Why so crowded on SuperBowl Sunday?

[DahliaRW]

Every time we've been at Disney (land or cruise) the Seahawks have won. I wish I had money to travel down to DLR for Superbowl Sunday!

 

[bumbershoot]

Maybe it's full of people like me that couldn't care less about football.

I was going to say "try living up here and feeling that way!" and then I saw your location. Poor us.

Every time we've been at Disney (land or cruise) the Seahawks have won. I wish I had money to travel down to DLR for Superbowl Sunday!

It might have been you, but it might be my friend who tends to be checking her grill every time Seahawks do something good. On FB during that last game she had 20 friends imploring her to feed the birds, change her cat litter, put something on the grill and check on it....once she saw the messages and started leaving the game-viewing, they did better. So it might be her, LOL.

 

[slatterie]

Ugh. First the closures and no castle and now a packed park with more flocking to the few rides that are still open.

Too bad this will be our only trip to DL. I can deal with the ride closures, but the packed crowd forecast has me for the first time really regretting ever booking this trip (it was not that way when I booked). I don't mind moderate crowds and waiting for rides but when you cant move, sit anywhere or waiting times that are over 90 minutes is what make me

Sorry...having a pity party of one right now so I can be strong when DH and DD both have meltdowns when the see the excessive crowds. I'm not going to tell them that's for sure. Just hoping it will not be that bad. We only have 2 days and no park hopper.

/thanks for the space and letting me vent....

 

[HydroGuy]

Ugh. First the closures and no castle and now a packed park with more flocking to the few rides that are still open.

Too bad this will be our only trip to DL. I can deal with the ride closures, but the packed crowd forecast has me for the first time really regretting ever booking this trip (it was not that way when I booked). I don't mind moderate crowds and waiting for rides but when you cant move, sit anywhere or waiting times that are over 90 minutes is what make me

Sorry...having a pity party of one right now so I can be strong when DH and DD both have meltdowns when the see the excessive crowds. I'm not going to tell them that's for sure. Just hoping it will not be that bad. We only have 2 days and no park hopper.

/thanks for the space and letting me vent....

I am curious if before deciding on these dates did you get any input from folks on this forum?

 

[slatterie]

I am curious if before deciding on these dates did you get any input from folks on this forum?

I did...I looked up events/holidays at DL or in Anaheim going on at that time and nothing came up in the area that indicated extremely large crowds. Only crowded because its the weekend but not super crowded. The last time I trust any "crowd calendar" as well - I looked at more than one. Lesson learned to always ask the folks at the DIS first!

Didn't realize it was Super Bowl weekend until after we booked, but then that is in AZ not the LA-area so it didn't click in my head to look up any threads about SB itself (until I saw this one) and how that means extra crowds at DL (which I'm still trying to understand ).

Oh well just make the best of it and hope for some pixie dust somewhere. Timing worked out to this particular weekend so it was this or not at all...and I need my Mickey Bar!

 

[HydroGuy]

I did...I looked up events/holidays at DL or in Anaheim going on at that time and nothing came up in the area that indicated extremely large crowds. Only crowded because its the weekend but not super crowded. The last time I trust any "crowd calendar" as well - I looked at more than one. Lesson learned to always ask the folks at the DIS first!

Didn't realize it was Super Bowl weekend until after we booked, but then that is in AZ not the LA-area so it didn't click in my head to look up any threads about SB itself (until I saw this one) and how that means extra crowds at DL (which I'm still trying to understand ).

Oh well just make the best of it and hope for some pixie dust somewhere. Timing worked out to this particular weekend so it was this or not at all...and I need my Mickey Bar!

It has been common "educated conjecture" around here for awhile that there would be lots of refurbs in Jan-May before the 60th anniversary. It would seem anyone surprised by that did not ask here beforehand. That is why I asked. I hope your trip turns out well.

 

[disneyobsessed808]

I will pay more attention this year but I do not recall reports of DLR being slammed on Super Sunday.

Having been to Disneyland for a few recent Super Bowl Sundays in the past years, I can attest to the fact that the parks seemed very crowded on those days.

Now I don't know if it's just because it was more crowded than expected, or if it was truly slammed, but it's not even close to how slow some people expect it to be. My friends said they will be going to DLR Super Bowl Sunday because they expect it to be dead....yeah, it won't be dead.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

Ugh. First the closures and no castle and now a packed park with more flocking to the few rides that are still open. Too bad this will be our only trip to DL. I can deal with the ride closures, but the packed crowd forecast has me for the first time really regretting ever booking this trip (it was not that way when I booked). I don't mind moderate crowds and waiting for rides but when you cant move, sit anywhere or waiting times that are over 90 minutes is what make me Sorry...having a pity party of one right now so I can be strong when DH and DD both have meltdowns when the see the excessive crowds. I'm not going to tell them that's for sure. Just hoping it will not be that bad. We only have 2 days and no park hopper. /thanks for the space and letting me vent....

I think you're overreacting to speculation. And make no mistake about it. Those crowd calendars are pure speculation. Disneyland will be busy on Sunday because it's a Sunday. The Super Bowl has nothing to do with that. Now the ride closures are a different story. Yes, some attractions are closed right now. But there are more than just a "few" rides still open.

