2019 Holiday Time at DLR Superthread: 11/08/19 - 1/06/20!

I was at the park from Rope drop to about 12pm. The morning time was very empty!!!! I was able to get a wristband for a candy cane with no problem. Around 9, I went to trolley treats to get something, and the lady said they had just ran out of wristbands. So they didn’t go immediately.

I’ve been going the few days or weekend before Christmas for a while now, even before having a pass. The key to it is getting there as early as possible! Like I said morning was empty! I did 8 rides by noon! Getting there early will allow you to start stacking fastpasses! If you arrive at say 10am, you will be stuck with farther out times and longer waits to choose your next fastpass. I noticed when I did space mountain (At 9ish), the standby was 75 minutes yet the fastpasses were distributing for 45 minutes away. Same with rides like Big thunder and small world. Standby was 45-50 minutes each yet the times weren’t far away. I’m assuming this is due to more tourists/newbies being in the park and not knowing how to use fastpasses.
Thanks for your feedback. I've been watching the app all day and wait times looked pretty intense this afternoon. It makes sense that there are a lot of tourists that don't understand the fastpass system. We always arrive at least 45 minutes before rope drop, I completely agree that there are a couple golden hours before the crowds arrive. 7am MM is my favorite!
 
Thanks for your feedback. I've been watching the app all day and wait times looked pretty intense this afternoon. It makes sense that there are a lot of tourists that don't understand the fastpass system. We always arrive at least 45 minutes before rope drop, I completely agree that there are a couple golden hours before the crowds arrive. 7am MM is my favorite!
Just saw this. Yikes 😳 but everything else seems pretty decent given the day. Indy is at 2 hours because it was down all morning. So that also probably contributed to some bad wait times. Cars is 105 but that’s normal for a Saturday.
 

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I’m already hinting to my husband that we need to upgrade our flex passes to a signature plus next year so we can go during Christmas break.... just the idea of being blocked hurts me.... hahahahahaha

We are going to storytellers for Christmas Day and will explore the GCH and DtD for a Christmas Day fix since this is our first Christmas away from family!
 
I’m already hinting to my husband that we need to upgrade our flex passes to a signature plus next year so we can go during Christmas break.... just the idea of being blocked hurts me.... hahahahahaha
Yeah I can't imagine being blocked these 2 weeks. The few days after Christmas are pretty bad but there are some nice spots. Plus for me, I tend to have a few days off here and there from work at this time so I have some time to go. I'll probably go again New years day.
 


Yeah I can't imagine being blocked these 2 weeks. The few days after Christmas are pretty bad but there are some nice spots. Plus for me, I tend to have a few days off here and there from work at this time so I have some time to go. I'll probably go again New years day.

If we lived in OC, it would be a no brainer. But being in North San Diego county makes day trips just a bit harder.... we’ve done them and they’re totally doable, but it makes for a long day. If we could just pop in and out and be home in 30 minutes or less, signature plus 💯!
 
If we lived in OC, it would be a no brainer. But being in North San Diego county makes day trips just a bit harder.... we’ve done them and they’re totally doable, but it makes for a long day. If we could just pop in and out and be home in 30 minutes or less, signature plus 💯!
Very true! I live 30 minutes away in LA (without traffic). Part of the reason why I can justify the high cost of the pass is that it isn't difficult for me to get to and from the parks.
 


We arrived Thursday 12/19 and were in the parks Friday and Saturday. Friday morning was EMH for DCA. We arrived at the gate at about 6:40 and there was hardly anyone there! I was a bit shocked to round the corner and see so few people. We had a dream morning there! We hopped to DL and had a great day and night there also.

Saturday morning 12/21 we arrived at the DL gates also at 6:40 and there were long lines already. We had a good day and utilized MP. Frustrated to race to Matterhorn and be told it was down. Later on we were stuck inside Indy for almost 40 mins as it went down. They closed the walkway in front of Pirates to accommodate the queue. Wait times for the attractions were really long in my opinion. Didn’t affect us as we used FPs for everything we wanted.

