Wow the crowds...

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Last night was great as far as rides at DL. My 12 year old and I stayed late and basically walked in Indy, BTMRR, Pirates, HM, and Splash twice. Crowds for fireworks and F!, but even those were much more manageable than the rest of the week. Saturday really made our week! Aside from some issues while visiting PxP, and a huge SLOW line at Red Rose Tavern at 2pm (I think everyone was trying to avoid the busy lunch hour!), we really had a fabulous day!

Even though Friday was still open for SoCal (not Select), the crowds were a lot better than Tues-Thurs (but nothing like Sat). My guess was that SoCal APs that wanted to visit that weekend waited until Sunday to see PxP.

We ate at Red Rose today. We got in line at 11:45 and there was almost no wait. Got our food fast and sat down to eat near the doors. We suddenly noticed that the line was no longer short, and was now stretched back to the Casey Junior Train. I told my friend “It must be noon” and sure enough it was 12:01. Not sure what it was like by 2:00.

 

[Mamato4boys]

We ate at Red Rose today. We got in line at 11:45 and there was almost no wait. Got our food fast and sat down to eat near the doors. We suddenly noticed that the line was no longer short, and was now stretched back to the Casey Junior Train. I told my friend “It must be noon” and sure enough it was 12:01. Not sure what it was like by 2:00.

In our case, the line didn't look huge initially, but once you got inside, there were a bunch of small lines and they were moving incredibly slow. I thought people just didn't know what they wanted, but I knew our order and was ready to go and the whole process still took forever. The CM that helped us was really nice, but I think she was a bit too chatty considering the circumstances. And then after we ordered, I had to stand and wait for probably 15 minutes or so to get our food. From entering the line to sitting down was probably 25 minutes or so... Which felt like a lifetime because my 2 year old was hangry.

 

[yolie3025]

Hi! We’ll be in California July 15-20 and I’m trying to pick the best days to go to Disneyland and DCA. What days do you all think would be best crowd wise? I’m feeling extra nervous lol

 

[Priory]

In our case, the line didn't look huge initially, but once you got inside, there were a bunch of small lines and they were moving incredibly slow. I thought people just didn't know what they wanted, but I knew our order and was ready to go and the whole process still took forever. The CM that helped us was really nice, but I think she was a bit too chatty considering the circumstances. And then after we ordered, I had to stand and wait for probably 15 minutes or so to get our food. From entering the line to sitting down was probably 25 minutes or so... Which felt like a lifetime because my 2 year old was hangry.

I strongly dislike the type of quick service at DL where you order at the podium register and take the receipt to the window for them to collect your food. A) it takes forever B) exiting that cramped area with your tray(s) is the true nightmare Fantasmic of Disneyland.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Hi! We’ll be in California July 15-20 and I’m trying to pick the best days to go to Disneyland and DCA. What days do you all think would be best crowd wise? I’m feeling extra nervous lol

You might want to try posting this as a new thread. That way your question won't get buried, and you'll get lots of good advice and suggestions in a fresh thread.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Hi! We’ll be in California July 15-20 and I’m trying to pick the best days to go to Disneyland and DCA. What days do you all think would be best crowd wise? I’m feeling extra nervous lol

We dont pick, we just go where the thought takes us, CA or DL, based on how we feel.

Jack

 

[DizneyMommy]

We were using our Chase Reward Visa points, so we couldn't use mobile ordering, unfortunately. I really wish they would change that!

Tuesday and Wednesday were definitely busier than Thursday and Friday, but there was a noticeable difference between Thursday and Friday, as well. I don't know the actual reason for the difference between Thursday and Friday, but it could be that there were fewer out of towners in Friday (some vacationers wanted to leave before the packed weekend and others hadn't gotten in for the weekend yet) and still the typical number of APs.

When we left Friday, we were trying to be hopeful that the fact that it didn't get super busy Friday night would mean Saturday would be good, but we thought there was a good chance it would be crazy. Friday evening was pretty good. That could indicate fewer out of towners (crowds lightened because a decent number of APs visiting for the day didn't stay late).

I will say, though, that everything was SO much better on Saturday that any future visits we make will be with a strong emphasis on blockout dates.

Over the week, we had fun on rides/shows/etc, but the crowds really beat us down. And unfortunately, so many people that made up those masses are missing a huge part of the Disney spirit. I'm not used to seeing so many people who are only looking out for themselves and not caring how their actions affected others. I saw so many people treating others horribly (down to shoving, namecalling, cutting, cursing, screaming bloody murder during non-scary rides, which terrified my 4 year old with sensory issues, loudly talking about sex and drinking in front of little kids, etc), without even giving it a second thought. My husband even got to listen to a group of young women talk about how Walt Disney was a Nazi sympathizer. Why they believed this and still chose to spend their money there, I have no idea.

Saturday we had people stopping to volunteer to take family pictures of us, holding gates open, apologizing, striking up friendly conversations, complimenting our kids, my dress, etc. The entire situation was just day and night, despite the fact that our last day is usually the most difficult because we are all tired, sore, etc. we couldn't help but be in a good mood.

Please note: I imagine that the vast majority of people who spend their free time posting on Disney boards are not the type of people who behave badly in the parks, AP holders or not, so it is unlikely that any of these complaints apply to anyone reading this. Also, we got screamed at by a lunatic who appeared to be an out of towner (she took off to the Desert Inn and Suites after flipping out) on Thursday, so I definitely don't think all the bad behavior is coming from locals.

