WDW Vet getting nervous

[LCoulter]

UPDATE: Post 18

We are a family (DD12, DH50+ and Me50+) of WDW vets going to DL for the first time. I have been at WDW so often that I understand the flow of the parks and know which attractions to FP+, which to ride first and which to ride later in the day.

I am starting to get nervous about our upcoming trip because I’m just not sure how to approach the touring. I have been doing research and I have a general idea what the most popular rides are but I’m still not sure how to tackle touring.

We arrive on Saturday April 13 from the East coast so not planning parks that day. We will explore our hotel VGC, swim and I have dinner reservations at Steakhouse 55.

We have 3-day park hopper passes with MaxPass for all three days. I know that weekend is Dapper Days so expect crowds for that and DCA has Food and Wine so maybe crowds on Sunday for that. Extra Magic Morning is at DCA on Sunday and Monday, at DL on Tuesday.

I am having the most difficulty deciding where to start on Sunday. I was originally going to start out at DL until the Dapper crowds get too heavy and switch to DCA but since DCA has Early Magic Morning, maybe we should start there. Maybe we should spend the day at DCA and skip DL that day. Or maybe enter DCA to ride one or two attractions and then over to DL until Dapper crowds get heavy and switch back to DCA. What do you experts think?

DH and I are not able to sit on the ground to watch F! so I didn’t bother with Dinner Package for that. Does WOC have on the ground seating too?...I’m thinking not? We didn’t get Dinner Package for that either. We are going to try to get FP for both of these and hope for the best but I’m not sure we want to invest several hours waiting for either of these shows. Any advice here?

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets too-- don't stress--- DLR is so easy! You can be so flexible there. We are getting to where we about like it better than WDW.

It is probably too late, but if there is any way you can get the WOC dessert package it is worth the money if you can't sit on the ground while you wait or stand for a lengthy period of time--- WOC is standing during the show. Most people sit on the ground until it is time to stand. For the dessert package- there are tables and chairs and you get desserts while you are waiting and a decent view of the show which you get to sit and watch instead of standing. Works out well for me because I am short. It is a great show. Definitely worth seeing.

For fantasmic-- River Bell Terrace does have a package where you can have dinner on the terrace and watch the show from there. The view is not that great-- but if you can't sit on the ground in the regular seating area- that would be a decent option. If I had to pick one or the other WOC would win. You can see Fantasmic at WDW- and while DLR's version is better (although in our opinion not quite as great without the Peter Pan sequence that was removed in the newest version), WOC is different from anything you can see at WDW.

You have hopper and Max Pass, so I would not stress about which park you start your day in. Hopping is about a 5 minute process. The parks are separated by a plaza the size of a football field, and you do not go through security again to go from park to park. Have the app on your phone to check wait times. We will be in one park and if the lines seem a little long- we check the app and if they are shorter in the other park we hop. As WDW vets, it feels like one big park to us. You can literally get from the back of one park to the back of the other in 10 minutes-- we have done it. Do both parks open at the same time? If not-- we always start in the one that opens first, and then we may move over to the other one when it opens.

Outside of dining reservations, we never plan our DLR days in advance except for maybe the first ride of the day if something is really popular. You just need to know what the most popular rides are and have a loose plan for those. Radiator Springs Racers is popular, but you can easily do the single rider line. You can also usually single rider Incredicoaster and Indiana Jones.

Really, the hardest thing for us to ride at DLR is Peter Pan-- that line is almost always long and if you aren't in the front of the rope drop crowd- it will probably be at least 20 minutes by the time you get there and maybe already an hour.

If Nemo is on your list, you might want to do that pretty early one of your days. If it is warm out- those subs don't have the freshest air in the afternoons and can be hot and kind of smelly. That line tends to stay long later in the day too. For DL- we usually go in - book a FP- head to Peter Pan (75 - 80% of the time decide the line is already too long and keep walking) hit Nemo and Alice (maybe Dumbo after that) and then do the first FP we booked and go from there. That is just us though. Also if characters are important, we might throw Mickey or Tink in the mix pretty early and while we are on the side by Nemo and Alice which isn't too far from either of those characters. If Mickey's line is long- we come back to him later-- his line is really inconsistent- sometimes it is 5 or 10 minutes- sometimes an hour. Also, don't trust the sign outside his house-- go in and check for yourself- there is an exit you can take if you look and the line is too long. Last summer the sign said 60 minutes, but we walked in to check and it was actually a 5 minute wait!

