Disney's California Adventure & Disneyland Question

[RCTTalk]

I have a question for all you Disneyland visitors. I will be going to Disneyland and California Adventure.

I was wondering if it would be safe to go to California Adventure on a Saturday or Sunday because they don't have nearly as high attendance as Disneyland. If I went to CA on the weekend should I expect long lines from a 30 minute wait and beyond or would the lines on the weekend still be considerably short?

Also, what is the best day of the week to visit Disneyland park? I figured the weekday, when everyone is at work and school.

So does anyone have a specific day at these parks where lines are incredibly short? I went to Disneyland park last time when it drizzled outside and the park was dead and I could go on Splash Mountain without any line, this was in 2001 and I think LA was having a bad rainy day winter/spring. I don't think rain is in the forecast when I visit so what would be a good day (not month) to go?

Thanks.

[goliath]

California Adventure's wait depends on what ride you are talking about. California Screamin will have a time of at least one hour. Remember, this the least you will get on a weekend. If its the other rides, don't worry. The longest wait of the others will be 30 minutes. Trust me on this. I live in California. I've been to Disneyland and California Adventure numerous times. The best time to go to Disneyland is on a Wednesday, but even then, the lines will be long. The Indiana Jones ride, Star Tours, if its open, Space Mountain, Matterhorn Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and a couple of other rides will be two or more hour wait, no matter when you go. I can't answer the weather problem, because I don't live in L.A. I hope my information was helpful.

[RCTTalk]

It was helpful. It's wierd that you say that all those big Disneyland rides are at least an hour wait because when we went there, the maximum was 10 minutes tops and I think the longest line was Big Thunder Mountain. I guess tourists hate rain, I hope it drizzles when I go because then the park will be dead. I would never think of going in summer because that place would have 3 hour waits for Mad Tea Party. LoL.

[RTCnoob384]

Disney=death

be warned big thunder mountain is a killer!

[RCTTalk]

Wow, smoking kills millions of people yet when there's an accident and 2 people die, and people fight to close the ride down.

[RTCnoob384]

yeah, those things are supposed to be safe....

[RCT2head]

you know what:
you can die doind pretty much about anything. you might as well have fun and go down doing what you like, especially if your time is up anyways. (i hope i don't get yelled at if that was a movie quote from somewhere:D :haha: )

[Harpo]

Actually, I think only one person died, from what I understand.

The problem with that death is that it shouldn't have happened -- it was a very careless mistake. Careless mistakes bother me, as it indicates some potentially serious training and management issues, especially when the ride crashes 3 times (with the one fatality) within 12 months.

Regardless, I think amusement park accidents and incidents tend to be way overblown. Heck, every time a train stalls on the lift hill, it seems to make the news!

To me, that's as silly as reporting every stalled city bus. Now, one "safety advocate" stated the opinion that a ride stalling was more newsworthy because of the dangers of people having to get off at high altitudes, while a stalled bus isn't dangerous. That person clearly has never seen a stalled bus on I-75 in the Detroit area, where drivers continue to whip within inches of the bus at speeds exceeding 70 miles per hour. In my mind, with seeing both of these types of incidents, the stalled bus on the busy freeway is much more dangerous than a stalled roller coaster.

[goliath]

You sayin' that every stall lift hill makes the news? Don't think so. I was on a train that got stuck on a lifthill. Demon at Great America. So you saying that I should be on the news, when I wasn't makes me feel really bad (I joke around alot, this is one of those jokes).

[disneyaniac]

An hour wait for California Screamin!? nooooo. Btw it doesnt matter what days you go what. Disneyland is going to be very crowded anyway.

[skacoaster]

The end of november to the middle of December is statistically the lowest attendance time for the parks. Right between the two highest attendace times. Get The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. That is THE book for Disneyland tourists. It will tell you all that you want to know about the park from a somewhat objective standpoint with plenty of hints.
I personally went to Walt Disney World (nobody ever calls it that) in the down time, with the arm of a hurricane dropping several inches of rain at night, and while several rides were closed for seasonal maintenance, there were really no lines. Wild!

[k_peek_2000]

no matter what, you cannot go to a Disney theme park, ecpecially California Adventure. And not expect at least a 45 minute wait on each thrill ride

[Squid2]

Since we're talking about wait times... what are the average wait times at the various Disney parks for someone with handicapped access? I'm sure with parks that big, they have some sort of system set up for dealing with disabled guests. Does anyone know what system they have set up for such guests?

Squid2

[Voodoopcfreak]

Dont listen to these guys, listen to me the Disneyland expert. I go at least 5 times a month so I am quite accurate. During Jan through March the park is not busy unless it is a holiday. I would recommend going on a Friday, or a rainy day, or a weekday. During off season on a Saturday is about 15-60 min max on the busiest of days during off season. Splash Mountain is the only acception to this rule. But you dont have to worry about that since Splash Mountain is closed for refurbishment. If you happen to go on a rainy day expect rides to be mostly walk ons. The current refurbishments are as follows:

http://www.riderefurbs.com/

Most likely you will see very short lines until March. I warn you though that once May 5th arrives the park will be constantly packed for 18 or so months for the 50th anniversary.