I would agree with you that locals/AP’s are not generally the source of bad behavior. We can go back anytime we want, whereas vacationers tend to have the I paid for this and must get every penny of my money’s worth mentality which can stress a person out. Locals, if it’s crowded, we leave and come back. Or we avoid the crowd in the first place. It doesn’t really make us mad ;-)

However, someone expressing an opinion you don’t agree with in their own conversation isn’t what I would consider bad behavior either. It’s more like none of my business. I would just walk away or not listen.

And kids have been screaming on non-scary rides since at least the 80’s. It’s just part of enjoying a theme park with 836385278563 of your closest friends.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hydroguy, I missed it, were you able to do the IC and enjoy everything open at PP? I hope so. As much as you help everyone else, your family deserved a lot of pixie dust.

Lots of moving parts for us. After all the lifted AP blockouts this week, my DAP was blocked Saturday. The kids had 5 day passes and were able to get in saturday. But they could not ride because of all the issues that have been discussed and gave up.

They left on Saturday back home without riding. I stayed for visiting some family and business meetings this week. So I will be in the parks this evening and tomorrow evening. I hope to ride IC solo.

 

[Mamato4boys]

I would agree with you that locals/AP’s are not generally the source of bad behavior. We can go back anytime we want, whereas vacationers tend to have the I paid for this and must get every penny of my money’s worth mentality which can stress a person out. Locals, if it’s crowded, we leave and come back. Or we avoid the crowd in the first place. It doesn’t really make us mad ;-)

However, someone expressing an opinion you don’t agree with in their own conversation isn’t what I would consider bad behavior either. It’s more like none of my business. I would just walk away or not listen.

And kids have been screaming on non-scary rides since at least the 80’s. It’s just part of enjoying a theme park with 836385278563 of your closest friends.

The bad behavior we witnessed was likely from both locals and out of towners; however, my experience for the most part was that Saturday, when there were fewer locals, there was a lot less of it going on.

On our trip, I didn't see many vacationers that appeared to be trying to milk every last bit of vacation out (vacation commandos), I saw hoards of teens/young adults with no adults in their group (much more likely to be locals, I imagine) that seemed to be hanging around with friends, and they tended to be the ones not caring how their behavior impacted people around them.

I think it is bad behavior when you are in a family park to be loudly cussing, talking about getting drunk, sex, etc while in line surrounded by young kids. I don't want to make my kids leave a line we have been waiting in and miss out, but it is hard to "mind your own business" when your 4 year old is repeating curse words they are listening to people blurting out three times a sentence while standing right behind you in line for Toy Story. That is being inconsiderate to other park goers.

And whether people have been screaming on non-scary rides since the 80s or not, that doesn't make it less rude or obnoxious. We had people scream on things like Small World and Bug's Land rides.

 

[DizneyMommy]

The bad behavior we witnessed was likely from both locals and out of towners; however, my experience for the most part was that Saturday, when there were fewer locals, there was a lot less of it going on.

On our trip, I didn't see many vacationers that appeared to be trying to milk every last bit of vacation out (vacation commandos), I saw hoards of teens/young adults with no adults in their group (much more likely to be locals, I imagine) that seemed to be hanging around with friends, and they tended to be the ones not caring how their behavior impacted people around them.

I think it is bad behavior when you are in a family park to be loudly cussing, talking about getting drunk, sex, etc while in line surrounded by young kids. I don't want to make my kids leave a line we have been waiting in and miss out, but it is hard to "mind your own business" when your 4 year old is repeating curse words they are listening to people blurting out three times a sentence while standing right behind you in line for Toy Story. That is being inconsiderate to other park goers.

And whether people have been screaming on non-scary rides since the 80s or not, that doesn't make it less rude or obnoxious. We had people scream on things like Small World and Bug's Land rides.

There are lots of kids in the parks with dance/band/tour/school groups doing end of year trips too. Those kids could have been from anywhere.

And in that case, I would have found the nearest CM that the line approached and tell them exactly what was going on, if those kids were not with any adult supervision. That’s not acceptable. But please don’t assume it’s a local. Most people with AP’s respect their passes enough not to do something stupid to get kicked out or get them revoked.

 

[Mamato4boys]

There are lots of kids in the parks with dance/band/tour/school groups doing end of year trips too. Those kids could have been from anywhere.

And in that case, I would have found the nearest CM that the line approached and tell them exactly what was going on, if those kids were not with any adult supervision. That’s not acceptable. But please don’t assume it’s a local. Most people with AP’s respect their passes enough not to do something stupid to get kicked out or get them revoked.

Some were definitely AP holders (unless the plastic cards are given out to certain groups in place of tickets??), but I'm sure some were also not.

When you are told that the majority of park goers are AP holders and you go on the last days that some of these passholders are able to go (and it is packed), I think it is reasonable to assume that a lot of the behavior came from APs, as well as out of towners.

I think another large component to the problem is that the crowds had a negative impact on people's moods. They were more likely to behave badly because of the chaos and stress of dealing with all the people.

There were certain instances where I tried to remind myself that the person could very well be a perfectly lovely person, but I had just witnessed them temporarily snap from being overwhelmed, etc. Other times, like when I barely grazed a teenage girl 's shoulder with my shoulder, looked at her and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" And had her turn her head, glare at me, and say, "Whatever lady! " It is hard to give those people the benefit of the doubt.