I feel bad for the non-Diser families today ;)

[DisneytheKid]

That would be rough!

You know that somewhere at the DLR right now there is a family lining up at the gates and thinking "wow, it's crowded, I wonder if there is some sort of special event today?" And then the wife will send Dad up to ask someone what is going on...

I was just talking to a lady last week that said she was thinking of going to Disneyland this weekend after visiting family in the area and I said "Oh wow right after Carsland opens, that will be an experience" and she said "right after what opens?" . After I explained it she changed her mind!

 

[ACDSNY]

You know that somewhere at the DLR right now there is a family lining up at the gates and thinking "wow, it's crowded, I wonder if there is some sort of special event today?" And then the wife will send Dad up to ask someone what is going on...

I was just talking to a lady last week that said she was thinking of going to Disneyland this weekend after visiting family in the area and I said "Oh wow right after Carsland opens, that will be an experience" and she said "right after what opens?" . After I explained it she changed her mind!

I have someone at work that's doing the same thing, I asked him if he was crazy, he's like oh it won't be that bad.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

There were notes left in the rooms at the Grand Californian AND a follow-up phone call message letting people know that only the main entrance would be open first thing this morning.

Yet, I was standing near the GCH DCA entrance this morning and in maybe 15 minutes there were 5 or 6 families trying to get in....at 7am...when the park opened at 9.

 

[Shawn]

i have no conception of how ANYONE couldnt have known about CL...now what it was about or when it was opening??? ok...but not to know about it at all????? they had to be under a rock because its been all over radio stations, tv advertisements, posters, etc....

Hey DisneyGirl ... I'm in Oregon, and none of my friends have heard anything about CL. They aren't Disneyphiles, so their filters are on. I have a friend and his wife who are going to Disneyland for the first time with their 4th grader in a month, so I've given him he heads up and will continue to do so.

I do dread this trip for him. Nobody's first trip to DL should be in July!. We swore off any summer trips to DL back in the 80's. I've been advising him that his primary hope is to be there for rope drop each morning, and he's listened, but they aren't morning people per se, so we'll see. Perhaps he'll have luck staying late and hitting the attractions during the fireworks and such.

-Shawn

 

[elaine amj]

Hey DisneyGirl ... I'm in Oregon, and none of my friends have heard anything about CL. They aren't Disneyphiles, so their filters are on. I have a friend and his wife who are going to Disneyland for the first time with their 4th grader in a month, so I've given him he heads up and will continue to do so.

I do dread this trip for him. Nobody's first trip to DL should be in July!. We swore off any summer trips to DL back in the 80's. I've been advising him that his primary hope is to be there for rope drop each morning, and he's listened, but they aren't morning people per se, so we'll see. Perhaps he'll have luck staying late and hitting the attractions during the fireworks and such.

-Shawn

My close friends are doing pretty much the same thing. I can't remember their exact schedule but I believe it's a weekend in July. I told them they should adjust slightly and make it a weekday. They're going for ONE day and are interested primarily in Carsland because their DS4 is a Cars nut. She was very surprised when I told her DLR has almost as many attractions as WDW squeezed into 2 parks.

Like your friends, they like to sleep in so won't make rope drop. I shudder to think of the lines. On their trip to WDW, their son begged and begged for a re-ride of TSM and they waited in a 2 or 3 hour line. No FPs left of course as they didn't do the Toy Story dash I suggested.

This is the same family that went to WDW during spring break even though I did my best to convince her to switch her trip to the week before. She came home not caring for it at all. Said it was crowded and lines were too long. Her kids had a good time, that's it. They have not yet found the magic though

 

[Lissame]

Nobody's first trip to DL should be in July!. We swore off any summer trips to DL back in the 80's.

I don't necessarily agree with this. We always go in the summer, have never gone any other time. We don't generally like to take our kids out of school for vacation, and love that the park is open long hours and has the max amount of shows and rides open. I think to plan a first (or subsequent) visit during the summer you definitely need to plan and realize what you are in for.

 

[pixiewings71]

I like going in July........

 

[kymom99]

I am going in 3 weeks. First trip. I picked July because of the AP blockouts, weather in San Diego, and didn't know at the time when Carsland would open. We will survive.

 

[MagicMomma1]

I'm sitting here shaking my head and chuckling a little as I'm reading this thread... The entire thing a nearly verbatim recitation of the conversations DH and I have been having since approximately June 13th.

I didn't grow up going to the Disney parks. DH, on the other hand, went for one day every summer when he was a kid. His experience was always hot and insanely crowded with long wait times, so he assumed that was simply the way it was because he didn't know any different.

DH took me on my very first trip to a Disney park BACK IN '07, a surprise trip, and it was to DLR. We had 1day/1pk tix. It was the very end of June and I was 7mos pg. It was HOT. it was CROWDED. My feet were grotesquely swollen, I had to use the bathroom once an hour, and by all rights it should have been an absolutely miserable trip. The only thing that saved us was that before we'd left, my SIL told DH to get me a "special pregnancy pass" so I wouldn't have to wait in line. I distinctly remember lumbering into City Hall and asking a CM for this special pass they issue to expectant guests... He very politely informed me that there was no such thing but offered a guest assistance pass (and a wheelchair!) instead.


What very easily could have been the most wretched day of my life was actually wonderful, the MOST fun I'd ever had, thanks to that pass. It was on that trip that I caught the Disney bug. But I couldn't BELIEVE DH had taken me there in that condition during that time of year. I told him I'd love to go back again just NOT in the summer.

