Lack of crowds and Disney's response

[TikiTroll]

We went in October last year and crowds were so heavy as to make it almost unbearable. Literally shoulder to shoulder most places so that you could barely move without bumping into people. Enjoyment levels were lowered substantially.

 

[FireflyTrance]

1st weekend. Like others have said, there is no quiet time before the Holidays. I don't think I will be going between Thanksgiving and Christmas ever again. Prior to that I went a few times in September and October. Also busy but not quite as bad.

Was this a 1st or 2nd week in December trip? I was looking at going the 1st week of December this year, but now I'm not so sure. I had read the 1st week was quieter, but that might be old info.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I'd love to have access to the data on attendance and crowd patterns right now because I'm fascinated by it.

Me too! Staff statistician for Disney is one of my dream jobs. Would being one make me a “Imagimatician” or a “Mathemagineer”?

 

[lindyv321]

We went the week after Thanksgiving in 2018 and it was just fine. We did Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the parks. The worst part was the numerous breakdowns....

The worst crowds I’ve experienced were on a Saturday in October.

 

[halo19]

This past weekend was quite crowded, compounded by a LOT of ride breakdowns that caused congestion and long lines on the rides that are working (plus overloading the FP return lines with replacement FPs). So this past weekend was kind of a mess, hard to tell if that’s what next weekend will be like if the rides stay up.

The previous weekend, the mornings were glorious and then it picked up with moderate crowds in the afternoons - it was like that most of the week.

Overall, though, crowds just keep increasing with people coming to take advantage of the “low crowds,” which are no longer truly low as a result.

This, yes. Also compounded by the fact the DL Hotel Convention Center was packed to the gills with dance families attending a multi-day competition that ran through Sunday. I can attest to the longer than expected wait times (was also hoping for the lighter crowds of prior weeks) and several rides breaking down.

Interesting to note, last Friday, upon entering DL, there seems to be more character meet and greets and PhotoPass photographers setup throughout Main Street. Maybe part of the strategy to filter traffic heading into FL and the rest of the park following rope drop?

 

[Disneyhanna]

So!! Hoping one of you might have been to the DL fireworks either Saturday or Sunday? Was it nuts? Do-able? Vote for a specific day to catch the fireworks? Our DD was in Daddy's arms for the huge Elsa snow moment (we've never been near the castle before!!) and she's talked about it almost everyday for three weeks! Would love to snag another castle view when we return in two weeks...but not sure which day to bet on? When we were there Sunday was empty, but that was before the low crowds info and the $99 pass has picked up.

We didn't watch the entire show, but on Saturday I passed by the castle and there was room to squeeze in places as long as you aren't super picky about your view. People start camping out at least an hour before, which we personally don't feel is worth it. I believe they project the show over the Rivers of America on the water (like with Fantasmic) and though you don't see the castle, you can still see all of the fireworks. There's even great views on the bridge by PotC that you don't have to wait ahead of time to get, and you can lean against the bridge. We don't love being squashed among people so that was more fun for us to watch from for a few mins every day. I think we caught the entire show over the course of the trip, but we never watched it in its entirety. It doesn't compare to HEA for me so it's not a must-do, though still fun to see especially for someone who has never seen Disney firework shows.

 

[pharmama]

So!! Hoping one of you might have been to the DL fireworks either Saturday or Sunday? Was it nuts? Do-able? Vote for a specific day to catch the fireworks? Our DD was in Daddy's arms for the huge Elsa snow moment (we've never been near the castle before!!) and she's talked about it almost everyday for three weeks! Would love to snag another castle view when we return in two weeks...but not sure which day to bet on? When we were there Sunday was empty, but that was before the low crowds info and the $99 pass has picked up.

If its extremely important to you to try and do this again you should try for Saturday so if the fireworks are cancelled you can try again on Sunday.

 

[goodeats]

We bought 1 day 1 park tickets and went yesterday as we had our out of state cousins in town. Was hoping for a "ghost town", but there were many many people there. Disney is just doing a great job with increasing capacity (I've never seen so many trains on BTMR for example) and SWGE sucks them in in the morning. For $149 (I did not want to try to find an AP to meet us there at 7:00 in the morning!) per person I think it was a decent value. Disneyland is miles above other Theme Park experiences and is a good value when comparing $149 to a ski lift ticket, sport tickets, or a concerts. The Stardusting worked, imo.

