Here at DL now - short report

[crazyj4488]

Crowds were very quiet this Wed. However, the 7:45 PM Fireworks were cancelled due to "windy conditions at high elevations." I'll tell you...the air was PERFECTLY still (trees weren't moving at ALL) and people were ANGRY after they announced it. No one could understand why they cancelled the show and they gave only gave final notice right up until 7:45 (park closed at 8PM). Therefore, people burned an hour or more sitting around doing nothing when they could have been riding. They also closed just about all of the Fantasyland attractions an hour and a half before the fireworks started due to the scheduled show.

Has anyone been thru this fireworks cancellation from high winds before? I think it's an excuse and that they just didn't want to burn the tens of thousands in fireworks on a small crowd. Again, people were MAD. I saw many guests yelling at managers around the park after this happened. The pixie dust was running a little low this evening. I was, luckily, able to squeeze in one ride on Space Mt. in the 15 minutes I had before they closed everything down.

On a positive note, I saw the Small World Holiday presentation which was pretty darn cool. A must see, IMHO. No snow falling anywhere but the projections were really neat. All of the Xmas decor looks nice but I prefer the non-holiday music being piped in throughout the parks. All the Xmas music gets a little annoying after 6 or so hours of it. I'll take the non Xmas remixed version of When you Wish Upon a Star anyday over what I'm hearing in the parks now.

Just a short report from the parks. I'm happy I'm here.

 

[LeftCoaster]

The trees are not at high altitudes. There've been times at DCA where the air is very still yet, when I go up in the Sun Wheel, it's very blustery up there. That's at about 100 feet or so. The fireworks get shot up much further than that.
Keep in mind Disneyland works with a very small area and has severe limitations in which it can launch the fireworks. They're launched directly behind Toontown which gets closed down, areas of TDA are completely inaccessible during the fireworks time, and you've got the I-5 right there.
Disney sends up test balloons to check the wind conditions and will keep doing it. I've been there when they've held the fireworks for 15 minutes because they do not want to cancel the fireworks.

 

[iceskatejen]

Just because it's not windy on the ground doesn't mean it's not windy at higher elevations--that's how Santa Anas work. I live in the hills and it can be blowing like crazy up there and I go down into the valley below where I live and it's calm. Or there have been times at DL where it's pretty breezy at ground level, but the fireworks still go off because it's calm at the higher elevations. Believe me, people would be even angier if they shot off the fireworks anyway and the embers fell all over everyone and they'll all had to be sent to burn centers. It's YOUR safety Disney has in mind (and it was in all likelyhood the fire marshall that said to cancel them because of the wind).

 

[atakaratemom]

We have been experiencing severe Santa Ana conditions here in Southern CA for the last few days and the fire danger is extreme when this happens. It is not just the high winds that cause problems, it is also the severe lack of humidity. I can understand being disappointed, but I am certain that DL has to exercise extreme caution when these conditions exist.

 

[Janomi]

Sorry to hear the Santa Ana's cancelled the show. You could've been like me though.
Showing up on Sunday with 3 friends, camping out on a nice bench in front of the castle
(I was wondering why there was such good seating 1 1/2 hrs before the show),
then being told at 8pm the park was closing and there aren't any fireworks on Sunday. Glad I'm a local heh.

Go me!

 

[tinkerbell13]

I was there yesterday too, and was ticked about the fireworks myself. I live in the Inland Empire, where the Santa Ana's are fierce and there was not a touch of wind here yesterday.
I am also of the mind that they just didn't want to waste the $$$. Very disappointing as we will not have another chance to view them for quite some time. I was glad that at least they did the snow.

 

[Albertan mom]

People need to remember there is no use yelling at CMs. They aren't the ones who cancelled it, nor are they the ones who can 'un-cancel' it!

It frustrates me when I see people doing that.
They are just doing their jobs, and don't deserve to get yelled at just because people are dissapointed.

It is the fire marshall or the Pyrotechnic guys who decide, not the CMs...

Crazyj4488, I feel bad that you had to miss the show.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I really doubt they would save money by cancelling the show at the last minute. As others have stated, Santa Ana winds are unique. All they need is to have a guest or nearby home/business hurt by firework embers being blown the wrong way. Since this is a notoriously slow time at Disneyland, I am sure they knew in advance that numbers would be low and went ahead and scheduled fireworks anyway. We were there at roughly this same time last year and enjoyed fireworks several times with minimal crowds (think finding a spot at the hub 10 minutes before the show kind of minimal) so they do show them in spite of low crowds. They have to follow stict guidlines set by the local fire marshall. I am bummed for you and hope you have already or still get to see them. Remember is incredible! Have a great trip.

