Just back- Carsland super crowded

[fctiger]

The thread you're referring to was discussing the resort as a whole. People were worried that the entire resort was going to be insane, which prompted someone to start a post explaining why things were really fine, and even easier than usual for most of the resort. It NEVER said that Carsland was going to be easy. Instead, it said that Carsland was going to be the only super crowded area, which was part of the reason why we didn't need to worry as much about the rest of the resort. I'm sorry you were disappointed, but maybe you just didn't the thread very well. BTW, 45-minutes isn't something to complain about at the parks.

Yes, I think the thread the OP was referring to my thread I created last month on the subject!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2951370

But yes, as you stated and I made VERY clear in that thread, I wasnt saying CL or RSR wasnt crowded, just the opposite. I said, as others stated as well, that due to so many people being IN CL the rest of the resort was lighter and more managable for that time of year. I think the way I titled it gave people the impression I was saying CL was a breeze when I was trying to say that the massive crowds people assumed would happen because of CL didnt gel as badly as it did! And I think this has proven to be true for the simple fact that the CM block out that was implemented for the entire summer was lifted the second week of July BECAUSE the crowds didnt show up as Disney anticipated!

So I think thats part of the increase crowding this month along with more vacationers in general coming in July, but I NEVER said CL and RSR was a breeze!

In fact, first line in the second paragraph in the post: "Seriously, besides RSR which has ridiculous waits for it and has to be a record of some kind, the rest of the resort feels darn near peaceful!" So I made it preeeeety clear RSR was busy and in other posts in that thread stressed that if you want to do RSR, show up EARLY and be prepared to wait! In fact, in my OP alone, I think I stated 5 times how crazy RSR is! But the point was the REST of the resort was fine just as long as you get there at a decent time and sometimes DL did not feel that busy at all on a Saturday out of all days. But again, I stressed in that thread that NO ONE should change their plans or ASSUME it was going to be super light, only more manageable than was expected, thats it!

And I also stressed while things were VERY good late June and early July as I experienced, I also said it could naturally change as I said in the first line in the fifth paragraph: "Now, summer just started, it can get worse fast"

So of course there were no guarantees and honestly, even now, while it has gotten busier, is still no worse than most summers! BUT I was there on July 17th like the OP was and it was busy! That was easily the busiest day I seen it all summer! Of course, part of it was due to it being the birthday! *I* was there specifically there just to celebrate the birthday so I imagine many had the same idea as me!

But I am sorry the OP ran into bigger crowds, but still sound like they had a good time!

But I wrote in that thread along with others that you should STILL be prepared by the crowds and I never suggested CL/RSR wasnt busy, just the opposite in fact. But not the nightmare people were predicting OUTSIDE of RSR!

 

[bumbershoot]

But yes, as you stated and I made VERY clear in that thread, I wasnt saying CL or RSR wasnt crowded, just the opposite.

Gotta tell ya...I started to read your thread the other week and got the exact OPPOSITE impression.


You say RSR is (of course) crowded. You then say (I'm reading now...I didn't get that far when I first opened the thread) LFT is one that gets to be over an hour.

OK, that leaves ONE ride in Carsland that isn't insane. The thread title is about Carsland (and DCA) and tells people to stop worrying. It's all very confusing. It's confusing to me, and I've been around the block here.

Just walking into Carsland, just walking TO Carsland, is a madhouse, from my recent experience.


DH and DS waited an hour for Screamin' the other day (only to have the ride shut down when they were on the bridge, and the CMs balked at giving out "come back later" passes and the issue had to be somewhat forced), I saw TSMM nudging up towards an hour (thankfully we had ridden it with a 20 minute wait in the morning), Goofy's Fly School was over an hour when we walked by. These were on weekdays, just a couple days ago, so the rest of the park is, indeed, more crowded than it seems you're saying.



OP I'm sorry you, too, seem to have misread that post. You're not alone, even if it's only just the two of us! We were so thankful that DS is old enough and willing to do the SR line there, because it was a priority, but NOT enough of a priority to wait 140 minutes (the standby wait posted both times we rode SR). Stated time was 45 min from the sign, but we started before the sign, and there was a ride stop when we were one curve away from the seating area, so it ended up being about an hour when all was said and done.

