Nap Times and closing for capacity

[EpicRain]

Hello! We're taking our first trip to DL the last week of June. We're WDW veterans but this is our first Disney trip with a toddler. I'm pretty certain we're going to need to come back to our hotel midday for naps (around 12-2), or else our daughter will not be able to hang into the evening. We're planning on getting to the park early in the morning, then coming back to eat and rest. Does DL and DCA close for capacity frequently? If they do, do they usually open back up in the afternoon? I know that it's going to be June, and Star Wars will be open (we don't care about that part), so the crowds will be crazy, but unfortunately my husband is a teacher so this was the best we could do for travel time. Trying to make the best out of insane crowd levels!

 

[disneylover102]

DL will definitely close for capacity at least sometimes in June. I am not quite sure as I have never had this happen, but I’m pretty sure if you have already entered the park, you are allowed back in, especially if you have a Fastpass or something.

 

[Malcon10t]

Hello! We're taking our first trip to DL the last week of June. We're WDW veterans but this is our first Disney trip with a toddler. I'm pretty certain we're going to need to come back to our hotel midday for naps (around 12-2), or else our daughter will not be able to hang into the evening. We're planning on getting to the park early in the morning, then coming back to eat and rest. Does DL and DCA close for capacity frequently? If they do, do they usually open back up in the afternoon? I know that it's going to be June, and Star Wars will be open (we don't care about that part), so the crowds will be crazy, but unfortunately my husband is a teacher so this was the best we could do for travel time. Trying to make the best out of insane crowd levels!

SHould the park close for capacity, it will generally reopen after the parade. DCA rarely closes for capacity. Should DL close, you can head to DCA.

 

[Malcon10t]

DL will definitely close for capacity at least sometimes in June. I am not quite sure as I have never had this happen, but I’m pretty sure if you have already entered the park, you are allowed back in, especially if you have a Fastpass or something.

This is not true. The only exception is if you have dining at Club 33, they will escort you in, and if it is still closed, escort you back out after the meal. Otherwise, you just wait til the turnstiles reopen.

 

[Congo Queen]

I think you will probably be OK. SWGE opening is a big deal and could effect things in surprising ways, but by the end of June, most of the crazy got-to-see-it-immediately guests will have already done their thing. Generally, Dland doesn't frequently close for capacity. It happens around the holiday season and certainly NYE but not for 4th of July for example. You will have extra luck if you are going at a time when the lowest level annual passholders are blocked out. In any case, speak to entry turnstile CMs as you arrive in the morning and ask if you should be concerned about re-entry in the afternoon, and if so what to do about that. I bet it will be fine. Good luck and have fun!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

There are different levels of gate closures, so you might not even notice or be affected if a lower level closure goes into effect. For example, level one closure stops the sale of one day tickets to the park on the border of hitting capacity, usually DL. If you already have your tickets and are inside the park, you wouldn't even know this is happening at the ticket booths. And if you were buying tickets to the other park, the level one closure wouldn't even affect you. Level five closure is up to the Fire Marshall -- no one gets in until enough people leave -- as a pp noted, this usually happens after the parade or fireworks ends -- then more people can be allowed in.

 

[lalasmama]

I think we'll have a better idea after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge ("SW:GE") opens...

I'm one of the people who thinks the crowds aren't going to be as bad as imagined. Disneyland doesn't often close for capacity other than over the Christmas holiday week, and those are pretty short closures. Yes, there's been a random day here-and-there that they've unexpectedly hit capacity, but it's not a normal occurrence.

Why do I believe it won't be capacity-crowded as feared? First, because the most die-hard fans made reservations at the on-site hotels for a guaranteed reservation. Of note, last I checked, there were still on-site rooms available for the night before opening day (that would get you in for opening day). The super fans will have made reservations on 5/2 when they opened the reservations to the public if they couldn't afford an on-site hotel room. Then, you have the fact that people see WDW as a "destination" and Disneyland as a "consolation prize" so to speak. If you can get a "consolation prize" June 24 (the first day without reservations) or wait for the "grand prize" on August something-or-rather, just 2 months later, lots of people are going to hold out for that "grand prize" destination. (Just for clarity, in NO WAY do I believe Disneyland is inferior; quite the opposite actually! But I know several people that see Disneyland in the way described above.) A fair amount of people learned of SW:GE by the commercials on TV, all which say "Reservations may be necessary." Those people that care about seeing it will then look into why/when reservations will be necessary. And anyone who has hopped onto the Disneyland website in the last 3 months has seen a GINORMOUS banner at the top of nearly every screen that SW:GE will require reservations.

