LOS ANGELES - Disneyland closed its gates to hundreds of visitors this weekend, for the second time in five months, after the theme park reached capacity.

"The Disneyland Resort is very busy today with many guests enjoying the parks. Please plan for longer than normal wait times," said a post on the park's Twitter account Sunday afternoon.

An employee in the park, which is located in the city of Anaheim, 32 kilometers east of Los Angeles. confirmed the incident to the Xinhua news agency, saying customers had to endure two-hour-long waits for Radiator Springs Racers, three-hour-long waits for Hyperspace Mountain and Splash Mountain and long waits for the shuttle back to the parking lot.

There was no information on how many visitors were affected, but theme park experts estimate that the park draws an average of about 44,000 people a day.

The park reached its capacity on what was a non-holiday weekend because this was the last chance for "Southern California Resident" passholders to get into the park on a weekend before their passes expire on May 25, according to the Theme Park Insider website.

On Jan 14, Disneyland had to announce a capacity-related shutdown for the first time this year.

Disneyland changed its annual pass system in late 2015, eliminating the premium level ticket and replacing it with two signature levels in order to keep the gates open during the busiest times of the year, namely the two weeks around Christmas and New Year's.

Xinhua

(China Daily 05/23/2017 page10)