DCA Crowds About This Page:

[tom ferguson]

I'll be at Disneyland on August 14-15.
How are the crowds at the newly-refurbished DCA?
Should I spend both days at the Magic Kingdom, and wait until my next visit (January 3, 2013) to visit DCA? This is assuming that January 3 will be as empty as usually reported.
Thanks.

[Dave Marx]

Welcome Tom!

Attendance at DCA, for the first time ever, is higher than for Disneyland Park. Some say nearly twice as high on a regular basis. So, an all-Disneyland Park visit does make good sense.

But what has good sense to do with it, when there's so much new stuff to see at DCA?

Getting into Cars Land? Crazy. Getting a good view of World of Color? Major challenge. But if you're not insistent on actually riding something in Cars Land... I can't imagine avoiding the park altogether. And queues for the older attractions will be a bit more manageable than they are in Cars Land, though hardly as low as they used to be at this time of year.

[Dlandmom2]

Will you be staying at a Disneyland hotel on property? If so, and if they are offering early hours for Disney hotel guests on the two days you're here, then it would be worth getting to DCA right at opening and doing the new Cars Land rides.

When we were there a few weeks ago, a CM told us that half of DLR was at Cars Land, which means the rest of DCA and all of DL were relatively open. He was right. While it was still crowded, it was nowhere near as crowded as summers usually are. In fact, a few rides were almost walk-ons for us.

If you're not staying on property or if early hours aren't offered the days you're here, then you might not want to spend your limited time waiting in LONG lines for the Cars Land rides.

[tom ferguson]

Dave: thanks for the response; your books are awesome! I will be there at opening (no apaprent extra-magic hours that day), and, while I like the rides, atmosphere is important, so, I may be able to get onto one or two, and then enjoy the rest of DCA (Soarin' Over California is the most fun I can legally have!) I've already seen the "Color" show, so will probably be on rides while that's playing as well.
Dland mom2: As you can see by my response to Dave, I will plan and be happy whether or not I get on a "Cars" ride.

[Lilianna]

I agree with what Dave said about not avoiding the park altogether. I'm not sure about all rides, but I know some have single rider lines. If you are going alone or don't mind splitting up your party, perhaps there is single rider lines for the Cars Land rides to help you avoid the lines and crowds some.

[Tonichelle]

single rider lines, even for carsland seem to be very manageable... standby and fastpass not so much...

[Dlandmom2]

I was at DCA today, and at about 3:30 in the afternoon, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree had a listed wait time of 20 minutes. Just go with the flow, and you might be pleasantly surprised!

[tom ferguson]

Thanks, lilianna, Tonichelle and Dlandmom2 for your responses.
I need to keep my eyes peeled for single-rider lines, as they are not common in my experience at DW. "Soarin' Over California" at DCA is the only single-rider line I've ever actually used.
It is funny that a popular ride can suddenly and unexpectedly have a reasonable wait time. That happens all the time at DW's "Haunted Mansion," which has neither single-rider nor fast-pass, but does have a shortcut around the cemetery.

[Lilianna]

Originally Posted by tom ferguson

It is funny that a popular ride can suddenly and unexpectedly have a reasonable wait time. That happens all the time at DW's "Haunted Mansion," which has neither single-rider nor fast-pass, but does have a shortcut around the cemetery.

Ah, but WDW's cemetery is much more interactive and fun than DLR's.

[GinnyMouse]

We go to DL/CA almost every Friday and Sunday. The waits for Radiator Springs Racers have been anywhere from 120 to 240 minutes. The longest we've waited in the RSR single rider line has been 40 minutes. Yesterday, a CM told me that the fast passes are gone within 30 minutes of park opening. At 8:20 yesterday morning, there were FPs available with return times of 10:45-11:00 PM. Crazy.

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree waits have been under 30 minutes. Luigi's Flying Tires wait is usually under an hour.

The good news is that Toy Story Midway Mania waits are now under an hour - sometimes as short as 30 minutes. We've had short waits for California Screamin' as well. There used to be horrible lines for Soarin' Over California, but those lines have also gotten shorter. Goofy's Sky School (my favorite ride) is still over 45 minutes most of the time. Tower of Terror & Grizzly River Rapids have been between 30 and 60 minutes. Little Mermaid is a walk on.

Over at DL many of the lines have been much shorter, most notably Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain. Space Mountain, Matterhorn & Splash Mountain are all still longish, but not as bad as earlier this year. The Fantasyland rides are all still 30 to 60 minutes.

I would go to both parks. I'm a local with a premium pass so I can go whenever I want and I still try to visit both parks each time I go. I've always loved CA and I like it even more now that Carsland has opened. It's just beautiful and I love the 3 new rides.

[tom ferguson]

Ginny Mouse: WOW! Thanks for the comprehensive list of wait times. I'll be going to DCA on a Tuesday, so I'm hoping for a bit less time.

Besides Carsland, Soarin' and California Screaming are priorities, so, the racers and those other two will be my first stops after opening time.

I keep forgetting to do the Matterhorn right at opening, so haven't been on it in years; I have to remember to do it first.

I appreciate you taking the time to help out.

[tom ferguson]

It turned out that I spent 2 wonderful days at the Magic Kingdom. Usually, I only do 1 day there, counting the hours. It was bliss; small crowds and, with judicious use of FastPass and early arrival at the park, no more than a 20 minute wait for any one ride (except for Roger Rabbit, certainly the most trying line in the park when it comes to annoying behavior).
January 3 is reserved for DCA, which, I hope, shall be more placid than it was this summer.
And, now that the construction is finished, the plaza between the two parks is breathtaking!

[Lilianna]

Originally Posted by tom ferguson

It turned out that I spent 2 wonderful days at the Magic Kingdom. Usually, I only do 1 day there, counting the hours. It was bliss; small crowds and, with judicious use of FastPass and early arrival at the park, no more than a 20 minute wait for any one ride (except for Roger Rabbit, certainly the most trying line in the park when it comes to annoying behavior).

Sounds like there's a story there.