Just left DL this morning....

[Disneyland1084]

after being there almost a week. Honestly, it felt like the pre-pandemic crowds to me. I should have known that getting to experience DL at only 35% capacity was too good to be true. I'd say the crowds were manageable, and the ride wait times weren't always accurate. It said 85 minutes for Splash Mountain one afternoon, I was on it in 30 minutes. I'm happy to see life is getting back to normal, but I guess it's too much to ask to get to experience low crowds at DL, lol. It was my 2 year old DS's first trip there and he loved it. All in all, it was great to be back. Have any other Disers been to DL recently? If so, post about it here.
ETA: I have to say the overall selection of souvenirs in Downtown Disney and both parks was very disappointing. I bought a couple of refrigerator magnets and Christmas ornaments and one shirt. Most Disney trips I buy a LOT!!!!

 

[Astylla]

Just to be clear the 35% was lifted when California reoepend everything on June 15th. While Disney has not released exact numbers or percentages since then , most speculation is between 60 to 80 percent capacity. Glad you still had a good trip

 

[Disneyland1084]

Just to be clear the 35% was lifted when California reoepend everything on June 15th. While Disney has not released exact numbers or percentages since then , most speculation is between 60 to 80 percent capacity. Glad you still had a good trip

I'd say it felt like 80% to me. I miss it already. Summer of 2022 better get here quick so I can go back.

 

[DLgal]

They are still only at around 50% capacity. It feels more crowded because parades and shows haven't returned so people don't have many places to go if they aren't on rides or in queues.

 

[SeaDis]

I miss it already. Summer of 2022 better get here quick so I can go back.

This is known as Post Disney Depression (PDD). It's real, and there is only one cure... start planning!

 

[Wesley815]

They are still only at around 50% capacity. It feels more crowded because parades and shows haven't returned so people don't have many places to go if they aren't on rides or in queues.

Source? Not saying it's untrue, but I've never seen Disney officially announce numbers or capacity restrictions in place after June 15th.

 

[Disneyland1084]

This is known as Post Disney Depression (PDD). It's real, and there is only one cure... start planning!

Oh believe me, I already am. We weren't even half way through this trip when we were already talking about what hotel to stay at next year, lol. We stayed at Park Vue Inn this time, which is a motel directly across the street. Next year we want to stay at one with a waterslide, so we're thinking Howard Johnson or Anaheim Marriott theme park.

 

[Malcon10t]

Source? Not saying it's untrue, but I've never seen Disney officially announce numbers or capacity restrictions in place after June 15th.

It is about 50% currently. Source? Nothing I will name, but I know.... Take it or leave it.

That said, staffing is currently about 55%. They don't expect to be back to 100% anytime soon. And while we enjoyed our "low crowds" of 15-25% in May, and the 35% in early June, I have enjoyed seeing things start to look more normal. (Fireworks, buffets....) OPening day "crowds" were fun, but man the place looked bare. Memorial Day weekend, you could feel the difference between opening day and the elevated 30-35%. Avengers weekend also felt busier but I think because we were still doing the social distancing. After that we weren't back again til the 4th of July and you could start feeling the uptick. By July 17th weekend, with masks ending, Disney also increased capacity, which we have been feeling now. Last weekend, while it felt "busy", walking out of the park after fireworks was nothing like it was during pre pandemic. You COULD walk. My next trip is in a couple weeks and I don't expect it to be much different.

 

[Malcon10t]

Oh believe me, I already am. We weren't even half way through this trip when we were already talking about what hotel to stay at next year, lol. We stayed at Park Vue Inn this time, which is a motel directly across the street. Next year we want to stay at one with a waterslide, so we're thinking Howard Johnson or Anaheim Marriott theme park.

It is a little further, but I have heard good things about the water park at the Cambria on Katella.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I think some confusion comes from the difference between “capacity” and “typical crowds.” 50% capacity doesn’t mean “50% of the average August attendance.”

 

[Disneyland1084]

It is a little further, but I have heard good things about the water park at the Cambria on Katella.

