Prepare for the worst...

V.I.N.CENT.

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
When you feel lucky to come across a churro cart with no line, something is wrong. Just got back from a 5 day trip, 1/2 day on Saturday 10/16 then four full day including two Oogie Boogie parties. We've experienced really heavy crowds before, and set our expectations prior to trips knowing we were going to run into a lot of people. This time is was different. Lets get the no Fastpass/Genie thing out of the way. It made a difference. The ability to jump on something relatively quick to avoid a longer line helps temper the busy days. But there are several other things missing that is making everything that much worse.

No shows or parades. I think this was one of the biggest impacts on our trip. People queuing for shows or staking out parade spots, then attending those events, severely impacts the overall feel of the park. The time not spent waiting for shows/parades impacts everything else from rides to the churro carts. instead of watching the parade, then going back to the hotel for a rest or that one last show before going to lunch, people are hitting the lines for rides or food because there is nothing else to do. Other in park entertainment, glad to see the Dapper Dans back, also contributes to this as well.

Same could be said for the character meet and greets. Fewer attractions to help suck up the wandering crowds and level out the park flow just a bit more.

Restaurant capacity, specifically at the hotels. I don't think they are fully staffed at all dining locations yet. Paradise Pier restaurant is still shut down, Steakhouse 55 is closed, and from what I observed at Storytrellers, the reservation only system isn't allowing for all of the tables to be used to their fullest extent. We ate there twice and I never saw the restaurant more than 50% used at dinner. This also applies to locations like the Blue Bayou. When we had dinner there, we were able to order, get our food, and finish with several tables around us never used. I also think that with mobile ordering at the quick service locations, seating is very much an issue. We get our food quicker (sometimes) which is great, but without a line the seating fills up that much faster, causing some to stake out spots pretty early. So food/capacity still is an issue that in turn is contributing to the consistently long lines.

Park reservation system. On many of our trips, we would hit Disneyland first thing then jump to DCA by about 10am either for a Fastpass or the crowds are lower. This is no longer possible, keeping people in place until 1pm. We reserved Disneyland for every morning of our stay due to Rise of the Resistance, we wanted to make sure we had two swings at boarding groups if we happened to miss the first one. I think they need to go back to the pure park hopper option.

Everything listed above takes away waiting time for other activities or travel time to and from locations, slamming the ride wait times during busy periods.

I think its going to take quite a bit of time to find a balance for all of this. Even when "everything" is back. We have visited Disneyland in October for about 6 to 8 years now. Never experienced anything like this before. Haunted was consistently 45-70 minutes, Small World hit an hour on occasion, usually 30min at least, and we never saw the Jungle Cruise below 30 min, even at opening. It wasn't unusual to see the vast majority of everything at 45 min plus. At least Pinocchio was consistently under 15 min :)

Did we have fun and enjoy ourselves? Yes, but it was vastly different. We prepared for "the worst" as usual, but we didn't anticipate this. I don't see visiting during the holiday seasons anytime soon. And we may be going from our typical once per year visit to once every other year. My intent with this post is not to bum anyone out about their upcoming trip, I just hope it helps people prepare and set expectations.
 
Prepare for the worst.... So much for the Happiest Place on Earth....

Whoa Nellie!! What a way to plan for a vacation.

I have a solo birthday trip scheduled the end of January for a Monday to Wednesday. From all the reports I am glad this isn't my first trip to the parks.

If I had a large amount of $$ into the trip I might consider canceling. But I have done well with a $7.77 round trip flight from PDX to SNA and a room at DI&S for $89/night. The most expensive item will be my 3Day-Hopper.

Knowing the snack options in the parks have lines to match the rides, I think I will pack a few extra energy bars. Plus I will be sure to have my ADR's in place.

Thank you everyone for the reviews.

G
 


Prepare for the worst.... So much for the Happiest Place on Earth....

Whoa Nellie!! What a way to plan for a vacation.

I have a solo birthday trip scheduled the end of January for a Monday to Wednesday. From all the reports I am glad this isn't my first trip to the parks.

If I had a large amount of $$ into the trip I might consider canceling. But I have done well with a $7.77 round trip flight from PDX to SNA and a room at DI&S for $89/night. The most expensive item will be my 3Day-Hopper.

