We’ve been to Disneyland many times over the years. However we have decided California isn’t a safe state to travel to anymore. So now we don’t go. Love the park but not crime ridden California
We made the mistake of going to Disneyland on New Year’s Eve around 15 years ago and it was absolute nightmare. There were so many people in the park that it was impossible to do anything. People were literally standing shoulder to shoulder. If you decided to try to go anywhere it was like jumping into a River of people and you just had to hope that the river would travel where you wanted to go. The lines for rides were ridiculous. People were staking out spots in front of the castle early in the day. Since we couldn’t really move around we joined the people in front of the castle and spent the day there hanging out. At one point our teenage daughter had to use the restroom. She headed out in the direction but got caught in the flow of people. She called us panicked because she couldn’t figure out how to get back to us since the cast members had guests traveling one way. It was over an hour before she finally managed to get back to us. We stuck it out because we had paid a great deal of money to travel to California, buy our tickets, book a hotel and if we left then we would have completely wasted our money but it was horrible. We basically paid a lot of money to be stand all day in one spot, freezing and surrounded by thousands of people just waiting for the New Year’s Eve show that night. Looking back, it was definitely not a safe situation to be in. I shudder to think that if something had gone wrong it would have been nearly impossible to reach anyone that needed help. I think that now I can better understand what it feels like to be a sardine in a can. Never again will I put myself in a situation like that.
When we went in 2013 Christmas week, similar experience. We expected crowds of course but we didn’t expect that a wall of people would be completely blocking the way from Fantasyland to Adventureland. We were booked there that week and except for that first day, we stuck to DCA simply because it was slightly easier to move around in. We got a decent spot for the NYE show, but didn’t bother trying to get back to the hotel on the bus it was just faster to walk back. We will never ever go during any holiday time again.
4th of July and New Years are very busy, try middle of the week for slower days. Follow the way the crowd goes and it will go faster (even if you are going away from your destination) and things are remarkable different now with walk tunnels built in the crowdest areas.
Last time I went to WDW was 2014, they had the metal detectors then. Suspect they brought them in after 9/11…. At DL they used to be placed between the tram and the ticket booth on the DTD side and have been in the same place on the Harbor Blvd side. They then added them coming from the Hotels and at the DTD Tram depot. Now it’s streamlined a bit better at the exterior points, so there is no flow issue from DTD to the parks.
Ha Ha! Good one. Sounds like what people do to discourage people from digging around in diaper bags, strollers and ECV’s. Get a disposable diaper or even a piece of light colored cloth, put it in a zip lock bag, add a yellow liquid (lemon aid maybe) or a cola, then put in some stale brownies or something brown. Stick it in backpack or bags and instant revulsion.
it’s true, the crowds are out of control, and people just do not care about others around them. im always considerate of everyone in my vicinity (even though they should be giving me and my service dog the right of way) and I STILL run into issues. it’s not safe for people with disabilities to be packed in like sardines with a bunch of other people, especially if you’re immunocompromised. they need to get better capacity limits and better crowd control, there’s nowhere to sit for disabled folks and its getting out of hand.
Agree completely. It’s hard if you are on an ECV too. People have literally stuck their feet under the wheels. Then they get mad at the driver because those things do not stop on a dime. People also won’t let you through either. Someone has to always walk in front of the scooter to get people to move.
We live in Orlando Fl. I took my grandchild who is 8 and his friend to Disney World a few months ago. The park was so crowded the children asked me to leave. I leaved here for 20 years and the only times the parks felt this way were on New Years. I wish the capacity was reduced so guest can have a fun experience.
They really do need to limit the number of guests more. At this point I only make it to Disneyland 1 time every couple years. When you spend your entire day waiting an hour or more for every attraction and the crowd Main St for the fireworks it really does become a very stressful situation. Doubly so when half the people have large backpacks on and are bumping into others. I prefer go go down the road to the other park where I can just walk on half the rides and feel safer with crowd control.
On a visit to DCA in late April to Early May of this year, I found the parks to be overcrowded compared to the amount of visible cast members. The parks were not as clean as prior to the pandemic (bathrooms were disgusting), restaurant service was slow, and some cast members were visibly unhappy.
After one ride, I approached a cast member to ask a question about services available for a child on the spectrum. The cast member yelled at me, leaning forward and shouting unintelligible words. I actually flinched backwards. When I asked him to repeat himself because I didn’t understand him, he screamed at me “DAS” and got in my face before turning away. I was actually frightened. The press of the crowds and rude visitors did not lessen my anxiety. I will not be going back to DCA or Disney World until staffing is back to normal in numbers and attitudes.
Just visited Disneyland resort and California adventure. I saw nothing that this article talked about. There were lines but nothing crazy. The bad thing witnessed was some father having his little daughter hold his place in line for his beers at the mobile app pickup window.
