Can anyone at Disneyland right now report crowd levels for this week? :) (any days between 10/5/19 through 10/13/19)

[brockash]

It was nuts in DL this morning. Definitely felt busier than yesterday, and definitely lots more confused and stressed out families. Mobile ordering seems to have glitched right around noon, at least from what I overheard from a bunch of irate guests who were badgering the restaurant CMs. We went back to the hotel after lunch to rest up. Wait times at DCA seemed even worse than DL! We may switch up our plans and rope drop there tomorrow instead of DL.

Yes, we've had tons of issues with mde all around. Only 1 of us was able to get mobile order to go through at lunch time and i think it ended up taking longer than it would hsve had they ordered in line. It's also been VERY hit/miss getting logged into see fastpasses etc. Between the extreme ride break downs and the online system not working well it's been pretty hard to feel productive. We're back at the hotel now and will go back out tonight ...hoping for better luck.

 

[Delilah1310]

All DCA fast passes were gone by 3:30 today.
Current fo availability at DL is only small world, buzz and star tours.

 

[Aurora0427]

Double post!

 

[Aurora0427]

Yes they need to unblock in the summer but block in the fall

Why so then no annual pass holders except those with signature passes can go for Halloween? How is that even fair? If Disney does this, we won’t be getting an AP again.

Getting a little nervous for Monday. I’m expecting big crowds but I looked at wait times early this morning and RSR and TSMM were over an hour at like 8:30am...

Same. We are getting up early and driving in from San Diego and staying at the DLH. I told my family to be prepared for a super early wake up so we can make rope drop and stay until lunch and then go to the pool at DLH.

 

[oumagic]

We have been here Tues-Saturday and the parks have been so busy. I have never been here when the parks are this busy and having so many closures. The FP return lines have been long; Indy FP return the other night was over the bridge.

I am not saying that we haven’t had fun, but my teens and wife have decided this vacation is no longer for us. We are huge Disney fans, having done multiple cruises and park visits, but the crowds and wait times just are too much for the cost. There are other things we would rather do and our vacation time before they are adults is getting limited. We will come for a few days at some point for Rise of the Resistance, but our Disney park days are over unless we know for certain it is not going to be packed. When Small World is an hour wait, there are issues.

We did use MaxPass today, but there comes a point when they run out or the return times are far out. We were there open until 12pm; after lunch we took a break from 1:30pm until now. My kids are 14 and 16 and we have had to take breaks every afternoon whether we want to or not. We have 3 FP for after 6:30 dinner.

We have got most of our rides done within 2 hours of open and an hour to close.

 

[MillauFr]

Why so then no annual pass holders except those with signature passes can go for Halloween? How is that even fair? If Disney does this, we won’t be getting an AP again.

The annual pass system needs to be modified by eliminating unlimited admissions for a fixed price. They should give you an allotment of points instead. All pass holders should have to make reservations. The number of points you use on each day should dynamically change based on demand. You should be able to get into Disneyland on any day of the year. I don't like the hard blackout days. If I want to go during Christmas break with my pass I should be able to. However I realize it may cost me far more points than if I go during the middle of the Summer.

 

[IsleofDisney]

Is it normal on a Saturday during the Halloween season for guests to start setting up for the Halloween Screams Fireworks show? people started claiming spots probably since 6:30 pm. It is the one thing, besides seeing hotel decor, our group wants to experience and now have to stake out a good spot. I've heard good things about this show, but is it really worth the 2.5 he wait?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Is it normal on a Saturday during the Halloween season for guests to start setting up for the Halloween Screams Fireworks show? people started claiming spots probably since 6:30 pm. It is the one thing, besides seeing hotel decor, our group wants to experience and now have to stake out a good spot. I've heard good things about this show, but is it really worth the 2.5 he wait?

