Originally Posted By fidoprincess Really having second thoughts about our trip next week from the 15-19th. I always check expedia, etc right up until we leave looking for a "better deal" and to my shock and great surprise, almost everything is totally sold out. There are less vacancies at the area hotels for next week than we went over Thankgiving Week and remember they closed DL on both Thursday and Friday back then?!! DL also just added in fireworks(but no fantasmic) for the week nights too so they know it will be busy. It was so incredibly crowded at Thanksgiving we could barely walk and some ride lines were up to 120 minutes! I didn't even know the wait signs went up that high. I have that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that it is going to be so packed that it takes all the fun away. We love to go back and forth, starting at DL then over to CA and back to DL but when they close the gates, that is out of the question and we are afraid to leave Dl at all. We also noticed that when it is that crowded, the level of service takes a big drop both in the hotels and in the parks. I also begin to feel sorry for the CMs working so hard. Normally, I would just go without a second thought because we do okay with the crowds (within reason) but we didn't get a very good deal on the hotel so 4 nights at DLH is over $1100. (Not like ap rates in Jan where 4 nights was just 400!) Also, DH is just dropping us off so it will be me alone with both kids in that kind of crowd and our drive is 6-7 hours. Kind of seems like a lot to be packed in like sardines. Anyone else having second thoughts? Anyone else get butterflies in their stomach when they see that giant sign, "Disneyland is very busy today!"??
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <Anyone else having second thoughts? Anyone else get butterflies in their stomach when they see that giant sign, "Disneyland is very busy today!"??> <---[raises hand} I do!!!
Originally Posted By SuzieQ The first week of December is sold out in the DLR hotels already, too. And the first week of May is outrageously expensive. I think it's going to be a busy year no matter when you go.
Originally Posted By MomofPrincess Yeah, and I don't blame you at all. As much as I love that place, I have a hard time enjoying it when it's CRAZY-busy. I don't like walking single file through the park all day and waiting 1-2 hours for each ride. I wouldn't blame you a bit for postponing. Follow your gut.
Originally Posted By AZDLDad fido- Yes, by all means stay away! (wink-wink as I move ahead one space in line at the next attraction)
Originally Posted By momof4boys We are going to be there the 12th-17th. I figured it was going to be crowded, but I wasn't too worried about it until I read your post. We were there the day after Thanksgiving one year and it was horrible! It never occured to me that it might be THAT crowded. As for whether you cancel, I guess it depends on your situation. For us, we really don't have an option of a different time to go- except for late July and then it would be crowded and hot! I think I have remembered reading that you have had other trips recently and another one planned ( it is early here, I can't sleep, we leave in 10 hours and I can't think too clearly)so that might make your choice different. Plus being alone with the kids would be difficult- I can't remember how old your kids are. You can always enjoy stuff at the hotel. I really wanted to stay at the DLH, at least for a couple of nights, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much. I made our reservations at BWPPI quite a while back and have pretty good rates. After reading your post, I was worried last night and asked DH what he thought about it. He said, " A crowded day at Disneyland is still a lot better than a good day at work!" He said if we go with the right attitude we can still have a good time ( oh, but I remember that day after Thanksgiving, and you're right, you can't even walk!). Oh well, I figure just not having to cook and clean for a week makes it a good vacation! Hopefully it won't be as bad as you fear.
Originally Posted By AJTW I generally like crowded days better than walk-on days. The sense of anticipation is lost when everything is a walk on. However, I get affected by the grumpies easily so if the crowd is grumpy I have to keep telling myself to not take it personally, even though I do when it is directed at me (i.e. "Yes honey, the people in the smoking area are BAD people"). Otherwise I just expect people to be in a bad mood when it is crowded and it is okay.
