Originally Posted By mikeginla I think it's great that people can get into the park free on their birthday, but the crowds it creates are no fun. Now every day at the park it's crowded like summer. I went this last weekend and the ride cues were too long for my taste. I frankly hope that this promotion goes away at the end of 2009.
Originally Posted By MomluvsDisney MM..I dont know. I went on my Birthday on March 3rd, and the crowds where so light. My DD and I never spent more the five minutes waiting to ride everything we wanted. So many rides, we simply walked onto over and over. I think part of last weekend being busy is the start of spring breaks for various schools.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains mikeginla - I know that last weekend there was cheerleading events and heritage (choirs mainly) festivals. The HS my kids go to were at the heritage festival. I think there is kind of a joke about March Madness being in DL too with all the cheer compititions.
Originally Posted By MomluvsDisney Ah well that explains it...When I went a week ago sunday the crowds were not as light on my birthday, where still pretty good.
Originally Posted By SleepingBeauty82 On the one hand, weekends are always crowded at DL. On the other I too have noticed an increase in attendance and due to the massive amounts of people I see with "It's My Birthday!" buttons, I can't help but think the promotion is to blame. The last two weekends we went to the park the lines for Big Thunder and Soarin' were over an hour each. I'd never seen that in January or February before. We had fun sitting on a bench and counting the birthday buttons we saw. Although it's a great idea (my dad went for free on his birthday and had a blast but even he complained about the crowds and it was a Wednesday), I hate the promotion and can't wait for it to end. Sorry. I'm selfish like that.
Originally Posted By mater4 I was there the first week of March and noticed more birthday and first time visit buttons than previous trips. I think that a lot of families are choosing vacations closer to home these days. Cruises and overseas vacations are expensive. I am sick of the promotions all together. Offer free stuff and people line up.
Originally Posted By Bellella My b-day is in August, so I guess I'll have to contend with some crowds. Oh well.
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM I guess my family's very different..we LOVE the crowds. That's one of the reasons we choose to go in the summer when it's busy. We don't mind waiting in line...we've met some really fun people there. We ignore the rudeness that can sometimes occur, and embrace the craziness and excitement. I agree with mater...people ARE staying closer to home lately, and probably will do so for a while.
Originally Posted By KCCHIEF I am like Mollysmom........I love the crowds...and along with the crowds...every little stand open .....no matter what they are selling.
Originally Posted By lesmisfan and then you have to remember, spring break has already started at the resort as well besides the cheerleading, magic music days, and all the different convetions they seem to be having across the streets, those don't help the crowds either.
Originally Posted By poohbear14 And I've never seen the Tortilla factory so crowded! They must be cranking those tortillas out at high speed! :-D
Originally Posted By TP2000 I will never cease to be fascinated by the concept of people going somewhere that is succesful and fun (some on a free ticket no less), and then complaining that there are too many other people there. Disneyland is succesful. Disneyland is fun. Disneyland attracts many customers because it offers a high quality experience and has a high quality product. Why wouldn't other people go there too, besides us who get in for pennies per day with our cheap monthly installment Annual Passes? Why would crowds at Disneyland on a sunny day in SoCal be a surprise to people?
Originally Posted By SleepingBeauty82 I myself wasn't suprised by the crowds the promotion is bringing in, I just dislike them. I mean I can handle crowded. I've been a passholder for two years and I'm used to it. I just can't fathom waiting in a 30 minute line for the tortilla factory. And getting to the park at noon to find Soarin out of fastpasses with a 75 minute wait? Ick! I'm just complaining. Better to live nearby and have a pass then not. We're going to see how the crowds fair tomorrow. A lot of the local schools and colleges aren't on break yet and there's a basketball tournament in town but at least they aren't cheerleaders. I can handle big groups of basketball dudes but hoards of pre-teen girlie excitement? Not for me. LOL.
Originally Posted By utahjosh I'll be park-hopping on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week. I'm expecting normal, not-too-crowded weekday crowds on Thursday, but I'm prepared for hordes of birthday goers, APs, cheerleaders, and Spring Breakers on Friday and Saturday.
Originally Posted By Roger Rabbit Well, on top of everything else, the SoCal Resident Discount known as "2Fer" brings in people left and right. It's unbelievable! And when it comes to birthdays, I dont know of anyone who would come by themselves so they are there with family and friends, which adds to the crowds. The crazy thing is like I've been saying lately - what recession? Guests may not be buying product, but still. Roger.
Originally Posted By Moon Waffle Amen Roger Rabbit. If we were really in a recession we'd be noticing much smaller crowds at Disneyland. People still flock to the park as if they had money to burn. Must not be TOO bad.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss DL is an escape from bad times, and it's not expensive with all the promotions, or with an AP.
Originally Posted By TP2000 Disneyland is not just "inexpensive" with an AP. Disneyland is downright dirt cheap with an AP. If you do the monthly installment plan, a Disneyland AP is literally fun too cheap to meter! For five to ten bucks per month you get near daily access to the best theme park in the world. Go twice per month and you are getting into Disneyland AND California Adventure for the day for the price of a subway transfer fare! AP's are getting in to Disneyland for pennies per day. Literally pennies per day.
Originally Posted By SleepingBeauty82 I have to agree with trek and TP2000. We are prime examples of how you can be hit by the recession and still be at Disneyland. The fiance was laid off from his engineering job in December. I quit my job a couple weeks ago due to massive amounts of stress and general unhappiness. HOWEVER we bought our passes in August when we were both working. So really, if we only have one meal and don't buy any merch, Disneyland is one of the cheapest things we can do now! It's ironic. Same with going to the Aquarium in Long Beach since we were already members since last May. I'm sure we're not the only AP-ers in that boat.
