I have been to DLR since June 15th a total of 9 times now which is an unbelievable record for me lol, but there has been one thing after another to draw me back! And I spent the first 4 days at a hotel to just do as much as possible. I have been there on the weekends, week days, non-black out dates and even on the days when DCA hit attendance records for the first time in its 11 years, even beating out DL in those instances and you want to know my analysis for the 'busy' summer the resort is having with CL and RSR? That its really much ado about nothing!
Seriously, besides RSR which has ridiculous waits for it and has to be a record of some kind, the rest of the resort feels darn near peaceful! DL has been nearly paradise with how managable the crowds the past few weeks! Saturdays are basically bliss now. Dont get me wrong, sure there are STILL lines, but besides SM, Matterhorn's reopening and Splash on the hottest days, everything in that park is around 30 mins average. ST, the HUGE ride last year seems to be so 2011 now and there are FPs past 8 p.m. now. I know I grabbed one last night at that hour. Its insane how calm DL is these days compared to the most summers around this time.
As for DCA, sure, its more crowded than its ever been, but I do have to give them credit, they got the original design right in the sense it can soak up the crowds. UNLIKE DL that is crazy bottleneck in a most places, not so for DCA with the exception of CL and its been easy as pie to get around the place! And because there is so much entertainment soaking up the place it has distributed the crowds nicely. And yes, RSR is really the true culprit to the madness, but once you get out of that line, the rest of the park is very managable. I think TOT, TSM and LFT are really the other other rides that get into the 60+ minute waits these days, but everything else? 20-30 min waits average!
I thought the resort would feel like a mad house this summer, but after being there 9 times and now the majority of APers are blocked out, its been really just the opposite so far! I think what it looks like that is happening is both parks are balancing the crowds the way it SHOULD be! DL is now getting a little less people due to DCAs re-opening and DCA is getting more, but the majority of the crowd snaking through CL and RSR, so pretty much every thing else feels very, very managable!
Now, summer just started, it can get worse fast, I'm not denying that, but the consensus was the first two weeks was suppose to be just ugly in terms of crowds! Not only did it have the re-opening and everyone trying to see it, it was also when the second Aps were not blocked out and was going to see it as much as possible before the end of the month! And while busy, not INSANE busy that was predicted. I was there on both the 17th AND the 24th where it was predicted to be the worse days of the summer and both days felt like just an average summer day, maybe a tad busier, but nothing to fear!
Ok, why am I writing this? Because I see thread after thread where people are SOOO concerned about their upcoming trips in August, September, November, next week, Thursday after next and so on. Will it be busy, yes, but its going to surprise people how well balanced the crowds are. Maybe TOO well since it seems like some areas in the resort now feels over staffed. I was at WOC tonight, second show, and I swear there were so few people actually attending the WOC show, the staffers were spending more time putting people who just happen to be walking by in the viewing area instead of controlling the line. That show was VERY light tonight and even for a lot of rides, OUTSIDE of RSR, is loaded with CMs standing around more than directing queues.
This may be the best time to experience DLR this summer! LOADS of new experiences and managable crowds where you can do pretty much everything under 30 mins and FPs are plenty, ONCE again not counting RSR!
And honestly, it may change, but I see basically the entire summer like this. The first two dreaded weeks came and went and with more Apers blocked out now, it may either be much lighter than Disney planned OR with now two full day parks in place, it has found a great healthy balance!
Eitherway, stop worrying about the crowds kids. Get there early to do RSR and enjoy the rest of the day taking it easy with loads to do with very few big waits!
Seriously, besides RSR which has ridiculous waits for it and has to be a record of some kind, the rest of the resort feels darn near peaceful! DL has been nearly paradise with how managable the crowds the past few weeks! Saturdays are basically bliss now. Dont get me wrong, sure there are STILL lines, but besides SM, Matterhorn's reopening and Splash on the hottest days, everything in that park is around 30 mins average. ST, the HUGE ride last year seems to be so 2011 now and there are FPs past 8 p.m. now. I know I grabbed one last night at that hour. Its insane how calm DL is these days compared to the most summers around this time.
As for DCA, sure, its more crowded than its ever been, but I do have to give them credit, they got the original design right in the sense it can soak up the crowds. UNLIKE DL that is crazy bottleneck in a most places, not so for DCA with the exception of CL and its been easy as pie to get around the place! And because there is so much entertainment soaking up the place it has distributed the crowds nicely. And yes, RSR is really the true culprit to the madness, but once you get out of that line, the rest of the park is very managable. I think TOT, TSM and LFT are really the other other rides that get into the 60+ minute waits these days, but everything else? 20-30 min waits average!
I thought the resort would feel like a mad house this summer, but after being there 9 times and now the majority of APers are blocked out, its been really just the opposite so far! I think what it looks like that is happening is both parks are balancing the crowds the way it SHOULD be! DL is now getting a little less people due to DCAs re-opening and DCA is getting more, but the majority of the crowd snaking through CL and RSR, so pretty much every thing else feels very, very managable!
Now, summer just started, it can get worse fast, I'm not denying that, but the consensus was the first two weeks was suppose to be just ugly in terms of crowds! Not only did it have the re-opening and everyone trying to see it, it was also when the second Aps were not blocked out and was going to see it as much as possible before the end of the month! And while busy, not INSANE busy that was predicted. I was there on both the 17th AND the 24th where it was predicted to be the worse days of the summer and both days felt like just an average summer day, maybe a tad busier, but nothing to fear!
Ok, why am I writing this? Because I see thread after thread where people are SOOO concerned about their upcoming trips in August, September, November, next week, Thursday after next and so on. Will it be busy, yes, but its going to surprise people how well balanced the crowds are. Maybe TOO well since it seems like some areas in the resort now feels over staffed. I was at WOC tonight, second show, and I swear there were so few people actually attending the WOC show, the staffers were spending more time putting people who just happen to be walking by in the viewing area instead of controlling the line. That show was VERY light tonight and even for a lot of rides, OUTSIDE of RSR, is loaded with CMs standing around more than directing queues.
This may be the best time to experience DLR this summer! LOADS of new experiences and managable crowds where you can do pretty much everything under 30 mins and FPs are plenty, ONCE again not counting RSR!
And honestly, it may change, but I see basically the entire summer like this. The first two dreaded weeks came and went and with more Apers blocked out now, it may either be much lighter than Disney planned OR with now two full day parks in place, it has found a great healthy balance!
Eitherway, stop worrying about the crowds kids. Get there early to do RSR and enjoy the rest of the day taking it easy with loads to do with very few big waits!
Your take is good to hear, and something I have been thinking in my own mind all along. We are interested in seeing Cars Land, but not at the expense of everything else. If CL draws people away from the other attractions, that's great for us! My son said the same thing yesterday when I told him about the long waits for RSR. He gets it, and he is 12. 
