Originally Posted By BellesLibrarian We're currently on a one year break from Disneyland. After three crowded trips on our AP (we come from NJ and were homeschooling so we aimed for off-peak times, yet failed miserably three times in a row) we went when we thought the park would be crowded and had one of our best trips ever. Go figure, right? I'm so glad we ended that AP on a high note. In the meantime, after being there during a teachers' strike and after a President died causing an extended surprise holiday for Federal employees, we've given up on guessing when it will be quiet. Today I signed up for the Half Marathon, so I know we'll be back, which helps me handle the break. Instead of a cross country trip to Disney, we are planning road trips to see friends and family. I agree with everyone else ... Disneyland will always be there. Enjoy other stuff and come back when you find yourself missing the place again.
Originally Posted By tashajilek The only time i found DL to not be busy was when it was pouring buckets! Disneyland will never be quiet so we all have to deal with it "What I'm mourning here is the sense of wonder and joy that I used to feel when I walked through the gates of Disneyland." I am trying Disneyworld for the first time this year! Maybe a new Disney park would make things new and fresh?
Originally Posted By ctp09 I've felt like this after our last 4 visits. The crowds are a lot to take and it doesn't make for a relaxing trip at all. We're trying something new this year...going at the end of January (24 days and counting). We usually go between Thanksgiving and Christmas so this will be a new experience. I've been told the body count is lower (let's hope) and that the weather can be in the 50s and rainy (we're from Oregon, that's normal here) so maybe those factors will also help. Personally, I've decided that we are NOT going to try to do it all in 3 days. We are going to sit more, absorb more, and just reduce the hurry-scurry that's dominated so many visits. Everyone else has given GREAT advice about staying closer to home and exploring places you have in your own backyard.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>It was far too crowded<< This for us has become the showstopper. Thanks the expansion of the AP program there is no longer much of an "Off season" at DLR. Much like you, we used to love going in the fall, especially in October, but its practically wall to wall people year round now. Our "break" is well into its second year and we don't feel compelled to go back.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>It's a good thing they check your bags for weapons when you enter the park.<< Pfft! Like that provodes any safety. It would be a piece of cake to smuggle a firearm into one of the parks (there a re no metal detectors or pat downs after all), and I'm sure it happens all the time. Someday, someone will go over the edge during an overcrowded day and shoot someone.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I think you should follow the advice of other posters here and take a break. It sounds like you visited DL three times last year alone and you visit at least once a year. You should have your for awhile. I haven't been to a Disney park since 2008 and I live less than 400 miles from DLR.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "What I'm mourning here is the sense of wonder and joy that I used to feel when I walked through the gates of Disneyland." How many moons ago was that? Seriously, you really do need to be mindful that no matter how wonderful DLR may be, it's merely a place of entertainment designed to make money for its investors and the people who run it. Lots of money. "It was once a very happy place for me, just to be there. Now, it just feels as if it's another place to waste money being harassed. Does that clear things up?" Yes it does, and while being harassed should never be a part of a day at Disneyland or any theme park, and it certainly shouldn't FEEL like you're wasting money throwing away your money at Mickey's feet has been an integral part of the experience since July 17, 1955.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I am trying Disneyworld for the first time this year! Maybe a new Disney park would make things new and fresh?" Oooh... I can't wait to read your report Tasha. I love EPCOT and DAK.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt >>It was far too crowded<< "This for us has become the showstopper." I just read somewhere that the park's first New Year's Eve party drew 7,500 people. On another site I read that an estimated 100,000 people hit the Resort on one of the two days that the parks closed following Christmas.
Originally Posted By Manfried Any time you go to someplace too often, it loses its sense of wonder. All the constant complaining by all those who go too often makes it worse. It really is the same, so a break is in order.
Originally Posted By friendofdd All I have read in this topic is that the crowds have a negative impact on the DL experience. I certainly agree with that. I live close enough that I don't hesitate to simply go home if the crowds are too much for me to cope with. Guess I'm part of the few hundreds of thousands of apers who fit that catagory, and I am truly sorry I help diminish the experience of those who must travel further and visit less frequently. If I were forced to give up doing other things or DL, I would give up the park in an instant. I know Disney is a business and the money is important to them, but it is the guests who come in hoards and diminish the experience. I have known it to happen in many other places in my lifetime and not just for money. Forty something years ago, we stopped camping in yosemite valley because of over crowding. Then they instituted a reservation system in the campgrounds. Problem solved? No. Now the demand for reservations is overwhelming. You must reserve in the first ten minutes of business on specific days and thousands are trying to access the internet sites at once. I've gotten the dates I want, in high season, once in five years. We will love going elsewhere if done properly, but the crowds will make it less enjoyable when it ia a popular spot. When any of you come to DL, be sure to look for me. I'll be the old geezer who overuses his passport and takes up a seat your group could have used. Or maybe I'll be home instead having seen their were too many in attendance.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I'm probably in the minority here, but I really don't see why anyone would be compelled to go to Disneyland more than once, maybe twice in one year. Seeing the same stuff over and over just seems to repetitive - like watching the same old movie again and again. Maybe now that there are two parks there's a reason to go more frequently, but I can't see myself visiting more than once a year even if I lived in Southern California.
