My recent experience at DLR

[Wesley815]

Disney messed up on the magic key tiers and pricing. They should have just released the one high end pass, priced it at $2000, and not allowed monthly payments, but also not require reservations. They made a mistake by selling multiple priced tiers that all have the same restrictions of needing advanced reservations and now you have people wondering why they paid $500 extra for a pass that lets them go on weekends, but it's impossible to book weekends. They are going to have to either change the system or they aren't gonna get many renewals next year.

THIS!! Thank you, I fully agree about the Magic Key pricing setup. They basically reinstated old AP program with added reservation system in place. Disney has already made local news stories about guests buying top tier pass and told no weekends until 2022 (now even January weekends are starting to fill up for MK.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed program updates happen within the next month or two- or like you said, there's not much of a reason to renew. I have time off on weekdays so thankfully I can go, but most people work Mon to Fri and specifically buy Dream tier for that reason. It's just the overall principle of it all that doesn't feel Disney guest service level too me.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/



However if you buy a full price day ticket WIDE open:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/

 

[kkmcan]

I also think part of what's going on this month is all the school breaks. I know at least 5 families in our circle that went to DL this month. We used to go for Halloweentime every year for 10 years in a row but chose other parts of the year in the last 4 years (not counting last year) because Oct became so overwhelming (and hot). In fact we started doing the Halloween party the very first year it opened in DCA and was so tiny and like $25pp. Hoping that it goes back to the days when there were pockets of low crowds during the year- Jan, Feb, Sept and early Nov.

 

[goodeats]

We went yesterday, $600 for 3 PH plus parking. I debated upgrading to one of the lower tier Magic Key passes, but decided against. If they drop the masking, we’ll come back next Christmas-time. Crowds were extremely high - - 60min + for bigger rides. I also really find the masking hard to deal with when the enforcement is so haphazard. What’s the point of making people put masks on for the ride when they aren’t wearing them in the queue?

Mobile ordering worked fine for us, although it was a bit glitchy. I was shocked at how long the lines were for the churro carts. That may have been due to the larger crowds. We got on most of the rides we wanted to, but don’t feel the need to rush back,

 

[Lynzer Torte]

Mobile ordering worked fine for us, although it was a bit glitchy. I was shocked at how long the lines were for the churro carts. That may have been due to the larger crowds. We got on most of the rides we wanted to, but don’t feel the need to rush back,

I don't understand how slow the food carts can be. The processes need streamlining badly. The food is already made- you just need to roll the churro in cinnamon sugar, place the pretzel in a paper sleeve, or scoop up the popcorn. It should be super efficient but each transaction seems to take forever.

 

[mamapenguin]

Thank you for your honesty. I was momentarily thinking a quick trip to DL would be fun. I will wait and stick with Universal Orlando. I’ve already had two amazing trips this year.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't understand how slow the food carts can be. The processes need streamlining badly. The food is already made- you just need to roll the churro in cinnamon sugar, place the pretzel in a paper sleeve, or scoop up the popcorn. It should be super efficient but each transaction seems to take forever.

They should consult with Chic-fil-A.

 

[Tinkaboo]

i’ve pretty much decided that I’m done with Disney for awhile. Been researching USH all afternoon while watching football and I think it’s time to fina see Harry Potter. It’ll be just a short 3-day trip for us but at least they are wearing masks there, crowds will be manageable on a weekday and overall I think it will be a more pleasant experience. See you in a few years DLR!

 

[vacay77]

For all of the reasons others have stated and many more, this place has become a nightmare. I don’t think I’ll be back for a while. Im on my last day and I can’t wait to go home. I have never felt this way. Funny story, Disneyland resort just sent me a guest survey and I thought “oh good, I can let them have it”. All of the questions were about hotels and streaming services I like . They don’t care.

I received a survey on the way home and it was about our experience at CA Adventure. It did ask some good questions - they should send more of those surveys!

i’ve pretty much decided that I’m done with Disney for awhile. Been researching USH all afternoon while watching football and I think it’s time to fina see Harry Potter. It’ll be just a short 3-day trip for us but at least they are wearing masks there, crowds will be manageable on a weekday and overall I think it will be a more pleasant experience. See you in a few years DLR!