I haven’t seen the show, although I want to. The show can be canceled because of winds and we’ve had some wind this week. I’d hate to waste three hours of park time only to have the fireworks part of the show canceled.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

This is not an AP crowd here today. I mean, obviously there are APs here (raises hand), but APs are not the primary demographic the way they are during some crowded times.

These don’t even seem to be locals or frequent guests. So many “1st visit” buttons, TONS of family vacation matching shirts, lots of lost, bewildered people... yikes.

These are some serious, serious crowds. DCA actually felt a bit worse than DL, but they’re both slammed.

A few pictures:

When Pinocchio has a huge overflow line, you know things are crazy.


The Harbor lines were very short when we arrived at noon, but rather long a bit after 6.

All FPs were gone before 5:00, as you can see from the time stamp here. Refreshing did bring up quite a few cancellations, but most were for late evening. Also, I saw six Indiana Jones cancellations throughout the day that I clicked immediately and still missed.

 

[oumagic]

Guardians of the Galaxy is 170 minutes right now!

 

[midnight star]

Guardians of the Galaxy is 170 minutes right now!

*randy Jackson voice*

Yeah that’s gonna be a no from me dog

 

[Aurora0427]

This is not an AP crowd here today. I mean, obviously there are APs here (raises hand), but APs are not the primary demographic the way they are during some crowded times.

These don’t even seem to be locals or frequent guests. So many “1st visit” buttons, TONS of family vacation matching shirts, lots of lost, bewildered people... yikes.

These are some serious, serious crowds. DCA actually felt a bit worse than DL, but they’re both slammed.

I was going to ask if people currently in the parks thought the majority of guests were AP holders...,, what you’re describing sounds like the guests who frequent WDW..... tourists. Lots and lots of tourists.

I do think you get locals who come in at night for the fireworks????? Maybe????

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I was going to ask if people currently in the parks thought the majority of guests were AP holders...,, what you’re describing sounds like the guests who frequent WDW..... tourists. Lots and lots of tourists.

I do think you get locals who come in at night for the fireworks????? Maybe????

Yeah, you can tell from the conversation around you more than anything. Lots of obviously first-time visitors discussing where things were or what certain rides might be like... Plus I didn’t see a single person redeeming an AP discount for dining or merch.

Most of the APs are blocked today, or Flex needed reservations, so the AP pool was smaller today anyway. But it felt like the crowds at Christmas - these are people here on vacation, not locals popping in for the day. (Although you are probably right about the fireworks.)

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

This is not an AP crowd here today. I mean, obviously there are APs here (raises hand), but APs are not the primary demographic the way they are during some crowded times.

These don’t even seem to be locals or frequent guests. So many “1st visit” buttons, TONS of family vacation matching shirts, lots of lost, bewildered people... yikes.

These are some serious, serious crowds. DCA actually felt a bit worse than DL, but they’re both slammed.

A few pictures:
View attachment 443541
When Pinocchio has a huge overflow line, you know things are crazy.

View attachment 443538
The Harbor lines were very short when we arrived at noon, but rather long a bit after 6.
View attachment 443540
All FPs were gone before 5:00, as you can see from the time stamp here. Refreshing did bring up quite a few cancellations, but most were for late evening. Also, I saw six Indiana Jones cancellations throughout the day that I clicked immediately and still missed.

Is that a rope outside Pinocchio??? Yikes.

I made the same observation Wednesday as you did today. I saw/eavesdropped on (Lol) so many people who were new visitors... didn’t know where anything was, etc. I mean, I seriously feel so bad for anyone who went this week for the very first time.

 

[WonkaKid]

I made the same observation Wednesday as you did today. I saw/eavesdropped on (Lol) so many people who were new visitors... didn’t know where anything was, etc. I mean, I seriously feel so bad for anyone who went this week for the very first time.

Me too! I saw a lot of people (more than usual) as they consulted park maps, complete looks of bewilderment on their faces (not a judgment, merely an observation). Often times I'll stop and ask other guests if they would like some help. Wednesday I soon realized that if I did that, I'd get nothing else done all day ;-).

