I thought it would be really fun to take my two year old to Disneyland for her upcoming third birthday, after all Disneyland is supposed to be “The Happiest Place on Earth”, isn’t it?
I have had plenty of really great experiences at Disneyland, but let me tell you this, and heed my words, never, ever, ever go to Disneyland the week after Christmas. I don’t know how many people they allow in the park at any given time, but there were thousands upon thousands of entrants.
We arrived and waited in line for parking for about 45 minutes, which is almost unheard of there. They are usually very, very organized but for some reason on this day, they were lacking in that area.
When we got to the ticket counter, there was another half hour wait. We should have bought tickets online, and it would be my recommendation that you do so if you are headed there.
After entering the park, we could barely move. The amount of people they had packed in was a huge problem. You expect Disneyland to be busy, but I have never witnessed anything like this before. Living in Southern California, I have had the opportunity to go to Disneyland like others might go to the movies, and I have never in my life seen it in such disarray.
After a few rides, we waited in another long line for pretzels, which was the lesser of all the evils lines when absolutely needing something to eat. The only area we could find to sit and eat was behind the pretzel stand – which wasn’t that bad until it was time to clean up. When I went to pick up our trash, I was snapped at by an employee who told me we couldn’t be there. Of course, I am thinking to myself that I’ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes, and he just decided to snap at me as I was cleaning up? I brushed it off and away we went.
The shortest line was for the carousel, which was great for the baby. But, when the parades started you might as well forget it. Usually, while the parades are going on, they are very organized and can get you from one land to another with little or no problem. Not on this day! Not only we were stuck in Fantasy Land, but most of the rides weren’t operating, and the employees were all very touchy.
I contacted Disneyland when we got home, and told them of my experience and a few days later they responded and told me that they were very sorry, and that their employees are trained in excellent customer service and all this should have been avoided. I agree that usually the employees are great, but commented that on this day, because it was so crowded and everybody’s emotions were running high, this is when they should have been at their best.
After a few more emails, they finally offered me compensation for my day (save your tickets if you ever have a bad day there). We’ll definitely be going back, but this time I will clearly pick a better day!