It’s finally happened: lines all the way to DCA

[Carolwoodpr]

Glad you got a boarding group. Sure hope you can use it!

 

[Malcon10t]

According to locals I spoke with at the time, an hour in line to get in gives you a lot of time to make friends,

I go to Disneyland A LOT. I am not local. But I can say I have NEVER waited an hour to get in the park once gates opened. Even with the lines all the way to DCA, WonkaKid made it into the park in under 35 mins. Last Saturday, we got in line at 710a (gates opened at 7am) and we were in the park by 730a and it was the longest lines I have seen. I'm sorry you had such a horrible trip last May, I know you prefer WDW, and sometimes not all parks are great for everyone. I didn't care for WDW, but we all have preferences.

 

[WonkaKid]

Glad you got a boarding group. Sure hope you can use it!

I probably won’t. They’re only on BG 25 now. It looked like it didn’t open until late. I checked close to 10:00 and it still wasn’t open. I plan to leave earlier than even usual today - had some unpleasant things happen so it’s hard for me to enjoy the park. I plan to be back next Sunday and hope to arrive much earlier (I arrived at the M&F lot at 6:38 and there was a long line of cars. - about 1/3 of the way up the ramp. It took nearly an hour to get to the park gates at 7:25 and by that time, as I’ve mentioned, the line reached all the way to DCA and guests were already being admitted into the park).

The parking structure opens at 6:30 with an opening time of 8:00 and I’m told that even then there’s a line. A friend’s wife dropped him off at the DL hotel at 6:00 and he walked over. He still wasn’t the first person in line - he made 3rd.

 

[Vysecity]

I'm sorry to hear you probably won't ride today. I have been waiting to see what you think of the ride. Hopefully next Sunday goes better

 

[WonkaKid]

I'm sorry to hear you probably won't ride today. I have been waiting to see what you think of the ride. Hopefully next Sunday goes better

I rode it on Wednesday and loved it. Great ride, great overall theming and experience. I’ll definitely do it again but not sure when.

 

[Vysecity]

Nice! glad to hear you enjoyed it! That makes leaving the park easier today too

 

[VandVsmama]

I probably won’t. They’re only on BG 25 now. It looked like it didn’t open until late. I checked close to 10:00 and it still wasn’t open. I plan to leave earlier than even usual today - had some unpleasant things happen so it’s hard for me to enjoy the park. I plan to be back next Sunday and hope to arrive much earlier (I arrived at the M&F lot at 6:38 and there was a long line of cars. - about 1/3 of the way up the ramp. It took nearly an hour to get to the park gates at 7:25 and by that time, as I’ve mentioned, the line reached all the way to DCA and guests were already being admitted into the park).

The parking structure opens at 6:30 with an opening time of 8:00 and I’m told that even then there’s a line. A friend’s wife dropped him off at the DL hotel at 6:00 and he walked over. He still wasn’t the first person in line - he made 3rd.

I think that I'm going to do the "drop DH & the kids off" thing first before I park!

 

[Aurora0427]

It was this bad last Sunday. We arrived at 7:15 and if they’d allowed the lines to go into DCA, they would’ve extended past where you scan your tickets. Instead they were all curved around and it was a total mess, with people cutting in lines and multiple lines merging into two.

I miss our quiet morning Sunday rope drops so bad..... it’s even worse if you don’t care about riding ROTR because you have to arrive so much earlier for no reason.

 

[WonkaKid]

I miss our quiet morning Sunday rope drops so bad..... it’s even worse if you don’t care about riding ROTR because you have to arrive so much earlier for no reason.

So do I. I wonder when/if crowds will ever regress back to what they were. Certainly I hope so - and soon. But I doubt it will happen in the near term. Spring break will soon be upon us and then summer. I may skip the park next Sunday and the following weekend I plan to visit some friends in Phoenix. I could use a break, especially given the trying circumstances. It was kind of fun for a few days. Bit now it’s just a pain.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Folks, whatever your plans are for DL, be sure to arrive at the park gates by no later than 6:30 and preferably earlier. I arrived at 7:25. The DL gates were open as guests streamed in. The lines were the worst I’ve ever seen. Not only were they *all* the way to DCA but in some cases they even extended into the scanning kiosks. What a mess. I’ve never seen it this bad. At this point I’m just concerned that I’m through the gates by 8:00 so I can try for a BG. 12 minutes left and I’m 75 feet from the gate...

This has been the case every Sunday since ROTR opened. And it has been documented in detail in the ROTR Superthread which is ongoing in this forum. Sunday mornings are bad right now! Get there early! Glad you got through the gates before opening, Rob.

I can't help but think that is partially to do with SuperBowl Sunday...

No, this is because of the ROTR crowds. The last 2 Sundays were very bad, so this morning was expected by those who've been following the ROTR Superthread. Sundays look like they'll continue to be a bad morning for a while, until the BG frenzy dies down.

