DL was so nice today! (1/22)

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Just wanted to post that we had the best time at DL today! Crowds were light, weather was great (if a little chilly at times) and we were sprinkled with pixie dust several times today. Genie+ works so much better when crowd levels are lower. Not sure why they can’t figure out how to make it work better for the bigger crowds.

I don’t know if things are gonna pick up here now that MMRR is opening on Friday or when Toontown reopens in March but today was one of the nicest park days in a long time for us!

Added bonus, today is my older boy’s birthday and rode Space Mountain for the first time and he LOVED it.

He also pointed out these cute little additions to Sleeping Beauty’s castle (hard to see in the dark but these are for the 100th celebration).

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that there were VERY few ride breakdowns today. We were there from rope drop to about 8pm and all attractions were open at park opening... almost unheard of these days! Rise did go down for several hours in the afternoon and Indy went down once as well as Space once. But everything else was up and running, and boy did it make a big difference in the parks.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Happy, happy (belated) birthday to your boy! So glad you had a great day at DL!

 

[OlliePop27]

So great to hear, thanks for sharing! I also want to jump in to say that my family visited for 5 days over MLK weekend had an an absolutely spectacular experience at the parks. Lines were manageable, crowds weren't heavy, and Genie+ worked great! I know there were a lot of not so great experiences last fall, so it's great to see there are still good times of the year to visit, and let's hope that maybe some of the challenges causing people's frustrations are being worked through by Disney.

 

[Pluto468]

Wonderful to hear! I'm glad you had a great time. The decorations are so cute!

Happy Birthday to your son

 

[DLgal]

Everyone in CA was watching that football game.

Glad you had a great time!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Everyone in CA was watching that football game.

Glad you had a great time!

I was actually wondering about that! Although I saw some reports that DCA was pretty busy so maybe people list wanted to check out all the Lunar New Year happenings over there.

 

[DLgal]

I was actually wondering about that! Although I saw some reports that DCA was pretty busy so maybe people list wanted to check out all the Lunar New Year happenings over there.

Probably both things. But Sundays leading up to the Super bowl are great times to visit the parks because a LOT of people want to watch those games.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I was there yesterday and I agree, the crowd level in DL was fantastic. We got to the Harbor side security at 8:02 and there was no one in line. Entered the Esplanade and there was no one in line to get into either park. I was shocked! I haven’t seen it like that since pre-pandemic. We were there with just our 16 month old and all the Fantasyland rides were walk on (except for Peter Pan, of course). We did all the Fantasyland rides besides PP plus Small World then Finding Nemo. We walked through Tomorrowland on our way out at 10:15am and Star Tours looked to be a walk on still. There was no line outside and there was no line I could see inside the building. Usually, at that time of day, we hit a wall of people who’ve just entered the parking walking down Main Street. Not this time! It was so nice!

 

[dieumeye]

Glad you had a great day at the park! I was also there 1/22 and noticed that wait times at DL seemed pretty reasonable all morning. And great weather too.

I hopped over to DCA around 1:20 and it did seem pretty crowded, but that just might be from the initial influx of hoppers. The festival booths and activity lines were all really long at that time.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Glad you had a great day at the park! I was also there 1/22 and noticed that wait times at DL seemed pretty reasonable all morning. And great weather too.

I hopped over to DCA around 1:20 and it did seem pretty crowded, but that just might be from the initial influx of hoppers. The festival booths and activity lines were all really long at that time.

We were in DCA from around 1:20-5pm. It was pretty crowded and seemed worse because of the festival lines. I also think have RSR down for a refurb is making it feel more crowded. That ride’s line was a people eater.

 

[chezcurrie]

Love this! Good tip about game days, too!

 

[irlandaise]

Everyone in CA was watching that football game.

Which should mean that next Sunday (1/29) will also be a good day to visit DLR. And that game will start even earlier, at noon Pacific Time. So SoCal football fans won't be able to over to DLR for a few hours before the game. Of course, if all the non-football fans decide to get out of the house...

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Happy Birthday to your son from me, too, Socalmousemommy. I'm so glad the two of you had fun yesterday at DL together.

