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Monte Cristo
10-30-2006, 07:02 AM
Since when did Disneyland only become fun when it's a ghost town? So many people fretting and complaining about crowd size has put a bit of a downer on the board. It's Disneyland. Aren't you supposed to expect crowds and lines? We put up with a lot of things we wouldn't normally pay money for that we do at DL because overall the experience is worth it. I don't have kids, so normally I tend to avoid kid-intensive places like the plague. Disneyland? Nope. Doesn't bother me in the least. Why? BECAUSE I'M AT DISNEYLAND.

Really, folks, if a 20 minute wait for Pirates is killing your vacation, maybe DL just isn't your deal anymore? "Well, what if it's a 45 minute wait?" Okay - I reiterate: if a 45 minute wait in line kills your enthusiasm for Disneyland, it's time to go do something else.

I grant that DL, even on supposedly "off-season days", looks far more crowded than it used to. So what? You can still ride all the rides, eat where you want to eat, and do what you want to do in a given day. Maybe it'll just take you a little longer. Again, so what? You're at Disneyland. It's worth it. If you disagree, then that's the answer to your problems right there.

Another Dimension
10-30-2006, 07:35 AM
http://www.geocities.com/ocse_1/SMILES/applause.gif


I'll be there later today. :D


The only time I worry about crowds is if and when Disney won't let me into either park when I arrrive.
But there are always many other fun things to do in the meantime.

just beatla33
10-30-2006, 07:56 AM
Thank you. I'm tired of hearing about crowds too. I mean go to your local mall, or go on your nearist freeway people, its crowded wherever you go. Disneyland is no exception. I mean as much as I hate the crowds myself, we should be lucky. If the park was a ghost town or not drawing in the people, then that usually means business is bad. And when bussiness is bad, the park would go to crap. If a store or restaurant doesn't bring in crowds, they usually shut down. So just consider being lucky that something you love is thriving.
I remember back in summer 02 I made a trip with my gf and two friends cause we haven't been to DL in like over 10 years. One thing that never crossed our minds was how crowded it would be. And we went and had a blast and we rode everything, because we worked around the crowds. And now that I think about it, we never got pissed or complained once. That's the secret, you work around it. You just can't ask anyone when are the light days? either way just plan it out. Roll with the punches. Last time I checked DL doesn't swap out rides in a day, so if one place is just crammed pack, move to something else and come back later. It is ok.
This has been my first year of being an AP holder and now when I go I dont' care if I ride anything anymore, I'm just happy to be there, walking around and people watching. I know it sucks for people that haven't been in 20 years and planning a big trip and think twice about it because of crowds and that sucks. The advice I have for them is, its ok, just go and roll with the punches, theres enough time in the day to do everything...unless you bring 15 people and a wheel chair ridden mother in law, then it'll be a little harder.
But just face the fact, DL will always be crowded and we can never predict when its slow. Because everyone takes vacations from June-Dec and it'll never be slow during those times. Sorry

mommy-san
10-30-2006, 08:07 AM
Yay... someeone willing to take a stand!:)
Last summer we had a new big-box type store open in our city. As a grand opening thing, they had a Dora the Explorer character meet and greet and photo op. The wait was 4 hours long in a HARDWARE store. We got in the LONG line and after about 10 minutes, my husband and i looked at each other and I said 'we only waited 1/2 an hour to see Minnie at Disneyland- this is crazy'. We left, but that sure put it in perspective for us.
Honestly people- when you wait 1/2 an hour at the front gates to DL behind hundreds of people, those same people are also going to be in front of you for EVERYTHING else. Walt may have used forced perspective for the buildings on main street, but i don't think he had anyway to make the crowds seem smaller than they are!

jdee
10-30-2006, 08:07 AM
I couldn't agree more! Time to stop the worry and complaining and go enjoy the happiest place on earth! Your time there will be what you make it.

jcruise86
10-30-2006, 08:32 AM
I'll be the contrarian: big crowds suck!
Maybe Disney should build a second, very different Magic Kingdom in Riverside or Victorville. (SP?)

minkster74
10-30-2006, 08:35 AM
'we only waited 1/2 an hour to see Minnie at Disneyland- this is crazy'.

