Nov 10th....

[AuntieMe3]

I know its going to be crowded but how crowded do you think it will be?

I have a rare open day tomorrow, and an AP, was thinking of getting there at opening and just staying until 1pm or 2pm. I never got a chance to make it during Halloween time and I'm just dying to make a trip to the parks. Already have plans to go in about a week or two to spend the whole evening to enjoy the nighttime Christmas atmosphere so I'm ok with leaving early. I'll be alone also so that should help...

What do think....should I go or stay home and be sad???

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I think you’ve answered your own question. My answer is always “go”. If it’s get too crazy, it sounds like you’re ok leaving.

 

[AuntieMe3]

So I didn't get to the parks today ....I got close but not close enough. Had to leave later than I wanted so I got off the 57fwy on Katella about 30 minutes after opening and it took me over an hour to get to Harbor....WAY more crowded than I expected. After the third light cycle I didn't make it though to get into the Toy Story lot, I flipped a u-turn and headed home. Oh well....looking forward to next time.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

So I didn't get to the parks today ....I got close but not close enough. Had to leave later than I wanted so I got off the 57fwy on Katella about 30 minutes after opening and it took me over an hour to get to Harbor....WAY more crowded than I expected. After the third light cycle I didn't make it though to get into the Toy Story lot, I flipped a u-turn and headed home. Oh well....looking forward to next time.

Oh man. My friend's sister took her kids today and said it was a madhouse.

 

[WonkaKid]

I plan to go Sunday. Hopefully I don't get slammed with traffic.

 

[tlovesdis]

I've seen some pictures on Twitter and it looks insanely busy today!

 

[tlovesdis]

It's a race weekend as well! Makes more sense now! I totally forgot about that.

 

[Robinjay]

It was crazy busy today. I haven't seen it like that in a long time. Wait times were long for everything, including food and trams before park opening and the parade wait was madness. I didn't wait for it as I am not a parade person, but it jammed up Main Street pretty bad. Patience was thin and planning appeared poor on Disney's part (not enough Castmembers, boats on Jungle cruise were nowhere to be found, Castmembers were nowhere to be found on many rides, boats jammed to the cue on Pirates, lines all morning to the center Esplanade to get in and not all lines open, food carts lines going every which way, no traffic control). They did not seem to be prepared for the crowds today.
We never got to eat.

But... any day in the parks is still a great day!!!!!!

 

[WonkaKid]

If it's crazy busy on Sunday, I'll probably leave a little early. Typically I leave sometime between 3:00 and 5:00. If it's slammed, though, 2:00 sounds more likely. It's just not fun when the park is slammed.

 

[AuntieMe3]

It was crazy busy today. I haven't seen it like that in a long time. Wait times were long for everything, including food and trams before park opening and the parade wait was madness. I didn't wait for it as I am not a parade person, but it jammed up Main Street pretty bad. Patience was thin and planning appeared poor on Disney's part (not enough Castmembers, boats on Jungle cruise were nowhere to be found, Castmembers were nowhere to be found on many rides, boats jammed to the cue on Pirates, lines all morning to the center Esplanade to get in and not all lines open, food carts lines going every which way, no traffic control). They did not seem to be prepared for the crowds today.
We never got to eat.

But... any day in the parks is still a great day!!!!!!

OMGosh...wow, that's crazy! Glad I didn't wait longer to get into the parking lot. The traffic was giving me anxiety, there was one light cycle where a city bus on Katella was literally stopped in the middle of the intersection when Harbor traffic just started going like it wasn't there.... I saw a lot of bad driving trying to get into the parking lots, it was nuts, so I can't imagine inside the parks!

 

[danceanddisney2010]

We were going to be in the parks today.. so glad plans changed!

 

[mattykin]

I agree, it was our fifth day in the parks today and it was unbelievably crowded. Started at CA then headed over to DL around 130pm, the parade jammed up the whole front part of the park. We had some fast passes that we had saved for today because I had heard it was going to be busy so we were able to ride Indiana Jones, Space Mountain then hopped back over to ride Cars and Grizzly. Finally left about 4pm and headed back to DLH. Luckily we are on the 10th floor and can watch the fireworks from bed, as I have no desire to be back out there. All in all the week was pretty calm until today.

