how long will the cars opening affect the crowd levels?

[cab0ad]

We are going from the 19th to the 26th of june. We can't change the dates since it coincides with a seminar date. With the Cars opening we understand it will be really busy. I don't understand how the AP holders, Cars opening, and everything else will affect the crowds. How busy will the parks be for these dates? Are we talking as busy as the Harry Potter opening in Florida with massive lines and park closures? Or just busier lines? Will the crowds affect both parks or only DCA? My family is perfectly fine skipping Cars land. But will everything else be busy too? What will line wait times be like for popular rides like Pirates, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, Toy Story? I have been to Disneyworld over summer season and Christmas season. anyone have a good comparrison?

 

[blackjackdelta]

We are going from the 19th to the 26th of june. We can't change the dates since it coincides with a seminar date. With the Cars opening we understand it will be really busy. I don't understand how the AP holders, Cars opening, and everything else will affect the crowds. How busy will the parks be for these dates? Are we talking as busy as the Harry Potter opening in Florida with massive lines and park closures? Or just busier lines? Will the crowds affect both parks or only DCA? My family is perfectly fine skipping Cars land. But will everything else be busy too? What will line wait times be like for popular rides like Pirates, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, Toy Story? I have been to Disneyworld over summer season and Christmas season. anyone have a good comparrison?

I am sure it will be very busy, never been to WDW/Universal Orlando so I and many others can only guess. Doubt there will be park closures but never having been to WDW/Universal Orlando I would have no way to compare. Nemo was still very busy a year after it opened. Best of luck.

Jack

 

[GrandBob]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but have you read Al Lutz' latest article?

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al052212a.htm

Apparently, the Disney execs are expecting gridlock on Sunday June 17 and June 24; to the extent that they're requiring the CMs to park at Angel stadium and Honda Center, to free up the cast parking lots for guests.

I hope you're staying within walking distance. If so, leave your car at the hotel and walk in. That said, if you plan for the huge crowds, you'll survive. Get to the parks before opening, and collect FPs as soon as you can. Take a mid-day break by walking back to your hotel, and come back in the evening to use the FPs you collected during the day. Above all, have fun!

-Bob

 

[abbie13_15]

Enjoy your vacation! No matter how busy it is just remember...you're at disneyland.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Get to the parks early *30 min prior to opening* the 1st couple hours each day should be great, collect FPs for use later.

 

[2boysmom1998]

We will be in Anaheim area June 19-26 too. We are planning on going to DL/DCA the 20th and 25th. Our hotel is in Placentia so, will have to park.

I'm nervous about the crowds too! But, I called and made reservations at the Blue Bayou on June 20th and Carthay Circle on the 25th and had no trouble getting in at all. Times were wide open! Apparently, no one is making dinner/lunch reservations.

 

[CalvaryMike]

I have friends, family members and co-workers all planning on going just to see Cars Land. These people won't stay all day long and won't be eating. However, they will be adding to the already busy summer crowds. And June is a great time for weather out here.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but have you read Al Lutz' latest article?

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al052212a.htm

Apparently, the Disney execs are expecting gridlock on Sunday June 17 and June 24; to the extent that they're requiring the CMs to park at Angel stadium and Honda Center, to free up the cast parking lots for guests.

I hope you're staying within walking distance. If so, leave your car at the hotel and walk in. That said, if you plan for the huge crowds, you'll survive. Get to the parks before opening, and collect FPs as soon as you can. Take a mid-day break by walking back to your hotel, and come back in the evening to use the FPs you collected during the day. Above all, have fun!

-Bob

Thanks for the link to a very interesting article!

 

[subtchr]

We will be there June 20-22, and even though I expect huge crowds, I think we have a pretty good strategy to optimize our time.

We picked the days based on my DH's work schedule and some other family stuff before I even learned about Cars Land opening. So I feel very lucky that the crowds, while still large, will be somewhat mitigated by the fact that SoCal APs are blocked those three days.

Grad Nights may be a factor (the last three are June 19, 21, and 22), which is why we are planning to see F! and fireworks on June 20. We plan to see WOC on the 21, when hopefully most of the grads will be heading to DL or riding rides in the evening.

We are also doing the F! dessert package and the WOC dining package (lunch at Carthay Circle), to help ensure we have decent viewing for those shows, as the nighttime shows are important to us.

Especially coming from Eastern time, getting up early and taking advantage of those first few hours to ride non-FP rides and collect FPs will be easy for us. Since we are staying at the GCH, we plan to use MM at DL on that Thursday and EMH at DCA that Friday morning.

After doing more research, I am VERY glad we will not be there Sunday - what a mess!

Good luck, do some planning, and hopefully we'll all have a blast in spite of the crowds!

 

[HydroGuy]

We are going from the 19th to the 26th of june. We can't change the dates since it coincides with a seminar date. With the Cars opening we understand it will be really busy. I don't understand how the AP holders, Cars opening, and everything else will affect the crowds. How busy will the parks be for these dates? Are we talking as busy as the Harry Potter opening in Florida with massive lines and park closures? Or just busier lines? Will the crowds affect both parks or only DCA? My family is perfectly fine skipping Cars land. But will everything else be busy too? What will line wait times be like for popular rides like Pirates, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, Toy Story? I have been to Disneyworld over summer season and Christmas season. anyone have a good comparrison?

Just so you understand, what Disney is doing with DCA is unprecedented. They have refurbed an entire park. And they are doing a "grand re-opening". Nobody knows the answer to your questions and it is all guesswork.

My guess is that with DCA adding 12 acres in Cars Land and the ability to handle thousands more guests, the crowd factor will be more localized to these areas. Folks will be there for CL and BVS and Mad T Party. Will they spill into other places at DCA and DL? Sure. And as soon they do the folks who were in those other places will themselves spill into CL and BVS.