Another way to put this into perspective is the wait my wife encountered to enter the Hanna Andersson store at the Westfield Mall in the Valley (San Fernando). She waited in line for an HOUR and a HALF just to enter the store.

Crowds are everywhere and we just have to deal with them. What I think makes things worse are that: 1) The population has increased significantly and 2) A lot of people seem to have a "me first" mentality. Big crowds suck, which is why I no longer go to The Grove, but you can either choose not to be a part of it or choose to suck it up and be a part of it.

kristinhawk
10-30-2006, 08:51 AM
Really, folks, if a 20 minute wait for Pirates is killing your vacation, maybe DL just isn't your deal anymore? "Well, what if it's a 45 minute wait?" Okay - I reiterate: if a 45 minute wait in line kills your enthusiasm for Disneyland, it's time to go do something else.


Ditto. Thank you for saying what I've been feeling.

We're headed there tomorrow for 6 days. Not worried about the crowds in the least, just over-the-top excited to be there and spend some time with my family at one of the coolest places I know.

Monte Cristo
10-30-2006, 08:59 AM
Ditto. Thank you for saying what I've been feeling.

We're headed there tomorrow for 6 days. Not worried about the crowds in the least, just over-the-top excited to be there and spend some time with my family at one of the coolest places I know.

Exactly. I really dont' understand the folks who book a trip and then obsess over the crowds. What's the difference? You're locked in. Just be excited about your trip because the only thing you can control is whether or not you have fun.

DianeM
10-30-2006, 09:04 AM
Some people like heat, so they go to the park in the summer. Others feel sick when they are exposed to high temperatures, so they avoid hot days. Some people love roller coasters, and go on them again and again. Others get motion sickness, so they avoid fast rides. Some people handle crowds well, so they go to DL when it is likely to be crowded. Others get freaked out by crowds, so they plan their trip when it is likely to be less crowded. Everybody is different. How about if we stop being critical of people and telling them that if they don't handle crowds well, they aren't welcome at Disneyland. A little tolerance would go a long way right here.



I grant that DL, even on supposedly "off-season days", looks far more crowded than it used to. So what? You can still ride all the rides, eat where you want to eat, and do what you want to do in a given day. Maybe it'll just take you a little longer. Again, so what? You're at Disneyland. It's worth it. If you disagree, then that's the answer to your problems right there.

tonytone
10-30-2006, 09:29 AM
I'll be honest and say that I don't particularly care for crowds myself--i.e., I'd rather that a place not be crowded than for it to be crowed. Having said that, I believe that being in a crowd can be more tolerable if the crowd itself was well-mannered/behaved. IOW--a crowd isn't really that big of a deal if everybody were all happy and such. Yes I know that there will be quite a few bad apples in every crowd but like I said, I'm sure most folks would be able to tolerate such a well-behaved crowd.

pisces
10-30-2006, 09:34 AM
Crowds would bother me if it were hot.

We've had some hot days. There were a couple of days last year....November, where it was 90. I'm not kidding----Mid November last year...remember that?

Last year was bad ...sinful hot. This year---July-ish was incredibly hot.

Who's the poster that says heatwaves at Disneyland don't bother him/her ??

Rubbish.

Disneyland is always a couple of degrees even hotter due to all the machinery etc... Anaheim is a good 15 miles away from the shore.

What this is all leading up to.....when it's cool and no annoying sun to blind you....(for instance--today is a great day--weatherwise--as far as I'm concerned)

.....Crowds are not a problem!

Now is a good time, even with the crowds. People should be in a festive mood, and even if you do have to stand in line....at least you are not sweating with the sun in your eyes.

Crowds give a certain energy that you can feed off of. It's not always good to be isolated and alone, whether you are going by yourself, or whether you are going with someone---you might not want to always entertain and have to keep the conversation going...crowds give couples something to watch and see and focus on, other than themselves.

Plus it gets darker earlier and more to see all lit up. Disneyland evenings at this time of year are like no other, crowds or not.

The benefits of going now (during these Holiday-ish days) , and assuming we won't have any more heatwave Indian Summers......far outweigh the minor discomfort of crowds.

Something about the Holidays----makes you want to see bustling cheerful Park goers. Maybe not smothering and stomped on, but an abandoned Park for the Holidays might not be so festive!