 

[meggles]

We’ve been in the parks since Monday and Friday was by far the busiest it’s been the whole time. We were expecting it, however, due to the marathon crowds + start of holiday time + veteran’s day. We already had the majority of our must-do’s out of the way or else it would’ve been truly frustrating.

We started at DCA in cars land with EMH. Walked on Ariel’s on the way to TSMM. I bought max pass on the way for all four of us and it was seriously the best decision. Even though it was busy and lines were long, we were able to stay ahead of the crowds using mp. TSMM had a 65 minute before 10 am but we waited maybe 5 min with fp/mp. It was awesome. Played some midway games and then road soarin’ with fp/mp.

We left DCA and had brunch at La Brea Bakery around 11:30 and then headed into DL around 12:15. People were starting to find seating for the first Christmas parade at 1 but it wasn’t crazy. We easily found a great spot under the ropes in front of Gibson Girl on Main Street. There seemed to be plenty of spots until about 12:45 when everything filled up.

After the parade we tried to ride IASW as our mp from earlier in the day had converted to a multiple experiences pass as the ride had been down earlier. Consequently, there was a huge crowd waiting to ride with fp! We decided to ride later and headed over to toontown to use the roger rabbit mp I snagged during the parade. The wait was an hour stand-by and we waited less than 5 min. Walked around toontown and then left to go swim at the GCH.

We entered DCA around 5:30 to sample some foods from the festival of holidays booths. It was very busy around the Pier due to the booths but the waits for the individual booths weren’t bad. We got our orders quickly.

Listened to the mariachi divas and a rockabilly band, rode golden Zephyr and monsters, then headed to DL to ride small world. Rose buzz on the way with mp. Rode small world with maybe a 10 min wait using the multiple experiences pass. Started heading out because the kids were tired and got stuck in the fireworks roundabout. It wasn’t too bad, just took a little longer.
Got a churro by Mr. Lincoln on the way out.

The whole day I was so happy it was 1) our fifth day so we were ok with the slower pace and crowds and 2) that we bought max pass. It was so incredibly convenient and easy to use. We could’ve gotten on many more E ticket rides but our kids aren’t into them and we didn’t focus on rider swap that day. If you’re going to hit the FP rides, especially during a busier time, consider using MP! We ended up getting it 2 out of 5 days and it was perfect.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We’ve been in the parks since Monday and Friday was by far the busiest it’s been the whole time. We were expecting it, however, due to the marathon crowds + start of holiday time + veteran’s day. We already had the majority of our must-do’s out of the way or else it would’ve been truly frustrating.

We started at DCA in cars land with EMH. Walked on Ariel’s on the way to TSMM. I bought max pass on the way for all four of us and it was seriously the best decision. Even though it was busy and lines were long, we were able to stay ahead of the crowds using mp. TSMM had a 65 minute before 10 am but we waited maybe 5 min with fp/mp. It was awesome. Played some midway games and then road soarin’ with fp/mp.

We left DCA and had brunch at La Brea Bakery around 11:30 and then headed into DL around 12:15. People were starting to find seating for the first Christmas parade at 1 but it wasn’t crazy. We easily found a great spot under the ropes in front of Gibson Girl on Main Street. There seemed to be plenty of spots until about 12:45 when everything filled up.

After the parade we tried to ride IASW as our mp from earlier in the day had converted to a multiple experiences pass as the ride had been down earlier. Consequently, there was a huge crowd waiting to ride with fp! We decided to ride later and headed over to toontown to use the roger rabbit mp I snagged during the parade. The wait was an hour stand-by and we waited less than 5 min. Walked around toontown and then left to go swim at the GCH.

We entered DCA around 5:30 to sample some foods from the festival of holidays booths. It was very busy around the Pier due to the booths but the waits for the individual booths weren’t bad. We got our orders quickly.

Listened to the mariachi divas and a rockabilly band, rode golden Zephyr and monsters, then headed to DL to ride small world. Rose buzz on the way with mp. Rode small world with maybe a 10 min wait using the multiple experiences pass. Started heading out because the kids were tired and got stuck in the fireworks roundabout. It wasn’t too bad, just took a little longer.
Got a churro by Mr. Lincoln on the way out.

The whole day I was so happy it was 1) our fifth day so we were ok with the slower pace and crowds and 2) that we bought max pass. It was so incredibly convenient and easy to use. We could’ve gotten on many more E ticket rides but our kids aren’t into them and we didn’t focus on rider swap that day. If you’re going to hit the FP rides, especially during a busier time, consider using MP! We ended up getting it 2 out of 5 days and it was perfect.

