PDA

View Full Version : Our country is NOT in a recession ...



Rkkm
01-27-2008, 06:32 PM
... if today's attendance at the DLR is any measurement indicator! What a crowd at the parks - and on a cold, rainy day that swung between mild to heavy downpours and windy sunshine. The usual 30 minute wait for Peter Pan, 10 minutes for Buzz Lightyear, short wait at Cafe Orleans .. and on one of SoCal's rainiest days of the past twelve months. (Now the crowd was not a heavy one .. but I would definitely vote for "moderate")

And it wasn't just Mouse Chat Gunmballers or cheerleaders, either. Many, many family groups with many, many very small children who are going to be enriching pediatricians and pharmacists in the next two weeks as the temps were in the 50s all day, with rain and wind. (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)

Anyway, looks like a Disney stock will continue to be a good purchase if large numbers of people are still shelling out big bucks to visit Disneyland even on a cold, blustery day.

And yes .. it was fun to slosh around the park with my umbrella and rainboots.
The parade was cancelled, the corn dog cart closed due to leakage, Thunder Mountain shut down temporarily because of wet tracks, and Pirates Lair looking tantalizing empty across the ROA. But what fun to ride the Jungle Cruise in a downpour - made it seem more realistic than ever! Flying through the air on the Tomorrowland rockets while light rain splattered your face was a new thrill! And, mais oui, tres francaise and romantique to sit on the patio of Cafe Orleans, sipping hot tea and noshing on crepes while the mist sprinkled down around the canopies.

I highly recommend DLR in the rain ... even when it is crowded.

Disneymademoiselle
01-27-2008, 06:49 PM
We were at the park the 5th through the 8th of this month. We had a HORRIFIC storm in the Bay Area on Friday, which made its way down to SoCal overnight on Friday, so I think it kept people away on the Saturday we arrived. We literally walked on practically every ride. It pretty much remained that way the rest of our trip.

Now brace yourselves for this one. On the Sunday night we were there it was steadily raining in the evening. We're walking through Fantasyland and find absolutely NO LINE for Peter Pan. They actually let us stay on the ride and go a second time. We never got off the ride...on PETER PAN!!! :eek: We were joking around with the Cast Members, who were as equally shocked as we were, about that fact that they were letting us ride again.

I love Disneyland in the rain!

TTFN92
01-27-2008, 06:57 PM
... (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)

Well, if you are paying for a hotel, and you bought tickets, and you are a long way from home, most likely you aren't going to sit in the hotel watching tv at $100 a night. You brave it and go.

SarahJanet
01-27-2008, 07:00 PM
... if today's attendance at the DLR is any measurement indicator!

Maybe it was all Canadians. This is the cheapest it's been for us to go to Disneyland in YEARS! :) And our economy is in pretty good shape, especially in Alberta.

mycutekitties
01-27-2008, 07:31 PM
...

And it wasn't just Mouse Chat Gunmballers or cheerleaders, either. Many, many family groups with many, many very small children who are going to be enriching pediatricians and pharmacists in the next two weeks as the temps were in the 50s all day, with rain and wind. (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)
.

Well some families (like us) spend thousands to do to DL and don't want to waste their time in hotel rooms. We have a 3 1/2 year old and a 18 month old and we are leaving on Friday to DL. We have rain suits for both kids and stroller covers. If it rains we will still be there. We have planned this trip for a year and rain won't stop us.

Darkbeer
01-27-2008, 09:00 PM
HUH?

I was at the parks Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM covering the Gumball Rally for MiceChat (and who knows why the CM Reference Guide had it listed as "Mouse Chat"???).

I was in both parks, going back and forth multiple times, and the crowds were LIGHT all day on Saturday. The rain didn't show up until around 5 PM, and wasn't bad (but they did cancel the last HSM2 shows, the first 2 had very small crowds watching them). FIreworks did go off as normal at 9:25, since the winds were mild.

And today, Sunday was even quieter, I was there from about 9:30 AM to 7 PM, and the rain didn't even show up until about 2:30 PM, and then stopped until another big downpour at 5 PM. When I left the park at 7, the place was a Ghost Town, and wasn't scheduled to close untill 11 PM tonight.

Cast Members where allowed to go home early and many entertainment events were cancelled due to the light crowds.

If you want visual evidence, there are plenty of photos from Saturday and Sunday at the link below.

tod
01-27-2008, 11:10 PM
Our country is NOT in a recession ...... if today's attendance at the DLR is any measurement indicator!

