My Disneyland Trip Turned Out To Be A Bit Of A Disaster

[Porsche4]

For those who may have seen my presence over the last twelve months you will know that I had planned a 9 night trip to DL with my adult daughter and son for the first week of December. As a family on the autism spectrum it was important to try and find a sweet spot as far as crowds were concerned as we do not do well in crushed situations. Unfortunately Disney threw me a lot of curve balls leading up to the holiday (opening of Tianas just before we arrived and changed entertainment times) and as we travel from Australia moving our trip was not an option. Before I left I thought, okay well we will just have to suck it up and I thought with all my pre planning I was ready for crowds however I was totally wrong. DL was insanely busy most days we were there, it was virtually impossible to navigate the crowds with an ECV after the sweet 2 hour rope drop period (7:30 - 10:00). The area around Pirates, Tianas and of course Fantasyland were crammed, just wall to wall people to the point we couldn't even get through. I had planned to do rides in those first couple of hours of the day and then do lesser things like Tiki Room or River Belle after that, lunch, then back to the room for an afternoon rest followed by the evening in the park doing rides with stacked LL's. The first couple of hours were fine but after that we just couldn't even get to the lesser attractions so dense were the crowds. As for the evenings in DL they were horrendous, wall to wall people. We just found the whole experience way too stressful and exhausting to the point that I never once got to enjoy the Xmas lights or ambiance in the park as I was just trying to survive as I navigated my way through the throngs. The upside was DCA and I think that it may well now be my favourite park. Here the crowds were much more manageable almost to the point of being a 3/10. After a couple of days trying to fight crowds in DL we opted to spend more time in DCA and had so much more fun. If I could do it all again I would rope drop DL every day then clear out at about 10:30 and spend the rest of my time, even the evenings in DCA. I would have missed all the Xmas lights and offerings in DL but we missed them anyway as we just couldn't cope with the crowds. I know a lot of regulars or locals will think I am whinging or will be saying well what did you expect but I know for a fact that last year the week directly after Thanksgiving was a 2 or 3 out of 10 on the crowd spectrum and this time they were well over that and unfortunately for our family this just didn't work. It also highlighted to me a further downside of the park reservation system and no park hopping before 11:00am. If we had of been able to have more flexibility with just being able to switch our park plans after the first two days and park hopped earlier then I think we would have had more fun. Anyhoo just thought I would pop my thoughts down now that I am home. I will also do some others posts in the next few days with some other thoughts (more positive I assure you) as I realise this one is a bit of a downer but we did have a good time albeit just not the holiday I was hoping for.

 

[tlovesdis]

Unfortunatley there doesn't seem to be a slow time at DL anymore I was there from the 8-10th, also using an ecv and at times it was insane! We got tons done early though and just took it easy later in the day and at night. I've been to DL too many times to count and this time was def busier than maybe even summer used to be. I kept wondering why these kids weren't in school! LOL

Sorry you had a bad experience

 

[ivegotajarofdirt]

Our first trip to Disney world was Feb 2020. I thought it would be slow because Galaxy's Edge opened the previous Aug 2019. But I didn't realize the Rise of Resistance Ride didn't open until Dec 2019. Hollywood Studios was a crush. Could barely walk, We ended up adding a 2nd Hollywood studios day while we were there just to get everything done. There was a lot I didn't account for lol.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

I would keep in mind for everyone that From Halloween time until after the Holidays end most days are packed....you can get lucky and not have packed days but mostly if your not rope dropping DCA your going to be with lots of people most the day

What entertainment times did they changed? Besides the candle light weekend, I haven't seen them changing things so wanted to ask

 

[Aspencreek]

We were just there (7th-11th) and I thought the crowds were not too bad, certainly less than I was expecting for holiday season. Although we weren't on ECVs, which I imagine must make navigating some places nearly impossible. But those choke/crush points (especially around parades) seem to be horrible no matter how busy the day, so I think that is just a fact of life at DL these days.

 

[irlandaise]

Unfortunatley there doesn't seem to be a slow time at DL anymore

FWIW, the week after Hallowe'en Time was great this year. Short lines, instant returns on mobile orders, plenty of places to sit to eat or just rest.

I probably shouldn't be telling everyone that...

Porsche4, I'm so sorry that it was insanely crowded during your visit. I've been following your preparations, and because you were coming from so far away, I know you can't just rush back and try to have a smoother trip. I hope your family can get back again sometime and have a more pleasant experience!

 

[LAS2AMS]

Crowds are hit or miss. Monday night was unbelievable busy, Tuesday night was not. Wednesday night crowds started to increase and Thursday night they were unbelievably busy again. The unusually cold weather may have played a role on Tuesday night’s (lack of) crowds.

Reality is, if you can’t handle crowds, it may be best to stay away from WDW and DL in this era.

 

[tlovesdis]

FWIW, the week after Hallowe'en Time was great this year. Short lines, instant returns on mobile orders, plenty of places to sit to eat or just rest.

I probably shouldn't be telling everyone that...

