DisneySuiteFreak
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2007
- Messages
- 3,279
We just left Disneyland yesterday. My DH let me stay one extra day! 
We were in Ahaheim from June 11-18! 
We had a great time!! But (there's always a but...) OMG, the crowds were insane on Tuesday! What was up with that? Wednesday morning through about 12 noon was soooo much more manageable than Tuesday all day. (We left at noon, but I figured based on the early crowds that it was nowhere near as packed yesterday as it was on Tuesday.) Tuesday was so bad that it makes me want to extend our trips and never go on an early entry day again!
It was miserable wall to wall people. I LOL (sarcastically, to myself), because so many people said that early to mid June is nowhere near as busy as the Christmas Holiday season, but I seriously doubted that on Tuesday. 
It was insane! My DS and I heard so many people in the crowd complaining about the insane amount of people. I overheard cell phone conversations in which people were saying, "DL is insane right now, don't come!" It was nuts! I imagine it must be from all the 5 for 3 promos and locals coming in.
DL put up the electric sign in front of the security checkpoint that said "The parks are busy"-- well duh! Tell us something we didn't know!
(We saw them when we went back after an attempted nap.) Also on Tuesday, Indy, Splash, Space Mountain and Screaming went down for extended lengths of time. Splash had a long line of people waiting for it to open since park opening time, and at 1pm when I checked back for FPs, it was still down and the CM told me that those people who were waiting were convinced it would be up and running soon, but she wasn't so sure about that. So we said forget it and never went back. Crazy! Seriously, there was a long line of people waiting and it was getting hot, hot hot! DS and I got sunburned from being in the park from 8-1pm w/ no sunscreen, and we are naturally tan. (We forgot the sunblock because of course, it was cool and overcast the entire previous part of our stay and we never needed it.) Re: ride closures, people, check back for FPs (they don't give them out when the rides are closed) and check back to see if the rides are working. And when it's that nuts, you have to criss cross the parks getting FPs and using SR, or you won't get on very much of anything. 
OTOH, gathering Fast passes early in the AM doesn't work when the rides are down! 
DS heard a man complaining to a CM and asking why so many things were down, and the CM said that's just the way it is when everything is running at full capacity and with full loads. 
Luckily my DS had enough of the shows and was able to use our FPs or most of them while F! and fireworks was happening.
Oh yeah, the first showing of F! on Tuesday was canceled -- at 9:20pm! Everyone in the audience was booing like mad. It was horrible that they didn't make an announcement until that late in the game. (I know it's all about crowd control, but a lot of people were upset.) All along they said it was going to start, then, "We apologize for the delay but it will start soon," then I saw them taking down the ropes I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, at 9:20 they said "Due to unforeseen circumstances" the show was canceled; however we were all invited to stay and watch the fireworks show as if we were going to be able to move anywhere else! 
At all 3 shows they announced the area had reached capacity and not to rush to leave for the courtesy and safety of other guests.
I know a lot of people were disappointed about F!'s cancellation. The place was packed like sardines for the first 2 shows. They added a 3rd show, and although still busy, it was nowhere near as insane as the first show! Tuesday was the first day that it got rather warm in the parks, but right after the first showing of F! it started to get cool really fast, so I was very happy I brought my jacket out of the locker, because there was no way I was going to be able to go and get it until well after the 2nd showing of F! that's how nuts the crowds were. So heads up if you are not used to that type of temperature change.
Oh yeah, we went to , Knotts Berry Farm, Seaworld, and gambled a bit (and won!) at Barona in San Diego! We really enjoyed Seaworld and Knotts! If I could have, I would have reversed our days and gone to Knotts on EE/MM day due to the insane crowds at DL on the EE/MM days.
