Moonlight Magic @ DCA on 11/15!!

[sgrap]

Checked in and getting meals!

 

[dina444444]

Check in line is horrible. Looks like well over an hour wait after taking almost an 45 minutes to park. They are only using 8 ticket windows to check people in, so mismanaged compared to last year.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Yes took us almost two hours to park and get to security then over an hour to get wristbands. Not making me want to buy more points.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

If they had told us we had to park in Toy Story we could have saved a lot of time trying to get to Mickey and Friends and then to Toy Story.

 

[dina444444]

If they had told us we had to park in Toy Story we could have saved a lot of time trying to get to Mickey and Friends and then to Toy Story.

It wasn’t much better if you went straight to toy story.

 

[LilyJC]

Fortunately we were staying at VGC, so parking and check in weren’t an incredibly huge hassle for our party. GCH had a check in set-up for guests to get wristbands and vouchers. We still had to stand in line, but it wasn’t bad (definitely better than our check in for last year’s MM event at DL).

We appreciated the vouchers for food, and fortunately we ate first at Pacific Wharf Cafe before DCA officially closed. The line was longish, but not as horrendous as the food lines we saw later during the event.

Overall we enjoyed the event, but last year was a way better experience. We missed having the nighttime entertainment other than dance parties, and also were somewhat bummed by the lack of free popcorn, churros, and drinks at the stands. Also some of the wait times weren’t fantastic.... We were definitely spoiled by last year and the MM at AK this past April. Tons of great characters out throughout DCA and so many fun interactions!

 

[RedVines2001]

This was my first DVC event and I was disappointed. Maybe I had set my expectations too high but for me the biggest draw to an event like this would be for short lines. This was not the case at all.

All the e ticket rides had standard or longer wait times. 60 mins for RSR. 40 mins for Midway Mania. 45 mins for Soarin. And it felt worse because I couldnt even get a fast pass. The only ride was really able to walk onto was goofy’s sky school.

The food vouchers were nice but there were huge lines at every single food spot. We ended up going to the boardwalk pasta place to grab some pizza. One of the pasta dishes had run out and all the soda machines had no ice in them. The whole place seemed a lot more messy than usual.

The whole event just didn’t feel very organized. I got into DCA with my AP and asked a couple CMs where to check in for the event and the two I talked to had no idea what event was going on. I planned a whole trip around this event and, while I still had a good time, I’m a little hesitant to plan another trip around a future DVC moonlight magic event, especially if I would be flying to Florida instead of driving to SoCal.

Wondering what all your thoughts are and how the DCA event compared to previous ones in other parks.

 

[dina444444]

This was my first DVC event and I was disappointed. Maybe I had set my expectations too high but for me the biggest draw to an event like this would be for short lines. This was not the case at all.

All the e ticket rides had standard or longer wait times. 60 mins for RSR. 40 mins for Midway Mania. 45 mins for Soarin. And it felt worse because I couldnt even get a fast pass. The only ride was really able to walk onto was goofy’s sky school.

The food vouchers were nice but there were huge lines at every single food spot. We ended up going to the boardwalk pasta place to grab some pizza. One of the pasta dishes had run out and all the soda machines had no ice in them. The whole place seemed a lot more messy than usual.

The whole event just didn’t feel very organized. I got into DCA with my AP and asked a couple CMs where to check in for the event and the two I talked to had no idea what event was going on. I planned a whole trip around this event and, while I still had a good time, I’m a little hesitant to plan another trip around a future DVC moonlight magic event, especially if I would be flying to Florida instead of driving to SoCal.

Wondering what all your thoughts are and how the DCA event compared to previous ones in other parks.

I went last tear and this year. Last year the event was in DL, which does have more rides than DCA so I do feel that slightly played into the crowds situation. Last year just about every ride was a walk-on except for Star Tours were they were not operating all of the cabins. This year there were definitely lines, we only went on a few rides. RSR was posted 60 but we only waited about 30 minutes to get on. We waited about 5/10 minutes for Guardians and Monsters Inc. was a walk on. The biggest "fail" was the disaster with parking and that they didn't have enough ticket booth windows open to appropriately handle all of the people checking in and the crazy lines for food. Last year they didn't give us meal vouchers instead they had free popcorn, churros, premium ice cream bars, and bottled beverages.