Great, report on your day, thank you. When you watched the 1:00 parade did it start on Main Street?

 

[Sachin]

We had 1 day yesterday at Disneyland and it was packed! Entered the park at 10:30am and left at 10:30pm. It was the first time at Disneyland for most of us in our group of 5. Packed our lunches and made use of the picnic area which was mostly empty. Enjoyed a churo and several shows of the bands playing. Overall a wonderful day despite the crowds!

 

[meggles]

Great, report on your day, thank you. When you watched the 1:00 parade did it start on Main Street?

No, it started at small world

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

No, it started at small world

Thank you!

 

[SSRJen]

It was very busy yesterday, but we were able to navigate the parks well....especially with Maxpass! We don't have to pay for it with our passes, but based on our experience we think it is worth $10 on days like these! We were able to do the following (in order):

Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear
Pirates
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Train
Toy Story Midway Mania
Screamin'
Festival Food booths
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Little Mermaid
Small World Holiday
Christmas Parade
Buzz Lightyear (repeat)
Carnation Cafe Dinner
Haunted Mansion Holiday (repeat)

We left the parks at 7:00pm as the crowds were really starting to wear on us at this point. We felt we got a lot done considering the crowds...

 

[mel2014]

Late to the party, but we went to DCA on Friday, and I honestly didn't find it that bad. I was expecting far worse, but it did look like the lines into Disneyland were much, much worse. MaxPass definitely made the day easier. Our day went like this (tl;dr 3 CS rides, 2 RSR rides, 2 TSMM, Guardians, Soarin, GRR, and the other rides at least once, other than carousel, Luigi and LM):

Booked 9:20 FP for GOTG as soon as we got into the park
Were at the front of rope at 9, walked to RSR, got on in about 10 minutes
Got off 9:20, booked TSMM FP for 9:55-10:55
GOTG, got stuck on the ride at the bottom of the shaft for about 10 minutes at the end, were disappointed they didn't offer a bonus FP for the inconvenience.
Took some pictures with the Coco statues in Bug's Land
At 9:55, booked CS FP for 10:05. Tried to go on LM, but it was down most of the day
Got some PP pictures at Paradise Pier
Rode CS, immediately booked return for 10:20-11:20
TSMM, then waited for a while so my friend's mom could go (she had to sit out the first round with my friend's son, who is terrified of dark rides)
At 10:20, booked RSR for 4:30 to 5:30 (my friend waited to book until about 10 minutes later, ended up with 5:15-6:15, so we only had a 15-minute window to ride together)
CS again
Wandered the pier, went on the swings with no wait
Viva Navidad at noon
Jellyfish
Booked GRR for 12:50 to 1:50
Watched Elena's Grand arrival at 12:35
Golden Zephyr
At 1:15 Booked Soarin for 5:10-6:10 (at this point, there were still GOTG FPs available for 9:00-10:00, but my kids picked Soarin over GOTG, much to my disappointment, not a fan at all of new Soarin)
GRR
Lunch at Whitewater Snacks, hung out for about an hour and just relaxed
At 2:45, booked TSMM for 8:55-9:55
Redwood challenge trail for about 45 minutes
Headed to Bug's Land, lines were longer than usual, but still only about 10-15 minutes. Did Flik's, Ladybugs, and Buggies
Kept watching CS, trying to get a late night ride, eventually got 6:55-7:55
Headed out of Bugs Land to RSR at 5:00, wandered through Carsland until my friend's 5:15 return window for RSR started. This was by far the longest wait of the day. I'm not sure if the ride went down earlier in the day or what, but it was a 30-minute wait for FP return and 120 minutes for standby.
Wandered over to Soarin', stopping on the way to exchange our 9:00 WOC FPs for 10:15 (lesson learned, don't send inexperienced people to the FP machines when you want a specific show)
Soarin'
Ice cream for dinner at Clarabelle's
Monsters
Back to Paradise Pier for CS
Stopped to get food at Duets booth, relatively short line, good mac and cheese
Mater's (20 minute line)
TSMM
WOC at 10;15, which was super empty, got a central spot right up against a railing so my kids could see

We could have gotten even more done, but we were traveling with my friend and her mom who walk slowly and eat slowly and often, plus trying to coordinate 8 people's restroom visits slowed us down.