First time to Disneyland...

[reenie1]

My family of four (2 adults, 2 older teens) will be going to Disneyland for the first time at Christmas time. We have been to Disney World many times but tend to go at less busy times of the year. We will be at Disneyland/California Adventure for 2 days - Dec. 27th and 28th. We will not have hoppers and plan to get the MaxPass. We know it will be very busy. I have a couple of questions:

1. It looks like everyday will have early entry, which we will not be able to access. We are used to being there as soon as the parks open, so this will be a big change for us. How early should we get there if the parks open at 8 for us? Should we just get there an hour early still and try and stay out of the way of the people who have early entry? Any ideas how crowded the park will be once we get in there?

2. We plan to use FastPasses as much as possible and then just enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations, parade,... I really want to see It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion with their Christmas decor. Does anyone have a sense of how soon FastPasses for attractions will run out on these busy days? I have a touring plan to follow but am making changes based on my interests. I know we will have to play it by ear once we get there but will things like Indiana Jones and Space Mountain run out of FP super early?

Thanks for any tips! It feels a bit strange to be a novice at this!

 

[HydroGuy]

1. It looks like everyday will have early entry, which we will not be able to access. We are used to being there as soon as the parks open, so this will be a big change for us. How early should we get there if the parks open at 8 for us? Should we just get there an hour early still and try and stay out of the way of the people who have early entry? Any ideas how crowded the park will be once we get in there?

There will be different turnstiles assigned to early entry vs regular entry. I would think 45 minutes early would be a good time to get to the turnstiles.

For DL early entry, only TL and Fantasyland are open. Thus I would head first to Frontierland/New Orleans Square where no queues have formed. Use that time to start grabbing FPs with MP.

For DCA early entry, pretty much everything will be open. I would stick with 45 minutes there too. For strategy I would use MP on the big rides and start right in on the standby for queues that have not built too much yet.

2. We plan to use FastPasses as much as possible and then just enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations, parade,... I really want to see It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion with their Christmas decor. Does anyone have a sense of how soon FastPasses for attractions will run out on these busy days? I have a touring plan to follow but am making changes based on my interests. I know we will have to play it by ear once we get there but will things like Indiana Jones and Space Mountain run out of FP super early?

I have never been the week between Christmas and New Years but it is considered about as crazy busy as DLR gets. So my advice is not from personal experience but from what I can extrapolate. DLR has lots more headliners per park and rides per park than WDW - this spreads people and FPs out and thus FP tends to last longer. You should have FPs for most everything until early afternoon. Realize with MP that you can also get FPs even after they are all gone - when others cancel their FPs. So keep a thumb on your smartphone DLR app looking for FPs. My experience in early Dec is that things open up and you will have multiple shots at things like IASWH and HMH.

 

[Huff]

Indiana Jones and Space Mountain are often the first to run out of fast passes. On a moderate crowd day the return times of 5PM or later are common for FP's obtained after 11am. Other rides are easier to get. Pirates and Haunted and some other rides can be walk on in the mornings or at night during or after Fantasmic, or fireworks. On colder evenings Splash can be very short.

Hoppers are much more advantageous at Disneyland than at Disney World. The two parks are next to each other. 5 minute walk between them. Makes it easier to enjoy night time entertainment by changing parks at night. Downtown Disney is also directly outside both parks with several dining options.

You'll love Disneyland but its a very different experience. The parks to me are more intimate, better themed. More of the Disney feel to them. It's more about the parks and the rides where DW is more about a complete vacation experience with all the resorts and restaurants etc. Great experience at either but very different.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I think you’ll be fine without hoppers if you really can’t afford it. But I’ve been here the last 4 days with hoppers. I primarily hop for food. Lol If you don’t have favorites shouldn’t be much of an issue.

I’d be at the turnstile an hour early for regular park opening. I did on my less busy days and I was behind about 4 families in line.

For your Disneyland magic morning you can get there at 6:30 and be fine.