Re: Disneyland is crazy crowded!

[Malela9]

OMG!!!
I have been going to Disneyland for years and when I took my kids yesterday I thought I was going to die! The crowds were horrible! We had to wait in long lines to get a fast pass and then wait in long lines to use the fast pass! Most of the big headliner rides had 100 minute waits! That was enough for me, I went home!
I am just warning anyone who is even thinking of going near Mickey this week that it is going to be horrible. I am going to try again next week.
Good luck and may the magic be with you!

 

[jlmarr]

"Nobody goes there anymore - it's too crowded."

But seriously, yes, the week between Christmas and New Year's is the most crowded time of the year, bar none. We received a couple of comp tickets early this year, and the only caveat was that it wasn't good for this week. Ye be warned.

 

[Sherry E]

I feel for you. I know I couldn't deal with it. The week between Christmas and New Year's is notoriously super-crowded, but there seems to have been a huge surge in crowds last year and this year and it has gotten worse. Last year was the busiest holiday season in 10 years and I bet that this year will even top that statistic. I wonder if this year's crowds are due to the fact that so many more people are getting Annual Passes or if it is due to the fact that World of Color is drawing large crowds, OR if it is because of the fact that more people are packing into Disneyland because DCA is under a lot of construction and can't accommodate as many people as it once could. All of the above?

It's funny you mentioned it being crazy yesterday. I heard on the news yesterday that it was the second day in a row Disneyland had to stop selling tickets early in the day and not let anyone in. At the time I saw the report, they said that DL stopped selling tickets only 2 hours after it opened. In fact, even California Adventure reached capacity later on (confirmed by Albort, one of the Cast Members who posts here). Neither park was letting anyone in until nighttime, at least. In my mind, that means huge crowds and hideous lines all over the place.

There have been other reports on this forum since last night which claim that it was not that crowded yesterday, but that Monday was the really bad day. I don't think they could close due to capacity if it were not jam-packed everywhere. But I find it interesting that maybe the concentration of crowds shifts around in the parks so that it seems less crowded (to some people). I know it would have been too much for me to deal with and I would have had to head to the hotel!

 

[Funball]

Time magazine online and the LA times (our local newspaper) have both reported this morning that disneyland is now halting admission into the parks!they have been filling up to capacity by 1pm apparantly!!

 

[ldietiker]

We went last week and there were few people there because of the heavy rain. While we were soaked, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted. Although a lot of local people may usually wait for the week between Christmas and New Year, I'm thinking a lot of locals that would have attended last week waited for this week and now the park cannot accommodate the demand.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We went last week and there were few people there because of the heavy rain. While we were soaked, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted. Although a lot of local people may usually wait for the week between Christmas and New Year, I'm thinking a lot of locals that would have attended last week waited for this week and now the park cannot accommodate the demand.

I'm sure this is likely a factor.

As someone who has been in DL when they stopped selling tickets by 10 am, I feel for those that are in that mess.

 

[Sherry E]

We went last week and there were few people there because of the heavy rain. While we were soaked, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted. Although a lot of local people may usually wait for the week between Christmas and New Year, I'm thinking a lot of locals that would have attended last week waited for this week and now the park cannot accommodate the demand.

Oh, that's true. That's a very good point. I bet you're right - the heavy rain last week likely caused some people to postpone trips until this week, adding to the already massive pre-New Year's crowds. So along those lines, I would imagine that after the rain clears up today, it will likely be even more packed tomorrow. And New Year's Eve, of course, is expected to be a madhouse anyway.

 

[toocherie]

I wonder if this year's crowds are due to the fact that so many more people are getting Annual Passes

I believe all Annual Passes are blacked out except for Premium/Premiere. So I don't think it's so many AP'ers. I think it's people visiting from out of town or locals without passes who are off work who buy one day tickets.

We went last week and there were few people there because of the heavy rain. While we were soaked, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted. Although a lot of local people may usually wait for the week between Christmas and New Year, I'm thinking a lot of locals that would have attended last week waited for this week and now the park cannot accommodate the demand.

I think this had something to do with it too.

 

[Sherry E]

I believe all Annual Passes are blacked out except for Premium/Premiere. So I don't think it's so many AP'ers. I think it's people visiting from out of town or locals without passes who are off work who buy one day tickets.



I think this had something to do with it too.

Unless many more people are getting Premium passes now, too? I do think it's a combo of several different factors going into why the crowds are seemingly worse this year than last. In any case, it's a madhouse and I am glad I am staying far, far away from DLR this week!

 

[alleycatmom]

I just have to post because we went yesterday (Tuesday) with our 6-year-old son and we had a WONDERFUL time!

Maybe it's because he's a boy (no princess stuff) or because he doesn't like the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, or Indy, but we did EVERYTHING we wanted to do, with little or no wait. We rode Haunted Mansion twice (Fast Passes) with less than a five-minute wait. Our longest line was Small World and that was maybe 10 minutes. We rode Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and a bunch of other stuff. We had Fast Passes for TMRR but our son chickened out

We rented a locker so we could shop early in the day and stash our stuff there, so no lines while shopping. We stashed our coats there as well -- $7.

