Disneyland (California) Complaint - Disneyland Christmas Nightmare - Too Crowded

Posted by clutzycook on 2011-01-05:

Disneyland was crowded at Christmas because EVERYONE has the same idea that you did. It's also common knowledge that the food there is incredibly overpriced, and the souvenirs are nothing more than expensive junk. You're surprised that everything there was made in China? You're hard pressed to find something made in the USA at Walmart, so why would "the happiest place on Earth" be any different? I'm sorry that your little girl had such a lousy time. Maybe in the future you'll be willing to take her there again; this time in the offseason.

Posted by leet60 on 2011-01-05:

I suppose I am too old now, but I have no patience for StandinlineLand. I recall it being this way 20 years ago, if it is worse now I can't imagine how. I clearly remember standing next to a sign that read "Your wait time from this point is 2 hours" when trying to ride Space Mountain.

Posted by throwback on 2011-01-05:

All theme parks are crowded during the Xmas holidays. It's been that way for years. Your best bet is to take the kids out of school and go out a less busy time.

Posted by Ytropious on 2011-01-05:

Everyone else thought Christmas would be a good time to go too. Lesson learned OP, Christmas is NOT the time to go to Disney!

Posted by Obsfucation on 2011-01-05:

I hate to break the hews that if you have someone in your party in a wheelchair, the whole party goes right to the head of every line. If I were going there on Christmas week, I'd rent someone in a cast.

Posted by samanthasmom on 2011-01-05:

Agree w/everyone else--you chose the busiest time of year to visit the park! The Disneyland website actually gives capacaity estimates, I believe in the ticket section. It tells you by month what the average crowd is. You can also google the best time to visit Disney. I did both and that is why we went in Sept '09 and Oct '10. My family just visited Disneyland in October a week before Halloween. The first 2 days there really weren't that many crowds, the longest wait time was around 20 minutes (we also had the added advantage of a disney iphone app which shows wait times for all the attractions) but by Thursday afternoon, the park started to fill up! The food is way overpriced but you don't have to eat in the park, there are plenty of restaurants within walking distance. I had a great time even though it rained on our first day but then again, I'm pretty easy going. I hate long lines as much as anyone so we did leave the park earlier than I would of liked on Thursday but I would never let something like that ruin my vacation. I also plan on everything being expensive so when we took my daughter in 2009 for the first time (my 1st time since 1987), I wasn't shocked by the price. Overpriced food & souvenirs? So what? You don't have to buy them! My 3 year old got a $12 mylar Mickey balloon too (grandma bought it though) and if it had only last 2 hours, she wouldn't of cared less, she still would of dragged it around! After it finally deflated, she kept pulling it out of the trash! My point is, Disneyland isn't for everyone. The experience is what you make of it. It rained on 2 of the 3 days we were at the park, we had to buy $12 ponchos and it was a major PITA getting under my poncho to get the camera out and then put it away and my husband kept yelling at me to leave it in the bag but you know what? We still had a blast and came home with many great memories!

Posted by JISCal1 on 2011-01-05:

"Don't ever buy fast passes it's a rip off." Disneyland fastpasses are not for sale. You get them by putting your ticket into the kiosk and it gives you a ticket that reserves your spot in line for a specific time. If you bought one, you were swindled.

Posted by samanthasmom on 2011-01-05:

I also want to thank the people who posted their complaints about Disneyland during Christmas because we almost went this Christmas because my daughter's birthday is on Christmas Eve and it just seemed like it would be easier to go to Disney and skip celebrating Christmas with our families! Too much stress sometimes! But after reading all these complaints, I don't think we'll ever visit Disney on Christmas!

Posted by Sheldonrs on 2011-01-07:

Disney busy on Christmas? Shocking! It's not like they do anything special like a Christmas light parade or real snow and fireworks display or anything.

Posted by PepperElf on 2011-01-07:

Of course there's another issue people never really think about... What would happen if Disney decided to prevent crowds by lowering the limit of how many people can come in on any one day.

At first you may think "O yay, less crowds! I can have a nicer time!"

BUT... who's to say you aren't the one who gets told "Sorry you can't come in. We're at limit".

Would you still like the idea of the less crowded park?

Posted by Lord Rothschild on 2011-01-07:

"Would you still like the idea of the less crowded park?"

Absolutely YES. Who in their right mind wants to spend a butt load of money to spend all day standing in line.

Posted by momsey on 2011-01-07:

Yes, there would then be the complaints of being turned away, but what's worse? Paying for a ticket and not getting to enjoy it or not getting the ticket at all? I'd rather have them limit entry.