Disneyland full today!

[Rivergallery]

Thanks Gopher.... Thankfully the things I have planned in the afternoons aren't Too BIG of a deal.. for me (parades). and ds age 3 wouldn't know the difference if we had to "waste" some time in DCA or DTD .

 

[Brina78]

because 1/2 my party will still be at the parks... they don't plan to leave except for dinner.
I am taking my 3 yr old son and plan to take a break in the afternoon...
The point of returning it mostly to catch the parades . I have it planned to do most of the rides in the am.

Ahhh, k. You know, despite the crowds, I would one day want to go on a weekend to see what the snow fall is like. I don't get very many weekends off because I'm in retail, so my weekdays are more open. I am curious to see the parades as well. At least once, of course, then go jump on rides.

 

[Rivergallery]

All our days are weekdays.. specifically Tues the 20th and Thurs the 22nd we are going to spend primarily in DL.
21st we are spending in DCA.

Do they ONLY do snow on the weekends??

 

[eatmypixiedust]

I'm planning to take 2 day off of work this week (16th & 17th). I desperately need a vacation and I just wanted to go to DL/DCA and just do some Christmas shopping, etc. From my visit to Downtown Disney last Thursday, I'm afraid to see what the crowds will be like when I go this week.

 

[Albertan mom]

We saw snowfall on the weekdays too, after the fireworks is when they do them.

 

[CalGal]

So what if you have tickets for a tour or Fantasmic and they've close the gates?

 

[Shelly D.]

We just got back yesterday and were shocked by the crowds. We hoped by visiting in early Dec, we would miss a lot of the crowds.
We went to the parks on Monday (12/5), Wed (12/7) & Fri (12/9). Unfortunately, I didn't feel like DL holds big crowds very well. It was hard to get in and out and the CMs seemed completely freaked out Friday night about an hour before the fireworks. They were trying to direct traffic around Main Street and it was a mess. First we were told to take the sidewalk to the right to enter the park, so we went that way but it was a standstill. Then they told us to take the sidewalk on the left, no luck. Then they said go through the stores, but everyone got stuck in the stores and they even closed a few of the doors. Finally, the CM in our area suggested everyone stay put and watch the fireworks and we would "figure it out afterward."

Also, on Monday, they closed both parks at 6 for castmember holiday parties. It was a mess because everyone was leaving both parks at the same time trying to get out and find somewhere to eat. Craziness.

 

[DisneyDotty]

So what if you have tickets for a tour or Fantasmic and they've close the gates?

I was told when I bought my tour tickets that if my group was not able to enter DL because of crowds, they would refund my $$ the next day. Let's hope this is true. Well, let's hope I don't need to worry about a refund!

 

[SchultzFamily]

We just got home, we were at the parks Sat 12/10 and Sun 12/11. I think Sat was the most crowded I have ever seen the park. That said we did come in and out of both parks several times and were never turned away due to closures. I did hear at the GCH gift shop Sunday morning about park closures and wasn't surprised! We had Fantasmic Preferred seating for 10:30 Sat and had a terrible time getting through the park to check in. Once there it was great! They also announced due to high demand they had added an additional Fantasmic show at 11:30 pm!
I had very grumpy kids (16 & 12) due to the crowds and they even chose to head to the airport early on Sunday rather than fight the crowds any longer!
I thought the crowds were bad when we were there in August but this weekend was worse!
Vickie

 

[denyd]

We (DW & DS) went yesterday (Sunday) from 2pm to 9pm and while there were alot of people we still managed to accomplish our main goals of seeing the Christmas parade & the Holiday Small World Overlay (with the exterior lights). Both were fanastic and I highly reccommend them. We aslo managed a Storybookland Boat Ride, Casey Jr Train Ride and a couple of spins on the Teacups & Carousel before heading out. We also stopped by the 50th celebration film on the way out and enjoyed it very much.