Knowing the snack options in the parks have lines to match the rides, I think I will pack a few extra energy bars. Plus I will be sure to have my ADR's in place.

Thank you everyone for the reviews.

G
I hope that you have a great trip. It sounds like you don’t have much to lose, money-wise, with those prices. But I guess I would also consider what you are gaining or losing for your time. As a self-employed person, if I am not in my office billing, no money is coming in (and it is actually costing me because my staff are still there getting paid, overhead is accumulating etc). We just were there on Columbus Day weekend (and we had been in July 2021 after the re-open and prior to that were AP holders from out of state). We live in Texas, so it was flights and onsite hotels, so the cost was high. Even not considering the cost of flights and hotels, I was disappointed by the lines and lack of options other than rides/food/shopping. I was disappointed that I had to ask for and was made to feel a bit bad for asking for daily housekeeping on my almost $700/night room at the DLH. We had a lot of fun but we will absolutely not return until some type of G+ system is in place. And even that has some disappointing features such as no re-rides. I would pay more for a G++ version that included re-rides.

Anyway, I hope that you have a great trip! Temper your expectations, but I think it is ok to be disappointed, even if you do that.
 
Did you stay at Paradise Pier? If so, were you able to walk through the Grand Californian to get to Downtown Disney or did you have to go all the way around?
 
Did you stay at Paradise Pier? If so, were you able to walk through the Grand Californian to get to Downtown Disney or did you have to go all the way around?
No problem walking through the Grand. It was a lifesaver, my wife broke a toe a couple weeks prior. That plus the monorail saved us. My keycard opened the security gate and the guard stationed there only needed to see the key to open the door.
 


How would you compare the 'feeling' of Universal vs. Disney (with the way things are running now)?

I haven't been to both parks back to back like that to really know if things are better or worse, just Disney with my Magic Key, and live local in Orange County.
We did two days at Universal at the end of the trip. Honestly, not much to do there over two days, one would have been enough for us. Universal felt empty, most of their attendance is at the Horror Nights now. The park didn't feel busy until 6pm when the switchover happens. We also had their fastlane passes, no waits for anything. Most, if not all of their food options were open and their shows were up and running.
 
Your experience isn't out of the ordinary, unfortunately. I've had some downright chaotic visits this month.

That said, we just spent the most pleasant day at the parks! It wasn't too crowded at all. Lines for food carts and quick service were super short and the 3 mobile orders I placed were all ready immediately (even Bengal BBQ at 1pm--shocking). We arrived around 10am and stayed until 5, hitting both parks. The only time we started seeing crowds was leaving DCA around 3:15 when party attendees were flooding in. We have been visiting on Saturdays for the most part and this was the first Sunday, and maybe because it was a Halloween party day, who knows, but it was SO enjoyable with less crowds.

So, it's truly a toss up as to what you are gonna get, which is tough to handle.

Prepare for the worst is actually pretty solid advice.
 
Prepare for the worst.... So much for the Happiest Place on Earth....

Whoa Nellie!! What a way to plan for a vacation.

I have a solo birthday trip scheduled the end of January for a Monday to Wednesday. From all the reports I am glad this isn't my first trip to the parks.

If I had a large amount of $$ into the trip I might consider canceling. But I have done well with a $7.77 round trip flight from PDX to SNA and a room at DI&S for $89/night. The most expensive item will be my 3Day-Hopper.

Knowing the snack options in the parks have lines to match the rides, I think I will pack a few extra energy bars. Plus I will be sure to have my ADR's in place.

Thank you everyone for the reviews.

G

My family and I had ADRs for most of the days in the parks and it was a huge relief. I figured that if mobile ordering wasn’t working in our favor, at least we’d still be able to eat plus take a breather from waiting in long lines. We did mobile ordering for Pym Test Kitchen and I agree with OP - it was so hard to find a place to sit down and eat our food. Several people were sitting at the tables, not even eating. It was very frustrating.
 
How would you compare the 'feeling' of Universal vs. Disney (with the way things are running now)?

I haven't been to both parks back to back like that to really know if things are better or worse, just Disney with my Magic Key, and live local in Orange County.

We did a day at Universal a few weeks ago (the same week we went to Disney) and I felt like it ran a lot smoother overall. We also had express passes so that can make a huge difference.
 