Once you are in DL you will figure it out pretty quickly-- it is a little surreal that first time when you are used to MK-- it is like you are dreaming about MK and everything is very familiar, but things are just not quite where you expect them to be.

Also don't forget, once you have scanned into a park- you can book your FP through Max Pass in either park. One morning, we were in DL and DH walked back to the resort because he forgot something, and DD and I just started booking whatever FP was immediately available and not too far away through MP and riding it until he got back. We kept an eye on the times FP for RSR was available, and when it got to a later time that we wanted, we quit going from ride to ride in DL with FP and booked RSR.

Early mornings are typically great in the parks even on busy days-- a lot of locals don't get there right at park opening. Being from the east coast, it shouldn't be hard for you to get an early start with the time change (at least on your first full day).

It is really easy and once you get there you will figure it out quickly.

Have fun!!!

 

[BrianL]

First of all, don't worry, you're going to have a great time even if you don't tour the parks perfectly. You have three full days with Maxpass? Sounds pretty good to me!

If you can get in for an Extra Magic Hour (technically distinct from Early Morning Magic) then go for it. The beauty of DLR is how easy it is to hop. Go for the hour, then hop to DL as the crowds enter. I wouldn't worry too much about Dapper Day. Every day seems to be a "Day" at DL! Leverage your MaxPass and run circles around everybody.

For F! and WoC

There is a deluxe dining package that I believe is seated at River Belle Terrace for F! that is the only option for not sitting on the ground really. It is expensive too. If you've seen F! at WDW, I think it can be skipped. People will tell you it's so much better at DL, and it used to be, but I don't like the recent changes.

Do try to see World of Color. It's a great show and there is nothing comparable at WDW. There is no seating for this show outside of the desert party. The CMs will ask everyone to stand. Some people sit on the ground prior to the show, but a little beforehand they will ask that everyone stand up. Even with a dining package, the section will be standing. Only the Desert Party has tables. Grab a FastPass for this early (you must get a paper one as it is not on MAxPass - it does not conflict with any other FPs). The show is definitely worth seeing!

 

[pblack]

Casey from Disneyland Daily has some great park strategies (a.k.a touring plans) https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-the-disneyland-resort/

The major plus with having park hoppers is if you feel like one park is too crowded you simply hop to the other. Be sure to download the Disneyland app if you haven't already and become familiar with wait times and the layout of the parks.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

The major plus with having park hoppers is if you feel like one park is too crowded you simply hop to the other. Be sure to download the Disneyland app if you haven't already and become familiar with wait times and the layout of the parks.

I would do this but also check wait times in the app if you're going to park hop hoping for shorter lines at the other park. Because of the small walkways Disneyland can feel much more crowded than DCA but waits at DCA could be just as long or longer.

 

[pharmama]

You can do A LOT in DCA with EMH. I would definitely take advantage of that at least one of the days you are eligible. Personally I find EMH/MM at DL a bit less valuable than DCA due to which rides are open (only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) though it's probably still worth going for it.

But really with three days, I think you will be fine and don't need to stress about a touring plan. I would make every effort to see WoC though. The dessert package is an excellent splurge if you can afford it and there do still appear to be spots available for your dates.

 

[chickapin parterre]

.....don't let Dapper Day be an influence to your Disneyland touring. If you like history or photography or rare events then you may find Dapper Day to be fun in Disneyland. First, those folks are regulars to Disneyland so they are not on a Bucket List schedule of attractions. Second, they are moving slowly because they are dressed in costumes which will not be the most comfortable clothing for touring, granted, because of the costumes, they may occupy many of the sit down eating areas then regular visitors would on any other random day. . Third, they are a very polite group of folks, and if they are a barrier to other folks to not visit, then it makes for a better environment of civility seldom found in Disneyland at the extreme end of positive folks. Fourth, if you have a question...like what is that tree trunk doing in the middle of the walkway....or where did that flag pole come from or...where is the nearest bathroom, those would be the folks to ask questions of, like having your own tour guide.

and with maxpass....you will have a grand time Sunday.....not every visitor will have maxpass visiting Disneyland, so it is not like you are up against the other projected thousands of folks. Also, Sunday early entry will give you a layout of the land with little crush of folks, so when you return on Tuesday you will know what repeats of Fantasyland you will want to venture again.....