We went to USH the day before we went to Disneyland and it was well run!! Of course, we had express passes, lol. But none of the rides broke down and we had a very pleasant experience. My son loved using his interactive wand at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We were at DL October 1 (Friday) through 7. I haven't read all the posts, but here are my thoughts on our experience:

Friday and Saturday weren't bad at all crowd-wise. Sunday was a little crowded, but doable. But Monday through Thursday were INSANE. So glad we were there a couple days before that. Evidently some of the schools were out and everybody and their grandmother went to DL. It was tough to navigate, long lines for both food and attractions, and so crowded that it felt claustrophobic.

On the upside, we didn't have much trouble getting food. We did have ADRs for at least half of our lunches/dinners; the rest we mainly did mobile order and had no problems with that. It was important to mobile order WAY in advance most of the time, generally speaking, but once it was our turn and we hit the "we're here" button, food was ready pretty quickly. We did walk-up at Tropical Hideway at least twice. The line looked long but moved very quickly.

We were also able to get a table at Trader Sam's without an ADR or being on the walk-up waiting list one day for lunch. The app said no wait list was available, but we went anyway and were added to the list. They said they couldn't give us an estimate and I was hoping it wouldn't be an hour plus, but we were seated (inside, as requested) in about 20 minutes.

Lines for churro carts, ice cream carts, etc. were long and moved slowly. We didn't get food from the carts nearly as much as we normally do because lines were so long and it took forever. Probably lots of people just needing to eat and not being able to find anyplace with food readily available due to the new requirements. One exception was the Shawarma carts in DCA. We grabbed breakfast there a couple days with no wait.

We didn't have ADRs for Oga's but were able to get a drink there on the mobile waitlist. We ended up being pretty late for our return time due to being on ROTR, but they let us in without comment, I didn't even explain why we were late, just gave them my name and they let us in.

We were able to get 7AM boarding groups for ROTR every day we started out at DL. Ranged from group 14 to group 123. We didn't get to ride the day we had 123, but that was our fault for waiting too long. We didn't try to ride until pretty late in the day, by that time our boarding group had been called a couple of hours ago. By the time we got there, the ride was down. Came back up and went back down again, then when we went back they weren't accepting anyone else on the ride who hadn't been "kicked off" from earlier. So don't wait too long! The one 12 PM boarding group we got was listed as "stand by" or something to that effect, meaning they might or might not make it that far down the list, and we did not get to ride that day as the boarding groups all expired before our turn.

We also got boarding groups for WS on the two days we started at DCA. First time we actually didn't ride it because even with the boarding group, the line was insanely long and it was HOT standing out in the sun. Why they didn't make more of this queue shaded, I have no idea. We stood in line about 15 minutes, then left. Next time we got a very early boarding group and went first thing when the line wasn't as bad. Personally I would never wait more than 15 minutes for this ride. What a disappointment compared to ROTR.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

i’ve pretty much decided that I’m done with Disney for awhile. Been researching USH all afternoon while watching football and I think it’s time to fina see Harry Potter. It’ll be just a short 3-day trip for us but at least they are wearing masks there, crowds will be manageable on a weekday and overall I think it will be a more pleasant experience. See you in a few years DLR!

We have been many times around Christmas. They do a really good Grinchmas. I have been trying to hold off on going again until Super Nintendo World opens. We have never been interested in staying more than a day and a half though, and that was buy a day and get a day free.

 

[Tinkaboo]

We have been many times around Christmas. They do a really good Grinchmas. I have been trying to hold off on going again until Super Nintendo World opens. We have never been interested in staying more than a day and a half though, and that was buy a day and get a day free.

Thank you, the photos I found looked likethey did a great job with Hogsmeade at Christmas so that was another incentive. When we’ve gone in the past, it was never more than a “one and done” usually after we’d been to Disney. I just want to get out of the house! I’m sure after three days, I’ll be ready to cocoon for the winter but I just need a few days of fun! Grinchmas would be great, too…love the Whos!