Recession or not is a question for the economists.

With the 2fer tickets promotion and most annual passes not blocked out -- I'm not sure that a big turnout at Disneyland is especially meaningful.

--t

h_lehmann
01-28-2008, 02:42 AM
When I was a kid in school I was always taught that in times of economic depression the entertainment business actually does better, since people want to escape their problems by going to the movies or to shows. It sounds like a good story, true or not.

I was on the freeway, only about 10 miles from the park, when the first storm hit in Sunday. It was still coming down when I left Mickey & Friends parking, but by the time I walked to the entrance gates, the rain had stopped, the sun was trying to come out, and people were staying away in droves. The first downpour had driven out most of the crowds, leaving the rest of us with nice weather until the next big cloudburst started at about 5PM. It was nice to walk down an empty Main Street on a normally busy Sunday, munching on a peanut butter bar from the candy store, watching the rain come down.


http://www.tinybackyard.com/disneyland080127/2008_01_27_17_05_08

cstephens
01-28-2008, 10:30 AM
Hmmm, I'm wondering where these crowds were. We were there for about 2 hours on Sunday, and it was *extremely* light. It was actually kind of nice walking around without constantly bumping into people. OK, well, the gale-force winds and pounding rain weren't all that much fun, but we were at lunch for most of that.

I'm also not sure that attendance at Disneyland on a given weekend is any kind of indicator of the status of the country's economy.

hlbtimes2
01-28-2008, 10:41 AM
... (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)

Because people dont melt in the rain, even small children.
Because people pay a lot of money to travel and arent going to sit in their hotel rooms.
Because the park is a little empty when it rains.
Because some of us are from Seattle and are completely comfortable doing just about anything in the rain.

Barbossa
01-28-2008, 12:16 PM
HUH?

I was at the parks Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM covering the Gumball Rally for MiceChat (and who knows why the CM Reference Guide had it listed as "Mouse Chat"???).

I was in both parks, going back and forth multiple times, and the crowds were LIGHT all day on Saturday. The rain didn't show up until around 5 PM, and wasn't bad (but they did cancel the last HSM2 shows, the first 2 had very small crowds watching them). FIreworks did go off as normal at 9:25, since the winds were mild.

And today, Sunday was even quieter, I was there from about 9:30 AM to 7 PM, and the rain didn't even show up until about 2:30 PM, and then stopped until another big downpour at 5 PM. When I left the park at 7, the place was a Ghost Town, and wasn't scheduled to close untill 11 PM tonight.

Cast Members where allowed to go home early and many entertainment events were cancelled due to the light crowds.

If you want visual evidence, there are plenty of photos from Saturday and Sunday at the link below.

A friend who was there Sunday also said the place was "dead".

vegaspixie
01-28-2008, 03:05 PM
I have to agree with the "not-busy" sentiments here. Our family was in the park Fri, Sat and Sun and it was one of the best weekends we've ever had in terms of light crowds, extremely short lines and even decent weather (despite the rain). In fact Saturday even with the late-day rain, it was downright comfortable; the cold windy rain didn't really start until Sunday. We rode Indy 4 times, no FP, only a 10 minute wait (and that was really just watching the safety video).

Saturday was kind of a strange day, weather wise. I have these pictures of a beautiful clear sky in the morning; later in the afternoon it was still clear when we entered the Golden Horseshoe. By the time the show was over, we exited to a completely dark-grey sky. Being from Vegas where it never rains, we loved it!

DisneyJenn
01-28-2008, 06:52 PM
I was there Thursday and Friday and we had less than a 5 minute wait on all rides except the Matterhorn. For the first time in my life, I walked right onto Space Mountain. It was so crazy to look down the walkway and only see a few people.

The ToT and Screamin' were actually closed at the same time Thursday and we still just walked right on. It was awesome!

It started getting a little busier Friday afternoon after school/work.

Malcon10t
01-29-2008, 05:27 AM
AP effect.

I wouldn't be surprised if Friday and Sunday were busier than Saturday.I think several posters have already stated this wasn't the case.

The old man
01-29-2008, 08:03 AM
Many, many family groups with many, many very small children who are going to be enriching pediatricians and pharmacists in the next two weeks as the temps were in the 50s all day, with rain and wind. (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)

I didn't know that it was weather that caused illness. I thought it was germs--virus, bacteria, etc.

