Less Kumbaya - Recent Crowds, Wait Times, and Return of the AP Holders

[PrncesKMW]

Hi All -

After my kumbaya thread about how much I loved my first visit to "the Land," I wanted to share with you some of the crowd fluctuations/wait times.

Magic Morning - worth it?

My first day of touring the park was Wednesday, August 17. I arrived at the security check at 7:30 and there weren't too many people in line. After getting into the park I rode Star Tours, Space Mountain, iasw (got my own boat!), Indy, Pirates, HM, Tiki Room (stopped for a Dole Whip), Winnie the Pooh, stopped at Bengal BBQ, rode Star Tours again with a FP, saw Captain Eo, took lots of pics of the Castle, and viewed the Disneyland Story exhibit and the Mary Blair pics. I got all this done by 12:45 - and I was by no means rushing.

(Gratuitous Mary Blair-related pic - because I love her)

The second day I did Magic Morning. In the Unofficial Guide to WDW, the authors say to avoid MM, though they say no such thing in the Disneyland guide. I arrived at the security checkpoint around 6:40 and there were a substantial number of people in line. After being admitted to the park, I went to straight to Peter Pan and there was already a 20 minute wait - I think the wait had actually been shorter on the non-magic morning the day before. In addition, we were admitted to the park at 7:05 rather than 7:00 - to which the guy behind me said "So we get a magical 55 minutes??)

In addition, the MM allowed people times to queue up to get into other areas of the park. For instance, I was able to have my own boat on iasw on Wednesday, but by 8:05 on the MM day it already had a short wait.

The Quest to ride Toy Story

Moving on - after doing Magic Morning at DL, I arrived at the gates to DCA at 9 a.m. so that I would get a good spot in the queue for TSMM. At 9:30 we were admitted to the park. I quickly stopped for a Soarin' FP (no queue) and a WOC FP (surprisingly fast queue - I only waited about 2 minutes). By 9:40 I was in the large mass of people that had gathered in front of the bridge to Paradise Pier. This was a bit annoying - there really is no line or semblance of order.

At 10 a.m. sharp, we were lead to the TSMM queue. Even with arriving at the Paradise Pier bridge by 9:40 (10 minutes after unofficial park opening), and being a solo traveler I was able to duck and weave a bit, I still waited in line for 45 minutes to ride TSMM. After watching them load this ride, they really do need to make some changes. Many of the ride vehicles were filled with single riders which could easily have been avoided. A vehicle with one gun out of four not working was not boarded at all yet kept in rotation, and there seemed to be some confusion on loading passengers in wheelchairs.

This ride's wait time is no better at DHS in Florida - in fact, we got Fastpasses for the ride at DHS, returned during our window, and still waited 30 minutes in the FP queue to board the ride. Also, I think the fact that it was just me by my lonesome hurt my wait times at DCA - had I been with someone else, one of us could have run to the Paradise Pier bridge "holding zone," while the other could have gotten FPs for Soarin' and WOC.

Return of the AP Holders

I toured the park on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday Evening, and Sunday. While Saturday was the most crowded up to that point, it was still manageable. However, Sunday - oooohhh, Sunday. I arrived around 8:30 and went to Star Tours to get a FP to ride later in the day - they were already returning folks for 11:15 - 12:15. The park had been open about 30 minutes! I rode Nemo (yes, I know, slow loading) - got in line at 8:30 and waited 25 minutes in the queue. Walked back past Star Tours, and FP return time was already at 2:30 - 3:30 - keep in mind the park has been open less than an hour. Incredible!

I went to the Expo and returned to the parks around 1 p.m. Holy sea of humanity. Wait time for Little Mermaid was 45 minutes - and that's saying something for a ride that was a 15 minute wait at the same time on Thursday afternoon. While the crowds in DL were somewhat manageable, thanks to all the construction barriers DCA felt pretty miserable.

Note to self - I will avoid all "first days back" for AP holders in the future!

Fantasmic and World of Color - no letting kids in front!

I heeded all the advice and arrived super early to get a good spot for these shows. I grabbed my spot by 7:20 for the 9 p.m. Fantasmic show, and I was in line at 7:45 for 8 p.m. admittance for WOC. In both cases I was able to get very good spots. However, my "Kumbaya" side always rears it's polite and happy side at Disney, and at both shows I let the small child behind me stand in front of me. MISTAKE!

At Fantasmic, the small child I allowed in front of me was elbowed out by a rude teenager, so I lost my spot there - wasn't too bad though. At WOC, I allowed a little boy in front of me when the show started. But look - here comes grandma. And his sister. And then his other sister. And finally mom. I had a pretty lousy view after the McRude Family edged me out, but still enjoyed the show. Moral of the story - be ruthless with show viewing areas!

That's all for now - missing the Land a lot, especially with all this earthquake and hurricane nonsense here in usually peaceful PA!

