Just Back - Crowds and rides breaking down

[abouley]

We just got back from Disneyland last night. We were there Wed-Sunday. I was a little shocked at how busy it was! To top it off, the rides kept breaking down. On Saturday, 3 of the 6 rides we rode on after 10:00 either broke down while we were on it or before. We literally dragged my 3 year old onto pirates and then it broke down and he was crying because he had to go potty really bad (we were stuck for 20 + minutes). It was horrible. Friday night people were lined up 2+ hours before fireworks began and by 40 minutes prior when we went to get seats, the circle was packed. Then, the fireworks got cancelled. We wanted to see the electrical light parade on Sat and by the time it was over, we only got to watch them from outside the park. I was a little sad as I love the fireworks!

Otherwise, we had a GREAT trip! We got dream fastpasses on Friday morning inbetween fantasy land and thunder mountain - near the restrooms! Very cool! My son went on Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Star Tours and Soarin this trip (now that he is 40"). He was a little scared of the roller coasters but loved star tours! His favorite rides were Monsters Inc and Winnie the Pooh. My 5 month old was as good as could be expected. We bought our annual passes so looking forward to our trip in Oct - hopefully the crowds won't be as bad!

Alison

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We just got back from Disneyland last night. We were there Wed-Sunday. I was a little shocked at how busy it was! To top it off, the rides kept breaking down. On Saturday, 3 of the 6 rides we rode on after 10:00 either broke down while we were on it or before. We literally dragged my 3 year old onto pirates and then it broke down and he was crying because he had to go potty really bad (we were stuck for 20 + minutes). It was horrible. Friday night people were lined up 2+ hours before fireworks began and by 40 minutes prior when we went to get seats, the circle was packed. Then, the fireworks got cancelled. We wanted to see the electrical light parade on Sat and by the time it was over, we only got to watch them from outside the park. I was a little sad as I love the fireworks!

Otherwise, we had a GREAT trip! We got dream fastpasses on Friday morning inbetween fantasy land and thunder mountain - near the restrooms! Very cool! My son went on Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Star Tours and Soarin this trip (now that he is 40"). He was a little scared of the roller coasters but loved star tours! His favorite rides were Monsters Inc and Winnie the Pooh. My 5 month old was as good as could be expected. We bought our annual passes so looking forward to our trip in Oct - hopefully the crowds won't be as bad!

Alison

Alison its great you had a good time even with all the break downs...march and april are bad months to go because of spring break...it used to be Oct was a great time to go...not alot of crowds, good weather etc...my dd bday is the 18th and we went every year for her bday until she got into high school (shes now gonna be 21 this year) but now that they have Mickey's Halloween treat, Oct can get pretty crowded...seeing as you have your AP's you might consider going in Nov (before Thanksgiving but not on Vet day weekend), early to mid Dec., Jan and Feb, May and early June...those are probably going to be your better times of the year to go but no matter when, your still at DL so how bad can that be?

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well it sounds like you still had a good trip! I hate it when rides break down, some trips we have been lucky, hardly any breakdowns, other trips we seem to be cursed with constant breakdowns! Its the luck of the draw I guess. I agree with the above poster, October is more crowded than it used to be, but probably it will be less crowded than spring break. Its getting harder and harder to find those off times at DL and WDW as Disney keeps finding new ways to make the off seasons more desireable. Also, with year round schooling, fall breaks and the fact many people will pull their kids from school to go off season, that affects crowds too. But I love October and envy you your trip!

 

[Mommy2SandB]

Alison,
We were in DL on Wed, Thurs and Friday of this week also and had the same problem. We did our stealth running to space mountain first thing one morning just to find out that it was closed until later in the afternoon. We also were turned away at Monsters, Big Thunder and Pirates! We were able to ride them all but it got frustrating to have to keep checking back. The crowds weren't too bad for us on Wednesday and Thursday but Friday it started to get busy.

We also had a huge plan to catch the Electrical Parade and the Fireworks on the same night because they were both only scheduled on Friday. I had even talked to a CM friend to see if he thought it was possible to catch both. So we picked a spot right at the entrance of CA and as soon as we could see the end of the parade, we booked through the store that goes through the whole entrance of the park and made it straight out the gates quick! I literally sprinted to get in line at Disneyland and made it to the gates before the lines got long. I was so excited and thought we were going to make it! Just as we entered the gates I checked my watch and it was 9:27 and the fireworks were schedules for 9:25. Just in time! Just as I finished checking my watch I looked up to see huge crowds trying to leave the park. In my head I am thinking, "Look at all these dumb people who aren't staying for the fireworks, they obviously haven't done thier research." As we reach Main Street we realize it....the fireworks were over at 9:27!! We were pretty sad, but I guess we were able to see the electrical parade for the first time.

Good luck to all of you going soon!
Susan

 

[50thisyeartoo!]

I just got back a few days ago from DL too. It was VERY crowded. And there was also the NATIONAL CHEERLEADING COMPETITION...THAT WAS crazy. Cheerleaders everywhere...Big groups of girls together standing in line doing cheers, clogging up the bathrooms, acting like they were the ONLY ones at Disneyland. Never again. At our hotel Paradise Pier they would block the walkways and I thought some were downright rude and discourteous. Other than that the trip was fine. When were were there the train was down and also splash mountain. I can't wait for the Nemo submarine ride!

 

[abouley]

They actually cancelled the fireworks on Fri night due to high winds. We tried to watch them and were disappointed. We did what you mentioned on Sat night but by ther time the parade was over fireworks were going off.