Knotts was cute and we had a great day there. DS loved the thrill rides. I enjoyed the Ghost Town theme, I thought there were a lot of cute rides for the smaller kids, we personally enjoyed the 'not too crazy rides' (DS loved the Crazy rides) and the lack of crowds. You could practically walk on most rides. The one time I was told Ghostrider had a 1.5 hour wait, we left and came back later. We walked on in under 30 minutes right before closing. (8pm in early June, 10 later this month through Summer). All the Guest service people at Knotts were so nice and wished us a great day everywhere we went. We got the impression that they really appreciated our business and went out of their way to tell us so. DS did say that he noticed that some Guest service/CM people were not as nice to him when he was by himself but he figured it must be that the park has such a high attendance of local teens and some of them try to line cut and get away with stuff; so he sensed an attitude a couple of times when they told him he had to take off his jacket or wear it or that he had to take off his glasses. (Couldn't leave it tied around his waist for safety reasons, and anything loose has to be stored - but they provide storage areas.) DS said he had the impression that they probably thought that he was like some of the local teens who attempt to get away with anything and everything they can, and yes they do have teens like that all over DL too. He said he thought they thought he was a local teen and just playing dumb when he didn't know he was supposed to untie his jacket and store his glasses. He didn't take it personally, as he's seen the behavior by some of the local teens at both parks and yes, some do try to push the envelope with getting away with whatever they can get away with. On the bright side, he did see some local teens being escorted from a ride by security for line cutting, and DH & I saw some escorted from their train ride for acting up before the ride started. That was refreshing to see. (There were a lot of line cutting teens at DL on Tuesday on rides. I had to reprimand a couple of teens who tried to get in my way for F! after I sat there for 3 hours waiting for a decent spot -- and their mom was right there encouraging it! Heck no! I wasn't in any mood to put up with that!) Yes, the thrill rides at Knotts are nuts, but fun. I would avoid Ghostrider like the plague if you have any neck or back problems. Seriously. That is one crazy ride. If you like a lot of rides and little to no crowds, Knotts is the place for you. Great for a one day trip.
Seaworld was awesome! Loved the shows and didn't even manage to make it on the rides because we slept in, left late and hit some traffic on Saturday the 13th. But none of us cared because we enjoyed the shows.
Knotts and Seaworld are offering deals like buy one day, get the rest of the year free. Knotts has some $29 deals for up to 4 adults. We had a coupon, but I saw billboards for it. I think it's on their website too.
Gambling at Barona was fun because DH and I won! I won $1900 on $60 investment and DH won $1k on a couple hundred invested. People 18 years and up can gamble, but DS didn't care to go. He stayed at the hotel in Anaheim. (He's 19; and DH & I went to Barona after the early park closing for Grad night on Thursday night, the 11th.) It practically paid for our trip!
Anyway, we had a great time. I'm in Vegas now, so will try to do a TR if I can recall everything after the Vegas leg of my trip.
For all who are going this month - have a great time! And imo and experience this June, in the summer, I would avoid early entry days like the plague unless you seriously don't have a choice. Sorry, I know that's an unpopular position, but Holy Carp 
it was insane on Tuesday! 
We were in Ahaheim from June 11-18! We had a great time!! But (there's always a but...) OMG, the crowds were insane on Tuesday! What was up with that? Wednesday morning through about 12 noon was soooo much more manageable than Tuesday all day. (We left at noon, but I figured based on the early crowds that it was nowhere near as packed yesterday as it was on Tuesday.) Tuesday was so bad that it makes me want to extend our trips and never go on an early entry day again! It was miserable wall to wall people. I LOL (sarcastically, to myself), because so many people said that early to mid June is nowhere near as busy as the Christmas Holiday season, but I seriously doubted that on Tuesday. It was insane! My DS and I heard so many people in the crowd complaining about the insane amount of people. I overheard cell phone conversations in which people were saying, "DL is insane right now, don't come!" It was nuts! I imagine it must be from all the 5 for 3 promos and locals coming in. DL put up the electric sign in front of the security checkpoint that said "The parks are busy"-- well duh! Tell us something we didn't know! (We saw them when we went back after an attempted nap.) Also on Tuesday, Indy, Splash, Space Mountain and Screaming went down for extended lengths of time. Splash had a long line of people waiting for it to open since park opening time, and at 1pm when I checked back for FPs, it was still down and the CM told me that those people who were waiting were convinced it would be up and running soon, but she wasn't so sure about that. So we said forget it and never went back. Crazy! Seriously, there was a long line of people waiting and it was getting hot, hot hot! DS and I got sunburned from being in the park from 8-1pm w/ no sunscreen, and we are naturally tan. (We forgot the sunblock because of course, it was cool and overcast the entire previous part of our stay and we never needed it.) Re: ride closures, people, check back for FPs (they don't give them out when the rides are closed) and check back to see if the rides are working. And when it's that nuts, you have to criss cross the parks getting FPs and using SR, or you won't get on very much of anything. OTOH, gathering Fast passes early in the AM doesn't work when the rides are down! DS heard a man complaining to a CM and asking why so many things were down, and the CM said that's just the way it is when everything is running at full capacity and with full loads. Luckily my DS had enough of the shows and was able to use our FPs or most of them while F! and fireworks was happening. Oh yeah, the first showing of F! on Tuesday was canceled -- at 9:20pm! Everyone in the audience was booing like mad. It was horrible that they didn't make an announcement until that late in the game. (I know it's all about crowd control, but a lot of people were upset.) All along they said it was going to start, then, "We apologize for the delay but it will start soon," then I saw them taking down the ropes I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, at 9:20 they said "Due to unforeseen circumstances" the show was canceled; however we were all invited to stay and watch the fireworks show
as if we were going to be able to move anywhere else! At all 3 shows they announced the area had reached capacity and not to rush to leave for the courtesy and safety of other guests. I know a lot of people were disappointed about F!'s cancellation. The place was packed like sardines for the first 2 shows. They added a 3rd show, and although still busy, it was nowhere near as insane as the first show! Tuesday was the first day that it got rather warm in the parks, but right after the first showing of F! it started to get cool really fast, so I was very happy I brought my jacket out of the locker, because there was no way I was going to be able to go and get it until well after the 2nd showing of F! that's how nuts the crowds were. So heads up if you are not used to that type of temperature change.