....and on Sunday morning you can ride Snow White three times in a row in the same mine car and discover who the pie was made for by Snow White....because the best 10 feet at Disneyland is the Adventures of Snow White Kitchen.

 

[LCoulter]

You can do A LOT in DCA with EMH. I would definitely take advantage of that at least one of the days you are eligible. Personally I find EMH/MM at DL a bit less valuable than DCA due to which rides are open (only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) though it's probably still worth going for it.

But really with three days, I think you will be fine and don't need to stress about a touring plan. I would make every effort to see WoC though. The dessert package is an excellent splurge if you can afford it and there do still appear to be spots available for your dates.

Thanks, I just booked the dessert party for Monday night!

 

[LCoulter]

OP here...On Tuesday, DL shows both Magic Morning AND Extra Magic Hour....I’m confused, what is the difference? I think I’m eligible for both.

 

[pharmama]

OP here...On Tuesday, DL shows both Magic Morning AND Extra Magic Hour....I’m confused, what is the difference? I think I’m eligible for both.

EMH is one hour early entry to one of the parks for on site hotel guests only. EMH happens Tu/Th/Sat at Disneyland and Su/M/W/F at DCA. Magic Morning is one hour early entry to Disneyland and coincides with the DL EMH (so Tu/Th/Sat). Every 3 day or longer ticket comes with one MM regardless of where you are staying.

So since you have 3 day PH and are staying on site you are correct that you are eligible for the both MM and EMH on Tuesday. BUT- they're functionally the same thing. It just comes down to whether your early access to DL comes from being an on-site guest or because you have a 3 day or longer ticket. It doesn't really matter which you use when you show up Tuesday morning for your purposes.

You can see that only onsite hotel guests get access to EMH at DCA. This make the EMH at DCA pretty valuable, IMO, and you can get quite a lot done. Whereas at DL, the hour is available to both on site guests for EMH and MM so there are more people with access AND they only have two lands open during MM. Basically everything is open at DCA during EMH, though some rides sometimes have delays getting up and running in the morning.

 

[lsumatt72]

We are a family (DD12, DH50+ and Me50+) of WDW vets going to DL for the first time. I have been at WDW so often that I understand the flow of the parks and know which attractions to FP+, which to ride first and which to ride later in the day.

I am starting to get nervous about our upcoming trip because I’m just not sure how to approach the touring. I have been doing research and I have a general idea what the most popular rides are but I’m still not sure how to tackle touring.

We arrive on Saturday April 13 from the East coast so not planning parks that day. We will explore our hotel VGC, swim and I have dinner reservations at Steakhouse 55.

We have 3-day park hopper passes with MaxPass for all three days. I know that weekend is Dapper Days so expect crowds for that and DCA has Food and Wine so maybe crowds on Sunday for that. Extra Magic Morning is at DCA on Sunday and Monday, at DL on Tuesday.

I am having the most difficulty deciding where to start on Sunday. I was originally going to start out at DL until the Dapper crowds get too heavy and switch to DCA but since DCA has Early Magic Morning, maybe we should start there. Maybe we should spend the day at DCA and skip DL that day. Or maybe enter DCA to ride one or two attractions and then over to DL until Dapper crowds get heavy and switch back to DCA. What do you experts think?

DH and I are not able to sit on the ground to watch F! so I didn’t bother with Dinner Package for that. Does WOC have on the ground seating too?...I’m thinking not? We didn’t get Dinner Package for that either. We are going to try to get FP for both of these and hope for the best but I’m not sure we want to invest several hours waiting for either of these shows. Any advice here?

Advise from a fellow WDW vet: don’t stress!

We made our first ever DLR trip 2 weeks ago. I planned and planned and stressed for 8 months only to realize once I got to DLR that I way over-planned. It is so much more laid back and easy to navigate. And you will LOVE maxpass!!!

 

[HydroGuy]

We are a family (DD12, DH50+ and Me50+) of WDW vets going to DL for the first time. I have been at WDW so often that I understand the flow of the parks and know which attractions to FP+, which to ride first and which to ride later in the day.

I am starting to get nervous about our upcoming trip because I’m just not sure how to approach the touring. I have been doing research and I have a general idea what the most popular rides are but I’m still not sure how to tackle touring.

We arrive on Saturday April 13 from the East coast so not planning parks that day. We will explore our hotel VGC, swim and I have dinner reservations at Steakhouse 55.