To a large degree this happens every summer. And every year in April and May there a bunch of threads by folks asking how crowded it will be. Last summer it was Star Tours and Little Mermaid. And the ST lines were very long. The rest of DL looked pretty normal to me as far summer crowds. Which means busy but nothing close to intolerable.

Further, DCA will be open 3-4 more hours a day (if you count the Magic Mornings). So more time for people to spread out.

I suspect that with nothing new at DL this summer it will see very typical and manageable crowds. I suspect DCA will see much larger crowds but has a significant addition of acreage as well as park hours which means a huge growth in capacity to handle it. Aside from CL and BVS I doubt it will be that big of an issue. Things like TSMM which have been hard to ride in the past will be easier to ride I suspect. That is a good thing. With FPs now for RSR that means more FPs for everything else. That is a good thing.

If you go for a whole week and want to skip CL I suspect you will have a great time. Just do all the smart things you need to do:

- arrive early each day
- use MMs
- collect FPs
- take afternoon breaks
- eat at offhours when you can
- come back after your breaks refreshed for a long and enjoyable evening

 

[AquaDame]

I have friends, family members and co-workers all planning on going just to see Cars Land. These people won't stay all day long and won't be eating. However, they will be adding to the already busy summer crowds. And June is a great time for weather out here.

How will weather be by the first week of July...? We were going to try and come earlier but it just isn't looking like that will pan out, so July 7-9th is much more likely!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

How will weather be by the first week of July...? We were going to try and come earlier but it just isn't looking like that will pan out, so July 7-9th is much more likely!

When we went for DD's B-day *2009* our park days were 7/3-7/6, it was quite cool in the mornings and evenings, broke down and bought DD a $20 Mickey sweatshirt! The days were pleasant. **I prefer to visit DLR when a light jacket is needed.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I hope crowds die down by next summer as that's when we're hoping to go

 

[2boysmom1998]

- arrive early each day
- use MMs
- collect FPs
- take afternoon breaks
- eat at offhours when you can
- come back after your breaks refreshed for a long and enjoyable evening

What are considered to be off hours for eating? This will be my third trip to DL and my fifth overall to a Disney Park, I've been to WDW twice. To me, it seems that people eat whenever and there really aren't off hours.

 

[DLR29]

What are considered to be off hours for eating? This will be my third trip to DL and my fifth overall to a Disney Park, I've been to WDW twice. To me, it seems that people eat whenever and there really aren't off hours.

I tend to see fewer people in restaurants if you eat lunch before noon and dinner before 6. There's also an awkward time around 3-4 where people don't really eat meals.

 

[ArchOwl]

What are considered to be off hours for eating? This will be my third trip to DL and my fifth overall to a Disney Park, I've been to WDW twice. To me, it seems that people eat whenever and there really aren't off hours.

In my experience, a lot of people seem to eat between 12:30-2pm or so for lunch. So what I normally do is either make sure to have a reservation at a table spot, so I am not waiting around forever, or eat before or after prime time for lunch. Obviously, this works for dinner as well. Prime time for dinner seems to be 5:30-7pm-ish.

So for example, DH and I walked by Storyteller's last visit at about 1:30pm. It was insanely packed! We had ressies at 3:30pm and when we returned, there were only a few other people eating at that time. We had good service and paid lunch prices, but treated it like dinner. And this was between Christmas and New Years, one of the busiest times in the parks!

This goes for counter service as well. I like getting soup at Royal Street Verandah, but I hate waiting in that line and jostling for a spot to sit and eat. They open right at 11:30am, so I make sure I am there and have a place to sit. DH orders right when they open and we relax and have a nice lunch in New Orleans Square. At noon, the line begins to form and by 12:30 on a busy day, that line starts to back up into the POTC line! But by eating an hour earlier, I avoided that mess completely.

Obviously, this doesn't work all the time. I have noticed that on Friday nights, when the APs enter the park after work, there can be long lines for food that extended well into the night. So we eat earlier in the day and avoid counter service on Friday nights.

Also, I can't stress enough that it is so much easier to have a reservation. I can't tell you how many times we called the night before to get breakfast at Carnation Cafe the next morning. We walk right up at our time and are seated, bypassing a long line of standbys. We have even called for a seating the morning of and got a reservation. For the busy spots, it is definitely worth making a reservation to avoid waiting.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Reading this thread reminded me to make a reservation at Carthay Circle. So I called and got 12:30 lunch easily. I wasn't sure if it would fill up 60 days out or not so made them just in case. I'll call back later on for Cafe Orleans. Those will be our only reservations.

As for the park crowds in general, I think I will be watching the reports of those who go before me and devolop a plan of attack based on what they say. I can't wait! I think this will be the first time we will actually go to DCA first thing in the morning instead of DL! DCA has always been the "afternoon park" for us.

 

[HydroGuy]

How will weather be by the first week of July...? We were going to try and come earlier but it just isn't looking like that will pan out, so July 7-9th is much more likely!

See "Detailed Weather Data for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I like getting soup at Royal Street Verandah, but I hate waiting in that line and jostling for a spot to sit and eat. They open right at 11:30am, so I make sure I am there and have a place to sit. DH orders right when they open and we relax and have a nice lunch in New Orleans Square. At noon, the line begins to form and by 12:30 on a busy day, that line starts to back up into the POTC line! But by eating an hour earlier, I avoided that mess completely.

you are soooooooo right and the thing about it is that once they start lining up it stays like that ALL day and as its one of the last places to close at night it can get horrid if you wait to eat like after F! or something