Crowds

[Riley16]

Hi. I am travelling to DL with husband and 3 kids (9,7,5) from Australia. The only available dates we have to spend at DL is December 19,20 and 21st. i already know it will be very crowded but it is beyond our control. Just wondering if anyone has ever done these dates and if so is it as awful as everyone says?? Any tips at all to avoid crowds on these days?

 

[zanzibar138]

I haven't been on those dates, but I would definitely expect it to be as crowded as everyone says. The plus side is that you shouldn't have to deal with the heat as well, which tends to make everyone grumpy and worse to be around!

There's nothing you can do to control the crowds, but there are a few tried and tested ways to make them more bearable. Make sure you are there in plenty of time to enter the park at rope drop. Do Magic Morning if you've got it (I assume you would on a 3 day ticket). Factor in time away from the crowds at least once during the day (I'm highly introverted and don't deal well with crowds, so I need several breaks per day). Going back to your hotel is the obvious one, but you could also book a table service meal, do a couple of loops on the monorail or train, see a show, explore one of the 'exhibit' type attractions that tend to be far less crowded, or even just find a seat somewhere and have some quiet time. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can go to Downtown Disney to escape the crowds. It will be crowded there too.

Consider viewing night time shows from alternative locations. For example, you can view the fireworks from It's a Small World, and the parade route goes through that area too. People tend to flock to Main Street and it gets manic. If you want one of the good spots in front of the castle, be prepared to camp there for hours (in my opinion, not worth it when you're only there for 3 days). The alternatives tend to be a little quieter, although it will still be busy.

 

[aussie shaz]

I agree with Zanzibar and all of her suggestions. We were in Tokyo in April and I had read so much about the crowds there, so I prepared for the worst. We made sure we were at the gates an hour before opening (as were most in Tokyo, but Anaheim is not usually as busy). I had planned about 3 main rides I wanted to go on each day, and was OK if that's all we got to. We have been to Disneyland Anaheim twice, so we knew we could skip some if need be. We also planned to buy lunch early, so as to not wait in long lines for lunch as well.
We ended up having a great time. Got on more rides than I expected, so was pretty happy. We also had time to go back to the room for a rest in the afternoon.
Go with a positive attitude and don't expect too much. Just enjoy the atmosphere and you'll have an amazing time.

 

[viaggiamo]

I agree, just be prepared and have a bit of a game plan. If you can, I would recommend staying at a Disney hotel so as you have access to early morning entry on each day. That hour every morning gives you access to rides before the public and IMHO is well worth the extra $ to stay onsite.
Enjoy the Christmas decorations, they are so beautiful, and being in DL!!!! How exciting!
If you do not see everything you hoped for, just plan another trip...

 

[LivingforDisney]

Was at DL 17, 18, 19 Dec last year.
Didn't find it too bad at all. The only parade we watched was the Xmas one in the afternoon, just stood on Main Street about an hour before start and had front row spot. Kids sat on kerb and we took it in turns going off for little walks. But be warned people will invade your space, so might be best with little kids to sit them on kerb and you stand behind them.
My kids were 17 and 15 and have been to DL lots of times, so they were not really interested in the parades and shows, we used that time to go on rides.
It did get crowded, so you should have a bit of a plan.
We had 3 day hoppers, stayed across the road from Entrance.
Maybe just look up what rides and shows you want to see and then do it by land.
Write down which ones you can get FP for, so u know.
Make sure you go onIt's a small World, decorated beautiful for Xmas and for Carsland you have to go to Calif Adventure on opening and grab fast passes, they go quick.
We managed to ride that 4 times in our 3 days and did Toy Story 3 times, another one that gets big crowds.
Having older kids we did do single rider on the rides that have that, makes a difference.
Just to let u know the weather last year at the time was cool, especially mornings and nights. We also had a bit of rain.
We then headed to WDW on the 20th and after reading up on that and how crowded it got, I was dreading the thought, but that also was fine, we had a blast and did everything we wanted.
Have a great time and go with the flow and I am sure you will want to go back for longer another time.

 

[lorryx3]

I did Dec 27, 28, 29th.
it was crazy!

the first day was fine - we got there an hour before opening.
You need to line up for bag checks and the second day that took over an hour just to get through!
We managed to get to Peter Pan in 20 mins and the next day we were one of the first on Indy.
the biggest wait we saw was for Space Mountain - it was never under an hour. make sure you grab a fast pass for that early if you have to ride it.

use the apps for wait times - it helps a lot. and just be prepared to wait. there is no wifi (well there wasn't last year) but hopefully you have simcard or a good deal on global roaming.

the worst bit of the day is when the parades are on - it's so hard to walk between lands. But if you are watching and in a good spot it's fine!

Single rider lines are great.
we walked right onto the Matterhorn and everyone was annoyed but we read the signs!

But it's a great time of year - everyone is happy and we didn't really see many cranky people.

I did use touring plans but if there is a ride you want with under 20 mins wait just jump in the queue.