I went to Disney CA last summer which I’ve been to many times over the years and I will NEVER go back. The staff is rude and not helpful if you get them to look up from their phones, they gave zero answers for anything and they do nothing for disabled or elderly people. All the scooters were gone because they had rented them to young people who zipped around the park like they were driving a go cart. There is no tram for accommodations for handicapped, elderly or injured, they absolutely refused to have an employee use the golf cart for an injured handicapped because it’s “ not their job”. They had so many families in there that were letting their kids run wild while the “parents” were running down people because they never looked where they were going and knocked the handicapped person down and didn’t bother to help them. They actually yelled at the lady for getting in their way. I emailed Disney and got some lame auto generated response email and contacted me or the handicapped individual in was with. Disney is not a family place and far from the happiest place in the world.
Umm… you do know that they are “on their phones” as part of their job now, yes? They have to schedule the ride times via a device for everyone that is using the DAS or the Genie+. They CANNOT control who is renting the scooters, they do not ask for proof of disability in order to rent them, and a lot of people rent from external companies that drop off to their customers at either the park or at their hotels. They are not allowed to use the golf carts to transport, and the trams have been back since April or May. They were unable to use them due to THE PANDEMIC. They would have to of cleaned the trams after every ride AND would have only been able to transport a few people per ride to maintain the social distancing rules at that time. They also cannot control people while they are on the ECVs. If they required a driver’s license to rent one and held people liable for any and all damages that would be a different story, but they don’t.
If you go to a park and require the use of an ECV, it’s on YOU to make sure you plan accordingly. When I was stuck in my wheelchair for 5 years, I brought my own wheelchair. Now I will be in my walking boot for the rest of my life, I will always make sure I bring my walking boot. A friend of mine needs to use her walker or rent an ECV, if she is staying at a nearby hotel she always orders an ECV from an outside source for the duration of her trip. If staying at my house we always make sure to get to the parks more than early enough for them to have plenty of ECVs for her to get one. That is all on you, as a guest.
Like most people here, we love Disney. My husband and I even got married at Disney World. We try to take our kids there at least once a year for vacation. It pains me to write this, but the parks are totally overcrowded and our last trip there was less than enjoyable. A woman actually used her stroller, with her child in it, as a weapon in an attempt to cut in front of me as I was walking along with my family. She repeatedly ran over the back of my ankle, until I moved out of her way and she ran past me. I literally had blood dripping from my ankle to my heel. Prices were too high. Wait times were too long, despite going “off season,” and to top it all off, my son and I caught COVID from the crowds at Disney World. We had reservations to go back in November. I’m glad we canceled and decided to go to the Carribean instead. It’s almost heartbreaking.
If you don’t feel unsafe in a large crowd you don’t understand the ramifications of what happens in an emergency.
It definitely makes my family and I feel unsafe, and we don’t even go when it’s at it’s most packed.
Starts out as annoying but because we know people are potentially going to be the cause of a real safety hazard when they are incapable of recognizing they are in a park with so many others.
The line management has become better overall but it still is illogical in many parts. The fact that people are willing to wait over an hour-even two hours for a ride seems insane to us. We refuse to do so. I grew up going to Disneyland and if a line was 45 mins (like Indiana Jones) that was considered crazy, you’d go on a ride like that only once if you really really liked it.
I think since ppl have entertainment on their phones etc.they will wait. But they also ignore their kids because of this. Not a big deal but akward and definitely annoying when a random kid is squeezing up through the line and the parents are clueless. We also noticed TONS of reports of lost kids recently and most the parents seemed inconvenienced more than actually caring about the fact that they are lost. This is the poor attitude that gets worse in crowds.
The other major safety hazards lie in more accidents, I’ve had rude people body slam us, thankfully we keep our kiddos between us/in front of us. People that cluelessly take up the entire walkways with their party and stare up at the sky or at their phones unaware they are in the way….
They might be the first to get trampled in an emergency. It happens plenty where people die from such things, or end up hospitalized and I don’t care for the thought of either happening to me and mine. Especially when we pay what we do to be there.
There’s no good excuse for it really beyond the corporation is too greedy. Which is not unexpected. Just sad.
Comments for Disney Guests “Fear For Their Safety” After Latest Trip
Andrew Strickland
Go woke, get rich!
Steve
Unfavorable guest mix much?
Lim
We’ve been to Disneyland many times over the years. However we have decided California isn’t a safe state to travel to anymore. So now we don’t go. Love the park but not crime ridden California
Mindy
It’s safer than a red state. Texas is out of control with their mass shootings.
Steve
Stay in commiefornia, Mindy. America doesn’t want you.
Whitney
You’re insanely brain washed, I feel bad for you.
Kathy
Ha ha! Look at true crime shows. Most of the weirdness takes place in the south and plain states.
