New to DL-- help me plan!

[emsstacey]

I will be at Anaheim Marriott for a conference this summer and will have two days that I can enjoy DL. I'm so excited! Unfortunately, we will be there over a busy time. We will arrive at LAX at 9:40 Sunday, July 19. I'm hoping to get to the hotel and get to the park around lunch. We will have the rest of the day free. We will also have Wednesday, July 22 free after 3:30pm until park close.

I know nothing at all about DL because I am so much closer to DisneyWorld... please help me plan and/or point me to threads or websites that will help me to make the most of my time there!

Thanks!

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I will be there the same dates! Typically the number one piece of planning advice that many give out is that you should arrive in the parks as early as possible each morning. With the way your trip is structured, it looks like that won't be a possibility. If there is any way for you to switch things around so that you spend your half a day in DLR in the morning, rather than the afternoon/evening, that would be ideal, but with a conference I'm guessing that's not going to happen.

First, I would suggest checking out HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It will explain a lot of the similarities and differences between the two places.

Take full advantage of FP. DLR is still using the old paper FP system where you can pull a new FP every 2 hours or after you use your current one, whichever comes first. Take advantage by pulling a new one as soon as you can throughout the night, until they run out.

Others may disagree with this, but I am going to suggest that you forget about going to DCA. Many of the rides are duplicated at WDW (Soarin', Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror). The one that is really unique and great (Radiator Springs Racers) will have a very long line by that time of the day, and all of the FPs are very likely to be gone. Unless you are really set on seeing this one ride and waiting a while for it (there is a single rider option but this may be a bit of a wait by that time as well), then I would forgo park hoppers and just spend your time in DLR. You can also take a peek at DCA by riding the monorail, which goes through DCA and Downtown Disney, on a loop from Tomorrowland.

DLR is celebrating it's 60th anniversary this year (the actual anniversary is July 17th), so there is a new parade and fireworks show debuting soon. I would try to see the new Paint the Night parade and/or fireworks show at least one of your nights there. I would also suggest Fantasmic!, as I love the show and it is better than its WDW counterpart, but with the limited time you have I think it could be better spent on rides.

 

[emsstacey]

Thank you so much! I'm super excited about going!

 

[figment_jii]

I second the recommendation to look at HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

As you noted, you will be there during a busy period (summer), but the trade-off is that the park should have long operating hours and be presenting full entertainment. That means DL should close at midnight and DCA should close at 10:00 pm. It sounds like you'll have two evenings, so you should be able to see a fair amount of the nighttime entertainment (if you like parades and fireworks). There are a couple of questions that will help shape you planning:
1. Do you want to do rides or see shows? I think that the new parade, fireworks, WoC, and F! are going to be very good shows, but they take considerable time to see. You will need to invest time to get a good spot, so I do think if you opted to see multiple shows, it will probably take up a good chuck of the evening (e.g., 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm). That being said, all of the new shows will be unique to DLR and F! is markedly different at DL compared to DHS, so it's practially a unique show too.
2. Do you want to do TS meals or CS meals? DLR has far fewer TS locations that WDW, but you don't need to make ADRs right at the 60-day mark (when the reservation system opens). You can often make prime ADRs fairly close to the date. THat being said, if you know you want to get somewhere specific, I would make an ADR to be safe because you are going during the busy summer season. DLR also has a lot of really good CS options, and a few lounges with outstanding food (e.g., Carthay Circle Lounge).

Other things to note:

• DLR releases their operating calendar about 45-days in advance, but full entertainment schedules might not be released until closer to 30-days or thereabout.
• Dining reservations can be made 60-days in advance online or over the phone (yes, before the operating calendar is known). Like WDW, there is a $10 per person "no show" penalty.
• DLR does not use the Magic Band or FP+. Nor does it have an official app that tells you wait times or things like that. It does have Ask Otto which is a phone line you can call to get wait times, FP times (attractions only), etc.
• The two parks and DTD are very close together. DCA and DL are only separated by the Esplanade. Think of DL as Epcot's FW, DCA as Epcot's WS, DTD is just outside of International Gateway, and the Esplanade is the bridge that connects Epcot's WS and FW. You can see DCA's entrance from DL's entrance, so if you do decide to park hop, it's very quick.
• DLR still uses the legacy/paper FP system. Check out the FP Encyclopedia for lots of useful information. (After you've read the FP Encyclopedia...please note that none of the attraction FPs are disconnected from their respective park systems' anymore. The only "disconnected" FPs are for WoC, F!, Frozen at Fantasy Faire, A&E M&G, and Olaf M&G.) You can get your next FP two hours after you pulled your latest FP or after the time window opens, whichever comes first. So if you pull a FP at 9:00 am with a return time of 1:00 pm, you can get your next FP at 11:00 am. On other hand, if you pulled a FP at 9:00 am with a return time of 10:30 am, you can pull your next FP at 10:30 am. You don't have to use the FP before you can pull another one. The only caveat is that you cannot pull another FP for the same attraction while you still a FP for that attraction that is not yet valid or expired (i.e., if you pulled a FP for RSR at 9:00 am with a return time of 1:00 pm, you cannot get another RSR FP at 11:00 am).