Originally Posted By BoyStory I think you should go with your gut too. If you know you would have a better time at perhaps another time of the year then it may be worth the wait. I am actually going thru the same quandry right now . I am counting the days until our DL vacation (94!) and yet I know in the past when we've gone on really crowded days we were ALL miserable. I've been a DL finatic my whole life, but when you have several small children to keep track of in those long lines/big crowds, DL loses some of its magic. It's just so hard to really know ahead of time (unless it's associated with a holiday, summer, or big conference) if it's going to be really busy. For instance, we just went the week after Thanksgiving- still during the 50th celebration mind you- and the crowds were REALLY light Tues and Wed, and not bad on Thurs. We've been in early/mid June in years past where the crowds were just moderate on weekdays. Now reading others posts I'm really nervous that the 50th may have a big impact on crowds at that time (when we are scheduled to be there)- even though the 50th didn't seem make much of an impact in November. We may just go again this year in November and skip the June trip...waah! I feel for you- tough decision!!!
Originally Posted By DyGDisney fidoprincess, that week is cheerleader week, that's probably why it's so crowded. There are going to be a lot of cheerleaders at DL that week.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney fidoprincess -- Maybe you could move your dates up a little to Monday thru Thursday of next week. We are going the following week and I went to Expedia to check. A lot of the hotels were booked Thurs and Friday night, which I expected because there is a huge convention starting Wed. I figure Thurs is a good DCA day! Either way, we are going to try to have fun, and I expect we will.
Originally Posted By Mom2aDisneyboy DyGDisney What is the huge convention starting Wednesday?? Do you mean starting on the 15th?? I am hoping you do because we will be there the 19th-24th and I hope they will be gone by then.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Convention calendar: <a href="http://www.anaheimoc.org/convcalendar/index.cfm?mnth=3&yr=2006#top" target="_blank">http://www.anaheimoc.org/convc alendar/index.cfm?mnth=3&yr=2006#top</a> There are a lot of large conventions this month. 30,000 attendees for a baseball convention the 8th - 17th. 39,000 attendees for the natural health productes convention the 24th - 28th.
Originally Posted By dzy76 momof4boys - I love that attitude. I always think any day at Disneyland is better than not being there at all. Which sadly, is most days for me lately. I'm going end of July (my birthday!) through early Aug and it will be crowded and hot. But we're staying 11 nights so will have time to take it more slowly. Plus all my boys are teenagers (one will be 1 month shy of his 20th birthday) and so I don't have to watch them at all! lol. They have to watch me! As far as going now, sometimes it sounds a lot worse than it ends up being. Just take it slow, use fastpass and enjoy the little things. Don't go with the mentality of how bad it will be or stressed about getting to see IT ALL and you might just actually be surprised. Whatever you do, good luck and have fun this trip - or if you decide to wait, at least you get to go eventually. Some people don't ever get to go.
Originally Posted By AZDLDad <<He said, " A crowded day at Disneyland is still a lot better than a good day at work!">> Amen!
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Sorry Mom2, the convention I was speaking of starts the 24th, not Wed. We are going the 20th thru the 24th, and I suspect the lack of rooms on Thursday and Friday night are due to the large convention SusieQ mentioned. Hopefully all those people aren't coming to Disneyland.
Originally Posted By BoyStory I would totally agree that a crowded day at DL is waaaay better than a good day at work...if it were just myself going or even perhaps just myself, hubby and older boys at DL to making our way through the mass of crowds all day. But- speaking from experience here- I'd rather have a nice day at work than try to juggle 5 boys including a baby though a mass of humanity and not get upset at the kids for being miserable when their little toes are getting trampled on- KWIM? It all comes down to your personal situation. JMHO!