[Voodoopcfreak]

Originally posted by Squid2
Since we're talking about wait times... what are the average wait times at the various Disney parks for someone with handicapped access? I'm sure with parks that big, they have some sort of system set up for dealing with disabled guests. Does anyone know what system they have set up for such guests?

Squid2

They have to cycle the vehicles through since they have 1-2 handicap vehicles per ride. It ranges on each ride. It usually is about 10-20 min. Splash is usually longer.

[Voodoopcfreak]

Originally posted by k_peek_2000
no matter what, you cannot go to a Disney theme park, ecpecially California Adventure. And not expect at least a 45 minute wait on each thrill ride

This is not true. That is only in effect on a day in summer. Usually the lines during the summer range from 45-120. Most of the time the lines are about 20-30.

[disneyaniac]

Originally posted by Voodoopcfreak
This is not true. That is only in effect on a day in summer. Usually the lines during the summer range from 45-120. Most of the time the lines are about 20-30.



You give me a headache :weird:

[Voodoopcfreak]

Originally posted by disneyaniac
You give me a headache :weird:

:D

[RCTTalk]

Originally posted by Voodoopcfreak
Dont listen to these guys, listen to me the Disneyland expert. I go at least 5 times a month so I am quite accurate. During Jan through March the park is not busy unless it is a holiday. I would recommend going on a Friday, or a rainy day, or a weekday. During off season on a Saturday is about 15-60 min max on the busiest of days during off season. Splash Mountain is the only acception to this rule. But you dont have to worry about that since Splash Mountain is closed for refurbishment. If you happen to go on a rainy day expect rides to be mostly walk ons. The current refurbishments are as follows:

http://www.riderefurbs.com/

Most likely you will see very short lines until March. I warn you though that once May 5th arrives the park will be constantly packed for 18 or so months for the 50th anniversary.

You were right, I just got back from Disneyland and yes the lines weren't what everyone else was saying. I did go on a Saturday, the park was packed but the lines weren't very long. Pirates of the Carribean took about 8 minutes and the Haunted Mansion was about 10 minutes. We also went on the Matterhorn and the line looked worse than it actually was. While we were waiting in line for the Matterhorn, a parade went by which was entertaining. We just used Fastpasses and that was it. Then we went to California Adventure which actually IMO had worse lines. Mullholland Madness took forever but there was a guy working there who was unbeleivably slow letting the crowd go by. California Screamin was good because we got FastPasses. We also got Fast Passes for the Tower of Terror which was a 60 minute wait on the clock. The Maliboomer was a bad wait, they only had 1 tower working and we waited 20 minutes, when we should have waited maximum 10 minutes because they were only operating one. Grizzly River Run was a 1 minute wait because we went just before the Electrical Parade and everyone was fighting for a good spot and we hopped on and made it in time for the parade. I also went to Disneyland on a Wednesday and for many rides you could almost walk on. Winnie the Pooh we walked right on. Snow White and Pinocchio we walked right on. Surprisingly, the longest lines were Storybookland Canal Boats and Peter Pan's Flight! Indiana Jones is a 30 minute walk, not a line! LoL. Big Thunder Mountains line looked fairly big but went by very fast. Autopia's line was pretty big but they were only operating one track and not both. Star Tours was covered in tarps but was around a 5 minute wait. Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin line was fairly big but I think it was due to the fact that it was closed for an hour or something and re-opened and people were rushing to it. Jungle Cruise was a very short wait around 3 minutes and the shows like Honey I Shrunk the Audience are extremely short. On Saturday, I experienced Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for the first time because it was closed last time I was there and surprisingly hardly anyone was in there. Also I found the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island to be incredibly slow. One thing I noticed was that Critter Country was literally closed! Splash Mountain, The Canoes and the Restaurants were all closed. So that only left Winnie the Pooh and the Winnie the Pooh shop to be open. I found it surprising that so many things were closed there. At least I got my picture with Pooh Bear and Tigger. LoL. One problem was that the Sun Wheel in CA was a 30 minute wait and that was the only ride I didn't bother to go on. I also noticed that Peter Pan's Flight was so long because the ships can only hold 2 people per boat which really slows the line. Although Peter Pan's Flight was great.

To go off topic, the castle looks really great. Much better than before the paint job. Many things were covered in tarps and fences, Star Tours, New Orleans Square, the ToonTown sign but was still a great trip none-the-less.

So my advice to myself (LoL) is to use Fast Passes. They really cut down the time! Especially on Tower of Terror, California Screamin and Big Thunder Mountain. I've read stories of how people hate them and refuse to use them because it clogs up the standy-by lines. Who cares if it clogs up the stand-by entrance as long as your not in it? LoL. We got a FastPass for Indiana Jones but was almost pointless because we got up to the cave, they took our pass and we joined the standy-by line and waited about 10 minutes anyways. LoL.

I also hear that Disneyland lines are not nearly as long as Disney World's Magic Kingdom lines.

[Harpo]

I hadn't planned on going to Disneyland on my weekend trip, but Knott's closed very early Friday due to weather, so I wound up going to Disney anyway, and the waits weren't bad at all. I was able to walk on most attractions, and did pretty much every ride in both California Adventure and Disneyland after arriving at about 3:30. (CA closed at 9 that night, Disneyland at 12, but I actually left around 10:30, having done everything I wanted to do.)