Home and exhausted...crowd report

[stubby]

We were there from Sunday thru yesterday(Saturday). The crowds sucked all week however Monday and Tuesday were not too bad. Thursday was horrible. Could not move for the people. Friday was the best day. Yesterday was not as horrible til later in the day.
We had a great time. Did almost everything we wanted. Did Star Tours 7 times.
Got to see WOC (great spot or so we thought) and Fantasmic and fireworks.
Will be doing a trip report on my thread later...but wanted to post a quick few words.

If you have to decide between a fall break trip and a summer trip(July)...pick fall.

6 days was great but our feet were killing us. I suggest if you do 6 days take a break half way thru. Gonna take me a few days to recoup(which I don't have since I go back to work tonight.)

Well, off to beddie bye for me. Have to get a couple hrs sleep before work.

 

[handyl03]

We were there Monday - Friday, I agree the crowds were insane! We've been several times in the summer and this year was definetly the worst. Thankfully it wasn't 100 degrees! Our feet were aching everyday too - I've never had that happen before - must have been the constant standing in lines.

This year we seemed to encounter some of the rudest people ever, I imagine it was due to the heavy crowds and people becoming crazy as they tried to squeeze in everything they "had to do" during their Disney vacation. My kids were stepped on, run over countless times by strollers and electric vehicles, pushed, cut in front of and even yelled at - a grown woman yelled at my son for asking a cast member if our family could ride in the front of the monorail - apparently she had already asked - our mind reading skills just weren't working well that day I guess. We stopped going into the parks and spent more time at the pool. The pools at the Grand Californian were packed every day too, it was difficult to get a seat most of the time. This is the first time I was ready to leave at the end of our vacation - I usually try to linger as long as possible on our last day - we were packed and checked out by 9:30am!

Despite all of the crazy people we still managed to have some fun and try a few things we've never done before -rode on the fire engine down main street, the kids got to ring the bell to move people out of they way - saw World of Color - very cool, rode on the Lilly Belle and got our souvenir tickets on my husbands birthday -they tell you a lot of history about the park during the ride - amazing, probably the highlight of our trip!

I don't think we'll come back for a summer trip after the insanity that we experienced this year. Thursday night I told my husband that I was never coming back - it was that bad! We've done trips in February, and October/November - so much better, lighter crowds and cooler weather. I agree that if you're planning a trip and you can come in the fall you'll be so much happier!! We took our first trip to Disney World in the fall because a friend who has DVC told us that if we went in the summer we'd never want to go back - i'm sure it's true! We're going back for a second fall vacation to Disney World the end of October this year!

 

[abouley]

I have to agree with you both! We were in the Parks Sunday the 24th through Fri the 29th. Sunday didn't seem to bad to me at least in the morning and we got a ton done those first 2 hours. The rest of the mornings seemed insane until Friday morning which also seemed pretty light the first few hours! We closed the park down 2 nights and even then, the lines hadn't lightened up too much. Pretty much there were lines for the restroom, lines at the sink to wash your hands, lines to get FP's, and REALLY long lines for all the rides even those that normally have no more than 5-10 minute waits were 30+ minutes.

I could not believe the rude people either. My son (7) also got yelled at when he ran the stroller into a lady's legs - never mind the fact that she cut us off and then stopped in front of us! I also wish people would be more aware of separating families but they are oblivious.

We did spend a lot of time seeing shows, riding the boats on rivers of america, etc that didnt' require long waits. We also really worked to maximize FP's....I got the impression that a lot of the people didn't understand how and why to use them...

We had fun but I don't think I will be in a huge hurry to return in the summer again. We'll stick to the off season - though that seems to be harder and harder to find as well (maybe I'll stick to rainy days)!

 

[TeddiBarra]

This is the first time I was ready to leave at the end of our vacation - I usually try to linger as long as possible on our last day - we were packed and checked out by 9:30am!

That's exactly how I felt. We only had two rides breakdowns (monorail and HM), and I'm really glad we were there the week that all the big rides seemed to go down mulitple times. I noticed too many CM's not paying attention or just not doing much of anything. I feel the same way too, not interested in doing long trips midsummer.

There's also something about SUMMER crowds that I've always percieved as different, and I'm not exactly sure why. People are more oblivious, ruder, and more aggressive. Maybe it's a combo of this is the time of year when alot of teens run around w/no parents, the heat makes folks grumpy (couple with long waits), too much foot traffic makes for cramped walkways, and also when alot of INFREQUENT visitors are there (perhaps the folks who comes every 5 years). PPl complain about "AP crowds" uh uh, give me a park FULL of APers, over a park full of "never beens", and I ONLY say that because APers have a better sense of parkiquette and know to not stop in the dead middle of a crowded walkway, take pics of dark rides, cut in line, and get rude and angry easily. The infrequenters IMO, just MO, are the ones with a greedier more gang buster mentality.

 

[Scaramedic]

I once went on Labor Day weekend. To say it was crowded was putting in mildly. That was the year that Indy opened I think (96?) and the line for it stretched out beyond the Adventureland gate in a seemingly endless see-saw queue. Parents were actually doing shifts waiting in line. Mom would wait, dad would go do something else with the kids, mom would trade and dad would stand, etc.

I will never do a holiday again. Yet it was still a magical and fun experience. We had a blast even though we only got a few rides in. I will never understand people who get angry and yell at anyone else. My God, your in DISNEYLAND not Walmart. If you are wound so tight that you have to unleash your rage at a child I suggest psychiatric counseling and a heavy dose of anti-psychotics.

I have to commend you all that had someone yell at your child and did not completely lose it on them. I deal with sociopaths all the time and I don't think I would be very friendly dealing with one screaming at my (future) kids at a theme park.

