RSR Fastpass after Luigi at opening?

[YayforMickey]

So, we'll be at DCA in line a half hour before opening on Tuesday the 27th, and it's not an EMH day. What are the chances that we'll be able to ride Luigi and then get in line for RSR fastpasses before they run out?

 

[ArchOwl]

So, we'll be at DCA in line a half hour before opening on Tuesday the 27th, and it's not an EMH day. What are the chances that we'll be able to ride Luigi and then get in line for RSR fastpasses before they run out?

On a day like yours when DCA is only open from 10am-8pm, I wouldn't risk it. On those days, the RSR FPs have been known to run out in 40 minutes because they don't have very many to distribute.

Additionally, you waste your time by showing up early and then riding Luigi's. There won't be a line for it, so you don't really need to show up that early. And any advantage you had for the RSR FP line is gone because you rode Luigi's first and now you are at the back of the RSR FP line.

If DCA was open longer I would say you could do it, but on a day like yours I bet you won't wait that long in Luigi's line anyway. Better to be among the first to get a RSR FP and then hot foot it over to Luigi's. I bet your wait won't be bad at all.

 

[DaveNinja]

when CA opens, like 90% of people head to RSR. One time we went through bugs land and hit Luigis and got on right away. The Luigi's line starts filling up fast, though, once the line for RSR starts getting long and people start abandoning it for the closest ride with a short line.

 

[Girimama33]

If you get there 30 minutes prior to opening and get in line for RSR FP, you should have no problem riding LFT after obtaining the FP...The line should be short. I Would not advise riding it first. Like Arch Owl stated...the 30 minutes you showed up early for will be wasted riding LFT first. She is wise...I would listen to her.

 

[YayforMickey]

Thanks for the great advice. I will get straight into the RSR fastpass line, and my husband can take my kids to ride something without me until I join them. So 9:30 is a good time to arrive at DCA for a 10 o'clock opening (no EMH)?

 

[Girimama33]

Yes. They will start letting you into the park at that time (9:30) up to BVS. The line for RSR FP will begin lining up then on the left side going around CCT and then down Hollywood Blvd.

 

[YayforMickey]

Mostly I was wondering about arrival time because of reports in the last week of the long waits people are experiencing to get inside because of the ID checks. We are long-time Ridemax users, but I'm pretty giving up on using them in the mornings on this trip because of all the changes. First, the 4-5 day parkhoppers have separate lines. Then everyone can use any line, but all lines take forever because of ID checks. Now people are reporting that they won't even use their Magic Mornings anymore because they are not worth. I even read a report that someone started showing up just before 10 (opening time) because it was faster that way. It's hard to keep up with all the changes.

 

[LVdisneyChick]

I am intrested to know how fast we can get Luigi's and Maters done on a non emh day. Would 30 minutes suffice?

 

[ArchOwl]

If you get there 30 minutes prior to opening and get in line for RSR FP, you should have no problem riding LFT after obtaining the FP...The line should be short. I Would not advise riding it first. Like Arch Owl stated...the 30 minutes you showed up early for will be wasted riding LFT first. She is wise...I would listen to her.

Right back atcha!

Mostly I was wondering about arrival time because of reports in the last week of the long waits people are experiencing to get inside because of the ID checks. We are long-time Ridemax users, but I'm pretty giving up on using them in the mornings on this trip because of all the changes. First, the 4-5 day parkhoppers have separate lines. Then everyone can use any line, but all lines take forever because of ID checks. Now people are reporting that they won't even use their Magic Mornings anymore because they are not worth. I even read a report that someone started showing up just before 10 (opening time) because it was faster that way. It's hard to keep up with all the changes.

I was just there this past weekend. I was in the parks Saturday, Sunday, and half day Monday. It was a holiday weekend. I had no problems getting in the parks at all. I park hopped several times and again, no issues. Yes, there were lines at times, but nothing outside the ordinary. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I am intrested to know how fast we can get Luigi's and Maters done on a non emh day. Would 30 minutes suffice?

Depends on what time you are talking about riding. First thing? Or later in the day?

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We did this with an earlier opening (9am) in October, on a non-EMH day. We got the gates at about 8:15 (ate breakfast in line). They opened the gates at 8:30 - DH got in the RSR FP line and was about 10th back maybe. I got in the standby line with the kids. They walked the FP line before they walked us, so by the time I parked the stroller at Luigi's, DH was already out of the FP line with a return time of 9:40. We walked on Luigi's, walked on Mater's, took some pictures and then it was time for our FP. It worked out really well.

 

[LVdisneyChick]

I am intrested to know how fast we can get Luigi's and Maters done on a non emh day. Would 30 minutes suffice?

First thing Thanksgiving ....