 

[fctiger]

Gotta tell ya...I started to read your thread the other week and got the exact OPPOSITE impression.


You say RSR is (of course) crowded. You then say (I'm reading now...I didn't get that far when I first opened the thread) LFT is one that gets to be over an hour.

OK, that leaves ONE ride in Carsland that isn't insane. The thread title is about Carsland (and DCA) and tells people to stop worrying. It's all very confusing. It's confusing to me, and I've been around the block here.

Just walking into Carsland, just walking TO Carsland, is a madhouse, from my recent experience.


DH and DS waited an hour for Screamin' the other day (only to have the ride shut down when they were on the bridge, and the CMs balked at giving out "come back later" passes and the issue had to be somewhat forced), I saw TSMM nudging up towards an hour (thankfully we had ridden it with a 20 minute wait in the morning), Goofy's Fly School was over an hour when we walked by. These were on weekdays, just a couple days ago, so the rest of the park is, indeed, more crowded than it seems you're saying.

Okay fair enough but made as clear as i could. the title was referring to the crowds that were coming to see all the new stuff but the thread was referring the resort overall. And there are over 90 responses most either agreeing with my assesment or understanding what i was saying. But sorry some got confused.

 

[AustinTink]

Gotta tell ya...I started to read your thread the other week and got the exact OPPOSITE impression.


You say RSR is (of course) crowded. You then say (I'm reading now...I didn't get that far when I first opened the thread) LFT is one that gets to be over an hour.

OK, that leaves ONE ride in Carsland that isn't insane. The thread title is about Carsland (and DCA) and tells people to stop worrying. It's all very confusing. It's confusing to me, and I've been around the block here.

Just walking into Carsland, just walking TO Carsland, is a madhouse, from my recent experience.


DH and DS waited an hour for Screamin' the other day (only to have the ride shut down when they were on the bridge, and the CMs balked at giving out "come back later" passes and the issue had to be somewhat forced), I saw TSMM nudging up towards an hour (thankfully we had ridden it with a 20 minute wait in the morning), Goofy's Fly School was over an hour when we walked by. These were on weekdays, just a couple days ago, so the rest of the park is, indeed, more crowded than it seems you're saying.



OP I'm sorry you, too, seem to have misread that post. You're not alone, even if it's only just the two of us! We were so thankful that DS is old enough and willing to do the SR line there, because it was a priority, but NOT enough of a priority to wait 140 minutes (the standby wait posted both times we rode SR). Stated time was 45 min from the sign, but we started before the sign, and there was a ride stop when we were one curve away from the seating area, so it ended up being about an hour when all was said and done.

Glad to know I'm not alone. Either way it was still a great trip.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I think crowds are subjective really, I've gone quite often when you were there and it wasn't that bad there imo but then again I've been known to go to DL on Christmas Day - a few days between New Years and that to me is crowded. I can only last a few hours before I need to leave.

And CL is still new, anyone who was expecting a walk on well that's not really going to happen. There are going to be crowds, but they're not crazy like they are during the Christmas holidays. An hour wait in SR is much better than a 2+ hour wait in Stand-By. Each time I've gone on RSR doing SR it was only 45 minutes but I would have taken an hour over 2+

 

[phyzz]

we went last week . We missed FP - all gone by 9am. so we jumped inline . 3.5 HOURS laster we were boarding the ride . It was awesome !!! but we expected to to wait . the ride broke down several tmes during the 3 days that we were there and they closed the line . the last day we were there DD and I jumped in single rider line and got on in 45 minutes ( around 9pm)
it was even MORE awesome at night .

I can say I have never been a theme park that is sooo crowded as DL/DCA .
we were there with a 3 day hopper and still did not ride or see everything .
July is NOT a good time for a first timer . thats why we are going back next weekend.

