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Mommy mouse
10-05-2006, 01:42 PM
We were there Sept. 29- Oct 3 and I will say it was as busy then as when we visited last year during Thanksgiving break. I am wondering if my definition of busy is different then others. I remember a few years back going to Disneyland and it was practically a ghost town. Does that happen anymore? I thought we had chosen an ok time to go (the Halloween things hadn't formally started, no official or unofficial events planned, hours were scheduled to be 10-6(though they were extended that day). We had a nice time, but it was much more hectic and we got much less done than we expected. We almost did not get to do a character breakfast (we have always been able to walk-in or make reservations when we got to SoCal, not this time!). Just curious what others think 'not busy' means.

Alex

Bytebear
10-05-2006, 02:04 PM
Partial list of "not busy" indicators:


No line at all on Pirates or Big Thunder Railroad mid-day.
You can watch the fireworks from the hub arriving only 5 minutes before show time
15 minute (maybe 20) for Space Mountain
Mickey and Friends parking lot hasn't started re-parking by 3 PM, and they never even get to the top level
Entry gates have only 5 or 10 people per gate and they only have a few gates open
Ticket booths have little or no line or they only have one or two booths open
You can walk through Adventureland without getting bumped all over the place

disneyhound
10-05-2006, 02:12 PM
Partial list of "not busy" indicators:

No line at all on Pirates or Big Thunder Railroad mid-day.
You can watch the fireworks from the hub arriving only 5 minutes before show time
15 minute (maybe 20) for Space Mountain
Mickey and Friends parking lot hasn't started re-parking by 3 PM, and they never even get to the top level
Entry gates have only 5 or 10 people per gate and they only have a few gates open
Ticket booths have little or no line or they only have one or two booths open
You can walk through Adventureland without getting bumped all over the place

Ditto: add, most of DCA is a ghost-town

Disneynerd
10-05-2006, 02:19 PM
Partial list of "not busy" indicators:

No line at all on Pirates or Big Thunder Railroad mid-day.
You can watch the fireworks from the hub arriving only 5 minutes before show time
15 minute (maybe 20) for Space Mountain
Mickey and Friends parking lot hasn't started re-parking by 3 PM, and they never even get to the top level
Entry gates have only 5 or 10 people per gate and they only have a few gates open
Ticket booths have little or no line or they only have one or two booths open
You can walk through Adventureland without getting bumped all over the placeThese are excellent factors in my definition of "busy". I've only experienced the not busy time once. It was in March and pouring down rain! But it was worth it to walk on to several rides.
Mid Feb is the best time to go, I think. However, you might run into ride closures.

potzbie
10-05-2006, 02:58 PM
Remember that one or two conventions within the same span of days CAN make a difference, and turn an off-season day into a weekend-like day.

And it need not be Anaheim. -- If a nearby place has an event happening, there might be spillage. I am thinking of things like a Super Bowl in Los Angeles, or a political party convention. The families of the ticket-holders or the families of the delegates might go to Disneyland before or after the day of their official event.

LilysMom2003
10-05-2006, 04:46 PM
We went last month...the Thursday after labor day and in my opinion, it was empty. We never waited more than a few minutes for every ride, had our own Small World boat, etc. I remember commenting that I had never been able to walk through Adventure Land without being knocked in some way. It was fabulous! A cast member mentioned something about them sending employees home because it was so dead.

nmjohnston874
10-05-2006, 05:55 PM
We were there duruing that tuime as well, and were also surprised-dismayed by the crowds. A CM told us that Sunday the attendance was 56,000. The reason for the crowds was that area schools were out for the Jewish holiday Yom Kipper. Usually, only Jewish students and teachers get the day off, but, according to the same CM, the schools could not get enough substitutes to cover the Jewish teachers, so they just dismissed school for everyone.

I'll post a TR later

Glennbo
10-05-2006, 05:57 PM
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after Labor day was great. No lines on anything apart from Splash Mountain and then only 10 minutes max.

