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

[theluckyrabbit]

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!

I love your attitude and totally agree that you! are! going! to! have! a! wonderful! trip! After all, you'll be with your loved ones at DLR! What more could you ask? Some of the best memories we have of the parks have nothing to do with the "BIG" things, but are of sharing popcorn on a bench while people watching, laughing at goofball antics with characters, riding the simple rides over and over, eating ice cream for dinner (!), enjoying the live music, etc. So many memories, so much love... Have a magical time (because you will!)!

 

[Malcon10t]

I agree that cancelling your trip might be the best option here. In thread after thread, you have repeated your complaints and made your negativity known. I truly fear this trip will be a self fulfilling disaster.

S/he has been trying to make this "the perfect trip" from the time I started reading their threads. The negativity was started then. I don't think any trip to Disneyland is going to live up to his/her trips to WDW. I hope they can change their trip.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

S/he has been trying to make this "the perfect trip" from the time I started reading their threads. The negativity was started then. I don't think any trip to Disneyland is going to live up to his/her trips to WDW. I hope they can change their trip.

Sadly, I, too, hope that the plans can be changed.

 

[wendow]

I love your attitude and totally agree that you! are! going! to! have! a! wonderful! trip! After all, you'll be with your loved ones at DLR! What more could you ask? Some of the best memories we have of the parks have nothing to do with the "BIG" things, but are of sharing popcorn on a bench while people watching, laughing at goofball antics with characters, riding the simple rides over and over, eating ice cream for dinner (!), enjoying the live music, etc. So many memories, so much love... Have a magical time (because you will!)!

Thank you! I have no doubt that a great trip awaits us. I have a family I love spending time with...I have a park awaiting us that we have not gotten to explore...and there are so many family memories just waiting to be made. Many people never have these blessings. I'll take them and be thankful!

And you are so right, many of the moments we refer back to from our numerous WDW trips have absolutely nothing to do with BIG things...it is the amazing character interactions we've had, the inside jokes because of something we witnessed that was hilarious but only we understand or the special pixie dust a CM gave us.

I'm more excited than ever about our trip

ETA: Thinking about special CM interactions...anyone here know Barbara from MK (parade, dancing Barbara lol)? She's is a hoot,and honestly a real inspiration...I've not seen her our last two trips so not sure she is still there but we've had such a great time getting to know her. It's people like her, who make our trips special, not whether we got to ride every single ride. We never get to. That is why we are always planning our next trip, right!!?!

 

[Captainkidd76]

I hope you are able to cancel and change your trip. You are not going to have a great trip. You have been extremely negative, and I don't see how you could possibly enjoy the trip. I hope they let you change things. It is one reason I usually piece my own trip so I can change it.

I did piece it together. My mistake was not buying refundable airfare. The crazy thing is, I have waited my whole life for this trip. And as I've said, it never happenes because a few weeks out, something else closes. This isn't about TSMM. We have that in Florida, and while it's fun, it's not a must do for us. I just don't care for how Disneyland seems to operate. I get it. It's a locals park, and that is their mindset. But it's still the original park and people who don't live in California want to visit. Time off, schedules, it's all difficult. In planned trip after planned trip, it always is clear that the folks who run Disneyland don't care about the tourist. It's very frustrating.

FTR, I get the defense of your park. This is a Disneyland board and of course it's going to be defended, just as a WDW board would be. But I don't think it's fair to say I've been negative from the start, as if I'm being forced into this trip. Sorry, but facts are facts. Every trip we have planned, multiple things happen less than 3 months out that always change the trip. Of course we've been to WDW or Universal when things were closed down. But in all our trips, never have I encountered a situation where an E-ticket attraction was shut down with less than a months notice. Ever. Try and imagine how that feels for someone traveling 4,000 miles for their first ever trip somewhere.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... The crazy thing is, I have waited my whole life for this trip. And as I've said, it never happenes because a few weeks out, something else closes... In planned trip after planned trip, it always is clear that the folks who run Disneyland don't care about the tourist. It's very frustrating.

