DLR vs WDW on a peak day

[KandyM]

For those who have been to both, how would you compare a peak day at DLR to a peak day at WDW. I have only been to the world once, Easter week 2011. It was crowded, but perfectly doable. We saw one bad day where the streets were literally jammed with people, cast members lining the center line tellin everyone to keep right, etc.

We are now looking at a possible DLR trip December 28 - jan 5. Would the crowd level be comparable, worse, better?

 

[Huff]

Disneyland park can appear far more crowded. Its streets, hub etc. are much smaller than Magic Kingdoms. So you'll see more bottlenecks of packed streets at DL even with smaller crowds.

Crowds seem to thin out quite a bit Jan. 2nd on at DLR. I've not been to WDW at that time to compare.

California Adventure doesn't generally have the massive packed crowds that Disneyland has even on peak days. Midday can be crowded and WOC at night draws a crowd but mornings and evenings otherwise aren't that bad. Crowd patterns suggest people go to DL in the morning, head to CA in the afternoon and then back to DL for late night.

 

[HydroGuy]

I have been at busy times for both but not at the ultra-peak times such as New Years. In general they are comparable but here are some differences:

- The DL park is smaller and has narrower walkways and definitely feels more crowded than MK - you really feel this at times like after fireworks when lots of people are in the hub or on Main Street or after Fantasmic shows

- On the other hand, DL has many more rides than MK so there are more places for the crowds to be located - in a queue - which means wait times tend to be shorter at DL because crowds are more disbursed

- DL has lots more day trippers who tend to arrive late and leave early and stay through mid-day - this means if you are at a nearby hotel within easy walking distance you can work around the peak crowds better - because you can take breaks when it is most crowded

- DL and DCA have easy parkhopping because they are so close so that tends to equalize crowds more. At WDW folks tend not to parkhop so a park which is crowded that day stays crowded

- DLR has less rain than at WDW and more moderate temperatures so the queues tend to be outside and people can more easily move around outside. WDW's frequent rain drives people inside more and keeps them at their hotels. Also the heat and humidity at WDW tends to keep people indoors more.

HTH

 

[mrswh]

My totally unscientific opinion - WDW is typically far more crowded than DL, but DL *feels* more crowded. So while at WDW you may wait 120 minutes for the same ride that has only a 45 minute wait at DL, DL will still feel more crowded - because as PPs said, DL has much smaller walkways. CA is MUCH better, with nice wide walkways and more open spaces. The construction walls do affect that a lot, but once they are down it should be nice and open feeling again. The other difference I notice between DL and WDW is that DL is far less crowded in the morning than WDW - probably because of the local factor - they don't arrive until later in the morning.

 

[KandyM]

That is really interesting and good to be aware of ahead of time. I think knowing that the ride waits are shorter is pretty key info for my family. We used a touring plan for Easter week at wdw. Is it important use one at dlr too? Unofficial guide seemed to work really well. We saw the 2.5 hour lines but never had to wait in one.

 

[mrswh]

We have never used a touring plan at DL (though I know some do). Since you will be there for a week, you probably don't want or need to go hard core and jam pack everything into one day. Our touring plan is get started early, collect FPs, break in the afternoon and go back at night. (Staying at a DLR hotel helps too because you get early entry to DCA, and buying the tickets with MM helps as well, because you can get an ever bigger jump on the crowds.) That said, while we have been there in the summer and during spring break, we have never been there over New Year's. Someone else can probably speak from experience, but I believe after New Year's Day there is a large drop off in crowds, so you should be fine for the latter half of your trip.

 

[taaren]

Haven't been to the World to make a comparison, but we did go for a trip the dates you're thinking about in 2008-9. The first several days were crazy crowded, but manageable, with fastpasses you still shouldn't have to wait more than 45 minutes in most lines. New Years Eve it was jam packed, but people were generally friendly and happy and to avoid getting claustrophobia we ended up spending most of the evening away from the main hub, mostly in Tomorrowland, but as long as we took the back routes through Fantasyland I think we bounced to Indy, Big Thunder, and back to Tomorrowland without too much elbowing.

I vaguely remember the park being fairly quiet and seeming empty (maybe just by comparison?) on 1/1, but that's kind of hazy because of the hangover ... and the days after that were also nicely uncrowded.

So if you do decide to go those dates, just stay away from the main hub and try not to walk through Main Street or Adventureland and you should be okay. We also asked about the park reaching capacity levels every time we left, but we went back in around 4p to DL or NYE and just stayed in the park and were fine but it gave us peace of mind to ask since the gate attendants did seem to have a good sense of whether or not reentry was imminent.

Enjoy! That was a very magical time to go, though we prefer low crowds and to get Deluxe APs so won't be repeating it for awhile ...

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think the days of low crowds after New Years are gone. With the holidays extending for another week, and the AP blackouts lifted....this year and in the future plan to see BIG crowds.