Already planning for same time next year.

DisneyDustin22
10-05-2006, 06:28 PM
Disneyland not busy means you can see pavement.

ILovePoker
10-05-2006, 06:33 PM
Everything below 20 minutes.

sjcivilady
10-05-2006, 08:18 PM
We were just there Sept 19-21 (Tu-Wed-Thurs) and I would definitely say it was unbusy. It was totally enjoyable. But, we also didn't get to see Aladdin, ride the Matterhorn or see any fireworks.

The old man
10-05-2006, 08:30 PM
We were there duruing that tuime as well, and were also surprised-dismayed by the crowds. A CM told us that Sunday the attendance was 56,000. The reason for the crowds was that area schools were out for the Jewish holiday Yom Kipper. Usually, only Jewish students and teachers get the day off, but, according to the same CM, the schools could not get enough substitutes to cover the Jewish teachers, so they just dismissed school for everyone.

I'll post a TR later
Attacking the message, not the messenger--

This is idiotic. The area is not really a hot bed of Jewish students--actually much of it is Hispanic. Second, schools that had students take off would not be shutting down for lack of subsitutes "to cover [all] the Jewish teachers" (they make up only perhaps 5% of the area's grade school teachers). Third, it's not really a let's go out and party holiday. Certainly many of the students will treat it that way, but I would wager the majority were going to temple, etc.

Sunday was busy because it was a nice day. The end of the 50th fireworks, POTC still drawing them in, etc. I believe DL is a very popular destination. :)

lauramaynot
10-05-2006, 08:37 PM
Sunday was busy because it was a nice day. The end of the 50th fireworks, POTC still drawing them in, etc. I believe DL is a very popular destination. :)

We were there on sunday too. Our horseless carriage driver informed us that a long line on mainstreet was there for a pin release and since it was the first weekend of the Halloween celebration I think lots of people wanted to check it out "before" the crowds came...and don't forget the starwars geeks (including our family;) ) who came for the Jedi Training Academy...

Rkkm
10-05-2006, 08:41 PM
Attacking the message, not the messenger--

This is idiotic. The area is not really a hot bed of Jewish students--actually much of it is Hispanic. Second, schools that had students take off would not be shutting down for lack of subsitutes "to cover [all] the Jewish teachers" (they make up only perhaps 5% of the area's grade school teachers). Third, it's not really a let's go out and party holiday. Certainly many of the students will treat it that way, but I would wager the majority were going to temple, etc.

\. :)
Let me clarify a bit. I am a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We are always out of school for Yom Kippur .. most all of the 750,000 kids and 100,000 staff (year-round schools do not get the day off; only the traditional calendar year.) There is a significantly large Jewish population in certain parts of Los Angeles and when those students do not come to school because of the religious holidays, the school funding is affected. (Schools receive state funding based on Average Daily Attendance .. a certain amount of cash for each kid in school that day). So, it is more cost effective to turn loose the whole District. Ditto for winter break, where we get three weeks off because so many of our kids head for Mexico and Central America and don't come back until it is almost Martin Luther King Day.

A note about this year .. .I went to DLR on Friday night, the 29th, and thought I might have time-warped into the week after Christmas! What a MOB! I read on miceage.com that the attendance that day was 44,000! I went back on Monday morning, the 2nd - Yom Kippur. What a nice difference! Not nearly the crowds that were there on Friday night!

The old man
10-05-2006, 09:05 PM
Let me clarify a bit. I am a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We are always out of school for Yom Kippur .. most all of the 750,000 kids and 100,000 staff (year-round schools do not get the day off; only the traditional calendar year.) There is a significantly large Jewish population in certain parts of Los Angeles and when those students do not come to school because of the religious holidays, the school funding is affected. (Schools receive state funding based on Average Daily Attendance .. a certain amount of cash for each kid in school that day). So, it is more cost effective to turn loose the whole District. Ditto for winter break, where we get three weeks off because so many of our kids head for Mexico and Central America and don't come back until it is almost Martin Luther King Day.

