Nightime Shows and Crowds

[DisneyTopper]

Hi everyone,

My family and I are making our first trip to DLR in two weeks! Since we are going in mid-July, I am expecting crowds. I was wondering how the night shows and parades would impact the lines for popular attractions.

I remember going to WDW a few years back and Disney Studios being a virtual ghost town during Fantasmic!

Does anyone have any experience with this, or will the park be so crowded that the attendance for the shows won't really lessen the lines for the rides?

We have a 5 day pass, so we can catch a show one night, but skip the next if it would be worthwhile. Thanks for your advice!

[NotaGeek]

Hey there, how exciting ... you are going to visit the ORIGINAL! You will love it, and since you have 5 days you can take advantage of mid-week days when crowds will be lower.

In evening when both Fantasmic! and Fireworks are going crowds at many rides will be lower, but since crowds are generally higher during the summer months, it's very possible it won't seem that way! Pirates is usually a walk-on during the shows, as is Haunted Mansion -- but some of the bigger E-tickets (Indy, Splash, Space Mountain) won't be affected. I usually try and get fastpasses early in the day for those big rides and use them at night ... use the stand-by early before the crowds really get to the Park.

With a 5-day pass you should get 1 early entry -- which is a great time to see Fantasyland if you are so inclined -- everyone runs to Nemo and you can walk on ALL of the rides in Fantasyland AND Buzz and Space in 1 hour. It's seriously such a treat to walk on Peter Pan and still have much of the hour to try the other rides ... especially Alice!

I read recently that they will be adding 3 Fantasmic! shows during the summer as crowds swell to near capacity size, so keep that in mind ... the later you can see Fantasmic! the more rides you can get on while to people claim space for early shows (or at least theoretically!).

Have an awesome time -- and be sure and try a trip report and let us all know how your 1st experience at Walt's Park went ... his hand is SO evident as you walk through Disneyland!

BTW ... the least expensive, quickest and really good breakfast is at Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland, it's a great option after you enjoy early entry -- try the breakfast burritos!

[DisneyTopper]

Thank you so much for all the helpful information.

Being a huge Disney fan, I am very excited about our trip to the 'original' park. Not to mention, this is my first trip to California!

[NewDVCowner]

I just got back from a four day trip to Disneyland and while the crowds were pretty bad on Saturday the rest of the days, including Sunday, were not nearly as horrible as I was expecting. Big Thunder, especially, never seemed to have longer than a 15 minute wait, which seemed really weird. As a prior poster has mentioned, collect the fast passes in the morning and then use them when the crowds get bigger. In the four days we were there I don't think we waited in line for more than a half hour at any of the attractions, and usually it was more along the lines of ten to fifteen minutes.

One thing that we did was use the Single Rider option at Indiana Jones. (I went with my mom and two sisters so we're all adults, if you're traveling with kids this probably wouldn't work for you.) If you're okay with not riding with the people you're with it cuts down A LOT of wait time, especially because the fast pass option really doesn't do much to cut your time down for that ride. As it was, the four of us did the single rider option several times and ended up riding together anyway. I don't think the cast members there have quite figured the system out and would just pull us from where we were waiting because they wanted to get us off the platform. Even if you don't ride together you still get to stand in line together, and really, how much talking do you do on the ride itself?

Pirates and Haunted Mansion were always pretty much walk on when we went. The line for Splash Mountain did get huge in the afternoon (90+ minute waits) and that's probably the BEST fast pass attraction at the park. It will bring you immediately to the almost the front of the line. Get a ticket early and then use it later in the day when it's hot. There's also a single rider option for that ride but we didn't try that one so I don't know how much time saving it was.

Grizzly River Run, at DCA is another one that had a huge wait time in the afternoon (it was HOT there). They have a fast pass option as well as a single rider option. My family used the single rider option a few times and usually there were at least two of us on the same boat. It saved A LOT of time and it saved the wait in the very sunny, hot, long line. And as an aside, the fast pass systems for Disneyland and DCA are different. You can get a fast pass at DCA even if you can't get one at DL. The Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin is also on a seperate fast pass sytem, if you want a fast pass for that.

Generally at DL, which is where we spent most of our time, they didn't start really filling up until around 10:00 which gives you plenty of time to hit the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland attractions.

Oh, one thing that I've noticed in my last two trips. Indiana Jones is RARELY working in the morning. Between the last two trips, which total seven days in the last year, only one of the mornings was it actually running. If you head over there first thing have a back up in case it's closed and get back to it later.

And another piece of advice for you. DCA, especially, is a very hot park. There's not a lot of trees and a lot of concrete. (It was hot anyway, but really, walking into that park it felt that the temperatures went up at least five degrees.) My sister decided to bring along one of those mister fans. We all thought that was just one more thing to carry and didn't want it, however it turned out to be a life saver. I would certainly look into bringing one of those with you as well.

Have a great time!

Aryn

[Magic Smiles]

Thanks for the great report and all the info. We will be hitting DL for our first visit 12 Aug 09. Getting excited.

[MegaDisney]

I can't think of anything to add, except my wish that you guys have a blast!

Disneyland is so charming that you will love it!