What in the world happened last week?

[LizzyS]

YES! We went the 10-13 Dec 2014. Wed was decent, more crowded at night. Thursday was what I would call a 7 even though Touring plans had it less. Friday it rained so that was just an amazing experience. But Saturday the 13th, I've NEVER EVER seen crowds like that, and I went on a 4th of July as a kid. I had to put my kids in their umbrella strollers because I was afraid of them getting lost or trampled. In front of POTC at F! time, we couldn't even move. It was ridiculous! I think FP has a lot to do with it. I mean, does anyone remember waiting in 2, 3, 4 hour lines to ride their favorites? I do. And so figure a few thousand people that used to be in a queue are now just hanging out in the walks. Now I look at a 30 min wait time and say eh, no thanks. We have been spoiled with the FP stuff I tell you.

Yeah, we were there 12-13-14 (the Saturday) and the bottleneck in Tomorrowland was nearly unbearable to get through. I mean, people just right up against each other, inching along. It's made me not want to go back at Christmas time again, tbh, if that's normal for the holidays.

 

[mom2rtk]

I thought it was the Spring Break but I didn't meet many people from the east coast. I had a conversation with a CM at Pixie Hallow, he said the shorten hour really did a number to the crowd level. Also, many rides were operating in a much less capacity especially in the morning which increased the wait time. #ThanksShanghai

That's what I was afraid of. So infuriating!

 

[sheetz]

YES! We went the 10-13 Dec 2014. Wed was decent, more crowded at night. Thursday was what I would call a 7 even though Touring plans had it less. Friday it rained so that was just an amazing experience. But Saturday the 13th, I've NEVER EVER seen crowds like that, and I went on a 4th of July as a kid.

It's usually very crowded the first sunny day after a rainstorm.

 

[LizzyS]

That was more than "very crowded", imo.

That was stifling.

 

[mom2rtk]

YES! We went the 10-13 Dec 2014. Wed was decent, more crowded at night. Thursday was what I would call a 7 even though Touring plans had it less. Friday it rained so that was just an amazing experience. But Saturday the 13th, I've NEVER EVER seen crowds like that, and I went on a 4th of July as a kid. I had to put my kids in their umbrella strollers because I was afraid of them getting lost or trampled. In front of POTC at F! time, we couldn't even move. It was ridiculous! I think FP has a lot to do with it. I mean, does anyone remember waiting in 2, 3, 4 hour lines to ride their favorites? I do. And so figure a few thousand people that used to be in a queue are now just hanging out in the walks. Now I look at a 30 min wait time and say eh, no thanks. We have been spoiled with the FP stuff I tell you.

We were there those dates as well. I remember the rain (TSMM was flooded most of Friday morning!). As I recall, there was even a tornado in LA that day.

And I remember the crowds on Saturday.

I think part of the issue had to do with AP. If I'm not mistaken, that was the last weekend many APs were valid before Christmas.

 

[LizzyS]

A-ha!

I bet it was the AP dealio that made it almost unbearable.

 

[sheetz]

That was more than "very crowded", imo.

That was stifling.

Yeah, it can be more than "very crowded." It's common for those particular days to hit capacity.

 

[mom2rtk]

A-ha!

I bet it was the AP dealio that made it almost unbearable.

Always follow the APs.

 

[LizzyS]

Always follow the APs.

I generally do pay attention to that to some degree, but I think that might have been our only option that go round.

 

[mom2rtk]

I generally do pay attention to that to some degree, but I think that might have been our only option that go round.

With my daughter in high school now, we are increasingly hemmed in on when we can go. So I totally understand. Sigh. I was really glad we had been there that entire week and had some spectacular days earlier. Because that Saturday pretty much stunk. On top of everything else, the railroad kept going down and it was almost impossible to get around through the thick crowds. I shudder to think what our trip will be like this year with the railroad closed.

 

[LizzyS]

With my daughter in high school now, we are increasingly hemmed in on when we can go. So I totally understand. Sigh. I was really glad we had been there that entire week and had some spectacular days earlier. Because that Saturday pretty much stunk. On top of everything else, the railroad kept going down and it was almost impossible to get around through the thick crowds. I shudder to think what our trip will be like this year with the railroad closed.

We waited forever when the RR came back up that day and I was SO glad we did when they announced it would be closed for a long time for SW Land. We just went last Saturday and it wasn't that bad without the RR, but it's way more walking, of course. That's the second time we went and the RR was down.

 

[tarheelalum]

It's always packed now. That is the way Disney wants it.

 

[LizzyS]

It's always packed now. That is the way Disney wants it.

...and I totally get that. As long as it's not unbearable, it doesn't bother me, truth be told.

 

[longboard55]

Sunday was Dapper days plus Bats Day. Next week is the tinker bell 5k. Disney keeps raising prices but they still come. Everyone loves Disney.

We are off next week for a sandwich WDW Disney cruise trip. Life is wonderful.

 

[tarheelalum]

...and I totally get that. As long as it's not unbearable, it doesn't bother me, truth be told.

Unbearable is a subjective. As long as you approach your time at Dland realistically and know by early afternoon, the crowds in some parts of the park will be at a standstill. Get a park hopper and use the fast pass system to your advantage. Eat lunch around 2 or 3pm to avoid the madness of the afternoon. Be careful not to get stuck on one side of the park during a parade if you need to be on the other side. Bring a lot of patience and a positive outlook and you should be fine.

 

[LizzyS]

Unbearable is a subjective. As long as you approach your time at Dland realistically and know by early afternoon, the crowds in some parts of the park will be at a standstill. Get a park hopper and use the fast pass system to your advantage. Eat lunch around 2 or 3pm to avoid the madness of the afternoon. Be careful not to get stuck on one side of the park during a parade if you need to be on the other side. Bring a lot of patience and a positive outlook and you should be fine.

...and that's exactly what I do!

 

[squeezle]

Ditto - we were there April 25-28 and it was a zoo. I'm a WDW vet, and it was my first time at Disneyland in 30 years ... in my mind I was just blaming it on the fact that the park feels smaller, narrower walkways, tighter queues. But now that I see that it was 7-9/10 most of those days it makes more sense. I picked that week because it was only supposed to be 3/10, guess the rest of the world did the same thing.