 

[MrsWendy]

At Fantasmic, the small child I allowed in front of me was elbowed out by a rude teenager, so I lost my spot there - wasn't too bad though. At WOC, I allowed a little boy in front of me when the show started. But look - here comes grandma. And his sister. And then his other sister. And finally mom. I had a pretty lousy view after the McRude Family edged me out, but still enjoyed the show. Moral of the story - be ruthless with show viewing areas!

I know what you mean. I was at Fantasmic when someone behind me asked if I and the person next to me could move over a little so his little girls could see. We had a tiny amount of room to spare so we both scooched over to create an opening of about 12 inches. The girls stepped into the opening followed by the mom and dad who started pushing everyone out of the way to create a larger opening. When the grandparents attempted to force their way in, the person who had been next to me lost it and called security.

When security arrived, the dad acted innocent and claimed that we gave them permission to force their way to the front. Fortunately security didn't buy it and made him step back. Then we had to spend the entire show listening to him complaining out loud to his family about rude people who won't let children see the show. It didn't bother me though -- I had a great view.

 

[ArchOwl]

Totally agree with your analysis of Magic Morning being not as Magical as it has been. I used Magic Mornings in February and in May. February was obviously off-season and MM worked great! We rode Peter Pan like 4 times one morning with no line! MM in May was a totally different story. The lines were much longer than before and we barely got anything done. The non-Magic Morning days in May were soooo much better!

We love staying onsite, but if MM isn't really that much of a benefit anymore, it may change our minds. Of course, with the rumors that DCA will soon have a version of MM, that make take a lot of stress off DL's MM. Especially if Carsland is somehow included in that. So maybe this is a temporary thing until things are firing on all cylinders.

I read your other thread and it seemed as though you had a great time, despite a few hiccups here and there. Awesome!

 

[ACDSNY]

I got a kick out of both your threads. There's something magical to me at DL that I don't get at WDW. I chalk it up to all the family memories at DL over the years.

I understand completely about being ruthless with show views. I too use to be nice and let kids in front of me until I missed too many shows to count because of the rude family members that also thought they should be able to stand in front of me and I'm short to begin with.

 

[twindaddy]

I got a kick out of both your threads. There's something magical to me at DL that I don't get at WDW. I chalk it up to all the family memories at DL over the years.

I understand completely about being ruthless with show views. I too use to be nice and let kids in front of me until I missed too many shows to count because of the rude family members that also thought they should be able to stand in front of me and I'm short to begin with.

I have a pretty firm no kid in front of me policy. I show up an hour or two early to my not-so-secret WOC viewing area where you dont need a fastpass, I hate people that want to barge in at the last second. And since I am a guy, the height of your average child puts them exactly even with my...well....guy parts. As a guy working on a teaching credential, all I need is some kid in a crowd saying I touched him or rubbed my you know on him to ruin that, so I politely decline. One time I was asked three times when I said "I would prefer your child not be inches from my genitals, wouldnt you?"

 

[HappyHaunt]

I am so ruthless when it comes to these shows. We don't plan, and figure out how to get the best spots, only to have someone try to get in front of us. Even if it's a kid! I look at it this way, if it was that important for your kid to sit up front, then you'd take the time to do what we did! Don't go expecting people to get crappy views so can steal their great one! People kill me doing that stuff. They have entitlement issues!!

Yeah we have had some not so great MM's. We didn't get to do ours in June (too tired from seeing WOC the night before. But we really didn't miss it. The lines were great on non-MM days at opening. I remember one morning I got like 7 rides in before the rest of the park opened. It was great! Glad you enjoyed your trip over all!

 

[PrncesKMW]

I have a pretty firm no kid in front of me policy. I show up an hour or two early to my not-so-secret WOC viewing area where you dont need a fastpass, I hate people that want to barge in at the last second. And since I am a guy, the height of your average child puts them exactly even with my...well....guy parts. As a guy working on a teaching credential, all I need is some kid in a crowd saying I touched him or rubbed my you know on him to ruin that, so I politely decline. One time I was asked three times when I said "I would prefer your child not be inches from my genitals, wouldnt you?"

Bahahahahahaha! That is great!

I thought the same thing about showing up early during the Soundsational parade. I got to "my spot" about 30-40 minutes in advance - I stand behind the trash can. I stand sideways so people can still throw stuff away until the parade starts, and then I stand directly behind it during the parade - perfect view!

Anyway, about 10 minutes before the parade starts, a family with five kids not only wedges themselves between me and the people on either side of me, but pushes the trashcan back away from the curb so their kids can sit there- and asks the couple next to me if the couple can push their child in a stroller away from the curb so the rude couple's kids can sit in front!