Bolivar
10-30-2006, 09:35 AM
I have a few random thoughts:

* there are more crowds everywhere in life so people are less willing to deal with them on vacation. Vacation is supposed to be a get away from everyday life. When I seldom dealt with crowds in real life, they were novel at DL. When I deal with them every day they are not what I want at DL.

* I think we would all want to have DL open for only us and our closest friends. That isn't going to happen and we all know that, but at some point the crowds become overwhelming and the negative starts to outweigh the positive. The crowds are reaching that point for some people. They aren't for others, myself included, but if the experience is more negative than positive for someone who am I to say they shouldn't feel that way.

* While most people are polite and well behaved, there is a growing number of folks who think only of themselves and their selfishness and rude behavior makes the crowds that much harder to deal with -- especially on a vacation to the happiest place on earth where you just don't want to face that stuff. Some of this behavior is aggressively rude which is really bad, but some of it is passively rude, like people who don't control their children or teach them to be polite.

* I think I'll get blasted for saying this, but I think that DL is falling down on the crowd control job. They used to be masters at this, but over the past few years I think they have not put much effort or thought into it.

3894
10-30-2006, 09:47 AM
A little tolerance would go a long way right here.

Well said, DianeM.

pisces
10-30-2006, 09:51 AM
The Grove

The Grove is great.

When does the big Christmas Tree arrive at The Grove ???

I believe it's Thanksgiving week.

That's a big highlight of my Holiday, right after Disneyland.

You can find places to get out of the crowds at The Grove.

I shouldn't be giving away my secrets; but, Nordstrom has a lounge area, and also the top levels of Barnes and Noble have comfortable chairs, with views overlooking the grounds.... to get away from the crowds, in between snow shows.

Plus, in back of the Farmers Market, near the little Gilmore statue.....is seating, and it never seems to be crowded over there.

Katran
10-30-2006, 09:56 AM
Who's the poster that says heatwaves at Disneyland don't bother him/her ??

Rubbish.


That would be me, because it's much hotter where I come from. :D

Of course, I'm from the place that has extreme summer temperatures, and I've lived here all my life. So I know I'm the odd one out.

I agree with Monte Cristo. Sure, I wish it was a little less crowded sometimes, but how crowded a place is is really a matter of personal perspective, as some posters have already pointed out. I loved it when it rained at Disneyland and it became a ghost town, but would I want it to be that way all the time? No, I really wouldn't.

Malcon10t
10-30-2006, 09:59 AM
There are a lot of people that feel unless rides are walk ons, it isn't fun. Personally, I enjoy having people on rides with me. I would hate to go and be the only person on a boat. I draw the line at a 2 hour line, I will do the ride later. We are in charge of our own happiness. If waiting 2 hours is going to make me unhappy, I won't do it. Disneyland has done a great job with the Halloween effects this year. People flocked to see them. Others complained because people visited at the same time they did, so too many people.

Personally, I enjoy Disneyland. I don't get to see it for Halloween, I wish I could have. I will be there for Christmas. And I will enjoy it. Even wth 70,000 other people.

ladodgerjon
10-30-2006, 10:02 AM
Hats off to "Monte Cristo" and "Another Dimension"-- you two are throwbacks to a lost way of life: in short, rugged individuals that are "dedicated to the ideals... and the hard facts that have created America."

You are tough folks... people who aren't afraid of standing up for what you believe in. Literally.

Up on your two feet... moving six inches every ten minutes... rubbing sweaty elbows with your neighbor in the pursuit of your god-given two minutes of happiness via the queue.

I applaud you.

While weak minded folks like me search for a quiet bench, seek air conditioning... or several short lines for a VARIETY of experiences in a single day, you toughies dive right in with the masses.

It's all about the struggle and proving yourselves, 'aint it Monte & 'Nother???

I might only have the pleasure of seeing eight, nine or ten "lesser attractions" (deemed as such because they have shorter -- hence they must be less popular with the dunderheaded public-- lines) in a given visit. But YOU -- because of your padded insoles and tough-mindedness -- will have reached the summit of "Theme Park Purist" by sacrificing quantity to quality. Space Mountain and Small World are enough for you in an eight hour day. Leave Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Casey Jr., The Mark Twain, Storybook Land, POTC, The Disneyland Railroad, the Omnibus, Jungle Cruise, HAunted Mansion (pre NBC overlay), Alice in Wonderland and the King Arthur Carousel for us "weak sisters."

