I have to ask about crowds

[Jenn1116]

The other thread about crowds and DL closing makes it sound insane. I still think it will be manageable though if you spend the am collecting FP, use them in the pm when it gets extra crowded, then high tail it out by evening when the crowds are herded like cattle. Good luck to you if you want to see a night-time show!

 

[dlaushey]

Forgot to mention Fantasmic!

We stayed late (for us) that night just to make sure we saw the 9:00pm show, there was a second show at 10:30pm. We used the center light tower trick around 8:40pm and had a great spot, basically 2nd row. We picked our spot and looked over the shoulders of those on the fence. Otherwise Fantasmic was packed! It was a mad house trying to get out of the park afterward. They sent us down the back ally off of main street to avoid the crowds on Main Street waiting for the fireworks. We didn't wait for those.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

We went for a few hours today. From 2-7 pm. Crowds were much lighter today than expected. Of course it was chilly and windy, with sprinkles here and there. The rain stopped when we arrived and didn't pick up again until we were heading out. Both times we saw SM and on the time boards it was never more than a 45 min wait. We walked on quite a few rides or had a short 5-10 min wait. It is going to rain tomorrow so I think we'll head back again for another few hours.

 

[JaydaNicole]

Forgot to mention Fantasmic!

We stayed late (for us) that night just to make sure we saw the 9:00pm show, there was a second show at 10:30pm. We used the center light tower trick around 8:40pm and had a great spot, basically 2nd row. We picked our spot and looked over the shoulders of those on the fence. Otherwise Fantasmic was packed! It was a mad house trying to get out of the park afterward. They sent us down the back ally off of main street to avoid the crowds on Main Street waiting for the fireworks. We didn't wait for those.

Do you mind sharing this trick you mentioned? We are heading there Oct. 20-24 for our first trip to DL!

 

[GrandBob]

Do you mind sharing this trick you mentioned? We are heading there Oct. 20-24 for our first trip to DL!

There's a long thread about it here.

HTH,
Bob

 

[JaydaNicole]

Thanks!

 

[raftislander]

We were there Friday from about 3:30 pm through Monday at 3:30 pm. The Disneyland park was closed Friday Night to new arrivals- you were only let in if you were returning to the parkwith a handstamp. There was a TOT party at DCA that night so everyone who did not have a ticket to that event went over to DL at 6:30pm. If you are going to be at DL when there is a TOT party at DCA, expect heavier crowds and save up some fastpasses for the night. I was at the TOT party and it was fantastic for no lines. Nothing over a five minute wait the whole night. On Saturday we watched 9:25 Halloween Screams fireworks from the hub. It was very crowded. I was to the right of the hub circle (with the friends statue) and I recommend being to the left. You definitely need to see this fireworks show from in front of the castle to get the full effect. Loved this show! We had planned to go over to watch the 10:30 Fantasmic show, but Frontierland was so packed, we abandoned this plan and left for the night. I heard they added a third showing of Fantasmic that night. The next night (Sun) we were in Frontierland when the first Fantasmic show ended and grabbed great front row seats on the Terrace for the 10:30 show. You could see the large aerial fireworks in Screams from this location but you wont think much of the show from this vantage. I could envision what was going on at the castle in my head, but definitely not the same as seeing from the hub. Fantasmic was great- new dragon very impressive. AS for attractions, lines for Ghost Galaxy were the longest- often listed at 120 mins. Haunted Mansion Holiday was hit or miss. Sometimes a walkon - sometimes a long wait. Indy had long waits too , but was breaking down as well. Splash was a walkon in the mornings s as it was overcast, got busy once the sun broke through. It was less crowded on Sunday than Saturday and less crowded on Monday than Sunday , but crowded the whole time we were there. Nevertheless, we had a great time and rode everything we wanted and multiple times. This is done by getting up and being at rope drop and making smart use of fast passes. I think the longest we waited was 25 minutes and that was on our arrival day we we did not get to the park until 3:30.