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bassett1976
05-05-2005, 10:34 AM
I just read one of the mouseplanet updates on the 50th page. They stated that the line to enter the park went all the way back to Jamba Juice. YIKES!

So, anyone that has been in the park today, just how bad is it? I had thought about trying to sneak down their tonight with Mrs. Bassett but if it's too bad I think we'll wait.

kbanmen
05-05-2005, 11:00 AM
It is my day off from DCA so I dont want to attempt to go to the park. Just saw on the news though that people were lining up to get in at 2 am this morning.. WOW.. SO I bet it is busy

I am waiting to ehar from a friend and fellow co worker how the crowds were (he went there this monring)

Tinkerball
05-05-2005, 12:54 PM
Is it just me or has the entire planet gone nuts?!?! Are most of the people waiting to get in the 266,000 AP holders and their families?? Geeze louise....I understand it's special but really :[

DangerMouse
05-05-2005, 01:01 PM
You could not pay me enough to go to DL today. I hate those kinds of crowds. SCAREY! Although, I am anxiously awaiting reports from those who were there both yesterday and today. :D

nightdesigns
05-05-2005, 01:08 PM
You could not pay me enough to go to DL today. I hate those kinds of crowds. SCAREY! Although, I am anxiously awaiting reports from those who were there both yesterday and today. :D

People started to line up at the gate before 4am, I got out of there at 8am forutunately.

KarenW2
05-05-2005, 01:45 PM
I knew it was going to be bad and I really hate large crowds, because of the way some really rude people behave in them, so there was no way I'd be there today!! Our friends who went to the Sneak Peek with us yesterday spent a second night at CCI and are there today! I think they're nuts, but they love that kinda stuff, so I say, more power to them!!

The only reason we went yesterday was cos I entered my hubby and I in the KTLA Sneak Peek contest, they picked his name & we won 4 tickets! Entry was a breeze at 6:25 am (YAWN!) and lines for rides were minimul. I told our party that we were probably there on what would be the LEAST crowded day for the park, until after the end of the year, after the celebration is over!! I think today is just the beginning of what will be super crowded days in DL.

Besides, I think the real day to be in the park for is July 17th, the ACTUAL Opening Day of the park, not the opening day of promotions!! The only reason we'll be there on 7-17 is because we bought 2 of the Lillian packages and are going with our friends to the special event, 7-15 thru 7-17!

Hopefully, after our "Breakfast at Dawn" in DL and any other event things, if there are any that day, my hubby and I plan to "get outta Dodge" while the gettin' is good and before the crazies are let in!!

Darkbeer
05-05-2005, 03:00 PM
Around 2 PM we walked thru the Main Entry Plaza, and they were still selling tickets to the park (I am at the Lost Bar right now).

Disneyland Park is about as busy as a good sized weekend crowd... DCA was empty, the Soarin' queue was just to the door (no outside queue).

averagedork
05-05-2005, 10:13 PM
Dude! Darkbeer, I saw you at the bar. I saw someone with a laptop at the bar, on mouseplanet while I ordered my beer. I was wondering "Who would be posting on mouseplanet at a bar?" Weird...

Moving on, we got there to the parking lot by like 8:30ish. We stood in line and got in by 9:05. The crowds around the hub were insane. I was really frustrated by it. Jungle Cruise had like a 45 minute wait. We went to Pizza Port and it was insane in there. We got there before it opened, sat with magazines, and waited like 10 minutes for it to open, but I saw the line went to Star Tours at 11am. That's insane. This dude (older AP holder guy. You can spot the AP nerds) and I started talking and he said he waited 20 minutes for the bathroom, but was tempted to take a wiz in the bushes. After the 40 minute funnel cake wait at Hungry Bear we went to DCA.

HorizonsA
05-05-2005, 10:44 PM
It really wasn't that bad. I was on the right side of the castle by Tomorrowland about five people in from the front. I got to see Julie Andrews, Bog Iger, Art Linkletter, and others. After the Opening Ceremony, everyone went to their first destinations. It was only really crowded at the beginning, trying to get in the Park, waiting for the Ceremonies, waiting for Parade of Dreams, Fantasmic!, of course, and the Remember... fireworks. All the lines for the rides were reasonable, Splash Mountain never even made it to 120 minutes, it mostly stayed at 75. It was actually a good day and well worth thr trip.

