Originally Posted By SafariRob Do you like a good Friday rant? Here's one. Does anyone else think that Disneyland (and the other parks) needs to lower their daily capacity limits? The figure I have is 49,000. I don't know when or how they arrived at that number but I think it should be lower. Why? We live in a society where almost 2/3 of adults are overweight and a fair amount of people use motorized scooters to get around. Shouldn't that have some sort of affect on the formula that is used to calculate maximum occupancy? For example, a person on a scooter takes up more square footage than a person without one. 500 people on scooters take up a LOT more space than 500 people without them. If the 49,000 daily limit was calculated recently with those factors in mind, I will let it go. I am willing to bet, however, that they are using old numbers from years past when the average population was slimmer and motorized scooters were rare.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros At one time, the park's capacity was almost 60,000, but it has been reduced since then. A lot of it has to do with the number of operating attractions and shows, but they do also take guest size and wheelchairs into account, including the actual traffic flows in the parks. Yes, the folks who figure all that stuff out work in that building behind the park that is loathed so much by people on the internet, but they're also out walking through the parks at all hours of the day, watching how crowds interact and what they can do to make it better. Yes, on busy days, it feels really busy. However, I don't think it's unmanageable. The Halloween crowds have (apparently) been much better this year, and people who go during the week between Christmas and New Years know it's coming. Yes, the parks will be busy at times, but I think they're doing a good job keeping it within reason.
Originally Posted By SafariRob So they are actually walking the parks and constantly monitoring it for capacity limits? That's pretty impressive. I guess what Disney considers acceptable crowds exceeds my own personal comfort level. :-(
Originally Posted By mickeymorris1234 Well George and I forget who the past Disneyland Pres for the 50th was do and did walk the parks and talked to guests and such. However they use a more mathematical approach taking into account the number of rides a person goes on to the number of people, merchandise, exit entrance ratios and a whole lot more to figure what is the optimal number of guests. Fire codes are the number of people that can safely be in the park and can exit safely. Fire codes take into account however every person - including employees. On top of the parks fire code each ride has it's own individual fire code ratings as well. The Disneyland Fire Department (a real fire department by the way) has a lot to deal with all the time as well as the park planners when it comes to guest numbers.
Originally Posted By pleiades357 That must be quite a science! We are fortunate, relatively local and APs, when the lines at attractions become long, we shop or eat lunch. When the sidewalks become congested so we are spending more time weaving through the crowd, we head for CA or home. When I was younger, I just expected it to be crowded at certain times (had the stamina for it then). I remember standing in line at the Statue of Liberty for 3 hours, to ride Small World at the Worlds Fair, 2.5 hours, to get my passport (LA during the Olympics, NI 1.25 to find a parking place), 4 hours... see the Crown Jewels... TNBC Sunday before Christmas... Because I prefer to not spend a lot of time standing around, I go at less than peak hours (unless friends insist), though I get caught by surprise some times. I suppose crowds are a sign you are doing something right, or a lot of things right in the right combinations.
