MAY 5th

[MissScarlet]

This has probably been asked before but I can not find the answer. I am going to Disneyland on May 5th but I do not think I can be there till like 1pm. Do you think they will have already reached capacity at this time, and I wont be able to get in? I'm assuming that there will be so many people there that they will reach capacity, but what does everyone else think?
Thank you so much

 

[HaleyB]

I think the weekend might be worse, but it is a good question.

One thing I do know is that there is no shortage of avaliable rooms for that time period. I have been checking all week and I can still get in everywhere I have tried, and I am getting discounted rates too (I have not tried onsite, but even if all on site rooms are booked it would not come close to meaning full parks).

 

[poohj80]

One thing I do know is that there is no shortage of avaliable rooms for that time period.

I would expect a LOT of locals to be there on May 5th and they wouldn't need rooms.

 

[HaleyB]

I agree there will be some locals, but it is a school day so those with kids may wait for Saturday. The big time Disney fanatics will be at the private party on the 4th, and lots of the locals may be waiting for Sunday with the filming in the park (Regis and Kathy Lee), I think that will be the worst day next week and not the 5th. Either way I find the parks very managable even with large crowds and it is pretty rare to reach "capacity".

By the way there is no set number of guests, it is a feel that causes them to close the gates. They do it in stages. First they stop selling walk up tickets and redirect to DCA. Ticket holders, AP holders still can go in. Only if that fails to control things will they really close the gates to all but resort guests. I think Thanksgiving day and Christmas day are about the only times this happens.

When CDA opened they expected 22,000 to line, they had 2000.

Additionally I think locals will be more excited about the real annivarsery date which is July 17th. Now that will be a busy day.

 

[poohj80]

Sunday with the filming in the park (Regis and Kathy Lee)

I assume you mean Regis and Kelly or is Kathy Lee coming back for the special occasion?

 

[HaleyB]

I assume you mean Regis and Kelly or is Kathy Lee coming back for the special occasion?

LOL yeah, I am getting old. It is Kelly. I don't watch, but one of my good friends does and every time she starts talking about it I will say "Kathy Lee" and she will crack up.

 

[nursemelis374]

I will say that not everyone is going to be there on the 4th, as it is by invite onlyso many of the fans will have to come on the 5th. I really think that a LOT of people will be there on the 5th and that more people wil come as the day goes on. I do not think it will reach capacity, but I would try ot be there in the AM just in case.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I will say that not everyone is going to be there on the 4th, as it is by invite onlyso many of the fans will have to come on the 5th. I really think that a LOT of people will be there on the 5th and that more people wil come as the day goes on. I do not think it will reach capacity, but I would try ot be there in the AM just in case.

I agree -- there are a lot of Disney fans who are planning on being there on that day.

 

[Growin'upDisney]

I will be there on the 5th and everyone we have talked to does expect the park to close at some point during the day. Especially since I think a lot of people might get in to try to see the new parade and especially the fireworks. We plan on getting in when the park opens and not leaving just in case. But I will say that we are extending our stay through Sunday and couldn't get an extra night at Paradise Pier - they are booked solid. So I do expect that the weekend will be very busy as well.

 

[HaleyB]

If any of you are worried and have to be there late you can up your chances by buying your tickets in advance (unless you have an AP). Like I said in my earlier post everyone thought the opening of DCA would be a mob scene and it just did not turn out that way. You never know, and I am sure the parade and fireworks will bring people out. I can go the 5th 6 th or 7th so I am listening, do you guys think Friday will be better? I am torn between Thursday and Friday (Saturday, I know will be busy). As long as I can get in I don't really care about crowds. If the lines are long we will just walk around and enjoy the sights.

 

[nursemelis374]

Duplicate - my bad!

 

[nursemelis374]

Are you sure you can buy advanced tickets specifically for use on that day? I thought they just sold general tickets, in which case you could be turned away just like the people that bought their tickets that day. I checked the website and there is no special ticket for that day, just the regular tickets.

I also want to emphasize that on the opening of DCA, annual passes were not valid there yet as they are today. This is not true for DL on the 5th, where the APs will be in full force. I read a lot of message boards and a ton of people are planning on going!

 

[HaleyB]

It is not a special ticket, it is the protocal for closing the parks to new guests.

When DL is judged to be overcrowded, the actual number of guests will vary by time of year and special events, steps are taken to lower the number of guests entering the park.

Step number one is to stop selling tickets. However at this point anyone with a ticket in hand can still enter the park. You simply can not walk up and buy a ticket. In the great majority of cases this is all they need to do to keep the parks from being too full.

If the crowd persists stage two is to close the park to people with 'regular' passes. AP holders (I am not sure if this applies to the limited AP's, but I think so) and resort guests still may enter. Guests turned away at the gates are often given a discount coupon for one of the counter service places in DCA and told to check back later in the day to see if the gate has reopened.

The last step is to totally close the park to new vistors. This is a fairly rare event. Even if this step is taken the park can still go back to stage two or one or completely open later in the day.

So if you have a ticket in hand you can still enter the parks even if they stop selling tickets.