Aussie MouseFan
05-05-2005, 11:24 PM
an educated guess would have put the crowd outside the front gate at over 20,000 prior to the gates opening, plus another 2,000 at the Monorail entrance.

(source, several Disney security staff and APD)

For the first few hours the crowds were horrendous, but after the ceremonies things were ok, until the parades and fireworks stated, then it went crazy again.

oh, btw, thanks to all the media (who got in for free) the majority of the audience got to see squat... (due to the huge portable grandstand and tents in front of the castle - that is my only peeve of what was a very long day, 7am to 11pm)

AVP
05-05-2005, 11:29 PM
oh, btw, thanks to all the media (who got in for free) the majority of the audience got to see squat... (due to the huge portable grandstand and tents in front of the castle - that is my only peeve of what was a very long day, 7am to 11pm)Believe me, many of us "media" agree with you. No few of us were wondering why Disneyland didn't do all of the "event" and "presentation" yesterday, and leave today to the day guests with the obligatory radio remotes and television stand-ups scattered around the park. We don't really know why they closed the park for a media event, but held the biggest ceremony the next day. It wasn't great for us, and it wasn't great for you.

AVP

CrazyTrain
05-06-2005, 10:41 AM
THe lines at the gates stretched att the way to DCA, and they were bunched up there. Eventually, they had people line up at the exits gates and the lines were still all the way back.

The park was really, really, crowded. It did get less so (but still a lot!) toward the middle of the day then packed again at night.

Disneyfun
05-06-2005, 11:22 AM
It really wasn't that bad. I was on the right side of the castle by Tomorrowland about five people in from the front. I got to see Julie Andrews, Bog Iger, Art Linkletter, and others. After the Opening Ceremony, everyone went to their first destinations. It was only really crowded at the beginning, trying to get in the Park, waiting for the Ceremonies, waiting for Parade of Dreams, Fantasmic!, of course, and the Remember... fireworks. All the lines for the rides were reasonable, Splash Mountain never even made it to 120 minutes, it mostly stayed at 75. It was actually a good day and well worth thr trip.

Ditto I was on the other corner from you. I had the best of luck! everytime we went to a ride there would be this little line and then we would get off and there would be a huge line!!! So for me and my new riends we had a great time.
AS far as the crowds being rude I had the best experiance ever! Everyone was so nice. I met complete strangers and ended up spending the whole day with them. I know consider them friends. One of my new friends had acidently bumped into someone when passing by. And the person ended up gettingpushed back. Could of been a bad situatin but instead the person just laughed it off.
Great time. Great Crowd. I would do it agian in a minute!

princessofpower
05-06-2005, 11:23 AM
Me and my sister got in line to get in the park at about 8:30, and the line (three lines actually)to go through the bagcheck area was almost back to the stoplight on Harbour. The lines for the main enterance went all the way to DCA and they had to stop letting any more people into the area, so we were stuck waiting in line outside of the esplanade. First thing we did once we got in check out the movie and "museum" at the former Lincoln building. The concept art is amazing, and the movie definitely brings back alot of memories.
We got to the park on Monday May 2nd and got to see the sneak preview of the parade (ursula float is sooo cool) and the fireworks (unbelievable) that night. The park crowds were so light on Monday and Tuesday. (at one point pirates had a three minute wait posted)
We walked onto everything (even Peter Pan) on the 4th for the sneak preview. There were also alot of little media events throughout the day for the unveiling of the golden ride vehicles. The dumbo unveil was sooo cute. Did anyone notice any new elements to a particular pirates ride??? Or was something just malfunctioning????
The fifth was nuts!!!! And it felt like the media was given the priority over the guests (many guests could be heard complaining) But overall, it was an experience that I will never forget!!!! Especially with the bruises all over the back of my legs from run away strollers!!! I heard one cast member say there were about 85000 people int he park for the unveiling of the castle...that sounds a little excessive, what is the capacity anyways???
On another note, what is with the huge lineup at all the restaurants in the park???I can understand the lines for the fifth, but, even on the fourth, the line for the blue bayou was huge!!!! Me and my sister went to Rainforest instead of eating in the park and luckily got to eat at a table next to Art Linkletter and his family!!!!
Another great thing about our trip was getting to talk to the cast members and seeing how proud they are about their jobs, and the fact that they are part Disneyland history. It was also great to see the "class of" pins that the cast members were wearing. Well, that being said, it was a great, though exausting, trip and I'm so glad I won the tickets otherwise I would have missed out on all the fun.

