Super worried that parks will be ridiculously crowded

[svfive]

And our vacation will suck. We've never been, so I really have no idea what crowded vs. not crowded looks like. But all the complaining about crowds on the Touring Plans forums has me feeling a little down. Our trip is planned for Nov 7-17, with 5 of those days in Disney. Only 1 day is on a weekend (the 8th - because we have to go on our first day in the area. We are avoiding the park on the 11 and the Avengers weekend. (so not going on Friday the 13, Sat the 14 or Sun the 15). Just feeling a little discouraged about having planned what will likely be a once in a lifetime trip and it may not be all I imagined.

 

[Astylla]

You have two options honestly: Worry to death about every what if and be miserable or do as much research , be prepared but flexible and try to enjoy things.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about the crowds so my advice is make use of fastpass, make a priority list , allow for downtime and midday breaks and focus on what you can enjoy.

I get it , I'm an over planner over worryer too but as an AP holder I've learned you have to be willing to take it easy.

 

[svfive]

Oh, I am totally over planning and worrying!

 

[Mysteryincorp]

We recently went on a very crowded day BUT we got there right when the park opened. We did space mountain x 2, Matterhorn, haunted mansion, thunder mountain, and splash mountain in1.5 hours. if we had stayed the rest of the day I would have pulled a few fast passes, hit a show in the afternoon, maybe Tom Sawyers island if it got super crowded or hopped over to DCA.
My point is.....get there early, pull some fast passes and it doesn't matter how crowded it is.....you can still have a magical day!

 

[julesann]

We recently went on a very crowded day BUT we got there right when the park opened. We did space mountain x 2, Matterhorn, haunted mansion, thunder mountain, and splash mountain in1.5 hours. if we had stayed the rest of the day I would have pulled a few fast passes, hit a show in the afternoon, maybe Tom Sawyers island if it got super crowded or hopped over to DCA.
My point is.....get there early, pull some fast passes and it doesn't matter how crowded it is.....you can still have a magical day!

Yep! Great advice. It seems like we always hit a 'busy' time--dapper days or cheerleader competition or the CP. DCA and DL are usually quite crowded in the mid afternoon and early evening. However, I have always had a great time and so can you--it is important to expect crowds and manage your time. It is essential to be there at rope drop at either park, enjoy the first 4 hours; get fps; and park hop!

 

[ArchOwl]

Don't worry! If you have done some planning, and it sounds like you have, you should be fine. Just relax and go with the flow. I have taken folks during the busiest of all busy times and it was great.

Do you have any plans you want to go over? Sometimes it helps just to talk through it. But in any case, I think you will be just fine.

 

[agamble]

It'll be fine. Go expecting crowds, but realize you have 5 days. 5 days will allow you to do and see plenty. Get to the gates each morning about 30 minutes before park opening. Do as much as you can before noon. Take a break if you can, then return for the evening fun. Decide when you'll see the nighttime shows. Avoid the areas that have shows and parades unless you're actually watching them. Learn how to use FP and use it to its fullest. The crowds are usually more of a pain for walking from point A to point B than anything else. We rarely wait more than 30 minutes for a ride, and often wait less than 20. FP and arriving early are the best tools for having a good time.

 

[KateDrake]

We were just there Saturday and Sunday, and it was VERY busy. I was worried beforehand that we would only get on like 3 attractions each day, but we actually managed to hit everything we wanted! I think arriving early and having at least a rough plan is key. I don't follow the touring plans to the letter, but they do help me prioritize and know what FPs I need to grab first, etc.

For example, this time I knew my FP priorities would be Space and HM due to the holiday overlays. So we hit Fantasyland at opening and did all of those rides, then hit Nemo and sent a runner to get FPs for Space. We used those, and then as soon as our window opened we sent a runner over to HM.

Just remember that if you have even a basic plan, you are way ahead of 90% of the people who show up that day! Most wander over to the parks after they wake up, and just see whatever attractions seem good at the moment. So you are ahead of the game by having a plan!

 

[calilou]

Yes it is going to be busy, but you have FIVE days! You will get to do everything you want to do plus some. You are going to have an awesome time. Plus you'll get to see the parks transformed into their holiday glory! Enjoy!! And stay positive!

 

[Geemo]

A basic plan is all you need. It will allow the flexibility you'll need if there are more people than you expect.

We were there during gay days and there we plenty of people in both parks. I had downloaded the Disneyland app on my phone to use. Not having wi-fi I found the app to be slow and hard to use for attractions.

Instead I found calling OTTO was fantastic, I could call and ask about several attractions and Otto had the answers fast. We could check on Space Mountain as we were getting off Indy by just making a phone call.

We called Otto often, as we were getting off one ride and trying to decide which way to go, we'd call and see what had the shortest wait time.

Otto was far more efficient than trying to use the app.