I agree with the other poster who said that it seems like guests show up and just do not know how to utilize FP. I agree! There were people just sort of wandering around looking lost.

While we were waiting in line at the turnstile on Sat morning, and got closer to scan in, a woman with her family blurted out “what? We need tickets to go through the turnstile? I thought we could go through the turnstile then buy our tickets”. Everyone around them, including me, just sort of looked at her in disbelief. I felt really bad for them. They obviously had to get out of line and go stand in the ticket line. UGH
 
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We arrives Thursday 12/19 and were in the parks Friday and Saturday. Friday morning was EMH for DCA. We arrived at the gate at about 6:40 and there was hardly anyone there! I was a bit shocked to round the corner and see so few people. We had a dream morning there! We hopped to DL and had a great day and night there also.

Saturday morning 12/21 we arrived at the DL gates also at 6:40 and there were long lines already. We had a good day and utilized MP. Frustrated to race to Matterhorn and be told it was down. Later on we were stuck inside Indy for almost 40 mins as it went down. They closed the walkway in front of Pirates to accommodate the queue. Wait times for the attractions were really long in my opinion. Didn’t affect us as we used FPs for everything we wanted.

I agree with the other poster who said that it seems like guests show up and just do not know how to utilize FP. I agree! There were people just sort of wandering around looking lost.

While we were waiting in line at the turnstile on Sat morning, and got closer to scan in, a woman with her family blurted out “what? We need tickets to go through the turnstile? I thought we could go through the turnstile then buy our tickets”. Everyone around them, including me, just sort of looked at her in disbelief. I felt really bad for them. They obviously had to get out of line and go stand in the ticket line. UGH

I feel bad for this family but I seriously don’t understand how people can be so unprepared. I mean, when we went to Disney World back in 2000, before the internet was huge, my mom ordered the vacation video and researched via phone how to do fast pass, transportation etc. It boggles my mind that with this day and age, with so much information out there, that people don’t do a tiny bit of research before going to Disneyland AT CHRISTMAS. I mean 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
 
I agree with the other poster who said that it seems like guests show up and just do not know how to utilize FP. I agree! There were people just sort of wandering around looking lost.
Yeah, that's why it's better to get there early and utilize fastpasses, and stack them. Once the lines get very long, people begin to figure out that regular fastpass is free and then they go away.
 
I feel bad for this family but I seriously don’t understand how people can be so unprepared. I mean, when we went to Disney World back in 2000, before the internet was huge, my mom ordered the vacation video and researched via phone how to do fast pass, transportation etc. It boggles my mind that with this day and age, with so much information out there, that people don’t do a tiny bit of research before going to Disneyland AT CHRISTMAS. I mean 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
You have a pass right? Over time, you will start to hear some of the mot bizarre things from people who don't frequent the parks.
 
Saturday morning 12/21 we arrived at the DL gates also at 6:40 and there were long lines already. We had a good day and utilized MP.
I'm so glad to hear this! I'm planning a trip Dec 19-21, 2020, so I was watching wait times very closely all weekend. Saturday honestly looked miserable on the app, and my family started to question my sanity for wanting to go at Christmas time 😂. At one point, Indy was at 240 minutes! I'm sure it had been down, and they were running those with FP through and holding most of standby back, but still, yikes!! I'm happy to hear you still had a good day!
 
Yeah, that's why it's better to get there early and utilize fastpasses, and stack them. Once the lines get very long, people begin to figure out that regular fastpass is free and then they go away.
We will be there the 27th through the 30th. Stacking fast passes is how we plan on surviving. I have a rough touring plan I am sure will go out the window as soon as we get to the park's. It's mostly to help us figure out what rides we want to get done on which days, more than specifically what times. Even with as busy as the parks will be, we figured that combined with rope drop will help us stay sane and enjoy the day.
 
