See Footage Of Intense Disneyland Crowds After Reports Attendance Had Been 'Softening'

While Disney on the whole seems to be climbing back into its pre-pandemic position of power via the 2024 movie schedule, the theme park realm appears to still be finding its mouse ears. With reports of attendance and profits softening being reported by those in the know, you’d think that huge mobs of park attendees wouldn’t be something to expect. And yet it would seem that just recently there were plenty of people likely clamoring to see everything new at Disneyland. Recent footage shows intense crowds lining up to get into “the happiest place on Earth,” in the middle of a Friday night -- and you can see it for yourself.

Social media users saw park fans outside of the whimsical Anaheim destination. Needless to say, there was a gigantic traffic jam, both in terms of cars and people congesting points of Disneyland’s campus. You can see part of this phenomenon for yourself, thanks to the video included below:

Now, the seemingly good news for the people in that Disneyland line is that for August 16th, 2024, closing time was 12 AM. So, if that was the line at 9 PM, there’s a chance that those folks still got to grab some popcorn, potentially enjoy a fireworks show and get on Star Tours: The Adventure Continues before the night was out.

This seems to clash with recent remarks made during this year’s Q3 Walt Disney Company earnings call, reported by The Motley Fool. Hugh Johnston, the company’s Senior Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer, didn’t seem to think that there was going to be that much of a change in this “softening” in park attendance. Given that he cited the economy as a key influence and that “the lower-income consumer is feeling a little bit of stress," you definitely wouldn’t expect a jump in attendance, especially after 2023’s Disney Parks ticket price increase.

This ultimately puts more importance on a huge question that many are probably asking right now: why was the OG Disney Park so crushed that late on a Friday night in August? Well, apparently, the second tweet in that initial post seems to have indicated that the long discontinued practice of Disneyland Date Nite is still going strong.

It’s not exactly an official happening, as there wasn’t anything official on the books. With this year’s round of fun Disney After Hours events looking to have wrapped, it appears that there was just a healthy crowd looking to take advantage of the extended weekend hours. Which led to the actual traffic situation looking like this as people were trying to move about:

It may be a time of economic uncertainty but, as some might tell you, periods like these instill an importance when it comes to having fun and blowing off steam. You can probably bet that by time the Q4 earnings call swings around, you’ll hear Hugh Johnston and the rest of the Walt Disney Company’s representatives address this unexpected happening. At least, that’ll be true if this trend of crowds flocking to the House of Mouse keeps up.

While we sit here and continue to ponder the mystery of robust Disneyland attendance, you can enjoy some prime programming reflecting the history of Walt Disney’s amusement centers on streaming. With a Disney+ subscription, there are plenty of options that’ll help you scratch that park going itch, whether you’re planning for a trip in the near future, or just wishing upon a star your next trip is going to happen sooner rather than later.