October calender

[Mickey Buffet]

Hi All,

I appreciate you point of views on this thread.. I still am dissapointed with disneyland however... I did a quick review of other parks here in Califorina schedules and they all had hours of operation thru the end of the year on their web sites ( Seaworld, Universal studios Hollywood, Magic mountain,and Knotsberry farm).

That's all I really want actually..The other stuff (parades/events/Fireworks) was just nice to have stuff although..many parks had these as well.

As far as ride closeures I see your point...It is solely a nice to have for us to know, but not a requirement. As I said in my original e-mail in the past I was always usualy (very slightly) dissapointed when I found a ride to be down for refurb, but understood the need.

My main reason for disapointment is the lack of attention to detail. That is not having park hours at least known & published ...and that rides geared toward Toddlers are chosen for maintenace durring a time when they are encouraging familys with tots to come.

For us personally it won't be that big a thing (we'll probably go and have a blast)..Am just looking at the bigger picture and wondering/hoping that this is not a trend for the future. If other parks can do it, I'd expect disney to do it and even better! But it may be that I need to lower my expectations..at least for disneyland.

Thanks for hearing me out!

 

[lilpixie]

We will be going in October as well. We are going to be in the parks on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday I figure shouldn't be too bad crowd-wise and we will probably use our Early Entry this day. Friday we will get in line 1/2 hr prior to scheduled opening time. Last time we went to DL, the park was pretty empty Saturday morning until 10:30 -- then it got slammed. But we got there at opening and got to do almost all of Fantastyland and other rides as well before it got busy (the park opened at 8 that day -- I'm not sure what time it will open in October). Anyways, hope you pick days that will work the best for you!
As far as certain rides being down, it is definately a bummer, but we hardly noticed because there is still *so* much to do. When we were there last, Splash Mtn was closed as well as the Haunted Mansion. I was bummed, but it definately didn't ruin our trip. I would much rather miss out on some things and go in October when the weather is beautiful and the crowds are not so high.
I grew up in Florida and lived right outside of Orlando and went to WDW a lot. I will tell you that as an adult taking kids -- I much prefer Disneyland. It is more compact and easier to naviagate (not so much walking for the kiddos). I am not planning on taking my kids to WDW until they are much older and are able to handle it.
I hope you enjoy your trip to DL!!

 

[angelhair45]

We will be going in October as well. We are going to be in the parks on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday I figure shouldn't be too bad crowd-wise and we will probably use our Early Entry this day. Friday we will get in line 1/2 hr prior to scheduled opening time. Last time we went to DL, the park was pretty empty Saturday morning until 10:30 -- then it got slammed. But we got there at opening and got to do almost all of Fantastyland and other rides as well before it got busy (the park opened at 8 that day -- I'm not sure what time it will open in October). Anyways, hope you pick days that will work the best for you!
As far as certain rides being down, it is definately a bummer, but we hardly noticed because there is still *so* much to do. When we were there last, Splash Mtn was closed as well as the Haunted Mansion. I was bummed, but it definately didn't ruin our trip. I would much rather miss out on some things and go in October when the weather is beautiful and the crowds are not so high.
I grew up in Florida and lived right outside of Orlando and went to WDW a lot. I will tell you that as an adult taking kids -- I much prefer Disneyland. It is more compact and easier to naviagate (not so much walking for the kiddos). I am not planning on taking my kids to WDW until they are much older and are able to handle it.
I hope you enjoy your trip to DL!!

It's interesting you say this. I've taken my son to DW twice when he was 2 and 3. I decided to try DL now because I think it would be much easier for him since it's more compact. At DW it just takes so long to get to the parks, and then get to the rides and everything is so spaced out. I'm looking forward to our DL trip because I think it will be a lot better for him.

 

[ubaisore]

I have been off season each of the last 4 trips and even the weekends arent bad...i remember being a kid in the summer and waiting FOREVER.... you should have a great time

 

[minniebeth]

Ok, but now I AM getting frustrated with the Oct. calendar not being posted...
I am a few short days away from being able to make my PS dining plans and they definately will be affected by park hours! Espcecially since I am trying to plan for 7 days... I was waitling patiently until August 1. I finally got my Mickey's Halloween Treat tix. (since I'm GP) Now I would like to plan the day with dining around it.
Arghhh!!!

 

[Mickey Buffet]

Okay Promised myself I'd get off this soapbox... but one last comment.

Maybe some of you can help us by emialing DLR via there web page (Go to the link "CONTACT US" at the bottom of every page)..or at dlresort@disneyonline.com .

Could be if enough complaints are filed this might get speeded up.. I was really suprised as well that it wasn't updated today. They seem to have missed the stated deadline from the original e-mail.

This Board still ROCKS! I've been learnin a TON of stuff

Thanks!

 

[Hound 109]

Hi All,

I appreciate you point of views on this thread.. I still am dissapointed with disneyland however... I did a quick review of other parks here in Califorina schedules and they all had hours of operation thru the end of the year on their web sites ( Seaworld, Universal studios Hollywood, Magic mountain,and Knotsberry farm).

That's all I really want actually..The other stuff (parades/events/Fireworks) was just nice to have stuff although..many parks had these as well.
....

....For us personally it won't be that big a thing (we'll probably go and have a blast).......

Thanks for hearing me out!

I just wanted to add my $.02 since the schedule still isn't completely out. Our first 3 day trip in March was a Mon-Wed. (no Fireworks, & no Aladdin cause we left at noon on Wed.).

Our second 3 day trip in June, we chose SUNDAY, Mon & Tues. primarily so we could could see the Fireworks & Aladdin on Sunday. It worked out great.

On Sunday morning DL wasn't crowded & when it got crowded we hopped to DCA & rested at the hotel. Sun evening after 7pm wasn't crowded either.