 

[gottalovepluto]

How is this affecting Magic Mornings? (I think DCA has Sun so Sun aside) I love MM at DL. I don’t rope drop them, tend to roll in about 15am later but if there are lines for general entry across the esplanade already at that point are MM lines just as bad?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

How is this affecting Magic Mornings? (I think DCA has Sun so Sun aside) I love MM at DL. I don’t rope drop them, tend to roll in about 15am later but if there are lines for general entry across the esplanade already at that point are MM lines just as bad?

The ROTR frenzy is affecting MM, too. Not necessarily ride lines, but the line up outside the gates and the crowds waiting inside and outside the park for BGs. Check out the superthread -- DISers are posting live every morning, so we are getting good documentation and comparisons day by day, week to week.

 

[Aurora0427]

So do I. I wonder when/if crowds will ever regress back to what they were. Certainly I hope so - and soon. But I doubt it will happen in the near term. Spring break will soon be upon us and then summer. I may skip the park next Sunday and the following weekend I plan to visit some friends in Phoenix. I could use a break, especially given the trying circumstances. It was kind of fun for a few days. Bit now it’s just a pain.

I think it’ll be a mess until the local population gets their fill of ROTR. Obviously it’s bringing people in from out of town, but I think large numbers of locals are bringing in these huge crowds at rope drop. You just shouldn’t have to arrive at 6:30am. Ridiculous. I mean, months ago on a Saturday we drove up and parked at 7:15 and were standing at the rope by 7:45. ROTR has ruined mornings and I’m going to keep complaining about it! Ha!

We will go back to see the new parade and ride Soarin if the rumors are true and SOC is coming back, but we are also taking a break. We’ve been going 1-2 weekends a month since June, and I think it’s time to spend our money elsewhere for a bit.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So do I. I wonder when/if crowds will ever regress back to what they were. Certainly I hope so - and soon...

People have reported that if you arrive a little later (I know, totally out of habit for you!) -- after the BG palooza is over and the main crowd in Town Square and at the gates has dispersed -- things can be so much easier and much more "normal." Even arriving an hour or two after opening can make a big difference -- people reported cruising right into the structure, getting right on a tram, no line at the gates, and entering a pretty calm park. If you know you don't want a BG, that might be something to try. We arrived later yesterday (Saturday), and never encountered the ROTR craziness all day -- skipping opening and staying away from SWGE made a nice difference for us.

 

[Pamela M]

I rode it on Wednesday and loved it. Great ride, great overall theming and experience. I’ll definitely do it again but not sure when.

Glad you finally got on it! Sorry the arise affect is making your early morning routine more hectic!

 

[midnight star]

People have reported that if you arrive a little later (I know, totally out of habit for you!) -- after the BG palooza is over and the main crowd in Town Square and at the gates has dispersed -- things can be so much easier and much more "normal." Even arriving an hour or two after opening can make a big difference -- people reported cruising right into the structure, getting right on a tram, no line at the gates, and entering a pretty calm park. If you know you don't want a BG, that might be something to try. We arrived later yesterday (Saturday), and never encountered the ROTR craziness all day -- skipping opening and staying away from SWGE made a nice difference for us.

True! I posted my saturday morning experience on the main ROTR thread. I arrived to the structure at 9:30. No traffic from the 5, drove right up to show my pass for parking. Was able to park, go through security, catch the tram, and get into the gates of DL BEFORE 10am. It was so nice. That may be my routine from now on until this ride situation dies down.

 

[WonkaKid]

.I arrived to the structure at 9:30. No traffic from the 5, drove right up to show my pass for parking. ... That may be my routine from now on until this ride situation dies down.

Perhaps mine too. Certainly it’s not a bad idea. I’ve always loved to rope drop but it’s just no fun anymore with all of the nonsense. It’s frenzied and manic.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Having only been to Disneyland once, if you are staying onsite and it's early morning hours, can you avoid this mess?

 

[EmJ]

Having only been to Disneyland once, if you are staying onsite and it's early morning hours, can you avoid this mess?

I would think so, because you’ll be able to get into one park or the other an hour early. I recall someone saying there was a dedicated MM/EMH to use.

 

[matthewthompson87]

That being said it really emphasized what a poor entry systems is in place with the eye pad photos/retinal scan what ever the heck it is. SO SLOW.

Speaking just for yesterday, they were not taking photos at DL for the pre-opening crowd.

We used newly bought SoCal tickets at DL and didn’t have our photo taken until we hopped to enter DCA around 9:45am.

The photo taking barely added any time to the entry. Strollers and people not holding their own tickets were the only delays I was seeing.

The massive crowd was processed through the gates incredibly fast. The only other thing they could have done to speed it up would be allow the DCA gates to be used for BG purposes.