DL on Veterens day, Am I crazy?

[oldenewguy]

I will be at DL nov9th-12th which happens to be veterens day weekend. I was wondering how crazy it will be. I went mid august this year, will it be worse then that?

 

[DLR29]

It will be worse than mid-August. DL's gates have been known to close during that weekend, however not in the past couple years, but you never know. Lines for major attractions will most likely be up around 75-90 minutes, so make full use of FP. Especially on Space, Indy, Splash, HMH, Screamin, and Soarin. Also use EE, which allows you to get into the park an hour early. You can get a lot of Fantasyland rides done during that hour.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

My mom was there at that time last year & she said it was horrible. We were originally scheduled for MLK wkend & everyone said it would be worse than summer...so we rescheduled.

 

[biolabetty]

We went last year on Veterans Day and it was really busy. In the afternoon, they were not letting people in who had not been in earlier in the day. Luckily, we had been in, and were allowed back. It took us one hour to get our lunch at Hungry Bear, and then you couldn't find anyplace to sit. This was the first time I'd seen my son have a total meltdown due to the crowded situation. I'm going the week before this time.

 

[oldenewguy]

If it does get too busy and they stop letting people in will they be able to refuse people who have already bought tickets or do they just stop selling more?

 

[DisneyPhreak]

We went last year during Vets day and it was crazy busy. There were rumors that they were going to close the gates, but we got in ok. After dinner it died down a bit and you could actually move around.

I know they have a certain order of who gets locked out first. First they stop selling the 1 day passes so that walk ups who dont have tickets cant get in. Then it goes from there until the point where its too busy they shut the gates completely. To avoid any problem get in there early and stay, that way theres no issue about getting back in.

 

[biolabetty]

My understanding of when DL closes because of capacity is that is a tiered type of thing. They'll first stop selling one day tickets, then they'll stop new entries whether you have a ticket or not, then they'll only let people in who have a handstamp from being in earlier in the day, then the Fire Marshall closes the front gate and no one can get in. They sometimes redirect people over to DCA when DL closes, but I do believe that they might let people into DL once they have determined enough people have left. If you are going in on Veterans Day, I would recommend planning on spending your whole day there, and only leave if you absolutely have to.

Getting there early is a good thing on busy days like that.

 

[oldenewguy]

I know that the holiday stuff doesn't really start until the following weekend, do you think this will affect the crowds at all?

 

[XTinabell]

I don't think it will affect Veterans day having the holiday stuff the following weekend. I think it just means both weekends are going to be insane. Veterans day is a holiday for U.S citizens as well as Canadians so it will bring in tourists as well as locals. I also heard they're filming the thanksgiving parade or christmas parade (w/e it is) that weekend. But I still think you can manage the crowds. If the locals can do it, why can't everyone else? Maybe you could spend the day in California Adventure park, it's never as busy over there.

 

[TinkerKell-ey]

Can someone please explain the Veterens Day phenomenon? Will everyday Fri 11/9, Sat, Sun, Mon be busy? Why is it expected to be so busy? Schools closed? I'm from Michigan and the schools around here are in session at that time - they discuss the special day, but they go to school. I'm really worried as I picked our week based on WDW experience-no crowds in Nov until week of Thanksgiving there. I tried for the full week before Thanksgiving, but GCH & DLH were booked, so this was the next best choice-or so I thought. . . I had no trouble with my reservation for that time period - all was open. Y'all are scarin' me!!!!

Our full days are 11/8 (Th), 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. My plan was Th & Fr at DL/CA, Sat to the beach and aquarium w/fireworks that night, and Sn or Mon Legoland or DL/CA. Tues back to DL. Any advice? Thanks . . .

 

[DisneyPhreak]

Are you sure your kids have school on the 12th? I thought that was a nationally mandated holiday for schools, banks etc. I know my kid has it off. And thats the problem where the crowds come from...3 day weekend.

 

[TinkerKell-ey]

Yep, they have school. Never have had the day off for Veteran's Day (which is officially always Nov 11th I believe?). That's why it is a surprise to me. Around here, the kids don't get many single-day holidays (for lack of a better term) off. Presidents' b-day, MLK day, etc - they are in school. We do have election day off, but it is labeled as "Teacher development day".

Besides a quieter park experience, I was really looking forward to some serious photography this trip - crowds make that really hard. Oh well - it's still Disneyland right???

 

[DisneyPhreak]

Absolutely. And we went last yr on Vets day and it was very busy, but we still got a ton of rides in somehow and had a great time. Dont let it bum ya out at all - you'll still have a blast!

 

[oldenewguy]

Thanks everyone. I have been to DL on some really busy days and have never had a bad time. I was mostly worried because everyone was talking about the park reaching capacity and not letting anyone in. If its just busy I can handle that.

 

[azgal81]

Veterens weekend is usually crazy busy. You will see crowds start to pick up friday afternoon and die down monday evening but yeah the rest of the time should be insane!