Just got back, my thoughts on a crazy busy day

jonahsmommy

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Background:

DH and I have been going to Disneyland for over 20 years and have been AP holders until we got priced out. So, that being said we know our way around the park. We went with DS age 11 and had a wonderful day despite that it was crazy busy.

The Good:

We were in the park yesterday, Saturday November 18th celebrating my birthday and DS's birthday. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on South Harbor, got a good rate for the room. The room was nice enough, and they gave us complimentary Starbucks drinks to celebrate our birthdays, which I thought was sweet. We walked over to the Toy Story tram at 7:30am and had no problems going through security.
We had bought our tickets the day before and added Max Pass. We entered the parks and got our Happy Birthday Mickey pins and had no problems with Max Pass. I would definitely recommend getting the Max Pass during this busy holiday season. We were able to ride Star Tours 2x, Winnie The Pooh, Small World, Indy, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain by 12:00, we were happy since we had hit our favorite rides but it.was.packed.

The Bad:

It was crazy busy and people seemed frustrated and confused by the Max Pass, not knowing how to scan, not having the app or tickets ready, having to reconnect, ect and the CMs seemed as equally frustrated.
Wait times were crazy long, Small World was 120 minutes:headache: for Stand By. We pulled a paper Fast Pass for Fantasmic around 10:30 am for the 10:30 show.

We had lunch, DS is gluten free and the Chef at Jolly Bakery was fantastic. We went back to our hotel to take a much needed break from 1:30-4:30. At this time I used the Max Pass to reserve some rides, love that I was able to do this in our hotel room.

Around 3:00-3:30, the fast passes were out for the following rides: Haunted, Star Tours, and 2 other rides that I can't remember. So if those are your must rides, please be aware that the passes go fast. We went on a few rides from 5:15-8:30 and had some dinner and then went to find a spot by Small World for the fireworks, and we loved it. Very magical.

The Ugly:

We tried to get in line after the fireworks by Mark Twain for Fantasmic and it was horrible. There were no CMs and people were just making their own line. Very disorganized. This was around 10:00. I finally saw a CM and asked him where to line up, he just sorted pointed and said somewhere over there and pointed to his right. He was letting in people that were disabled in first, which I completely understand but there were 4 other CMs just standing around by him, it looked like no one wanted to go deal with the mess. When they opened the ropes, around 10:10 the crowds were huge. Other people that had not been waiting just blended in with the crowd which obviously got people upset. People are standing so if you are not right in the front or if you are not tall its really hard to see. People are packed in tight and it's just not the best use of space. I really hope they figure this problem out. Bottom line, you are human cattle. Come on Disney, you can do better.

Hope this helps with planning.
 
Glad you had a good day despite the crowds and Fantasmic debacle. Were you able to see the show well? I have not seen it yet and really want to but the hectic-sounding scene has kept me away thus far.

I also have noticed that people are sooooooo confused by how to use FP and that you must have your tickets/phone out to scan not once but twice. And people having issues with the actual scanning. I wish they would do away with the double scan. Why is it necessary? People put their tickets away and then aren't ready for that second scanner and it causes a huge backup at times. Also, I don't feel that the new system is explained well at all, especially for first time visitors or those who haven't visited in a while. Signs would be helpful, as would a CM dedicated to explaining to people waiting in line how everything works... kind of like at the airport when the TSA employees are reminding everyone that you have to take your computers out of the bag and your shoes off and all that jazz... of course it doesn't seem to help much at the airport either. :rolleyes2
 
Fantasmic sounds super frustrating! We have the DP at BB it doesn't sound like that gets you seating.

Do you have any recommendation on how we can do Max Pass better to not slow down the overall experience for everyone? Obviously not putting the tickets away I guess!
 
Background:

DH and I have been going to Disneyland for over 20 years and have been AP holders until we got priced out. So, that being said we know our way around the park. We went with DS age 11 and had a wonderful day despite that it was crazy busy.

The Good:

We were in the park yesterday, Saturday November 18th celebrating my birthday and DS's birthday. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on South Harbor, got a good rate for the room. The room was nice enough, and they gave us complimentary Starbucks drinks to celebrate our birthdays, which I thought was sweet. We walked over to the Toy Story tram at 7:30am and had no problems going through security.
We had bought our tickets the day before and added Max Pass. We entered the parks and got our Happy Birthday Mickey pins and had no problems with Max Pass. I would definitely recommend getting the Max Pass during this busy holiday season. We were able to ride Star Tours 2x, Winnie The Pooh, Small World, Indy, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain by 12:00, we were happy since we had hit our favorite rides but it.was.packed.

The Bad:

It was crazy busy and people seemed frustrated and confused by the Max Pass, not knowing how to scan, not having the app or tickets ready, having to reconnect, ect and the CMs seemed as equally frustrated.
Wait times were crazy long, Small World was 120 minutes:headache: for Stand By. We pulled a paper Fast Pass for Fantasmic around 10:30 am for the 10:30 show.

We had lunch, DS is gluten free and the Chef at Jolly Bakery was fantastic. We went back to our hotel to take a much needed break from 1:30-4:30. At this time I used the Max Pass to reserve some rides, love that I was able to do this in our hotel room.