Tosp
Good, stay home
M
We made the mistake of going to Disneyland on New Year’s Eve around 15 years ago and it was absolute nightmare. There were so many people in the park that it was impossible to do anything. People were literally standing shoulder to shoulder. If you decided to try to go anywhere it was like jumping into a River of people and you just had to hope that the river would travel where you wanted to go. The lines for rides were ridiculous. People were staking out spots in front of the castle early in the day. Since we couldn’t really move around we joined the people in front of the castle and spent the day there hanging out. At one point our teenage daughter had to use the restroom. She headed out in the direction but got caught in the flow of people. She called us panicked because she couldn’t figure out how to get back to us since the cast members had guests traveling one way. It was over an hour before she finally managed to get back to us. We stuck it out because we had paid a great deal of money to travel to California, buy our tickets, book a hotel and if we left then we would have completely wasted our money but it was horrible. We basically paid a lot of money to be stand all day in one spot, freezing and surrounded by thousands of people just waiting for the New Year’s Eve show that night. Looking back, it was definitely not a safe situation to be in. I shudder to think that if something had gone wrong it would have been nearly impossible to reach anyone that needed help. I think that now I can better understand what it feels like to be a sardine in a can. Never again will I put myself in a situation like that.
Ryan
15 years ago? Nobody cares. Things are very different now.
Paul W
When we went in 2013 Christmas week, similar experience. We expected crowds of course but we didn’t expect that a wall of people would be completely blocking the way from Fantasyland to Adventureland. We were booked there that week and except for that first day, we stuck to DCA simply because it was slightly easier to move around in. We got a decent spot for the NYE show, but didn’t bother trying to get back to the hotel on the bus it was just faster to walk back. We will never ever go during any holiday time again.
Kathy
We made the same mistake and went once on ChristmasDay. Never again. It was pretty much as you described.
Lisa
4th of July and New Years are very busy, try middle of the week for slower days. Follow the way the crowd goes and it will go faster (even if you are going away from your destination) and things are remarkable different now with walk tunnels built in the crowdest areas.
Matt Brewster
Since when does DL have metal detectors? I haven’t been to WDW in 13 years. Are there detectors there, too, now?
Kelly
Where were you on 9–11?
Dawn
Last time I went to WDW was 2014, they had the metal detectors then. Suspect they brought them in after 9/11…. At DL they used to be placed between the tram and the ticket booth on the DTD side and have been in the same place on the Harbor Blvd side. They then added them coming from the Hotels and at the DTD Tram depot. Now it’s streamlined a bit better at the exterior points, so there is no flow issue from DTD to the parks.
Kathy
There have been metal detectors for many years.
Peter Cottontail
Crowd hack, wipe mustard on people as you walk by.
Kathy
Ha Ha! Good one. Sounds like what people do to discourage people from digging around in diaper bags, strollers and ECV’s. Get a disposable diaper or even a piece of light colored cloth, put it in a zip lock bag, add a yellow liquid (lemon aid maybe) or a cola, then put in some stale brownies or something brown. Stick it in backpack or bags and instant revulsion.
connie (she/her)
it’s true, the crowds are out of control, and people just do not care about others around them. im always considerate of everyone in my vicinity (even though they should be giving me and my service dog the right of way) and I STILL run into issues. it’s not safe for people with disabilities to be packed in like sardines with a bunch of other people, especially if you’re immunocompromised. they need to get better capacity limits and better crowd control, there’s nowhere to sit for disabled folks and its getting out of hand.
Kathy
Agree completely. It’s hard if you are on an ECV too. People have literally stuck their feet under the wheels. Then they get mad at the driver because those things do not stop on a dime. People also won’t let you through either. Someone has to always walk in front of the scooter to get people to move.
Jessica
We live in Orlando Fl. I took my grandchild who is 8 and his friend to Disney World a few months ago. The park was so crowded the children asked me to leave. I leaved here for 20 years and the only times the parks felt this way were on New Years. I wish the capacity was reduced so guest can have a fun experience.
Kris
They really do need to limit the number of guests more. At this point I only make it to Disneyland 1 time every couple years. When you spend your entire day waiting an hour or more for every attraction and the crowd Main St for the fireworks it really does become a very stressful situation. Doubly so when half the people have large backpacks on and are bumping into others. I prefer go go down the road to the other park where I can just walk on half the rides and feel safer with crowd control.
Fins
The park is also way overpriced.
Mellie
On a visit to DCA in late April to Early May of this year, I found the parks to be overcrowded compared to the amount of visible cast members. The parks were not as clean as prior to the pandemic (bathrooms were disgusting), restaurant service was slow, and some cast members were visibly unhappy.