For our SoCal family though we are done being passholders for the foreseeable future. We are too busy to make it to the parks that often and I'd rather spend the money on a one week vacation to WDW or even a staycation at the DLR.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I had to dig up this old thread to see if anyone else noticed... They are offering a summer & AP discount for DLR hotels. Cheapest room right now for the days we are there are $530 with AP discount at DLH. I am pretty sure that was the same price as before they offered the discount, but I guess there is the added “bonus” of 1 FP per person and a $20 dining cert.

 

[Elle23]

I had to dig up this old thread to see if anyone else noticed... They are offering a summer & AP discount for DLR hotels. Cheapest room right now for the days we are there are $530 with AP discount at DLH. I am pretty sure that was the same price as before they offered the discount, but I guess there is the added “bonus” of 1 FP per person and a $20 dining cert.

I had to laugh at the “discounts” which were not really discounts. I think for non APs the discount was only 10-15%.

I would have loved to stay at a Disney hotel, but decided to stick with offsite and save literally thousands of dollars.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I found this email subject line so funny... I guess a lot of APs still think they are blocked out of both DL and DCA when they can in fact go to DCA?

 

[DLgal]

I found this email subject line so funny... I guess a lot of APs still think they are blocked out of both DL and DCA when they can in fact go to DCA?

View attachment 422355

Why would they even send you that as a Signature pass holder, though?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Why would they even send you that as a Signature pass holder, though?

I know! It’s so weird!

 

[midnight star]

I found this email subject line so funny... I guess a lot of APs still think they are blocked out of both DL and DCA when they can in fact go to DCA?

View attachment 422355

Why would they even send you that as a Signature pass holder, though?

Lol I got the same email and have signature plus. You’d be surprised. In the ap Facebook group I’m on, Ive seen people mention they didn’t know they weren’t blocked from DCA with their Deluxe passes so they hadn’t gone at all since the end of June

 

[poptart90]

I found this email subject line so funny... I guess a lot of APs still think they are blocked out of both DL and DCA when they can in fact go to DCA?

View attachment 422355

Got that same email today...thought, uh...DLR is DESPERATE. So glad we land tomorrow! Even with the increase in crowds over the last few weeks, based on the last few years, it looks great to me!! Yahoo!

 

[poptart90]

Bets on DLR making a separate blockout calendar for each park EVER again...???

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Bets on DLR making a separate blockout calendar for each park EVER again...???

Disney got so much wrong with this... obviously it’s not an exact science, but wowie. I honestly feel bad for Disney because I think they were trying so hard not to make it miserable/impossible to enjoy the parks with such an exciting new land opening. Who could ever have guessed it?

 

[poptart90]

Disney got so much wrong with this... obviously it’s not an exact science, but wowie. I honestly feel bad for Disney because I think they were trying so hard not to make it miserable/impossible to enjoy the parks with such an exciting new land opening. Who could ever have guessed it?

Totally agree. Especially with the "feel bad" part....and then I take a breath and calculate in my head the GCH bill Disney is getting from me this summer...and as awful as it sounds, my little horns come out and have a dance party!!! LOL

 

[wingednike]

For anyone there tonight, does it feel like the return of MSEP brought in more people?

 

[GoldeneyezCA]

For anyone there tonight, does it feel like the return of MSEP brought in more people?

YES. It was much busier today, but not unmanageable. I waited in line for Toy Story parking for about 10 min at 8:15 this morning for the first time all summer, and we spent over 20 min in the ticket lines to buy "bring a friend" tickets for our friends. However, with our early start and MP, we easily rode every ride we wanted to, and could have done so multiple times, with the exception of RSR, which ran out around 11:45 am. Crowning achievement for our thrill-seeking friends: I stacked MP's, and we hit RSR, Guardians, and Incredicoaster in one hour between 2-3 pm, made our 3:30 pm cantina reservation, and enjoyed a 30 min wait for MFSR at 5 pm. But by 8 pm, Main Street and the parade route were packed 4-5 rows deep with people, which made me very glad that we weren't bothering with MSEP tonight.