When to ride for DL and DCA

mom2dzb

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 1, 2006
It's been a while since I planned my last DLR trip. In my notes I came across this, which I found somewhere online in 2013. I'm certain this is outdated. Care to help me edit it? Or, better yet, direct me to something like this that is already posted?

Thanks!

Disneyland Park attractions

Early Admission rides open
Finding Nemo Subs
Space Mtn
Buzz Lightyear
AiW
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Pinocchio
Matterhorn
Dumbo
Peter Pan
Snow White
IASW Holiday (seasonal)
Carousel


Ride any time with FP
Space Mtn
Star Tours
Indiana Jones
Splash Mtn
BTMRR
Autopia
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (might be disconnected from system)

Rope Drop
Peter Pan
Dumbo
Star Tours (okay first 20 minutes without a FP)
Space Mountain (first 20 minutes without FP)

First Hour
Nemo subs
Matterhorn
Alice in Wonderland
Storybookland Canal Boats if open
Jungle Cruise
Astro Orbitor
Buzz (actually ok in first 2 hours)

Before noon
Explorer Canoes (seasonal/weekends)
Gadget's Go Coaster
Haunted Mansion
Teacups
Mickey's House
Minnie's House
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
POTC
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Winnie the Pooh

Ride after 7pm
POTC
Jungle Cruise
Winnie the Pooh
Teacups
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Haunted Mansion
Buzz Lightyear

Closed during fireworks
AiW
Carousel
Mr. Toad
Pinocchio
PPF
SWSA

anytime attractions
Riverboat or Columbia Sailing Ship
Tom Sawyer Island
Disneyland Railroad
Innoventions (if it is still open....it might be closed now to build the new attraction)
Captain EO
Moments with Abraham Lincoln
It's a Small World
Princesses
Casey Jr Circus Train
Toontown except for meets & Roger Rabbit ride (all closed before fireworks and doesn't re-open)
Monorail
Disneyland Story and Main Street shows (theaters and street)
Main St mini transportation
Frontierland Shootin' Exposition
Single rider rides: Indiana Jones, Matterhorn & Splash Mtn
Carousel
Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through
Starcade
Tarzan's Treehouse
Tiki Room

Work in scheduled shows like Billy Hill & the Hillbillies at Big Thunder Ranch, Laughing Stock Co. at Golden Horseshoe, daytime parade, Fireworks, Fantasmic!, Dapper Dans on Main Street, Mickey & the Magical Map, etc. (Check Times guide for show times.)



Disney California Adventure Park attractions

Early Admission rides open
Radiator Springs Racers
Luigi's Flying Tires
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
California Screamin'
Toy Story Midway Mania
Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Soarin'
Tower of Terror (obviously not anymore. I'd assume GotG is open during EA?)

Single Rider lines
CA Screamin'
Goofy's Sky School
GRR
RSR

Rope Drop
RSR (if you want to ride this, either ride or FP here)
Luigi's
TSMM (first 45 minutes unless RSR is not working in which case RD)

First hour
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
RSR single rider
Grab FP for blue area of first WOC show

Ride before noon or after 7 pm
Animation bldg/Turtle Talk
Mickey's Fun Wheel (moving cars)
Monsters Inc ride
Little Mermaid
Jumpin' Jellyfish

Anytime attractions
Monster's Inc
Bug's Land (including It's Tough to be a Bug)
Golden Zypher
Red River Creek Play Area
Muppet Vision 3D
Animation Bldg with Animation Academy & Zoetrope display
CA Screamin' single rider
Games of the Boardwalk
King Triton's Carousel
Mission Tortilla Factory
Silly Symphony Swings
Soarin' single rider
Mickey's Fun Wheel (fixed/stationary cars)
Boudin Bakery Tour

Anytime with a FP
RSR
California Screamin'
Soarin' Over California
Tower of Terror
Grizzly River Rapids (FPs not available when park first opens)

work around Pixar parade, Aladdin musical, World of Color (when MOST pier rides close, FYI) and other shows (Playhouse Disney, Goofy conducting waterworks, Phineas & Ferb, etc.) Check times guide for show times.
 
Just an FYI, you can add IASW to your list of FP attractions.
 
F! takes a bit more planning now, with dining packages and fastpasses available. Also, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies are gone. (They're Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies at KBF now, if you're going there for a day.)

I haven't been since Soarin' reopened, but I believe the waits are more intense now? Someone will know for sure.
 
I haven't been since Soarin' reopened, but I believe the waits are more intense now? Someone will know for sure.
Yes, the demand is greater now. There was a time it was worse, because they were only running one theater, but I'm thinking that is over.
 


As mention, IaSW, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, and TSMM now have FPs. There are no more disconnected attraction FPs and I don't think Autopia has a FP any more. The shows (WoC and F!) are still disconnected.

Innoventions is now Star Wars Launch Bay. Captain EO, Starcade, Muppet Vision 3D, and the Aladdin musical are also gone. The Aladdin musical was replaced by a Frozen musical at the Hyperion.

I don't think you necessarily need to grab a WoC FP in the first hour anymore. They tend to last well into the day. F! are the ones that run out really quickly (generally within the first two hours of the day).

When are you going? Some Paradise Pier will be closing in January as they covert the area to a Pixar Themed area. Screamin' and Mickey's Fun Wheel will go down in January and re-open in "summer" of 2018 with a new Pixar overlay.
 
Yes, the demand is greater now. There was a time it was worse, because they were only running one theater, but I'm thinking that is over.

They were running both last week, but of course RSR was down until Thursday, so Soarin' absorbed a lot of those crowds. Ugh.
 
It is much more crowded now on a daily basis. No more off season other than in the month of June it tends to slow down a bit when some of the lower tier AP are blocked out. Even in the winter months when attendance is lower, many of the rides are under refurbishment so the lines for the attractions are just as bad or worse.
 



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