After one ride, I approached a cast member to ask a question about services available for a child on the spectrum. The cast member yelled at me, leaning forward and shouting unintelligible words. I actually flinched backwards. When I asked him to repeat himself because I didn’t understand him, he screamed at me “DAS” and got in my face before turning away. I was actually frightened. The press of the crowds and rude visitors did not lessen my anxiety. I will not be going back to DCA or Disney World until staffing is back to normal in numbers and attitudes.
Ryan
Just visited Disneyland resort and California adventure. I saw nothing that this article talked about. There were lines but nothing crazy. The bad thing witnessed was some father having his little daughter hold his place in line for his beers at the mobile app pickup window.
Curt
Disney used to be strict with possibility of Lifetime Banishment. Get this crap under control!!!
Jane
I went to Disney CA last summer which I’ve been to many times over the years and I will NEVER go back. The staff is rude and not helpful if you get them to look up from their phones, they gave zero answers for anything and they do nothing for disabled or elderly people. All the scooters were gone because they had rented them to young people who zipped around the park like they were driving a go cart. There is no tram for accommodations for handicapped, elderly or injured, they absolutely refused to have an employee use the golf cart for an injured handicapped because it’s “ not their job”. They had so many families in there that were letting their kids run wild while the “parents” were running down people because they never looked where they were going and knocked the handicapped person down and didn’t bother to help them. They actually yelled at the lady for getting in their way. I emailed Disney and got some lame auto generated response email and contacted me or the handicapped individual in was with. Disney is not a family place and far from the happiest place in the world.
Dawn
Umm… you do know that they are “on their phones” as part of their job now, yes? They have to schedule the ride times via a device for everyone that is using the DAS or the Genie+. They CANNOT control who is renting the scooters, they do not ask for proof of disability in order to rent them, and a lot of people rent from external companies that drop off to their customers at either the park or at their hotels. They are not allowed to use the golf carts to transport, and the trams have been back since April or May. They were unable to use them due to THE PANDEMIC. They would have to of cleaned the trams after every ride AND would have only been able to transport a few people per ride to maintain the social distancing rules at that time. They also cannot control people while they are on the ECVs. If they required a driver’s license to rent one and held people liable for any and all damages that would be a different story, but they don’t.
If you go to a park and require the use of an ECV, it’s on YOU to make sure you plan accordingly. When I was stuck in my wheelchair for 5 years, I brought my own wheelchair. Now I will be in my walking boot for the rest of my life, I will always make sure I bring my walking boot. A friend of mine needs to use her walker or rent an ECV, if she is staying at a nearby hotel she always orders an ECV from an outside source for the duration of her trip. If staying at my house we always make sure to get to the parks more than early enough for them to have plenty of ECVs for her to get one. That is all on you, as a guest.
M
Like most people here, we love Disney. My husband and I even got married at Disney World. We try to take our kids there at least once a year for vacation. It pains me to write this, but the parks are totally overcrowded and our last trip there was less than enjoyable. A woman actually used her stroller, with her child in it, as a weapon in an attempt to cut in front of me as I was walking along with my family. She repeatedly ran over the back of my ankle, until I moved out of her way and she ran past me. I literally had blood dripping from my ankle to my heel. Prices were too high. Wait times were too long, despite going “off season,” and to top it all off, my son and I caught COVID from the crowds at Disney World. We had reservations to go back in November. I’m glad we canceled and decided to go to the Carribean instead. It’s almost heartbreaking.
Whitney
If you don’t feel unsafe in a large crowd you don’t understand the ramifications of what happens in an emergency.
It definitely makes my family and I feel unsafe, and we don’t even go when it’s at it’s most packed.
Starts out as annoying but because we know people are potentially going to be the cause of a real safety hazard when they are incapable of recognizing they are in a park with so many others.
The line management has become better overall but it still is illogical in many parts. The fact that people are willing to wait over an hour-even two hours for a ride seems insane to us. We refuse to do so. I grew up going to Disneyland and if a line was 45 mins (like Indiana Jones) that was considered crazy, you’d go on a ride like that only once if you really really liked it.
I think since ppl have entertainment on their phones etc.they will wait. But they also ignore their kids because of this. Not a big deal but akward and definitely annoying when a random kid is squeezing up through the line and the parents are clueless. We also noticed TONS of reports of lost kids recently and most the parents seemed inconvenienced more than actually caring about the fact that they are lost. This is the poor attitude that gets worse in crowds.
The other major safety hazards lie in more accidents, I’ve had rude people body slam us, thankfully we keep our kiddos between us/in front of us. People that cluelessly take up the entire walkways with their party and stare up at the sky or at their phones unaware they are in the way….
They might be the first to get trampled in an emergency. It happens plenty where people die from such things, or end up hospitalized and I don’t care for the thought of either happening to me and mine. Especially when we pay what we do to be there.
There’s no good excuse for it really beyond the corporation is too greedy. Which is not unexpected. Just sad.
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