 

[ishbit92]

i’ve pretty much decided that I’m done with Disney for awhile. Been researching USH all afternoon while watching football and I think it’s time to fina see Harry Potter. It’ll be just a short 3-day trip for us but at least they are wearing masks there, crowds will be manageable on a weekday and overall I think it will be a more pleasant experience. See you in a few years DLR!

We are deciding to do USH on our next trip too! We are going to Disney for the first 4 days though. But for the first time in ages, I am cutting Disney short to do something else. Normally I can't drag myself away from Disney....seems more palatable this time after reading this thread plus what I've read elsewhere. I am so excited to see Harry Potter too. I've been to USH but not since the Wizarding World opened up.

 

[SeaDis]

We are deciding to do USH on our next trip too! We are going to Disney for the first 4 days though. But for the first time in ages, I am cutting Disney short to do something else. Normally I can't drag myself away from Disney....seems more palatable this time after reading this thread plus what I've read elsewhere. I am so excited to see Harry Potter too. I've been to USH but not since the Wizarding World opened up.

THIS. We are looking for ideas to spend one of our days outside DLR. Haven't done that since 2012 on an 8-day So Cal trip. Since then every trip has been at DLR with 4 or 5 day Parkhopper. Now thinking 3-day tickets and something new for the other day(s).

I sincerely hope TDA is busy tweaking Genie+ to be more like Maxpass. At WDW, Genie+ may be an upgrade to FP+. At DLR, it's a downgrade to MP (our opinion). May the Force be with them.

 

[ishbit92]

THIS. We are looking for ideas to spend one of our days outside DLR. Haven't done that since 2012 on an 8-day So Cal trip. Since then every trip has been at DLR with 4 or 5 day Parkhopper. Now thinking 3-day tickets and something new for the other day(s).

I sincerely hope TDA is busy tweaking Genie+ to be more like Maxpass. At WDW, Genie+ may be an upgrade to FP+. At DLR, it's a downgrade to MP (our opinion). May the Force be with them.

Just about the same with me! Last time we spent time outside of DLR was in 2011 when we did an extended So-Cal trip too. I'm just like man, I need to expand my horizons a little bit and see other things in California. Coming from Alaska I feel like my Disney time is precious and limited but this trip I am wanting to do something a little different. Yeah I agree with you about it being a downgrade to MP in DLR. I do really hope it's up and running by our early December trip though.

 

[GBRforWDW]

THIS. We are looking for ideas to spend one of our days outside DLR. Haven't done that since 2012 on an 8-day So Cal trip. Since then every trip has been at DLR with 4 or 5 day Parkhopper. Now thinking 3-day tickets and something new for the other day(s).

I sincerely hope TDA is busy tweaking Genie+ to be more like Maxpass. At WDW, Genie+ may be an upgrade to FP+. At DLR, it's a downgrade to MP (our opinion). May the Force be with them.

We did 8 days in August but only 3 DLR days. The other days were Angels baseball game, Dodgers Baseball game and Hollywood sightseeing, Dolphin/whale watching out of Dana Point as well as a beach or 2 along the coast, and a resort/pool day on one of our Cambria days, so the pool area was really nice. We also did Santa Monica pier on arrival day which was really fun though we were using a driving service, so didn't stay as long as we would have liked.

There's tons of things to do and see in socal, but wanted to give a few fun ideas. Obviously baseball season is almost over, but football is back in LA, basketball and hockey are also starting up again, so lots of sports options. I'd definitely do a Ducks hockey game If I was going during the winter and they had a game at home. I might also try to get to the Reagan ranch next trip.

 

[Kit Jackson]

THIS. We are looking for ideas to spend one of our days outside DLR.

Griffith Park and/or Griffith Observatory. If there are any serious movie fans into the production process, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour is fantastic. It is a behind the scenes look at a working movie studio, not a theme park ride. Where I haven't been yet (but I really want to see), is the new Academy Awards musuem.

The forecourt of the TCL theatre is great. It's where the handprints/footprints are. The tour is meh, but the forecourt is awesome and free.

If anyone in the group is into Greek or Roman history, the Getty Villa is wonderful (it requires online reservations, and the tickets are free. The timed reservations are crowd control).