Oh yeah, we went to , Knotts Berry Farm, Seaworld, and gambled a bit (and won!) at Barona in San Diego!
We really enjoyed Seaworld and Knotts! If I could have, I would have reversed our days and gone to Knotts on EE/MM day due to the insane crowds at DL on the EE/MM days. Knotts was cute and we had a great day there. DS loved the thrill rides. I enjoyed the Ghost Town theme, I thought there were a lot of cute rides for the smaller kids, we personally enjoyed the 'not too crazy rides' (DS loved the Crazy rides) and the lack of crowds. You could practically walk on most rides. The one time I was told Ghostrider had a 1.5 hour wait, we left and came back later. We walked on in under 30 minutes right before closing. (8pm in early June, 10 later this month through Summer). All the Guest service people at Knotts were so nice and wished us a great day everywhere we went. We got the impression that they really appreciated our business and went out of their way to tell us so. DS did say that he noticed that some Guest service/CM people were not as nice to him when he was by himself but he figured it must be that the park has such a high attendance of local teens and some of them try to line cut and get away with stuff; so he sensed an attitude a couple of times when they told him he had to take off his jacket or wear it or that he had to take off his glasses. (Couldn't leave it tied around his waist for safety reasons, and anything loose has to be stored - but they provide storage areas.) DS said he had the impression that they probably thought that he was like some of the local teens who attempt to get away with anything and everything they can, and yes they do have teens like that all over DL too. He said he thought they thought he was a local teen and just playing dumb when he didn't know he was supposed to untie his jacket and store his glasses. He didn't take it personally, as he's seen the behavior by some of the local teens at both parks and yes, some do try to push the envelope with getting away with whatever they can get away with. On the bright side, he did see some local teens being escorted from a ride by security for line cutting, and DH & I saw some escorted from their train ride for acting up before the ride started. That was refreshing to see. (There were a lot of line cutting teens at DL on Tuesday on rides. I had to reprimand a couple of teens who tried to get in my way for F! after I sat there for 3 hours waiting for a decent spot -- and their mom was right there encouraging it! Heck no! I wasn't in any mood to put up with that!) Yes, the thrill rides at Knotts are nuts, but fun. I would avoid Ghostrider like the plague if you have any neck or back problems. Seriously. That is one crazy ride. If you like a lot of rides and little to no crowds, Knotts is the place for you. Great for a one day trip.
Seaworld was awesome! Loved the shows and didn't even manage to make it on the rides because we slept in, left late and hit some traffic on Saturday the 13th. But none of us cared because we enjoyed the shows.
Knotts and Seaworld are offering deals like buy one day, get the rest of the year free. Knotts has some $29 deals for up to 4 adults. We had a coupon, but I saw billboards for it. I think it's on their website too.
Gambling at Barona was fun because DH and I won! I won $1900 on $60 investment and DH won $1k on a couple hundred invested. People 18 years and up can gamble, but DS didn't care to go. He stayed at the hotel in Anaheim. (He's 19; and DH & I went to Barona after the early park closing for Grad night on Thursday night, the 11th.) It practically paid for our trip!
Anyway, we had a great time. I'm in Vegas now, so will try to do a TR if I can recall everything after the Vegas leg of my trip.
For all who are going this month - have a great time! And imo and experience this June, in the summer, I would avoid early entry days like the plague unless you seriously don't have a choice. Sorry, I know that's an unpopular position, but Holy Carp it was insane on Tuesday! 
) as soon as you can.
So I'm afraid there's a good chance that next week will be insanely crowded as well. 
He didn't want to go on it, and I kept saying, "it doesn't look that bad..." So then I told him, "How did I ever let you talk me into going on that ride?" 
My neck hurt the next day a little bit, but it's okay now. 