Originally Posted By fidoprincess Well unless it is calling for rain, we are just going to do it. Thanks for all of your encouragement! Actually we've been there with the cheerleaders before and I don't mind them. I think they are cute but then again I have 4 teenage nieces-lol. It's the people that have no sense of personal space that bug me. You know, the ones that are practically standing on top of you in line thinking nothing of touching you and then cough right in your face!? I really appreciate all of your thoughts and it really helped me decide. BoyStory, it's nice to have someone understand what I mean and be sympathetic-lol. It IS a lot of work just to go between all the packing clothes, snacks, and all the junk like ears and spinning lights and planning and then the laundry when we get home and keeping both kids happy the long drive.They are 6 and just turned 11 today so in some ways they are harder than a baby in a stroller! I am usually worn out after the trips and it really takes me a few days to unpack and get everything back to normal. Sometime it is easier to not do anything but stick to the routine, maybe I am just lazy-lol. My kids are the timid kind too and over Thanksgiving they were both stepped on and banged into more than once. Ds really got hurt when some big man just practically mowed right over him and he got a big bruise on his upper arm, poor thing. That was not fun but there are enough things to do without rushing from one thing to the other and still try to avoid the crowds. We ended up eating a lot over Thankgiving-lol! And as it turns out, we will be there earlier on Wed than planned so we will have all Wed afternoon and evening, all day Thur and all day Friday. Originally we were going to have to leave home after DH got off work at 5 and then drive the 7 hours but now he can go as soon as we get up!! We will just wait and see how it looks for Sat because if we want to go Sat, we either have to buy blockouts or upgrade aps and I am sure that will be the worst day for crowds. I finally was able to make ressies for early entry to build-a-bear Sat morning at 9 and then we have ressies at Storytellers at 10:30. The kids really want to go to the pool, so if it is nice, we might just skip DL totally on Sat and enjoy the stuff at the hotel. They never did get to do the remote boats or even see the other pool so we might just relax and enjoy that stuff....unless it rains. That I don't want to do again so soon after our Jan trip! SuzyQ, I too think that you are right when you said "I think it's going to be a busy year no matter when you go." It is just amazing to me that they are so busy and still advertising so heavily! How many people can they actually cram in there anyway? Will it ever be enough for the execs at DL or will they keep pushing until everyday is so full they will have to close at 9:15! Since we did get to go over Thanksgiving, January and are going back in June, there is not the pressure to ride and do everything. Like dzy76 says, we will take it slow and easy and enjoy the little things. What was I thinking?! I don't want to cancel and it really is better there than home=lol. I agree with you momof4boys, too because I think it is silly to pay that much for DH but the kids really loved it and I really loved it too. We stayed at BWPPI the last 3 trips before Jan and I was happy with the QQ minisuites until the last time. The prices went up a lot IMHO and our room was not as clean as it had been and we had that bad sewer smell coming up from the sink over Thanksgiving that we had heard others complain about. I think the maids were just overwhelmed with the crowds too because until that trip, every other time was spotless. Then we got the great AP rates at DH in Jan and it was really a world of difference and it was cheaper than BWPPI. I loved the amazing beds at DH and spoiled myself with all the goodies like room service, bellmen and atmosphere-lol. So we will go and I only have one goal for the whole trip: since they added the fireworks for every night, I would like one time to see the fireworks. One night we made it to the hub and it rained so it was cancelled. The other times, we just couldn't get through the crowds, actually scary IMHO to be near the hub when it is that packed, people were hostile to each other and we left! Maybe we will get lucky this time! I can't believe I have never seen them except from the Fantasmic Balcony. I just want to see the projections on the castle so much after hearing all the amazing reports! So does anyone know how you go about getting in when it closes? How do you get past the mobs of people to let them know you are staying at their hotel and should still be able to get in (from what I've heard here?) Is there a special line or gate to go to? I don't understand how you can bypass all the other people waiting, esp if they are mad. Thanks again everyone for all of your posts! Lucky for me, my kids are really good so I'm sure I will do fine on my own without DH. (Small brag: today was Report Card Day and both kids got straight As-they make me proud!)
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Your plan for Saturday sounds perfect. Between the hotels and DTD there is so much to do. If it is raining you can always pre purchase movie tix for later in the day or get room service and watch a movie on TV. Our kids always loved room service Our experience with closures was that when we saw the HUGE lines stretching from DL to DCA, we went to DTD for about 1/2 hour and the gates were open again. Just get in line, people will leave, you will move forward and the gates will re opne Then we had the problem of wading through Main Street We were told that we would be able to get in as hotel guests but never found out how.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney If it rains, still go. It will keep the locals away, and probably send some others back to their hotels! Just take a poncho and some rain-proof shoes. I'm kinda hoping for showers when we go.
Originally Posted By raer I tried to get a room for 3/17 to 3/20 only to find out that all hotels are booked solid. I was told by the Candy Cane that there is a cheer competition in town that weekend along with Spring breaks starting. My hubby said we will pass on this weekend.
