For all the people who are 'freaking out' about the Carsland/DCA crowds...stop it!

[zeferjen]

Isn't it unusual for them to make dcs take their shoes off? I have never seen this at WDW.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

Isn't it unusual for them to make dcs take their shoes off? I have never seen this at WDW.

I do not think so I have seen it quite often at DL, I think they do it if it is blatantly obvious that they are using shoes to help make their kid taller. The shoes made a huge difference in the girls height compared to when they were off. But I believe they will most likely do it if there is room for concern. I don't think it's odd or a big deal, if the kid is not tall enough it is what it is.

 

[d1sneymom]

Isn't it unusual for them to make dcs take their shoes off? I have never seen this at WDW.

They did this to my DS (age 6). He was been wanting so badly to ride Indiana but is about 1/2 inch too short. They even patted down his crazy hair! He was upset but I told him better to be safe than to be sorry.

I have to agree with the OP, this summer is manageable compared to let's say, Thanksgiving and the winter holiday season.

I have 2 DS (6 and 17 months) and it was not as crazy crowded as I thought it would be (even on the 24th!). Lines weren't insane with the exception of the rides at CL (RSR-150min, LFT 90min, MJJ 60) getting food at Cozy Cone or Flo's was a breeze (I'm dreaming of the Chicken Verde Cone and Flo's Mud Pie-o-Rama). Granted we did not ride any of the rides in CL but we are going again in about a week and we will see then. FP for RSR was crazy insane and wasn't moving as RSR wasn't working. I believe a lady whom my DH spoke to said she was in line from 10am until 1pm to ride. But that was during the breakdowns. TBH, I had a lot of fun looking for the cars buttons they were giving out. Some CM were doing trivia to give them out and some CMs (mainly the custodians) were handing them out. They ran out of blue ones so everyone was scrambling to find one (there was at least 10 other groups from what I could tell) looking for the blue one. I asked a very nice CM who was sweeping and I got one! Totally stoked!

My DS fave new ride is GRR and we rode that about 4 times without waiting longer than 15 min (with the use of FP, going first thing in the morning and parent swap). Even ST at DL the wait was no longer than 45 min (but it felt more like 30).

This time I registered for APEE so I'm hoping we can get on RSR. If not I asked DH to take me at the end of September for my birthday. Carsland will be there for awhile so I don't mind waiting if we aren't able to ride the rides.
And I remember waiting 4 hours to ride Indiana when it first came out (I think I was 13). Since FP were not introduced until 1999, people sat (well stood) and waited. It was crazy then!

 

[d1sneymom]

BTW, does anyone know if Parent Swap is possible for RSR? I kept for getting to ask the CMs.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

BTW, does anyone know if Parent Swap is possible for RSR? I kept for getting to ask the CMs.

Yes if I remember correctly it is possible! And on their website it says you can do the child/baby swap:http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneys-california-adventure/radiator-springs-racers/

 

[radskd]

BTW, does anyone know if Parent Swap is possible for RSR? I kept for getting to ask the CMs.

Yes. My husband and I did this a few days ago. First time the CM let my husband come back through the exit line and find her and put him right on the ride. Second time we got a card and had to go back through the FP line.

 

[2boysmom1998]

Well Saturday is probably a little better (how ironic) but Sunday seems to be like the other week days thus far! So yes, it looks like if you want to go on a day with the least crowds, it will be Saturday.

We went last month on June 20th and 23rd. Went to DL on the 20th rode about 22 rides and didn't wait long at all for any of them. Got there early and used FP. We went to DCA on Saturday the 23rd, and it wasn't crowded at all. We saw lots of characters and rode 20+ rides that day to. My oldest son waited in the Single Rider line for RSR and rode it twice. We waited 15 minutes for Maters Jamboree. We ate at Flo's and had our pick of seats inside, it wasn't busy at all. CL was the most crowded of course but, it wasn't as bad as I expected. We had a great time!

I posted in March that I was going to DL/DCA in June and everyone said to expect just horrible crowds. I was so scared going into our vacation. I was worried over nothing. We had a wonderful trip and the crowds were low.

I completely agree with you fctiger. Saturday was best for us!

 

[SomeDude78]

Have to add a big +1 here as well. Went to Cars Land this Saturday and it wasn't bad at all. In fact it actually felt like a slow summer day to me.

