"Calif. Adventure is Sold Out" Aka a trip report (4/23)

BarTopDancer · 04-23-2006, 10:43 PM

We decided to go to the park today, and wow. It was crazy.

I pulled off the 5, turned onto Harbor then Ball per usual. It was kind of odd that the traffic in the left lanes was backed up to the Harbor light so I pulled into the middle lanes... went up and over the freeway and discovered that the back-up was due to the left-turn lanes to turn into the strucutre. I figured people were driving stupid and causing the back-up so I went through the light to U-turn at the next light and make a right into the strucutre. Brilliant. Or so I thought.

After I turned into the strucutre I discovered all lanes of traffic were backed up to Ball. Wow. I've seen this before, and it usually lasts a minute or three while they open more lanes. Not this time. Every lane going into the structure was open. Each booth had two people working it. There were marquees out by Ball stating "Calif. Adventure is Sold Out". Yes, I looked a few times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. It took me 20 minutes to get from the start, through the ticket booth and parked.

DCA

DCA was mobbed. Every ride, including those in Flicks Fun Fair had at least a 45 minute wait. After wandering around, attempting to make our way through the walk-ways we decided to head over to Disneyland. Disneyland was a bit less crowded with waits between 30-60 minutes.

I think it was the last day to use the 2fer pass, which is why DCA was packed. It was also Magic Music days. Obviously they just stopped selling 1 day tickets since AP holders and re-entry was allowed. DCA is not that enjoyable when it is that crowded.

We wandered around Disneyland for a bit before leaving to walk to Mimis. After Mimis we trekked down to ESPN Zone to grab a beer catch the Ducks game. We had some interaction with a few 8 y/o Flames fans who have yet to learn the proper useage of "In your face" (needless to say, it's not when you score and we're up by 3). We won and will be comming home on a win..YAY! I have to say that was the highlight of the day. After the game we walked back to the structure and went home.

The end.

Cadaverous Pallor · 04-23-2006, 11:40 PM

Wow. I haven't seen it actually crowded in DCA in years. I think the only time other than AP preview day was when they had the Angels championship "celebration". That's so bizarre.

I pity the poor people who dealt with a crowded DCA. At least the weather wasn't too hot.

Alex · 04-24-2006, 12:31 AM

I too was in DCA on Saturday. Unfortunately I was also in DCA on Sunday.

At about 12:30 Sunday afternoon the line for Monsters, Inc., was 120 minutes. It consumed the entire queue for Monsters, Inc., flowed out the entrance, consumed the portion of the Millionaire queue between the two show buildings then the flowed out into the general walkway of Hollywood Studios. Then flowed out the gate of Hollywood Studios before stopping just shy of the Award Wieners line (which extended all the way across the street creating quite the bottleneck for people who didn't want a hot dog.

I did not see a ride queue in DCA today shorter than 30 minutes except for the carousel which was 10. Golden Zephyr was 30. Jumpin' Jellyfish was 40. Mulholland Madness was 90. Maliboomer was 80. Soarin' was 100. Screamin' was 70. Tower of Terror was only 60. There was actually a line for the Boudin Bakery tour and Mission had a one-show wait to get through (and then they were only giving corn tortillas on the inside).

It was an absolute zoo. I put a bit in tomorrow's park update but at the park entrance when we went in they had CMs roaming the lines asking people if they were using the second day of a "2fer ticket" and if they'd prefer to go to Disneyland instead. Nobody (of the few I saw) was taking them up on this offer.

We drove up Katella from the 57 to get to the resort and when we reached Harbor the sign was directing traffic from our direction to the Pumbaa overflow lot. I drove to the garage instead (there was no way I was going to walk from Pumbaa) and was able to enter there still. When we showed our pass to get into the garage the CM said "you might want to consider going to Disneyland today since DCA is very busy." I wonder if I might not just go the rest of my life without ever hearing that sentence again.