 

[Vanvmom]

They cancelled the show on Tuesday the 16th as well. It's true, safety is the best way to go! BTW... we've watched several times, there are many good places to view it. We were first row in front of the castle (very cool), and got to see everything projected on the castle, but could not see the Matterhorn (also, some of the fireworks went off too low to see from that close to the castle). Over by the banana tree that divides the entrance to adventure land is a great place to view the show (you can see the castle and the Matterhorn), but if crowds are big they ask everyone to stand up and little ones might not be able to see the castle over everyone's heads.

 

[MoniqueU]

They closed it on Friday the 18th too. The crowd was hopping with people. I think it is just as Disney states, High winds at upper atmospheres and safety.

 

[tinkcollector]

I'm sorry that you were disappointed. But, have you ever noticed how when you enter DCA the wind is blowing and when you enter DL it is calm???....Well, Walt built a berm around DL to protect the guest from the outside to enhance your expierence. I believe at the time it was visual and sound. But, I can tell you my Son is learning to fly, and the wind conditons above what we feel on the ground is not what is happening "up there". So, please be rest assured that the Disney Company was not trying to pull something on you because of low crowds. I also need to express my disapointment in the guest that "yell" at CM's. They are just doing thier jobs, and IMO, a hard one at that. Yeah, CM's .

 

[JennyG999]

I was there Tuesday when it was cancelled, and they made announcements stating the fireworks may be cancelled. (I heard at least 3??)

We decided to wait around and see what happened, but we were warned...

 

[QueenTigerLilly]

I actually went to the parks on thursday. The fireworks were delayed, but luckily they did go on right at 8:00. You could tell there were high winds because as the show went on, the fireworks kept moving across the sky to the west because of it. And I was even luckier because the fireworks were cancelled both Friday and Saturday. Sorry to hear that it happened to you.

 

[Dis Ohana]

Are Santa Ana winds common at this time of year? Is this a passing weather condition, or does it usually stay awhile? We're there in two weeks, just wondering if this wind thing will still be an issue.

 

[crazyj4488]

Luckily, I was there up until Friday night (the 18th). Remember was cancelled on that night too and the crowds were packed in for the show...On Thursday night, they delayed the fireworks for 15 minutes. The times guide stated a start at 7:45....when we heard another cancellation warning at 7:30, we headed over to Space Mt. for one last ride as we figured the show would be cancelled again. Afterwards, I was surprised that they actually had decided to send up the show a bit later. That was my second time to see the show but my girlfriend was with me and she had never seen it. Every Remember show during our 3 day stay was cancelled except for that one on Thursday. The snow finale and Julie Andrew's narration about Xmas and time spent together was quite magical. Overall, it was a good trip.

I don't know Cali too well so I'm not familiar with the Santa Ana's you all speak of and I didn't get angry at any of the cast members. I feel that the Disney cast members are truly one of the main reasons Disney is such a magical place to visit. Deep down, I knew it was a safety issue, but after getting fleeced over and over with $2.75 bottles of water, $7.00 hamburgers, and $6.00 shot glasses, you just start to come up with theories of evil corporate monkeys plotting to save or make that extra dime

 

[iceskatejen]

Yes, Santa Ana winds are very normal this time of year. We also get them throughout the winter and sometimes a little bit in spring. They usually will last about 3 days and then stop for at least a couple of days, but this last week they've just been blowing and blowing. The nice thing is that they haven't been the really bad ones (which can gust into the 70 mph range), but instead they've lasted longer than normal.

 

[Sthronds]

We were there Thurs and Fri and decided to see the firworks on Thursday because of the Friday crowds. I guess we were lucky. On Thursday, we did see a helicopter or small plane circling, I wondered if they were determining whether or not to do the fireworks. They were very worth the wait.

 

[Albertan mom]

The moral of this thread.....

Go see them as soon as you can!
Don't put it off until the last day, just in case they get cancelled, or you may not get to see them at all!

Better to see them a few times then not at all!

 

[GalDisney]

<<<Are Santa Ana winds common at this time of year>>
yes it is a common weather condition in the Autumn in So Cal. Usuallly Oct and November. I have lived with this all my life here in Anaheim.

 

[Coasterguy]

I was there Monday the 21st and the fireworks were cancelled.