We will be staying in a GCV studio May 10-14th 2019. We have 4 day park hoppers with the MaxPass add on already purchased. We will be renting a car from LAX. I have a few questions and please add any tips and tricks that would be helpful!
1. Renting a GC DVC Studio - is parking free for DVC like it is at Disney World?
2. I cant seem to link my DVC reservation to Disneyland MDE like I can at DW.
3. What is typically the best day to burn your morning magic? I assume DL is the better park to use that in.
4. What the best Character Breakfast or should we just skip them since we do them frequently at DW?
5. So the characters just walk around? Whats the etiquette? Do they still do autographs?
6. Whats the best way to utilize Maxpass?
7. Are the pools there heated like they are at DW?
1. Parking is free for DVC members. Not sure how they handle renters. You should ask the person you are renting from.
2. No linking of hotel reservation with Disneyland app. It doesn't have that functionality. You will get a keycard for your room.
3. You don't need to worry about Morning Magic. I would avoid DL on days that have MM, personally. It's usually a cluster and not worth the time. Instead, go to the other park that morning.
4. Best food is probably Storytellers Cafe. They have Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and sometimes Pluto. Best character variety is Plaza Inn, but you may have to eat outside there, so keep that in mind. The food there is meh. Goofys is the most popular and I think, most expensive.
5. Some characters walk around. Some characters have fixed meet and greet locations. The "Big 5" can be found in Town Square throughout the day (they will rotate how many are out at once). They will have people line up for those, and there will be a Photopass photographer with each. Autographs are allowed. Tinkerbelle has a fixed meet and greet between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Pluto appears in Toon Town. The rest of the characters at DL will just randomly show up and walk around. You will see Cruella we Villa often in Town Square. The Evil Queen, Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins, and Bert will often wander around Fantasyland near Matterhorn. Peter Pan and Hook often "play" chase around Fantasyland. Alice and the Mad Matter along with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hang out near their rides, and often jump on line and ride with guests, or host a Tea Party at the tables under the monorail beam near Small World. Pinocchio and Gepetto sometimes come out in Fantasyland as do Belle and the Beast (you can find Gaston and Flynn Rider hanging around the new Princess Greeting hall, to the left of the castle at the end of Main Street (this is the fixed Princess meet and greet indoor location). Stormtroopers frequently walk around Tomorrowland, and the Star Wars character M&G is located inside the Launch Bay. You may see Woody and Jessie walking/setting up a meet along Big Thunder Trail. Dr. Facilier meets in New Orleans Square as does Red the Pirate. Pooh and Friends meet in Critter Country. The DL app lists all the characters and their locations.
DCA is lighter on characters. You can meet the big 5 near Carthay Circle. There are Marvel characters that rotate in Hollywood Land. Groot, Gamora and Star Lord are over by the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The Incredibles are over by the Incredicoaster. Mike and Sully meet near the Pixar Pal Around ride. Buzz hangs out near Toy Story Midway Mania. Chip sometimes hangs out at the Redwood Creek area. Pluto has a meet by the airplane there as well. Clarabelle Cow meets near the waterfall across from Carsland. You can meet Lightning McQueen, Mater, Red, and Cruz Ramirez at Carsland near the Cozy Cone Motel. All the characters at DCA have fixed location meets where you will line up. They don't "play" like they do at Disneyland.
6. Maxpass will tell you at what time you can make the next Fastpass reservation. Set your alarm and do it as soon as you are able. Choose the closest return time to whatever the current time is in order to maximize how many rides you do. I let that determine my order for the day. For instance, if it is 9am and return times look like this for various rides: 9:05, 9:15, 9:45, 10:20, 11:30, you pick the ride that has the 9:05 return time and head immediately there. Once you scan in, you can make ANOTHER Fastpass immediately, so you move to the ride with the next closest time, etc. You can stack quite a few rides early in the day this way. I do a mix of E tickets and lesser rides with Fastpass. You want to keep and eye on the return times for headliners so they don't get too late. Often, standby lines early in the day (before noon on weekdays) are very short so you can alternate using fastpasses with riding standby while you wait for your next FP return time. Just always be aware of when you can make the next FP reservation. Also, if you are park hopping, you can make FP in either park. This can be useful when you know you will be at a certain park later in the day. You can snag FP for popular rides as the return times get later, allowing you to hold that Fastpass reservation for the evening while still being able to make fastpasses in the current park. For instance, Radiator Springs Racers FP run out quickly and will have return times for the evening by about 10-11am. If you are planning to be at DCA in the evening, you make that reservation for 7 or 8pm at 11am, and then 90 min later, you can continue making more FP at whichever park you want. This way, you have FP lined up for the evening before they run out.
7. Pools are heated and it's usually quite warm in May. Sometimes we have crazy weather and it's cool and rainy. It's a toss up, but it's more often hot than cool in May.