Thousands wait in a nearly mile-long line for opening of ride-less part of Disneyland - SF Gate

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On Nov. 19, Disneyland expanded its Downtown Disney district by opening part of one of its theme parks, Disney’s California Adventure, for shopping and dining. The expansion into Buena Vista Street, the main shopping and dining part of California Adventure, has been highly anticipated by Disney fans. Even without rides, it’s the first time they could set foot into a California Disney park since March.

Huge crowds greeted Downtown Disney on opening day. Many visitors posted photos in their holiday Disney gear, saying what an amazing time they had at Buena Vista Street.

I was there, but I was not one of those people. For me, it was a long, uncomfortable day, mostly spent waiting in lines, not the kind of day you expect at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Writing about theme parks is my job, so it was important to be there for the opening of Buena Vista Street. But more than that, it was pure curiosity about being inside the gates, actually inside the park, for the first time since March.

This year, I’ve been to several reopening days: Universal Orlando and Dollywood in June, Magic Kingdom and Epcot at Walt Disney World in July. I’ve visited Downtown Disney at Disneyland many times, even while the parks are closed. I have become comfortable practicing all of the new safety protocols and the virtual queue systems. Maybe it’s because I’ve become so accustomed to all of it that I was expecting things to go smoothly Thursday, and maybe that expectation is what disappointed me most of all.

Visitors walk down Hollywood Blvd inside Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, November 19, 2020.
Orange County Register via Getty Images

Long story short: It wasn’t a good day. Here’s how I spent it: waiting in lines.

8:30 a.m.: Although Downtown Disney doesn’t open until 10 a.m., and its parking lot (which, as of Friday, is charging $10 to park again) won’t open until just before then, there is already a huge wait when I arrive at the Harborside gates, the smaller entrance on the other side of Downtown Disney. I’m there 90 minutes early and there are probably over 1,000 people ahead of me, though I have no way of counting.

Usually, this is the shorter line. I expected lines, but I never expected this many people to show up this early. The feeling is common. As I’m waiting, I overhear people speculating, given how long the line is already, about how awful the wait will be at noon.

10:30 a.m.: I make it through a temperature check, two screenings from security dogs, and bag check. After a two-hour wait and a queue that was about three-quarters of a mile, according to my pedometer, I’m finally inside the gates. I head straight to the sign with the QR code to get in the virtual queue for Buena Vista Street. The gates have only been open for half an hour, but there are 300 groups ahead of me for entry. My guess is the wait will be about four hours. “It will be so fun when you get in!” a cast member tries to assure me. “You can have a corn dog!”

11 a.m.: I walk over to World of Disney, the huge gift shop that’s been open since Downtown Disney reopened its gates in July. Normally, there’s a two-hour virtual queue to get in, but I wait for only about half an hour. The people who are here on opening day of Buena Vista Street are willing to brave the crowds and the lines because something new is opening at Disney, and they want to see it as soon as possible.

The lines are long, but they’re socially distanced. It seems like cast members are being extra careful today: cleaning surfaces as soon as someone touches them, strictly enforcing spacing in lines, asking people to put their masks back on if it’s been too long between sips of water. The purple tier’s restrictions came just before this reopening, so there’s no more indoor dining, and capacity is more limited than it was.

11:30 a.m.: Because I want to fully experience Buena Vista Street, I plan to do all of my shopping and dining there. As I walk into World of Disney, I think, there’s no way I’m buying anything. But all the Christmas decorations are up, and N’Sync’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” is playing. It warms my Xennial heart. Before I know it, I’m buying an armful of gifts. They’re mostly Christmas masks.

Visitors walk down Buena Vista Street inside Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020.
Orange County Register via Getty Images

Noon: As I leave World of Disney, I’m starting to get really hungry, but I don’t want to eat in Downtown Disney. Carthay Circle, California Adventure’s nicest restaurant, is reopen as of today, and I have grand dreams of a luxurious Old Hollywood-themed lunch with a classic cocktail off their new menu. I have been thinking about this lunch for weeks. The only snack options near me that don’t have a long wait are churros and cupcakes, and I just think I’ll get a headache if I eat one on an empty stomach.

I decide to hold out. That lunch will be worth it.

12:05 p.m.: Hoping against hope, I refresh the virtual queue page for Buena Vista Street. “Come on in!” it says. There are zero groups ahead of me. It’s only been an hour and a half, so if this is true, it’s a glitch or a Disney miracle. I walk back over and ask a cast member. “Disregard that screen,” she says. “You’ve only got a few groups in front of you, so I would guess about 20 more minutes.”

