We're going today!

[Dizneydaz]

We're going to DLR today for a little pre-holiday magic. Just a quick trip with my DM, my 2 DSis, DD7 , and my DNiece (formerCM) who flew in last night, from Grad School in Utah, as a surprise.

I'll report back on the crowds, etc.

 

[Robindianne]

Whoooooooooo! I'm wishing I were you. We are going tomorrow. Have fun Dizneydaz.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Thanks Robindianne-have a great time tomorrow too!

 

[Disneyland1084]

Have a fun time!

 

[Albort]

heh, awesome, i gotta take my cousin and 2 of his friends in today... so ill be there too!

 

[WDWINJUNE!]

Have a terrific time!! We'll be there in 31 days!!!

Laura

 

[Dizneydaz]

Ok-one word described DLR yesterday-CROWDED! Signs wre up before you entered the parking lots-"THEME PARKS BUSY!"

Here's our quick trip report-
We arrived at about 11 a.m. (my DD went to school for about an hour to take test, etc.) Woohoo , we were able to park in Timon parking lot. I had inside info that they were opening it at about 10 a.m. Good start. I called my Dsis and her DD to so where they were. They got there at about 9 a.m. so a CM could sign them in. My niece used to work there, but had to quit to go to grad school. She still has friends there. My family has AP. Anyway, there were in NOS, we arranged to meet them there. The line to git into DL (& DCA) was pretty long. It took about 8 min. to get in. Main street was very crowded. We checked the ride board on our way past and most of the mountains were listed as 45 min. We met up with the rest of our party and decided to eat and then head over to DCA (it had to be less crowded!)

We made our way to Pizza Port in TL. It's my niece's fav. We were there about 11:30 and it wasn't too crowded yet. Though we did have to wait about 10 min. to get our pasta. (Chicken fusilli all around! ) I noticed that the FP for SM was already showing 5:20-6:20. That was the only ride my DSis, etc rode while they waited for us. They said it was about a 20 min. wait earlier.

After eating, we decided to head over to Santa's Roundup (behind BTR) and check it out. It was a little crowded. We took some pictures around with the holiday decor. We skipped Santa as he had a long line. We checked out the reindeer too.

Then we headed over to DCA-this was a very smart thing to do! As usual, DCA was much less crowded. We rode ToT with 15 min. wait. Then on to Mulholland Madness (my DD choice) and got a fast pass to return in 1/2 hour. The standby line was 30 min. On the way to MM Lightning and Mater came down the road and we stopped for a few minutes. We also stopped for a free tortilla at Mission Tortilla-always a tasty treat!

While we waited for our time on MM, some of us rode Maliboomer (single rider line, took about 5-8 min.) They were only running one tower. Then since we still had time left, I took my DD on Jumpin' Jellyfish (5 min. wait) and then she rode again with my niece's friend. By this time the FP time had arrived for MM. My Dsis took my DD on it and the rest of us headed over to Screamin'. We were going to use the Single Rider Express but the wait was only 20 min. So we waited. By the time we were done, my Dsis and DD were there and my Dsis wanted to ride Screamin' too. So this time we used the single rider line. My DM and other DSis sat this one out. The SR line was pretty long and it ended up taking about 20 min. this time. By now it was getting close to 4 p.m. and we started talking about leaving. We stopped byt he Redwood Creek Challenge so my DD7 could play for a few more minutes (she'd only ridden 3 rides today). On the way she had a minor mishap and slipped and scraped her knee and elbow. Luckily I had some bandages in my pocket as we were pretty far from First Aid. A CM came by as I was fixing her up and after she saw her tears she gave her some stickers. I didn't get her name, but thanks! Those, along with a joke from my niece, stopped the tears. On to RCC!

She walked the rock wall, zipped the zip line, ran around, checked out her totem, etc. and then we headed out.

As we were leaving I say a CM putting down lines of blue tape near the tix booths. I asked him why. He said they were expecting large crowds tomorrow and he was making the ticket booth lines longer.