Originally Posted By avimagine I'm a twice a year max person (well distance limited). The thing is I think a lot of the ones who go a lot just do their favorite activities over and over (Ie POTC ride-a-thon lover or in the case of one LPer I can think of sometimes spends a lot of time people watching, or eating for the atmosphere. I get the feeling a lot of the APers either spend a couple hours or so on many visits, (although it clogs the lines for those who are trying to cram in once a year/decade/lifetime weekend/week visits.) I said in the past though shot down here that AP's should be limited to X # of fastpasss per month and/or should get a longer wait time on fast passes, or there should be a front of line pass for hotel guests. (I know the argument will be that everyone should have the same experience from a certain group). This would help keep the magic for those who visit less often. The crowds unfortuneately are a by product of lots of attractions per acre (DL is very dense), a "small" park compared to say the Magic Kingdom and well lets say the population of California might dwarf Iowa's. I doubt your magic is fully lost, just tarnished. There are those here who have gone through the same thing. I see you do all the other stuff too. I find living history museums (ie Williamsburg) to be a great change of pace, as well as some less popular in today's families activities such as caves.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "I said in the past though shot down here that AP's should be limited to X # of fastpasss per month and/or should get a longer wait time on fast passes, or there should be a front of line pass for hotel guests." I don't think that would really make much of a difference. For the most part, the APers who show up for a couple hours don't use FP, because they show up too late, or are leaving too early. The system really works to the advantage of the guests staying at the hotels, who will be there earlier in the day, and are planning on spending a lot of time there. Yah, APers do tend ot know the tricks of FP better, but I don't think that most use them very often.
Originally Posted By friendofdd I think you have a good point, DHR. However, I believe it would depend upon one's "use" of DL. Some folks may desire to play golf at a different course each game, but most probably play the majority of time at a favorite course or two. I have some octagenerian friends who long ago gave up cooking meals. They (married couple) go to one of seven restaurants on a specific day each week. They frequently order the same entree each visit. I prefer a larger variety. Some have season tickets for symphony or opera, others think the events too similar and attend infrequently. My most frequent motorcycle ride is about 40 miles in and around the canyons of the mountains in O/C, but I also takee rides of fewer miles and of more miles. Don't really get tired of any of them. I could go on, but you get the idea Different strokes for different folks even at DL. I take my small grandkids to Toontown. DW or I go on attractions with the young ones and let the older go on their own. With older friends we do more schmoozing. When I go solo (most of the time), I do a lot of bench sitting and people watching. I have a meal or snack. Frequently, I bump into a friend or two and sit and chat with them. My average visit to the park is about four hours. I freely confess to using DL like some gaggles of geezers use the corner coffee shop in your town. But, as long as Disney offers to sell me a pass that gives me the privilege of doing that, I do so without guilt. It is my hangout and I couldn't possibly derive the pleasure it gives me if I visited only infrequently.
Originally Posted By ksargen friendofdd - you've just described how I wound up doing 3 trips in one year - three different groups of people. One with girlfriends for my birthday, one with another mother and her child and my child for fun in general (and to celebrate her child recovering from a rather nasty, months long illness), and one trip for my child's birthday. Three entirely different vibes... and not something I'd normally do.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>What I'm mourning here is the sense of wonder and joy that I used to feel when I walked through the gates of Disneyland.<< Other than taking a break from it, which is what you're doing, I don't know of too many other ways to regain that. For me, my enjoyment of the parks more and more is about taking my kids there or other young relatives to watch their reactions to things. That helps see the place through fresh eyes. I don't know how long it would take for you not to now see the HM portrait gallery as the place where the nutty woman went off at you. That sort of experience is going to taint the attraction forever for you to some degree. >>I'm probably in the minority here, but I really don't see why anyone would be compelled to go to Disneyland more than once, maybe twice in one year. << This is where I'm at. There was a time when I'd have to at least have a future DL trip planned. But for a variety of reasons, largely having to do with wanting to see other places and not having limitless vacation funds, it is definitely not a priority for me to keep going back again and again like I used to want to do.