“Wow,” I say, “that’s a lot faster than I thought.” She tells me that the people who checked in after me have a much longer wait, and that there are 700 groups behind me.

12:45 p.m.: The cast member’s estimate passed 20 minutes ago, but I had a glitchy thing on the check-in page when I tried to select text notifications, so I think I might have missed the text. I ask again. This time, another cast member tells me they’ve paused entry, and maybe the wait will be another 20-30 minutes.

1:10 p.m.: There’s a little girl wailing in despair near me. Her mom is alone with three other young kids, so she’s fighting a losing battle. The little girl just wails and wails. Same kid, same.

1:15 p.m.: It has been 20 or 30 minutes. I have not moved.

1:16 p.m.: The text came in! Hallelujah, I am saved.

1:20 p.m.: Not saved, just in another line, this time to get into Buena Vista Street.

Kim Burgett, left, his wife, Ericka Prado, and their daughters Alyna Burgett and Rilye Burgett, pose for a selfie on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood Land inside Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020.
Orange County Register via Getty Images

1:30 p.m.: The additional line was only about 15 minutes, not much in comparison to how much waiting I’ve been doing today. The difference is this queue is in the sun and as of today, a new pandemic restriction is that we are not allowed to drink anything in line. It’s tough.

I am hot and sore and hungry, but it doesn’t matter. As soon as I pass through the gates of California Adventure, a cast member waves and says “Welcome back!” I am standing inside Disneyland, totally overwhelmed by one thing feeling normal for just one second. It is such a rush of relief. Even after all the waiting, it feels really good to be here.

1:31 p.m.: I try to get in the virtual queue for the Five and Dime, the gift shop that’s open in the park, but the cast members I ask aren’t sure whether there’s a virtual queue or just waiting in the long line. I try to scope it out, but I’m so hungry that I abandon this plan in favor of Carthay Circle.

1:35 p.m.: Hoping against hope I can get a table at my favorite restaurant in the park, I go up to one of the cast members in front of the restaurant. She directs me to someone else who tells me to be back at that spot at 2 p.m.. “Is that to sit down or to get in another line?” I ask. “It’s to get in another line,” he says, “but the sooner you get here the earlier you will sit down.” I walk away to find a table near Grizzly Peak, and just rest for a few minutes by the massive waterfall. It is cool and pleasant, and this is the happiest I have felt all day.

A question that will matter to a lot of fans: They do have turkey legs. And if you buy one, you are then (and only then) allowed to buy a beer. You can walk around with it, but you can’t drink it unless you’re sitting or standing still, socially distanced from others. (They also have churros and popcorn, but not holiday popcorn buckets. Sorry, eBayers.)

1:45 p.m.: I go back to Carthay Circle, figuring the line is going to get long at 2 p.m. A lot of other people had this idea. The line is easily 50 groups long already. There is no way I’m getting a seat any time in the next three hours.

2 p.m.: I haven’t eaten since toast at 7 a.m. At this point, I’m so hungry and fatigued that I just get whatever is closest to me, which is Award Wieners, the walk-up restaurant that serves Disney’s legendary corn dogs. I order a corn dog and the apple pie funnel cake fries, one of my favorite seasonal foods at Disneyland. I haven’t eaten a corn dog since I was a kid, but wow, this is really good. I don’t know if I’m just starving or what, but I’m fine with this choice. It turns out that cast member last year this morning was right about that corn dog after all.

A sign at California Adventure Park reminds visitors that all rides are closed at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020.
Orange County Register via Getty Images

2:30 p.m.: I’m ready to explore a little bit more. The only problem is, there are long, long lines at the Five and Dime, and at the Trolley Treats bakery. Even though I’m feeling a little bit better, I’ve been waiting for more than five hours in lines and virtual queues today, and I don’t have the stamina to wait another hour or more to buy a piece of churro toffee.

2:31 p.m.: I walk toward Soarin’, mainly to see whether I can find any of the Disneyland cats. They must be outraged that people are back inside their park and are hiding in protest, because I don’t spot any.

2:40 p.m.: Essentially, there are three main attractions open in Buena Vista Street: Carthay Circle, the gift shop, and the bakery. (There are a couple of quick service food places open, too.) I’ve been at Downtown Disney for six hours, and I haven’t gotten to do any of them. Because this day has been so draining, I’m starting to feel like if I wait any longer, I’ll get tired on the drive back. I decide to cut my losses.

5 p.m.: I go home and eat leftovers on my couch. It wasn’t the day I had hoped for — but this isn’t the year any of us had hoped for. Maybe next time.