We're late starters so we got to the park around midday like usual and went straight to Cars Land. Got there about 1 PM. We easily "finished" all three Cars Land rides plus got character photos with McQueen, Mater, and Red by 4 PM.

Mater had a ~20 minute wait, good ride IMO, I thought it would be boring but it actually spins you around with more force than it looks.

Luigi's Flying Tires had the longest wait at ~45 minutes, and I'd have to agree with the folks who didn't like the ride (seemed pretty boring to me). I don't think I'll do this one again personally. It's especially tough to control the tires if you have little ones with you.

RSR had the longest wait as expected, it was listed at 100 minutes for the regular line, so we went in the Single Rider Line, which had a wait time of 30 minutes listed but only ended up taking 15 minutes in reality. Great ride, the dips near the end were more exciting and "roller coaster-like" than I'd anticipated.

All in all any impact Cars Land had on how the park felt and wait times seemed pretty negligible. Might be worse in the mornings (can't say personally) but in the afternoon it was completely sane. DCA actually feels more spacious than before Cars Land IMO because the area that used to be walled off is now open. We might've gotten lucky with lines because the first Pixar Play Parade was scheduled for the early afternoon, so maybe consider going during the parade if you're concerned about waits.

 

[fctiger]

Well so glad to hear the personal trip reports come in about the crowds and that everyone is having the same great experiences!

And I was actually back at DLR yesterday from evening to closing and yes, another pretty light evening overall! I didnt really do much at DCA as I was mainly there to visit a good friend for dinner at DL, but I did go over for a few hours and yep, pretty light for the most part. TSMM was around 30 mins which is VERY good for this ride. RSR was down to a 'low' wait of 100 mins. Anything under 2 hours for this ride is considered a plus at this rate. TOT seemed really long at 50 mins but I found out it was only because not all the shafts were working for some reason. Its been having unusal long waits for awhile, but that now explains part of it. The only ride I did in DCA last night was Maters with a 15 min wait.

I ended up going to WOC just to kill time and jump in my usual TLM stand by line. BUT the actual viewing area was so low, they just tossed me in the viewing area in the yellow section. This was the SECOND time this happened. The other time was just last week as well. Again it was the second show but I'm starting to think maybe the show is losing some of its popularity since it cant seem to fill up the second show in a busy summer season, but it may just be a fluke.

And got back to DL nearly the last hour of the night and the place was pretty dead. Everything averaged 20 mins or less! I did my SM FP which took less than 10 mins to do and STILL had FPs available. I grabbed a ST FP at which also had FPs nearly 11 p.m. at night. Yes, there was STILL FP for both of these rides at nearly closing. It was for a return of 11:30-12 a.m. And I quickly jumped on Matterhorn, Buzz, which I did twice, and ended up doing ST twice as well. I technically rode 6 rides in under an hour. Two with FPs, one I picked up at nearly 11 p.m., and the rest 5-10 min waits. I had time to ride at least one more ride, but wasnt in the mood and left.

Honestly I'm getting spoiled lol. I really thought I would just go the resort maybe 2-3 more times this summer after the initial opening where I was there for 5 days because I thought the crowds would be enough where I wouldnt want to go very much. But since its been feeling so low I been there nearly every weekend even just for a few hours because there is just so much to see and very few big waits to see everything. RSR is really the only thing where you have to plan extra hard to do. Everything else is like any other summer or less!

Hell if its like this now, I cant wait until September lol.

 

[HydroGuy]

Well so glad to hear the personal trip reports come in about the crowds and that everyone is having the same great experiences!

And I was actually back at DLR yesterday from evening to closing and yes, another pretty light evening overall! I didnt really do much at DCA as I was mainly there to visit a good friend for dinner at DL, but I did go over for a few hours and yep, pretty light for the most part. TSMM was around 30 mins which is VERY good for this ride. RSR was down to a 'low' wait of 100 mins. Anything under 2 hours for this ride is considered a plus at this rate. TOT seemed really long at 50 mins but I found out it was only because not all the shafts were working for some reason. Its been having unusal long waits for awhile, but that now explains part of it. The only ride I did in DCA last night was Maters with a 15 min wait.

I ended up going to WOC just to kill time and jump in my usual TLM stand by line. BUT the actual viewing area was so low, they just tossed me in the viewing area in the yellow section. This was the SECOND time this happened. The other time was just last week as well. Again it was the second show but I'm starting to think maybe the show is losing some of its popularity since it cant seem to fill up the second show in a busy summer season, but it may just be a fluke.

