Summer 2019 - What did you all think?

We have reached the end of the summer and Disneyland did not turn into the disaster that many people predicted.

Personally I think that this was a great summer. Galaxy Edge open and both parks were practically empty. I haven't walked onto so many attractions in years.

I know that online trolls are calling the summer a disaster. Personally I had a great time.

What did you all think of this past summer at the parks?

 

I think a lot of people are waiting for BOTH rides to be open before taking the trip. I think that will be the true test.

This summer seemed to be a perfect time to head to the parks due to the lighter crowds. That would be a "win" in my book, but maybe not so much in Disney's financial outlook.

 

It seems like every time I start to think about reinstating my pass, Disney does something profoundly stupid and/or offensive. And every time I start to think about going a full year without setting foot in the place, they do something really good.

Galaxy's Edge, even without RotR, and even without bothering to get in line for MF:SR, is an amazing experience.

And even though it's mostly a mere shadow of its former glory, they brought back the MSEP.

I found it rather odd, though: on the 18th, anticipating the possibility of a full overcrowding lockdown of DL, I went as early as I could make it, and the weather was mostly pleasant, there were parking attendants directing me into a parking space, and the crowds were mercifully thin (with a fairly short single-rider queue on MF:SR. Then, a week later, on the 25th, I wasn't nearly as cautious about arriving early, and the day turned out to be a scorcher, the crowds were thicker, I spent close to half an hour hunting down a parking space, and the single-rider queue for MF:SR was out the door. Go figure.

In other news, it's been a very good summer for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but having the Metro Blue Line under renovation (forcing me to drive clear into Gardena, to take the Silver Line) was a major inconvenience.

 

It looks like Disney miscalculated how many people would pay full-freight over the summer to see GE rather than just wait for their AP's to be unblocked, and the stricter blocking of all but the top tiers meant far lower crowds. And it wasn't just Disney; from what I've read, all the local hotels jacked up their rates for the period also, further convincing a lot of out of towners that if they're going to pay those kind of rates for a freaking Best Western, they might as well just wait till ROTR opens before they come.

Meanwhile, for those who did come, it was a marvelous experience. I sometimes live vicariously by looking at the DL app out of curiosity to see what the wait times are... they were typically nuts all through the Spring and then - bam! - as soon as most AP's got blocked, they were manageable all summer.

Disney now has a decision to make (unless they've already made it; I don't check these things very often, as they don't apply to me): do they keep the same blackout schedule for 2020, potentially sacrificing x-number of bodies/wallets in the parks in the summer? Or be only as strict as recent summers before 2019, potentially crowding the parks to the rafters if ROTR is the draw they hope it will be. They generally don't MIND overcrowding, of course. They might decide that ROTR will be such a draw that they can keep the same strict blackouts in the summer and people will come anyway, but of course that's what they thought this year.

 

". . . a freaking Best Western"
There are actually some excellent hotels that are members of Best Western. The Independence Park Hotel, in Philadelphia, for one, and the Pioneer Square Hotel (originally the historic Hotel Yesler), in Seattle, for another.

And of course, there are plenty of other places to go on vacation. Historic cities, like Boston and Philadelphia; living history facilities like Colonial Williamsburg; museum wonderlands like Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC; national parks, and so forth.

 

Fair enough. BW is the largest chain in the world, so obviously they run the gamut. I was referring more to the specific BW's we all know on Harbor Blvd., and what they were charging when GE opened (and the relative value therein).

 

I'd mentioned previously that I was in LA close to Labor Day weekend. I toyed with the idea of going after forecasts showed that DL was projected to not be that busy. But even then the cost kept me away. We drove to Anaheim to see the Angels play the Red Sox, and I'll admit it was odd to see the usual exits for Disneyland and not take them to visit the park. I'm just one person and my little anecdotal experience doesn't mean much, but I do wonder if there's more people like me: It isn't just the crowds, I'm put off by just how much it costs to go to Disneyland. For my me and my wife to go for a single day to check out Galaxy's Edge, we were looking at a bare minimum of $300 just for tickets, parking, and a little gas money from Pasadena. No food, no souvenirs (I'd tell myself there was no way I was buying a lightsaber then I'd 100% buy one). On top of that, I've been so put off by crowds in recent years that I was skeptical. Crowd forecasts are imperfect at best and with Labor Day weekend, I didn't want to spend that kind of money and chance it.