Geemo


Ask Otto! 714-520-7090

 

[aroseinwintr]

We are going to be there from Nov. 7 to the 10th.
I don't expect the parks to be too busy the 9th and 10th being as it is just before everyone wants to be there for the star wars opening the 13th. It is also right after the Halloween party's and before the Christmas celebrations start.
My plan for Sunday the 8th is to get in the park early ride the things I want to ride and when it gets busy sit in the hub or outside the train station and character and people watch. Plus I made a dinner reservation for as late as I could at carnation cafe.
when the parks are busy is a great time to go see Mr Lincoln and some of the main street things people tend to skip when they have been in the parks often (locals).
Even if the parks get super busy you have to remember you are in the happiest place on earth. Don't forget to stop and enjoy the ambiance.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I would expect the 11th-the end of Avengers Weekend to be crowded since the 11th is a holiday and I am sure people will just plan on taking the next few days off.
I think if you go in expecting crowds and not expecting light crowds it won't be as much of a shock to you. Honestly go when it first opens because I feel like that is the least busy time, utilize the fast pass system. I agree with whoever made a priority list for what you want to have done, remember you have 5 days in the park! that should be a good amount of time to get a lot done that you want to do.

When its busy in the parks, I try not to go from one side of the park to the other, I try to get done everything in one land [so go on all the fantasyland rides i want to go on... then move on to Tomorrow Land.. then move on to adventure land etc... that way I am not bouncing from one side of the park to the other [unless i have fast passes... but i try to work my schedule around those too.]

Even if it's busy, I'm certain you'll have a magical time, and make memories.

 

[svfive]

I don't really have a plan for any of the days. Other than arrive early. Sunday the 8th will be Disneyland. The 9th I think we will do DCA. And then the remaining 3 days I was figuring on park hopping, depending on what we want to see. My plan was to kinda sit down the night before with the Touring plan App and put in our major attractions for the day, and then grab Fastpasses in order it says to, doing other rides in between. But maybe I need a better plan? I have never been, so it's all pretty foreign and unknown to me.

 

[NewbieMouse]

The 8th is a 6, which is the highest for that time frame - so the touring plans calendar don't show crazy crowds for your days...? I don't think that's "vacation sucking" territory - don't worry and have fun!!

 

[svfive]

The 8th is a 6, which is the highest for that time frame - so the touring plans calendar don't show crazy crowds for your days...? I don't think that's "vacation sucking" territory - don't worry and have fun!!

I know...but I have heard that recently crowds have been at least double the Touring Plans number....

 

[3Gsandme]

The 8th is a 6, which is the highest for that time frame - so the touring plans calendar don't show crazy crowds for your days...? I don't think that's "vacation sucking" territory - don't worry and have fun!!

I wouldn't worry about a 6 day in any Disney park. Dh and I were there in mid June and our days were 8 and 9 out of 10. We got up, hit rope drop, used FP and had a great time. It was absolutely manageable and we got in lot of rides.

 

[3Gsandme]

ETA: isitpacked.com says you'll have a couple busy days and some all right days. I still don't think this will be a vacation ruining level of busy.

 

[casagray]

I'm there almost the same days - getting in mid-day Saturday November 7, early flight November 12.

On Saturday I created a plan that focuses on DCA, although I expect I'll be too late to get a WOC pass (do you have to have a pass?).

For November 8, I signed up for the Welcome to Disney Tour. I figure I'll get there at rope drop (8) try to get on a few rides, then do the 2 1/2 hour tour, then go chill, and head back later in the afternoon, see the fireworks and the second Paint the Night parade.

Monday I did a DCA plan for the morning, and DL plan for the afternoon

Tuesday the park hopper ticket allows early entry into DL, so I'm switching it to DL early, DCA later, although I do want to see Paint the night again if I can.

BUT ... even with these "plans" I "plan" to be flexible, and keep an eye on the lines per both the app and OTTO. I have a few things I definitely want to do but I also have time. The last time I was there was on a Saturday when it was a 7, and getting early was the key, being willing to park hop, using single rider lines (never did get around to picking up fast passes) and resting my feet when it was super crowded (riverboat, animation studio, aladdin, full railroad circuit) helped.

Most importantly - have fun! Interact with CMs, look at the details, have a mickey ice cream - there is more to the park than running from ride to ride.

 

[V.I.N.C.E.N.T.]

You can always modify your day to day plans to make it work. Our last trip, crowds were decent but the heat threw us for a loop. 106 degrees at the highest, 98 at the lowest with 40-60% humidity. Totally sucked for the first day til we figured some stuff out for the rest of the trip. Hit the park hard right at opening, get fastpasses for later, make meal reservations for the busy times, go see some shows. It wont be perfect but you are in Disneyland so its always fun.

 

[SMD]

ETA: isitpacked.com says you'll have a couple busy days and some all right days. I still don't think this will be a vacation ruining level of busy.

I don't think it's taking into account the extra day on the race weekend and the Seasons of the Force opening on the 16th. But personally, I would do the Friday of a race weekend over the 16th if my goal was somewhat lower crowds over seeing Seasons of the Force.