And got back to DL nearly the last hour of the night and the place was pretty dead. Everything averaged 20 mins or less! I did my SM FP which took less than 10 mins to do. I grabbed a ST FP at, get this, nearly 11 p.m. at night. Yes, there was STILL FP for this ride at nearly closing. It was for a return of 11:30-12 a.m. And I quickly jumped on Matterhorn, Buzz, which I did twice, and ended up doing ST twice as well. I technically rode 6 rides in under an hour. Two with FPs, one I picked up at nearly 11 p.m., and the rest 5-10 min waits. I had time to ride at least one more ride, but wasnt in the mood and left.

Honestly I'm getting spoiled lol. I really thought I would just go the resort maybe 2-3 more times this summer after the initial opening where I was there for 5 days because I thought the crowds would be enough where I wouldnt want to go very much. But since its been feeling so low I been there nearly every weekend even just for a few hours because there is just so much to see and very few big waits to see everything. RSR is really the only thing where you have to plan extra hard to do. Everything else is like any other summer or less!

Hell if its like this now, I cant wait until September lol.

Tiger I really appreciate your updates. It will help us a lot when we are out for our four day trip in a few weeks!

 

[Priory]

Saturday in DCA was not bad at all based on my expectations. I even rode RSR Three times. One time I rode as single rider and waited 15 minutes even though the posted time was 60. Sunday at Disneyland was amazing. I was here in may and it was 100 times better this trip. It felt like off season all day. Even Matterhorn was about a 15-20 minute wait all day. Amazing weekend trip.

 

[sheetz]

Really fascinating how crowds are shaping up this summer. I wouldn't think that 3 new rides opening would have such a major impact on crowds but maybe a lot of it has to do with DCA's extended operating hours, which are up significantly over last year.

Are there a lot of folks spending time just hanging out in CL and BVS without going on any rides?

 

[SomeDude78]

Saturday in DCA was not bad at all based on my expectations. I even rode RSR Three times. One time I rode as single rider and waited 15 minutes even though the posted time was 60. Sunday at Disneyland was amazing. I was here in may and it was 100 times better this trip. It felt like off season all day. Even Matterhorn was about a 15-20 minute wait all day. Amazing weekend trip.

Same exact experience here ... two of us went in the Single Rider line for RSR on Saturday and got in the same car after only 15 minutes (listed wait time was 30 minutes). It seems that even folks in the Single Rider line have a very good chance of getting the same car because there are tons of 3-4 people groups which only partially fill up each car. Either it's just a slow summer, the mass influx due to Cars Land was over-estimated, or the fact that DCA now has a lot more space distributes the crowds better (I'm going with a combo of all three personally). FWIW the CMs did say that July 4th was crazy packed, but the rest of summer has been unexpectedly sane.

 

[SomeDude78]

Are there a lot of folks spending time just hanging out in CL and BVS without going on any rides?

There were some folks hanging out but nothing more than the usual IMO. I honestly don't think most casual visitors "get" BVS, and CL was much less crowded than I expected. We were able to grab seats and get a snack pretty much anywhere without waiting too. The character photos with Mater, McQueen, etc., only had 5-10 minute lines tops which is way less than I thought it would be. Only thing I skipped was the BVS trolley but that didn't look like it even had a line either.

 

[SomeDude78]

One more thing I should add is that I wonder if there's a difference in time of day for folks having "good CL experiences" versus those having "nightmare CL experiences." Over countless visits, I've never done any of the early morning admissions stuff at Disney just because I hate mornings, so my visits usually start around noon and end between 10-12 at night. I wonder if the rides are more impacted in the mornings For instance we go every Xmas and I hit the parks even later then because the rides are usually packed early on, but by nighttime, I can get on nearly anything with either no wait or minimal waits. Could it be that the "late bird gets the worm"?

 

[Ride Junkie]

Great information; glad to hear that it's totally manageable with a little planning. I am BEYOND excited to see Cars Land!!

HydroGuy, when is your trip? We're going Aug. 6-10 and it would be great to see your trip report as well.

 

[fctiger]

Tiger I really appreciate your updates. It will help us a lot when we are out for our four day trip in a few weeks!

No problem dude!

I'm happy to make this great sacrifice of going to DLR weekly to let you guys know how good it is lol. Honestly, like I said, I didnt even think I would be going so often as I have! I thought after my 5 day vacation out there, I would make it out once more in June and then maybe once in July and another in August. Its just been so good to go and with DCA now feeling like a true Disney park and extended hours, it just makes the entire experience that much better!