I hope that you have a great trip. It sounds like you don’t have much to lose, money-wise, with those prices. But I guess I would also consider what you are gaining or losing for your time. As a self-employed person, if I am not in my office billing, no money is coming in (and it is actually costing me because my staff are still there getting paid, overhead is accumulating etc). We just were there on Columbus Day weekend (and we had been in July 2021 after the re-open and prior to that were AP holders from out of state). We live in Texas, so it was flights and onsite hotels, so the cost was high. Even not considering the cost of flights and hotels, I was disappointed by the lines and lack of options other than rides/food/shopping. I was disappointed that I had to ask for and was made to feel a bit bad for asking for daily housekeeping on my almost $700/night room at the DLH. We had a lot of fun but we will absolutely not return until some type of G+ system is in place. And even that has some disappointing features such as no re-rides. I would pay more for a G++ version that included re-rides.

Anyway, I hope that you have a great trip! Temper your expectations, but I think it is ok to be disappointed, even if you do that.
I hear what you say about time away from work.
I've been retired since 2005 so those days are now a memory for me.
In the past as an AP holder I'd fly down at least 5 times a year.
This next trip will help me judge if I will spring for a Magic Key Pass or not...

I just hope the Starbucks lines are short or go fast each morning...
 
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Thank you for posting. I especially liked the point about lack of parades, shows, fireworks impacting the experience. I am a weirdo and am not super into parades, shows, and especially not fireworks. But for some reason, it hadn't occurred to me until now that even though I don't care for these things, it's still going to impact me because it's going to create crowds with food, rides, etc. I agree it's better to prepare for the worst. I find that with that mindset I tend to be pleasantly surprised more often than not. I also agree with others points about having ADR's. Lots of planning has always been recommended for Disney trips, but it seems as if it's more important than ever now.
 
Thank you for posting. I especially liked the point about lack of parades, shows, fireworks impacting the experience. I am a weirdo and am not super into parades, shows, and especially not fireworks. But for some reason, it hadn't occurred to me until now that even though I don't care for these things, it's still going to impact me because it's going to create crowds with food, rides, etc. I agree it's better to prepare for the worst. I find that with that mindset I tend to be pleasantly surprised more often than not. I also agree with others points about having ADR's. Lots of planning has always been recommended for Disney trips, but it seems as if it's more important than ever now.

Same, I hadn't fully grasped how the lack of those things I'm not very interested in affects the lines for everything else.
 
I just hope the Starbucks lines are short or go fast each morning...

I hate to say this, but DH waited in the Starbucks line at CA for 45 minutes because DD wanted it so badly. DL another day we told her no way because the line looked longer than the one he waited in at CA. DTD- one morning we were able to do mobile order from DLH and then just pick it up as we walked by and that was great. The other mornings mobile order was not available and the lines were insane as was the amount of people waiting around for their order.

OP thanks for posting-- we agree. I went in with low expectations because of no maxpass, no shows, no formal character meets etc, but I had no idea what we were in for- had I known we probably would have cancelled. Almost 3 weeks later and we are still talking about all the things we missed due to crowds and lines keeping us from being able to do all the things we usually do. I wasn't prepared for the level of crowds we faced-- we have been many times in June and July, and I figured it would be about like that. I was really excited to see Haunted Mansion Holiday (which was amazing) and go to Oogie Boogie Bash (we love MNSSHP at WDW, and OBB was also fantastic). I've never had to wait 15-20 minutes in line for a Churro- AFTER bypassing the line several times and waiting until it was on the shorter end to get in line. Actually, I will say, we really liked all the character meets and there were a ton-- so easy to just walk up, interact with them and then grab a distanced photo or two--- I know the littles would rather have a hug and autograph- but with an older kid that still loves characters, it was great not to have any formal long lines. We had a dining reservation every day-- thank goodness- and I expected to see what you did which was some empty tables. I was surprised that at our ADRs. (Lamplight Brunch, Cafe Orleans (twice- its the favorite); RBT) the tables were pretty much all full. WCT they were not, but we were the first time of the day and one of the first groups seated and it seemed to be filling up. We also despised the inability to hop until 1:00 p.m.--- it really messed with things (like jumping to a park with visibly shorter lines and also lunch), and I also agree that we hated being limited to the 7:00a.m boarding pass for the park we had the reservation for. We had a really hard time getting ROTR. Had I been able to once we got WS (noon our first CA day), I absolutely would have changed our other CA day to DH to have another try at ROTR at 7:00 a.m.. As it was, I made the stupid mistake of going for WS again that CA morning instead of just waiting until noon-- and of course it would be the ONE morning I was not locked out of a boarding pass and our WS wasn't called until 12:05 so it blocked ROTR entirely for the day for us. We got on ROTR once in 5 days, and we felt thankful we at least got that- although disappointed we didn't at least get one more ride on it. ROTR and WS were our priorities since we had never ridden either of them. As much as I hate pay per ride and am disappointed with Disney for doing it-- I would have happily spent the cash every day to avoid the hours of stress and disappointment caused by the Boarding group process every day. I felt like I couldn't relax until noon every day-- and then if noon didn't work out I dealt with another round of disappointment. I'm hoping once Genie + and LL are in place it helps a lot, and hopefully for those with upcoming trips after the fall break weeks subside it will be a lot better.
 
