A WDW vet without a plan

[estherhead]

OK, I admit it. I know WDW very, very well. But this year we are going to DL in February. I really want to go to DL & southern California but it is very hard for me to give up my WDW. I've been reading everything on here, all the tips and the official threads. Here's my thing, though. I do need a plan.

I had people help me already with a rough sketch of what we are doing in Anaheim and San Diego. But I am very uncomfortable with doing DL without a ride by ride plan. We'll have a 3 year old, a 9 year old, & an 8 year old. All girls. All thrill seekers. I find (and not just at WDW) that we do better with a step by step plan.

Even when we went to Yellowstone I bought a book that outlined every mile marker and came up with a plan to see all we could with minimal walking in 3 days. It was fabulous & we did great. When we varied from the plan, there were issues. I know others think this isn't really seeing Yellowstone, but seriously it was the only way for us.

Now I realize that the DLanders do not like plans. They say we need no such thing. But I'm telling you, my family does. We have to have a plan when we go into Wal-Mart, sad as that is. I'm jealous of all you fly by the seat of pantsers, but I'm also realistic about our family.

So, PLEASE, could you point me in the direction of a ride by ride plan that helps us maximize every moment of our day without exhausting us? Anyone? Please? And please, no lectures about how I don't need one. I NEED one. And if you don't help me, I'll be stuck making my own all by myself and I've never been to DL so I could go terribly wrong.

 

[estherhead]

Totally realized this is in the wrong place. Is there anyway to get it moved to Disneyland & not other parks? I really don't have a plan! It must be the Benadryl I took last night.

 

[Huff]

I'm more of a DL veteran but have been to WDW 4 times, each trip being 7 to 10 days so know both very well.

The reason I do not like ride by ride day plans is because crowds vary from day to day. I also have 2 girls who love to go on as many rides as possible in a day! That means a lot of walking back and forth across the park and use of fast passes. Their moods also change from day to day as to what rides they want to go on the most.

WDW is four parks spread out several miles apart. That means taking considerable time to take a bus, boat or monorail to park hop which means some planning when you start your day. Thats especially true if you have a planned meal at one of the parks or resorts.

DLR is two parks with entrances directly across from each other. Park hopping is as easy as a 5 minute walk. Downtown Disney is also a quick walk or monorail ride away.

That said, there are some things to note in planning your day. Go to Disneyland early when it opens:

Fast passes for Space Mountain run out early. Get those first thing in the morning. By noon its common to see return times of 6pm or later on a busy day.

Splash mountain is known for 60-90 minute waits mid afternoon on a sunny day. Ride early in the morning for a short line and get fast passes too.

For little ones Fantasyland rides can get VERY long lines mid day. Ride these early in the morning or very late at night.

Collect but do not use Disneyland fast passes as much as you can. You do not have to use the fast passes during the return time window. Just save them. You can get another FP as soon as the return time or two hours has passed, whichever is earliest. At the botton of the FP it states when you can get another FP.

By early afternoon head on over to California Adventure. Get a fast pass for Soarin as that ride runs out first. Next see some shows that do not have significant waits such as Crush, Muppets or Bugs. When your Soarin fast pass time is up get another fast pass for Tower. The return time should not be bad. Go on Monsters Inc. Should not be a long line. Maybe catch the Aladdin show. Go on Tower, then get a fast pass for Grizzly Rapids or California Scream'n.

Toy Story will have a 35-45 minute wait on average throughout the day. Longer on holidays etc. Ride this when convenient.

Bugs land has rides for small kids and usually does not have long lines.

Early evening head back to Disneyland and use up the fast passes collected earlier in the day. The lines will now be long but you'll be ok if you have plenty of FP's collected.

You can purchase the Ridemax plan. It will make a ride by ride day plan for you. Problem is that is does not figure in park hopping. Unlike WDW, its easy to treat the two DLR parks as if they were one and go back and forth a few times in a single day. You can tell Ridemax what times you'll be at each park to get around this. It also lacks planning for Sundays. However, Ridemax does have very good reviews and many who like their day planned have said it works quite well for them.

 

[estherhead]

Thank you! This is really helpful & I probably will buy Ridemax. I hadn't heard of it before. Figuring out what has long lines has been my difficulty. Currently I'm planning on doing just DL on the first day & just CA on the second day and then going back and forth the 3rd day.

 

[Huff]

Thank you! This is really helpful & I probably will buy Ridemax. I hadn't heard of it before. Figuring out what has long lines has been my difficulty. Currently I'm planning on doing just DL on the first day & just CA on the second day and then going back and forth the 3rd day.

You may end up park hopping all 3 days because Disneyland generally opens 2 hours prior to California Adventure and stays open 2 hours later.

This is why I start out at Disneyland, collect fast passes, go to California Adventure and then return to Disneyland for late night. Disneyland also has the night time fireworks and fantasmic (starting June 12th) shows. Electric Light Parade I believe will start up for the summer soon in California Adventure.

Like WDW's Magic Kingdom, Disneyland almost always has the bigger crowds.