Saturday in DCA was not bad at all based on my expectations. I even rode RSR Three times. One time I rode as single rider and waited 15 minutes even though the posted time was 60. Sunday at Disneyland was amazing. I was here in may and it was 100 times better this trip. It felt like off season all day. Even Matterhorn was about a 15-20 minute wait all day. Amazing weekend trip.

Yep, Saturday definitely still sounds like the best time! But even on Sunday yesterday was just as great as you mentioned. And whats odder is this summer is feeling less busy than last summer! Again, it could be the same amount of people or even more, but opening up CL has really spread things out and/or DCA in general has now balanced things out greatly!

And even though we keep thinking about CL and the new rides, we also have to remember Disney opened up a half dozen new shows and events, brought back the Pixar Parade that now operates twice a day and wasnt there last year and the Mad T Party is grabbing the crowds as well. I think the new entertainment alone has truly distracted people from just being on the rides as well.

Same exact experience here ... two of us went in the Single Rider line for RSR on Saturday and got in the same car after only 15 minutes (listed wait time was 30 minutes). It seems that even folks in the Single Rider line have a very good chance of getting the same car because there are tons of 3-4 people groups which only partially fill up each car. Either it's just a slow summer, the mass influx due to Cars Land was over-estimated, or the fact that DCA now has a lot more space distributes the crowds better (I'm going with a combo of all three personally). FWIW the CMs did say that July 4th was crazy packed, but the rest of summer has been unexpectedly sane.

Yeah, it looks like a number of factors has happened. One, that it might have been over-estimated as you say! Two, that the hysteria over it has just kept people away as we seen on these boards of people litterally delaying vacations or was trying to see the resort before CL opening and three, which I been saying as I said in this post, that DCA has created a better balance and distributed the crowds better with a big new land, BVS and CCT keeping people around the entrance and all the entertainment the place has all day.

Of course, there is also the FOURTH option and maybe one that hasnt been talked about yet here although I thought about mentioning it and maybe something Disney might be fearing and that is the increased price hikes! I mean that could also be a big factor as well. Maybe a lot less people did renew their Aps or bother to get one with the 30% increase across the board. Maybe there are a few less day trippers with the added cost of 1 day tickets and park hoppers. I doubt the tourist crowd was affected much. Most of the time if you are already spending thousands to come for a week and staying at the resort hotels, whats another $100 at that point if the multi day tics has increased a bit. But maybe some of the locals have been scared off by the huge increases and we are seeing the effects of it.

IF thats the case, then Disney may be in trouble! BIG trouble because if their attendance levels are really about the same last few summers with all the huge additions this year because the prices have scared people away, imagine next summer or even the rest of the year!

Again though, we dont have a clue thats the case and all said and done DCA at least has been busier than its ever been, even though it doesnt FEEL that busy! I couldnt believe I read there was 55,000 people in that park on the second Sunday of opening...which I was there and it didnt remotely feel that bad!

But yes, it seems to be a lot of factors at play here and I can't figure out if this is a great thing for Disney or a bad thing...but I know its a great thing for us lol!

 

[HydroGuy]

Great information; glad to hear that it's totally manageable with a little planning. I am BEYOND excited to see Cars Land!!

HydroGuy, when is your trip? We're going Aug. 6-10 and it would be great to see your trip report as well.

FWIW, I have only four days in the parks the week of July 22 but folks like fctiger have been a lot more days than my upcoming four days and his days have been spread out over several weeks. So please pay attention to him and others around here as they have a lot of valuable things to say. I myself will be leaning on his posts.

I will of course post my thoughts but please don't think I will have DCA figured out. I will only be able to give a snapshot of my week's experience.

 

[KCmike]

FWIW, I have only four days in the parks the week of July 22 but folks like fctiger have been a lot more days than my upcoming four days and his days have been spread out over several weeks. So please pay attention to him and others around here as they have a lot of valuable things to say. I myself will be leaning on his posts.

I will of course post my thoughts but please don't think I will have DCA figured out. I will only be able to give a snapshot of my week's experience.

Only four days? Are you doing anything else this time around?

 

[HydroGuy]

Only four days? Are you doing anything else this time around?

Beach for a week in San Diego. Been doing that most summers for the last 14 years. Plus visiting folks, siblings and nieces and nephews.