Navigating DLR, Pixar Pier Opening, and AP Blockouts June 18-30

[smartlabelprint]

I am SO upset. We picked these days for lower crowds in large part because my 4 year old has some behavioral/anxiety issues and will have a difficult time dealing with large crowds, and now that it is too late to cancel, they do this?!!

Can you get the das?

 

[luvflorida]

DCA will be busy on Saturday but with people heading to the pier, not the other parts of the park. And with the blockouts that day I don’t think dca will be horrible.

True!

You're better off starting on a level playing field with all guests entering the park rather than giving MM/EMH folks an hour's head start both days, especially if you are concerned about Jedi training. With PHs, if DL gets a little more daunting on Friday, just hop over to DCA and continue as you were going to. You'll be fine, especially if you have MP.

Yeah, we probably should start in DL, then move over to DCA. Thanks!

Yes and no. They no longer sell that pass. Anyone who let it expire could not renew at that level. I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I would muster a guess that you will not see a impact from that pass alone. It was a weird one anyways, I never felt the cost of it over the Select pass was worth it for a local, and you have to be local to buy it. Most people I know at that level either upgraded to Deluxe or dropped down to the Select pass, simply because they forgot or didn't want to renew on time (There is no longer a renewal discount so it makes no sense to renew at the beginning of summer for instance if you are then blocked out for 2 months anyways)

Thank you for the explanation! Sounds like it shouldn't have much of an impact.

 

[Mamato4boys]

Can you get the das?

I think we are going to need to. Last trip, he wasn't able to ride many things because he was so overwhelmed by feeling stuck in the lines. (And when he gets upset, he is prone to having "accidents." ) We had to leave lines, not even try others, and he spent a good amount of the trip in his stroller with a blanket tied across the front (where he could look out, but it made him feel removed from the crowds). He loved the rides, but the lines really got to him.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I think we are going to need to. Last trip, he wasn't able to ride many things because he was so overwhelmed by feeling stuck in the lines. (And when he gets upset, he is prone to having "accidents." ) We had to leave lines, not even try others, and he spent a good amount of the trip in his stroller with a blanket tied across the front (where he could look out, but it made him feel removed from the crowds). He loved the rides, but the lines really got to him.

They can also use the stroller as a wheelchair. It won't help you much in DCA though. You need the DAS there since the stroller can go in line. If that's enough for him that's fine. But our kids are still quite young and can't wait that long either. We are in the parks for like 5 hours total, with the das. Usually ride 2 rides, then a meal. maybe one more ride on our way back to hotel. Next trip I'm going alone. The kids enjoy it but it's just too expensive. They'd be happy just at the toon town playground/goofys house. We can do that at home!

 

[azdisneylover]

I am afraid you are right.

It is all well and good when business is strong for them. You do not need dedicated fans then. If the tide changes on their business and/or the economy, that is when they will find they regret alienating fans and good customers.

Very well said. The tide will change. Perhaps, not soon, but, it will change and it will be very interesting to see what is done then to get people to go to the parks and/or stay on site.

 

[bethwc101]

As you guys have been highly active in this thread. I would like to know what your opinion is on the letter I am writing to Disney guest services.
Thanks

I CANNOT believe they did this. I freaking picked my dates last August and got an expensive GCV reservation on that basis.

Wow.

If all 4 of those are Park days, you are golden. That is a LOT of time between the 2 parks. Personally my family would get bored by day 4, so you have tons of time to take it slow, navigate any crowds and enjoy your time!

They are all park days! We are used to going to WDW for 7 park days so I guess we shot a little high. We were only planning to use MP two days but we made room in the budget for all four if we need that too.

I mean, I took my BIL and his girlfriend for their first time on a Saturday at the end of September last year. They had one day parkhoppers to “do” Disneyland. It was packed, packed, packed (like 40-minute lines at lunch); the app kept showing the wrong character info, and the entire FP system of both parks crashed before 3pm. It was NOT ideal park conditions by any means... they had an awesome time! We went with the flow and had a great day.

