What makes July 4 extra special at DL?

[NMMickeymom]

July 4 is our departure day after 6 days at DL. We will have 6 day passes and can save a day if we don't go to the parks on the evening of our beach day. I hope we will have covered the parks pretty thoroughly by then. I wonder if there are special things (besides the fireworks) that make the Fourth of July worth sticking around for a 1/2 day before taking off?

 

[pikaboo27]

Other than the 80,000 people packed in like veal and the fireworks, I can't think of anything special in the park that day.

Seriously, I wouldn't go into the park that day. When I went many years ago, my legs and arms had bruises from being pushed and shoved and banged into by other guest. I do not recommend especially if you will have already been at the park so many days.

 

[Disney Dreams]

aww, pikaboo27 beat me to my answer of, "You mean other than the 50,000 wonderful people that will be there with you?"

In all seriousness...

There is a special fireworks show. - the end -

This last year, July 4th was NOT a busy day at the Park... prior years, in prior years, however, it was absolutely packed. Prior to last year, July 4th was one of the days taht you coud almost count on DL hitting capacity.

If your plans currently do NOT have you at DL on the 4th, I would not change your plans. Some will tell you that it will be very light crowd-wise and you are missing a low-crowd day in the Park, but that will only be known for true or theory after the fact.

I say, enjoy your beach day - but be aware that July 4th is a V-E-R-Y popular beach day in So. Cal.

- Dreams

 

[Lissame]

I have been there on the 4th a couple of times, and the fireworks show is the same that they do the couple of days before the 4th--a patriotic montage. I don't think they do anything else, except that the throngs of people will all be wearing red, white, and blue.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

DD & I will be there ~ but mostly cause DD's birthday is 7/3 - after reading reports of DISers who were there last year I figured we'd give it a go this year ~ I'm hoping the crowds are tolerable. The calendar shows that the 4th of July fireworks will be on 7/2 & 7/3 as well.....

 

[disneymum58]

We will be there June 30 - July 3, leaving on the 4th and was wondering the same. Any speculation on how busy those days leading up to July 4 will be? I'm guessing that each day leading up to July 4 will be busier than the day before?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We will be there June 30 - July 3, leaving on the 4th and was wondering the same. Any speculation on how busy those days leading up to July 4 will be? I'm guessing that each day leading up to July 4 will be busier than the day before?

Well the deluxe AP and the *better* S CA AP aren't blocked out until 7/3 ~ so some might say that the days leading up to then will be busier then 7/3 and on.....

 

[NMMickeymom]

Thanks for the feedback. I think we will stick to the plan of having a leisurely last morning in the hotel and head out. I'm glad to hear the patriotic fireworks are up and running a few nights early. I just love that stuff, even though it always makes me cry. Our beach day is planned for Friday the 2nd and we might hit the parks in the evening. If there was a compelling reason to be at the park on July 4 we would skip the evening visit on the 2nd to save the day on our passes.

I still can't figure out the AP pass crowd predictions either? Some passes are blocked and some are not but there does not seem to be much information about which passes are most plentiful and how that influences crowd levels. I'm guessing WOC has thrown off any reliable predictions anyway. At this point we are committed so we will deal with whatever comes our way.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I still can't figure out the AP pass crowd predictions either? Some passes are blocked and some are not but there does not seem to be much information about which passes are most plentiful and how that influences crowd levels. I'm guessing WOC has thrown off any reliable predictions anyway. At this point we are committed so we will deal with whatever comes our way.

To Understand the AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds read ~this~

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

I am going thru this same dillema too! DH and I will ve there from July 2- and leave late afternoon on July 4th. I want to see the WOC ... F! and the special Fireworks. and only have 2 nights to squeeze it all in. I was thinking we would WOC friday night- hoping that all the aP people will ve watching the Special Fireworks since it will be their last chance before being blocked out. And then do F! and Fireworks Sat night hoping all the tourists will be watching WOC... as they will think it will be less crowded since all the AP's will be blocked. Anyways that is how I hope it turns out!

