buy tickets:

The line behind Kelly for the Guest Services windows.

At noonish, when we were leaving the parks, these are the people who were trying to get in the Esplanade.

It was crazy!!

 

[Sherry E]

Those sorts of crowds in the pictures posted by Mary Jo are the types of crowds I expected to see when I was there on 12/19 - 12/22, but they were not like that at all (in my view, anyway). In fact, the crowds seemed no different to me than in 2007 on the same weekend before Christmas, maybe even a little bit lighter. My friends thought the crowds from two weeks ago were definitely lighter than they had been one year prior on the same weekend. In any case, they weren't like those that are shown in Mary Jo's photos, so I was relieved. I even felt like the weekend I went in October was a little crazier than the December weekend! It looks like anyone who was staying away pre-Christmas has now descended upon the parks!

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

The lines at the ticket booths were long today as well. Not as bad as Friday but close. We stayed at HoJo's Fri-Sun, met a lady in the jacuzzi on Saturday that said she waited for 1 1/2 hours for her tickets on Friday.

We renewed our APs using the new payment plan on Saturday, only a five minute wait.

EDIT: We renewed at the ticket booth.

 

[cccdisney]

We just returned today! We were at HOJO's the past three nights (1st - 3rd). I could not believe the crowds! We were there the weekend before Thanksgiving and this was by far more crowded! Like a previous poster said I couldn't believe the lines to buy tickets! Why were people buying tickets there anyway? Can't they buy them online?
Anyway, as always we had a good time regardless. My 5 yr old son, who has autism, tried many new rides! He rode on Matterhorn and BTM and seemed to enjoy it! (He is non-verbal so you have to go by facial expressions) And his GAC sure came in handy - although I still hate the stares you get by using it But that's a whole other thread!
Off to unpack!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

The line was so long for the AP pics when we were there, that my son, Nick, & his girlfriend, Yasmin, were given rainchecks to come back another day when it's not so crowded.

Before getting the tix we went to Storytellers & had breakfast. These pics are of Nick, Yasmin, & Kelly... and Koda.

 

[Disney Dreams]

^ awww

ETA: Well, heck, that arrow up doesn't work well when it throws my post to the next page! haha! Adorable pictures.

 

[A-T-G]

Aww! Cute pics! I haven't gone near DL during the 1st week of January in years! My Mom, myself, and two sisters went to DL for New Year's in 2001. It was so insane I swore I'd never do it again. Thanks for reminding me of why I swore that!

You were very brave indeed! As was anyone who attempted the parks!

 

[justkeepswimmin]

Thanks for this report. We were also thinking of making a spontaneous trip out to DL but it was not to be (I had 2 failed attempts this holiday season at trying to convince dh we should just get in the car and go). Your crowd report makes me feel a little better that we stayed home but because DL is a sickness for me, there is a part of me that would have loved to go anyway.