A note about this year .. .I went to DLR on Friday night, the 29th, and thought I might have time-warped into the week after Christmas! What a MOB! I read on miceage.com that the attendance that day was 44,000! I went back on Monday morning, the 2nd - Yom Kippur. What a nice difference! Not nearly the crowds that were there on Friday night!
So a few districts, with large Jewish populations were off, and that caused heavy attendance at DL?

stan4d_steph
10-06-2006, 09:16 AM
We were there Sept. 29- Oct 3 One factor that may have swelled crowds: This was considered by most Disney fans to be the last weekend of the 50th anniversary. That might have brought out more people increasing the numbers above what it might have been on an "average" fall weekend.

nmjohnston874
10-06-2006, 11:54 AM
[QUOTE=The old man]Attacking the message, not the messenger--

Yeah, well I sure got the impression. I was simply reporting what an apprantly credible CM told me. You might have justified using your message's tone if I had stated that information as fact without attributing it to someone.

It's interesting. Before I made my post, I was afraid that someone would take offense simply because it was about a minority. I was right.

ministrychick77
10-06-2006, 12:35 PM
it's not busy when it rains. most people take off, leaving the park decently open. it rained during our honeymoon last year and it was so nice..

that, and we got to see lightning above the castle. now that's when i wish i had a camera..

Katran
10-06-2006, 03:46 PM
I second that about the rain. I took my daughter last year during spring break (big mistake) and it was packed, but when that rain came pouring down it was a ghost town. We stayed through the rain and were rewarded with almost no wait time for anything.


My husband and I went the first week of March this year (for our honeymoon), and while it was busy it really wasn't that bad. Mornings were pretty darn good, and even at the busiest time of the day it was nowhere near as bad as during the summer.

The old man
10-06-2006, 05:46 PM
Yeah, well I sure got the impression. I was simply reporting what an apprantly credible CM told me. You might have justified using your message's tone if I had stated that information as fact without attributing it to someone.

It's interesting. Before I made my post, I was afraid that someone would take offense simply because it was about a minority. I was right.
Sorry, just trying to understand. Did this CM seem an expert on the demographics of the Jewish population of Orange & LA counties? Or what they do on their most important holiday? What exactly made him an, "apprantly (sic) credible CM"?

nmjohnston874
10-06-2006, 06:19 PM
I was reporting what I heard in response to the OP's question, that's all. It appears you want to make this some kind of debate on the reason why the parks were so crowded.

BTW, I know I misspelled "apparently" without you pointing it out with a "sic." I'll bet you think you're real smart. "Ha, ha, caught him with a spelling error. I showed him."

Get a life.

ILovePoker
10-06-2006, 07:15 PM
Sorry, just trying to understand. Did this CM seem an expert on the demographics of the Jewish population of Orange & LA counties? Or what they do on their most important holiday? What exactly made him an, "apprantly (sic) credible CM"?
Why on earth does it matter?:confused:

The post was just a guess, not a bash of intolerance.

Malcon10t
10-06-2006, 09:38 PM
Sorry, just trying to understand. Did this CM seem an expert on the demographics of the Jewish population of Orange & LA counties? Or what they do on their most important holiday? What exactly made him an, "apprantly (sic) credible CM"?I didn;t take it to mean those celebrating Yom Kippur were at the park, but that all the non-Jewish population who were also released from school were at the park.

PrincessLeia
10-07-2006, 06:21 AM
I recommend getting to the park at opening...you will get at least a few hours without crowds on most any day. This was even true when we visited over Christmas last year. :)

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
10-07-2006, 06:32 AM
For me:
No ride lines longer than 15 minutes and being able to walk comfortably on Main Street. I am hoping we get close to this the beginning of December.