Porsche4, I'm so sorry that it was insanely crowded during your visit. I've been following your preparations, and because you were coming from so far away, I know you can't just rush back and try to have a smoother trip. I hope your family can get back again sometime and have a more pleasant experience!

Good to know as we are planning Nov 1-4, 2025! LOL

 

[Howry]

FWIW, the week after Hallowe'en Time was great this year. Short lines, instant returns on mobile orders, plenty of places to sit to eat or just rest.

I probably shouldn't be telling everyone that...

Porsche4, I'm so sorry that it was insanely crowded during your visit. I've been following your preparations, and because you were coming from so far away, I know you can't just rush back and try to have a smoother trip. I hope your family can get back again sometime and have a more pleasant experience!

We were there the same week and I concur.

 

[Bossy22]

I keep waiting for the crowds to plummet. DL is sooooo expensive, hotels, Lightning lanes, park hoppers, food. Everything is crazy expensive for a not so magical experience where you need to be on your phone all day. I keep waiting for the crowds to plummet but people obviously think DL is still worth it and good for you. The way the CDN dollar is there it would be even more expensive (if you could picture that). Sorry you didn't have a magical time.

 

[KimberMama]

I’m sorry you didn’t have a good vacation.

We were there December 7th from 8-3 and it was absolutely wonderful, so much less crowded than Saturdays used to be. Yesterday was similar and even less crowded, but today is really crowded.

I never book DCA as our starting park unless we have a dining reservation before 11, which is almost never. Not only do we prefer Disneyland, but DCA rarely seems to get as crowded as DL in the late afternoons and evenings. Last year we did a 5 day trip and started at DL every morning.

 

[DLandgirlie]

It's true the crowds in DL are horrible, even on "light" days, you can navigate and run into a clogged section.

We enjoy DCA, because you can actually breathe lol Plus using an assistive device is more manageable at DCA imo.

Tuesdays, Fridays (a wild card) and Sundays seem to be less crowded? Although, I was unable to get a reservation today, but I believe it's due to today being the last opening for some Magic Keys before Christmas.

I'm sorry your navigation with the ECV was challenging with the crowds.

 

[Pluto468]

Porsche4 ~ I'm so sorry your trip was disappointing! I know how much time, thought and effort you've put into your plans. It's so difficult when things like that happen, especially when you're traveling from afar because it's not like you can just pop over to the parks another day.

I'm glad DCA was a bright spot and I hope you did manage to have at least some magical moments.

 

[ThreeMountains]

I’m sorry to hear your trip was disappointing, especially after so much waiting and planning. After decades of visiting WDW and now DL for several years, I think I’ve finally broken through that mental barrier into “go with the flow” territory. It’s difficult, especially knowing how expensive these trips are, how much long-term planning they require, and it gets even more complicated when you’re going with several people, especially those with extra “challenges.”

Hopefully you get a chance to go again in the future and this experience leads to improved planning for your particular situation. And hopefully there were some positive memories created with your kids even through the struggles.

 

[LKing]

The area around Pirates, Tianas and of course Fantasyland were crammed, just wall to wall people to the point we couldn't even get through.

I assume you are referring to Tiana's Palace and not Bayou Country. The walkway into Adventureland (from the Tiki Room to the treehouse) is narrow. The placement of the planters doesn't help. Even on an average day, it is difficult to walk though. I imagine that it is even more difficult to navigate with an ECV.

I've been posting and complaining about the back up from the POTC standby line for quite a while. On busy days, that standby line stretches to Tiana's Palace. When HMH first set up the VQ, it stretched towards POTC and the two lines often overlapped each other. The queues made it impossible for guests to cross from the ROA side into NOS. DL eventually moved the HMH VQ to stretch in the opposite direction, towards TBA - which was under construction. Still, on busy days, that POTC standby queue (with ropes) blocked access to NOS. Fortunately, the standby queue for HMH re-opened and, the past couple of weeks, it has been easier to access NOS. With both HMH and TBA now offering LLMP, hopefully they will remove POTC from LLMP and make that area easier to navigate.

The walkway into New Orleans Square is difficult. On one side, you need to pass through the quests lined up or looking for the Jack Skeleton photo op as well as guests exiting POTC. There are a lot of confused guests standing around or groups looking at their maps trying to figure out where to go next. On the other side, between Cafe Orleans and Tiana's Palace, it is quite narrow. There are often groups of guests waiting for their CO reservations in the walkway between the CO hostess kiosk and Tiana's Palace seating. They don't realize that people are trying to get past them. On an average, or even low crowd day, we have to say "excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me" as we walk through that area. It was especially bad when people were trying to get to the restroom while NOS was under construction.

As for the evenings in DL they were horrendous, wall to wall people.

I think I warned you about this when you asked if you could arrive 15 min before fireworks and find a viewing spot on Main Street.

It also highlighted to me a further downside of the park reservation system and no park hopping before 11:00am. If we had of been able to have more flexibility with just being able to switch our park plans after the first two days and park hopped earlier then I think we would have had more fun.

