4th of July trip report

[robnadina]

Hi Everybody
Wanted to report on my weekend and Disneyland. Yes, I went on the 4th. No I am not crazy. Cast included myself, DH, DS-10 & DD-1.
We drove down Friday morning and checked in at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim, this was my 1st time staying off property. I am a DVC member and usually use my points to stay on, but I am saving them for WDW in Feb. Anyway, I was surprised at how nice and clean this hotel was. The staff was nice, the room very adaquate, the cribs provided by the hotel are Pack'n'Plays, but really clean and very sturdy. The walk to Disney is very short. I definately have a new hotel when I am not staying on property.
Friday afternoon headed on over to DCA. It was about 85 degrees. The crowds were heavy, but it was manageable. Nothing claustrophobic. Got to ride most of what we wanted and still have time to let DD run around in the water at Bug's Life. Had priority seating for Electrical Parade, this was really nice and the view was great. Seated in the outside of Wine Country Tratorria. The dessert box was yummy as was the wine. DD was fascinated by the floats. This was her 1st parade. A little hint , after the parade, hang out where you are for 10 mintues. The crowd was overwhelming and it seemed like you were standing in one spot for long periods of time.
Saturday went to DL of course. We were expecting it to be a mass exodus of people, and weren't disappointed, only it was on a much smaller scale. Average wait times for E-ticket rides was 45 min. Just like any other Saturday. Got there and of course got our fast passes to Space Mountain. Rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates & Mansion. All still 10 min waits. Went to Indy to find only a 30 min wait. Since we Parent Swap this wait time was ideal. We just bummed around the park riding this and that for a couple hours. Went back to the hotel for swimming and naps around 3, then went back into the park for dinner at Blue Bayou & then off to Small World area for ice cream and fire works. This is where we usually watch them away from main street. The fireworks were obviously on a bigger scale than normal because of it being the 4th. It was a very good day. The crowds were like any other Saturday.
Slept in a little on Sunday. Then went over to DL at around 9:30 am for a very pleasant surprise. The park was empty. I mean there were people there, but it was empty. You ccould see the other side of Main Street empty. And it remained this way all day. It was another 85 degree day and Splash Mountain had a 15 min wait at noon! I dont know if it is like this every year, but the day after the 4th is definately the time to go. You could get down Main Street during a parade!
Was a great weekend, especially since we expected huge crowds and were treated to only what was normal summer weekend traffic. We also discovered another great day to go.
Hope you all had a great weekend!

[NotaGeek]

Sounds like a great trip ... thanks for the report!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Glad you had a great time, the news about the (lack of) crowds is very interesting!

[2Epcot]

Great report, sounds like fun. I had heard the crowds were light during the day on the 4th compared to holidays in the past.

[MegaDisney]

I love DLR for the 4th of July!!

Thanks for posting this, it sounds like you had a blast.