 

[WonkaKid]

Yup. I was there yesterday as well. A bit crisp in the morning but crowds were reasonable until I left at 2:30. By 11:00 or so, the weather was nearly perfect. But then I prefer it in the cool side (rather than hot).

Some pics.

 

[LisaT91403]

We were there on Saturday (1/21) and it was fantastic! We have been AP/Magic Key holders for the better part of the last 12 years...and I'm telling you, Saturday was a very rare kind of day. The walkways were not crowded, and the park itself just never felt crowded at any point. We went to Pirates first as it was only a 10 minute wait and we figured it would get crowded later on (although it looked to me like it was never more than a 40 minute wait). Jungle Cruise was a literal walk on, and DS and his buddy rode Splash 3 times in a row because there were no lines. We did every Genie+ ride, all with no real wait (5 minutes, maybe). And even better was that the return time for most of the G+ rides was within 15 minutes! Space was the only one that had a long lead time. The longest lines we waited in were for Mr. Toad and Storybook Canal, which were each 20-25 minutes. Teens saw an actor from Breaking Bad/Mandalorian when we were in the Storybook line, so they therefore felt the 20ish minute wait was worth it! RotR was still crowded, with standby times hovering around 75-100 minutes all day; we chose not to wait or pay the $25 (it's always been $20...when did it go up??)

My theory is that holiday time is over and the 100 year festivities/opening of MMRR don't happen until next weekend...so this was just not a popular weekend to visit.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We were there on Saturday (1/21) and it was fantastic! We have been AP/Magic Key holders for the better part of the last 12 years...and I'm telling you, Saturday was a very rare kind of day. The walkways were not crowded, and the park itself just never felt crowded at any point. We went to Pirates first as it was only a 10 minute wait and we figured it would get crowded later on (although it looked to me like it was never more than a 40 minute wait). Jungle Cruise was a literal walk on, and DS and his buddy rode Splash 3 times in a row because there were no lines. We did every Genie+ ride, all with no real wait (5 minutes, maybe). And even better was that the return time for most of the G+ rides was within 15 minutes! Space was the only one that had a long lead time. The longest lines we waited in were for Mr. Toad and Storybook Canal, which were each 20-25 minutes. Teens saw an actor from Breaking Bad/Mandalorian when we were in the Storybook line, so they therefore felt the 20ish minute wait was worth it! RotR was still crowded, with standby times hovering around 75-100 minutes all day; we chose not to wait or pay the $25 (it's always been $20...when did it go up??)

My theory is that holiday time is over and the 100 year festivities/opening of MMRR don't happen until next weekend...so this was just not a popular weekend to visit.

Sounds like the rare amazing weekend! We lucked out.

Also worth noting that the three highest Magic Key were unblocked all weekend and it was still like this.

But this weekend also had no Fantasmic, no parade and only Mickey’s Mix Magic fireworks on the DL side. Not a compelling weekend to visit if you want entertainment offerings.

 

[DLandgirlie]

January is still one of the best, if not the best month to go to Disneyland for low crowds (hate to type this lol). Now, my last January trip was 5+ years ago, but I love a January visit to the parks.

Glad your family enjoyed your day!

 

[drenha]

We were here this weekend too and had an amazing time! I had set my expectations very low and was blown away by how pleasant, uncrowded, and un-rushed the parks were.

 

[egxflash]

Yup. I was there yesterday as well. A bit crisp in the morning but crowds were reasonable until I left at 2:30. By 11:00 or so, the weather was nearly perfect. But then I prefer it in the cool side (rather than hot).

Some pics.
View attachment 734429

Wow! How do you get such a high score without the ride breaking down? Those are the times I've gotten even a remotely decent 6-figure score.

 

[WonkaKid]

Wow! How do you get such a high score without the ride breaking down? Those are the times I've gotten even a remotely decent 6-figure score.

I've been playing BL for several years. I usually do it at least four times shortly after the park opens and often more. I also have friends who are good at it and when we're there together, it becomes a competiton. General tips: only shoot diamonds and triangles. (5,000 and 10,000, respectively). One triangle is worth 100 circles. Don't waste your time on them. When you hit a triangle that's lit, it's worth 50,000. Shoot targets as many times as you can, not just once, of course. Let me know if these tips help.