Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PEACE AND QUIET ARE ANYTHING BUT THE NORM
at Disneyland. Yet sometimes when
you're overwhelmed by it all, a place to decompress is worth a lot, as a reader from
Culver City, California, points out:
I confess that I can't tolerate the hyperstimulation as well as my husband and
kids. Sometimes when I'm on my ninth nerve, I'd give anything to put myself in
time-out and just collapse for a while. Are there any nice out-of-the-way places
in the park where this is possible?
Actually, there are a few. There's a
pier
with a canopy and benches opposite
the Matterhorn Bobsleds loading area. Created for a long-departed boat ride, the pier
overlooksaquietpool.There'sstillambientnoise,ofcourse,butthepierisfarenough
removed from the action to afford both tranquillity and a lovely setting. The
Hungry
Bear Restaurant
in Critter Country offers upper and lower covered outdoor decks
overlooking the Rivers of America. In between major feeding periods, the decks are
decidedly low-key.
Snow White's Grotto and Wishing Well,
described, is also very
pleasant, though there is a modest but continuous flow of pedestrian traffic there. Fin-
ally,thealfrescodiningareaof
Troubadour Tavern,
adjacenttoFantasylandTheatre,
is very relaxing between shows.
TRAFFIC PATTERNS
at
DISNEYLAND
PARK
WHEN WE BEGAN
our research on Disneyland, we were very interested in traffic pat-
terns throughout the park, specifically these issues:
1. WHAT ATTRACTIONS AND WHICH SECTIONS OF THE PARK DO VISITORS HEAD FOR
WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVE?
When guests are admitted to the various lands, the flow
of people to Tomorrowland (Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and Finding Nemo
Submarine Voyage) is heaviest. The next most crowded land is Fantasyland, though
the crowds are distributed over a large number of attractions. Critter Country is like-
wise crowded with its small area and only two attractions (Splash Mountain and The
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh). Adventureland, Frontierland, and New Or-
leans Square fill more slowly, with Mickey's Toontown not really coming alive un-
til later in the morning. As the park fills, visitors appear to head for specific favored
attractions that they wish to ride before the lines get long. This, more than any oth-
er factor, determines traffic patterns in the mornings and accounts for the relatively
equal distribution of visitors throughout Disneyland.
