Do the Parks seem more crowded this summer than last?

[hookedonears]

With the economy the way it is, I was just wondering how much it has affected the crowds at Disneyland and DCA.

 

[IBLarsen]

We just got back from spending four days in the parks (Sun through Wed) and the parks were so crowded! I had talked to a couple cast members who said they have higher than average July crowds. They said July has been busier than June even with the AP block outs. and More so than the past few years July. We were amazed at the crowds! Our first day was a Sunday, so we expected it to be busy because of the weekend. But it wasn't any better on Mon, Tues, or Wed (maybe even worse as the week went on).

 

[quantumottle]

Actually, the poor economy has "improved" attendance at Disneyland. I do not know if this year is higher than last year, but I do know that attendance shot up dramatically after the economic meltdown began in 08'.

Keep in mind however, this trend does not hold true for Walt Disney World. Being more of a tourist park, rather than a locals park like DL, WDW has seen a drop in attendance over the past few years.

 

[ChickenCarlos]

i was just there also sat.-tues, and i had specfically wanted to go for the 55th anniversary, and they head to universal and return to DLR mon, tuesday hoping for smaller crowds, plans didnt work out for universal so we ended up at DLR all weekend but i noticed sat, and sun were way LESS crowded than monday and tuesday, on the weekend we road every ride a couple times with pretty much no wait, and then Mon, Tues, we had to way 35-60 min, for almost every ride

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I wonder if my post earlier this month *here it is* is right, with the payment plan more "locals" can afford the higher APs with little or no blockouts ~ however we were there for the 4th of July weekend this year and it was great especially 7/3

 

[HydroGuy]

Actually, the poor economy has "improved" attendance at Disneyland. I do not know if this year is higher than last year, but I do know that attendance shot up dramatically after the economic meltdown began in 08'.

Keep in mind however, this trend does not hold true for Walt Disney World. Being more of a tourist park, rather than a locals park like DL, WDW has seen a drop in attendance over the past few years.

WDW has held pretty steady in recent years. From "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

According to the TEA/ERA Theme Park Attendance Report, the most respected source for such numbers, here were the top 10 in North America in 2009:

1. Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 17.2 million, +1%
2. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. 15.9 million, +8%
3. Epcot at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 11.0 million, +0.5%
4. Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 9.7 million, +1%
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, 9.6 million, +0.5%
6. Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif., 6.1 million, +9.5%
7. SeaWorld Orlando, 5.8 million, -6.8%
8. Universal Studios Florida at Universal Orlando, 5.5 million, -10.0%
9. Universal's Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, 4.6 million, -11.3%
10. Universal Studios Hollywood, 4.3 million, -6.0%

See this link for more information: www.teaconnect.org/etea/2009ThemeIndex.pdf

Finally, go to www.scottware.com.au/theme/feature/atend_disparks.htm to see historical attendance at Disney parks. You can see there that it is only in the last few years that MK has exceeded DL in attendance.

 

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

Just got back recently, we were there on the 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th. 14-15-16 didn't seem too too bad, Sunday the 18th was busier, but Monday the 19th was iNSANE!!!!!! very busy.

We went to Universal Studios on the 17th - our passes were blocked otherwise we totally would have gone to DL on the 17th for the 55th events - Universal Studios was CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!!!! I have never ever seen it so ridiculously crowded! And the temp was easily close to 100 which didn't make things any better!

 

[LavenderPeach]

As others have said, the economy doesn't seem to be slowing things down at all at DLR. Even though it's possible there may be less people who can afford to come from other areas for a big vacation at DLR, there are probably just as many (or more) people who live locally who have decided to go to DLR instead of traveling somewhere else since it is cheaper for them.

We were there a few weeks ago on the 6th and 7th of July and didn't notice it being horribly crowded. It was crowded but still manageable. However, it did seem more crowded than it was on the 6th and 7th last year but i figured it was because of what day the 4th of July fell on this year.

 

[lyv4him]

Actually, the poor economy has "improved" attendance at Disneyland. I do not know if this year is higher than last year, but I do know that attendance shot up dramatically after the economic meltdown began in 08'.

Keep in mind however, this trend does not hold true for Walt Disney World. Being more of a tourist park, rather than a locals park like DL, WDW has seen a drop in attendance over the past few years.

Just wondering (sorry if I am hijacking the thread)...but why do you think the poor economy has 'improved' attendance at Disneyland? Is it because of the APs or discounts do you think? Maybe people need a little fun during tough times, and see visiting DL as a 'need'?

 

[blackjackdelta]

Just got back recently, we were there on the 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th. 14-15-16 didn't seem too too bad, Sunday the 18th was busier, but Monday the 19th was iNSANE!!!!!! very busy.

We went to Universal Studios on the 17th - our passes were blocked otherwise we totally would have gone to DL on the 17th for the 55th events - Universal Studios was CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!!!! I have never ever seen it so ridiculously crowded! And the temp was easily close to 100 which didn't make things any better!

