Having to wait in the OUTSIDE queue for Monsters? Never experienced THAT before. :)

[bumbershoot]

(I changed the wording of the title, b/c the intent wasn't coming through and/or I wasn't explaining it at all)


I took son, brother, and sis in law to DCA yesterday, and it was a bit more crowded than I'm used to!

However, we still had a nice day. I didn't go to DL at all. But...with DL opening for MM at 7 and to everyone at 8...when we pulled off the highway just after 9, we were already being directed to Garden Walk parking*. D'oh!

My sib was scared by that...already felt that it was a bad idea to go on a weekend (but there was no choice if they wanted to go)...but they both admitted that with expert (they then pointed to my 5 year old, LOL) help, we had a good day.

Still, a 10 minute wait on Monsters? Unheard of for the usual times we go!


Alas, my brother aggravated an injury (while on the Ladybug Boogie of all things) and after several hours of dealing with pain, he had to call it quits, and we left an hour before the Electrical Light Parade, sniffle sniffle.


But if anyone has any questions about DCA, I'm here for ya.



*note to all...given our bad luck for parking spaces in Mickey/Friends lot, the walk from GW was MUCH shorter than the trip from parking space to tram, tram to esplanade...brother has now announced we'll just park at GW from now on! It was a VERY easy walk.

 

[Sherry E]

Gee, the boards must be on fire today! I am having so much trouble getting on!

You're right - I don't think I have ever had a wait on Monsters - even in December, on the weekend before Christmas!!! We always just sail right on it. The line is so fast or non-existent, usually, that I have never even looked at the outside portion of the queue to see if there are any cute details in there.

The reports of crowds these last few weeks have been crazy. I wonder what our parking experience will be like on a Tuesday in July (the 21st)? We have never even parked in Mickey and Friends because we always stay at a hotel and use that parking, but M&F is where we have to go because that is free with the AP. The GW parking is not free, correct? I wonder how early in the morning we should leave to get down to Anaheim and get into M&F before the masses hit. What do you think, Molly?

 

[bumbershoot]

The parking there was the same cost, for those of us going to Disney, as the normal lots, 12 bucks I believe. On the way out, you showed the special Disney pass that they gave you as you drove in, and then waved through...the guy in front of us must have just been a mall shopper, and he had to pay money.

I can't help but wonder, if we'd come in a different way rather than just following the signs, if we could have gotten into a proper parking lot. But we just don't know our ways around, especially by car, well enough to get ourselves positioned right near the Mickey lot.

I would dfinitely try to find out when the lot will open on the day you go and get there half an hour or so early...I've heard of cars being lined up outside the structure...I don't know how long such a line is allowed to get, but at least you'd be closeby.



And other than the couple posters in the queue, there's nothing else that's fun.


On the other hand, the FP machines for Grizzly were up and running, and we used them successfully (last ride).

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I take it GW means Garden Walk. (I was sitting here thinking of all the hotels, lol)

If Garden Walk is encouraging people who visit Disneyland to park there - what a good marketing scheme.

How long does it take to walk there from Disneyland?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Snap, so you mean when we went and walked right on, we didn't totally SCORE?

I felt so special too. LOL

 

[disneydreamer74]

Thanks for the update Molly! One can only guess at the crowd levels at DLP if DCA was that crowded. Wow, I guess the new summer promotions are really drawing the crowds. I expected them to thin out a little. Yikes! Crossing fingers for July 12th trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, it didn't seem to be them encouraging it...there were cop cars out, big blinky signs to turn THERE for parking...it seemed to be coming from disney.



For the walk, you follow the signs to the walkway to Disney, which takes you out of the Valet parking turnaround area. Walk out to the sidewalk, go right, and you come out the non-Katella side of the parking garage, which actually comes out on Disney Way!!! Walk up a long block, cross over, and go along Harbor to the entry area.

You can even take a little blip in the Harbor sidewalk, which walks you closer to Disney than on the main, street-right-there, sidewalk, and that puts you out further into the walk to bag check than if you'd walked right along the street and encountered all those crossing Harbor at Captain Kidd's.

Brother said it took us all of 5 minutes...the CM directing walkers at Garden Walk (sorry about that confusion...I seem to have buried the first mention of Garden Walk before I started abbreviating it) said it would take 7.




