Originally Posted By gardenrooms I keep coming up with new things to wonder about - when they close the gates due to capacity crowds, which they surely will this week when I will be there, if your hand is stamped and you are outside when they close can you come back in or are you out of luck? Are the gates likely to reopen later in the day or once they close do they tend to stay closed for good? And last, about what time of day do these things tend to occur? (I assume DCA never closes, but then you know what they say about "assume" so I probably should ask that too evsn though technically that wouldn't go here.) Thanks again!
Originally Posted By imadisneygal There are several steps to closing the gates due to crowds. The first step is to stop selling all new admission passports without closing the gates at all. Other steps include closing the Park to new admissions, closing readmission to all except Resort Guests, and closing all new admissions and readmissions. It is almost a certainty....no, I'll say it...it IS a certainty that some or all of these steps will be taken during this next week particularly on New Year's Eve. It can happen as early as mid-morning and the gates can remain closed for several hours or more. If you want to be guaranteed a spot inside the Park for New Year's Eve the only way is to go early and stay for the whole time. I have seen the gates close and not reopen for many hours on New Year's Eve. I know that readmissions and new admissions did begin again well before midnight, but there were many hours when no new tickets were being sold or accepted at the gate. There may be different levels of closures that apply to AP's as well, I don't know because when I worked at the Gate all types of passports were treated the same when it came to closures due to crowds. Suffice it to say that this week is nasty in City Hall with MANY Guests complaining that Disney is violating fire codes (they're not) and that they're letting in more Guests than the Park can hold legally (again, not happening) but it will be a nightmare for lots of CM's who get the brunt of Guests' frustrations that they chose to visit during the busiest week of the year. I want to say that I DO NOT think that you would do this, gardenrooms. I am just recounting some nightmarish days and nights in City Hall. Yuck. That said, there's nowhere like Disneyland on New Year's Eve. I used to volunteer to work that holiday every year. It's pure magic and I am sure you'll have a wonderful time despite the crowds!
Originally Posted By gardenrooms Thanks for all the great info, imadisneygal. I have forewarned my group to expect bigger crowds than we have ever seen before and not to expect to go on many rides, just to enjoy the sights! So we won't be complaining to the CM's, but now I'm going to treat the CM's extra nicely! Anyone know if DCA ever closes?
Originally Posted By Darkbeer This year, in late April, DCA did get close to capacity when it was the last Sunday of the "Pay for Disneyland, get DCA for FREE!" offer, when the tickets were about to expire. Disney allowed folks to either go to Disneyland that day, or they marked the tickets to be used for an extra 4 weeks past the original expiration. That day is the only day I know off, the day before (Saturday) similar offers were made, but they kept allowing folks in, but it was close to being full.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ When I arrived at the parks shortly before noon yesterday, they had big signs up warning the parks were very crowded. The line to purchase tickets went through the entire chained queue and back toward the center of the entry plaza. The line for stroller rentals reached almost to DCA! I walked right up to the gate and handed my pass to the CM, LOL I never saw the line for City Hall reach further than the curb out front. And when I left shortly after 6:30 pm, there was no one waiting at City Hall at all! Every CM we met was helpful, friendly and warm. Of course, it might have helped that our whole group had smiles on their faces the entire day!