Thanks, and if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Matrixleos]

Source? Not saying it's untrue, but I've never seen Disney officially announce numbers or capacity restrictions in place after June 15th.

I've posted this before but it's been proven to be VERY accurate so far...

I've been monitoring the Reservation Calendar almost daily since May. Along with best case guesses, rumors and assumptions. Take everything posted in this section with a grain of salt.

April/May - Back when DLR re-opened, it was rumored that park capacity was at 15-20%
Mid May - More reservation dates opened, it was rumored that park capacity was increased to 25%
Early June - More reservation dates opened, it was rumored that park capacity was increased to 30%
June 15 - Out of State Guest are allowed back, more reservation dates opened, it was rumored that park capacity was increased to 35%
Late June - More reservation dates opened, it was rumored that park capacity was increased to 40-50%

As of July 1st, only half of the 32,000 Disneyland Employees have returned to work. Currently DLR has 15,000 cast members and expects to hire another 1,000 this summer.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently said he expects low double digit attendance increases over the next several months and reach full capacity by the fall of 2021. Based on his comments, is it reasonable to expect the following increases....

August - expected low double digit capacity increase to 60%
September - expected low double digit capacity increase to 70%
October - expected low double digit capacity increase to 80%

 

[snakeyp23]

We just got done with a trip, and most of it was during a week. It felt worse than pre-Covid! Could be because it is in summer and just everyone wants to get out, could be less staff working, could be the fact that many people work from home. Anyone have any idea if there’s a clear cut reason why things were so crowded? It was absolutely insane trying to get a bus at night, and last time we went a couple years back hardly anyone was getting on this buses. I’m just curious, because everything from last time just seemed flipped on it’s head. Every intuition I had was wrong from last time. Just looking for some input/commiseration here

 

[Ichiban]

We recently returned from a 4 day visit, and it seemed very crowded to me, too. We rope dropped every day and still weren't able to get as much done as we thought we would. I even found some of the rides actually had longer wait times than posted. We still had a good time, but it definitely felt very busy!

 

[DLgal]

We just got done with a trip, and most of it was during a week. It felt worse than pre-Covid! Could be because it is in summer and just everyone wants to get out, could be less staff working, could be the fact that many people work from home. Anyone have any idea if there’s a clear cut reason why things were so crowded? It was absolutely insane trying to get a bus at night, and last time we went a couple years back hardly anyone was getting on this buses. I’m just curious, because everything from last time just seemed flipped on it’s head. Every intuition I had was wrong from last time. Just looking for some input/commiseration here

A bus to where?

 

[DLgal]

Source? Not saying it's untrue, but I've never seen Disney officially announce numbers or capacity restrictions in place after June 15th.

I'm not going to name my source, but I can see that my source seems to agree with some other people's sources.

 

[evilmommie]

I posted my thoughts from my Monday trip in the trip reports. It’s no where near “regular” summer capacity. Certainly busier than April-June. Still manageable.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...time-one-day-solo-trip.3847779/#post-63241404

 

[Skyegirl1999]

It’s no where near “regular” summer capacity.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...time-one-day-solo-trip.3847779/#post-63241404

I’m sure glad that in my dozens and dozens of visits each summer over the past 15 years, I somehow managed to miss the days you’re referring to!

 

[94bruin]

We just finished 4 days in the parks. It was definitely crowded but we've seen way worse crowds. The part that was always wall to wall people pre-covid is the walkway between Astro Orbiter and Star Tours/Buzz. This time, we were able to walk through with a lot of daylight between us and other ppl. The waits, while not great for those used to fastpass, weren't as high as they were in the past. I always remembered RSR to be like a 2-3 hour wait standby. It was often in the 75 to maybe 90 min range (except for one day where everything in the park seemed to have terrible waits.)

I have to agree with the merchandise comment! I found the stores lacking in merch.

 

[Matrixleos]

Crowds were not that bad if you did a bit of planning on how to manage and avoid them.