Disneyland (California) Complaint - Complaint - Not good value for money

Posted by SteveWiginowski on 2010-09-22:

It all depends on when you went to Disneyland as to how busy it is. Weekends are often more busy than the weekdays. Summer is more busy than the other seasons.

If they put a quota of how many people are allowed in at one time, then they would likely charge more money per person. Let's say you show up at 10 in the morning, but the park is at the quota, how long would you be willing to wait to get into the park? You've purchased these tickets, and you're waiting to get into Disneyland with no real idea of when you can enter. It sounds like a receipe for disaster. Some rides have long waits, while others don't. I've gone on a busy day and have done many rides within a short period of time by going on the less popular rides. Other days I've done just a couple rides in several hours because I wanted to go on the popular rides. It all depends on the day and what rides you want to do.

You can bring food and drinks into the park. If you don't, then you have to pay what they are charging.

Posted by MRM on 2010-09-22:

Food and drinks will always be high at amusement parks. It is wise to visit the parks once a year.

Posted by Weedwhacked on 2010-09-22:

Unfortunately your ideas on how to run the park would drastically reduce their profit margin. Its Disneyland after all, its always going to be busy and expensive.

Posted by NorCalSteve on 2010-09-22:

I always have fun at Disneyland,especially now with my daughter...then again I don't let the SMALL STUFF bring me down....

Posted by singsing on 2010-09-22:

I have often felt that the long lines are a drag, especially with young children, but if you time it right by going during the week in the off season (after school starts and before the holidays--or even after the holidays before summer vacation) you can experience the park at it's best. I know not everyone can do this, but many people have different school schedules than the ones in the US, so it's possible.

I always enjoyed Disneyland with my family. We have a lot of good memories. The lines were long, sometimes it was quite warm, but nothing stopped us from having a great time together. It is expensive, but it's something you plan for.

Yes, it would be nice if they could limit the number of people that are let in. I'll even bet there is a limit and I wonder if they've ever reached it? That place is huge! I do hope you give it another try at some point so you can have a better experience.

Posted by Ytropious on 2010-09-22:

You find lines at any ammusement park. It's like that episode of south park when cartman bought a park to keep to himself, and soon he ended up having to let more and more people into the park to cover the cost of rides and security and by the end his private park was full of guests. OP, ticket sales cover the cost of the maintenance on rides, the workers, the security people, etc. If they let a few people into the park to make sure no one had to wait in line, they would go BANKRUPT. They probably do have quotas for fire safety reasons, but they don't care if you have to stand in line. It comes with the territory.

Posted by Stew on 2010-09-22:

That's always been my view of Disney Land or World. Why in the world would I spend money to stand in line for basically what amounts to nothing more than a fake plastic corporate world whose sole goal is to separate me from my money. No thank you. There's more REAL stuff to see in this great land of ours than anybody could possibly see in a lifetime. Why waste your time living somebody else's imagination.

Posted by Ytropious on 2010-09-22:

My parents took me to Disney World when I was 12. Sure it was crowded but it was a memorable time for little Yt. Stew, were you deprived of a Disney trip as a kid?

Posted by Justice-4All on 2010-09-22:

I have been to Disneyland, Six Flags, Sea World, etc...and they all have long lines. You can take the advice of some and go during your non-peak hours, when the crowds are smaller. But one thing I've discovered in life, things aren't nearly as enjoyable when you're alone. What I mean by that is to some extent, the lines help build up the anticipation of the ride. Remember the movie National Lampoon's Vacation, where Chevy Chase holds the security guard up with a b.b. gun? To me, it wouldn't be nearly as fun to go and ride all the rides when the park is empty. There's just something about the crowd of people that adds to the atmosphere. The same as with a trip to the movies on opening night. As a side note, I can somewhat see where the OP is coming from. There is nothing wrong with lines and crowds of people, but even at that, there can still be such a thing as "overcrowding".

Posted by Wally86 on 2010-09-22:

The Greediest place on earth would suite the Disneyland name more perfectly these days.

Posted by Fufu487 on 2010-09-22:

Asking for no lines at an amusement park is a little too much. You are, also, contributing to the line, sorry.

Posted by Starlord on 2010-09-22:

I also had a bad experience at Disneyland. Half of the rides and attractions were out of order, Space Mountain was just terrifying, not entertainihe attendant at the Haunted Mansion tried loading me in the always moving car in the FRONT, not the side. And I had a smart puink at the gate cock his fist on me when I asked to use the rented wheelchair to go to the parking lot shuttle, parked 100 yards away. When I wrote a nastygram , they sent me a pair of half-price tikets, good for a future visit. As Gallagher said, you send a sandwich back, and they give you more of what you didn't like in the first place.

