From the OC Register:
Disneyland traditionally fills up during the holiday season, often prompting the park to temporarily shut its gates.
But this week’s crowds appear to be bigger than usual at both parks. Perhaps that was because some visitors postponed trips originally planned for last week until the heavy rain arrived.
Disney stopped visitors from entering both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure after the parks filled to capacity Tuesday.
It was the second day in a row for restrictions at Disneyland, which was stuffed by 10 a.m — just two hours after the park opened.
Disney California Adventure’s gates were closed shortly before 1 p.m.
“It’s always busy this time, but never like this,” said Kelly Johns, founder of Mousewait, a smart phone app that tracks ride wait times.
Disneyland halts new guests from entering when it reaches capacity, estimated to be about 75,000 to 80,000 people. Disney declines to release exact attendance figures and didn’t release the number of previous closures.
Tuesday, employees at first sent buyers of one-park passes to Disney California Adventure, until crowds were expected to diminish at Disneyland.
“We were going to go to Disneyland, but I guess we’re going (to) California Adventure instead because Disneyland is closed,” said Gary Weathers of Chicago, as he stood in line outside of Disney California Adventure.
At 1 p.m., California Adventure filled up, too.
Those with advance tickets and premium annual passes could still get into the parks, said Betsy Sanchez, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.
At 10 a.m. , the wait for Space Mountain was about 80 minutes. On the same day and time last year, the Space Mountainwait was 25 minutes, said Mousewait’s Johns.
Pirates of the Caribbean was similar: Tuesday’s morning wait was about 60 minutes, with lines stretching out near the Golden Horseshoe restaurant. Last year, the line was just 20 minutes.
Johns said the morning wait times were lasting as long as they usually are at night when crowds traditionally swell: Indiana Jones Adventure‘s line ran two hours on Tuesday morning. Last year, it was shorter at night: 75 minutes.See photos and discussion of
Disneyland wait times on Mousewait.com’s lounge.
Inside the park, Disney employees rerouted visitors away from Adventureland’s entrance, funneling them through Frountierland instead. At the parking lots, employees gave fliers with tips on dealing with the crowds.
Disneyland visitors tried to cope with the congestion. Kristina Goiron, visiting from Vancouver with her husband and daughter, chowed down on plates of scrambled eggs and fruit while waiting in line to get on the Matterhorn.
“We’re trying to be efficient, so we’re eating breakfast in line,” Goiron said Tuesday.
Disney could let more visitors in later Tuesday as others leave. Visitors planning to go to Disneyland can check the crowd and closure updates by calling 714-781-7290 or checking Disneyland’s official Twitter account, twitter.com/disneyland