I can understand your anticipation at seeing Walt's original park and your frustration at not being able to do so. But if you are waiting for the "perfect" time (and "perfect" by your standards only -- which it appears DLR will never be able to meet) to plan your trip, then you may as well never come. This isn't a static park and it gets a lot of use and abuse on a daily basis. There will always be something, be it a ride or a restaurant or a show or something else, that needs to be refurbed or repaired or replaced. Construction has been an almost constant part of a growing resort for the past few years. And yet, for many of us, we are willing to see past the inconveniences to welcome the magic wherever we find it and to let it find us. Local or not (and many of us are not), we can be happy here because we choose to be. Your posts from the start have been consistently negative and critical of DLR, management's business practices, the way DLR isn't WDW, etc. If cancelling your trip will work out better for you, then I hope that helps.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I can understand your anticipation at seeing Walt's original park and your frustration at not being able to do so. But if you are waiting for the "perfect" time (and "perfect" by your standards only -- which it appears DLR will never be able to meet) to plan your trip, then you may as well never come. This isn't a static park and it gets a lot of use and abuse on a daily basis. There will always be something, be it a ride or a restaurant or a show or something else, that needs to be refurbed or repaired or replaced. Construction has been an almost constant part of a growing resort for the past few years. And yet, for many of us, we are willing to see past the inconveniences to welcome the magic wherever we find it and to let it find us. Local or not (and many of us are not), we can be happy here because we choose to be. Your posts from the start have been consistently negative and critical of DLR, management's business practices, the way DLR isn't WDW, etc. If cancelling your trip will work out better for you, then I hope that helps.

I get that, but many parks aren't static and get use and abuse on a daily basis. And of course, there is always something under repair or refurb. WDW is no different in that respect. But again, it's the way in which things are done that always irritates me. I was actually perfectly OK with not getting to ride California Screamin' on Mickey's Wheel, even though I wanted to. We just happened to pick the week before they both reopened. But plenty of notice was given on that. TSMM, just a couple weeks out? Sorry, it's not cool. Better planning should be involved. Same thing for the closures at DTD. Still, some of the places closing don't have definitive dates that have been released. Just "by the end of the month".

It's just different is all. I had always expected Disneyland to be treated like WDW in terms of being a destination. For some reason, it just isn't.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I get that, but many parks aren't static and get use and abuse on a daily basis. And of course, there is always something under repair or refurb. WDW is no different in that respect. But again, it's the way in which things are done that always irritates me. I was actually perfectly OK with not getting to ride California Screamin' on Mickey's Wheel, even though I wanted to. We just happened to pick the week before they both reopened. But plenty of notice was given on that. TSMM, just a couple weeks out? Sorry, it's not cool. Better planning should be involved. Same thing for the closures at DTD. Still, some of the places closing don't have definitive dates that have been released. Just "by the end of the month".

It's just different is all. I had always expected Disneyland to be treated like WDW in terms of being a destination. For some reason, it just isn't.

Disney cannot Control when the stores closing in DTD decide to close. They have a date they have to be out by, it’s up to them. And it’s not like it’s all of DTD, it’s like 4 things. One of which already has another location in downtown Disney anyways. And these places are not going to re-open during your stay anyways, they are going to be demolished.

And WDW does do this short notice thing. We go next week and they closed TSMM during our trip with about 4 weeks notice. Which as you know may as well be zero with the amount of planning required at WDW.

 

[agamble]

I know the block out lifts begin today, but I wanted to share that the crowds yesterday were not too bad for a Sunday. The morning was very pleasant, as mornings often are. We returned in the evening with 2 goals, ride Indy and watch Fantasmic. We had to standby Imsy but it wasn't too bad (it had closed for a while shortly before). Fantasmic was way less sardine packed than when we went last July. I'm not sure if Disney has made tweaks to the number of FP per show or what, but we could actually breath.

I'll update again on crowds this week later.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Disney cannot Control when the stores closing in DTD decide to close. They have a date they have to be out by, it’s up to them. And it’s not like it’s all of DTD, it’s like 4 things. One of which already has another location in downtown Disney anyways. And these places are not going to re-open during your stay anyways, they are going to be demolished.

And WDW does do this short notice thing. We go next week and they closed TSMM during our trip with about 4 weeks notice. Which as you know may as well be zero with the amount of planning required at WDW.

Not sure how much I agree with that. I refuse to believe Disney has no control or knowledge of when anything on their property is closing. They don't own the stores, but they own the space.

If WDW announced TSMM closing a month in advance, that's just wrong. Things like that simply shouldn't happen, unless it's an unforeseen maintenance or safety issue. This just sounds like poor planning.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Not sure how much I agree with that. I refuse to believe Disney has no control or knowledge of when anything on their property is closing. They don't own the stores, but they own the space.

