For those of you who *hate* heavy DL crowds and went during heavy crowds...

[Satchmo128]

My friend is there now and posted a pic this morning of the line for the bag check and it was almost all the way to Harbor! YIKES! I checked the app just now and all the big rides have 60-70 minute waits right now. Guessing this week is going to be pretty busy!

Yikes! I mean, it is the week of Thanksgiving, but still......

 

[Mividadisney]

My first expierence at Disneyland the polite people and excited people helped me get over having anxiety in a large crowds. It really is a magical place with lots of friendly and happy people. One the best expierences of my life to be honest.

 

[KelliLee702]

My friend is there now and posted a pic this morning of the line for the bag check and it was almost all the way to Harbor! YIKES! I checked the app just now and all the big rides have 60-70 minute waits right now. Guessing this week is going to be pretty busy!

What time do you all suggest to get there on a Sunday to go through "Bag Check" so that we can enter the park by 8:30am?
Our tour starts at 9:00am. **I am getting a little nervous now . . .

 

[celiacla]

What time do you all suggest to get there on a Sunday to go through "Bag Check" so that we can enter the park by 8:30am?
Our tour starts at 9:00am. **I am getting a little nervous now . . .

Depends which Sunday. If you mean 11/29 I would get there for rope drop if you can. Thanksgiving is a busy week.

 

[Bud Ice]

How was it? Did you regret going? Did you adjust ok?
I know it's always crowded but I've always tried to avoid the crazy periods (weekends, xmas, etc) but our Dec 6-11 trip is looking like it's gonna be nuts.
I am really worried (maybe freaking out) about crowds and my family of 5. Kids are 7, almost 9 and 11.
I'd love to hear from those of you who really hate the peak season and then went on to survive it...

Just enjoy the experience most off. Boredom, frustration does set in when it comes to lines. Prices are high on everything. That's just a choice you have to reason with. There's plenty to see and do. The parades and fireworks shows are big and loud enough to be enjoyed by all without FastPasses. Don't get hung up on RSR or Space Mountain.

 

[KelliLee702]

Depends which Sunday. If you mean 11/29 I would get there for rope drop if you can. Thanksgiving is a busy week.

Sun. 12/20

 

[celiacla]

Sun. 12/20

That's probably about the same.

 

[CAmommy]

I think the biggest, most important thing during high crowd times is to arrive early in the morning. We arrived at 8am each day we were there and the bag check lines were manageable. On the last day when we drove home, we stopped by DTD and the bag check was insanely long at 9:30. Even just 90 min makes a huge difference. Remember, you can sleep when you get home. LOL

 

[JadeDarkstar]

LOL so true. We know we will get no real sleep.
Our parks are all open till 11 or midnight every night. We may or may not stay the whole time but we don't have early bed times set. We also know we will be in line by 7:am most mornings. My son and hubby know that we go early and will sit on the ground in front of the gates waiting normally 1st to 6th in line. Even if we have to wait an hour.

so midnight- 6 we may be lucky to sleep most nights.

 

[KelliLee702]

What time do you all suggest to get there on a Sunday to go through "Bag Check" so that we can enter the park by 8:30am?
Our tour starts at 9:00am. **I am getting a little nervous now . . .

I am still not sure what TIME (6:00am, 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am . . . ? ) we need to be at the Bag Check area on Sunday, December 20th so that we can get into Disneyland by 8:30am to check in for our Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour.

 

[alvernon90]

I am still not sure what TIME (6:00am, 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am . . . ? ) we need to be at the Bag Check area on Sunday, December 20th so that we can get into Disneyland by 8:30am to check in for our Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour.

Get there by 6:00 and I guarantee you will make it on time.

 

[tlovesdis]

I am still not sure what TIME (6:00am, 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am . . . ? ) we need to be at the Bag Check area on Sunday, December 20th so that we can get into Disneyland by 8:30am to check in for our Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour.

What time does the park open? Bag check will open 30 minutes before the park opens so I would just plan on being there at that time. Even when busy, it only takes a few minutes to get through that line and the gates. The tour booth is right inside under the left tunnel so it isn't far once you get in the gate.

 

[Delilah1310]

We were just there from Thanksgiving Day through the Sunday after, and I cannot stress how vital it is to get there as early as possible.
They had early entry for on property guests every day (except Sunday, I think) at BOTH parks at 7 am.
We got so much done in that first hour and even the next three hours ... it was really the only way it would be possible to do as much as we did, given the level of crowds on that holiday week.
Even getting there at 8:30 as we did one morning after breakfast made such a difference.
Rides that were virtual walk-ons at that time of day had outrageous 75- or 90-minute waits later in the afternoon and evening.