I think everyone is going to be ok. I would not expect crowds to go up significantly. It isn't like all SoCal APs are thinking GREAT, I can go all these new days. There is no new draw to get them to come those days. It might get a little busier in the evenings, but if it were me (and it is for 2 of the days) I wouldn't be really concerns. Disney only opened these specific dates because they expect crowds to be considerably lower due to the opening of PP on the 23rd.

I must say Disneyland has recently gotten into the bad habit of making last minute changes to policies and ride closures. We will be traveling in June with a party totaling 8 people and only visiting for one day. We have been lifetime guests of the Disneyland Resort, and I must say, this will be our last year visiting the park. Which I don't know if that is a negative thing for Disneyland as this action is something I believe you are secretly wishing more of your guests would take.

We specifically picked these dates due to the large number of APs blocked out and pre-Pixar Pier opening. I just found out a few days ago that you unblocked several APs last minute, offered AP discount tickets to their friends, and closed Toy Story Midway Mania for random days before the coveted Pixar Pier grand opening.

This is a serious disappointment to us. We specifically planned our days to avoid the increased crowds of APs, but going before the Pixar Pier opening so the children (where this is their first trip) can ride the ride featuring their favorite movie characters. Toy Story. We are still currently scheduled for a VIP tour, one of the reasons for purchasing this was so the kids could go on Toy Story, back to back to back. Now questioning if it will be worth it.

We will be there only one day, and had we known you would be closing Toy Story, allowing APs in on pre-blocked days, we would have chosen another date to visit the park. But instead of posting the Toy Story Midway Mania closures at the 6 week mark, you chose a matter of days, inconveniencing many with your last minute antics.

 

[DizneyMommy]

As you guys have been highly active in this thread. I would like to know what your opinion is on the letter I am writing to Disney guest services.
Thanks












I must say Disneyland has recently gotten into the bad habit of making last minute changes to policies and ride closures. We will be traveling in June with a party totaling 8 people and only visiting for one day. We have been lifetime guests of the Disneyland Resort, and I must say, this will be our last year visiting the park. Which I don't know if that is a negative thing for Disneyland as this action is something I believe you are secretly wishing more of your guests would take.

We specifically picked these dates due to the large number of APs blocked out and pre-Pixar Pier opening. I just found out a few days ago that you unblocked several APs last minute, offered AP discount tickets to their friends, and closed Toy Story Midway Mania for random days before the coveted Pixar Pier grand opening.

This is a serious disappointment to us. We specifically planned our days to avoid the increased crowds of APs, but going before the Pixar Pier opening so the children (where this is their first trip) can ride the ride featuring their favorite movie characters. Toy Story. We are still currently scheduled for a VIP tour, one of the reasons for purchasing this was so the kids could go on Toy Story, back to back to back. Now questioning if it will be worth it.

We will be there only one day, and had we known you would be closing Toy Story, allowing APs in on pre-blocked days, we would have chosen another date to visit the park. But instead of posting the Toy Story Midway Mania closures at the 6 week mark, you chose a matter of days, inconveniencing many with your last minute antics.

Honestly, I feel like you are you are getting upset about something that has not yet proven to be a problem and may not even have an affect on your trip. Yes, TS closing stinks, but with PP about to open it was likely and WDW did the exact same thing to us for our trip next week. Rides close, things happen, especially in an active construction zone. I'm choosing not to let it bother me and rolling with it. If I were the one at Disney reading this, I would think, how does she even know this AP unblocking is going to affect her trip yet? It is hard to take a customer service complaint seriously when you are simply expecting a problem, but it has not yet occurred.

I will say again, these blackout dates are during a time when a lot of local kids are not even out of school. There is not reason for us all to rush over there. People who are out of school, they have vacations already planned, have to work, etc. I still don't believe people will rush over in droves. We shall see! It will be interesting to see what the real outcome is. If Touring Plans comes back with their How did we do today data and it is way off, and crowds were insane, and if you have a horrible trip because you could not ride anything you wanted to ride, and your experience was negatively affected, I would absolutely write a letter and complain. I just think it carries more weight and has more merit when you have actually experienced the problem, rather than anticipate one. They aren't going to take back the AP days because they received feedback. But if you truly have a bad experience because of it, they may reconsider doing that in the future (I doubt it, but it can't hurt to share your experience!)

