How are Disney crowds now? (ongoing....)

[rhpaw]

I have to pack tonight.. I'll remember to bring long sleeve shirts for the kid and I.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Perhaps the reason for the fab fall pin codes is bc of the somewhat low attendance. I have noticed the gas rates dropping slowly, maybe there is hope. When I purchased my park hopper tickets this week I tried to buy Sea world tickets as well (at AAA) but they were out and said they were not able to keep them stocked bc a lot of people are looking for a summer vacation that is close by this year.
I had to purchase them on the sea world website. Which , BTW, if you are someone who visits there often, they have a special on the website for AAA members. You can purchase fun passes which gives you entry for the remainder of 2008 for $61.00 a piece. That is a few dollars more than regular entry. No blackout dates for halloween or Christmas either. Good deal!

 

[IndyBride]

by the way, when you say "hot"... what temperatures are we talking? the forecast is low 80s for the days we're there. that sounds downright cool to me. we're from arizona.

Hi! We were there this past week- july 22-july 24. And the weather was amazing!!! Low to mid 80's at night we needed a jacket because it cools off so much. We are from AZ too btw. Crowds weren't too horrible. I prepared myself for the worst and was suprised. FP all the big rides and enjoyed some things I typically skip over.

 

[tofubeast]

bump...any reports from this past weekend or today?

 

[tofubeast]

How are crowds this week?!

 

[Magical Hotel]

Anybody have any idea on how the crowds will be in late August?

 

[LVdisneyChick]

I would like to hear from anyone who goes this week

 

[joseph821]

Anybody have any idea on how the crowds will be in late August?

Traditionally late August is generally less crowded than most of the summer.
I have been to DL in late August and the crowds have been manageable.
I suspect this year with attendance down, there will even less crowds than there normally would be in late August.
Most out-of state people would have vacationed already.

 

[LovetheGoof]

We just got back from DL. We were there Sunday 7-27, no crowds, everything was walk on, no waits until about noon then it got moderately busy. I think the longest wait for us was Spl. Mtn. about 30 min. and 30 at Monsters Inc. and 40 min. for TSMM. Temperature was cool in the morning and not to bad in the afternoon. I get hot looking at the weather channel showing red zones so for me to say it was not bad means it was nice and cool.
On Monday 7-28 it was overcast most of the morning causing it to be quite cool. It burned off by about 1 p.m. but it was still nice and cool. Crowd wise again not too bad, we used lots of FPs. One of our long waits was at Heimlick's choo choo about 20 min. and the sun wheel about 20 min.
Tuesday 7-29 was warm maybe mid 80's and very crowded. Got to DL about 9:30. We got on Buzz no wait, HISTA, and the Tiki Room. We left after the earthquake and did not come back till 9 p.m. so I can't tell how the crowds were while they checked everything out. But when we did come back at 9 we were only able to get on SM (FP 20 min. wait) and ST (standby 30 min. wait) as everything else had massive lines, over 45 min. on most of the E ticket attractions.
Some friends of ours were there on Wed. 7-30 and reported that it was very busy and hot they could hardly move about and Thur. 7-31 was nice and cool and that it was empty, they could not believe how empty it was.

 

[LVdisneyChick]

**bump***

 

[nutshell]

It really sounds hit or miss with no rhyme or reason to it. Packed one day - empty the next.

My philosophy: If you're well planned then it won't matter if there's crowds or not. Get their early - stock up on FPs - ride less popular fast loaders - go break and eat - come back and use FPs.

Rinse and repeat!

 

[talie95]

We haven't been yet over the summer (we're heading there this weekend, yeah!!) Anyway, in my experience (we have had So Cal AP's and go a lot on Sundays) sundays seem to be a really slow day especially if you get there at park opening. We can usually get a lot done during those first 2-3 hours and then just relax the rest of the day, use our FP's and we aren't really bothered by the larger crowds as the day progresses. I think as long as you get there early and use FP's you can still get a lot done and have a good time even if there are crazy crowds! We will be using EE a.k.a. MM this Saturday which we have never done before so I'm hoping that'll help us get a head start on the crowds as well.

 

[MySong]

It really sounds hit or miss with no rhyme or reason to it. Packed one day - empty the next.

My philosophy: If you're well planned then it won't matter if there's crowds or not. Get their early - stock up on FPs - ride less popular fast loaders - go break and eat - come back and use FPs.

Rinse and repeat!

Can you stock up on fast passes these days? The last time I was at Disneyland, about two years ago, you could only get one at a time. Is it different these days????

 

[Chess]

Just bumping up. We will be there this Sunday and just wondering what crowds are like this week.

 

[nutshell]

Can you stock up on fast passes these days? The last time I was at Disneyland, about two years ago, you could only get one at a time. Is it different these days????

You can only get one at a time, but the earlier you start the more you can collect. Eventually the machines will make you wait two hours before collecting your next FP, but if you start first thing in the morning you can grab 1 or 2 before the 2-hour rule kicks in (the FP will tell you when you can get another FP). So, by the time you're ready to take your afternoon break to get away from the crowds and heat, you should have at least 4-5 FPs in hand.

I just looked at my RideMax schedule and I can get 6 FPs before 1:00pm.

 

[turtle51]

I went to California Adventure today. It was a 45 minute wait for Toy store mania. All the rest of the rides we had fastpasses for but it was about a 45 minute wait for Soaring and 60 minute wait for Grizzley river bear run.

it was a much larger crowd than I expected but still a great day.

 

[avalon451]

Can you stock up on fast passes these days? The last time I was at Disneyland, about two years ago, you could only get one at a time. Is it different these days????

MySong-- little known fact: you don't have to use the FP within the return time window. It will be accepted till the end of the day. So a lot of people around here just pick them up in the morning (stockpiling) as soon as the next one becomes available-- stick them in their pockets-- take a break-- then come back and use them all one after another in the afternoon or evening. For more tips on how to do this, see Hydroguy's Tips Compilation, a sticky thread at the top of this forum-- specifically the FastPass section: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483

 

[disney_love<3]

Went to both parks today and it was crowded. There were long lines for most big popular rides.

 

[phantomdilbert]

We start tomorrow morning w/ a 4 day hopper. Crowds in downtown disney were already heavy this evening, so guessing it's gonna be crowded.

 

[GlennB]

What would be great is if people can take a pic of the wait time board and post it on here.