^^^^^
Ahhhhh, yes, this makes perfect sense. I can see how that would be frustrating. Yes, for us, only going at peak times, the expectation is just "there will be a billion people. Get over it and have fun" lol. I can see how if you expect different it would be a bit of a shock.
I wonder what Disney can really do about that though? I mean, part of what we all love about the park is the cleanliness and how everything is maintained. And for safety reasons the rides "must" be checked and refurbed regularly.... so what choice do they have? I guess longer park hours, but then that means more wear and tear on rides and infrastructure.... a lot if you add up four extra hours/day of park use over the course of a few months. Which would means rides would be down even more, with less time to maintain them.... increased garbage, increased bathroom use... all that stuff. It's a conundrum....
I agree that it's a little more complicated than just "extend hours" or whatever. I am also bothered by people who are online here and know what to expect, yet continue to make
multiple trips and then whine and complain each time - I don't understand that mentality at all! If you're blindsided/misinformed, that's one thing. I feel bad for those people. If you go in prepared to be annoyed and critical before you even get there, and you can't put aside your annoyance about security lines to realize you're at Disneyland and suck it up and find some fun, well... I feel bad for whoever you're with that day.
I also do understand that at the end of the day, Disney is a business with shareholders to answer to, and if enough people are coming that the parks are "overcrowded" even with the current complaints, then why would they really feel the need to change?
I think one relatively easy thing that would help would be if they would eliminate 10am openings and publish hours farther in advance. For instance, maybe they could change to 11pm closings rather than midnight for much of the summer. Sure, summer people would be a little disgruntled, but if they advertised that change WELL in advance, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Then they could pick up those hours by opening at 9 instead of 10 for much of the year. Maybe they could even switch off between 8-11 or 9-12 for the summer, shaving an hour off but letting multi-day trippers still take advantage of the "extra time" that suits them best.
Things like that would help even out the experience a bit, without a whole lot of "cost" to Disney. And if they'd simply release hours and scheduled refurbishments sooner, people could plan in advance and not feel blindsided by what they get.
I love Disneyland, but I wish they'd address some common complaints to make the experience more enjoyable and equitable for everyone. I also completely understand people who visit Disneyland and decide it's not for them! There are legitimate reasons for a lot of people not to enjoy Disneyland, and that's ok. I just hope people know what to expect so they can have the best experience possible!