I hate to say this, but DH waited in the Starbucks line at CA for 45 minutes because DD wanted it so badly. DL another day we told her no way because the line looked longer than the one he waited in at CA. DTD- one morning we were able to do mobile order from DLH and then just pick it up as we walked by and that was great. The other mornings mobile order was not available and the lines were insane as was the amount of people waiting around for their order.

OP thanks for posting-- we agree. I went in with low expectations because of no maxpass, no shows, no formal character meets etc, but I had no idea what we were in for- had I known we probably would have cancelled. Almost 3 weeks later and we are still talking about all the things we missed due to crowds and lines keeping us from being able to do all the things we usually do. I wasn't prepared for the level of crowds we faced-- we have been many times in June and July, and I figured it would be about like that. I was really excited to see Haunted Mansion Holiday (which was amazing) and go to Oogie Boogie Bash (we love MNSSHP at WDW, and OBB was also fantastic). I've never had to wait 15-20 minutes in line for a Churro- AFTER bypassing the line several times and waiting until it was on the shorter end to get in line. Actually, I will say, we really liked all the character meets and there were a ton-- so easy to just walk up, interact with them and then grab a distanced photo or two--- I know the littles would rather have a hug and autograph- but with an older kid that still loves characters, it was great not to have any formal long lines. We had a dining reservation every day-- thank goodness- and I expected to see what you did which was some empty tables. I was surprised that at our ADRs. (Lamplight Brunch, Cafe Orleans (twice- its the favorite); RBT) the tables were pretty much all full. WCT they were not, but we were the first time of the day and one of the first groups seated and it seemed to be filling up. We also despised the inability to hop until 1:00 p.m.--- it really messed with things (like jumping to a park with visibly shorter lines and also lunch), and I also agree that we hated being limited to the 7:00a.m boarding pass for the park we had the reservation for. We had a really hard time getting ROTR. Had I been able to once we got WS (noon our first CA day), I absolutely would have changed our other CA day to DH to have another try at ROTR at 7:00 a.m.. As it was, I made the stupid mistake of going for WS again that CA morning instead of just waiting until noon-- and of course it would be the ONE morning I was not locked out of a boarding pass and our WS wasn't called until 12:05 so it blocked ROTR entirely for the day for us. We got on ROTR once in 5 days, and we felt thankful we at least got that- although disappointed we didn't at least get one more ride on it. ROTR and WS were our priorities since we had never ridden either of them. As much as I hate pay per ride and am disappointed with Disney for doing it-- I would have happily spent the cash every day to avoid the hours of stress and disappointment caused by the Boarding group process every day. I felt like I couldn't relax until noon every day-- and then if noon didn't work out I dealt with another round of disappointment. I'm hoping once Genie + and LL are in place it helps a lot, and hopefully for those with upcoming trips after the fall break weeks subside it will be a lot better.
As I said, we made the best of it and had a much better plan than most, but I don’t want to spend that much money on flights, onsite hotels and tickets to “prepare for the worst”. What kind of vacation is that?? The answer that Disney is feeding us is book more expensive TS meals so you have a place to eat for sure, book G+ and ILL$ so you can get on rides without waiting in terrible lines or risking getting shut out of BG for ROTR and WS, book an onsite hotel to make sure you can get a park reservation, book a hard ticket event like OBB or an after hours Christmas event so you have a chance at non-insane lines. They have created terrible problems with low staffing and not resuming shows, parades, meet and greets (all of which save them money), and the solution they are offering (and many are buying, myself included for some of it) is for the guests to spend more to alleviate the torture. Happy vacation to everyone….
 
