Later Entry Worth It?

[jhlmendez]

Hello. Planning a trip to CA for my 50th in January and have some logistical questions. We are looking to stay at a 'Good Neighbor' hotel and are currently looking to arrive on 1/12/22 (Thursday before MLK wknd.) around 11:00am and staying through 1/15/22.

My main question is whether people think it is worth getting park tickets for that arrival day since we probably won't be able to make into the park until after noon. If not, aside from Downtown Disney, is there enough to do around there to kill off the day w/out going to one of the parks? Should we be trying to maximize our park time or is it not worth the cost?

Thanks. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[disney-inspired]

I think it depends on when the park closes that day. I definitely don't think there is a lot to do in Downtown Disney. I tried to see what the cost difference would be between a 2 and 3 day ticket but those dates are not yet available on the site. I checked the dates the week prior and it seemed to be a $75 difference,

If the park is open until 10 or later, I think a ticket would be worth it.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

Okay I have been having this same question! With early entry for hotel guests impacting “rope drop,” I am wondering if the evenings are better. I have definitely been to the parks late at night when people are leaving in droves and the ride times are dropping. Unfortunately by that time I am also zapped and basically worthless and ready to leave too. I am considering intentionally not entering the park until late afternoon on one of my days and staying till close. Considering it anyways, not decided.

Are you considering buying the difference 2 days to 3 days, or going from 3 to 4, because I think it’s less significant with the latter.

 

[disney-inspired]

Okay I have been having this same question! With early entry for hotel guests impacting “rope drop,” I am wondering if the evenings are better. I have definitely been to the parks late at night when people are leaving in droves and the ride times are dropping. Unfortunately by that time I am also zapped and basically worthless and ready to leave too. I am considering intentionally not entering the park until late afternoon on one of my days and staying till close. Considering it anyways, not decided.

Are you considering buying the difference 2 days to 3 days, or going from 3 to 4, because I think it’s less significant with the latter.

I think the early entry doesn't affect the parks here as much as they affect WDW. I'm a local and don't feel like that EE affects me that much.

 

[monkeypat83]

I was there at the end of August and even with the early entry I didn't notice any difference in the lines in Fantasyland when I roped dropped with my toddler except for Peter Pan.

 

[starlite_]

If there is nighttime entertainment that date then I would say it's worth it. You can do a relax day, start on any fav attractions that you might wanna re-ride, see a show and go to bed.

 

[CharleneTheDM]

I usually get in around noon. I don't go to the parks on the first day. I do a Target run, relax, set out my outfits, then I head over to Downtown Disney in the evening to do all my shopping done, eat somewhere like Ralph Brennan's or Napa Rose etc, to soak up the atmosphere. Then the next few days, it's all park time XD

 

[Pluto468]

We always go into the parks on our arrival day. Depending on our flights, that can be anywhere from 1pm-6pm. I like it because I can't stand to wait another day to get into the parks lol. We usually get 5 day hoppers, so having one of our days more of a half day is fine for us. If I was going 12-15th, as you are, I'd get a 4 day ticket and go in on arrival day.

 

[tikimao]

I'd say go into the park. Even if it's a little crowded, there will still be so much to do and see. Maybe do slower rides, or see a few shows, especially since the price difference between 2 and 3 days isn't *that* much, relatively speaking.

 

[mel2014]

Last Friday my in-laws didn't get into the park until 6:00 pm. We didn't bother with Genie+ based on the time and their interests. Even though they move slowly (herding 10 people is hard), we were still able to ride the omnibus down Main Street, do the castle walkthrough, enjoy a leisurely dinner at Rancho del Zocalo (mobile ordered ahead of time), go on It's a Small World (10 minute wait), Autopia (10 minute wait), and Star Tours (10 minute wait) and Astro Orbitors (20 minute wait) and then watch the fireworks and leave around 9:45.

With a noon or even an early afternoon arrival and careful Lightning Lane selections, you can do a lot in the parks, including many of the headliners.

 

[lindyv321]

We are going in November and this will be the first trip that we ever go into the parks on arrival day. My situation is a little different since we do have a magic key and it’s not costing me any extra though. I’m assuming by the time we get into the parks lines will be a bit crazy and I’m not planning on paying for Genie+ for a half-day so we will be doing things other than attractions that we don’t normally take the time for..

 

[jhlmendez]

Thanks for the enlightening responses everyone. Predictably, I caved and ended up getting the extra day. Now just have to hope we don't hit any flight delays or anything.

 

[Twitterpaited]

Hello. Planning a trip to CA for my 50th in January and have some logistical questions. We are looking to stay at a 'Good Neighbor' hotel and are currently looking to arrive on 1/12/22 (Thursday before MLK wknd.) around 11:00am and staying through 1/15/22.

My main question is whether people think it is worth getting park tickets for that arrival day since we probably won't be able to make into the park until after noon. If not, aside from Downtown Disney, is there enough to do around there to kill off the day w/out going to one of the parks? Should we be trying to maximize our park time or is it not worth the cost?

Thanks. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

It depends on the added cost for that day. I am doing it since fireworks are only weekends, and I want the extra night to see the fireworks.

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

Go to the park, get your shopping out of the way, check out the stores. Or do downtown Disney and take it easy. Consider a quick trip to Knotts? We also like the Anaheim Packing District, pretty neat place to get something to eat.

 

[Kender]

I think it depends on when the park closes that day. I definitely don't think there is a lot to do in Downtown Disney. I tried to see what the cost difference would be between a 2 and 3 day ticket but those dates are not yet available on the site. I checked the dates the week prior and it seemed to be a $75 difference,

If the park is open until 10 or later, I think a ticket would be worth it.

DLR is different than WDW. There isn't a difference in cost for multi day tickets versus what days you go. A multi day ticket a week in December will cost the same it does in February (disclaimer: unless there's a price increase between now and when the tickets are actually purchased).

Even though there are dates not available yet, a multi day ticket can still be bought for dates not available yet. Online purchased tickets have at least one year from purchase date until expiration.

Although buying tickets directly through DLR requires choosing dates, one is not locked into those dates. So when dates wanted are not yet available to reserve (since one can only reserve 120 days in advance), a common tactic used is to purchase the tickets and cancel the reservations until the ones desired open up.

Please see current ticket prices and confirmation that multi tickets are the same price no matter what days you visit in the following screenshot