I was just looking at a map...it seems we took the Disney Way exit off the freeway...I definitely remember looking right at Motel 6 as we left the same way... So if we'd come in a different way, we might have gotten normal parking. But it worked out very well!

 

[bumbershoot]

Snap, so you mean when we went and walked right on, we didn't totally SCORE?

I felt so special too. LOL

Sorry... I've just made you feel how I made my brother/SIL feel, when I told them that lines are generally not very long in bug's land, and the 10 minute wait for the Ladybug Boogie was actually quite long, relatively, LOL> They were feeling special too, with "only" a 15 minute wait for Flik's Flyers (we ended up passing on that, DS and I are so spoiled!!!!) and 5 minutes for Heimlich, etc etc.

Thanks for the update Molly! One can only guess at the crowd levels at DLP if DCA was that crowded. Wow, I guess the new summer promotions are really drawing the crowds. I expected them to thin out a little. Yikes! Crossing fingers for July 12th trip!

Well, that was the last weekend for the higher level of So Cal AP holders. After Friday they'll be blocked, too. So it could just be those AP holders with their last hurrahs.


But I don't think we saw anything with an hour wait...though by the time we got to TSMM it was a stated 45 minute wait. We got there not long after 10...nothing else (but Soarin') was open yet, but yep, stated at 45 minutes. It wasn't 45 minutes, though, which is the first time the stated time was "off" for me, it was shorter, and even my skeptical brother was really jazzed by the ride, they loved it! Yay!

FP worked very well, I didn't come home with any, because they were all used by us! That never happens with us, so it was more busy than we're used to.


OK I gotta go get coffee b/c I'm starting to get loopy. Will be back to answer other questions, and to work on my trip report, later! Starbucks is calling (I'm out of half/half to make coffee at (brother/SIL's) home).

 

[cheshiregirl]

Molly, I'm sure it was crowded this past weekend, but did you happen to hit Monsters Inc. right after a Playhouse Disney Live On Stage show got out? We spend a considerable amount of time at DCA during every DLR trip and I have noticed that Monsters has a surge in popularity a few minutes after every PDLOS show ends, as many parents make a beeline from the show over to the Monsters ride. Thus, we have learned to time it for a walk on rather than waiting in line.

The thing that threw me off was the first time we actually had to wait in line for Heimlich... seriously I was totally flabergasted that we would have to wait more than 1 cycle for a 45 second ride!

 

[pixiewings71]

The first time we rode Monsters Inc it was brand new......you know the whole qeue outside that's always empty? Well we waited in THAT!!! And then we hardly liked the ride at all. It's still not one we try to ride every time and we will ONLY do it if it's 5 or less. But we see waits of 10-20 min. pretty regularly. So Molly, we have PAPs, I wonder if parking would be free there for us....hmmmmmmm Glad you guys had fun, sorry about BIL's injury!

 

[Sherry E]

The first time we rode Monsters Inc it was brand new......you know the whole qeue outside that's always empty? Well we waited in THAT!!! And then we hardly liked the ride at all. It's still not one we try to ride every time and we will ONLY do it if it's 5 or less. But we see waits of 10-20 min. pretty regularly. So Molly, we have PAPs, I wonder if parking would be free there for us....hmmmmmmm Glad you guys had fun, sorry about BIL's injury!

Yes, that was exactly what I was mulling over, Kerri. We are so used to just parking at the hotels and not dealing with the M&F lot at all, but I knew that with my PAP, we would have to go to M&F to get the free parking. If we have to pay to park at GW, then we may as well skip that and just park at one of the hotels and pay there, since we are used to those parking set-ups. I can see we will have to leave at the crack of dawn on my birthday to get to the M&F lot before it fills up.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Sorry... I've just made you feel how I made my brother/SIL feel, when I told them that lines are generally not very long in bug's land, and the 10 minute wait for the Ladybug Boogie was actually quite long, relatively, LOL> They were feeling special too, with "only" a 15 minute wait for Flik's Flyers (we ended up passing on that, DS and I are so spoiled!!!!) and 5 minutes for Heimlich, etc etc.