Niwel
05-06-2005, 11:42 AM
I walked into the Esplanade at 7:45 -- my eyes bugged out. They've never done that. I was still in the pre-curve part of the line (right behind the "F" in California). The crowds were nuts -- but I agree, the media booths made it 100 times worse. Plus, a sign indicating where the media members should check in blocked my view of the screen during the presentation (I was on my tip-toes during most of it.) But I wouldn't have missed it. It was manageable --- if you weren't in a rush.

End of the night after the fireworks we stood in one spot between the hub and the entrance to Adventureland. Then we moved toward the castle and hung out for 20-30 minutes to let the crowd pass. It was no problem getting out.

BTW -- Store Command ran out of the golden vehicles pins, but Adventureland Bazaar still had plenty (I was able to buy Sleeping Beauty on one of the golden horses).

I laughed a lot, cried at times and am very sore today -- but I wouldn't have missed the day for anything.

HorizonsA
05-06-2005, 11:48 AM
Believe me, many of us "media" agree with you. No few of us were wondering why Disneyland didn't do all of the "event" and "presentation" yesterday, and leave today to the day guests with the obligatory radio remotes and television stand-ups scattered around the park. We don't really know why they closed the park for a media event, but held the biggest ceremony the next day. It wasn't great for us, and it wasn't great for you.

AVP

Well I for one am glad and outrageously happy that the big event happened on the 5th and not the 4th. I didn't get to go to Disneyland on the 4th, so was happy to actually see Julie Andrews. She's a legend in Disney history and I couldn't believe that I was actually seeing her with my own eyes. Bob Iger, Michael Eisner, and LeAnn Rimes were great too, I mean, having actually seeing them with my own eyes and not through pictures is way better. Oh, I loved seeing Art Linkletter. I had no idea that Julie Andrews was going to be there that day. I knew that she was there on the 4th, but didn't know if she would be there on the 5th. It was so worth battling the crowds to see.

princessofpower
05-06-2005, 11:54 AM
Well I for one am glad and outrageously happy that the big event happened on the 5th and not the 4th. I didn't get to go to Disneyland on the 4th, so was happy to actually see Julie Andrews. She's a legend in Disney history and I couldn't believe that I was actually seeing her with my own eyes. Bob Iger, Michael Eisner, and LeAnn Rimes were great too, I mean, having actually seeing them with my own eyes and not through pictures is way better. Oh, I loved seeing Art Linkletter. I had no idea that Julie Andrews was going to be there that day. I knew that she was there on the 4th, but didn't know if she would be there on the 5th. It was so worth battling the crowds to see.

We were behind the castle in Fantasyland during the unveiling and Julie Andrews came right up to the crowd (we had to be behind the carousel, because of the fireworks) and did an interview. She was sooo close, you would have loved it. What a classy lady.

Aussie MouseFan
05-06-2005, 08:36 PM
Believe me, many of us "media" agree with you. No few of us were wondering why Disneyland didn't do all of the "event" and "presentation" yesterday, and leave today to the day guests with the obligatory radio remotes and television stand-ups scattered around the park. We don't really know why they closed the park for a media event, but held the biggest ceremony the next day. It wasn't great for us, and it wasn't great for you.

AVP

Just to clarify (not that an issue was made of my comment), what I said wasnt a gripe as such, more a disappointment, given that many people travelled a long way to be there for the launch of the celebrations. At one stage a CM moved a rope so that where I was going to be moved to, would have ruled out any vision of the entire event, I pleaded, stated that I had travelled 1/2 way round the world specifically for this event, and he kindly decided not to move the rope (huge kudos and thanks to him, otherwise I would have missed the lot).

In regards to the Media, I realise how important they are, but maybe they can learn some things for future events. Why not use Master cameras in preset locations that feed to all the networks, instead of 200 cameras training there lenses at exactly the same thing, heck, it works for the Olympics... given the significance of the event, I am sure something like that can be arranged.