 

[DizneyMommy]

And I can totally understand how last minute changes are frustrating because WDW has made a bunch in the last few weeks/month that affect our trip next week. But I am choosing to work around it, adjust my plan, and enjoy EVERY MINUTE of my trip, crowds, closures and all! It was WAY too expensive to spend the whole time angry and we won't be back for several years.

 

[wendow]

I am SO upset. We picked these days for lower crowds in large part because my 4 year old has some behavioral/anxiety issues and will have a difficult time dealing with large crowds, and now that it is too late to cancel, they do this?!!

In your case, I would absolutely get the DAS. When my ds9 was younger, he had trouble with the lines too (spectrum kiddo), and that is really what got us going in Sept every year to WDW. Turns out, we all have a much better, and less anxious, time when the lines are not so overwhelming. Anyways, we never used the old GAC or new DAS for my ds...I somehow felt he wasn't 'bad enough' to need something like that. Looking back, I should have, and if he still had trouble with lines, for a trip as busy as this one might be, I'd definitely get the DAS.

 

[wendow]

And I can totally understand how last minute changes are frustrating because WDW has made a bunch in the last few weeks/month that affect our trip next week. But I am choosing to work around it, adjust my plan, and enjoy EVERY MINUTE of my trip, crowds, closures and all! It was WAY too expensive to spend the whole time angry and we won't be back for several years.

We've made peace with the situation here as well This trip is going to be great. We have all the chances in the world to make it great...RD, MP, taking breaks from the crowds when we need to, taking time just to just be thankful we are at DISNEY!!!...I'm done being upset. My kids are so excited about this trip. I do not want to bring them down by complaining...brings me down too!

 

[wendow]

I must say Disneyland has recently gotten into the bad habit of making last minute changes to policies and ride closures. We will be traveling in June with a party totaling 8 people and only visiting for one day. We have been lifetime guests of the Disneyland Resort, and I must say, this will be our last year visiting the park. Which I don't know if that is a negative thing for Disneyland as this action is something I believe you are secretly wishing more of your guests would take.

We specifically picked these dates due to the large number of APs blocked out and pre-Pixar Pier opening. I just found out a few days ago that you unblocked several APs last minute, offered AP discount tickets to their friends, and closed Toy Story Midway Mania for random days before the coveted Pixar Pier grand opening.

This is a serious disappointment to us. We specifically planned our days to avoid the increased crowds of APs, but going before the Pixar Pier opening so the children (where this is their first trip) can ride the ride featuring their favorite movie characters. Toy Story. We are still currently scheduled for a VIP tour, one of the reasons for purchasing this was so the kids could go on Toy Story, back to back to back. Now questioning if it will be worth it.

We will be there only one day, and had we known you would be closing Toy Story, allowing APs in on pre-blocked days, we would have chosen another date to visit the park. But instead of posting the Toy Story Midway Mania closures at the 6 week mark, you chose a matter of days, inconveniencing many with your last minute antics.

I agree with @DizneyMommy. None of us know yet how this will affect crowds. It may be a big deal or it may be a blip on the crowd calendar. I am waiting until my trip happens to decide whether I write Disney.

Otherwise, I agree with you in that had I known about all these changes, we would absolutely have chosen different dates. Up until about a month ago, we could have chosen different dates but just in the last few weeks, we have booked up our July and early August. A late August trip won't work for us this year (college kiddo!). Giving people less than two weeks notice is not acceptable, and I may still contact Disney to complain about that no matter how crowded the place is.

 

[skuttle]

We've made peace with the situation here as well This trip is going to be great. We have all the chances in the world to make it great...RD, MP, taking breaks from the crowds when we need to, taking time just to just be thankful we are at DISNEY!!!...I'm done being upset. My kids are so excited about this trip. I do not want to bring them down by complaining...brings me down too!