HAHAHAH Dangit! I thought we were like..awesome at timing ROFL

 

[Sherry E]

HAHAHAH Dangit! I thought we were like..awesome at timing ROFL

You were awesome at timing in getting a night in the Dream Suite and all the perks that came with it....just not in terms of the Monsters Inc. ride!!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

You were awesome at timing in getting a night in the Dream Suite and all the perks that came with it....just not in terms of the Monsters Inc. ride!!

True, we weren't even gonna RIDE Peter Pan and decided to at the last second..if we hadn't..DUN DUN DUUUHHHNN. I guess I'll take not being special enough to have walked right on Monsters Inc LOL

 

[bumbershoot]

Molly, I'm sure it was crowded this past weekend, but did you happen to hit Monsters Inc. right after a Playhouse Disney Live On Stage show got out?

The thing that threw me off was the first time we actually had to wait in line for Heimlich... seriously I was totally flabergasted that we would have to wait more than 1 cycle for a 45 second ride!

When we went on, the show was in progress. I remember b/c my brother and SIL were, um, kinda making fun of it. They are NOT "musicals" type of people. HOwever, when we were done with the ride, I bet you the show had gotten out, b/c the line was...out of the entrance. Now I'm not saying that all of the switchbacks were filled, it's just that the parts they had open were filled up.

The first time we rode Monsters Inc it was brand new......you know the whole qeue outside that's always empty? Well we waited in THAT!!! And then we hardly liked the ride at all. It's still not one we try to ride every time and we will ONLY do it if it's 5 or less. But we see waits of 10-20 min. pretty regularly. So Molly, we have PAPs, I wonder if parking would be free there for us....hmmmmmmm Glad you guys had fun, sorry about BIL's injury!

Oh I can't even imagine! Though the Monsters ride at Tokyo Disneyland just opened, and I hear the lines are incredible. Even the line to GET to the line is incredible. We love the ride (well, me, hubby, and Eamon) and it was still worth it, but it was surprising for us, LOL.

I feel really bad about my brother's injury as well. I know he hasn't been able to run (he's normally a marathoner, he hadn't skipped a morning of running for years and years) since the Fall, it's some sort of pulled muscle somewhere, so it's mainly a matter of waiting it out and trying to not injure it again. Sigh.

Yes, that was exactly what I was mulling over, Kerri. We are so used to just parking at the hotels and not dealing with the M&F lot at all, but I knew that with my PAP, we would have to go to M&F to get the free parking. If we have to pay to park at GW, then we may as well skip that and just park at one of the hotels and pay there, since we are used to those parking set-ups. I can see we will have to leave at the crack of dawn on my birthday to get to the M&F lot before it fills up.

You know me, I'm not normally one to advocate calling to get an answer (since the message boards usually know the right answer), but this might be a case where calling the AP people could help. Or maybe the people on micechat would know (or even mouseplanet), since there are many locals on those boards (where as the Dis seems more for the further away tourist, even though there are tons of locals here, too) who might have encountered the issue, and probably recently.

HAHAHAH Dangit! I thought we were like..awesome at timing ROFL

Well hey, you have one HUGE memory of being awesome at timing, don't you??? Harumph, stayed in the suite, lucky duck.

 

[bumbershoot]

Ha, Sherry beat me to it.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

 

[pixiewings71]

Yes, that was exactly what I was mulling over, Kerri. We are so used to just parking at the hotels and not dealing with the M&F lot at all, but I knew that with my PAP, we would have to go to M&F to get the free parking. If we have to pay to park at GW, then we may as well skip that and just park at one of the hotels and pay there, since we are used to those parking set-ups. I can see we will have to leave at the crack of dawn on my birthday to get to the M&F lot before it fills up.

Actually Sherry we've parking in the Timon lot & the Simba lot with our free parking with no problems. We do like to try M&F first but if the Timon lot is open we always try that first. I'm guessing that if the structure was full and they did direct us to the GW that we would still get free parking but I don't know........

 

[Canyon girl]

Molly, I'm with you as far as expecting a walk-on for Monsters, Inc, so you can imagine my surprise in early Feb. when on the day that we arrived, the wait for Monsters was 30 min. in the sun. So not fun!!!! I hope you have fun and that the lines will be more normal for you. Off to B&N to get my copy of Mousejunkies that I had ordered! Have fun!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

30 minutes! wow.