A single photo has stirred up a debate across the Disney Parks community. The guest who shared the picture described Disneyland Park as “dead” despite the ongoing 70th-anniversary celebration drawing major crowds at the Southern California theme parks.
The comment came just days into Disneyland Resort’s long-running birthday event, which officially kicked off on May 16, 2025, though the park’s actual 70th birthday won’t arrive until July 17. The Disneyland70 celebration includes new entertainment, limited-time returning offerings, and nighttime spectaculars across Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.
While many Southern California Disney Park visitors have reported longer wait times and increased crowds during the festivities, one guest had a very different experience. Redditor u/One_Conclusion_1575 posted a photo of the park with the caption, “Disneyland is dead today,” noting that there were “Short lines, places to sit. Beautiful weather. It’s summer.”
Disneyland is dead today
byu/One_Conclusion_1575 inDisneyland
The post immediately sparked pushback from other guests who questioned whether the photo truly showed a quiet day at the Southern California Disney park.
“As someone who hasn’t been in ten years but used to go multiple times per month… that looks anything but dead…,” u/cyclejones wrote.
“Disneyland sure seems to be dead. Everyone in line is dead cuz ain’t a single line move in 2 hrs moving,” joked u/SFV_Woodie_SFV.
Several other commenters argued that crowds can be deceiving, depending on the time of day and where in Disneyland Park the photo was taken.
“Beautiful weather, hm? Lol. I think the heat ended up keeping locals away actually,” said u/stellalunawitchbaby2. “That said I’m sure as the sun sets people will be coming in droves for the nighttime stuff.”
“We go a couple times a month and yes this picture doesn’t look particularly quiet,” u/cilantro_so_good added. “But this is also maybe the busiest section of the park. The wait times actually do look relatively short, so maybe?”
Disneyland Park’s 70th-anniversary celebration includes the Celebrate Happy Cavalcade, Paint the Night parade, Wondrous Journeys fireworks, and a new Tapestry of Happiness projection show on the “it’s a small world” facade. Over at Disney California Adventure Park, guests can catch the Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration parade, experience anniversary-themed updates to Toy Story Midway Mania!, and enjoy the interactive World of Color Happiness nighttime spectacular.
Even more anniversary fun is coming. On July 17, Disneyland Park’s official birthday, a new show titled “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” will premiere at the Main Street Opera House. The performance will temporarily replace Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln and include the first-ever audio-animatronic of Walt Disney himself, alongside archival pieces from the Walt Disney Archives. After its debut, it’s expected to alternate performances with the original Lincoln show. Also debuting that day will be a new final verse of the “it’s a small world” theme song, written by the legendary Sherman brothers.
The Disneyland70 celebration will continue through summer 2026.
Does this photo make Disneyland Resort look crowded or empty? Disney Dining would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