BarTopDancer · 04-24-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

It was an absolute zoo. I put a bit in tomorrow's park update but at the park entrance when we went in they had CMs roaming the lines asking people if they were using the second day of a "2fer ticket" and if they'd prefer to go to Disneyland instead. Nobody (of the few I saw) was taking them up on this offer.

I'm actually shocked that no one took them up on that offer. Goes to show you that people would choose DL over DCA. Unless those who were being asked had never been to DCA.

Quote:

When we showed our pass to get into the garage the CM said "you might want to consider going to Disneyland today since DCA is very busy." I wonder if I might not just go the rest of my life without ever hearing that sentence again.

I think you will.

I have to give the CMs and management kudos. Every single booth in M&F was open and they were moving cars through as fast as they could. Bag check was moving along smoothly as were the main enterance gates.

I wish I had a photo of the sign. Much like 89 cents a gallon for gas, I don't think I'll ever see *DCA is sold out* again.

Alex · 04-24-2006, 09:13 AM

I'm sure DCA will sell out again, I'm just not usually at the parks during their busiest periods so the odds of me intersecting with such an event are slim (if nothing else they'll likely be doing the same promotion again next year).

On Saturday we drove into the resort at about 10:30 rather than 12:30 and the Mickey & Friends lot was messed up pretty bad. Took us about 20 minutes to get to the toll booth and then they were understaffed on the parking levels so they had someone making sure you drove down the right row but not actually anybody guiding people into specific spaces. It seems like this would be an easy concept but a lot of idiots are allowed to drive and visit Disneyland.

Two day combined attendance for DCA (Saturday, Sunday) - 90,000

Gemini Cricket · 04-24-2006, 09:28 AM

What is the maximum capacity of each park?

Alex · 04-24-2006, 09:54 AM

It varies depending on conditions. And while I know how many total people entered the parks this weekend I don't know what the maximum simultaneous visitors was, but the limits seem to have been around 40,000 for DCA and 60-65,000 for Disneyland.

Not Afraid · 04-24-2006, 10:24 AM

MA should be fun! Hopefully this won't happen again - ever.

Gemini Cricket · 04-24-2006, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

60-65,000 for Disneyland.

So the estimate that 100,000 people were at DL on the last day of the Electric Parade must have been wrong.

innerSpaceman · 04-24-2006, 10:31 AM

No, I have been in Disneyland on 85,000+ days. The 60-65K number is when they should sell-out, and often do ... but sometimes, ahem, don't.

More like Guidelines than actual Rules.

04-23-2006, 10:43 PM	#1
BarTopDancer Prepping... Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Here, there, everywhere Posts: 11,405	"Calif. Adventure is Sold Out" Aka a trip report (4/23) We decided to go to the park today, and wow. It was crazy. I pulled off the 5, turned onto Harbor then Ball per usual. It was kind of odd that the traffic in the left lanes was backed up to the Harbor light so I pulled into the middle lanes... went up and over the freeway and discovered that the back-up was due to the left-turn lanes to turn into the strucutre. I figured people were driving stupid and causing the back-up so I went through the light to U-turn at the next light and make a right into the strucutre. Brilliant. Or so I thought. After I turned into the strucutre I discovered all lanes of traffic were backed up to Ball. Wow. I've seen this before, and it usually lasts a minute or three while they open more lanes. Not this time. Every lane going into the structure was open. Each booth had two people working it. There were marquees out by Ball stating "Calif. Adventure is Sold Out". Yes, I looked a few times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. It took me 20 minutes to get from the start, through the ticket booth and parked. DCA DCA was mobbed. Every ride, including those in Flicks Fun Fair had at least a 45 minute wait. After wandering around, attempting to make our way through the walk-ways we decided to head over to Disneyland. Disneyland was a bit less crowded with waits between 30-60 minutes. I think it was the last day to use the 2fer pass, which is why DCA was packed. It was also Magic Music days. Obviously they just stopped selling 1 day tickets since AP holders and re-entry was allowed. DCA is not that enjoyable when it is that crowded. We wandered around Disneyland for a bit before leaving to walk to Mimis. After Mimis we trekked down to ESPN Zone to grab a beer catch the Ducks game. We had some interaction with a few 8 y/o Flames fans who have yet to learn the proper useage of "In your face" (needless to say, it's not when you score and we're up by 3). We won and will be comming home on a win..YAY! I have to say that was the highlight of the day. After the game we walked back to the structure and went home. The end. __________________ Spork is the new MacGyver Postcards From My Edge
	Submit to Quotes