We will be there the 27th through the 30th. Stacking fast passes is how we plan on surviving. I have a rough touring plan I am sure will go out the window as soon as we get to the park's. It's mostly to help us figure out what rides we want to get done on which days, more than specifically what times. Even with as busy as the parks will be, we figured that combined with rope drop will help us stay sane and enjoy the day.
I am new to Disneyland's fastpass system, but have been trying to read and wrap my head around it (used to WDW's system). I just looked up what stacking fastpasses was. It looks like it is when you plan multiple fastpasses for later in the day - but get them every two hours. I thought I read they don't let you choose the return time anymore - you just have to take the next available time. Is this wrong? We leave in a week and I want it to all go smoothly!
 
I am new to Disneyland's fastpass system, but have been trying to read and wrap my head around it (used to WDW's system). I just looked up what stacking fastpasses was. It looks like it is when you plan multiple fastpasses for later in the day - but get them every two hours. I thought I read they don't let you choose the return time anymore - you just have to take the next available time. Is this wrong? We leave in a week and I want it to all go smoothly!
You have never been able to choose your return time. You just get whatever the app or kiosk says. If you don't want that time, you can wait until the time you want is distributing. And yes, stacking is when you have multiple fastpasses at once. You can even have them with overlapping times.
 
I'm so glad to hear this! I'm planning a trip Dec 19-21, 2020, so I was watching wait times very closely all weekend. Saturday honestly looked miserable on the app, and my family started to question my sanity for wanting to go at Christmas time 😂. At one point, Indy was at 240 minutes! I'm sure it had been down, and they were running those with FP through and holding most of standby back, but still, yikes!! I'm happy to hear you still had a good day!
Maybe I'm too used to weekend crowds because I didn't think Saturday was all that bad LOL.Granted I left at 12ish. I didn't get to the DCA gates until 7 am, and was the 3rd person back in my line. When I randomly checked the app, the afternoon times were a little bad, but then in the evening it looked like it leveled out some. I remember I saw Indy at 120 minutes, then an hour later it dropped to 35 minutes. When I left at 12 there was so much space in the structure. So it is def a tourist/non driving crowd.
 
I am new to Disneyland's fastpass system, but have been trying to read and wrap my head around it (used to WDW's system). I just looked up what stacking fastpasses was. It looks like it is when you plan multiple fastpasses for later in the day - but get them every two hours. I thought I read they don't let you choose the return time anymore - you just have to take the next available time. Is this wrong? We leave in a week and I want it to all go smoothly!
You are not wrong. However, on extremely crowded days, like the days I am going, it is not uncommon for the fast passes to start going relatively quickly. So the trick is to rope drop the things you do not need a fastpass for, then grab a fast pass when you get in for the ride whose passes are going the quickest. That way you can guarantee you get something. Wait your 2 hours and then get another one for a ride whose passes are not going that quickly.
 
You are not wrong. However, on extremely crowded days, like the days I am going, it is not uncommon for the fast passes to start going relatively quickly. So the trick is to rope drop the things you do not need a fastpass for, then grab a fast pass when you get in for the ride whose passes are going the quickest. That way you can guarantee you get something. Wait your 2 hours and then get another one for a ride whose passes are not going that quickly.
Thank you! That will be my plan then. I think it will be busy when we are there Jan. 3-6.
 
I am new to Disneyland's fastpass system, but have been trying to read and wrap my head around it (used to WDW's system). I just looked up what stacking fastpasses was. It looks like it is when you plan multiple fastpasses for later in the day - but get them every two hours. I thought I read they don't let you choose the return time anymore - you just have to take the next available time. Is this wrong? We leave in a week and I want it to all go smoothly!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...thread-an-overview-and-some-strategy.3726246/
Have you read this info? If not it has a lot of good info on maxpass. Great for new users
 
Well we drove up this afternoon for Storytellers Christmas Dinner with Mickey. The traffic all the way up on the 5 was nonexistent and there wasn’t any traffic around the resort either. The foot traffic at the GCH was pretty light, but DtD was packed. My three year old kept asking “Why aren’t we riding any rides?????” (Passes are blocked) She was so annoyed. Ha. The food was ok, character interactions weren’t great until Pluto and Mickey- they were fantastic. But it was still a nice ending to our first Christmas away from our families!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! Looking forward to reading about park experiences over the next week!!
 

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