If its cool out and you have ponchos ride Grizzly Rapids or Splash Mountain late at night, 1 to 2 hours before closing and usually 0-15 minute wait tops as nobody wants to get wet if its cool out!

This past holiday weekend Haunted Mansion never got more than 20 minutes mid day, no wait in evening. Same with Big Thunder. Pirates was about 20 minutes as was Jungle Cruise. Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Grizzly Rapids, Toy Story, Soar'n all had mid day lines close to an hour.

Oh, another reason for park hopping is that fast passes between the two parks are not connected. Meaning you could get one in Disneyland, walk to California Adventure and get one there just a few minutes later.

 

[estherhead]

Oh, another reason for park hopping is that fast passes between the two parks are not connected. Meaning you could get one in Disneyland, walk to California Adventure and get one there just a few minutes later.

Ha-ha! Good tip. I'm known for being the crazy FP collector. I'm always running around here & there grabbing FP's while waiting my turn to use the baby swap. I get so many that by the end of the day we always have extras of things we can't use and then give them to people coming in without a plan.

So, a beginning plan for me perhaps would be to get there at rope drop & grab Space Mt. FP's 1st thing, then do all of Fantasyland, then grab Splash FP's & while waiting for the fam to ride Indiana run to CA and get Soarin' FP's and then come back & turn in my Baby swap and get to ride Indiana myself and then have dh get FP's to something else while I'm riding Indiana? And then switching to CA to ride Soarin' and do Bug's land? I mean, not that exactly, but something like that?

Thank you, thank you! See how telling me how to work my day in an exact manner already helps me visualize everything?

 

[PHXscuba]

Plenty of DL people like to plan, but it is a different kind of planning because (as PP stated) it's much easier to parkhop, plus dining isn't as big an issue as it is at WDW.

I would suggest this group of threads by a very helpful poster named Hydroguy. Several of them are listed in this sticky thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=43446

There's info for WDW vets who are DL newbies, tip compilations, how to maximize FP.

If you want the super-detailed ride-by-ride planning, it's probably worth buying a service for your peace of mind.

Just remember to have fun ... and don't spend too much time comparing it to WDW!

PHXscuba

 

[Huff]

This link may help : http://www.ridemax.com/. Ridemax does a good job of predicting wait times and giving a day plan. It's best to play around with different scenarios as to what times you'll be at what park, when you want breaks, when you may park hop etc. Print out several different plans to take with you so you can have some flexibility.

 

[spokanemom]

I am a Ridemax lover.

I went a little OCD with it though. I made a spreadsheet of all the rides down the left side of my sheet and then in one hour increments at the top. I entered what the estimated wait time would be for each ride at any given time for each of the days that we were there. I like to plan. A lot.

For NORMAL people, it works well too. The first time I used it, I went with a couple of friends (we left our DH's & Dchildren at home and had a girl's only trip) and with having many different opinions going at the same time, it worked really well when we agreed to just follow a "schedule". I liked that we could schedule breaks in our days too.

I would get Ridemax again. It was great.

 

[jonsmom57]

OK, I admit it. I know WDW very, very well. But this year we are going to DL in February. I really want to go to DL & southern California but it is very hard for me to give up my WDW. I've been reading everything on here, all the tips and the official threads. Here's my thing, though. I do need a plan.

I had people help me already with a rough sketch of what we are doing in Anaheim and San Diego. But I am very uncomfortable with doing DL without a ride by ride plan. We'll have a 3 year old, a 9 year old, & an 8 year old. All girls. All thrill seekers. I find (and not just at WDW) that we do better with a step by step plan.

Even when we went to Yellowstone I bought a book that outlined every mile marker and came up with a plan to see all we could with minimal walking in 3 days. It was fabulous & we did great. When we varied from the plan, there were issues. I know others think this isn't really seeing Yellowstone, but seriously it was the only way for us.

Now I realize that the DLanders do not like plans. They say we need no such thing. But I'm telling you, my family does. We have to have a plan when we go into Wal-Mart, sad as that is. I'm jealous of all you fly by the seat of pantsers, but I'm also realistic about our family.

So, PLEASE, could you point me in the direction of a ride by ride plan that helps us maximize every moment of our day without exhausting us? Anyone? Please? And please, no lectures about how I don't need one. I NEED one. And if you don't help me, I'll be stuck making my own all by myself and I've never been to DL so I could go terribly wrong.

OMG - We have the very same thought process. We are planning (if you can call it that) our first trip to DL in August. Its very hard to get excited for DL. Planning a trip to WDW is so much fun. Deciding what park which day, where to eat, oh, its wonderful.

DL doesnt even have their August schedule posted yet. No dining plan I cannot imagine? Next week I can make a ressie, but I have no idea where to go. There is always a different restaurant to try at wDW even at the resorts.

I can tell you that we are planning 5 days in Anaheim, 3 days at DL, one at Universal and then heading to San Diego for a day at the zoo, and Sea World. Plenty of rest time, spontaneous (did I say that ) visits to the beach perhaps.

People who have been to both parks adore DL. I am sure I will love it when I am there. I would be happy to share my experience if you want. PM me.

jonsmom