We found a great spot for the 3:30 parade, staked out about 20 minutes before it started. We watched the fireworks from in front of Small World. We saw the castle winter lighting thing and then they roped off the castle so people could take pictures -- it was gorgeous.

We live 9 hours away and have only ever been to Disneyland for one day at a time. This was our third time doing Disney in one day. We drove 40 minutes from our nephew's house, parked in Mickey & Friends, rode the tram and were at the gates at the 8 a.m. opening. Pretty much the only negative thing all day was the cast member at the turnstile welcoming us with, "Welcome to the happiest place on Earth -- at least for the next hour. Then it will be the unhappiest. You'll be waiting in lines all day."

Anyway, I just wanted to give an alternate perspective. We overheard people at the park who were not having fun, but we saw a lot of people having fun as well.

 

[Leofoenget]

"Welcome to the happiest place on Earth -- at least for the next hour. Then it will be the unhappiest. You'll be waiting in lines all day."
Did someone really say that? OMG I would report that. Had that happened to me, I would have taken the name and said something. That's terrible

 

[MAH4546]

Annual Passes are not a factor to this weeks crowds. All are blocked except for the Premium, and the Premium accounts for only ~20% of passholders.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We were there yesterday and it was crazy crowded! The line to get in the parking structure was pretty long at about 9:30 (worst time to arrive in my opinion) There was a line for the lockers reaching into MS that I haven't seen before. We were also there on Thursday, the 23rd and heard they reached capacity that day as well.

Once the limited access to DL at least MS was better. We did leave after the parade though. Too busy for us.

I have some interesting info to post-I'll start a thread on it later today. Re: letters coming down, Premium AP discount, etc.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Annual Passes are not a factor to this weeks crowds. All are blocked except for the Premium, and the Premium accounts for only ~20% of passholders.

Of course, that still is about 200,000 people, which is more than enough to cause DL to shut its gates! -- Suzanne

 

[alleycatmom]

The CM at the turnstile seriously said that. We we so startled we didn't get his name or dwell on it.

During our last trip, a CM on the DL train ride griped at us about how he'd worked there X number of years and only gets paid $9 per hour.

I thought of one other slightly annoying thing that happened yyesterday. A CM at the Photo Supply store said I could charge my phone at the Opera House, but when I got there the CMm wouldn't let me and made other people stop, too. He said the hotel business centers are the only place it's allowed.

I stand by my report, though. We had a fabulous, magical time, 8am - 11pm on Tuesday the 28th

 

[Funball]

Annual Passes are not a factor to this weeks crowds. All are blocked except for the Premium, and the Premium accounts for only ~20% of passholders.

I agree with that the PAP holders are only less then half the equation of total amount of pass holders. even so, the locals with a premium or are a premier pass holder know good sense not to step foot near DLR right now, all the crowd congestion is from the general public and locals with out a AP buying tickets for a NYE week experience at DLR!

 

[Desert Dwellers]

We got into town yesterday at 1:30 and checked into Paradise Pier. After getting settled into our room, we walked over to DL. We were let in with no problem at 2:30. We only stayed for a few hours, but we never thought it was unpleasant.

Today was fun, but WET. We left mid-afternoon today, but we plan for a big day tomorrow, hoping it will be dry.

 

[Sherry E]

Of course, that still is about 200,000 people, which is more than enough to cause DL to shut its gates! -- Suzanne

SuzanneSLO - Great point! Also, I don't know that we have all the AP statistics in for 2010. That 20% figure is from a while back. Plus, there are even more people who have been getting Premium AP's this past year, I think. And there are still more people who just got holiday gift money who are heading to the parks this week to get those AP's while they have the week off work/school. So I don't think that element can be ruled out entirely. It may not be the main ingredient, but it's just one more ingredient in a big ol' stew!

When people discuss trying to avoid the AP holder crowds, I am always the one who is saying that the week between Christmas and New Year's is the busiest week at DLR and it has nothing to do with AP holders, for the most part. But there are people who are undoubtedly getting AP's this week because they got gift money. It's just one more thing that contributes to an already super-crowded week. It's certainly not the sole cause of crowds, but it's one thing.

 

[Funball]

RIGHT.. But sherry you must have to agree that most of the park guests are also travelers from up north and or all around california and or other places that have decided it be fun to spend NYE at DLR..

 

[Sherry E]

RIGHT.. But sherry you must have to agree that most of the park guests are also travelers from up north and or all around california and or other places that have decided it be fun to spend NYE at DLR..

I have no idea who is at DLR this week or where they came from. All we know is that it's not the 2 SoCal level AP holders or Deluxe AP holders. And actually it could be those people too if they bought the blockout day tickets to get in. But assuming they didn't, all we know is that those 3 levels of AP holders are not in the park.

I think people simply just come to DLR between Christmas and New Years because more people have off work and school, and they don't have to go visit family for the holiday now that Christmas is over. And they have money to spend. And some of those people who are spending money are buying AP's. I think that there are many ingredients in a big ol' stew, and that is merely one of them.