I'd suggest you look on the bright side. The weather should be perfect, and it's still "off season". No matter how busy you think the parks may be, they could be much busier if it was holiday season or summer.

One more thing. I'm not sure if it's in your budget, but you can always upgrade your tickets to park hoppers, and switch parks if one seems too busy.

 

[slatterie]

It has been common "educated conjecture" around here for awhile that there would be lots of refurbs in Jan-May before the 60th anniversary. It would seem anyone surprised by that did not ask here beforehand. That is why I asked. I hope your trip turns out well.

No it wasn't the refurbs - it was the additional mass crowds expected for an event that isn't even held in the same state.

I know going "off season" that there will always be a number of them when going this time of year at either WDW or DL. Sad but acceptable...it just seems like its a perfect storm of things happening now. Just a bit bummed but the weather is looking great. I'll just have a few Mickey Bars and be good.

 

[slatterie]

I think you're overreacting to speculation. And make no mistake about it. Those crowd calendars are pure speculation. Disneyland will be busy on Sunday because it's a Sunday. The Super Bowl has nothing to do with that. Now the ride closures are a different story. Yes, some attractions are closed right now. But there are more than just a "few" rides still open.

I'd suggest you look on the bright side. The weather should be perfect, and it's still "off season". No matter how busy you think the parks may be, they could be much busier if it was holiday season or summer.

One more thing. I'm not sure if it's in your budget, but you can always upgrade your tickets to park hoppers, and switch parks if one seems too busy.

I will - just having the pre-trip panic and yes remind myself its not summer or the holidays. Sadly, no park hoppers this time. Thanks!

 

[dtnrhi]

Everyone here in Phoenix is escaping the madness and going to Disneyland for the weekend

Agreed. I was trying to win tickets to the game, but since that didn't happen, I think I convinced my mom to get our AP's early and we may try to head up there this weekend.

The traffic is horrendous, and with the influx of people, I think we'll have a better odds of getting the measles here in town than at Disney.

 

[HydroGuy]

There were a few reports (in one thread, linked upthread) that Super Sunday was pretty busy in 2014. I'm curious to hear what it is like this year...hopefully someone who goes will report back.

I am not saying it wasn't busy that day last year. And I do think it is worth getting a handle on how Super Bowl Sunday impacts crowds as the question seems to be asked every year.

Here are some factors that would help us answer this question:

- Sundays tend to be the most crowded day of each week because Deluxe AP holders are often blocked on Saturday but not Sunday

- While February is considered an off-season month which results in more refurbs, last year (and this year) seem to have a had significant more refurb activity than usual. More refurbs of course means longer lines for the rides that are in fact open.

- When people talk about the parks being "slammed" or "very crowded", some people mean that Main Street, the hub, etc., is just crammed with people. Other people mean the wait times for rides is excessively long even though places like MS are not that crowded. Sometimes the wait times get longer because Disney does not staff rides as much and runs them on lower capacity. That does mean lines are long but that the line moves more slowly and the wait time is long.

- I would be curious what some of the local AP holders say who visit regularly on Sundays in January and February. They see Sunday to Sunday crowds and have a better sense of the "crowdedness". Some on this forum might be those people and that would be pretty helpful insight.

 

[whitneyebz]

We looked at the crown calendar (isitpacked.com) and chose to go this coming thurs, fri, and sat because it said sunday would be packed. And that has not changed, it has said the same thing for at least a month. It took me abut 5 minutes to find out about the refurbs, too. I am new to this board and this is our second disneyland trip as a family (third time for DH and me). Anyway, yes, it's disappointing about the rides (mostly the castle...that I did not know about when picking dates) but there are TONS still open. All the good ones, in my opinion. And we've been there at the same time of year (3 years ago) and crowds were great...but we didn't go on super bowl sunday. Longest line was 20 minutes for Nemo and we hated that ride, never again! You'll be fine if you use fastpasses and plan things well. It cannot be nearly as bad as Christmas or spring break.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I went on Superbowl Sunday about five years ago and it was great, the crowds were very light until the late afternoon when the game was wrapping up. Once it got to the 4th quarter people started pouring in and we decided to go over to DCA.

 

[HydroGuy]

No it wasn't the refurbs - it was the additional mass crowds expected for an event that isn't even held in the same state.

I know going "off season" that there will always be a number of them when going this time of year at either WDW or DL. Sad but acceptable...it just seems like its a perfect storm of things happening now. Just a bit bummed but the weather is looking great. I'll just have a few Mickey Bars and be good.

Well I am glad you are making the best of the situation and do hope you have a great time.

 

[Sherry E]

Let's get back on track, folks..... sing "Kumbaya," hold hands and all of that.

I'll be interested to hear/read about how crowded it is at DLR on Sunday. I suppose the Frozen Fun element will add some extra people in the parks as well. Last year at this time there was no Frozen Fun, and Olaf's Frozen Ice Rink was gone from DTD. This year, Olaf still holds court over his rink in DTD and Frozen Fun is a hit in DCA. So there are a couple of extra things for the Super Bowl non-viewers to experience while at DLR.