Which STAR WARS Land will be more crowded at opening, DISNEYLAND or Disneyworld? VIP Ticketing???

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
Hello Everyone!
So what do you think? Which STAR WARS land will be more crowded, Disneyland or Disney World the opening year? Generally, from my experience Disneyland has lighter crowds due to the fact that it is more of a "locals" park. Do you think this will hold true or be the case when STAR WARS land opens in 2019? I am starting to think about planning a trip for 2019 and was wondering what every ones take is. In addition, how crazy do you think Disney world and/or Disneyland will be that summer? Also, do you think there will be VIP ticketed events similar to MNSSHP during certain nights in the beginning where they shut the park early to regular guests? Looking forward to your comments...
 
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Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
I imagine they will both be equally as crowded upon opening... filled to capacity. I'd think you'll have to queue just to enter the land for the first few months, and that goes for both coasts.

I agree with you. I think both parks will be equally crowded on opening day/month, but I'm not sure how the following months will be. With Disneyworld having over 25 Hotels (over 31,000 rooms) vs. Disneyland having 3 hotels (approx. 2500 rooms) I would have to think that Disneyworld will be more crowded due to the guest population. In my experience at both parks, Disneyworld is generally substantially busier than Disneyland. I find it much harder to get a fast passes at Disneyworld vs. Disneyland. I know that Disneyworld has Fastpass + which allows guests to get a fast pass 60 days in advance, and Disneyland doesn't, and that may change, but even so it is SO easy to get fast passes at Disneyland. So, just not sure how the months following STAR WARS LAND opening will play out.
 

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
I think Disneyland will have the most crowd issues. It's being added to a chronically overcrowded park already, plus they have that massive base of AP holders close by.

I think with the Disneyland annual pass holder blackouts they have recently introduced, it has helped control overcrowding from annual pass holders. I was recently in Disneyland this past July, and the crowds were pretty light. When I spoke to some cast members about it, they said the Summer blackouts for many tiers of annual pass holders seems to be making a huge difference.
 

MotherOfBirds

Well-Known Member
I'd vote World, personally. It has more general traffic and more international traffic along with more hotels than one would normally need. As an area resident, I'm not thrilled by the prospect of even more clowns in this volkswagon.
 

drizgirl

Well-Known Member
I think with the Disneyland annual pass holder blackouts they have recently introduced, it has helped control overcrowding from annual pass holders. I was recently in Disneyland this past July, and the crowds were pretty light. When I spoke to some cast members about it, they said the Summer blackouts for many tiers of annual pass holders seems to be making a huge difference.
Well, they can't block them all. Blackouts aren't a new thing. You can only shuffle crowds around so much.

I stand by my prediction. DL will be overwhelmed by this new land. At least DHS is only one park out of 4. There are lots of other choices guests can make to avoid the crowd on a given day.
 

grnflash

Active Member
DL. It's in the castle park. Visitors to WDW will pack SWL but will still need to allocate days to MK, Epcot and many (most probably) will still be going to AK to see Avatar for the first time. DL AP's can keep coming back to SWL again and again until they've had their fill.
 

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
DL. It's in the castle park. Visitors to WDW will pack SWL but will still need to allocate days to MK, Epcot and many (most probably) will still be going to AK to see Avatar for the first time. DL AP's can keep coming back to SWL again and again until they've had their fill.

Is it possible though that the Disneyland park is able to handle the crowd better because people will also be wanting to see other things in the park where as Hollywood studios the majority of the days park attendance will be drawn to star wars land?
 

drizgirl

Well-Known Member
Is it possible though that the Disneyland park is able to handle the crowd better because people will also be wanting to see other things in the park where as Hollywood studios the majority of the days park attendance will be drawn to star wars land?
Disneyland isn't nearly as good at absorbing the massive crowds as its Florida counterparts. It wasn't built in 1955 in anticipation of current crowd levels. Walkways aren't as wide, and queues don't have as much room. Trying to navigate New Orleans Square can be gridlock on a good day. I cannot even imagine what it will be like once SWL opens.