Again, I'm just one person, but I suspect a lot of people are starting to feel the same way. A series of factors just add up to "It's not worth it."

 

Yes. The cost is a major problem. If I'm vacationing in Chicago, I can walk into the MSI, as soon as they open their doors in the morning, and stay until they're ready to physically drag me out in the evening, still not see and do everything they have, and spend, all-told, under $50 including admission, food, an IMAX movie, and maybe some manufactured-while-I-watch souvenir. (I'm fond of saying, not only of the MSI, but of the Field and the Art Institute, "They're not just museums; they're theme parks for geeks.")

Personally, I've always held that eliminating individually-ticketed attractions at DL and Knotts was a mistake. It floods the queues for the most popular attractions, and leads to a lot of overlooked "hidden gems."

It would perhaps be easier to swallow the costs if CMs were better-paid than they are.

 

I have to heartily agree with that.

We were just discussing how we may have really missed the boat this year. When we went in February to see our grandson march we toyed with the idea of AP's. But when we realized "Starwarsland" was opening and saw the massive blackout dates we said no. I have a friend there right now who says she has never seen the Parks so empty. She did not even wait for Peter Pan!!!! If we were home now we just might jump in the RV and join her. But we are in WA visiting other grandchildren.

 

Well, GE will still be there when you get back. And the MSEP will still be there until the 30th (and while the extension of the 2017 run supposedly originated from having to make good on a typo in an ad, I've learned to "never say never again" with regard to The Parade).

 

Especially since I own a bulb from the Original when it went away *forever*.

 

Only one?

(And at any rate, don't be like the yutzes [yutzim?], all those years ago, who were storming City Hall with complaints about the passholder party no longer being the "final performance." Back when I saw behavior like that, or passholders otherwise demanding special privileges above and beyond what they were already getting, it made me ashamed to be a passholder.)

 

Yes, only one, it was a gift from my sister, who, did pay full price for that last performance. All they did that day was see the parade and do two attractions it was so crowded. (I do have a VHS of it as well.)LOL

Trust me, I have never tried to get privileges beyond my AP. I am not that type of person.

Yep! Getting out of California has opened up *A whole new world...........* for us. Especially the National Parks which are practically free with our Senior Advantage passes. We happened upon a California Trail interactive museum in Nevada this summer. It was free and we were there for like, 3 hours.

 

BUT!... I still love Disneyland. I often think I do not want to go; but when I get there I still feel some Magic even if not like before.
And there are the grandchildren.

 

I think the park is becoming a hollow shell of itself and I won't be back anytime soon.
Can't find any magical walt feelings or experiences anymore.
They should change the name to the Disney Store.

Was there last in May and felt like the experience is overpriced.

 

Sorry to hear that. I have still found magic in the park. Yes, it is expensive... but there is still magic.

 

If a person can spend an entire day in Disneyland, do fewer than ten queued attractions, and still have a good time, there is still magic.

 

Thanks for liking my previous post. I find that even though it's now been over a decade since I gave up my pass, and went from spending practically nothing for any given visit to DL, even with multiple park-hops, to paying through the nose for a single-park ticket (and parking), I still find myself behaving the way I did as a passholder: not frantic to wring as many attractions out of my admission as I possibly can, and instead content to enjoy a few favorites, see The Parade, and soak in the ambience.

And brother, SW:GE has a lot of ambience!

In fact, the only real difference is that as a passholder, I'd mostly go in for a couple hours after work, every month or two (less total time invested than I typically spend on a single Hollywood Bowl concert), and only do one full-day visit per year, whereas now, I rarely spend less than 8 hours on a DL visit.