We have 3-day park hopper passes with MaxPass for all three days. I know that weekend is Dapper Days so expect crowds for that and DCA has Food and Wine so maybe crowds on Sunday for that. Extra Magic Morning is at DCA on Sunday and Monday, at DL on Tuesday.

I am having the most difficulty deciding where to start on Sunday. I was originally going to start out at DL until the Dapper crowds get too heavy and switch to DCA but since DCA has Early Magic Morning, maybe we should start there. Maybe we should spend the day at DCA and skip DL that day. Or maybe enter DCA to ride one or two attractions and then over to DL until Dapper crowds get heavy and switch back to DCA. What do you experts think?

DH and I are not able to sit on the ground to watch F! so I didn’t bother with Dinner Package for that. Does WOC have on the ground seating too?...I’m thinking not? We didn’t get Dinner Package for that either. We are going to try to get FP for both of these and hope for the best but I’m not sure we want to invest several hours waiting for either of these shows. Any advice here?

OP, my first trip to WDW was in 2006. Something that helped me was buying a RideMax subscription. Now TouringPlans has something similar. They both have DLR versions I believe. RM definitely does. I ran different scenarios at the WDW parks and got a feel for where RM recommended I start. I did not follow RM's plan very closely, but just test driving ahead of time gave me the kind of feel you are seeking at DLR. You may want to try it just to make yourself feel a little better.

 

[Tasmen]

Also a WDW vet here! You are going to have a blast. One thing to remember as well is that while Disneyland has a lot of the same attractions as the Magic Kingdom, not everything is in the same spot. On our last DL trip, I headed toward Splash Mountain once when I wanted to ride Thunder Mountain. It'll be easy to adjust to the changes, though

I also seriously love MaxPass. As others said, once you scan into the park, you can use it immediately and get passes for either park. MaxPass also works if you go back to your hotel and plan to return later that night. I was able to pick up fastpasses for the evening when we went back to our room for a midday quick break. I made a game of it and was constantly picking up our next set of passes as soon as we used our last ones or the wait window was finished. Min/Max(pass) life.

 

[LCoulter]

Thanks for the advice and guidance! I will try to chill but it's not going to be easy...maybe once I get there. I am really starting to get excited!

 

[Mike_M]

Slightly off topic, but these threads tend me make me nervous about considering a WDW trip any time soon. Having to plan out which rides you will FP a month or two in advance sounds like something I wouldn’t enjoy much. Is it even possible to get fast passes on the same day anymore?

It could be my familiarity with DL, but I do almost no planning prior to my trips. We always have a great time and get to do everything we want. Maxpass has especially made the higher queue attractions easy to hit, multiple times a day in most cases.

DL is very much the kind of place (for me at least) where for the most part, you can wander around and when something catches your eye, you go for it. Space Mtn, Matterhorn, Indy, Buzz, and Splash Mtn (on hot days) are the only ones you really want FP for. Nearly everything else has mostly reasonable standby lines on all but the busiest of days.

The only time I’ve found a need for a focused plan of attack is on single day trips. It’s entirely possible to hit every attraction in DCA within 6 hours, and most of DL itself can be ridden in a day if you really try.

But for me (when I have 3 or more days), I can toss most plans out the window and just go ride or experience what I want, (and for the most part) when I want.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

Slightly off topic, but these threads tend me make me nervous about considering a WDW trip any time soon. Having to plan out which rides you will FP a month or two in advance sounds like something I wouldn’t enjoy much. Is it even possible to get fast passes on the same day anymore?

I wouldn't rule out WDW just because of the advance planning required because it's totally feasible to get FP for just about any ride day of. While I was there in February I was talking to a family of 4 who were unable to make FP two months before as the trip was kind of last minute. I told them about the refresh strategy and within 5 mins they were lucky enough to get FP for Flight of Passage on a pretty crowded Saturday in AK.

The Dining reservations opening 180 day in advance is what I don't like although it is possible to get reservations for the popular restaurants less than a month in advance if you don't mind eating at "off" hours.

 

[LCoulter]

Slightly off topic, but these threads tend me make me nervous about considering a WDW trip any time soon. Having to plan out which rides you will FP a month or two in advance sounds like something I wouldn’t enjoy much. Is it even possible to get fast passes on the same day anymore?

It could be my familiarity with DL, but I do almost no planning prior to my trips. We always have a great time and get to do everything we want. Maxpass has especially made the higher queue attractions easy to hit, multiple times a day in most cases.

