I missed this the other day, but I'm with
@Touchdown on this. While I don't recall the how much of Magnolia Park was taken up by extended Mansion queue, the HM line was regularly bursting into the courtyard when I've been going in July. It's by no means a HMH-specific problem, and seemed relatively constant from ~11 to fireworks.
Perhaps this is just something people don't notice or think about as much if you've been a lifelong Disneylander, but seeing lines spill out onto already tiny walkways or into other areas really make the park feel much more crowded and adds to the sense that there are people everywhere. It's quite unpleasant and claustrophobic to me, and I wouldn't be able to fully relax in Magnolia Park if the HM queue was overflowing right behind me.
It's something I grin and bear about Disneyland, but the fact that much of the park feels like it's constantly bursting at the seams with people is not something I enjoy about the experience.
While other Disney parks also get plenty crowded, none of them really feel like Disneyland in this way, which honestly makes walking around them much more pleasant. Most parks, in fact, have at least a few rides with massive queue areas that are seldom used but kept aroud for this reason, so that the lines don't intermix wth regular pedestrian traffic. I understand that this is not necessarily a problem that may be fixable in every situation because of DL's age, size, and logistics, and that it still wouldn't necessarily be enough on days like NYE, but it would make the walkways a lot more pleasant and navigable during busy parts of the day without sacrificing any of the charm that exists within DL.
As much as I don't want Pirates to be on permanent LL, that is also a queue that needs to be expanded badly. I have no idea how they'd do it, but I'm certain that sooner or later they'll find a solution. The fact is that it's a mess much of the time, and it doesn't make the area charming, it makes it stressful, and I imagine that the park ops team will eventually find a solution. They
need to.
This is not me advocating for Magnolia Park to be removed, or for trees to be chopped down, or that the area is done in a perfunctory way just to make it more accessible. This is just me stating that I understand the urge of DL to contain their attraction queues so that they don't spill out onto walkways constantly, because as much as some people may be used to it or excuse it, no one wins in that scenario.