Malcon10t
10-30-2006, 10:08 AM
How about if we stop being critical of people and telling them that if they don't handle crowds well, they aren't welcome at Disneyland. A little tolerance would go a long way right here.I didn't see anything about they weren't welcome at Disneyland in his/her posts. He said " Really, folks, if a 20 minute wait for Pirates is killing your vacation, maybe DL just isn't your deal anymore? "Well, what if it's a 45 minute wait?" Okay - I reiterate: if a 45 minute wait in line kills your enthusiasm for Disneyland, it's time to go do something else."

Katran
10-30-2006, 10:08 AM
That's pretty harsh, Ladodgerjon. It's also grossly inaccurate. No matter how crowded the park has been (even during Spring Break when we could barely move from one ride to the next), I was always able to go on at large variety of rides each day, and several rides more than once.

Many of the seemingly long lines move faster than they look like they would, and I have never, EVER waited for as long as the wait time said I would. I have no doubt that they tack an extra 10 to 15 minutes on so that when you find that you actually waited less time you are pleasantly surprised, instead of complaining that you had to wait longer than the sign said.

If we're going to make arguements back and forth, let's at least try and keep them accurate and realistic.



Okay - I reiterate: if a 45 minute wait in line kills your enthusiasm for Disneyland, it's time to go do something else."


I agree, and I'll go a step farther. If anything kills your enthusiasm for Disneyland (or anything else for that matter), then maybe that's telling you that it's just not worth it for you anymore. I don't think that's a slam against those who don't like the crowds, or anyone else for that matter, I just think that maybe that's a cue that you need to take a long, hard look as to whether or not it's really worth it for you anymore.

Malcon10t
10-30-2006, 10:16 AM
Many of the seemingly long lines move faster than they look like they would, and I have never, EVER waited for as long as the wait time said I would. I have no doubt that they tack an extra 10 to 15 minutes on so that when you find that you actually waited less time you are pleasantly surprised, instead of complaining that you had to wait longer than the sign said.One thing to add about this misinformed post (not yours Katran) is the lines at Disneyland move. Not this 6 inches every 10 minutes, but rarely (only on breakdowns) do you just dead stop for 10 minutes. That is one thing I have always liked about Disneyland queues. And the sign at the entrance generally is longer than your actual wait. I like that you keep moving in queues. I have a daughter who is claustrophobic and needs her "bubble." We have no problem in lines providing this bubble. I look at wait times and determine if I am willing to spend my time in that queue.

kristinhawk
10-30-2006, 10:22 AM
Wow. I have to say that hostile would be a mild word to use for how some of you have become on this topic (on several threads.)

Hey - I respect your right to dislike crowds, waiting, heat, strollers, children, CMs without permanent smiles, whatever. I don't think that ANYONE was arguing that people who have these concerns are somehow unreasonable.

However - these things are present at disneyland as it is now, and I am not sure that they are ever going to go away. And we're just saying that HEY - it doesn't bother some of us!

So what is the sense of bemoaning how much better disneyland was *way back when* when you could just choose to skip it, if its become so unpleasant for you.

If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of every day for your vacation, and you can't personally can't get that at disneyland, there are many other options. I spent a weekend this summer up in the white mountains of AZ - got lots of peace and quiet. That's not what I'm looking for (or expecting) from my disneyland vacation. But it still is incredibly relaxing (and dare I say it) MAGIC for me and my family.

Now, I am going back to my previously scheduled day of HAPPILY packing for our trip!

Lighten up already!

just beatla33
10-30-2006, 10:22 AM
If you have friends or family and you wait in line, there should be no problem, you talk and time and the line fly by fast. If you want to whine about crowds, cry about Wal-Mart...they're the ones that put stack outs in the middle of the isles, least Main St doesn't do that

kristinhawk
10-30-2006, 10:27 AM
Who's the poster that says heatwaves at Disneyland don't bother him/her ??

Rubbish.


And BTW - I was not the one who said this, but I am also from AZ, and trust me, Anaheim hot is NOTHING compared to Phoenix (think 118) hot.

pisces
10-30-2006, 10:37 AM
You've heard this before....

"But it's a dry heat...."

It really does make a difference. We had some days in July, where it was so humid and sticky....even at night.