At today’s festivities celebrating the 1st anniversary of Pixar Pier and the opening of the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind attraction, a Disneyland Resort executive took some time to address attendance and capacity at the Disneyland Resort.
Patrick Finnegan, Vice President Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney District, had this to say:
Now, I know that many people, maybe some of you, thought that when we opened Galaxy's Edge, that we would be overcrowded, we'd be super crowded, it would be kind of a zoo; and what we found is with that capacity and with all those measures we put in place, it's just not the case. I don't know if you guys follow the wait times on the app, I certainly do. We have not seen wait times at these levels across the resort in decades, it is the best time to be here. And so, when I think about all of the new things we brought in for the summer and we think about all the capacity and all those other measures that we brought in for Disneyland Park, we're able to entertain more guests than ever before this summer.
And, that's exactly why, yesterday, we invited our annual passholders to bring-a-friend and come visit us this summer. First and foremost just as a thank you to our passholders, but also we wanted to make sure that they had the opportunity, particularly if they were otherwise blocked out, they would have the opportunity to come and bring-a-friend and experience just all of the amazing things we have to offer. This is a great summer for Disneyland Resort and thank you guys so much for being here.
He also addressed the additional capacity that came with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge:
One of the other things that may have sort of been lost along the way was that opening this land increased our capacity in that park by 20% which, I mean, Disneyland is a big park already. It got 20% bigger, it's a much bigger park, and between the measures we put in place and that capacity add, it's really delivered for us in remarkable ways.
Many have been surprised by the relatively short wait times at the Disneyland Resort since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge ended its reservation-only phase on June 24. Many have proposed several reasons including the additional capacity with the new land, summer blockout dates going into effect, confusion about the reservation system, or guests wanting to wait until Rise of the Resistance opens later this year.
In preparation for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Resort has added capacity through guest flow projects (Project Stardust), opening Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and launching the Tale of the Lion King show. Later this summer, Disneyland will also host the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade.