Guests Left in Shock by Disneyland Crowds, “I’ve Never Seen a Line This Long”

Guests arriving at Disneyland Resort this morning faced one of the longest entry lines reported at the resort this year, as the Thanksgiving holiday surge hit Anaheim earlier than expected. By late morning, crowds had stretched far beyond the security checkpoints, leaving many guests stunned at the scale of the backup.

For longtime visitors, heavy holiday attendance is nothing new. Disneyland Resort regularly sees elevated foot traffic during Thanksgiving week, thanks in part to locals taking time off, visiting relatives looking for day trips, and the seasonal entertainment that begins rolling out across both parks. Even so, today’s congestion stood out.

Security remains the first chokepoint for arriving guests, and it often sets the tone for the rest of the day. While Disneyland Resort regularly adjusts staffing during peak seasons, the sheer number of visitors arriving this morning created a bottleneck before guests even reached the esplanade.

Guests Call Out Long Lines at Disneyland Resort Today

Around 10:30 a.m., several guests took to Reddit to share photos of the crowds. One poster said, “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a line this long to enter at 10:30 in the morning,” noting that the entire area around security was at a near standstill. Others described slow-moving lines extending deep into the walkways.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a line this long to enter at 10:30 in the morning.
byu/Spamtickler inDisneyland

The reaction online reflected a mix of frustration and resignation.

One Magic Keyholder said the images were a reminder of why they let their pass lapse, writing, “Every time I start to get FOMO for not renewing our Magic Keys, I see this photo and immediately come back to my senses.” For many locals, days like this reaffirm the challenges of spontaneous visits.

Another guest pointed out that these patterns are hardly surprising. “This is why you never go during Thanksgiving week or the last two weeks of December,” they wrote, adding that early-morning arrivals are the only reliable workaround. Historically, rope-drop remains the best way to beat crowds during major holidays.

But some commenters pushed back against attempts to explain the turnout as a one-off spike on the first day of the school break. As one user put it, “Here come the ‘well it’s the first day of this thing and there’s no rain and passholders renewed yesterday’ excuses. Literally every weekend there’s something to blame. If it’s happening every weekend, Disneyland is just always overcrowded.”

The resort’s crowding issues have been a major talking point throughout the year. Even with offerings like Lightning Lanes (which are already selling out for Disney World over the holidays) helping redistribute demand, peak periods continue to test the resort’s infrastructure.

This weekend leads into Thanksgiving week, which traditionally marks the beginning of some of Disneyland Resort’s busiest days, leading into the December holidays. While this morning’s surge may not come as a shock to seasoned visitors, the images circulating online underscore a reality that many guests have voiced for months: crowd levels are becoming increasingly difficult to avoid.

With the holiday week just beginning, guests should anticipate elevated crowds across Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney.

What’s the longest holiday line you’ve ever encountered at Disneyland Resort?