If WDW announced TSMM closing a month in advance, that's just wrong. Things like that simply shouldn't happen, unless it's an unforeseen maintenance or safety issue. This just sounds like poor planning.

No, Disney cannot Control when the stores close. They gave them a date they had to be out by. It is up to the companies who own the stores to decide when they wanted to close down. They need time to clear out their building, and need to have adequate staffing (when you know your job is ending, you usually try to find something else sooner than later!) Each store made that decision themselves. They simply lease the building from Disney, Disney does not make their operating decisions. It is up to the stores to release that info as well. Not Disney.

And no, the TSMM closure at WDW was not just wrong. It’s an active construction site. We can be understanding of that. We chose to go while they are building the new land, and expected that there would be disruption due to that. Does not make me the least bit angry, does not make me want to cancel my trip, and I’m certainly not going to complain to Disney.

 

[DLgal]

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.

Ok. I really think this was done because they had no choice. I was there yesterday and the entire area from the coaster station to the Silly Symphony Swings is a MESS of a construction zone. They look (to my untrained eye) to be way behind schedule for an opening in just 2 weeks. Honestly, I don't know how they will pull it off. There weren't any construction workers there yesterday either (maybe they don't work Sundays?) which I found surprising. I thought they would have people there round the clock at this point. I suspect they will need to have full access to the area with no walls, thus why they have to close Toy Story. It just wouldn't be safe to have guests over there.

It stinks for guests, but I don't think it was something they had planned in advance.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... It's just different is all. I had always expected Disneyland to be treated like WDW in terms of being a destination. For some reason, it just isn't.

You are right. It IS different, and it should be. DLR and WDW are two different parks, on two different coasts, in two different states, with two different management teams. The philosophy that gets repeated here over and over is that guests should not visit DLR expecting to find a carbon copy of WDW. DLR is its own resort with its own parks and should be experienced and enjoyed on its own merits. One formula for an unsuccessful visit is to expect DLR to perform just like WDW -- almost all guests who follow that path come back here to complain about their disappointing trip. Your expectation for "Disneyland to be treated like WDW in terms of being a destination" is unreasonable, especially after you have been told repeatedly in comments here that DLR and WDW are not alike. There are similarities, of course, but they are separate entities and should be experienced as such. Continued insistence that DLR meet your expectations and continued complaints and criticism when this doesn't happen will not make your trip better or enjoyable. As I said before, your frustration and disappointment are understandable. This is one of the weirder times in recent DLR scheduling -- no one has experience with anything quite like this at this time of year. Other posters have expressed similar feelings of surprise and misgiving about their upcoming trips. They are adjusting and trying to focus on the positive. But your insistence that DLR meet your unrealistic expectations for this trip will almost certainly guarantee you disappointment and more frustration (as it has up to now).

 

[DizneyMommy]

Ok. I really think this was done because they had no choice. I was there yesterday and the entire area from the coaster station to the Silly Symphony Swings is a MESS of a construction zone. They look (to my untrained eye) to be way behind schedule for an opening in just 2 weeks. Honestly, I don't know how they will pull it off. There weren't any construction workers there yesterday either (maybe they don't work Sundays?) which I found surprising. I thought they would have people there round the clock at this point. I suspect they will need to have full access to the area with no walls, thus why they have to close Toy Story. It just wouldn't be safe to have guests over there.

It stinks for guests, but I don't think it was something they had planned in advance.

They’ve actually been really flexible, keeping it open as much as possible during construction. They could have just closed it down for the duration, I’m sure it would have been way easier for them! At some point they have to finish the theming in front of TS, and they have to make sure guests are safe too.

 

[DLgal]

They’ve actually been really flexible, keeping it open as much as possible during construction. They could have just closed it down for the duration, I’m sure it would have been way easier for them! At some point they have to finish the theming in front of TS, and they have to make sure guests are safe too.

I agree. We rode TSMM a couple weeks ago and honestly, it was weird walking through there. It was very claustrophobic with the walls and the tiny walkway that was left . And to be honest, I'm glad we only ventured over there once during this whole construction saga.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I agree. We rode TSMM a couple weeks ago and honestly, it was weird walking through there. It was very claustrophobic with the walls and the tiny walkway that was left . And to be honest, I'm glad we only ventured over there once during this whole construction saga.

