Touring Plans

[lovewdwfun]

i am looking for tips on what rides to go to early in the morning and which ones to do in the afternoon. For WDW, I love Josh’s color-coded maps. Does anything like that exist for WDL? I don’t need a detailed step-by-step plan (we are going for 5 days), but I would love pointers on what rides to get FPS for, etc.

Thanks!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

First off, this thread will give you lots of helpful information for your trip planning: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. DLR (Disneyland Resort) is the common acronym used here, so that will help you get more answers if you do any searches.
Are you planning on getting MaxPass or on using the free FP system? (DLR does not have FP+, but uses what WDW would term the "legacy FP" system, i.e. free, paper FP, or a digital, non-paper version, MaxPass, which is currently $10/person per day.) And there are no limits on how many FPs you can get in one day (definitely more than 3).
Everyone's touring style is different, but for us, we don't really have a list of rides that are better to ride in the morning or in the afternoon. DLR is so much more compact that WDW that how we ride and when is much more a matter of personal taste, rather than time of day. Unless you are doing EMH/EE/MM, when not all rides are open (so you would be limited in your choice of rides then anyway), FP and especially MP would give you a much more open field of ride choices. You could organize your rides by land (divide and conquer!) or by intensity (thrill rides before lunch, then the more relaxing rides until dinner). The only rides where time of day really matters are Peter Pan (try to be there first thing in the morning so that the line isn't too long), RSR (a must ride at night!) and BTMRR (a must ride when fireworks are going off!). HM is a great ride if timed when F! is showing (makes the line go faster and makes a great scene upon exiting!). If you are wanting to ride all the water rides and not planning on bringing an extra change of clothes, then I might advise doing those earlier in the day so that you would have plenty of time to dry off throughout the rest of the afternoon.
It will be very interesting to see what other DISers have to say about this!
ETA: Just noticed in another thread that you will be visiting in August. What are your dates?
Also, noticed that you will be using DAS. In that case, I would highly recommend getting MP, too. Both DAS and MP can be used together and can make very efficient use of your park time.

 

[bakerudall]

My general rule of thumb is: thrill rides and popular rides in the morning, and large-capacity air-conditioned attractions in the afternoon. Then back to popular rides late at night. I haven't used maxpass, so my FPs really depend on which machines are close to my touring plans.

If I was to make a color-coded map, I would put RSR, Mission Breakout, IJ, SM, ST, and maybe Splash and GRR (seasonally) in the most important FP category.
In the morning rides on Day 1, I would put PPF, Dumbo, Alice, Matterhorn, Space, ST, and BLAB. (others would be squeezed in as time permitted)
Morning rides Day 2; TSMM, Soarin', and any other CA headliners.
Morning rides Day 3 would be Jungle Cruise, Indy, BTMRR, Pirates, HM, and Splash

Favorite afternoon activities: Tiki Room, Magical Map, Lincoln, all the boats, the train, animation academy, all the theaters, launch bay, street entertainment, early dinner, using FPs, and of course, anything I see with a short line.

I actually prefer to get in line for Peter Pan right before closing because they will finish the line after hours.

 

[tarheelalum]

The most popular rides you should do the first hour and last half hour of the day. Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland and Star Tours are your early ride attractions. I would not bother waiting stand by at any of these attractions during the day without a fast pass. Only exception to this would be if one of them just came back online after being broke down. Indy is particularly bad for breaking down for an hour or two on a regular basis.

Next would be Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates and everything else in Fantasy Land, Tomorrow land and just about everything else. But some rides often have very low wait times. Winnie the Pooh most of the time and Splash Mountain when the weather is cool or rainy.

Also note, Disney will sometimes over estimate wait times at around 45 minutes or so before closing to discourage you from waiting.

 

[Cabius]

Why wouldn’t you just park yourself in Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room all day?!?

 

[MonaMN]

Check out Disneyland Daily for some touring tips - Casey is amazingly helpful and hilarious!

 

[lovewdwfun]

ETA: Just noticed in another thread that you will be visiting in August. What are your dates?
Also, noticed that you will be using DAS. In that case, I would highly recommend getting MP, too. Both DAS and MP can be used together and can make very efficient use of your park time.[/QUOTE]

Great info, thanks! We will be there Monday August 13 - Friday August 17th. I don’t know that we will get MaxPass because it will add up with 5 of us, but maybe we will try the first day and see how it goes! It’s also complicated because my son with a DAS won’t go on all the coasters (he is 5), so we will likely only use it for kiddie rides. Maybe it would make sense to get MaxPass for two people and then utilize rider swap.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Great info, thanks! We will be there Monday August 13 - Friday August 17th. I don’t know that we will get MaxPass because it will add up with 5 of us, but maybe we will try the first day and see how it goes! It’s also complicated because my son with a DAS won’t go on all the coasters (he is 5), so we will likely only use it for kiddie rides. Maybe it would make sense to get MaxPass for two people and then utilize rider swap.

Good idea to try MP for your first day to see how it works for your family. If it works well, you can get it for more days. And you are right that you don't need to get it for everyone in your group. You can look at the list of rides that have FP on the DLR website to see if your son will want to ride those rides (and if he will want repeat rides). If so, MP might work well for him for just those rides. Otherwise, DAS and making the most of the morning hours should work really well. Your dates look good: HM should still be open and the lower AP blocks should still be in place.