Also, as I mentioned in my park report earlier this week, the construction barriers at and around the hub on the TL side don't help the situation either: the Plaza Inn path to TL is likewise blocked. I'll speak with a few CMs I know tomorrow and see if I can learn anything further about when they may come down. Hopefully it's soon. Like tonight/right now ;-).

 

[brockash]

Is it normal on a Saturday during the Halloween season for guests to start setting up for the Halloween Screams Fireworks show? people started claiming spots probably since 6:30 pm. It is the one thing, besides seeing hotel decor, our group wants to experience and now have to stake out a good spot. I've heard good things about this show, but is it really worth the 2.5 he wait?

When we walked into DL this afternoon around 5; there were ppl.staked out on the curb. I thought for a min. that I missed a parade or something but nope it wasfor the fireworks 4+ hrs later.

 

[VandVsmama]

Is it normal on a Saturday during the Halloween season for guests to start setting up for the Halloween Screams Fireworks show? people started claiming spots probably since 6:30 pm. It is the one thing, besides seeing hotel decor, our group wants to experience and now have to stake out a good spot. I've heard good things about this show, but is it really worth the 2.5 he wait?

I don't consider any fireworks show worth waiting 2.5 hours for. Especially at Disneyland where the fireworks show can be cancelled at any time due to high winds...and at this time of year, high winds are very common.

 

[bwvBound]

Friday’s fireworks were, indeed, cancelled for winds. We saw folks camped on the curbs at 3:30p!!

Agreeing with most others above, we felt today (Saturday) was packed. I had hoped for lighter crowds as many APs were blocked ... but the crowds were thick and moving very slowly (trudging through the parks). Also agreeing with comments above: the ones we spoke to or watched were relative newbies, not APs. Lots of out-of-town visitors, folks from NorCal (maybe here while their power is out?), etc.

We had a blast ... but didn’t get as much done as we might normally. At least we got our Disney Play Achievements for both parks (Halloween) and the special Haunted Mansion for Oct. Phew.

 

[pharmama]

I thought they made a change to deluxe a few years ago mid year. Since there’s no 1/1-12/31 calendar a change could be made for Oct of next year or any time the calendar isn’t published yet. As they figure out how many people will attend with flex pass I’m sure there will be changes to ‘good to go’ dates in the future. I’d assume they’re making it more appealing now to get people on board.

The blockout calendar is up through Nov 2020 and next fall looks pretty similar at this point with most weekdays Good to Go for both parks. I guess it just remains to be seen if they make changes.

I do remember drama when the deluxe calendar was reduced from previous years and wasn’t available for the full 12months ahead for a while and then when it finally came out the parks had separate calendars and there were more blackouts than previous years but I don’t know if there was another time blackout days were actually added. Certainly could have been but bottom line is I wouldn’t expect this to happen with any regularity.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

The blockout calendar is up through Nov 2020 and next fall looks pretty similar at this point with most weekdays Good to Go for both parks. I guess it just remains to be seen if they make changes.

I do remember drama when the deluxe calendar was reduced from previous years and wasn’t available for the full 12months ahead for a while and then when it finally came out the parks had separate calendars and there were more blackouts than previous years but I don’t know if there was another time blackout days were actually added. Certainly could have been but bottom line is I wouldn’t expect this to happen with any regularity.

They have never added blockout days. They’ve only unblocked (during June 2018, not sure if they’ve done it since).

When they changed Deluxe to block the parks separately, I’m almost positive that was still advertised 12 months out. I’m not Deluxe, but a good friend was, and her renewal was in June. I remember her talking about it back in 2018, which would have been a full year before they separated the parks. They published the “year out” calendar showing the split, and then when they unblocked days in June shortly after, a lot of people thought it was damage control...

All that to say, when you buy a pass, you know what you’re getting for the next year, and they’ve never taken anything away from it.