I just got back from DL -- Attendance update!!

[Disney Dadd]

My family and I went for a one day trip to DL on Tuesday (before Thanksgiving 11/20/07) and over all it was .... AWESOME!!!!

As far as the attendance (we have been to WDW and DL many, many times over the years so I consider myself a pretty good judge on this), I would say attendance was a 5 or 6 out of 10.

My family normally goes in slow seasons so we normally see 2 or 3 out of 10 attendance days -- waits of 5-10 mins or just walk straight on the rides. The day we went it was a little longer. The longest wait we saw was the new attraction Finding Nemo (where the old 20,000 Leagues under the sea was) at about 75 mins. By far the longest line in the park (and no fast pass )

Space Mountain, Splash Mtn, Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones -- the biggies -- tended to have peak waits of 60 mins (However, we used fast pass on these rides so our wait was 15-20 mins). Matterhorn, Small World, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Jungle Cruise were waits of about 15-20 mins each. So, by and large, we didn't wait for anything more than 20-25 mins all day. Obviously we got there as soon as the gates opened and ran around to do the biggies first, however, I looked all day at the waits just to tell you guys!!

Now as far as the park went -- It was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Apparently DL decorates with the big Tree and all the decorations the Friday before Thanksgiving each year. The Castle was gorgeous.

You have to go to Small World after nightfall and wait for the lightshow (and take your kids if they want to see snow fall in southern California)! They also have a snowfall show down mainstreet intermitently during the evening as well. The one by Small World is just prettier IMO. The evening fireworks show was very, very beautiful. It always is great at Disney, but the holiday version just adds a little something extra.

All in all, it was a great day. The crowds weren't very bad at all. Disney had EVERYTHING operating to accomodate the Thanksgiving crowds so the attendance was dispersed very evenly throughout the park. The decorations were beautiful. The cast members were great as usual. The atmosphere was fun as always and just a little something extra in the air with the holidays around.

If you go next year before Thanksgiving, don't be afraid Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (and always the weekends) be VERY, VERY AFRAID - ha ha!! But, whenever you go to Disney, it doesn't matter what the crowds. You're there with your loved ones and it IS the most magical place on earth!!

 

[garate55]

Glad you had a good time, I mean AWESOME time. We were there on the 15th(Thursday) and the big tree was already there. I don't know when they put this up but it is beautiful.

I agree with the weekday visits, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are great times to visit. Friday during the day is busier than the rest of the week, but when Friday night, Saturday and Sunday hit I would stay away.
True we went on the first day of the Holiday fireworks and parades(Friday the 16th) so I would imagine it would be really busy, and it was.

How could you ever have a bad experience at DLR?

 

[audrabolster]

We visited on Wednesday and were able to see the big tree! So beautiful! We made sure to get a photo for our christmas cards There were crowds, but wasn't too bad!

 

[DLR29]

Obviously we got there as soon as the gates opened and ran around to do the biggies first

This is the single best piece of information out there. If you get there early and do major rides first (or grab FPs), chances are you will have shorter lines in the afternoon; thus, your opinion about crowds will be that it's not that crowded. Glad you had a good time.

 

[alohaliilo]

Is it this empty around the holidays? We are planning a trip a few days after Christmas and the hotels are actually booked up! I thought it would be pretty empty. Anyone know how crowded it is around that time?

 

[todzwife]

Thank you! It sounds about like what I was expecting for the few days before Thanksgiving

 

[mrypg]

Could yo0u tell me more about the light shows at Small world and any other shows besides the parade and fireworks.????

We are going next week!!!


MANY THANKS!!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Is it this empty around the holidays? We are planning a trip a few days after Christmas and the hotels are actually booked up! I thought it would be pretty empty. Anyone know how crowded it is around that time?

It is usually at its busiest Thanksgiving weekend and the week between Christmas & New Years. A lot of people take time off during those two weeks at the end of the year, and Disneyland & California Adventure usually fill up.

So, expect it to be quite crowded while you are there.

 

[drag n' fly]

Could yo0u tell me more about the light shows at Small world and any other shows besides the parade and fireworks.????

We are going next week!!!


MANY THANKS!!!

We were there last week and small world at night is spectacular....good news it gets dark early! Completely decorated for Christmas...no light shows just a LOT of Christmas lights! Billy Hill and the Hillbillies you cannot miss. Their is a schedule that shows any special events and times.

 

[drag n' fly]

Is it this empty around the holidays? We are planning a trip a few days after Christmas and the hotels are actually booked up! I thought it would be pretty empty. Anyone know how crowded it is around that time?

It will be the busiest time of the year. Go early have lunch and take the afternoon off back at your hotel for a swim and a rest and have supper and head back for the evening. Nemo has no fastpass so you will have to book it on EE and rope drop to get on.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

forgot to say - Disney Dad -- glad you had such an awesome visit!

 

[Goofy_Dave]

Is it this empty around the holidays? We are planning a trip a few days after Christmas and the hotels are actually booked up! I thought it would be pretty empty. Anyone know how crowded it is around that time?

VERY VERY VERY VERY crowded! If it's the only time you can go, then go and have a great time and try to do as much as you can first thing in the morning. But boy oh boy, if I were you and it's not too late, I would try to plan for another time of year. But that's just my $.02. I don't enjoy DL nearly as much when it's bursting at the seams with people.

 

[HydroGuy]

We were at DL on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it was definitely less crowded than I was expecting. Our experience was similar to the OP's with lines at the major rides of 60 minutes. Not really that bad for a major holiday time.

Even so, there were some strange traffic patterns. For example, my experience is that after 7PM the line for POTC goes down to 10 minutes or so. When we went over there at 7:30PM it was still 25 minutes long. So we skipped a second ride on POTC.