 

[sgrap]

This was my first DVC event and I was disappointed. Maybe I had set my expectations too high but for me the biggest draw to an event like this would be for short lines. This was not the case at all.

All the e ticket rides had standard or longer wait times. 60 mins for RSR. 40 mins for Midway Mania. 45 mins for Soarin. And it felt worse because I couldnt even get a fast pass. The only ride was really able to walk onto was goofy’s sky school.

The food vouchers were nice but there were huge lines at every single food spot. We ended up going to the boardwalk pasta place to grab some pizza. One of the pasta dishes had run out and all the soda machines had no ice in them. The whole place seemed a lot more messy than usual.

The whole event just didn’t feel very organized. I got into DCA with my AP and asked a couple CMs where to check in for the event and the two I talked to had no idea what event was going on. I planned a whole trip around this event and, while I still had a good time, I’m a little hesitant to plan another trip around a future DVC moonlight magic event, especially if I would be flying to Florida instead of driving to SoCal.

Wondering what all your thoughts are and how the DCA event compared to previous ones in other parks.

This was our first event as well. We planned a whole trip around it, flying in and staying for 7 nights. We ended up wishing we hadn't even attended and had stayed in Disneyland to watch the fireworks. Really a waste of time. 45+ min. in line for free $15 of food, and the item I wanted wasn't even on the Moonlight Magic menu. Ride lines were long, character lines were long, and food lines were craaazzzyyyy long. It was the worst experience of our 7 day trip. And we were already in the park, so we didn't have to deal with long lines for parking or checking in.

 

[GeneralTso]

It wasn't what I expected. Not awesome, not awful.
We stayed at Grand CA so the entrance line there was a lot shorter than others. We talked to others in line with us and they sent someone to the other line to check it out, it was much worse than the one we were in. It took them 1.5 hours to get IN TO THE PARKING LOT. An hour and a half!!!! That blew my mind.

Ride lines were pretty bad. 50 minutes for Toy Story, about the same for Racers, Guardians, etc. I read how rides were basically a walk on at WDW events, but not this one. Not even close.
People in line for food for well over an hour.

Exclusive merchandise was supposed to be available at 9pm. We wandered over at 8:30 and it was like a feeding frenzy. Stuff flying off the shelves and that was it. We bought the cute long sleeve Mr Incredible t shirt and the pin. Not interested in the ornament. Sold out very quickly and people were quite angry they didn't even have a chance. The cashiers were not prepared and didn't know they were setting out the merchandise so early. This was at Elias. Knick Knacks over on the pier had the same situation.

Final thoughts--I would do this at WDW, but not at Disneyland again.
Highlight--free ice cream!!! Now I never want to pay for a Mickey Bar again!

 

[KPeterso]

We attended as well, and stayed at the Grand Californian. We went to the one at Disneyland last year and Hollywood Studios this past September. Those were both well organized and great events. This was not. We avoided the parking nightmares of many, but the lines were just terrible. About the same as during the day and no MaxPass which is what we would use if we saw a long ride line during the day. Food lines were ridiculous the whole night (we ate about 8ish before the party, but saw lines as late as 11 PM). We go a lot with our APs and have been there on busy weekend nights that were less crowded than it was that night. I had chatted with a DVC kiosk rep on Wednesday night in Downtown Disney and she had told me that she had taken the day off Thursday to go to the party as she is also a member. I ran into her again Friday (and she remembered us), and asked her what she thought and her thoughts were similar to above. Definitely disappointed. I don't like to complain about something that is free, but it was just not well done at all!

 

[Iceman93]

So glad I was feeling a bit under the weather so my wife and I decided not to go!

 

[sgrap]

So glad I was feeling a bit under the weather so my wife and I decided not to go!

Good choice. I hate to be so salty about it, but after planning a whole trip around it, it was really disappointing. Thankfully the rest of the trip was fantastic, and we got to experience Club 33 for our 30th anniversary!! Big time bucket list for us, thanks to a friend of a friend who hosted us. But I definitely won't be planning another trip around a California Moonlight Magic event again.