04-23-2006, 11:40 PM	#2
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	Wow. I haven't seen it actually crowded in DCA in years. I think the only time other than AP preview day was when they had the Angels championship "celebration". That's so bizarre. I pity the poor people who dealt with a crowded DCA. At least the weather wasn't too hot. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 12:31 AM	#3
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	I too was in DCA on Saturday. Unfortunately I was also in DCA on Sunday. At about 12:30 Sunday afternoon the line for Monsters, Inc., was 120 minutes. It consumed the entire queue for Monsters, Inc., flowed out the entrance, consumed the portion of the Millionaire queue between the two show buildings then the flowed out into the general walkway of Hollywood Studios. Then flowed out the gate of Hollywood Studios before stopping just shy of the Award Wieners line (which extended all the way across the street creating quite the bottleneck for people who didn't want a hot dog. I did not see a ride queue in DCA today shorter than 30 minutes except for the carousel which was 10. Golden Zephyr was 30. Jumpin' Jellyfish was 40. Mulholland Madness was 90. Maliboomer was 80. Soarin' was 100. Screamin' was 70. Tower of Terror was only 60. There was actually a line for the Boudin Bakery tour and Mission had a one-show wait to get through (and then they were only giving corn tortillas on the inside). It was an absolute zoo. I put a bit in tomorrow's park update but at the park entrance when we went in they had CMs roaming the lines asking people if they were using the second day of a "2fer ticket" and if they'd prefer to go to Disneyland instead. Nobody (of the few I saw) was taking them up on this offer. We drove up Katella from the 57 to get to the resort and when we reached Harbor the sign was directing traffic from our direction to the Pumbaa overflow lot. I drove to the garage instead (there was no way I was going to walk from Pumbaa) and was able to enter there still. When we showed our pass to get into the garage the CM said "you might want to consider going to Disneyland today since DCA is very busy." I wonder if I might not just go the rest of my life without ever hearing that sentence again.
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 09:13 AM	#5
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	I'm sure DCA will sell out again, I'm just not usually at the parks during their busiest periods so the odds of me intersecting with such an event are slim (if nothing else they'll likely be doing the same promotion again next year). On Saturday we drove into the resort at about 10:30 rather than 12:30 and the Mickey & Friends lot was messed up pretty bad. Took us about 20 minutes to get to the toll booth and then they were understaffed on the parking levels so they had someone making sure you drove down the right row but not actually anybody guiding people into specific spaces. It seems like this would be an easy concept but a lot of idiots are allowed to drive and visit Disneyland. Two day combined attendance for DCA (Saturday, Sunday) - 90,000
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 09:28 AM	#6
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	What is the maximum capacity of each park?
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 09:54 AM	#7
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	It varies depending on conditions. And while I know how many total people entered the parks this weekend I don't know what the maximum simultaneous visitors was, but the limits seem to have been around 40,000 for DCA and 60-65,000 for Disneyland.
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 10:24 AM	#8
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	MA should be fun! Hopefully this won't happen again - ever.
	Submit to Quotes

04-24-2006, 10:31 AM	#10
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	No, I have been in Disneyland on 85,000+ days. The 60-65K number is when they should sell-out, and often do ... but sometimes, ahem, don't. More like Guidelines than actual Rules.
	Submit to Quotes