 

[kikiq]

We had our staycation July 19-22. Was suppose to be an anniversary getaway but turned into a family get away along with my 11 yr old niece. We had told her that Carsland was crowded and if she wanted to ride RSR, she would have to get up really early or stand in line at least 2 hours. Friday night, she was testing her "Glow with the show" ears at the WOC standing by Ariel's ride. I happen to glance toward Carsland and wondered how long the line would be. So around 10:30, we walked into the RSR area..OMG, the FP line was LONG, no SR line. The stand by line said 120 minutes. The CM said that it was 120 minutes from where he was standing and we couldn't see the end of the line from there. He said it might be shorter BUT the ride had been down during the day and that's why the FP line was so long. Told us to take a chance. I asked my niece if she was up to a 2 hour wait. Of course, she was...she's 11 and watching the cars go by in the night, she was so ready. Now I'm not sure my DH was because he's usually in bed by 9:30 but he's a trooper. The end of the line was at the first building. It took us 90 minutes from the time we talked to the CM to the time we got off the ride at midnight. My niece had a smile that lit up the night and made it so worth the wait for us.

If you are traveling with no kids or older kids, try RSR after 10pm. Even if you are waiting 2 hours, it's not hot.

 

[Ride Junkie]

We arrived last Sunday before 7:30am and joined the fastpass line to await the 8am opening. Once the line started moving at 8, we had our tickets by 8:30 for a 11:15 return time. FPs were all given out by 9:45.

Just curious, is there a designated "RSR fast pass" line outside DCA prior to the park opening? Just want to make sure we have a shot at getting fast passes! Thanks.

 

[AustinTink]

Just curious, is there a designated "RSR fast pass" line outside DCA prior to the park opening? Just want to make sure we have a shot at getting fast passes! Thanks.

When we got to the DCA gates at 7:30 they were already letting people in, so I can't answer that. Once inside, we asked a CM and he pointed us down the main drag to the line. There are many CMs posted along the way directing people to the fp line. You can't miss it.

 

[elliefusmom]

Just curious, is there a designated "RSR fast pass" line outside DCA prior to the park opening? Just want to make sure we have a shot at getting fast passes! Thanks.

No there isn't. Just get in line and go straight. Someone will be holding a fast pass sign. It's on the left of Cathay Circle.

 

[cooniez]

I was one of the posters who reported that the crowds were not that awful in CL (when we were there mid-June). While it definitely is about a person's perspective, I based my opinion on our experience opening weekend.

Opening Day was crazy (which was to be expected). It was insanely packed and you had to kind of scoot along with the crowd to move anywhere and to even enter CL ...it was THAT busy. There were lines just to enter/browse the stores as everyone was going crazy trying to get CL merchandise (although there really wasn't much CL specific merchandise). FORGET getting on RSR!

The next day was a different story. DH and I were really surprised that the crowd the very.next.day was manageable. Yes, it was still busy in CL, but the crowd was definitely not as bad as the previous day. I really did not expect the crowd to drop at all for the first few months. Maybe I am clueless and that Saturday had some type of AP blockout? We waited in the FP line for RSR (think it was about 7 or 8pm) and only waited about 20 minutes. We rode Mater's earlier in the day (around 9am) and the line was about 20 minutes as well.

 

[rramstad]

Yeah, we were there in mid July and didn't bother trying to ride Mater's or Luigi's, the lines were too long for us. RSR was surprisingly manageable because of FP and the single rider line, we were able to ride it once or twice a day, if we made a point of riding it.

I did think that DCA was strangely uncrowded for about the first hour of each day (not counting EMH) as everyone coming in rushed to Cars Land. Once people started leaving CL, waits picked up considerably, and by 11 AM or so DCA felt pretty crowded.

The key I think is staying ahead of the crowd... if you hit Cars Land, use the single rider line for RSR and then immediately head to TSMM OR consider Luigi's or Mater's and then TSMM... basically you've got maybe 45 minutes or so to make it to TSMM and be able to ride TSMM without much wait. If you TSMM, Screamin' and continue around the Pier, Wheel, Goofy's, Ariel, Grizzly, Soarin', it seemed that we were able to keep ahead of everyone, riding rides with basically zero wait. (Of course this strategy means you don't get over to ToT, oh, well.)

We did find in mid July that most of the days DL felt pretty empty, definitely way less busy than the same time of year in 2011.