Monday & Tuesday we used EE (since were at PP). It was a great & productive 3 day trip. (If we had been at a Harbor motel we would have done EE on Monday).

Oh...& you WILL have a blast.


hound

 

[Mickey Buffet]

Hey ,
Much Obliged Hound !

That's what I was thinking too...
Sun Mon Tues and maybe Wednesday

Good to hear it worked out well for you

Thanks for the info

 

[MATTERHORN]

Also wanted to tell you that throughout the years, the DL calendar is notorious for changing even after it's posted!! I think they try to minimize that by waiting to post it till they are more sure of the schedule, rather than posting it earlier and then making changes.

I have seen ent. times and hours sometimes change up until about 2 weeks before my trip. Or they'll post it all with no fireworks scheduled, then add that later, etc.

The off season hours are pretty standard, just go back and look at the last three years for Oct. and they are almost all the same. I would just go by that!

Andrea

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

I agree with MATERHORN. I just plan my trips according to last year's hours (and the year before). They don't seem to change much and if so, then it's usually by only an hour which doesn't seem to affect much.

 

[Vanvmom]

Personally, I'm glad they are refurbishing Alice. Everytime for the past 6 years (and some years we've gone to DL every couple of months) that I've gotten in line for that attraction it has broken down about the time I got to the loading area (plus the line moves very slowly compared to other nearby attractions). My family now considers me a jinx for the attraction, and I am not even allowed to get in line for it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I just wanted to comment, since I anxiously awaited the schedule for our trip last fall. Similar to this year, last July I was able to select "September" in the calendar's drop-down menu, but there basically was no information available. (Similar to the calendar's current state.)

Finally items started appearing, hours were posted, WOOHOO!! I started planning! But then things started changing; items that were on the schedule were removed, hours were reduced, then added back. It was very confusing!

The calendar was not terribly reliable until about a month before our trip. I think the reason for this was that it was the end of the 50th celebration, but traditionally a slow period. There were rumors flying that guests were going to flock back to the park for the end of the 50th, but that didn't actually come to pass. The Haunted Mansion reopened with the holiday overlay during our stay, and the Halloween decorations went up, both of which seemed to boost attendance in the park.

I think DL really tries to pay attention to their attendance projections, and increase their hours and shows and staff accordingly. Perhaps other parks don't have the fluctuations in attendance that DL has, or maybe they just stick to their schedule regardless of fluctuations, I don't know.

DL's methodology is frustrating to be sure, but if I have to put up with bigger crowds during my stay, I hope there are extra shows, longer hours and so forth to compensate for the hassle.

 

[Mickey Buffet]

Thanks Folks ..

Good to hear that they're pretty consistant with the hours from years past..Makes us feel a bit more at ease..not that its that huge a deal. Am just working out the final details for work, and am getting ready to book in the next few days. Woohoo

Also, sent a final e-mail to DL just for kicks to see if I could pry loose any info..Will let you know if I find out anything

Thanks!

 

[minniebeth]

This might be a duh question, but how do you find the October calendar hours from last/prior years??
Any enlightenment would be appreciated!

 

[Peri]

Yes the DL hours are often changed after the calendar is out so that is why I think they wait - remember that people can rent the entire park sometimes for private events - not sure how often this happens at WDW. WDW is a "world" of its own - DL is in a big city.

You can always look at the prior year's schedule to get an estimation.
We are going in october with a toddler on a "toddler trip" and of course she LOVES Alice in Wonderland and it will be closed - oh well!

There will be more than enough for her to do and plenty of time for it all.

Just enjoy the park!

 

[Mickey Buffet]

Okay Enough already of the DL appologoist...

Sorry but by now they should at least know their park hours (even according to DL themselves). Every other major park in LA and around the country seems to have no problem. DL is very special but it is just a theme park after all.

As I said in my original email...".. maybe I'm being overly picky, but I expect much from Disney, and these 2 issues seem to me to be a down-slide in the quality of your product"

Again not earth shatteringly bad like they stopped selling Dole Whip floats or something..am just dissapointed thats all.

BTW -minibeth see the link by disneyfan4ever54 earlier in this thread for last years schedule.

 

[Hound 109]

Hey ,
Much Obliged Hound !

That's what I was thinking too...
Sun Mon Tues and maybe Wednesday

Good to hear it worked out well for you

Thanks for the info

I think including Sunday is a good idea (especially during semi-off season) for the reasons I posted previously.

Also during off-season, EE is important (to me) for two reasons.

One, since the rope drop is later, EE is easier to use (not as much of a pain to get the family up).

Two, with shorter hours in off season, EE allows my family to do our normal Disney touring of Morn. / rest at hotel / Late Afternoon-Eve. more easily than if we had an hour less of touring.

Mickey Buffet, where are you all staying?

(& don't even joke about them dropping Dole Whip Floats. )

hound -

 

[minniefaye]

Okay Enough already of the DL appologoist...

Sorry but by now they should at least know their park hours (even according to DL themselves). Every other major park in LA and around the country seems to have no problem. DL is very special but it is just a theme park after all.

As I said in my original email...".. maybe I'm being overly picky, but I expect much from Disney, and these 2 issues seem to me to be a down-slide in the quality of your product"

Again not earth shatteringly bad like they stopped selling Dole Whip floats or something..am just dissapointed thats all.

BTW -minibeth see the link by disneyfan4ever54 earlier in this thread for last years schedule.

I totally agree with you! We are going early October and I am like you and would just like to know some basic things such as park hours. I was frustrated with them awhile back with not announcing the Halloween Party dates. All the other major parks/attractions had their Halloween schedules out except DL!! I was waiting to buy airline tickets and it just frustrated me to no end. Guess I'm not a patient person, but come on people, get your planning in gear!!!!