Did you try to change your reservation from DL to DCA while you were there? It is usually easier to change from DL->DCA than it is to go in the opposite direction. Realistically, if you were spending 7:30-10:30 am at DL, by the time you got to the DCA gates, it would have been pretty close to 11 am.

I'm glad you made it home safely and are feeling better health wise.

 

[KimberMama]

I go to the parks pushing a walker. Today 12/14 was quite busy compared to 12/7, which makes me think the OP was experiencing what I did today. I found that it wasn’t even so much the crowds (although they were there), it’s that when it’s busier people are a little less polite, probably because they are more frazzled. I was cut off a lot more often today. More than once I ended up at a stand still while DH was still moving ahead. When it’s busy he tries to make a path for me, but people will cut right in. Managing with ECVs and mobility devices while trying to navigate in a park that wasn’t really designed for them is quite difficult. I would even say there are more strollers now as well, as parents keep their children in strollers until they are much older. When my kids were young (early 2000s), we didn’t know anyone who used a stroller for a child who was 5 years old (or older.) Our own kids were out of the stroller by 3, and even at 2 walked much of the day and moved into a cheap, small umbrella stroller for the last few hours of the night (we’d park it at IASW). But the parks weren’t as consistently busy then. There were times they were just as busy, but there were also slower days. And while we did have a bolter, that child bolted once at age 2 and it was traumatic enough that didn’t happen again (she was chased down by a guest who was able to react faster than I could and who brought her back as we were talking to a cast member to put out an APB). People have their reasons for using strollers and I won’t judge them, but it does add to the crowdedness in the park and the difficulties with mobility devices.

The standby queue when Pirates has LL and the park is busy is ridiculous. LL on Pirates is the biggest mistake. DH didn’t realize how early we needed to turn into NOS because of the line (coming from Hungry Bear), and since I was a few steps behind him (due to people cutting me off) I had to catch up to him and tell him we needed to turn around.

The parks are busier than they used to be. While you can look for weeks that might have lulls, it kind of depends on what dates holidays fall on. The week after Thanksgiving is different if it’s on the 22nd vs. the 28th — if it’s on the 28th everyone goes straight into Christmas mode and I wouldn’t expect slow days. But then Thursday 12/12 was an absolute joy in the park this year, it never got really busy. There’s no off season anymore, and I think dynamic pricing has added to this. When a Monday in January and a Monday in December were the same price, more people planned their special trip in December. When a Monday in January is $104 and a Monday in December is $206, more people are willing to go in January. It’s not entirely even now, but long gone are the January days where the park wasn’t even a quarter full. At the same time, it’s now rare for the parks to close due to reaching capacity.

People at Disneyland are willing to sit on the curb for hours to watch a parade — guests need to realize that and plan accordingly. Even I will wait a couple of hours for MSEP. Heck, people were on the curb at 7:30 a.m. 12/7 to sit and wait for Candlelight, and they would have to sit there all day long. As for holiday fireworks, even 20 years ago it was difficult to slide in 15 minutes before the show if you were more than just two people. Maneuvering during a parade is also quite difficult, especially with a mobility device. You need to know when parade and other entertainment times are and plan accordingly.

No matter how the day at Disneyland goes, as my husband pointed out today, we’re there, we get to be at Disneyland. I was saying I didn’t think the hotel cost was worth it, and he disagreed, because it’s too much for us to do several days in a row driving to and from home each day, and my mobility issues make staying onsite the best choice for us when choosing a hotel. But he’s right — we got to go to Disneyland, and any day at Disneyland is great! It might be crowded, we might not be able to get gingerbread cookies, a favorite attraction might go down, people might cut me off, but we are at one of our happiest places.

 

[LKing]

I was at the parks today. Today was Dance The Magic Holiday Parade with close to 1000 dancers and their families at the parks.

According to the website, the Dance the Magic package includes:

1. A two day park hopper ticket
2. Two nights at either GCH or DLH
3. VIP night at DCA - we met a family who said that their after hours DCA event ended at 12:30 am.

The Dance Magic parade follows the traditional Disneyland parade route starting at IASW and finishing at the end of Main Street. It started an hour or so before the 2:30 Disneyland parade. Dance Magic parents go to DL to watch their kids. They stake out their place along the parade route as soon as they enter the park. After their kids finished, there was a mass exodus of parents leaving DL to try to meet up with their kids.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Once all the families left… DL had very light crowds after 10PM today, about the lightest I’ve experienced in a Saturday in many years.

 

[LKing]

Once all the families left… DL had very light crowds after 10PM today, about the lightest I’ve experienced in a Saturday in many years.

Yep, they all moved over to DCA for their after hours party.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I feel like even when wait times are lower.....the walkways always feel so congested. I'm not sure what can even be done about that. I think part of the problem is actually LL. People are just wandering around waiting for the LL return rather than jumping in other queues. So it's just hard to navigate the parks. I feel like it's this way even during the "slow" seasons, unfortunately.

I wonder if WDW is better when it comes to this since their walkways are just built wider. I've never actually been to WDW during the holiday season though.