Excited About Crowds - Am I Crazy

[evilprncess96]

OK, I know this sounds nuts. I haven't been to DL in over 12 years. I am taking my DH & DS for their first trips (for NYE) and am sooo excited about the crowds . When I was little we went all the time and the best feeling was when DL was packed with people. I feel so sad thinking of the park almost empty. Does anyone else have this feeling or am I just nuts?

 

[Jenn1116]

nuts!

I like the park being nearly empty for the sake of getting on rides FAST.

But... I do like short lines and seeing lots of people enjoying themselves. In a way, it's fun sharing the magic with people from all over the country, and world.

 

[janc]

I won't say I like the park empty but I sure don't like it so crowded its hard to walk and people are cranky. Especailly if its a hot day.

 

[HydroGuy]

OK, I know this sounds nuts. I haven't been to DL in over 12 years. I am taking my DH & DS for their first trips (for NYE) and am sooo excited about the crowds . When I was little we went all the time and the best feeling was when DL was packed with people. I feel so sad thinking of the park almost empty. Does anyone else have this feeling or am I just nuts?

I tend to agree. Maybe you are crazy and if you are then so am I.

If not overwhelming, crowds add to the experience for me. It is sort of like going to a Denver Broncos game. The crowd is part of the experience. To see a game in an empty stadium would be weird. I have been to DL when it was nearly empty when I was a teen and while it was fun to go on so many rides it also felt strange.

 

[Sherry E]

Part of what I love about being at DLR is getting to talk to all sorts of people from everywhere. Most folks seem to be nice and in a good mood, and when everybody gets stuck in lines together, they tend to start chatting. When you are sitting down on a bench and someone else comes to sit down nearby, you start chatting. When you sit down at a restaurant and someone is at a table really close to yours, you stirke up a conversation. It's a lot of fun! It is something I probably wouldn't have enjoyed when I was a kid at DLR because I was very shy, but now, every trip to DLR, we seem to end up in conversations with really nice people from all corners of the earth! We always take photos of people with their cameras when they ask us to. It is great fun to ride things like POTC and Jungle Cruise WITH other people - and to have a really rollicking group of people at that! We are all kind of in the same boat, good and bad. So I could never imagine DLR without the buzz of people milling about - the energy created by people helps to enhance our experiences in some way. All that hustle and bustle kind of gives DLR its heartbeat!

However, being there and stuck in a scary crowd that makes you feel panicked or claustrophobic is no fun at all, and that can make you hate people! And not being able to get where you want to go because there are hundreds of people in your way is maddening. So I could do with FEWER people in DLR, but there definitely needs to be some kind of crowd. It would be creepy if it were totally empty. And sad.

 

[Dreams_Disney]

I don't mind the crowds!! I think because I've never been to DL when it was empty so I don't really no what else to expect. This is my first time going to DL during Halloweentime and I keep reading posts about how scary the crowds are but it hasn't changed my mind about going or about all of the fun I'm going to have!! I've been to DL during X-mas time, so if the crowds are the same then I can handle it!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I don't mind the crowds!! I think because I've never been to DL when it was empty so I don't really no what else to expect. This is my first time going to DL during Halloweentime and I keep reading posts about how scary the crowds are but it hasn't changed my mind about going or about all of the fun I'm going to have!! I've been to DL during X-mas time, so if the crowds are the same then I can handle it!!!

I thnk the crowds are crazy compared to what they have been in previous 'off-peak seasons' or previous Octobers, but they are no worse than the usual summer crowds or Christmastime crowds. In fact, all these people visiting in DLR when it is 'off-season' now MAY mean that this coming Christmastime will not be AS busy. Perhaps the economic crisis will keep people at home during the peak season (which costs more money). Supposedly summer attendance was down some this year, and October attendance is obviously up. So I am guessing slightly lighter crowds than in previous years in December!

 

[davidsprincess]

You really want us to answer that?

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I tend to agree. Maybe you are crazy and if you are then so am I.

If not overwhelming, crowds add to the experience for me. It is sort of like going to a Denver Broncos game. The crowd is part of the experience. To see a game in an empty stadium would be weird. I have been to DL when it was nearly empty when I was a teen and while it was fun to go on so many rides it also felt strange.

Totally agree!

 

[bumbershoot]

While I don't like things totally empty (except for drizzly evenings in DCA when I'm solo, for some reason), the thought of NYE makes the CMs shudder in fear and terror.