Posted by Starlord on 2010-09-22:

I also had a bad experience at Disneyland. Half of the rides and attractions were out of order, Space Mountain was just terrifying, not entertaining. The attendant at the Haunted Mansion tried loading me in the always moving car in the FRONT, not the side. And I had a smart punk at the gate cock his fist on me when I asked to use the rented wheelchair to go to the parking lot shuttle, parked 100 yards away. When I wrote a nastygram , they sent me a pair of half-price tikets, good for a future visit. As Gallagher said, you send a sandwich back, and they give you more of what you didn't like in the first place.

Posted by lakisha j on 2010-09-22:

Compared to a former member's experience at DL, the OP had a walk in the park.

Any tourist attraction will gouge the patrons. Heck, try getting a burger at an airport.

Posted by Venice09 on 2010-09-22:

Stew, I agree with everything you said. We took our daughter to Disney World twice, and I walked away with the exact same feeling. Thankfully, my son had no interest in it at all so I didn't have to go back again.

As to why people do it?.. I think most of them do it for their kids. My daughter was into Disney things so she really enjoyed the whole experience. She handed it a lot better and had a lot more patience than I did. It was worth it just to see her have so much fun.

I also agree with the OP. We went in February so it wasn't that crowded, but I agree that Disney should limit the amount of people they let in. It's such an expensive place and to spend a lot of time just waiting is not right.

I really like this review. I feel the same way, but I highly doubt that anything will change. I have no desire to ever go back.

Posted by unhappy999 on 2010-09-22:

If you have traveled all that way and they wouldn't let you in you would be complaining about that. Unless you hit it just right, amusement parks are generally crowded. I live near HersheyPark and take my teenage kids there several times a year. We were lucky this summer, it wasn't that crowded when we were there. They love HersheyPark, mostly because it usually isn't very crowded and they like the rides there. We have been going there since they were 2 years old. They have no desire to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. Instead of going on 1 vacation to a place like that, we go local and get seasons passes and go several times a year.

Posted by Venice09 on 2010-09-22:

My family loves Hershey Park, too! We always tried to go at least once a year. I love the grounds, and it's never really overcrowded. It does require an overnight stay, but it's well worth it.

Unhappy, you have a point about people not being let in. However, Disney should be able to figure something out to alleviate the overcrowding. If they paid me enough to find a solution, I'd come up with something!

Posted by singsing on 2010-09-22:

We had fun at Hershey Park too and even loved the tour. The Hershey Hotel was a "treat" too.

Posted by Venice09 on 2010-09-22:

I love the tour! Of course, the smell of chocolate has a lot to do with it. I don't even need the park. I could just take the tour all day!

Posted by Ytropious on 2010-09-22:

I know this is OT in an amusement park thread, but my husband and I went to Niagara Falls in March one year. It was like we had the entire city to ourselves. We did have to share it with some Japanese tourists, but overall it was AWESOME. Sure it's cold, but the falls look so cool in the cold, and you don't have to bump elbows with a bunch of tourists looking at it. Not to mention we got a killer off season deal on this swanky luxury sweet viewing the falls. Man, I want to go back!

Posted by ript on 2010-09-22:

Off topic, but doesn't Hershey own or sponsor a school for underprivileged children, like a boarding school?

Posted by singsing on 2010-09-22:

Man, Y, now I want to go there! Maybe we can entice the people from other countries to check these places out instead of Disneyland. They would probably have a better time. Who doesn't love waterfalls and chocolate?

Posted by Ytropious on 2010-09-22:

Not to mention there's a Hershey STORE in Niagara. Free fudge! I've been to the falls in both summer and winter and it's 100% more awesome in the winter. In the summer it's full of families and tourists looking at the falls and doing all the little tourist things. In the winter the falls are so cool and icy, there's no one outside because it's cold (even though we walked everywhere from our hotel). We went to the touristy things too, but there's no one else in them so we could enjoy the wax museum and stuff at our own pace. I should be a marketer on the tourism board of Niagara, seriously.

Posted by singsing on 2010-09-22:

I also like to go off season to the touristy summer places. It's always better, although the weather can be dicey. The beach in the NW is another favorite--especially when there are storms.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2010-09-22:

rip..ya talkin bout this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Hershey_School ?

Posted by ript on 2010-09-22:

That's it, thanks jkt!

Posted by Venice09 on 2010-09-22:

I think I found out about the school at the park. There's a lot of history to be learned on the tour. Hershey's okay in my book.