DL is very much the kind of place (for me at least) where for the most part, you can wander around and when something catches your eye, you go for it. Space Mtn, Matterhorn, Indy, Buzz, and Splash Mtn (on hot days) are the only ones you really want FP for. Nearly everything else has mostly reasonable standby lines on all but the busiest of days.

The only time I’ve found a need for a focused plan of attack is on single day trips. It’s entirely possible to hit every attraction in DCA within 6 hours, and most of DL itself can be ridden in a day if you really try.

But for me (when I have 3 or more days), I can toss most plans out the window and just go ride or experience what I want, (and for the most part) when I want.

You can have a great trip at WDW if you are flexible. We only book a couple of our favorite restaurants and play it by ear when we get there for other dining. We have gotten lucky on occasion and walked into popular restaurants and were seated but we have also been turned away which is fine with us too.

You can still get FP+ for attractions the same day, occasionally I have been lucky to get a hard to get FP+ several days prior or same day. When my FP+ window opens, I don’t book them all at one time either. I do the few hard to get ones and then over the next month or two, fill in FP+’s, although some days I only have one or two FP+s for the day.

We won’t wait more than half an hour for a ride so if a ride has a long wait, we just come back later for it or check wait times periodically on the app. I’ve seen ride wait times really fluctuate…Pirates with have 45 – 60 minute wait and the next time we walk by, it’s 10 minutes so we hop on.

 

[LCoulter]

OP here with an update on how our trip went. Love DL Resort! We had such a great time! I love that we could walk between the parks and DTD. We walked between the two parks multiple times a day.

We did the WOC dessert party. I’m not sure if that was worth it. I don’t really get all the hype on WOC...it was ok...we prefer F!. Since we are now able to book MaxPass for F! on our phone, we ended up doing so for early show and loved the show much more than WDW version. We did sit on the ground which was very hard to do but managed.

MaxPass and park hoppers worked great for us. We were surprised that Guardians was our favorite attraction...loved it! It was sooooo much fun. The Racers and Incredicoaster were lots of fun too.

Pirates is so much better in DL. Small World seems so much longer in DL.

We rope dropped DCA every morning since that had our favorites. We got a lot done before it got too crowded. But we found the crowds manageable and not any worse than WDW.

I worried for nothing. DL is easy and we had a great time. Hoping to get back in a few years.

 

[midnight star]

OP here with an update on how our trip went. Love DL Resort! We had such a great time! I love that we could walk between the parks and DTD. We walked between the two parks multiple times a day.

We did the WOC dessert party. I’m not sure if that was worth it. I don’t really get all the hype on WOC...it was ok...we prefer F!. Since we are now able to book MaxPass for F! on our phone, we ended up doing so for early show and loved the show much more than WDW version. We did sit on the ground which was very hard to do but managed.

MaxPass and park hoppers worked great for us. We were surprised that Guardians was our favorite attraction...loved it! It was sooooo much fun. The Racers and Incredicoaster were lots of fun too.

Pirates is so much better in DL. Small World seems so much longer in DL.

We rope dropped DCA every morning since that had our favorites. We got a lot done before it got too crowded. But we found the crowds manageable and not any worse than WDW.

I worried for nothing. DL is easy and we had a great time. Hoping to get back in a few years.

Glad you loved it!

 

[cmwade77]

OP here with an update on how our trip went. Love DL Resort! We had such a great time! I love that we could walk between the parks and DTD. We walked between the two parks multiple times a day.

We did the WOC dessert party. I’m not sure if that was worth it. I don’t really get all the hype on WOC...it was ok...we prefer F!. Since we are now able to book MaxPass for F! on our phone, we ended up doing so for early show and loved the show much more than WDW version. We did sit on the ground which was very hard to do but managed.

MaxPass and park hoppers worked great for us. We were surprised that Guardians was our favorite attraction...loved it! It was sooooo much fun. The Racers and Incredicoaster were lots of fun too.

Pirates is so much better in DL. Small World seems so much longer in DL.

We rope dropped DCA every morning since that had our favorites. We got a lot done before it got too crowded. But we found the crowds manageable and not any worse than WDW.

I worried for nothing. DL is easy and we had a great time. Hoping to get back in a few years.

Yep, much less planning is necessary at Disneyland, both due to only needing to reserve restaurants at 60 days out or less and MaxPass make FP much easier and the fact that it is same day only, really makes things much easier.