I don't want to go on a day when CMs are afraid like that when it's only September.

So count me out for NYE!

 

[Sherry E]

While I don't like things totally empty (except for drizzly evenings in DCA when I'm solo, for some reason), the thought of NYE makes the CMs shudder in fear and terror.

I don't want to go on a day when CMs are afraid like that when it's only September.

So count me out for NYE!

Me too! From what I can recall, the NYE crowds were very scary, and I think that is the ONE day of the year when I would never go again. I would even go during a monsoon before risking another night on NYE at DLR! Although one time I saw a photo of a couple I know, smiling and comfortable, standing in the middle of Main Street on NYE, and there was actually lots of space around them! No mobs of people. Where were all the people? It wasn't raining. I am guessing it MUST have been around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. I know it could not have been 8 p.m. on to midnight, because that is when the crowds congregate and don't budge on Main Street.

 

[mystic_path]

From your perspective I can see where your coming from, but if you seen how BUSY and how completely insane at times this park has become in the last 12 years, you would go OH thats way too much!!! People can become cranky and the lineups can be an hour wait for one ride... Its just a mad hatter tea party.

I love being able to people watch and see them laughing and playing and having a great old time. Its so relaxing, but I would rather it be a little slower, so I can at least have a bit of breathing space. I dont mind waiting for 15-20 minutes for a ride but waiting up to an hour some days isnt my thing.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

No, I think it's great if you enjoy them. Some people do, and it makes it so they can go whenever, and can enjoy things.

I've talked to people who only get on 3 rides total when it's jammed, and felt like sardines in a can when trying to get around. I just can't get excited about that! LOL I don't feel sad at all if were there and it's mostly empty. I'm not there to visit with strangers, I'm there to visit the parks. The more I get to see of the park the better!

 

[evilprncess96]

The entire concept of Fastpass is new to me. This will be the first trip that it will be around. I was used to waiting an hour in line for that really great ride and it was just part of the trip. I guess I will get the best of both worlds being there the week between Christmas and New Years Day. Crowded park and the "new" fastpass system.

 

[fairycat]

NYE and around it are INSANE!!! But I must be crazy too, because I so want to go back and do it again! I loved NYE at DLR!

 

[Mugglemama]

i think if i didn't have little bitty kids with me, i wouldn't really mind the crowds too much. but trying to keep little ones from getting stepped on and shoved out of the way as they walk is too much for this mom!

and it would be really scary to me to feel that i was in such a dense, pushing crowd that there was a real threat of my little ones getting separated from me.

but if it was just dh and i, the crowds wouldn't be a problem.

 

[HydroGuy]

From your perspective I can see where your coming from, but if you seen how BUSY and how completely insane at times this park has become in the last 12 years, you would go OH thats way too much!!! People can become cranky and the lineups can be an hour wait for one ride... Its just a mad hatter tea party.

I love being able to people watch and see them laughing and playing and having a great old time. Its so relaxing, but I would rather it be a little slower, so I can at least have a bit of breathing space. I dont mind waiting for 15-20 minutes for a ride but waiting up to an hour some days isnt my thing.

I know you were replying to someone else, but I expressed similar sentiments to that person's post. Hey, I am not a glutton for punishment. NYE does not sound fun to me except for it being parallel to Times Square in that crowds are hideous but because it is a special night it is OK. Even so I have never been to DLR on NYE and have no big desire to do so.

The crowd level I am comfortable with is what you would see in the summer. It is certainly busy, but I also like the long park hours. Off-season is less crowded but you do not get your midnight rides unless you are there on a weekend. But weekend visits in off-season kind of defeat the purpose of crowd avoidance.

Even when I do visit when it is crowded I still use FP to the max and take mid-day breaks to avoid crowds. I guess what I am saying is I am OK with summer crowd levels in the morning and evening but not so much mid-day.

 

[Eac_5981]

I like being able to see crowds also, like this past summer we went to NorCal.
We went to San Fran and other places, so we went to Great America for one day.
You would not believe how empty it was on a summer day in June!
It makes you wonder how much longer it will be open? I mean it wasent even clean
And I would never want to think about the fact that Disneyland would one day be closed down because they werent making money. I would be so sad without it!
So, when we go to DLR, we like to see that there are still people coming to this park 53 years after it opened, so we know that it wont be closing down anytime soon. It just makes the experience 10 times better!