I don't pretend to be a Disney expert. I'm more of an ardent fan. But I felt going at that time of year was a big lesson. NONE of our subsequent trips have been during high season or busy periods. I refuse to wait in line. It feels like an enormous waste of time (and money). And I want to enjoy my trip. I don't want crowds detracting from the magic. And we PLAN. We research. I'm utterly amazed at these folks who are going this summer and without a clue about CL. It's been coming for a couple years now and I TRULY don't think that it was necessary to be a rabid Disneyphile to be aware it was opening Summer 2012. The phrase "know before you go" is so important... at least in our book.

And now I don't know how many times DH has remarked to me that he "never knew DIsneyland could be like this" and says it's so much more fun than when he went as a kid!!!

 

[MAH4546]

You know that somewhere at the DLR right now there is a family lining up at the gates and thinking "wow, it's crowded, I wonder if there is some sort of special event today?" And then the wife will send Dad up to ask someone what is going on...

I was just talking to a lady last week that said she was thinking of going to Disneyland this weekend after visiting family in the area and I said "Oh wow right after Carsland opens, that will be an experience" and she said "right after what opens?" . After I explained it she changed her mind!

Too bad she changed her mind. Disneyland was the emptiest I've ever seen on a summer day, with Space Mountain peaking at around 45 minutes. And outside I Cars Land, DCA wasn't crowded either (keep in mind it has wide pathways meant to handle dense crowds, so it hides how crowded the park is versus Disneyland).

Last Saturday especially was probably the most pleasant, uncrowded summer day I've ever seen at Disneyland. Cars Lands is absorbing all the crowds.

 

[mikana876]

. However it is not like there wasnt months of advertising on this.

I don't know where you live, but there has been NO advertising where I live. Nobody here knows about CL.

 

[SA mom]

We started planning our trip to Disneyland last fall. It is our first after many to WDW. We are planners. We follow the websites, we read the books. There were no dates on Carsland opening. We figured it would be neat to see, but less crowded if not available. We've been in Magic Kingdom on Thanksgiving when the park reached capacity. We are from San Antonio and go to lots of Fiesta events. We are used to hot, sweaty crowds.

Conversely, we had the friends that decided to arrive at Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve. We warned them. They said they'd be fine because they were going with other friends that were veterans, even had a website. Imagine their disappointment when they rode 4 rides all day. The friends went for the experience, the atmosphere.

I think planning, anticipation is half the fun! Only 5 more days!

 

[soaringirl]

I just wish they had boards like this for every trip I want to take. I've never been to Hawaii & I need serious planning help but to haven't been able to find a good source like the Dis. oh well- maybe that's why we still haven't been & we keep coming back to Disney!

Try TripAdvisor, it's an excellent source for what you need.

 

[lwilkison]

I guess it's not totally surprising! Before I was a regular on here, I never worked promotions and pins so I always paid way too much with a WDTC package. I had never seen Fantasmic or knew about dessert seating, never knew there was an awesome holiday tour to take, the list goes on! I was missing a lot before I got on here. Now my family thinks I am a scary disney planner, but man o man, do they have a blast when we're there, thanks to my disney related psychosis!!

I love your post..especially "disney related psychosis"...because I am totally there with you!!

When my DH and myself agree it is time to take our DD back (she is 4yrs and it is her second trip)...I am on the boards checking things out for a while/months even prior to trip!

It has saved us money, where to stay, where to get deals on where to eat etc. I LOVE this place and all the great boards members that have the latest and greatest tips, forget buying a Disneyland planning book, just come here and ask a question!

 

[lwilkison]

I would really love to find a board for other vacation places as well...we keep heading back to DLR because of the great help and of course because it is DLR!

 

[brenda1966]

I would really love to find a board for other vacation places as well...we keep heading back to DLR because of the great help and of course because it is DLR!

Exactly! No where else is there a wealth of information about any other destination. It just doesn't exist, and I've looked. Planning a disney trip may take some time and effort, but all the good info is out there and easy to find. Planning a Hawaii or DC trip is so much more involved because you can't find hundreds of passionate people ready to answer your every question in minutes online!

 

[rtfelt]

I love this place too. I admit I've been going to DLR for a long time. I go often but usually only for a few hours. Last year when we were going to WDW for the first time is when I started researching and found DIS. I did not want to spend the whole time in line--especially in the Florida heat/humidy (we went end of August)--and wanted to make sure we hit everything without stress (my DH's requirement). What a life saver. Everyone helped me so much. I asked about the best place to go to the beach for a day trip and go the most detailed helps. When I told my DH what I had asked, he said, "No one's going to answer that question." I told him he'd be surprised, and he was. I've loved it ever since. Even though I thought I knew a lot about DLR (not about hotels though), I have learned even more from great Disers.

I am also amazed at people who spend a small fortune to come to DLR and don't have a clue. I've met so many people in line who don't know anything. One couple I met at about 9 pm in the SM ride was there for the one day and didn't even know what IJ, POC, ST, or Buzz was. I was shocked. How could they not know anything about Indiana Jones, one of the most amazing rides in the park. I found out what they hadn't done yet, explained what these rides were, got out their map, pointed out the rides they really HAD to see in their remaining 3 hours before park close, and the best way to see them given their late timing. They were quite grateful, but my family and I were just shaking our heads after leaving them They had missed out on so much.

My DB hates DL, but I've told him time and time again it's because of the way he does DL not DL itself.