Disneyland had almost 18 million visitors in 2016. DHS had just under 11 million. Of course, there are more attractions to absorb people at DL, but there reaches a point where it just doesn't matter how many attractions you get on because getting TO the next attraction is just not worth it.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
I agree with you. I think both parks will be equally crowded on opening day/month, but I'm not sure how the following months will be. With Disneyworld having over 25 Hotels (over 31,000 rooms) vs. Disneyland having 3 hotels (approx. 2500 rooms) I would have to think that Disneyworld will be more crowded due to the guest population. In my experience at both parks, Disneyworld is generally substantially busier than Disneyland. I find it much harder to get a fast passes at Disneyworld vs. Disneyland. I know that Disneyworld has Fastpass + which allows guests to get a fast pass 60 days in advance, and Disneyland doesn't, and that may change, but even so it is SO easy to get fast passes at Disneyland. So, just not sure how the months following STAR WARS LAND opening will play out.

There are 2,500 Disney-owned hotel rooms on Disneyland property. And there are 21,000 additional hotel rooms in the adjacent "Anaheim Resort District", and over half of those rooms are within walking distance of Disneyland. The other 10,000 rooms are within a short shuttle bus ride away. So that gets you the following stats;

California Tourism in 2016 = 268 Million Leisure Travelers (17 Million from Overseas) http://industry.visitcalifornia.com/Find-Research/California-Statistics-Trends/
Disneyland Resort Area = 23,000 Hotel Rooms
Disneyland Park '16 Attendance = 18 Million

Florida Tourism in 2016 = 113 Million Leisure Travelers (11 Million from Overseas) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-bz-visit-florida-tourism-2016-story.html
WDW Resort Area = 33,000 Hotel Rooms
Disney Hollywood Studios '16 Attendance = 10.7 Million


Disneyland's Star Wars construction is currently four to six months ahead of DHS construction. It's easy to do the math on which one will be most crowded upon opening. But honestly, once both of them are up and running they both will be slammed with people. But Disneyland will be the first out of the gate and will be the first one to deal with the maddening crowds.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
If all else was equal I'd say Disneyland by a substantial margin. However, it sounds like they're going to make access to Star Wars Land a premium, limited experience in Disneyland at the outset. At this point I can't really fault them for this because new rides like Star Tours 2.0 and the Nemo Submarine Voyage generated 6+ hour waits upon re-opening.

If they can get through the initial rush with a more regulated guest flow in the land that will reduce the crowds when it opens to all park guests. This may be the new normal for new additions in Disneyland.
 

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
There are 2,500 Disney-owned hotel rooms on Disneyland property. And there are 21,000 additional hotel rooms in the adjacent "Anaheim Resort District", and over half of those rooms are within walking distance of Disneyland. The other 10,000 rooms are within a short shuttle bus ride away. So that gets you the following stats;

California Tourism in 2016 = 268 Million Leisure Travelers (17 Million from Overseas) http://industry.visitcalifornia.com/Find-Research/California-Statistics-Trends/
Disneyland Resort Area = 23,000 Hotel Rooms
Disneyland Park '16 Attendance = 18 Million

Florida Tourism in 2016 = 113 Million Leisure Travelers (11 Million from Overseas) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-bz-visit-florida-tourism-2016-story.html
WDW Resort Area = 33,000 Hotel Rooms
Disney Hollywood Studios '16 Attendance = 10.7 Million


Disneyland's Star Wars construction is currently four to six months ahead of DHS construction. It's easy to do the math on which one will be most crowded upon opening. But honestly, once both of them are up and running they both will be slammed with people. But Disneyland will be the first out of the gate and will be the first one to deal with the maddening crowds.

Great Job with the Stats! I agree with the Anahiem resort area hotels. The way you presented it makes sense. The one thing to think about is the attendance of Hollywood studios being 10.7 million visitors. I am sure that that number will SUBSTANTIALLY increase with the opening of STAR WARS Land (and Toy Story land respectively) and pull numbers from the other 3 parks attendance numbers.

Magic Kingdom- 20.4 million
Epcot- 11.7 million
Hollywood studios (as you mentioned) 10.7 million
Animal Kingdom 10.8 million

 

Kamikaze

Well-Known Member
It should also be mentioned that barring a miracle, WDW's version won't open until after summer 19. Sept/Oct. DLR will open April/May.
 

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