And I'm thankful we did. Each report we get about what's new at Disneyland makes it sound worse and worse.
They keep raising the prices hoping the crowds will thin out. It's not happening. It's getting busier and busier. When we first started going, there were off times, usually in the late winter/early spring. No longer.
When we started the meets around my birthday, there were hardly any crowds. Then states started changing the weeks off schools had and more and more people were there.
And climate change. I know there are deniers, but when we started going in the 80s, it could be downright cold in the winter months. Brian pointed out that the first meets had us in jackets at night, but when we started to wind down, a long sleeved shirt was more than enough to keep us warm in the evenings.
I have no interest in Star Wars. None. I think I may have seen part of the very first movie. If I did, I don't remember it. At all. I haven't seen any of the others and really don't care if I do or not. The Guardians of the Galaxy overlay of Tower of Terror intrigues me,. but not enough to spend hundreds of dollars to fight crowds.
There was a time we'd go up in the evening just to eat at the Blue Bayou. They had this awesome meal, Chicken Florentine. They removed it from the menu when they had a change in Disney management. And over the years, there is really nothing special about the food. So, there's no draw there.
I'm one of those people who believes that one of the reasons the parks are so crowded now is that annual passes have the option to pay monthly. Back when you had to pay in full when you got it, it wasn't nearly so bad. Because people can't/won't save up. It's easier to have it automatically withdrawn from your bank account or credit card. I'm curious how much of a drop in attendance there would be if they ended that. I'm betting a fair amount.
Someone shared a news story yesterday about the new rules for parking in DownTown Disney. Now, to have two hour free parking, you have to spend at least twenty dollars in DTD to have the ticket validated. And it's twelve bucks an hour after that, chargeable for the half hour. I was telling Brian about this last night and he said "you know, I have absolutely no urge to go there again. I'm a little bothered that the only time we went last year was on the last day our passes were valid. But I have no interest in what it's become."
Yeah. Me, either. I don't miss the two hour car ride up, the waiting in line to get on the bus to the park from the parking lot, the wait to get into the park, the wait to get on any rides, the wait for food, the wait for water, the wait for the bus back to the parking lot and the two hour ride home. I have more compelling things to do here at home. And there's no waiting.
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