WDW Vet intimidated by DL Crowds

[brich330]

My family and I have been to WDW multiple times and we're trying to plan a our first DL trip in the summer of 2017. However I have seen from many posts and photos that the crowds can get out of control there. I realize a lot of this is due to WDW being build to absorb crowds, but photos I have seen look like that kinda of crowds that build for a parade. So for those that have been to both how bad does it really get? I'm used to WDW crowds in June and August because that is typically the months we can go due to my work. If we go it will be a 5 night stay at the Disneyland Hotel in either June, July, or August. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[justgrace]

I have not been to both, only Disneyland but I'll weigh in.

The summer months do get crowded. However, we've been during some of the busiest times (spring break, Christmas time, and Halloween). As long as you have a plan (and if you're coming from Walt Disney World where you have to plan virtually everything), then you'll be fine. Go during the least busy parts of the day (rope drop, late night) and go back for breaks during peak times of the day.

 

[avalon451]

What justgrace said. It definitely has a different ebb and flow because of the locals who show up later in the day, and leave earlier to get home before the rush hour. If you do rope drop, follow a rough plan, and leave during the hottest/busiest part of the day, coming back in the evening before or after dinner, you'll be okay. Yes, it gets crazy around parade routes and fireworks. If you are not there for those and being part of the crazy, be elsewhere during that time, like Adventureland/ Critter Country.

At 1 p.m. on a midsummer day, it can be in the 100s and wall to wall in Adventureland. Like, you're literally shoulder to shoulder and only able to go at a shuffle, past Aladdin's Oasis and Indy. That's when you get out of Dodge, go back to the hotel, swim and nap. Since you are staying at DLH, you can take advantage of those great EE hours and get your touring done efficiently. Also, 5 days is great, that will be plenty of time to go at a leisurely pace and see everything you want to, even though it's a busy time of year. You will be fine, and you will have a great time! You are going to LOVE that the parks are so close together, so you can hop from one to another, especially when one gets over crowded.

 

[Nevada Jen]

Not gonna lie. It can get super crowded. Especially DL. Like you cant see where you are going because there are so many people. The trick is to use your extra magic hour everyday. No matter how bad it sounds to wake up that early. If you do that you can litèrally hit every ride in the park during the first two hours of the day during your 5 days there. The emh at dl is still pretty crowded because non hotel guests can also use it with certain types of tickets. The one at dca is only for hotel guests and it is not at all crowded. Have a breakfast plan because it is remarkably hard to find a quick breakfast in the park. I also think it helps to plan and reserve one sit down meal in the park every day. Finally, if you are from the east coast, be aware that kids out here go back to school in very early August. It might be less crowded than you are expecting. Check out the crowd levels this summer that match up with your dates next summer to get an idea. Staying on site will really make all the difference. I think you might even find it better than the World.

 

[Jajone]

We went in June a couple summers ago and did not find it was as crowded as people were saying. We are WDW veterans and have gone at all times of the year. DCA felt a lot more crowded than our days at DL but very manageable. We skipped all night time entertainment though. One thing I noticed though was that many of the queues are outside at DL making lines look longer and standing in the sun. Our weather was perfect, low 80's max and very comfortable, not a humid 80's like in FL. We are going again this August.

 

[Skiton]

I ditto using the EMH. It's a lifesaver. When we were there last Saturday, it got HORRIBLY busy after about noon, but we had a great time until then. We signed up for Jedi Academy and did Space Mountain/Star Tours/Buzz in Tomorrowland in that first hour, and swung through Fantasyland to ride the teacups. At this point regular rope drop happened and there was a STAMPEDE of people rushing to Space Mt. You aren't supposed to run of course but everyone was. But we just strolled over to New Orleans Square which was EMPTY and grabbed some Bienets and coffee, sat and ate, then meandered over to Big Thunder Mt and walked right on to it two times in a row. Then over to Splash Mt which was only a 5 minute wait. The whole morning was pretty much like that until our 11:30 lunch reservations at BB, but by the time we got out the place was a madhouse (20 minute line just to pee? No thank you!). The key is to ride the headliners all you want during your EMH and the get the hell out of Dodge (Dodge being Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) when they let everyone else in (after getting a fast pass for your favorite, of course).

 

[HydroGuy]

It depends on time of day. I have never felt overly crowded at DCA except during WOC - DCA spreads people out really well. The only time it can get bad is after WOC has just finished and you're in that part of the park.

At DL, there are times and places it is best to avoid. Adventureland at night and New Orleans Square at night when Fantasmic is showing can be quite crowded. Tomorrowland in front of Star Tours is very crowded largely because of the very poor decision in the late 90's to put Astro Orbiters there. This is usually not as bad at night but mid-day can get quite crowded.

Crowds in the hub and around Main Street are very bad in the evening when the parade and fireworks are happening.

Right now DL crowdedness is even worse than normal because of the Star Wars Land work which meant the closing of Big Thunder Trail. I am afraid this will not re-open until SWL opens (late 2018 is the rumor) but hopefully they open it again next year when the Rivers of America fully opens again (summer 2017 is the rumor).

Bottom line is that DL should not feel like it is uncomfortably crowded all the time are even most of the time. It will feel that way some of the time though. DCA really will not feel that way any of the time except if you see WOC.

 

[choirboy501]

One difference I've noticed between crowds at WDW and DL: with so many locals in DL, people in large crowds seemed, to me, to be much more polite/cordial towards each other.

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets who also have made trips to DLR in the summer (either June or July) for the last 6 years. Last year we were there during anniversary week in July. I was worried it would be miserably crowded, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was fine. The weather is so much nicer than WDW in the summer months. Unlike at WDW where most everyone is staying on property and the crowds build up very quickly, at DLR, if you get there at rope drop the first few hours are wonderful. The lines do not seem to build up as fast as they do at WDW. Because EMH is typically at 7:00 a.m., most days we don't even do that- we just get there when the park opens for the park that is not having early hours. We have been to WDW at moderate times, and I didn't think the summer crowds and lines at DLR were any worse, and for parts of the day, they were better. I would avoid the last couple of weekdays in June before the Socal passes are blocked. In our June and July trips, those have definitely been the high crowd days. The days the passes are blocked have been fine. The times when it gets so crowded you can't move are when you watch Fantasmic and the fireworks from that area and then everyone is attempting to leave at the same time and the paths can't handle it- our solution to that was to stop in and ride POTC- which we typically just about walk on--by the time we are done, the crowd has thinned out (of course- now things are changing with Fantasmic closed until who knows when and Star Wars being built). The other time it is almost impossible to walk is if you are near the hub at the end of PTN/fireworks etc- it can be crazy- and we just ride along with the crowd until we can get into a store. Don't worry about summer at DLR- it really isn't all that bad. Of course if Star Wars opens- who knows--- but we have been there when things opened and the good thing at DLR- is people go just for that and stay in that area and stand in line for hours (we saw a 6 hour line for Star Tours when it opened with the new movie)- so even then- the rest of the park might not be horrible.

 

[Travis B]

One difference I've noticed between crowds at WDW and DL: with so many locals in DL, people in large crowds seemed, to me, to be much more polite/cordial towards each other.

Agree. We were there a couple weeks ago and I found found the vibe to be much more mellow.

 

[Angie 2016]

It can get packed. Don't try to fight the crowd direction after fireworks/parades. There generally comes a time in the day when you know it is time to go back to the hotel for a break. We know it when we feel it, do most others? It's just that time when the crowds are really heavy, wait times are way up and you've been at it since rd or ee and it's break time. The thing is, it used to be that we would go back after dinner and crowds would be lighter, but they really have stayed pretty busy after sundown in recent visits. Not as bad as early afternoon, but still nothing like the morning.

 

[longboard55]

The difference is DL is an late crowd, where WDWs get there early. Go to Magic Mornings or when it first opens and there is not crowded at all. Conversely at WDW go afer fireworks and its empty.

 

[brich330]

Thanks for all the advice I appreciate it. We're trying to nail down a date right now of either the last full week of May, 1st week of June ,Which I may be concerned with grad nights, or the second week in June. I think I'm going to eliminate in August out of the equation.

 

[Aladora]

Thanks for all the advice I appreciate it. We're trying to nail down a date right now of either the last full week of May, 1st week of June ,Which I may be concerned with grad nights, or the second week in June. I think I'm going to eliminate in August out of the equation.

Depending on when in August you are looking at, I would not eliminate it totally. We have gone at the end of August 4 times now and it is one of my favourite times to go. We aim for the 3rd or 4th week, right after the CA kids go back to school but definitely before Labour Day! We're in Canada and our son goes back to school the day after Labour Day so this is a perfect time for us.

 

[disneychrista]

This year is going to be worse then last year for the plain and simple fact that so many "people eaters" are closed. No train, Tom Sawyers Island, no Mark Twain, Columbia, canoes. The Big Thunder Ranch/petting zoo is closed. All these people are now in the walk ways & in the lines for other rides.

I am curious what the ACTUAL numbers are for this year vs previous years. Are there really that many more people in the parks or is it just the effect of the above.

 

[Star Wars Girl]

I've been to both DL and WDW in the summer (actually, in the same week in different years) so I can weigh in here...

What you will notice about DL compared to WDW is that the paths are MUCH narrower. So there will be times where it will feel extremely crowded whereas the same amount of people in WDW would feel less crowded.

The nice thing about DL and DCA is that each of their parks has more major attractions in each park, so for the most part, you won't have massive waits like you do for attractions at WDW. For instance, prior to the addition of the third TSM track at WDW, it could easily go up over 100 minutes midday in the summer. DL's version midday in June had about a 45 minute wait, and we caught it a few times as low as ten minutes. That is just about unheard of in WDW, even during lower seasons. The same thing went on with Soarin'; it pretty much never went above 40 minutes (although this could change with the addition of the new film). Now there will be exceptions to this rule (like with RSR; Star Tours also tended to have longer waits since the DL version only has four speeders whereas the WDW version has six), but overall, you'll find that there are more attractions that have a 20-30 minute wait than you'll typically find at WDW.

 

[HydroGuy]

I am curious what the ACTUAL numbers are for this year vs previous years. Are there really that many more people in the parks or is it just the effect of the above.

Do you mean the numbers reported in the industry report last week or the ones only Disney knows? The industry report said DL 2015 was up 9% over 2014.

 

[HydroGuy]

Do you mean the numbers reported in the industry report last week or the ones only Disney knows? The industry report said DL 2015 was up 9% over 2014.

And DCA was up 7%...

 

[Skiton]

No wonder it seemed so crowded. More people AND fewer attractions.

 

[smartlabelprint]

End of May will have grad nights too.