ACK! Now my kids want to go! Need answers ASAP!

[DawnM]

UPDATE #42

Original post below:

We had NOT planned to do Disneyland this trip as we have a lot we are doing on this trip. But now that we have arrived in Anaheim, the kids are saying they want to go!

So, let me ask you a couple of questions. I don't mind spending the money IF it is worth it. Do you think the crowds will be insane? We only have Mon, Thur, and Fri available at the MOST, but would probably only do 2 days.

1. We do not have pre-planned fast passes, will this be a huge problem?
2 Have you been in the last few days? How is the crowd level?
3. If we go Mon (tomorrow) and Thur, would we end up in line so much that it wouldn't really be worth it?

THANK YOU!,

Dawn

 

[Aladora]

Check out the app, the wait times right now seen downright reasonable! The only FP that is out is RSR, even GotG is only at 30 minutes!

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

There are no preplanned fast passes at Disneyland, so you are fine from that standpoint.

 

[DawnM]

Check out the app, the wait times right now seen downright reasonable! The only FP that is out is RSR, even GotG is only at 30 minutes!

According to this:

http://www.isitpacked.com/disneyland-crowd-forecast-predictor-calendar/

Saturday and Sunday are the best days to go? That is odd. We can't go until Monday.

Thank you!

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

There are no preplanned fast passes at Disneyland, so you are fine from that standpoint.

Oh! Really? You get them when you get there?

That is helpful. Disney world isn't even fun anymore....way too much planning involved.

 

[Congo Queen]

This is actually a very good time to go. The lower level AP's are still blocked out. I was reading on another forum this morning a post from a current CM who called this time of year the new slow season. Plus summer hours are super long and you can get so much done. Go for it.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Oh! Really? You get them when you get there?

That is helpful. Disney world isn't even fun anymore....way too much planning involved.

Yes, that's right. Say you want a Space Mountain FP, you go there and pull an FP from the machine. It will give you a time window for return. You can pull another one in 2 hours, or when your FP window starts, whichever is sooner.

Guardians of the Galaxy is the most difficult FP, so ride it early or get an FP early.


They recently started MaxPass, where you can book FPs on your phone instead of physically getting the FPs. Rules are the same, but people seem to be saying that the MaxPass FPs and the physical FPs pull from different FP pools, but I am not certain. Costs $10 per person.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

It's a wonderful time to go. July/early August, despite being hot and humid, is less crowded than the rest of the year due to lower level AP blockouts. I say it's worth it. I typically find that Mondays are a bit more crowded because you have people making a long weekend of it, but mid-week is wonderful. I was there on Tuesday with my son and we only used FP for 2 attractions. The others we went on all had a 30 minute or less wait (though we didn't do any of the roller coaster/mountains). If you go early at rope drop and stay the whole day, you can actually do and see quite a bit. And the RR just re-opened, which in and of itself is extremely exciting.

 

[DawnM]

Thank you all.

We are from SoCal but moved to the East Coast several years ago and have just done Disney World in the last few years.

I can't believe the increase in prices though! Oy!

And one more question. I really don't know if we can go 2 or 3 days, we don't have all of our days fully planned yet. If we buy a 2 day ticket, could we add a 3rd day and just pay the difference in cost between a 2 day and a 3 day, or would we need to purchase a one day pass on top of that?

For example, a 2 day ticket is $199 but a 3 day ticket is $270. Could we do two days and then add the 3rd for the additional $71, or would we need to pay the full $124 additional (cost of a one day peak season ticket.)

Thank you!

 

[Cholula]

You can add a 3rd day and pay the difference, but you will need to do it before the end of the 2nd day.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Only you can decide if it's "worth it". In your shoes I would buy 1 day tickets and if you want to come back add on the extra day/s before the parks close on day 1.

 

[SteveMP]

Disneyland is always crowded...






























And always worth it.

 

[cmwade77]

Today was actually very nice, longest waits were for the trains as they reopened today after being down for a year and a half, but virtually everything else was either a walking or FPs were available with an immediate return time (Except Guardians, RSR and Splash Mountain).

Really the new FP setup with almost immediate return times, having Fanstamic! Back and now the Railroad and River Traffic have made the parks seem a lot less crowded, even though there are probably the same number of guests.

 

[DawnM]

Only you can decide if it's "worth it". In your shoes I would buy 1 day tickets and if you want to come back add on the extra day/s before the parks close on day 1.

I have to know the facts to decide if it is worth it, which is why I am asking questions.

 

[DawnM]

Disneyland is always crowded...



And always worth it.

There are times it is more crowded than others, which is why I am asking.

 

[cmwade77]

Right now for some reason it really isn't very crowded relatively speaking, you can always download the Disneyland App and look at wait times and even FP return times and make up your own mind. I would say go for it and if you can afford to do so get MaxPass, used properly it can dramatically increase the number of rides you can get on in a day. By using it you can get a FP for your next ride while.in line for the one you just used a FP for. Yes, it is $10 extra per person per day, but it also includes photopass downloads and given the limited time you have you will be able to see more. And this comes from a person that hates that they are charging for this service and really wanted to hate it. But just know you do need a smart phone to use it.

There is also another app that has a crowd index, not sure if I can mention the name here or not, so I won't, but search for Disneyland apps in your phones app store and I am sure you can find it.

 

[DawnM]

Maxpass questions:

How soon can I book them? Could I book one or two before the park even opens? How many can you book at once? Is there a place that explains it better than the DL website?

Thanks

 

[wilkeliza]

Maxpass questions:

How soon can I book them? Could I book one or two before the park even opens? How many can you book at once? Is there a place that explains it better than the DL website?

Thanks

Maxpass you can't book until you are inside the park as it won't let you start booking until ticket sustem shows it was scanned.

You can only hold one FP/Maxpass at a time doesn't matter if you pull from the machine for free or from your phone through Maxpass. How many you get in a day depends on how well you use the system.

 

[DawnM]

Maxpass you can't book until you are inside the park as it won't let you start booking until ticket sustem shows it was scanned.

You can only hold one FP/Maxpass at a time doesn't matter if you pull from the machine for free or from your phone through Maxpass. How many you get in a day depends on how well you use the system.

Is there a place I can read up on the best way to use the system?

 

[wilkeliza]

Is there a place I can read up on the best way to use the system?

It is new so I don't think so. It is just a convenient way to pull FP so you could use the same method as any regular FP plan. It pulls from the same exact pull as the paper FP so gives you no other advantage other than not having to go to the physical FP machine and it gives you photopass.