On the plus side - I did not get my foot run over on this trip by an ECV - which actually happened to me on my last trip to WDW

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I'm sorry for your experiences with rude families at the show. I do want to encourage everyone to keep spreading the magic to allow kids a view if you can: one of my kids' favorite Disneyland experiences (that they bring up often) was when two men noticed that my kids couldn't see during Fantasmic and told me that the kids were behaving so nicely and they wanted the kids to have their spot. The kids got to stand up on the short fence the men had been standing behind and got a perfect view! Even though they were only 3 and 5, they totally understood that this was a big bucket of Pixie Dust!
So no, I wouldn't want adults to elbow me over, but any kid is more than welcome to my spot; sometimes I recruit kids to come where we are so my kids can have someone to play with while we wait for the show to start.

 

[nunzia]

Have to agree on this one..whenever we let a kid in front to see the entire large group of family/friends/hangers ons crowds in too..This may work occasionally..where you just slide a teeny bit over for a kid to see, but if one more person makes the move then that view is closed..on a brighter note, I saw very little line cutting this time around.

 

[GrandBob]

I would let a small child (not a teenager) in front of me at any show, any time. But I'm always very clear with the parents. "Yes, your child is welcome up here. Is he/she going to be OK by him/herself while you're back there behind us?" Said with a lot of concern, but a clear message.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I would let a small child (not a teenager) in front of me at any show, any time. But I'm always very clear with the parents. "Yes, your child is welcome up here. Is he/she going to be OK by him/herself while you're back there behind us?" Said with a lot of concern, but a clear message.

This is exactly what I've done, and I think the perfect solution.

I understand the frustration, but it's also difficult as a parent to get a small child to stay in one spot for 30-40 minutes looking at nothing and doing nothing while they wait for the parade/show/fireworks. My child is generally well-behaved but I PROMISE you that you would NOT want to be there holding your spot while he tries and utterly fails to sit there looking at nothing for 30-40 minutes. This is why people with kids come up at the last minute, or why they station one person there and then a few minutes before the show, arrive with the kids. I've gotten rude looks when I've tried to make DS sit in the spot (which at 2.5 he is simply not capable of doing unless he's in a car seat) and when I've held a space large enough to two adults and a child and had my husband show up a few minutes before to sit in that space with DS. No-win for us either way.

I'm not making excuses for rude families at all, just trying to explain why that sometimes happen. I find it inexcusable to ask if your child can stand in front and then muscle your way in behind them, but that is why many people don't stake out their spot with their whole family 45 minutes in advance.

However, I have asked if DS could stand in front of someone twice--once at JTA and once at a parade, and I said very clearly, "is it okay if he sits up there while I wait back here?" and then to DS, "You sit right here by this nice lady and Mommy will be back here by the tree/rope/fence/wall."

 

[kiwitravel]

If a parent asked if their child could stand in front of you then why wouldn't you as long as it didn't compromise your viewing.... When asked I always said yes but did make sure to clarify how many children and how big...

Never had a problem though on one occasion it was a deliberate attempt for the rest of the family to try and sneak through... When the mother tried to squeeze through I said "oh are you leaving now?" She said they wanted to be all together so I said "Thats a shame you might need to find somewhere else then" and they left with black looks on their faces...

Never be afraid to clarify things with people, if you say nothing there are people who will try to walk all over you, but thankfully most are the opposite...

 

[Love Tink]

We ran into a similar problem at MM this month. The security checkpoint didn't open until after 6:50 and the turnstiles didn't start rolling until several minutes after 7:00.

We were among the first through, and "walked with a purpose" to Peter Pan, but we still didn't get there until 7:11. It put me five minutes behind schedule for the whole morning! (Kidding...ok, kind of not kidding.)

In my experience, Disney is all about doing things on time. If the show is supposed to start at 10:20, it starts at 10:20. I couldn't believe security opened so late, and particularly that the turnstiles opened late.

 

[cari12]

This is exactly what I've done, and I think the perfect solution.

I understand the frustration, but it's also difficult as a parent to get a small child to stay in one spot for 30-40 minutes looking at nothing and doing nothing while they wait for the parade/show/fireworks. My child is generally well-behaved but I PROMISE you that you would NOT want to be there holding your spot while he tries and utterly fails to sit there looking at nothing for 30-40 minutes. This is why people with kids come up at the last minute, or why they station one person there and then a few minutes before the show, arrive with the kids. I've gotten rude looks when I've tried to make DS sit in the spot (which at 2.5 he is simply not capable of doing unless he's in a car seat) and when I've held a space large enough to two adults and a child and had my husband show up a few minutes before to sit in that space with DS. No-win for us either way.

I'm not making excuses for rude families at all, just trying to explain why that sometimes happen. I find it inexcusable to ask if your child can stand in front and then muscle your way in behind them, but that is why many people don't stake out their spot with their whole family 45 minutes in advance.

However, I have asked if DS could stand in front of someone twice--once at JTA and once at a parade, and I said very clearly, "is it okay if he sits up there while I wait back here?" and then to DS, "You sit right here by this nice lady and Mommy will be back here by the tree/rope/fence/wall."

I agree with this. As long as I could see my kids, I would have them take the front spot but I would never push in front of someone offering a closer spot to my kids.