Why do I harp on the reservations so much? The casual Star Wars fan isn't going to want to invest all that time/effort into seeing it--on-site rooms, reservations--and will just wait until the hubbub is over, likely later in the summer.

I'm not delusional; crowds will definitely increase! But I don't think it will rise to continual capacity closure levels.

So, if you need to go back to the room for naps, expect that it may take an extra little bit to get back in if you have to wait out a closure. But it's not like you will be unable to get back in for the rest of the night. Also, it's a great plug for DCA If DL proper is closed, you can head right over to DCA instead!

 

[DLgal]

I am going to go on record and say I think this summer will be LESS crowded at Disneyland, but more crowded at DCA vs. last summer. I stand ready to be wrong.

If the last couple days of ALL parking lots being full by midday are any indication, this week is the final rush for APs and people who bought the discounted 3 day tickets, and once we hit this weekend, crowds will be fairly low.

We just booked DLH July 4-7 and availability was WIDE open at all 3 hotels. If Disney can't book out those resorts over a holiday weekend, they won't see the crowds they are hoping for this summer. I also checked a few other sets of dates in July and Aug and again, wide open availability. We even used the military discount and had plenty of options, even this close.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I am going to go on record and say I think this summer will be LESS crowded at Disneyland, but more crowded at DCA vs. last summer...

I've been wondering about the situation at DCA this summer, especially with the new AP blockout calendar structure and the new Flex Pass coming into play. It will be very interesting to see how this all works out; and, hopefully, not too hard for the rest of us to figure out the new crowd patterns as they happen. Weekends last summer were great, for the most part. This summer? We'll see...

 

[DarthGallifrey]

I think we'll have a better idea after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge ("SW:GE") opens...

I'm one of the people who thinks the crowds aren't going to be as bad as imagined. Disneyland doesn't often close for capacity other than over the Christmas holiday week, and those are pretty short closures. Yes, there's been a random day here-and-there that they've unexpectedly hit capacity, but it's not a normal occurrence.

Why do I believe it won't be capacity-crowded as feared? First, because the most die-hard fans made reservations at the on-site hotels for a guaranteed reservation. Of note, last I checked, there were still on-site rooms available for the night before opening day (that would get you in for opening day). The super fans will have made reservations on 5/2 when they opened the reservations to the public if they couldn't afford an on-site hotel room. Then, you have the fact that people see WDW as a "destination" and Disneyland as a "consolation prize" so to speak. If you can get a "consolation prize" June 24 (the first day without reservations) or wait for the "grand prize" on August something-or-rather, just 2 months later, lots of people are going to hold out for that "grand prize" destination. (Just for clarity, in NO WAY do I believe Disneyland is inferior; quite the opposite actually! But I know several people that see Disneyland in the way described above.) A fair amount of people learned of SW:GE by the commercials on TV, all which say "Reservations may be necessary." Those people that care about seeing it will then look into why/when reservations will be necessary. And anyone who has hopped onto the Disneyland website in the last 3 months has seen a GINORMOUS banner at the top of nearly every screen that SW:GE will require reservations.

Why do I harp on the reservations so much? The casual Star Wars fan isn't going to want to invest all that time/effort into seeing it--on-site rooms, reservations--and will just wait until the hubbub is over, likely later in the summer.

I'm not delusional; crowds will definitely increase! But I don't think it will rise to continual capacity closure levels.

So, if you need to go back to the room for naps, expect that it may take an extra little bit to get back in if you have to wait out a closure. But it's not like you will be unable to get back in for the rest of the night. Also, it's a great plug for DCA If DL proper is closed, you can head right over to DCA instead!

This is why I was excited that WDWs SWGE was opening way earlier than expected. It's more spread out and there are a lot more options of places for people to go so I agree that most people will be holding out for that.

It just worked out that this September was when we would finally be able to make our first trip to Disneyland. So fingers crossed that the two of are right about this haha

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I am going to go on record and say I think this summer will be LESS crowded at Disneyland, but more crowded at DCA vs. last summer. I stand ready to be wrong.

If the last couple days of ALL parking lots being full by midday are any indication, this week is the final rush for APs and people who bought the discounted 3 day tickets, and once we hit this weekend, crowds will be fairly low.

