How to avoid the crowd mass exodus after Fireworks & PTN?

[VandVsmama]

Hi everyone,

We went to DL for just a day in early June and luckily on that visit, we saw both Paint the Night and the new fireworks show. On this trip, Paint the Night is not a priority. My kids might want to see fireworks, so we may change our mind on that last minute.

But has anyone avoided both of those shows entirely this summer? Did you stay in the parks during that time frame when the rest of humanity was lined up on the parade route and on Main Street to see the parade and fireworks?

If so, what were the crowds/waits like on the rides that you went on during that time of day? Also, how did you deal with the mass exodus out of the park that occurred after the fireworks were done? If you have younger children, did you leave before the fireworks started or did you wait until afterwards to leave? How did that go?

I'm trying to come up with a bit of a game plan for our trip in October.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I don't care much about parades so I try to hit the more popular rides during those times. The problem is it can be hard to get around the park because they block off so much during them. But if you plan ahead and know your going to have to stay in a certain area then the rides can be much less crowded.

As far as the exodus, we go someplace like Jolly Holiday bakery, get a snack and coffee and just watch people go by. The big rush really doesn't last very long and if you just sit and relax for 20 minutes or so then it's then very easy to get out without being part of the mob.

 

[BostonJP]

If so, what were the crowds/waits like on the rides that you went on during that time of day? Also, how did you deal with the mass exodus out of the park that occurred after the fireworks were done? If you have younger children, did you leave before the fireworks started or did you wait until afterwards to leave? How did that go?

My only firsthand knowledge is based upon Magic Kingdom so I don't know how different it is from Disneyland. However I found that the wait times were still very short during fireworks, even on a day that was insanely crowded just five-six hours earlier.

Also, during fireworks, my family (including two small children) tried to make it down Main Street but the crowds were thick. We were able to get through gift shops and then, once the fireworks ended, it was actually surprisingly easy to get out of the park with everybody else. The wait for transportation was long, however, though I understand that won't be as bad at Disneyland.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Haven't they opened up the new hallway yet in back of the shops on the east side of Main Street for people exit the park?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Haven't they opened up the new hallway yet in back of the shops on the east side of Main Street for people exit the park?

The past few times we've seen that passageway open, it was being used as an entrance to get guests down Main Street.

On Saturdays, we avoid the crowds by watching the Royal Swing Ball at PFF. That area is rather secluded and we don't really notice the dense crowds at all. On other nights, we go to Jolly Holiday or another CS place to take a break and grab a snack.

 

[ZamboniNerd]

Try to hang around Tomorrowland, still jammed in Adventureland due to Fantasmic also emptying out.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Haven't they opened up the new hallway yet in back of the shops on the east side of Main Street for people exit the park?

Part of the problem is that they don't always have these areas open when they need to. On another board someone mentioned it had to do with the number of CMs needed to control it. I say that's ridiculous during peak season.

My husband actually was able to navigate DL during PtN and rode on Matterhorn during the fireworks this week when crowds were really high, so it is possible. According to him, you have to have a good plan and know how to weave through crowds (we were both amusement park employees in college, so it's something of an art to him). He got from Adventureland/Indiana Jones all the way over to Tomorrowland by taking the long route. The only place he had to cross the parade route was down closer to IASM, which wasn't as big of an issue as Main Street. He said though that if he did it again he would have just stayed in Tomorrowland/Matterhorn area and not tried to cross. His best advice was to plan ahead try to stick to one spot as much as possible.

As for the kids, I took them back to the hotel before the parade mess even started. We got stuck during Soundsational and knowing the crowds are worse for PtN, I just didn't want to risk it.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

We took the monorail into the park on Friday night at about 8:45pm, bypassing Main Street altogether. The parade started and we jumped in line for Matterhorn, the line said 40minutes but it was more like 25minutes. Hit thunder mountain , 25 minute wait, just a s the fireworks were finishing up and then headed out towards Main Street. By then Main Street was pretty emptied out and it was an easy walk back towards our car.

So yes, the rides seem to have shorter than posted wait times and if you avoid Main Street and the bottleneck of adventure land/ frontier land it's easy to navigate! We've also used the train to skirt the madness and get dropped right off at the front of the park, works great.

 

[nancy drew]

I'm going to piggyback a question on this thread, if that's OK. I'm checking the app myself and making notes on wait times, but what are some good rides to hit during the fireworks and shows? Assuming we can see the parades/fireworks/shows when we plan on seeing them (early in our trip) we can then take advantage of potentially short lines to ride some of the rides with longer lines. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Haven't they opened up the new hallway yet in back of the shops on the east side of Main Street for people exit the park?

It wasn't open when we were struggling our way down the sidewalks, then when we moved into a shop and looked for something and came back out, we saw people coming out of it.


We got stuck in the madness. Time got away from us and we found ourselves at Matterhorn (trying to figure out where the SR line was, but it was too busy and too crazy to work it out), watched a bit of PTN, then tried to go out through T'land. Oh. My. Gosh.

Families thinking that THEY need to be THERE, all of them together, right now, even though you are in front of them (trying to stick with your family), people stopping in the middle of everywhere just standing there not understanding that there are 1000 people behind them. I ended up going sideways as we exited tomorrowland and had to let go of DH (DS was in front of him) and get separated because of the incredible rudness of two women and their attached children (separate families coming from behind and either side of us, who completely and entirely cut me off).

If you don't want to be a part of all that, get OUT of the park well before even PTN. If you want to be part of it, get a spot early. If you want to ride rides, go back back back and do not go anywhere NEAR the hub. It was wall to wall madness by Buzz, going out of T'land.

When the people in front of us (after we had found each other again) stopped for the 5th time, just smack dab in the middle of everything, just before I decided we were going in front of them (as I said "You can't just stop here, you just can't!" very loudly), I took a look down Main Street and nearly fainted. Packed. Could not be more packed. Not a scene I wanted to see or be in at all.

And then as we were shopping and could hear the fireworks, well, where were the fireworks? Almost no bangs. All music and very few actual fireworks that I could hear. I was GLAD I hadn't tried to see them.

 

[limace]

We exited after fireworks last night from fantasmic area-crazy bot not horrible, and the Main Street passages were open

 

[Eosphotog]

And then as we were shopping and could hear the fireworks, well, where were the fireworks? Almost no bangs. All music and very few actual fireworks that I could hear. I was GLAD I hadn't tried to see them.

That is intentional. Firework noise is suppressed by using compressed air for launching instead of black powder.

 

[VandVsmama]

Thanks for all of your suggestions, everyone! This is really helpful! I think that during Paint the Night, we will go on Fantasyland rides. Then during the fireworks, try to make our way to New Orleans Square to go on Pirates and Haunted Mansion a few times.