 

[mich311e]

We were just there from Thanksgiving Day through the Sunday after, and I cannot stress how vital it is to get there as early as possible.
They had early entry for on property guests every day (except Sunday, I think) at BOTH parks at 7 am.
We got so much done in that first hour and even the next three hours ... it was really the only way it would be possible to do as much as we did, given the level of crowds on that holiday week.
Even getting there at 8:30 as we did one morning after breakfast made such a difference.
Rides that were virtual walk-ons at that time of day had outrageous 75- or 90-minute waits later in the afternoon and evening.

I agree. We went Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning. We were able to do everything we wanted, pulled our FPs for the big ticket items early, never waited more than 40-45 minutes during the busiest times. But by Sunday at 11 am I was ready to GO. The mass of people coming into Tomorrowland was too much. ;-)

 

[Phoenixrising]

I made 2 mistakes on my solo trip during Thanksgiving week Nov/13. The first and most important mistake was going out of province to attend a family wedding 2 days prior to departure for DL and getting back less than 12 hrs before I left for my DL trip. Trip 1 was basically a 24 hr trip to attend the wedding. It stressed me out so much dealing with that trip with the family that it took me 1/2 the solo trip to wind down from trip 1 to enjoy trip 2. I won't make the same mistake again, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices to keep the family happy. We found out about the wedding less than a month after I booked air for the solo trip, so I couldn't change dates. The second was not being prepared for the heavy Thanksgiving crowds. I thought I was prepared, but a combo of jetlag from trip 1 and dealing with trip 2 for the first couple of days was overwhelming. I had to reset after the second day and rethink smarter ways of dealing with the crowds. Once I did, I was much happier. I'm seriously considering another solo trip in Nov/17, and am contemplating if I want to go during Thanksgiving week again, now that I know what to expect.

 

[KirstinK]

I was there Wednesday and Friday last week. We went at park opening and were able to go on the rides we wanted and get FPs for Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours. But we were ready to leave after the 5:45 and 6:30pm parade and fireworks. There were so many people and it was so crowded and hard to get around. Plus Fantasyland was closed.
I think CA is more pleasant in the evenings than DL - we went to CA one evening after the fireworks and it was a lot more manageable!

 

[KITKAT0229]

So what helped you deal with the crowds?

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

That's great RemainSeatedPlease! I want to do similar to what you did, so can I ask how did you accomplish all that? What time did you line up before rope drop? Did you have an order of rides planned or did you check wait times on the app and decide that way? Thanks for sharing! That gives me hope that it can be done!

I'm sorry, I just saw this reply! As I mentioned in a separate post, we arrived around 7:30 am for an 8 a.m. opening. However the park seemed to have opened early, as they were letting everyone in at 7:30 a.m., not just MM/EMH folks. So, we really had no wait at rope drop at all, just showed up at 7:30 a.m. and walked right in. This is pretty unusual (at least in my experience), so it afforded us the opportunity to go on Peter Pan when we wouldn't have otherwise.

We don't have specific touring plans when we visit the parks, but we almost always start in Tomorrowland, as we did this time. I was especially excited about Hyperspace Mountain, so we went there right after Peter Pan, which happened to coincide with what was supposed to be park opening at 8 a.m. From there we worked our way through Fantasyland (knowing these rides always seem to have longer lines in the afternoon) and then just checked the app to see what else had short lines. We were four fit adults, so backtracking to grab a FP or catch a short line didn't bother us. We also got lucky a few times, like the person who handed us HM FPs, or being able to walk on Splash because it had just reopened after being down, or me getting in line for my beignets minutes before F! ended and the line became absurdly long. We also avoided parade/fireworks crowds as much as possible.

My best advice for getting a lot done is to utilize FP and single rider lines as much as possible, be an opportunist (take advantage of a short line when you see one instead of being set on doing things in a specific land/order), and don't bring children. I have been with small children and there is no way this would have been possible with them in tow.

 

[mich311e]

So what helped you deal with the crowds?

Bring your patience. You will need it to navigate the crowds.

Get there early. Finish Tomorrowland early in the day, that was one of the most crowded areas with lines everywhere. Use the App and plan your fast passes accordingly.

 

[KITKAT0229]

Thanks!!!