We just booked DLH July 4-7 and availability was WIDE open at all 3 hotels. If Disney can't book out those resorts over a holiday weekend, they won't see the crowds they are hoping for this summer. I also checked a few other sets of dates in July and Aug and again, wide open availability. We even used the military discount and had plenty of options, even this close.

Yeah, I think there will be times that are very crowded - last summer had a random week in July that was slammed for no discernible reason, for instance, and I do think that June 24 date may see major crowds - but overall, I think crowds are going to be so much lower than people expect.

Like I said somewhere, there’s no way they introduce that Flex pass (with summer access) now if they think the parks are already going to be full. And that hotel availability is so telling, too.

And yeah, CAPACITY closure is so rare. People throw it around like it’s a thing that happens all the time... it doesn’t.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... And yeah, CAPACITY closure is so rare. People throw it around like it’s a thing that happens all the time... it doesn’t.

Bingo. It's like fear mongering -- the term "capacity closure" gets thrown out like some kind of threat to scare people. And Capacity Closure ≠ Very Crowded -- they are NOT the exact same thing. To have a capacity closure, yes, the park in question has to be very crowded. But just because the park is very crowded does not automatically mean there will be a capacity closure.

 

[EpicRain]

Thanks everyone, this sets my mind at ease! We booked our DL trip last summer (like I said, we're WDW people where you have to plan a year out!) and I was so sad to learn that Star Wars was opening right when we're going. We plan to be in the parks Wed 6/26- Friday 6/28. Hoping that we'll have an enjoyable time despite any crowds, since we won't be doing the big rides anyway with our toddler.

 

[smchristy]

This is very reassuring to me. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to leave during the day and have the option to come back later at night. We have 5 day hoppers the second week of June and since we are coming from MN I fully expect that we will go to the parks very early each day since we are early risers to begin with. I know we will need down time in the middle of the day otherwise we will never enjoy any of the evening entertainment etc...We are still going to anticipate major crowds, but I am feeling a little better about not having to go hard core all day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks everyone, this sets my mind at ease! We booked our DL trip last summer (like I said, we're WDW people...

Have you read this classic thread: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets? So much good information there!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks everyone, this sets my mind at ease!..

This is very reassuring to me. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to leave during the day and have the option to come back later at night...

Keep watching this board for news, updates, tips, and strategies after May 31st! We'll have DISers in the parks on opening day and beyond reporting back with all the details. You'll get a much better idea about the crowds and how Disney is handling them as you read those current threads.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

Im really hoping for a hard ticketed event in SWGE. Im sort of wondering if that's why Disneyland is not included with the Halloween Party? If they didn't want to have GE as part of that they could just rope it off and still let people in both parks like they have in the past. Granted, the Disneyland people might have better insight there.

 

[EpicRain]

Have you read this classic thread: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets? So much good information there!

Yes, I had looked at that, so helpful, especially about maxpass! I'm a big lurker here

 

[Malcon10t]

Bingo. It's like fear mongering -- the term "capacity closure" gets thrown out like some kind of threat to scare people. And Capacity Closure ≠ Very Crowded -- they are NOT the exact same thing. To have a capacity closure, yes, the park in question has to be very crowded. But just because the park is very crowded does not automatically mean there will be a capacity closure.

Capacity closure generally happens on NYE. It can happen other times during Christmas/NY week, but it doesn't that often. I do expect it June 24th. But it is a wait and see for the rest of the summer.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hoping that we'll have an enjoyable time despite any crowds, since we won't be doing the big rides anyway with our toddler.

The adults don’t want to do the big rides? If you do, child swap will get you both on the ride in a decent amount of time.

Are you sure you have to go back to the hotel? That can take so long. Whenever we went back to a hotel for a nap it was SO hard getting moving again.

My son just napped in the stroller, we did what we wanted (one at a time of course), and it was better than having to go all the way back.

This is very reassuring to me. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to leave during the day and have the option to come back later at night.

Well people are just speculating. I personally would not leave dl and expect to get back in.

“Super fan” doesn’t equal “has a ton of money to spend onsite.” The Superfans who have tons of money are a subset.

Even my almost 15 year old who loves SW has noooo interest in going there anytime soon because even he anticipates heinous crowds. And it’s opening his bday weekend and knows I’d take him if he wanted.


So be careful with the assumptions made here.