Have you ever been to DL when it was miserably crowded?

[Disneyland1084]

I did six years ago right when Christmas vacation started. It was a week before Christmas day that I arrived with my mom. I read somewhere online that was a "good" time of year to go. What a joke! We were in both parks for two days and there were NO short lines anywhere. We even had to wait a long time for Pirates of the Carribean. I was just there last week and never waited more than 5 minutes to get on. During the time over Christmas, it sure seemed like EVERYONE was sick. So many people were coughing. I highly HIGHLY doubt I'll ever go there again on any major holiday.

 

[sbell111]

We've been to WDW, DL, and DLP on super busy days. It was big fun, but you have to have your head screwed on right or you will get frustrated.

 

[jlima]

Yes.

NEVER go to DL on Christmas Day. EVER.

And NYE. STAY AWAY!!

If you do go, bring lots of patience and low expectations.

 

[luv2sew]

we were in Epcot for NYE two years ago.....it was a nightmare if you wanted to see or eat anything....got there in the morning and it wasn't too bad at that time but when we went to get lunch at counter Service it took us more than an hour just to order it. Couldn't leave the park because we weren't sure we'd get back in for the fireworks.....our feet hurt so bad from all the standing and walking....but it was my first time seeing the parks at Christmas and the first time for the NYE celebrating....loved it and would definately do it again..It was soo neat to be in the countries when it hit midnight in their home country and the cheering broke out....I would definately do it again but we went knowing it was going to be a day of walking and waiting...it was a family treat to me, it was something I wanted to do.

 

[bitohoney]

YES! Christmas! OMG it was crowded! Parks filled to capacity everyday during Christmas break.
And I was one of those who got sick.

 

[momof1princess]

yes, we were at wdw the second week of june, 2009, and not only was it miserably crowded, but orlando was in the midst of a heatwave (several degrees hotter and more humid than usual for that time of year, according to the local news), so it was doubly miserable. DH said NEVER, EVER, would he go to wdw in june again. we got used to going in september with low crowds, then DD started middle school, so that's no longer an option. not sure when we'll get to go back.

 

[rodeo65]

yes, we were at wdw the second week of june, 2009, and not only was it miserably crowded, but orlando was in the midst of a heatwave (several degrees hotter and more humid than usual for that time of year, according to the local news), so it was doubly miserable. DH said NEVER, EVER, would he go to wdw in june again. we got used to going in september with low crowds, then DD started middle school, so that's no longer an option. not sure when we'll get to go back.

We were there the week after you and it was awful. We thought maybe the CMs were fibbing about the record heat so we wouldn't say never again. That said - NEVER AGAIN!! (in June) This year we're going in January to avoid heat and crowds. It's the last year we'll consider taking the kids out of school before DS hits middle school. After this I think we'll have to look at the kids and I only going during March break. DH is adamant he will not go again when it's hot and crowded and I think March will qualify for both.

 

[AustinTink]

I've been to DL and WDW when it was miserably crowded. But, if your asking specifically about DL, then that was this summer for us. OMG! It was miserably crowded. Lines for everything... including Jungle Cruise. And, it was H-O-T. I'm not ashamed to admit I had a little meltdown mid-day. It was easily treated with a mickey bar, though.

 

[jlmarr]

... It was easily treated with a mickey bar, though.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[tvguy]

We went to DL on December 26, 27 and 28 in 2000. 2 weeks before CA opened. This was a scouting trip for a family reunion at DL the following July. OMG it was packed.
We had never seen the Christmas decorations at DL before, and the snow storm on Main Street. It was 85 degrees in Anaheim that day. We arrived from the airport, walked to the park about 1 pm, and they had stopped selling tickets because they were sold out. We had a package deal, so we had tickets already. Supposedly there were 70,000 people in the park.
However, the Christmas decorations kind of off set the wait and the heat.
Also, our kids didn't know we were going until Christmas day when they opened the package on Christmas Day, and they said "So? we know we're going this summer....." and we said "no, look at the dates on the airline tickets you're TOMORROW"!

 

[superme80]

Christmas week. UGH!!! Never again! Plus my sister was being a pain in the rear end so that did not help!

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

I’ve been to Dl many times when it was super crowded. The worst though, was when I was about 4. The place was so crowded, I couldn’t take a few steps without bumping into someone. (And of course I was at that perfect height where I bumped into people’s rear ends.) The shortest wait for any ride was over an hour. I remember I just wanted to leave because it was too crowded and we couldn’t do anything. Things did get better eventually though because it started to rain. At first, it made things worse because now we were standing in line, squeezed in like sardines, and soaking wet. But, when we got off the ride (people mover) the crowd had disappeared.

Another bad time was a few years ago at the end of August. We were celebrating my parents’ b-days by going to Disneyland on the last Sunday in August. Apparently, that was the unofficial bat day. It was crowded! Again, the wait times were ridiculous. Thankfully, we had annual passes so we didn’t feel bad about not doing much.

I have others, but I can’t imagine going on Christmas, yikes!

 

[SandrA9810]

I love being at the WDW parks for the major holidays. July 4th, New Year's Eve, Christmas Day, and at the Fort for halloween night. Easter, not so much, cause there's nothing special.

But you have to have very low expectations of what you plan on doing. It's a bench ride day. Plan to get in line early for food, so you can eat when you're hungry. And find a good spot early on for the Fireworks. And don't expect to leave the parking lot in less than 2hrs. I have to say Studios was the worst parking nightmare, and the fireworks were ruined by the high humidity and low winds. Which just kept the smoke hanging low in the air, to the point you couldn't see the new ones going off.

I have my routines, and know when to do things. And unlike some people, I don't just sit on the sidewalks of Main Street at 10am till midnight.

I couldn't imagine what DL looks like during a major holiday, there's significantly less room for people to enjoy what's going on.