 

[NMMickeymom]

So... according to HydroGuy ~90% of the AP's are the So Cal version. Furthermore, according to the DL website, only one of the So Cal AP's (the less expensive Select version) are blocked the week we are there June 28 + . I can only hope that the majority of those 90% are indeed select SoCal pass holders. Again, not a big deal..... I'm still going to Disneyland in 10 days!!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I just wanted to make a general comment regarding huge crowds at Disneyland. If you're there when the park opens and spend your morning going on rides and collecting as many fastpasses as you can, managing the crowds becomes a lot easier. I've never had Disneyland enforce the close of the fastpass return window, even last year on the 4th of July when Space had a 2+ hour standby line.

 

[wdwfanatic316]

I am going thru this same dillema too! DH and I will ve there from July 2- and leave late afternoon on July 4th. I want to see the WOC ... F! and the special Fireworks. and only have 2 nights to squeeze it all in. I was thinking we would WOC friday night- hoping that all the aP people will ve watching the Special Fireworks since it will be their last chance before being blocked out. And then do F! and Fireworks Sat night hoping all the tourists will be watching WOC... as they will think it will be less crowded since all the AP's will be blocked. Anyways that is how I hope it turns out!

How funny, I was thinking that the AP holders would be watching WOC on 7/2 since it was their last chance before the block out So our plan is to watch the fireworks/Fantasmic on 7/2 and WOC (with AG dinner package) on 7/3. We leave early on the 4th. Hopefully no matter what the crowds are I'm sure we'll have wonderful trips!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

wdwfanatic316- I was thinking they would do the WOC before the last block out day- but they will prolly want to see it again. either way- I will do my best to see these shows! Hope you have a great time too!

 

[NMMickeymom]

Good luck to my fellow Dis friends as we forage for Fastpasses through the sea of AP holders. All we need is a little faith, trust, and pixie dust right? OK, maybe a little obsessive planning and lots of caffeine too!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

amen to that!

 

[Disney Dreams]

...hoping that all the aP people will ve watching the Special Fireworks since it will be their last chance before being blocked out....

So... according to HydroGuy ~90% of the AP's are the So Cal version. Furthermore, according to the DL website, only one of the So Cal AP's (the less expensive Select version) are blocked the week we are there June 28 + . I can only hope that the majority of those 90% are indeed select SoCal pass holders....

How funny, I was thinking that the AP holders would be watching WOC on 7/2 since it was their last chance before the block out ....

Good luck to my fellow Dis friends as we forage for Fastpasses through the sea of AP holders....

The "avoiding AP holders" logic just rubs me the wrong way. What about avoiding all the fellow tourists who are trying to see the entire place in 3 days? The act is that no one knows for SURE what % of current AP holders are blocked out, nor does anyone know the plans of every AP-holder that isn't blocked out. Maybe they are busy planning a trip to Hawaii for the 4th because they don't want to deal with everyone who floods to So. Cal for the holiday weekend. Maybe they are working. Maybe they are entertaining friends / family from out of town who want to see Disneyland and are annoyed that so many other tourists are in the Park.

AP Holders are not the villains in your vacation. They love Disney, they enjoy the Park, they want to enjoy the magic just like you. Trying to second-guess where anyone is going to be once inside DLR is a whole other discussion as well, but the bottom line is, every person in the Park MAY want to see WoC, FW, and/or Fantasmic! - or not. I come from the school of thought, plan your vacation as if there WILL be crowds, then if you luck out and the entire world decides to watch Fantasmic! while you watch WoC, you can have the entire waterfront to yourself and enjoy that there is no one to share the magic with when you turn to see the look of awe in a fellow human beings face. For me, that is PART of the magic.

- okay, stepping down from my peeve -

Just remember in your planning, you don't know what the "other guy" is going to do. They are trying to enjoy the Parks just like you are.

- Dreams

 

[NMMickeymom]

DisneyDreams, I think you missed the humor in some of our posts. We all had different theories and ideas about how the crowds would be affected by the AP's. Yes, the science of human behavior is the big unknown, kind of the point. But please don't fault someone for making a guess. Bottom line, no one knows and we plan to have fun anyway. Attempting to be smart and planning for full parks does not mean I dislike AP holders? Seriously?