As for the fireworks, they were brilliant, however, the finale was lacking something (I liked the recent holiday season fireworks, it ended with a real bang).

Jwebbal
05-07-2005, 07:12 AM
Well, I guess I am of a different mind than most people. Perhaps its because I rarely go to Disneyland on high attendance days?

The line up before the gates opened was fun and exciting. The log jam before the rope drop, again exciting. After it dropped I went and got fast passes for Splash, and went to see if I could get lunch rezzies for BB. No luck. Trying to get back to Main st where my partner waited a long time fora locker was difficult but doable. After we ate, I had to go to the bathroom and they went to the baby changing center. I went to the closest one right at the entrance to tomorrowland, which ended up being a bad choice, the log jam in front of Plaza Inn was bad, but it WAS going both ways. Once I was done at the bathroom, they stopped all traffic to Main st. I was stuck, and couldnt figure out how to get back to my family and baby (boy do they need an adult bathroom in the BC). The cm was directing us to the back of tomorrowland, but my brain couldnt figure out how that would get me back to main st? I mean, tomorrow land to fantasyland, that wouldnt work, castle is closed because of the opening, fantasyland to frontierland, same again, and so on and so on, and I wondered if they would be letting traffic onto main st from adverntureland? So I went and asked a very official looking CM, and he said my only way back was the train. So I waited in a long line, and THREE trains later I got back to Main st.

By that time the main stree log jam was over. I think it took me over an hour to get back to my family! I was a half a block from them, if that!

The rest of the day went better, got on rides, the crowds werent too bad. Though we waited a long time in line for BB, but the food was worth it. NEver had a Monte Cristo sandwich before.

At dinner, the LONG line for River Belle took over an HOUR! This I thought was horrible. I waited 25 minutes to find a table. All the closed restaurants made eating a challenge! I think this was really poor planning.

We found a decent spot for the fireworks, and maybe it was where we were but he crowd AFTER the fireworks took a VERY long time to get moving. We could not move at all, and my MIL needed to sit (her knee was giving her trouble). Very scary, and I wondered what would happen if there was some sort of emergency? All those people in the hub makes crowd control impossible. We couldnt go anywhere, each side (adventureland and frontierland) said they werent letting anyone go in that way, and we were stuck for at least 20 minutes?

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier during the first parade we saw a Fire Dept guy taking film of the main street crowd before the parade started. Wonder what that was a about?

Anyway, it was a pretty good time, not my desire to go again in a huge crowd, but at least I will know what it will be like. Poor planning with all the media on this day, I felt like second class given I couldnt see a thing.

SCUBAbe
05-07-2005, 07:36 AM
You could not pay me enough to go to DL today. I hate those kinds of crowds. SCAREY! Although, I am anxiously awaiting reports from those who were there both yesterday and today. :D

I feel the same way. It's just DL afterall and the celebration is for 18 months. I guess I'm not one who feels the need to have bragging rights of.."I went on 5/5/05"..most people really wouldn't care anyway...LOL...I would get this look :|...and then so what...LOL

uvsc_wolverine
05-07-2005, 10:44 AM
You could not pay me enough to go to DL today. I hate those kinds of crowds. SCAREY! Although, I am anxiously awaiting reports from those who were there both yesterday and today. :D

Oh, I think you could pay me enough! :~D I think $200 would just about do it.

Wendi
05-07-2005, 06:33 PM
I thought capacity was somewhere around 80K, one of the CMs during the PoD at 4pm said he'd heard they let in 89K so far... WOW! I don't know if that's true or not...

rentayenta
05-07-2005, 06:55 PM
I laughed a lot, cried at times and am very sore today -- but I wouldn't have missed the day for anything.


My thoughts exactly!

sunfun94
05-07-2005, 09:15 PM
My thoughts exactly!


I second that...

sunfun94
05-07-2005, 09:17 PM
I thought capacity was somewhere around 80K, one of the CMs during the PoD at 4pm said he'd heard they let in 89K so far... WOW! I don't know if that's true or not...


You are right, cap is around 83...attendance according to front gate never got close to capacity....( we checked several times during the day as we had other family memebers meeting us at DL and we wanted to be sure they could get in)