By this time I was dreading the ride home as I expected it to be very busy. We left the parking lot just before 5 and went east on Ball Rd. to pick up the 57 fwy. There were very few cars on Ball, I think everyone left work early. Also, the freeway, again, was lighter than I expected. We used FP ($6.25) and it was wide open almost all the way home (Corona)! We got home in well under 1 hr. and I was expecting worse. However, the non-Fast Pass lanes were very congested.

I have to say that this was one of the most crowded times I've been to DLR in years. This is why we have AP, when it's crowded, we go home. To all of you going there this weekend-Have a great time and remember to relax and take deep breathes-you know what they say "Even a crowded day at Disney is better than any non-Disney day!"

Have fun!

Oh, and one last observation-I thought the holiday decorations were just okay, nothing spectacular. I actually think they did a better job with the Halloween ones. Now I know that they look better when lit up, but unlit, they just seemed, kinda average .

 

[Albort]

it wasnt THAT busy... most high volume rides only top 1 hour wait time... instead of the usual 2 hour wait time.

 

[Dizneydaz]

it wasnt THAT busy... most high volume rides only top 1 hour wait time... instead of the usual 2 hour wait time.

Sorry Albort, but I disagree - to me, 45 min to 1 hr. is too long. Again, that's why I have an AP. As for 2 hrs-Not for me, I'll come back later.

Oh, and when walking down Main St. takes 10-15 min.-it's Crowded! (IMHO)

Thanks for you opinion though-as a CM I'm sure you see it even more crowded-like today for instance-but for me, it was too crowded at DL. DCA was okay.

 

[Albort]

Sorry Albort, but I disagree - to me, 45 min to 1 hr. is too long. Again, that's why I have an AP. As for 2 hrs-Not for me, I'll come back later.

Oh, and when walking down Main St. takes 10-15 min.-it's Crowded! (IMHO)

Thanks for you opinion though-as a CM I'm sure you see it even more crowded-like today for instance-but for me, it was too crowded at DL. DCA was okay.

Veterans Day Weekend was just absolute crazy... Big Major rides have a 1.5-2 hour wait time, POTC and the smaller rides have a 1-1.5 wait time. Now This is considered CROWDED!

Now yesterday... longest wait time was 1 hour at space mountain, Indy was at 45 min, Haunted mansion was at 45 min, THunder mt was 25 min, small world was 15, Buzz was 30, etc etc... its considered short than heavy day...

 

[Dizneydaz]

I agree that compared to the busiest days (Veterans, T-Giving, New Years, etc) it wasn't as busy, but to me, it was busier than I like it. Also, apparently the powers that be at DLR also thought it was busy since they had the warning sign "Theme Parks Busy" as you drove in.

Again, I don't go on the busiest days, I prefer the less crowded times. We were last there on 11-7, and that was more like it for me.

So, how did you luck out and not have to work today-or are you going in later? I know my niece used to have to work most holidays (she was in scheduling and/or transportation) Have a great holiday Albort!

Maybe I'll see you there on a less crowded day

 

[Albort]

I agree that compared to the busiest days (Veterans, T-Giving, New Years, etc) it wasn't as busy, but to me, it was busier than I like it. Also, apparently the powers that be at DLR also thought it was busy since they had the warning sign "Theme Parks Busy" as you drove in.

Again, I don't go on the busiest days, I prefer the less crowded times. We were last there on 11-7, and that was more like it for me.

So, how did you luck out and not have to work today-or are you going in later? I know my niece used to have to work most holidays (she was in scheduling and/or transportation) Have a great holiday Albort!

Maybe I'll see you there on a less crowded day

mainly cuz we get a holiday bonus with our paycheck, which is why im willing to work over the holidays... then if you work 7 days straight, thats triple holiday pay

 

[Dizneydaz]

mainly cuz we get a holiday bonus with our paycheck, which is why im willing to work over the holidays... then if you work 7 days straight, thats triple holiday pay

Big $$$$

 

[Alex2kMommy]

it wasnt THAT busy... most high volume rides only top 1 hour wait time... instead of the usual 2 hour wait time.

YIKES! Those are long waits to me, too! How you all must have when I whined about waiting half an hour or 45 minutes in line for something on our first trip. We don't do crowds!

 

[mystic_path]

Have a great time, I cant wait to hear about it