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During the push that sparked stay-at-home orders statewide, crowds were scarce in Downtown Disney, the shopping and dining district outside of Disneyland, which is the only part of the resort. currently open to customers.
But now the guests are arriving – so many that it’s caused a traffic disruption in Anaheim. On the morning of February 24, more than a mile of cars lined up to park even before the Disney grounds opened. Attendance was so high that Anaheim police visited the area in the morning to deal with traffic and crowds.
Once visitors park, there can be up to an hour of waiting to go through security and temperature checks, just to enter and queue in real or virtual queues to enter. stores for shopping, which also had wait times of up to several hours this week.
So what is all this problem? In short: Star Wars.
On February 19, Disney opened a new Star Wars trading post in the long-vacant space of the Rainforest Cafe, and despite the pandemic, fans have flocked to it.
I visited downtown Disney on February 22, the Monday after it opened, expecting the same kind of virtual queue as I did in the fall for World of Disney – maybe two hours at a time. ‘outside. After going through a 40 minute wait to get into Downtown Disney, an employee outside the trading post told me at 3:30 p.m. that the virtual queue was already closed for the day. They expected the virtual queue of over four hours to end at 8 p.m.
“Being there felt like a regular Disney day. A ton of people ”, Antonio Reynoso tweeted after visiting that same Monday. “He also asked an employee how the weekend was and he said a lot worse. It means a lot more people than on weekdays. He said it was a “drunk” place.
Once guests are called back through the virtual queue system, there is another wait in an in-person line, which can last up to an hour.
Take a look inside the new Star Wars Trading Post at Disneyland.
Images AaronP / Bauer-Griffin / GCThere was a temporary Star Wars trading post in the Wonderground Gallery space in Downtown Disney for months, but it has since closed. The Disney Art Gallery has now reopened. While the merchandise is largely the same as what was previously available at this store and the World of Disney gift shop, the raffle is immersed in an environment reminiscent of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge inside the park. Disneyland.
There’s also a new 7-foot-tall Lego Chewbacca statue outside of Downtown Disney’s Lego store, made up of over 36,000 bricks.
For some Disneyland fans, any new experience at the resort is worth checking out. There’s also a recently opened WandaVision photoshoot in Hollywoodland, where people can ‘get’ inside the show by filming through a television frame on a re-enactment of the set.
Other factors are contributing to the size of the crowds at Downtown Disney lately, including the return of alfresco dining to fan favorites like the Carthay Circle Lounge; it’s inside Disney California Adventure, but currently accessible as part of the DTD expansion in the Buena Vista Street and Hollywoodland areas of the park.
Fans must wait in a virtual queue and then queue to enter the new Star Wars Trading Post.
Images AaronP / Bauer-Griffin / GCA big discount for Legacy Pass holders was also a huge draw. Monday through Thursday, Legacy Pass holders – those who held active passes when parks closed last year – can get up to 30% off food and merchandise at Downtown Disney, as opposed to to what was as low as 10% when the annual pass holder program was active. This rebate is expected to end on March 11 and will likely result in lower attendance.
“I went to downtown Disney to find a solution after the one year shutdown, but that didn’t help,” Los Angeles Eateries tweeted February 24. “Overcrowded, escaped in less than an hour. Incredibly long queues to enter stores. It is not worth IMO.
The crowded atmosphere is occurring as Orange County is still in the purple level and the area’s capacity is limited to 25%. The county, however, is gradually approaching the red level, which would allow eating indoors at 25% capacity and increasing capacity for both outdoor dining and Downtown Disney in general. Another factor that will soon draw more people in: A Taste of Disney, a paid experience taking place in California Adventure starting March 18.
“I’m going to downtown Disney next week before this all starts, but only for a few hours,” Sarah S. tweeted February 24. “It gets too crowded as the day progresses, even though the cast members are so good at masks and lines.”
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