Everytime we have gone to USH the past 3 years it has been very,very busy. Last year at DLR it was busiest I have seen it. We always do August trips.

Jack

 

[mrswh]

Just curious whether anyone else has noticed weekends being less crowded than weekdays . . . or if it was an isolated experience by a PP who mentioned it? I have a week long trip to DLR and the beach and had planned DLR first (Sunday-Wednesday) thinking it would be less crowded at the beginning of the week. I think I can change it, however, and I will if the opposite is true of the crowds!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Maybe I am the only one seeing this but where I live the economy has not really taken a bit hit. There are lots of job openings, houses are being built and the construction of multimillion dollar diversification projects continue to be funded by the feds. My boss is headed to Russia and the Baltic for two weeks as our business continues to grow. So the down is not universal.

Jack

 

[Dobie]

Jack, you are enjoying a local economy that has been boosted by federal stimulus funds. There is no guaranteeing that it will last.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Jack, you are enjoying a local economy that has been boosted by federal stimulus funds. There is no guaranteeing that it will last.

Actually I was addressing the current. The Vit plant and other diversification projects are not stimulus and yes everything can go down but as you well know. For the most part the Tri-Cities is isolated and if the economy does recover this place will be in pretty good shape considering Socal, Pittsburg, Detroit and so on. Another 100+ plus and working in an air condition office.

Jack

 

[pigby]

i was just there also sat.-tues, and i had specfically wanted to go for the 55th anniversary, and they head to universal and return to DLR mon, tuesday hoping for smaller crowds, plans didnt work out for universal so we ended up at DLR all weekend but i noticed sat, and sun were way LESS crowded than monday and tuesday, on the weekend we road every ride a couple times with pretty much no wait, and then Mon, Tues, we had to way 35-60 min, for almost every ride

We were there too - our first day was a week last Sunday (10th) and also there on 17th - both Sunday mornings were surprisingly quiet and we got a lot done. Weekdays were noticably busier. Can't comment on the one Saturday we were there as we were blocked out (DAP's).

 

[Mister Toad]

I will be there this coming Sunday and Monday, hopefully the Monday isn't mobbed. I wonder why a Monday would ever be busier than a Sunday. Lets hope both days are quiet and I can get a lot done.

 

[PrincessIM]

We arrived at DL last Sunday mid afternoon and we amazed at how much we got done. We've always gone late May/early June and were expecting it to be very busy. I think going early in the morning and taking mid afternoon breaks and taking full advantage of FP made all the difference. I don't think we waited in any line longer than 20 mins the 5 days we were there.

 

[Mugglemama]

We were in the parks for 5 days, a Monday through Friday, July 5th-July 9th.

We were in line at the security tables an hour before opening every morning. We opened at DCA on Thursday, because we didn't want to open at DL on a morning when we didn't have MM (we had used ours on Tuesday).

I felt the parks were very, very crowded. We were first in line at the gates 3 of the mornings that we opened at DL. We would get a lot done in the first 2 hours, but after that, it was uncomfortably crowded, IMO.

We were still able to get on rides like POTC with minimal waits (a few times we waited less than 5 minutes). Using late FP allowed us to walk onto Splash Mountain two different days when there was more than an hour wait for Stand-by. But it was MISERABLE trying to navigate through the crowds. Ugh! And we didn't even have to deal with miserable heat, as it was chilly up until around 3pm during all of our days there.

I will probably never visit in Summer again. And if I do, I will never, ever, EVER waste my time waking up at 4:30am to get in line an hour early for a Summer Magic Morning! What a waste of time. We were first at the gates on MM, but they didn't even start letting people into the park until 7:05, and it was WAAAAY more crowded than it had been on the other mornings when opening was at regular time (8am). So, we went through all that trouble, but got to ride fewer rides. I was really frustrated by that (and really tired, lol).

IDK, this last trip left a bad taste in my mouth. And considering I shelled out 3 grand for the trip, I'm just not in any hurry to go back.

 

[GrandBob]

Just curious whether anyone else has noticed weekends being less crowded than weekdays . . . or if it was an isolated experience by a PP who mentioned it? I have a week long trip to DLR and the beach and had planned DLR first (Sunday-Wednesday) thinking it would be less crowded at the beginning of the week. I think I can change it, however, and I will if the opposite is true of the crowds!

We were there Sun July 11 through Thurs July 15. Yes, Sunday seemed a LOT less crowded than Mon-Thurs, for some reason. I thought that some of it may have been the weather -- it was pretty gloomy all July up through that Sunday; but starting Monday 7/12, the it got progressively sunnier. Still, I was shocked. After Sunday, I thought the trip was going to be a breeze. Was shocked at how much busier Monday (and the rest of the week) was.

-Bob

 

[HydroGuy]

Crowds today Tuesday at DL were lower than last summer and the lowest I have seen in a long time. Not like it was zero but very manageable.