Disneyland. Is it true that its insanely crowded and they check your bags and people shove and push?

Question

I have been reading online all these horrible things about Disneyland, is it true about the shoulder to shoulder crowds, long lines, bag checks? You cant even bring water in the park? Please, tell me whats going on, we are going in like 2 weeks all the way from Seattle.

Answer 1

the crowds at disneyland during the summer can be great but not too overwhelming. arrive early and stay late to take advantage of short lines. Also, fastpasses are your friend. At some attractions, they offer a feature called fastpass where you insert your park ticket and it gives you a return time between a one hour window, in which you can return and have a darasticlally shorter line. i would suggest getting one for splash mountain or indiana jones, but be awware you can only get one every two hours. Some fastpass attractions for california adventures i would reccomend are tower of terror and soarin' over california. As for the bags they do a quick look through but not overly extensive, just a check for food and weapons. you can bring in your own water in a bottle and if for some reason they dont they have free water available at the sit down restaraunts and i believe at city hall on main street. its not bottled but it works. Although there are some rude people you will encounter, most of them are like you and are trying to have a nice relaxing and enjoying vacation and act politely.

Answer 2

the bag checks aren't extensive... they just kindof look and it really doesn't seem very thorough... its not like at the airport or something! just a simple peek! and the crowds get there around lunch time all the way till about 5 so take a swim break during that time, and come back at night. if you don't care about the shows like fantasmic or the fireworks i would recommend that you use those shows to your advantage. when they are going on the lines for most rides DRASTICALLY shorten so go on big rides like indiana jones right before closing during the last fantasmic showing because its like a 5 minute line! also during the dreams do come true fireworks EVERYONE stops where they are in the 'central hub' (the area between main street and the castle) so i would recommend staying away from that area because you CAN'T MOVE! so when the fireworks start, stay in one area of the park... i would recommend the critter country, andventure land, frontierland area! and because fantasmic will be going the crowds will still be there... but not riding the rides! its a fantastic trick my family has used to get on tons of rides at night (during the busy christmas season!)! my family is leaving for disneyland tomorrow and will see how the summer crowds are compare to spring break, new years, and christmas, basically all of the busiest times of the year! hope you have a good trip!

Answer 3

I have always lived about a 1/2 hour from Disneyland, but the main reason I rarely go is the expense. The crowds are bad, though, so it's too bad you're going during summer when it's worst. Some tips anyway: 1. Go on a Mon-Thurs, not the weekend, if you can. 2. Get there before it opens, leave before dinnertime for a leisurely meal somewhere else, then come back for the late hours so you miss the worst crowds. 3. Get the multi-day pass so you can take your time and not feel like you're trying to cram it all in in one day. There's a lot to see and do and it's worth it to take your time. For those prices, you want to enjoy it.

Answer 4

All the parks out here now do a bag check coming in, but nothing extensive. If you are coming during peak season when all the rugrats are out of school it's pretty packed. Lines can be very long they have the fastpass now though that semi helps.
Disneyland is "stroller hell" i wouldn't wear open towed shoes because you are guaranteed to be ran over by pushy parents who believe the stroller with the screaming child has right of way over your ankles and feet in the more croweded areas of the park. It's worth seeing once if you haven't been. I had a job there in high school a long while back and it was cool.

Answer 5

You should be alright if you go during a week day Streptember through May. That's when kids are in school. If you go on a weekend (especially during summer) you will definitely experience the crowds. I have never had anyone push or shove me, so I can't talk about that. You can bring water into the park, but you aren't supposed to bring food into the park. However, we usually stop at Subway and put our sandwiches in a backpack and we eat them inside the park.

Answer 6

You can bring your drinks in as long as they are non-alcoholic, and not in a glass bottle.

The crowds are hectic at times but check out this page as a guide:
http://travelwithkids.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=travelwithkids&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mouseplanet.com%2Fal%2Fdocs%2F

You have to arrive early, and head to the most desired attractions first. They do bag checks. If you like Disney, you will enjoy it if you plan for it being busy. Print off a park map to plan your strategy. When you enter the park, don't stop on Main Street like everyone else does. Get to Fantasyland first, as this gets the most congested with kids an hour or so after park opening.
Save your shopping for during a parade, you will have the stores to yourself. After the parade and at park closing is when everyone else shops.
Use the fastpass! Again...check on line which rides have it. Get a fastpass for Indiana Jones, then go to the Pirates ride, then it will probably be time for you to get on Indiana Jones.

Be prepared. Read all you can on line. Mouseplanet.com is the best unofficial site. Don't forget sunscreen and batteries.

If you go to California Adventure, go to Golden Dreams (nice and cool if the weather is hot), Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Soarin' Over California, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, It's Tough to Be a Bug.

Answer 7

yes... im not sure about the bag checking constantly, the last time i was there was over new years a few years back, but they did check bags and had the metal detectors. as far as the pushing, theyre are a handfull of rude people everywhere you go who suck at getting along. disneyland is frustrating to a lot of people(lines, heat, crowded) and they just end up being super jerks. ive had some close callls with people being inconsiderate, and ive almost knocked some teeth, but they were pretty scarce in the scheme of how many people where there at the time. id go back, in spite of it all.

Answer 8

I'm from Australia, I went there last year non-peak season.

Long Lines and crowds? Yes. BIG yes.
Bag Checks? Extensive
Shoving? Mainly old people. Annoying.
Water? Sometimes... .I got to bring it in but one of my friends had his bottle taken away.

Granted its fun, It was a letdown for me....

Answer 9

trust me on this one, don't bother going to Disneyland.
waste of time and a collosal waste of money.
a hot dog and water will cost you $10.50 usd.

complete waste of time.
the best rides are always CLOSED for some unknown reason.
the rides you want to get on are always crowded and you will wait 2 hours and 45 minutes to get on..and it will be done in 20 seconds..and you will get your face sunburn like a racoon.

is this how you want to spend your precious vacation time and money??

go to the SanDiego Zoo.
much better time..and the animals are nicer than the Disneyland staff.

Answer 10

LIVE IN TAMPA GO TO DISNEY OFTEN WITH GRANDCHILDREN
HOT, VERY LONG LINES, YOU CAN SNEAK WATER AND FOOD IN AND I'VE NEVER HAD ANYONE CHECK MY BAGS, BUT THEY DID DO IT ONCE WHEN A BOMB THREAT WAS PHONED IN. ALL IN ALL THE KIDS LOVE IT AND REMEMBER EACH PARK IN DISNEY IS A NEW ADMISSION FEE