Here at the DLR and a few surprises (kinda long)

[oscarkitty1]

I don't want to call them disappointments, because I love this place no matter what! But this is our third day into our DLR trip and here's what we've run into the first two days:

Crowds: It is crazy here for some reason. We were here in October two years ago during the week (and the 50th celebration), and all the rides were walk on. Is the HalloweenTime really that big of a draw? It seems as though Disney wasn't prepared either, as all the Cast Members we talked to were surprised, and the park hours are quite short.

Closures: In the first two days, both Indy and Pirate's Lair have been closed all day. The ride board on Main Street has Indy listed as down for scheduled maintainance, but the DLR Website does not have it listed. Any clue what's goin on with Indy?

This is our third trip here this year, so no biggie for us, but I feel bad for those who planned this week thinking it would be "off-season" and have no lines. Now not only do they have the lines, they don't have the benefit of the fireworks and Fantasmic.

Okay, off to the parks for one more day! When I get back home I'll post more, I have a few new pics I can't wait to post!

Vicki

 

[DangerMouse]

I have clients there this week as well (AZ Fall Break). They have reported to me how busy the parks are and the same thing about Indy being down. They also reported lengthy breakdowns of Splash and Soarin.

At least they found me some pumpkin fudge (after looking in 4 different places!)

I have 2 more families going next week, and I'm telling them to prepare for the crowds. I don't know if we will ever go in October. Because of Fall Breaks, even mid-week is way too crowded.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thats too bad. It is fall break/Columbus week for many schools. Our first trip to DL was in October of 2003 and it was so nice and not crowded! I think its just getting harder and harder to find a non crowded time at DL or WDW. They keep adding these special events to draw people in during the former low seasons and its working like a charm!

Hope Indy and the other stuff gets fixed for good for the rest of your stay. Good luck!

 

[cats mom]

We used to go to DL every Oct. We almost always had beautiful weather and crowds were non-existant.

2005 was our last annual Oct trip. I swear the crowds the week we were there that year were almost as bad as during the week between Christmas and New Years. (guess we must have hit a different week than you did OP) In fact, they did several extensions of park hours that week because they got slammed so hard. A couple of CM's we talked with were not happy about that.

I agree that between fall school breaks and the added seasonal activities and advertising push Oct has become much busier. We have friends from AZ there this week as well and they have also commented on the crowds.

Hopefully you'll still experience a little Disney Magic!

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm wondering if there are any slow times anymore. Every year it seems to be more crowded no matter what dates we try in Oct, Nov or Dec.

 

[cami89]

We were at DL this month from the 6th thru the 9th. I knew with Gay Days and the Columbus holiday it would be busy, but we were completely unprepared for just HOW busy it really was! Sat and Sun (the 6th and 7th) were the worst - it was so hard getting from one land to the next. We made good use of fast passes so thankfully we did get to do a lot despite. Mon and Tues were better and we were able to ride on, and see, everything we wanted to without too terrible of a wait. Unfortunately, Indy was closed every day that we visited - the CM's didn't say it was "scheduled" maintenance, but that it was being repaired and they didn't have a date when it would re-open. Bummer

 

[tinkermell]

Well last year we went Dec. 15-18th. It was wonderful, even over the weekend. But then on Monday the 18th, the people arrived!!!!!!!!!! I was like WOW....what happened??? I thought Monday would be even better yet. Nope!!!

I guess it was the count down all ready, and some schools must have been out.

So this year we are going again over the same time frame. I wonder what we will find????

 

[Casey's Mommie]

What are the typical wait times for this time of year? I'll be there next week and now I'm really scared!

We were there in February and didn't have to wait longer than 20 minutes for anything except for Indiana Jones which was probably a 45 minute wait.

 

[bouncy54]

And then there are people like me who ignorantly plan our vacation to begin over Veteran's Day Weekend.

We went to WDW in 2005 the week before Thanksgiving week and there were no crowds at all until the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Then...the last Saturday we were in Florida, it was like the whole US had decided to visit the parks. We were so glad we were leaving for home that weekend.

So when I was planning this trip...my first priority was to not be at DL during Thanksgiving week. I totally forgot about Veteran's Day Weekend until it was too late, and too expensive, for us to change our plane reservations.

My plan sorta backfired in my face.

Oh well...at least I know what to expect. I just hope that I can see the Remember Fireworks on Saturday so I don't have to fight the crowds again on Sunday.

We're hoping to go to Universal on Sunday instead of DL. We already purchased "front of the line" passes, so even if it's crowded there we should be able to see and do everything we want to. But you know the old saying..."the best laid plans".....

 

[tlovesdis]

I was there on Saturday the 6th and it was crazy busy! We did go on Indy though twice so it wasn't down all day!

We are going next Thursday - Monday and I'm hoping some of the fall break crowds will be gone. The kids in my area go back to school on Monday the 15th!

 

[Albort]

yeah, its been busy...

line for Nemo is probably like 60 mins now...

Was there today... had a very interesting time with Stitch though... Got all hostile with him

 

[heatherleigh]

Oh no! This is terrible news. Maybe I will go ahead and purchase Ridemax after all. I kept figuring the parks would be empty. The last time we went was in Jan/Feb, and it was very empty. In fact, the CMs for Splash Mountain were standing outside the ride trying to get people to go on it. I'm sure the weather had some to do w/ it, but the entire park was like that.

 

[Casey's Mommie]

I think when I was planning this trip I heard that the first 2 weeks of October a lot of kids were on Fall Break. That, and with Columbus Day and Gay days it would explain the recent crowds. Hopefully it won't be as bad next week.

 

[tinkermell]

I think when I was planning this trip I heard that the first 2 weeks of October a lot of kids were on Fall Break. That, and with Columbus Day and Gay days it would explain the recent crowds. Hopefully it won't be as bad next week.

I think you will be fine. Please let us know..........K????

 

[3kidz4dis]

We will be there the week after next....I hope it slows down too! That is why we choose this time of the year.

 

[BecBennett]

If the crowds are larger then they usually are would ridemax still work? Coz doesn't it rely on the information from previous years??

Oh well, I'll be there in early March, so I'll be doing this little panic when that time rolls around.

 

[flyinshirer]

We are going to be there next week as well. As I posted in another thread, one of my fears of planning the trip is long lines! I am not very patient when I have to stand in one spot for too long. We got bored fast. I was really hoping that we were hitting it on a good week.
I guess we'll see when we get there!

 

[LuvDaVillains]

My co-worker was there on Saturday. Yes, with the newish emphasis on Halloween (October is when they switch over to the whole Nightmare Before Christmas theme at the Haunted Mansion - BTW, an old friend did the design work on that and all the candy corn decorations), Gay Days, and kids who are off-track from school, it has been getting more crowded each year.

We usually go sometime in October/November, and early November has always been a bit better, because you are past the folks who want to be the first to experience any changes in decor, but haven't hit the Thanksgiving - New Year rush.

 

[kirasmom]

We're in town from WA for a wedding, thought we'd take DD (4) to DL for the first time Fri. Now this! Are we gonna be stuck in line all day? We were just going to do DL.... should we get a park hopper.... is DCA still always empty?

 

[Mililani Mouser]

we got here monday night, tuesday early entry was halfway to CA. Today's (thursday) early entry was all the way to the CALIFORNIA sign!! indy is broken, splash broke down a few times wednesday, once with my husband and children on it. my husband got in line for nemo wednesday morning at opening time and waited 2 hours!!

rude people up the ying yang!!

i haven't seen it this bad since christmas 1999. we're not going in october again. next time will be a different month.


but then again, i'm in disneyland!!!