Infinitely
01-29-2008, 08:45 AM
I didn't know that it was weather that caused illness. I thought it was germs--virus, bacteria, etc.

From what I have learned, you are right.

Well, really bad weather, freezing rain and that sort of thing can cause problems. Then again so can the sun, snow, wind you need to dress for the weather and you will stay healthy.

In my mind a rain shower in 50 degree weather sounds heavenly, warm even! Ahhh

Infinitely
01-29-2008, 08:47 AM
http://www.tinybackyard.com/disneyland080127/2008_01_27_17_05_08

Oh I absolutely love those pictures!

Thank you for sharing them.

codewoman
01-29-2008, 09:07 AM
I was at DL in pouring rain on Jan 6. The park stayed open untili 11 and we were there for it! It was so empty we (drum roll) - waited only 5 minutes for Finding Nemo!!!

I'm glad it was only the one day, but we were able to do more in a few hours Sunday night than all day on Tuesday!

As long as you're prepared for rain (clothing and attitude) -- it's fun.

As for the illness, if you get wet and cold, haven't eaten well, or don't have enough sleep your body will have a harder time fighting off those germs you do encounter. So take care of yourself in bad weather, but you don't have to stay inside.

disneylandgirl
01-29-2008, 11:41 AM
Personally, I would rather be at DL on a rainy day. My family and I used to go every year in November, and it seemed to always rain at least one day we were there. The crowds really do clear up, the lines are short, and there is just something even more magical about DL when it rains. I can't quite put my finger on it... maybe because it is so peaceful and it feels like you have the whole place to yourself. I am going next weekend and I HOPE it rains.

yenko427
01-30-2008, 02:30 AM
Hey Darkbeer.....were you in DL on Monday? I saw a male wearing a black bomber style type jacket carrying a camera with a good zoom really checking out the Jungle Cruise closure. I thought it might be you and almost said hi but I didn't want to look like a freak going up to someone and asking them if they were "darkbeer"? It looked like you just came off Indy...

Walt'sbirthdaygirl
01-30-2008, 10:33 AM
... if today's attendance at the DLR is any measurement indicator! What a crowd at the parks - and on a cold, rainy day that swung between mild to heavy downpours and windy sunshine. The usual 30 minute wait for Peter Pan, 10 minutes for Buzz Lightyear, short wait at Cafe Orleans .. and on one of SoCal's rainiest days of the past twelve months. (Now the crowd was not a heavy one .. but I would definitely vote for "moderate")

And it wasn't just Mouse Chat Gunmballers or cheerleaders, either. Many, many family groups with many, many very small children who are going to be enriching pediatricians and pharmacists in the next two weeks as the temps were in the 50s all day, with rain and wind. (Why do people drag tiny children out in this weather to go to an amusement park?)

Anyway, looks like a Disney stock will continue to be a good purchase if large numbers of people are still shelling out big bucks to visit Disneyland even on a cold, blustery day.

And yes .. it was fun to slosh around the park with my umbrella and rainboots.
The parade was cancelled, the corn dog cart closed due to leakage, Thunder Mountain shut down temporarily because of wet tracks, and Pirates Lair looking tantalizing empty across the ROA. But what fun to ride the Jungle Cruise in a downpour - made it seem more realistic than ever! Flying through the air on the Tomorrowland rockets while light rain splattered your face was a new thrill! And, mais oui, tres francaise and romantique to sit on the patio of Cafe Orleans, sipping hot tea and noshing on crepes while the mist sprinkled down around the canopies.

I highly recommend DLR in the rain ... even when it is crowded.


I was actually surprised at the amount of people there with very small children, Sunday morning seemed a bit busier than Saturday morning, but as the storm was rolling in we were expected the park to be totally dead. With that said the entire weekend was fantastic crowd wise, very very light and waits almost like a off season weekday.

Jodi
01-30-2008, 05:03 PM
We arrived Sunday morning around 10:00. I must say, I get very excited to walk into the PotC building and find an empty boat, just sitting there, waiting for me, or to walk into the Haunted Mansion to find the stretching room doors open, and not even have to wait in the lobby.

We always have disposable rain ponchos from the dollar store handy, because rainy days are our favorite time to go! Short lines, empty streets!
DH will check weather.com and say, "It's going to rain this weekend, we should go to Disneyland!"

(And neither of my kids has ever become ill as a result!:))