Around 3:00-3:30, the fast passes were out for the following rides: Haunted, Star Tours, and 2 other rides that I can't remember. So if those are your must rides, please be aware that the passes go fast. We went on a few rides from 5:15-8:30 and had some dinner and then went to find a spot by Small World for the fireworks, and we loved it. Very magical.

The Ugly:

We tried to get in line after the fireworks by Mark Twain for Fantasmic and it was horrible. There were no CMs and people were just making their own line. Very disorganized. This was around 10:00. I finally saw a CM and asked him where to line up, he just sorted pointed and said somewhere over there and pointed to his right. He was letting in people that were disabled in first, which I completely understand but there were 4 other CMs just standing around by him, it looked like no one wanted to go deal with the mess. When they opened the ropes, around 10:10 the crowds were huge. Other people that had not been waiting just blended in with the crowd which obviously got people upset. People are standing so if you are not right in the front or if you are not tall its really hard to see. People are packed in tight and it's just not the best use of space. I really hope they figure this problem out. Bottom line, you are human cattle. Come on Disney, you can do better.

Hope this helps with planning.
I was there yesterday and found it to be busy but it was no where near the craziness that was every Saturday in October for Halloween. Most headliners had 40-60 minutes waits and which 3 weeks ago a lot of rides were running 60-120 waits.
 


Fantasmic sounds super frustrating! We have the DP at BB it doesn't sound like that gets you seating.

Do you have any recommendation on how we can do Max Pass better to not slow down the overall experience for everyone? Obviously not putting the tickets away I guess!
Have your tickets or phone ready to scan when you get in the fp line. And don’t get in line more than 5 min before your fp is valid.
 
Glad you had a good day despite the crowds and Fantasmic debacle. Were you able to see the show well? I have not seen it yet and really want to but the hectic-sounding scene has kept me away thus far.

I also have noticed that people are sooooooo confused by how to use FP and that you must have your tickets/phone out to scan not once but twice. And people having issues with the actual scanning. I wish they would do away with the double scan. Why is it necessary? People put their tickets away and then aren't ready for that second scanner and it causes a huge backup at times. Also, I don't feel that the new system is explained well at all, especially for first time visitors or those who haven't visited in a while. Signs would be helpful, as would a CM dedicated to explaining to people waiting in line how everything works... kind of like at the airport when the TSA employees are reminding everyone that you have to take your computers out of the bag and your shoes off and all that jazz... of course it doesn't seem to help much at the airport either. :rolleyes2
I notice they do the double scan in lines where it’s easy for someone to jump into the fp line from the standby line.
 


Fantasmic is my absolute favorite ..I have missed it SO much! We left a couple of days before it re-opened this summer and were so bummed but we are excited to see it this weekend! While I cant wait to see it I am also terrified by these Fantasmic horror stories.. omg. From friends who have recently returned from Disneyland to what others are saying on the boards..it sounds like a madhouse! So not ready for that :sad2:
 
Thank you for your report. Sounds like i will have to do Max Pass homework to be ready for spring break.
 
Does everyone in the party need their phone out for maxpass?
If you link the tickets onto one account then you can scan and swipe through the barcodes. Otherwise each person needs to show their own barcode on their phone or their ticket.
 
Ok, planning on trying MaxPass out when we go 12/2 and don't want to be the people holding up the line :confused3. We haven't been in a year and MP is new to us...I thought we only had to scan our ticket OR our FP from the app at the attraction? TIA!
 
Ok, planning on trying MaxPass out when we go 12/2 and don't want to be the people holding up the line :confused3. We haven't been in a year and MP is new to us...I thought we only had to scan our ticket OR our FP from the app at the attraction? TIA!
Correct, but if you are using the phone and there’s more than one person you’ll need to swipe through the barcodes to scan each one.
 
Ah, ok, so easier to use the park tickets then (since all the FP will be on my phone)

Exactly. The FP (max or otherwise) is linked to the park ticket itself.

If you are worried about battery life like I was... both Crazy Cat Boy and I had lanyards with clear pockets (this worked with the scanners no problem at rides and when park hopping) that we kept out physical tickets in around our necks or looped into belt buckle loops and popped in pants pocket for easy access. That way I didnt have to scan us both in holding people up and we didnt have to pull the tickets in and out risking loss. FP's were booked via the app on max pass and then we just used the physical ticket for rides and hopping. It worked well for us.
 
Ah, ok, so easier to use the park tickets then (since all the FP will be on my phone). Will do. Thanks!! :goodvibes

So we can just scan our tickets when using maxpass instead of our phones? I thought everything was done on the phone though the app! Using tickets actually seems way easier!
 
So we can just scan our tickets when using maxpass instead of our phones? I thought everything was done on the phone though the app! Using tickets actually seems way easier!
Correct. You book on your phone, but then the FP is linked to your ticket. So you can scan your physical ticket OR the app when you redeem the FP.
 
Thanks for sharing. We plan on being there 12/1 and 12/2 and I expect it will be very busy! I mostly want to get in all of the seasonal entertainment, like the parade and fireworks. Any tips on where to view the fireworks by IASW? We have a 4yo and 1yo and can’t really camp out for 2+ hours in front of the castle without one of them losing patience, but I was thinking it may be possible to get a spot in front of IASW under an hour before the fireworks start. I haven’t tried to view them from there yet so I’m not sure how the ropes and viewing areas are set up.
Of course, with the popularity of the ride for the holiday I wonder how manageable that area will be before the fireworks...
 

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