 

[gillep]

It wasn't what I expected. Not awesome, not awful.
We stayed at Grand CA so the entrance line there was a lot shorter than others. We talked to others in line with us and they sent someone to the other line to check it out, it was much worse than the one we were in. It took them 1.5 hours to get IN TO THE PARKING LOT. An hour and a half!!!! That blew my mind.

Ride lines were pretty bad. 50 minutes for Toy Story, about the same for Racers, Guardians, etc. I read how rides were basically a walk on at WDW events, but not this one. Not even close.
People in line for food for well over an hour.

Exclusive merchandise was supposed to be available at 9pm. We wandered over at 8:30 and it was like a feeding frenzy. Stuff flying off the shelves and that was it. We bought the cute long sleeve Mr Incredible t shirt and the pin. Not interested in the ornament. Sold out very quickly and people were quite angry they didn't even have a chance. The cashiers were not prepared and didn't know they were setting out the merchandise so early. This was at Elias. Knick Knacks over on the pier had the same situation.

Final thoughts--I would do this at WDW, but not at Disneyland again.
Highlight--free ice cream!!! Now I never want to pay for a Mickey Bar again!

I would not do it again at DCA but if it were at DL like last year I absolutely would. We have been to events at DL, Epcot, AK and DCA, and the DL event was by far the best while the DCA event was by far the worst. A very disappointing evening for sure and we missed out on a lot of the hassle since we walked from our hotel so didn't get to experience the lines for parking and we checked in inside DCA at the Frozen theater at 6:30 which wasn't nearly as bad as the ticket booths. We also went straight from check in to corn dog castle to eat and there was no line, the lines an hour later were horrible everywhere.

 

[hjgaus]

We were there and stayed @ VGC but checked in on Wednesday so didn't deal with parking issues. Although everything else was the same once we got to the event. I think the free meal lines seemed to bother us the most! I also don't like to knock the FREE thing down either BUT just wish they prepared better for it considering they gave it to use last minute!
Why do you think it was SO CROWDED compare to last year OR even the year before ( Nov. 2016 in DCA ) ?? I've used to always think there were not that many DVC members from the west coast side compare to the east coast.

 

[Lauren in NC]

We were there and stayed @ VGC but checked in on Wednesday so didn't deal with parking issues. Although everything else was the same once we got to the event. I think the free meal lines seemed to bother us the most! I also don't like to knock the FREE thing down either BUT just wish they prepared better for it considering they gave it to use last minute!
Why do you think it was SO CROWDED compare to last year OR even the year before ( Nov. 2016 in DCA ) ?? I've used to always think there were not that many DVC members from the west coast side compare to the east coast.

No "real" night time entertainment. Last year at DL they had two showings of Fantasmic, which sucked in lots of people. Also, I'm pretty sure DL had more rides open (and more high capacity rides) than DCA did, but I'd have to go check last year's map to confirm.

 

[dina444444]

No "real" night time entertainment. Last year at DL they had two showings of Fantasmic, which sucked in lots of people. Also, I'm pretty sure DL had more rides open (and more high capacity rides) than DCA did, but I'd have to go check last year's map to confirm.

Disneyland did have more rides open, but Disneyland also has more rides than DCA. The only ride that was closed at dca was grizzly and for a Disneyland’s it was critter country and toontown so 4 rides but everything else was open.

 

[rentayenta]

So glad I was feeling a bit under the weather so my wife and I decided not to go!

We also chose not to attend.

Bummer to hear it wasn't as well organized as DL's last year.

 

[ludari]

The only problem I experienced was the food voucher. Now I prefer to skip eating since I'm there for the quick access to the rides but my guest told me that eating is part of the park experience. Now last year you could stand in line to get snacks such as water, ice cream, popcorn and churros which worked out great since you could enjoy your snacks while you stood in line for another ride. With these food vouchers you really couldn't do that and the wait times where ridiculous but if my guests where willing to do that then fine because as a AP holder I always go to the parks. I hope next year that they bring the snacks back and get rid of the food voucher.

 

[Lauren in NC]

I hope next year that they bring the snacks back and get rid of the food voucher.

I feel ridiculously petty complaining about getting $60 worth of food for free, but I honestly would've preferred being able to get popcorn and the frozen bananas I'm not sure why Disney chose to do the food vouchers instead, and I wonder if it worked out the way they intended. I can't see how it would've saved them any money.