I am glad you had fun. I am so happy our anniversary falls on the slowest week of the year for Disney. I'll take a few missed rides for shorter lines and less jerks any day.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

Wow, I'm sorry it was so crowded for you! Sounds like parts of it were a nightmare. I'm very glad you got to do most of the things you wanted to do.

The people who randomly stop in the middle of the street to check their maps or text someone or pick their noses or whatever drive me CRAZY! And then they curse at ME if I accidentally run into them because they have walked right in front of me and then stopped. I mean, think of navigating the crowds like driving a car and PULL OVER if you want to stop and do something!!

 

[katiesmom2]

I also wish people would be more aware of separating families but they are oblivious.

When we were there 3 weeks ago, we met the RUDEST woman with her daughter (maybe 12). We were there with my parents, hubby, our kids (8 and 6) and myself.

We walked from Aladdin to Monsters Inc. Hubby, my dad and my son were walking in the front and this woman and her daughter pushed between us. When we arrived in line, my mother said "Excuse me, we're with those people in front of you". The mother turned to us and said "So...we were here before you". She refused to let us join the rest of our party in front of her. I made a comment to my mom "well that's awfully rude" and the woman said "My daughter is excited to get on this ride" to which I replied "my children are excited too and they aren't pushing in front of other people to get on". She turned her back and within a few seconds, they suddenly realized they were in the wrong line and walked away. My mom was really irritated. Mostly because she can't believe the way people act rudely in front of their children, making their children think that they are entitled in some way.

 

[DahliaRW]

Taking a break in the middle of the trip is REALLY helpful. On our last trip we had 6 day hoppers, but were there for 7 days. We flew in Wednesday, went to the parks Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, took Sunday off, then went back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and flew home that night. While it was hard to NOT be in DL on Sunday, it was really nice to sleep in, have time to lounge around, swim, avoid crowds, etc. And we purposely paid for a view room at DLH (and were lucky enough that my in-laws got DTD view and not pool view) so we watched the fireworks from the room on our off day and then went to bed relatively early. Our previous trip we did 5 days straight in the parks and were exhausted by the end. This time we weren't as tired and felt like we could have stayed longer!

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

When we were there 3 weeks ago, we met the RUDEST woman with her daughter (maybe 12). We were there with my parents, hubby, our kids (8 and 6) and myself.

We walked from Aladdin to Monsters Inc. Hubby, my dad and my son were walking in the front and this woman and her daughter pushed between us. When we arrived in line, my mother said "Excuse me, we're with those people in front of you". The mother turned to us and said "So...we were here before you". She refused to let us join the rest of our party in front of her. I made a comment to my mom "well that's awfully rude" and the woman said "My daughter is excited to get on this ride" to which I replied "my children are excited too and they aren't pushing in front of other people to get on". She turned her back and within a few seconds, they suddenly realized they were in the wrong line and walked away. My mom was really irritated. Mostly because she can't believe the way people act rudely in front of their children, making their children think that they are entitled in some way.

I totally hate this. Like yeah Lady, waiting for ONE more ride vehicle so our family can be together is going to throw off your schedule for the whole day or something.

 

[Flyin2MCO]

This thread is full of what I call "quality problems".

 

[stubby]

Glad to see others felt the way we did. I was so ready to go home at the end. That is just not me. I love Disney and could normally stay forever.
All in all we still had a great time. It was just not as great as it could have been. We are planning another trip but not til Oct. 2012. Decided to do two trips home(to St Louis) in the next 11 months so Disney has been put on hold. We had such a great time last October that we are going to try it again.

 

[scion5220]

To be fair, it is not always easy to tell what is or is not a family group if they don't stay close together.

I have had the opposite issue where I am just walking up to a ride and some person who was walking in front of me tells me that the group leisurely walking up behind me is their family and will now be moving up to get in line with them. Uh...how bout you stay together or just move on back there with the slow walkers.

 

[katiemac1875]

We just got back also. We were in the parks last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This was our first trip and I noticed a lot rude people too. I am glad that it is just a summer thing and not a California/Disneyland thing. We were waiting for Goofy to come back out from a break into Town Square. When he showed up we rushed to him right as a family/mob hit the area. They pushed me and my 3 year old out of the way and another lady and her son. The other lady actually got into a screaming/cussing match with them and the CM's showed up and ushered Goofy away. That was the last time we tried to see a character. The next morning I took my son for a character breakfast at the Plaza (Minnie's Breakfast) and we avoided all characters in the park after that. It was scary for my little guy. I just couldn't believe how these people were acting. I told my DH that it was probably the crowds and temperatures. I am glad that I read the same here. We LOVED DLR and can't wait to go back. We will make a point to return during a less crowded time!

 

[bethy]

We've been to Disneyland many times - about once or twice per year even though we are from out of state. We just did our first ever "high season" visit July 10 - 14. I was actually surprised in that I didn't think the crowds were all that bad at all. As a reference, the iphone APPS said the crowd levels were about 8.5 out of 10. For us, we were still able to move which was key.

The dynamics of the crowd was definitely way different than we've ever experienced before. As an out of town tourist myself I will say that I prefer the locals over the tourists. The vibe is just more laid back and friendlier with the local AP'ers. I think it's because the stakes aren't as high for them since they're not there on a once in a lifetime trip, etc. Plus Southern Californians are just laid back in general.

All in all, I think I would visit in summer again since I know what I'm doing in the parks. I loved the long hours and the increased ride capacity and the full entertaiment schedule. My favorite part was that my kids didn't have to miss school to visit and I personally love the hot weather b/c we don't often have it where we live. Just give me pool breaks with margaritas and I'm good to go.