In the park - Insane 12/10

[Darkbeer1]

Welcome to the zoo/Disneyland in Main Street backstage paths are open wall to wall people

 

[beachdreamr1229]

That is exactly why we leave before the parades and fireworks start most of the time. Love my Disney time, but the crowds are a bit much, especially the closer we get to Christmas.

 

[Darkbeer1]

6:15 Pm they announced that all the main fireworks viewing area were full for the 7 pm show. I Still using backstage for Main Street access.

 

[Belledisney]

We left around 4. I couldn't handle the crowds! What a zoo!! ''Tis the season. Lol

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

We're here now too and the crowds are insane. We planned on spending a few hours in the park in the morning, going to the coast for the afternoon, back to DL at night. The security lines were so backed up this morning, we just left. I can't handle standing in a crowd like that. Came back this evening, line to get in was short but once in the park, it was insane. Just walking through the crowds on Main Street to get to tomorrowland was awful. We decided to ride the monorail during fireworks and hoped crowds would be better afterward. They weren't. We just left. I miss the days when it wasn't so packed

 

[Darkbeer1]

Maybe the Signature pass members are visiting before their two week block out? 3 weekends worth.... I Just a thought while waiting for Paint the Night

 

[karen1987]

Ah man, that does not sound like fun!

 

[tarheelalum]

I completely agree with the op on the crowds. We have signature passes so we are getting our last visit of the year in this weekend. As I expected it's been very crowded. But I didn't expect the parking at Mickey and Friends has become a nightmare due to them blocking off huge sections for people who pay A LOT MORE for preferred parking. And the kicker is the preferred sections where we parked were totally empty. Really greedy on disney's part to pull this garbage.

The ground parking lot in Mickey and friends is under construction so nobody can park there. It looks like that is where they are setting up the new security screening. Lots of metal detectors were set up.

We started our day at DCA at 800 am and it was not that bad. It got a bit crowded around noon so we left and came back at 830 pm and parked at Toy Story. MUCH better there but when we got to Disneyland they had one security line open and we had to make a right when we got off the Toy Story bus to get in line for security. The line was about 100 yards long. And in the park the crowds were awful and Disney refused to open up the pathways behind Main street to speed things along. Today Disney did a really poor job with crowd control. They really need to get their act together.

 

[Gisele]

Omg! Sounded over whelming today. Gotta love that premium parking.
Hopefully tomorrow will be less hectic.

 

[Angrose]

Yikes, we just arrived tonight but our first day in the parks is tomorrow. I'm hoping the Sunday crowds decide to sleep in!

 

[Darkbeer1]

Disney was using the backstage pathway on Main Street, they opened them up around 9 PM for the Paint the Night Parade, so I think you just missed the opening of the gates.

And of course, it had to start sprinkling after the 9 PM Parade ended... (what Californians call rain...

 

[mom2rtk]

So what gives this weekend? CP was last weekend. Is this the final weekend that APs aren't blocked?

 

[okstate_angel]

The crowds were crazy!!! we planned on doing DL today but maybe we will wait until tomorrow. Hoping it thins out!

 

[minnieralyks]

We're here now and were saying how light the crowds were!! lol

I think after that week in October, anything less than that is going to feel like low-crowds. These crowds are probably only 65-75% of those crowds! I do have to admit, the lines for the Plaza Inn were pretty insane, though. I don't think I've ever seen it extend all the way down the walkway.

 

[jennilouwho]

We're here now and were saying how light the crowds were!! lol

I think after that week in October, anything less than that is going to feel like low-crowds. These crowds are probably only 65-75% of those crowds! I do have to admit, the lines for the Plaza Inn were pretty insane, though. I don't think I've ever seen it extend all the way down the walkway.

What week in October was crazy? Just curious for future planning...

 

[hsmamato2]

I (think) Ap can get in next weekend too(?) If we do the Aladdin PTN package, how is it just getting to the roped off area? I don't mind paying to avoid some crowds for the parade, but what about getting to the area/getting out of there afterward?

 

[minnieralyks]

What week in October was crazy? Just curious for future planning...

We were there the 10th-17th. I believe many sites were reporting 10/10 for 3-4 of the days we were there. The rest of the days were in the 8-9/10 ranges. Many school districts take "fall breaks", which many fell on this week in particular. That was one crazy week!

 

[MillauFr]

What week in October was crazy? Just curious for future planning...

Seem like there is no slow time any more. We were there mid week in early November. Used to be very slow that week. This time was wall to wall people and 45 minute security lines to enter the park.

 

[Canuck16]

So what gives this weekend? CP was last weekend. Is this the final weekend that APs aren't blocked?

Sounds like this is the case.

 

[Ionan89]

What made things a little bit worse last night, was that since fireworks were at 7, the transition between day and night crowd control resulted in many of the ropes (at least around the castle) not being up, so the walkways were not well-defined, and many people were already camped out in places they shouldn't have been (castle front courtyard, the sidewalks, anywhere around the Mickey and Walt statue, etc.)