 

[tylerandalexsmom]

This is our first DLR trip, so I'm still a little confused about where the FP distribution is - I was thinking that earlier I read about being able to get FPs before the park opened, but then I lost track of it with the changes that have occured since Carsland first opened. We are staying at DLH, and I am still trying to sort out what will be the best way to go to get in (GC or main gate?) We are used to arriving before park opening at WDW, and taking advantage of Early Entry. Some of the things I'm reading sounds like the parks open before official park opening. We are going December 21-27 and are planning on 2 full days in DCA on days with EE 7-8 and park opening at 8. Want to fit in RSR, Luigis, and Maters, and possibly even TSM and Soarin first thing in the mornings. So what is our best order to do things in? When/where do we get RSR FP's? (We'd like to do RSR at night too, so would like to get a second FP for later) Are they enforcing FP return time? What time should we get to the park with EMH at 7 am? And which gate? Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions! Just really excited about our first trip to DLR! (And yeah, we've been to WDW at Christmas, so we know the crowds, arrive early, and use FPs!)

 

[Zbugz]

This is our first DLR trip, so I'm still a little confused about where the FP distribution is - I was thinking that earlier I read about being able to get FPs before the park opened, but then I lost track of it with the changes that have occured since Carsland first opened. We are staying at DLH, and I am still trying to sort out what will be the best way to go to get in (GC or main gate?) We are used to arriving before park opening at WDW, and taking advantage of Early Entry. Some of the things I'm reading sounds like the parks open before official park opening. We are going December 21-27 and are planning on 2 full days in DCA on days with EE 7-8 and park opening at 8. Want to fit in RSR, Luigis, and Maters, and possibly even TSM and Soarin first thing in the mornings. So what is our best order to do things in? When/where do we get RSR FP's? (We'd like to do RSR at night too, so would like to get a second FP for later) Are they enforcing FP return time? What time should we get to the park with EMH at 7 am? And which gate? Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions! Just really excited about our first trip to DLR! (And yeah, we've been to WDW at Christmas, so we know the crowds, arrive early, and use FPs!)

Here is what we did from the PPH. We lined up at the Main entrance about 50 minutes before EE (and were by no means the first in line!). They let us in maybe 20 minutes early to line up at the rope. We headed straight for RSR and were on in the first 5 minutes. We proceeded to Mater's and rode that within 5-10 minutes. Next we did Luigi's with a 10 minute wait. At about 10 minutes before normal opening we got in line for FPs for RSR. Non-EE people were held back from entering the line until on the hour. We had RSR FPs within 10 minutes of official park opening.

Soarin' FPs are easily picked up throughout the day.

TSMM is much harder to see without a wait. On one EE morning we entered through the GC and headed straight for it and were able to ride it 5 times in the EE hour, since almost everyone else was at Carsland.

 

[ArchOwl]

First thing Thanksgiving ....

If you are heading there first thing, you should have no problem getting them done in 30 minutes. Luigi's first, then Mater's.

 

[ArchOwl]

This is our first DLR trip, so I'm still a little confused about where the FP distribution is

The FP distribution is pretty easy to get to. It is in the former It's Tough to be a Bug FP machines (which had been out of use for awhile).

- I was thinking that earlier I read about being able to get FPs before the park opened, but then I lost track of it with the changes that have occured since Carsland first opened.

You can't get FPs before regular park opening, so no getting FPs during your Extra Magic Hour. But you can and should line up 5-10 minutes before regular park opening to get your RSR FPs. That is because there is a separate line for EMH people to get RSR FPs and it is the very front of the line. So head over to It's Tough to be a Bug and get in the EMH FP line before park opening and you should have your RSR FPs in 10 minutes or so.

Here is a picture of the EMH FP line for RSR FPs:

Here are the folks waiting for regular park opening. You can see underneath the building that is Carthay Circle Theater, there is a separate line for RSR FPs. The front of that line joins the back of the EMH FP line for RSR at a minute or two before park opening.

We are staying at DLH, and I am still trying to sort out what will be the best way to go to get in (GC or main gate?)

Unless you are getting up very early and will be among the first at the GCH gate, I recommend the main gate. The GCH gate is slower because they only have a few people to do bag search and a couple of turnstiles. At the main gate you go through bag search and then wait at the turnstiles, which is faster. Also there are lots more turnstiles and you will most likely get in faster.

We are used to arriving before park opening at WDW, and taking advantage of Early Entry. Some of the things I'm reading sounds like the parks open before official park opening.

Good strategy at Disneyland too, so keep it! To avoid crowding, both parks will often open the turnstiles 30 minutes prior to regular opening, but hold the crowds back with a rope so they can't really access the rides. You can go in the shops and get a coffee, etc., but don't have access to the rides. Oftentimes, they often let people get in line for RSR FPs as well.