Same here! We've survived WDW during some of the busiest holidays and always had a blast. I'm sure the same will be true for Disneyland. At least now I'll be expecting possibly higher crowds and will be prepared as much as we can be.

 

[durantigger]

Note from June 8, 2018 - Well, I guess you ignore basically this whole thread. Today Disney unblocked days from the SCAP and SCAP Select so they can now go on many of these days. I am pretty upset about it. Hope others out there have a good time.


Planning - It will be best to avoid DCA as much as possible June 24-28. Save your visits to DCA if possible for June 20-23 and June 29-30. Worst days I predict will be June 24 and 29.

Get your DCA days in on the SCAP blockout days and then only lightly venture into DCA on the unblocked days - if possible.


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Just checking to see if this is still the going advice. We will be in the parks Thursday June 28th & Friday June 29th with one park per day tickets. My hesitation to follow the advice above is because DCA has Extra Magic Hours on Friday and Disneyland has them on Thursday, so normally this would make me go to DCA Thursday and Disneyland Friday to avoid the EMH crowds.

I am currently perplexed. Advice appreciated!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Just checking to see if this is still the going advice. We will be in the parks Thursday June 28th & Friday June 29th with one park per day tickets. My hesitation to follow the advice above is because DCA has Extra Magic Hours on Friday and Disneyland has them on Thursday, so normally this would make me go to DCA Thursday and Disneyland Friday to avoid the EMH crowds.

I am currently perplexed. Advice appreciated!

I would go to DCA Thursday 28 and DL Friday 29 if I were you. Friday MAY have more people at DCA because of PP. But then it may not. I would go with your original plan and roll with what comes. I do not know why the advice was to avoid DCA on the 28th but not the 29th. AP changes are not a factor these dates at all.

 

[DisneyinPA]

Can someone help me with my park itinerary since the blackouts were lifted. It’s our first trip with park hopppers on June 22-24. What parks on what days?? This really stinks. Thanks.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Can someone help me with my park itinerary since the blackouts were lifted. It’s our first trip with park hopppers on June 22-24. What parks on what days?? This really stinks. Thanks.

The 22nd is the only day with a change to AP's. Honestly I would not even change your plans because of that! I would stick to whatever you had planned around PP opening, thats going to be the bigger deal.

 

[Congo Queen]

Many people on the Disboards are here because we a planners, and Dland is something worth planning for. How well you know the parks and their operations can seriously effect the quality of your visit. So to have something big like APs unblocked is a drag. It is a choice by Disney (unlike having a ride or show go down due to construction delays or technical difficulties). I've read on these threads and other sites how miserably crowded it is when all levels of APs have access, and I have personally experienced the ridiculous crowds when on a past trip my first day overlapped with the last day that lower level APs could attend before summer blockout. It was ridiculous, and we left midday as the magic was definitely missing. So I will be super duper bummed if they continue this tweaking of the AP block outs throughout the summer. I pick my dates carefully and would be unhappy to have it all upended. We will see. My trip this July 2018 is a long one as I had already been planning to wait until summer 2020 to return. I am concerned about the crowds SWL will bring and want to wait and watch to see how it effects park operations before spending a bundle on another trip.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Wow. Closing one of the most popular rides with a weeks notice. I'm sorry folks, but Disneyland sucks when it comes to this stuff. Honestly, if I could cancel our trip and just stick with WDW, I would. Every week it's something else.

 

[Malcon10t]

Wow. Closing one of the most popular rides with a weeks notice. I'm sorry folks, but Disneyland sucks when it comes to this stuff. Honestly, if I could cancel our trip and just stick with WDW, I would. Every week it's something else.

WDW just did the same thing....

 

[HydroGuy]

WDW just did the same thing....

If you are talking TSMM at WDW, I believe that was not completely last minute. Not sure when it was announced but it seems like it was 2-3 months in advance. But I agree it would be equally disappointing. WDW does not seem to have the same attitude towards summer closings as DLR - at DLR it has been almost unheard of for something to be closed in the summer.