My mom and I were discussing this last night and what I think Disneyland is gonna do for the forseeable future is improve the lines to each ride so people can have a chance to get on a ride much easier without waiting two hours for a chance to go on a ride. But Disneyland should stop this thing of having people ride only once and return to the system of having people ride twice because that helped if you had a family that had mom or dad take turns riding with the kids after the chosen parent got to ride with the older kids. My mom also told me that the main reason of why Disneyland hasn't resumed any regular meet and greets or shows and parades is because the character actors and parade performers are having mega battles with their unions and have been for years and that's why so many parades and shows are cancelled so much at Disneyland but if you look at their career section for entertainment there isn't very much casting calls for face characters or masked characters but there is a lot for band performers and singers/dancers and that's why Disneyland isn't promoting any new parades or shows. A third thing why the food at Disneyland is so hard to get is because they have food that is popular and as people want to eat it the lines can get tougher and you are stuck with hungry kids for two hours trying to get churros and a drink of soda or a sandwich. If you are going to Disneyland bring your own snacks or eat in the room before going. But this is just the beginning of Disneyland's new image and it will continue for a long while
 
I also think that with mobile ordering at the quick service locations, seating is very much an issue. We get our food quicker (sometimes) which is great, but without a line the seating fills up that much faster, causing some to stake out spots pretty early.

So they're allowing people into the seating area without their mobile order being ready? They could learn a lot from their little sister in Florida. You have to show your order ready screen to even get admission to the restaurant (unless you have complicated allergies, are paying cash, or don't have a cell phone where your whole party is directed to the line and required to stay together) so there is no "claiming a table" - at least not for more than the few minutes part of your party is getting the food.
 
Thank you for posting. I especially liked the point about lack of parades, shows, fireworks impacting the experience. I am a weirdo and am not super into parades, shows, and especially not fireworks. But for some reason, it hadn't occurred to me until now that even though I don't care for these things, it's still going to impact me because it's going to create crowds with food, rides, etc. I agree it's better to prepare for the worst. I find that with that mindset I tend to be pleasantly surprised more often than not. I also agree with others points about having ADR's. Lots of planning has always been recommended for Disney trips, but it seems as if it's more important than ever now.
Exactly my revelation while in the park. And my family is the same. We are all about the rides. Take in the occasional show or parade now and then, however the park is totally different at this crowd level without the entertainment options. We were at Disneyland in August with no crowds and it wasn't the same impact.
 
So they're allowing people into the seating area without their mobile order being ready? They could learn a lot from their little sister in Florida. You have to show your order ready screen to even get admission to the restaurant (unless you have complicated allergies, are paying cash, or don't have a cell phone where your whole party is directed to the line and required to stay together) so there is no "claiming a table" - at least not for more than the few minutes part of your party is getting the food.

You do have to show your order ready screen to get in to the restaurants to be placed in a line for pick up. That's actually what "your order is ready" means. It means "we have a spot for you in line now." They don't fulfill the orders at *most places* until you walk up to the counter and tell them your order number. But if you tell them you are getting a table and flash the mobile order "we are preparing your food" screen, they will also let you in.

The issue at Disneyland is that most seating areas are fully outdoors and open on all sides, and so there is no realistic way to monitor who is sitting at the tables, and they took away most of the benches again, so people HAVE to sit at the tables at the dining spots because there isn't anywhere else to sit. Due to no shows, if people need to take a break and sit for awhile, the dining seating areas are the best option.

A lot of people complain how small the seating area is at Pyms, but don't realize that if they just walk around the corner a bit, there is a HUGE, well shaded seating area set up outside the Hyperion Theater. It's themed to Pyms, with utensil/napkin stations set up and themed table coverings, and the music is playing there which makes it a really immersive place to eat. Even on a hot July day, it was nice and cool over there. Where Disney messed that up is there are NO signs at Pyms indicating that there is an additional seating area over there so you have people walking around right outside the restaurant with trays looking upset and people eating on their laps along the low wall right across the way. If they simply had a CM stationed outside directing people to where the seating area is, it would make a huge difference.
 

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