We are going December 21-27 and are planning on 2 full days in DCA on days with EE 7-8 and park opening at 8. Want to fit in RSR, Luigis, and Maters, and possibly even TSM and Soarin first thing in the mornings. So what is our best order to do things in? When/where do we get RSR FP's? (We'd like to do RSR at night too, so would like to get a second FP for later)

You already are positioned well by staying onsite and with Extra Magic Hour being early, those are normally the best because a lot of people don't get up that early. Be at the gates at least 20 minutes early, 30 would be better. Use the wide right technique to ride RSR, then Luigi's and Mater's. If there are no breakdowns, etc., you should have no problem heading over to TSMM and riding that. A few minutes before regular park opening, hop into that EMH RSR FP line. Once you get your FPs, you can ride Soarin'.

Are they enforcing FP return time?

As of right now, they are not. But keep checking back here to see if they do.

What time should we get to the park with EMH at 7 am? And which gate?

At least 20 minutes before 7am, 30 would be better. I would go to the main gate as I explained above.

Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions! Just really excited about our first trip to DLR! (And yeah, we've been to WDW at Christmas, so we know the crowds, arrive early, and use FPs!)

I hope you have a great time and that helps answer your questions.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

This is our first DLR trip, so I'm still a little confused about where the FP distribution is - I was thinking that earlier I read about being able to get FPs before the park opened, but then I lost track of it with the changes that have occurred since Carsland first opened. We are staying at DLH, and I am still trying to sort out what will be the best way to go to get in (GC or main gate?) We are used to arriving before park opening at WDW, and taking advantage of Early Entry. Some of the things I'm reading sounds like the parks open before official park opening. We are going December 21-27 and are planning on 2 full days in DCA on days with EE 7-8 and park opening at 8. Want to fit in RSR, Luigis, and Maters, and possibly even TSM and Soarin first thing in the mornings. So what is our best order to do things in? When/where do we get RSR FP's? (We'd like to do RSR at night too, so would like to get a second FP for later) Are they enforcing FP return time? What time should we get to the park with EMH at 7 am? And which gate? Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions! Just really excited about our first trip to DLR! (And yeah, we've been to WDW at Christmas, so we know the crowds, arrive early, and use FPs!)

1) Gate Choice: STAY AWAY from the GCH entrance. We found it a madhouse last week. Lines wrapped around and around the GC pool area and grounds. There are only TWO turnstiles, and every GCH and PPH guest seems to head there. My DS5 and I saw the line on Monday, Nov 12, and hightailed it to the main DCA gate through DTD and stood in a line with fewer than 10 people in it. So, we got in right at 8:00am and went straight to RSR standby (that and the Single Rider lines are all that is open during EMH, remember). By the time we got to RSR, which is at the very back of Carsland, after you have passed every store, restaurant, and Mater's and Luigi's rides, the sign said 30 minutes. We waited, rode the ride, put our ride photo on our PhotoPassPluss, and headed out of Carsland, exiting at 8:47am. We then headed to the moderate line at TSMM.

2) Understand that your plan is in no way original. It felt like every single person staying at the DLR hotels used EMH, especially the later it was, so enjoy the earlier 7am start in hopes some people won't make it, and 95% used it to go to Carsland, with the rest seeming to go to Toy Story Midway Mania and maybe a few to Soarin'. Really, I think the EMH idea has done very well as a selling point for the DLR hotels, and people are eager to use it. Monday was the only day we got in by the actual start of the EMH. Other days it was more like an Early Magic 40 Minutes because of lines, some of which needed to be cleared of non-hotel guests who did not know that certain lines were just for hotel guests entering early. Expect that everyone you see has the same idea as you, including arriving 30 minutes early. There is no magical way right now to ride all three Carsland rides in one early hour because everyone else wants to do the same thing.

3) Go Against the Grain. This was not some master plan of ours, but my family just stumbled on the fact that we could ride all three rides in Carlsand in one hour IF that hour was near park closing! Everyone heads there first thing "to get it done," and they do, for the most part. So evenings are relatively tame and lovely there, with lots of people just shopping or taking photos instead of trying to get on rides. DJ's Dance Party is fun, we "only" had to wait through 2-4 cycles of flying tires to get on Luigi's, and Mater's was a walk-on where they let us just stay on in our tractors for second and third rides. It is a LOT of fun to shut the place down, whether dancing with DJ, hearing Mater tell us Good night and such, or, my fave, getting in line for RSR just before closing, basically giving yourself an extra hour in the park. DS5, DS7, and I did this with success. We were in the last dozen cars to race that day, and at the end of the day, instead of one or two Pit Crew CMs helping people exit, the entire RSR crew is there (about 10 people), with their uniforms making them look like a real pit crew. They all cheered, clapped, and waved us in, and celebrated the day's close. Special and fun.