Fourth of July at DL?

[MaumeeMom]

We are going to be in the area and I may have the opportunity to get to DL on the fourth - just me & two kids (1 elementary kid & 1 middle school kid). It will be our first time there so I'm not familiar with the park.

Is it going to be super busy? I think Touring Plans had it as a 9 out of 10. I swore I would never go to WDW with a crowd prediction that high, is it just as bad at DL as it is at WDW?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Go go go!! I was there last year and would love to be there again - darn finances.... DD's b-day is the 3rd so that was mostly the reason for our visit last year *and why I want to be there this weekend* crowds we're minimal in the morning *get there early - the 1st few hours will be bliss, the evening was a bit busy *I'd hang out in DCA if I were you - supposedly they're doing either fireworks or a special WOC - you could watch the fireworks *Disneyland's* from the esplanade, or brave it out in the park *DD & I did last year and we survived.... All blockable APs are blocked and I'm a believer that out of towners think "I wouldn't visit DLR on the 4th of July - it'll be too busy"....

9 out of 10... I'd say 3 out of 10 in the early part of the day and maybe an 8 in the evening *fireworks time.

 

[21yankees]

We did it once (2003) and we'd never do it again. The park was extremely busy from mid morning on, it was really hot and I was pregnant at the time. I will say though we were able to go back to the hotel catch a nap, some pool time and still get back into the park for the fireworks (they were spectacular).


steph

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Can't wait we will be there

 

[MaumeeMom]

Thanks! We are staying near Newport Beach and I am worried about driving around in a rental car, on my own, at night, especially if it is busy. I would love to go but I'm still waffling.

Thanks again!

 

[cmwade77]

I would say that the crowd are more of an 11/10. That beings said, as long as yo go in knowing that, it is a TON of fun. We will be there, most likely at Fantasmic! come on by and say hi.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We did it once (2003) and we'd never do it again. The park was extremely busy from mid morning on, it was really hot and I was pregnant at the time. I will say though we were able to go back to the hotel catch a nap, some pool time and still get back into the park for the fireworks (they were spectacular).


steph

But... back in 2003 there wasn't near the number of AP holders as there are now, so the blockouts *did they even have them back then??** weren't the "blessing" they are now.

I would say that the crowd are more of an 11/10. That beings said, as long as yo go in knowing that, it is a TON of fun. We will be there, most likely at Fantasmic! come on by and say hi.

Have you been there on the 4th? Again I was last year, the same APs are blocked this year so I don't imagine it being any different.

OP ~ can you drive up the night before so you don't have to deal with the drive the morning of the 4th? *Here's* how we spent 1 day *mid July* 2009. Not the 4th but comparing that day to our days last year, the 1 day in 2009 might have been a bit more crowded but still nothing bad. Does it have to be the 4th? What about the 3rd or 5th? But the 4th is a Mon. so no MM - you'd have equal footing with anybody else

 

[MaumeeMom]

Yep, I may try to stretch it to 2 days, the 4th & 5th so that we can do both parks. One kid really wants to see the special fireworks so that would have to be the 4th. There's no way to change our accomodations either. I think I may just leave it up to the kids to decide that morning, that way we can get an idea about the weather too.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Disney Dreams]

We are going to be in the area and I may have the opportunity to get to DL on the fourth - just me & two kids (1 elementary kid & 1 middle school kid). It will be our first time there so I'm not familiar with the park.

Is it going to be super busy? I think Touring Plans had it as a 9 out of 10. I swore I would never go to WDW with a crowd prediction that high, is it just as bad at DL as it is at WDW?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Is it going to be busy? Yes. Should you go anyway? If you have no expectations of doing too much and will be content with whatever you can do is great, go. The fireworks show is a good one!

- Dreams

 

[kikiq]

I think the "special" fireworks run for 4 nights starting July 2. As far as crowds, it won't be as crowded as you might think IN the parks. All APs except the Premium level are blocked. It's crowded but doable. The only crowd issue I anticipate will be the locals parking at DTD and coming to see the fireworks in the esplanade on the 4th. Watching it in Disneyland on the 4th would be my choice.

 

[NoMatter]

we were there a few years back and arrived in the park early evening just to see the fireworks and could barely walk. We are very used to crowds being passholders at WDW. To top it off, they had a problem with the fireworks and did not finish them. Afterwards the next few days in the parks were not to bad. The key is to get an early start.
My middle schooler and high schooler want to go to the fireworks at huntington Beach pier. I know it will be crazy there, but we are staying on the beach. Last year we did the NewPort Beach fireworks.
I am sure DL will be the best.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Is it going to be busy? Yes. Should you go anyway? If you have no expectations of doing too much and will be content with whatever you can do is great, go. The fireworks show is a good one!

- Dreams

Why shouldn't she expect to do much? DD & I did so much last year on the 4th ~ the early hours *it was a MM day last year which we were eligible for* we're fantastic we walked on so much, we collected FPs wisely for use later, took a mid day break, went back in the late afternoon, used the FPs we'd collected earlier, watched the fireworks from behind the castle and then did the F! dessert seating for the 2nd show *a nice man held my spot in the F! seat selecting line so DD & I could ride rides *again it was just the 2 of us - we rode Thunder several times, Haunted Mansion and Splash, every once in a while I'd check in with the guy, it worked out well for us I wish we were returning this weekend

 

[MaumeeMom]

we were there a few years back and arrived in the park early evening just to see the fireworks and could barely walk. We are very used to crowds being passholders at WDW. To top it off, they had a problem with the fireworks and did not finish them. Afterwards the next few days in the parks were not to bad. The key is to get an early start.
My middle schooler and high schooler want to go to the fireworks at huntington Beach pier. I know it will be crazy there, but we are staying on the beach. Last year we did the NewPort Beach fireworks.
I am sure DL will be the best.

I thought about Huntington Beach but, I'm from Ohio, our rush hour is ten minutes long and I am worried about driving a rental car in that traffic at night. Do you have any idea how it will be?

Still leaning towards Disneyland but I'm open to options...

Thanks!

 

[MaumeeMom]

Well I chickened out & didn't go on the 4th but we did venture to the Downtown Disney area in the late afternoon to go to Rainforest Cafe and left before it got too busy. We headed to Disneyland on the 5th, got there early & used a touring plan and had a great time. We did 16 attractions by 3pm. The only thing that we missed was the Nemo ride, the line was consistently over an hour long all day so we decided to do other things instead. We had a great day! Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Well I chickened out & didn't go on the 4th but we did venture to the Downtown Disney area in the late afternoon to go to Rainforest Cafe and left before it got too busy. We headed to Disneyland on the 5th, got there early & used a touring plan and had a great time. We did 16 attractions by 3pm. The only thing that we missed was the Nemo ride, the line was consistently over an hour long all day so we decided to do other things instead. We had a great day! Thanks everyone for your help!

Glad to see you made it on the 5th but honestly it was way more busy the 5th then the 2-4th