We did have a couple of unusual events as the Carousel operator stopped the ride and had a couple of misbehaving youths removed from the ride. We also went to Autopia to use our FP's just as we reached the gate we were told something on the ride was wrong and it would be closed for about an hour (7pm). We also had an unexpected stop on Casey Jr in the Cinderella tunnel. Normally Casey might stop when waiting for a second train to clear the station, but there was only one train running.

 

[lyncruiser]

Disney has marketed DL so well, they seem intent on killing the goose that laid the golden egg, so to speak. We were there the day after Thanksgiving and it was so crowded it was miserable. I agree that DL isn't well suited to crowds the size they are now getting. I decided we'd avoid holiday times from now on, but I would have thought early Dec. would be okay. Apparently not. All I can say is when the park is jam-packed, there is no real magic. It's just miserable and exhausting. Certainly not the way I want to spend precious dollars and precious vacation time. So, Disney's marketing may well start producing diminishing returns!

 

[Albertan mom]

Disney has marketed DL so well, they seem intent on killing the goose that laid the golden egg, so to speak. We were there the day after Thanksgiving and it was so crowded it was miserable. I agree that DL isn't well suited to crowds the size they are now getting. I decided we'd avoid holiday times from now on, but I would have thought early Dec. would be okay. Apparently not. All I can say is when the park is jam-packed, there is no real magic. It's just miserable and exhausting. Certainly not the way I want to spend precious dollars and precious vacation time. So, Disney's marketing may well start producing diminishing returns!

So what do you suggest? They raise the prices so less people will want to go? They make it less magical? Less fun?


We were there in May 04, it was great. We were there Dec 1-7, it was great. We just picked low season times. I would never ever go there in the summer or on a holiday tho!

I love it there!!

 

[Dis Ohana]

Disney has marketed DL so well, they seem intent on killing the goose that laid the golden egg, so to speak. We were there the day after Thanksgiving and it was so crowded it was miserable. I agree that DL isn't well suited to crowds the size they are now getting. I decided we'd avoid holiday times from now on, but I would have thought early Dec. would be okay. Apparently not. All I can say is when the park is jam-packed, there is no real magic. It's just miserable and exhausting. Certainly not the way I want to spend precious dollars and precious vacation time. So, Disney's marketing may well start producing diminishing returns!

I totally agree with you on this one. We did choose what was suppose to be a low attendance time (Dec. 6-10), even pulling the kids out of school to make the trip. We did this last year and it worked beautifully - it was well worth the time lost in school and at work. To us, going to Disneyland is about being able to appreciate the details of the park, not just rushing from one line to another to stand like cattle for a ride, or waiting hours in position so you can watch a 30 minute fireworks show.
I'm not sure what the solution to crowd control is, I do know that they need to get a handle on allowing too many people into the park at one time. It has to be closed before it gets to the point of total gridlock. It then becomes a safety issue. It's only a matter of time before some young child or older person is trampled in the crowd. I'm not sure of the deals being offered this year, but maybe the discounts being offered to locals should have tighter restrictions, if only for this year. I'll probably be shot for posting that here, but it's just a suggestion.
I understand that some families actually don't mind or even enjoy the larger crowds - but for me and my family, we'll just wait til things settle down to start planning the next trip. I've heard that Disney extended the 50th celebration to late 2006, so our next will possibly be 2007.
We love Disneyland, it's something we plan for and look forward to all year. We will definitely be back!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think the celebration was always slated to be over 9/06

 

[Dis Ohana]

I heard it was extended til the end of 2006...anyone know if there is any truth to this rumor? If not, we'll definitely start planning for our annual Dec. 5 trip!

 

[Albertan mom]

I thought it was 18 monthes from May 05, which would put it at Nov 06.

 

[DisneylandGuy22]

I think I'm going to go once or twice more this year to DL as my Ap expires in October 2006. Im also going to go to WDW for first time sometime in 2006.

Im hoping September or October 2006 are quiet so I can go back and renew my AP