i found DL to be alot busier than WDW

[julieannbabe]

this surprised me when i went on a monday and a wednesday two weeks ago.

i think that people on here have said that casue their are the two parks in DL as opposed to four parks in WDW - where people can be spread out.

also DL has more locals as opposed to more international tourists that go to WDW. So there is probably a more 'off season' at WDW - i usually go just after presidents week - where it is a bit quieter.

Not many people understood my accent and there wasn't many people from the UK at DL - a few but not alot (phew!)

There seemed more Australian and German tourists - Australia is only 12 hours away - where as Florida was would 15/16 hours.

xjx

 

[oldcrow]

I've lived in California for only a year now, but I can tell you that while there is an "off-season" at DL, it's no where near as off as the off-season at WDW. It can still get pretty crowded thanks to the locals. That being said, there are some days I've been there where I could walk on everything, including Indiana and Space. If you've been there in the heart of the summer season, you'll see the difference between the seasons. I would not go on a summer weekend.

 

[disneychrista]

And the park (Disneyland) is much smaller than the MK so even if there are less people in the park it will appear much much more crowded.

 

[dbanzai]

What was the line from Walt when he first announced the WDW project on film:

Florida offers us something we don't have in California: The abundance of land.

The amount of room at the MK meams more room to spread out.

 

[scooter15]

Yes there is an "off season" but each year it seems like its fewer and fewer. When I used to work in the park a long time ago and it was only 1 park, there was a definite off season.

 

[Albort]

Orlando is a multi destination amusment area. There are like Universal and Sea world soo closely near the Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland however isnt like that. Sea World is like 100 miles away, Universal is like 60 miles away, Six Flags is 100 miles away.

THe closest theme park to Disneyland is knotts berry farm, like 10 mile away but it isnt as famous as the other parks for people to notice it and go.

 

[honeymom]

Also, Main Street DL always seems more crowded than Main Street WDW, because it is both shorter and narrower.

 

[DoomBugger]

Orlando is a multi destination amusment area. There are like Universal and Sea world soo closely near the Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland however isnt like that. Sea World is like 100 miles away, Universal is like 60 miles away, Six Flags is 100 miles away.

THe closest theme park to Disneyland is knotts berry farm, like 10 mile away but it isnt as famous as the other parks for people to notice it and go.

Universal is 30 miles away and Magic Mountain is 60 miles away.

Honestly I can think of a 1,000 more things ot do in Southern California than to do in Central Florida. All Orlando has is the parks/resorts.

I've been at DLR and WDW during in-season and off-season and both places there is a noticable difference. I think someone accustomed to WDW will inevitabily feel like DLR is more dense and cramped because it is. For me that is part of DL's aesthetic charm.

Also, whenever you have to battle to just walk down the causeways and have to wait more than 30 minutes for an E-ticket ride it is going to feel and seem crowded.

DL park suffers greatly from not having enough space to make the crowds for Fantasmic and the Main Street parades interfear with the crowds who are simply walking around the park and enjoying the attractions. Often around Main Street and the hub and around Adventureland and New Orleans Square the corwds get bad not so much because the actual crowds are huge but because of the bottlenecking caused by the Fantasmic and parades, as well as the fireworks.

 

[twinspluscade]

Oh, no, don't tell me this! We're going in mid-September and I was hoping for low, low crowds! I wasn't even going to do any sort of tour plan, since I thought (hoped! ) it would be similiar to WDW in Sept, where everything is walk-on or at the most 15-20 minutes. I guess I should have some sort of touring plan after all, huh?

 

[DoomBugger]

Oh, no, don't tell me this! We're going in mid-September and I was hoping for low, low crowds! I wasn't even going to do any sort of tour plan, since I thought (hoped! ) it would be similiar to WDW in Sept, where everything is walk-on or at the most 15-20 minutes. I guess I should have some sort of touring plan after all, huh?

September will be hot and crowded at DLR as the summer season will still be popping.

 

[6Smiles]

Mid September is busy? I would think that most of the schools would be back in session soon after Labor Day. How is the end of September?

 

[twinspluscade]

September will be hot and crowded at DLR as the summer season will still be popping.

Huh--due to the shorter park hours last year Sept 7-11 (10am-8pm), I figured Sept was considered "off season". Is it still considered summer season then?

 

[6Smiles]

According to Hydroguy's Sticky at the top of the page ... the second week of September is off peak hours.

Thank you Hydroguy! Our DL superhero

 

[DoomBugger]

Huh--due to the shorter park hours last year Sept 7-11 (10am-8pm), I figured Sept was considered "off season". Is it still considered summer season then?

Weekdays yes but of course the weekend crowds will be massive. Anytime of year the weekday early closing dates are good. If you plan on a weekend date in September it will be hot and crowded though.

 

[Queenbillabong]

It was very crowded this past week - which is supposed to be off-season as well. The days were not too bad and we never had to wait longer than 15 mins for any rides before lunch. Afternoons, however, are a totally different matter! The ride lines were scary long (up to and over 60 mins). We did rides in the a.m. and other stuff in the afternoon/evenings. It is a bit mind boggling when you see how many people are there.

 

[nunzia]

It was very crowded this past week - which is supposed to be off-season as well. The days were not too bad and we never had to wait longer than 15 mins for any rides before lunch. Afternoons, however, are a totally different matter! The ride lines were scary long (up to and over 60 mins). We did rides in the a.m. and other stuff in the afternoon/evenings. It is a bit mind boggling when you see how many people are there.

Well, croop..we will be there next week and have been hoping for less crowds..I don't think there really is an OFF time at DLR anymore..

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

..I don't think there really is an OFF time at DLR anymore..

 

[scooter15]

THe closest theme park to Disneyland is knotts berry farm, like 10 mile away but it isnt as famous as the other parks for people to notice it and go.

I have to say that is spoken like a true DL CM. They are more famous than you think. Gotta remember Camp Snoopy in MOA and Cedar Fair parks. BTW- I am a former CM back in the day when females were in Fantasyland and Males were in Adventureland/Frontierland. A lot of guests loved going to both DL and KBF but they have more thrill rides than anything, especially since Cedar Fair took over and everyone knows who Cedar Fair is.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

A lot of guests loved going to both DL and KBF but they have more thrill rides than anything, especially since Cedar Fair took over and everyone knows who Cedar Fair is.

Okay, I'll bite... who's Cedar Fair? Is that a theme park?