A lot of people have been reporting reduced lines for Nemo in the evening but it was pretty much 60 minutes from 4PM until we left at 8PM. We were hoping it would get down to 40 minutes but it never got there. We rode Nemo back in June and so decided to save a second ride for next trip.

Buzz Lightyear was also very strange with Fastpasses. Normally I would have expected 45 minute return times for FP most of the day and FP availability into the late evening. When we went to get a FP at 1PM the return time was 5PM. So we got one and did that, but it meant a two hour wait until I could get the next FP. FPs ran out altogether in the early evening. So only one ride on Buzz.

On the other hand, when we went to Mickey's House at 3PM to get a picture with him I was prepared for a 30-40 minute wait and it was only 10-15 minutes. And the FP behavior at BTMRR was typical with 45 minute return times all day. ISAWH was not as crowded as I was expecting. We waited about 12 minutes at 10:30AM.

 

[ballarinamom]

Our last trip was the Friday-Tuesday before Thanksgiving (just like you). I agree, it was the best time to go. We all got into the Christmas spirit and loved visiting with Santa at the ranch. We even decorated the cookies. The holiday overlay on IASW and HM really add to the rides. The lower attendance was really nice!!!
Our first trip was January 3-7 a few years ago. We had planned on January
2nd but the CM who we booked with told us to wait one day and our rate dropped dramatically and the crowds were REALLY low. And the decorations were all still up.
Glad you had an AWESOME trip!!

 

[Vacation Dad]

It was busy on Wednesday, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. We got there at opening and gathered fastpasses throughout the morning, so it wasn’t too bad. That being said, the Fantasyland area, where there are no fastpasses, seemed to be just packed in the morning. We went on Nemo, Matterhorn, and Small World first thing that day and the lines were fairly short. The lines built quickly though, and by the time we headed to the other side of the park about 10:30am it was a madhouse. I don’t know what the wait times were, but the area sure seemed busy.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that Alice in Wonderland was reopened that day!

 

[Keli]

What are crowds like in the middle of January? Is that a good time to go both crowd-wise and also weather-wise?

 

[Disney Dadd]

Glad you had a good time, I mean AWESOME time. We were there on the 15th(Thursday) and the big tree was already there. I don't know when they put this up but it is beautiful.

Yeah, I know they set the holiday stuff up early, however, the officiall "Holidays at Disneyland Resort" starts up the Friday before Thanksgiving each year. I believe this coincides with WDW as well.

Basically, the week before Thanksgiving it starts to look all pretty!

 

[Disney Dadd]

We visited on Wednesday and were able to see the big tree! So beautiful! We made sure to get a photo for our christmas cards There were crowds, but wasn't too bad!

Awesome Audra! We got our picture with the tree too! I agree with you. The crowds were great! I was really expecting much worse.

 

[Disney Dadd]

Is it this empty around the holidays? We are planning a trip a few days after Christmas and the hotels are actually booked up! I thought it would be pretty empty. Anyone know how crowded it is around that time?

Aloha Alohaliilo!!

I know a few other posters have already told you and unfortunately I'm going to have to agree with them. The week of Christmas until about January 3rd or so is the BUSIEST time of the year at DLR and WDW. The parks consistently hit capacity due to attendance. If you are going then (due to the Christmas holidays), you will find DL very, very busy indeed. Because, just like you and your family, a lot of other people take that time off from work and hit Disney.

If you have no other choice and HAVE to go the week of Christmas - New Years, make sure and get there an hour before park opening and be one of the first in lines (are you staying at one of the DL resorts?? If so, you will most likely get an hour head-start versus the "regular" day guest). Once you get in the park make a mad (errrr.... I mean safe) dash to the #1 ride of your choice -- one of the biggies: Space Mountain, Nemo, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Splash Mountain, etc... Send someone from your party with all your tickets to get Fast Passes for you all to your next favorite ride. Get as many of the "BIG" rides out of the way in that first hour or two. Because the rest of the day, the lines will be 1.5 to 2 hours or more on the main attractions!

Utitize Fast Pass and take it easy the rest of the day. Disney will have everything operating due to the max attendance conditions. Make sure and do the "little" things the park has going on to attract people away from the major Attractions. Also, make sure and eat lunch at 11:15 - 11:30am BEFORE the hurds make their way to the restaurants at 12:01 precisely.

I hope you have a great trip, Aloha!! Just remember, even if it is packed, you are there with you family at the most wonderful place in the world and the most wonderful time of the year. Don't let some people's sorry attitudes/frustrations bring you down! Have a blast!!!

 

[Disney Dadd]

We were there last week and small world at night is spectacular....good news it gets dark early! Completely decorated for Christmas...no light shows just a LOT of Christmas lights! Billy Hill and the Hillbillies you cannot miss. Their is a schedule that shows any special events and times.

Actually drag n' fly, there is a great Light show at Small world. It started at 5:57pm (after dark) and went on every 30 mins after that through out the evening. Small world is beautifully decorated to be sure, but every 30 mins or so (at least that's what the CM right there told us) they darken the lights, and start a wonderful show.

A little girl wishes it would "snow for Christmas" and then, the Narrator asks do you all believe? Believe!! And then, Viola! Small World lights up and Snowfall (Disney snow -- basically bubbles) comes down right there by Small world. The kids started freaking out! There was beautiful music in the background while the kids played in the "snow."

Then, after about 5 mins of that, the lights go dim again, then Small World lights up like they do to the Castle at WDW. Awseome light show right there on Small World's face. It's about a 10 minute show overall. Replayed about every 30 mins.

Hope that helps ya!