I didn’t even make it that far! They were having us park strollers by Cove Bar and walk down and I was being too lazy to carry the toddler back up the hill! Lol

 

[Mamato4boys]

Not sure how much I agree with that. I refuse to believe Disney has no control or knowledge of when anything on their property is closing. They don't own the stores, but they own the space.

If WDW announced TSMM closing a month in advance, that's just wrong. Things like that simply shouldn't happen, unless it's an unforeseen maintenance or safety issue. This just sounds like poor planning.

Captainkidd- As someone who is headed to DLR the same time as you (19-23) and has been incredibly upset by all of these last minute changes (most bothersome being the unblocking of lower passes), I understand your disappointment. A DLR trip is a big deal for our family. We typically save for 2 years to be able to take our family of 6. I have cried several times in the last couple of days because I am stressed out about these changes... And we are unable to change our plans at this point.

So, we are both stuck. We can't change what Disney has done. The only thing we can change is our attitudes about the situation.

Disneyland and California Adventure are magical! I know this. I am not going to let my disappointment over things I cannot change ruin my family's visit. I am going to focus on all of the amazing things and not be bitter about the should of, could of, would ofs.

Like others have said, if you go into something believing it is going to be bad, it will be. You have the chance now to save your vacation. Make up your mind to find the good, the excitement, the joy, the magic, and let the bad roll off. Things don't have to be perfect to have the perfect vacation with your family.

I really hope your vacation is truly magical!

 

[dina444444]

Ok. I really think this was done because they had no choice. I was there yesterday and the entire area from the coaster station to the Silly Symphony Swings is a MESS of a construction zone. They look (to my untrained eye) to be way behind schedule for an opening in just 2 weeks. Honestly, I don't know how they will pull it off. There weren't any construction workers there yesterday either (maybe they don't work Sundays?) which I found surprising. I thought they would have people there round the clock at this point. I suspect they will need to have full access to the area with no walls, thus why they have to close Toy Story. It just wouldn't be safe to have guests over there.

It stinks for guests, but I don't think it was something they had planned in advance.

Typically the construction crews work on 6 days a week schedules. They were working until pretty late in the day on Saturday and incredicoaster was testing with 4 or 5 cars running around 4/5pm. I saw one female cm who had on a construction vest ride 3 or 4 times in different cars in different spots on each car. At this point it’s mostly just paint and installing fixtures in the shops. The outside theater entrance for where bing bongs is going finally looked like all the metal work was done on Saturday when they had crews assembling that each Saturday I was there for the last few weeks prior.

 

[Malcon10t]

Same thing for the closures at DTD. Still, some of the places closing don't have definitive dates that have been released. Just "by the end of the month".

Disney has said June 30th. Each location has announced earlier due to employee/food issues. They are going as long as they can with just restricting what they serve. Starbucks can stay longer because they can just move the excess to the other store. Rainforest and ESPN Zone will close earlier. That said, none of the other restaurants are affected by this.

I'm sorry this isn't working out for you. If I thought you were going into this positively, I'd say you are still going to have a great trip. But that isn't the case. You are going to go looking for the negative. And it won't be fun. And I am sorry. I can't think of anything to say to help you.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I would bet extremely good money we will have an awesome trip. I'm not looking for the negative. It just keeps coming up. Furthermore, I'm not trying to compare WDW to DLR. With all due respect, I'm not an idiot. I know exactly how different they are. I've been planning for this trip for 10 years. I am under no false illusions about what DLR is and isn't. I wouldn't be going if I were. I'm going because it's the original park, and has a bunch of attractions that don't exist at WDW. I love the dark rides at WDW, so I can't wait to hit Fantasyland. Matterhorn I've always wanted to ride. Grizzly River Run. The superior Pirates. The superior Railroad. The superior Space Mountain. I'm not going to be one of the people who complains about the size of the castle. I know exactly how big it is. My only point in "comparing" the 2 is that it IS still Disney. And people, just like at WDW, save and plan for years for a trip to Disneyland. As I followed the past several years, the intention was to make the resort more of a destination.

I will write an honest report when I get back. I'm sure there will be some things I prefer at WDW, but by no means will I be wearing blinders going in. I know what to expect and am extremely excited.