Arrival day strategy - is this crazy!?

[snowybelle]

I am visiting DLR for the first time ever with a good friend of mine May 8-10 (fly home on the 11th). Sunday May 8th is Mother's Day and the Princess Half Marathon, and it is also unfortunately our arrival day. We get into LAX around Noon, which will probably put us in the parks by 3pm-ish? (Maybe?) We are staying at the DLH...

Now, PLAN A was to spend our arrival afternoon and evening in DL to ride some of the classics and catch the parade/fireworks. However, I've tried and tried to book the PTN dining package at Blue Bayou for that Sunday night, but I somehow missed it and nothing is opening up (probably due to Mother's Day, the Marathon, and the fact that it's closing for refurb the next day... sigh.) And I'm guessing it going to be an absolute mob scene no matter what and I really want to start things off on a happy note... which brings me to PLAN B:

Hit DL for a few hours upon arrival. Try to ride PotC (since it closes the next day for refurb - argh!), Small World, Haunted Mansion and maybe something else with low wait time like Snow White or Pooh?

Hop over to DCA for World of Color dessert party. View the show and get the lay of the land! DCA closes at 9pm.

After WoC, if we are not too tired, hop back to DL and try to catch the 2nd showing of PTN?? Or ride a few more things.

DL is open until 11pm, with 2 showing of PTN.

Is that crazy?

We will be doing early entry at DCA on Monday morning for headliners, and with this plan we could hop back to DL for fireworks and rides that evening.

Tuesday we are planning a full day at DL, pretty much open to close.


Please tell me if I'm on a somewhat reasonable track. My friend and I are 30-something WDW vets, pretty good at commando-style touring, and it is our desire to hit all the headliners AND all of the classics in both parks over our 2.5 days at DLR.


Please me if I'm making some crazy mistake or overlooking something obvious?!

 

[mgd]

I think your plan B should be doable. It is still school for most and not really vacation or grad night season yet so sunday night shows might not be too crazy, but mothers day and the marathon is a wildcard. There are probably other threads about past mothers day crowds. If you are planning to ride Pooh, doing so while you are already on that side of the park for haunted mansion is a good idea, since otherwise it is a trek back if you have no other reason (splash mtn?). Also the only place to get tigger tails if you wanted to try them. Small world is also a trek from the other side of the park so getting in snow white and pinocchio while you're headed that way is a good idea. Since you have 2 more days and park hoppers, you can probably get a lot done. Tuesdays are usually less crowded than Mondays. I assume you are familiar with fastpasses. You might be able to get one for something on arrival day depending on when you start.

 

[Kender]

Psst. Tinkerbell Half Marathon. Not Princess. Princess is at WDW and held in February .

Your arrival time is well after the half marathon will have concluded and roads will have been open again for hours. If it were a marathon, however, then yes, it would affect you because it would mean longer road closures. But the only marathon is in WDW. Runners are out of the parks by the time they open up.

Honestly, Mother's Day was not that bad last year. From a holiday stand point, it was manageable. From a race stand point, many went home or were too exhausted to do much in the parks. There are those who stay longer, of course, but it's not one of the holiday weekend races and it's an awkward time of year if one has kids. So many do leave on Sunday. But who knows. Maybe Mother's Day wasn't bad because people assumed the half marathon would be a mad house and they stayed away. I should probably just let people think it's horrible, haha! But seriously. The half didn't even sell out and all the deferrals were taken very shortly after the window opened to request them. It's sounding like it's going to be smaller than last year. I could be wrong, most definitely, but it really does not sound like we'll be running at full capacity in the races this year.

The most you will see race related would be runners walking around with their medals on. The actual event will be over.

I think the biggest crowd last year was over at Haunted Mansion because Hatbox Ghost has finally made his reappearance that weekend.

I find the packages sell out early anyways regardless of when it is (unless it's a super dead time). You could call and ask if there's anything just not appearing on the site, but it's likely true that it's sold out for that evening. There might be some last minute cancellations. You never know.

I would definitely hit POTC. The line moves fast even if it's long (while it has its problems, it does not suffer like the WDW version). While I'm not a fan of WOC, if it's something you want to see, I would go ahead and catch it that evening. Not sure about trying for the second PTN, but it's worth a shot. I usually try to avoid the parade times, however second one is usually less crazy crowded.

If you play the fastpass game, everything is more than doable in that time frame. It's exhausting, but worth it if you want to hit almost everything. Even with two people I'd still designate a runner to go get fastpasses. Set alarms for when your next one can be grabbed and when your current fastpasses will be good (DLR does not have an official grace period) as these do not always coincide. Take advantage of single rider (this is a huge benefit on RSR, although with EMH you should be able to do this together without much wait). I'd make a list of the "must ride" things (the ones you would regret missing) and then down in priority from there. And don't skip something just because it's in WDW. Aside from Toy Story Mania, there are often significant differences (good and bad!). The only real difference between TSM in WDW and in DLR is the queue line (DLR's is not nearly as cool looking). Oh, also the line is not nearly as crazy as WDW's.

Definitely grab DLR's official app. It'll show you which rides still have a fastpass available. Note that Buzz is disconnected in DLR, WOC is disconnected in DCA, and that the two parks are disconnected from each other. One can amass quite a collection of fastpasses.

And if you see a short girl with a panda stuffy balanced on her head, say hi

 

[hlbtimes2]

My only thought or comment is, watch fireworks as early in your trip as possible. They do, on occasion, get canceled due to wind. If you wait until late in your trip there is a chance that you will not get to see them.

 

[ktlm]

Your plan isn't crazy at all. We saw the second showing of PTN twice last July- the first time was when we jumped to DL after WOC- and it was very easy to get a spot for the late parade. Remember as long as you have hoppers, other than committing to the WOC dessert party if you want to do it that night-- you really don't have to commit to anything. It is very easy to change course and plans on a whim at DL/CA if you feel like DL feels like a mob scene or the lines in one park are too long. It only takes 5 minutes to be out of one park and into the other.

If you have never been to DL and have never ridden POTC there, I would absolutely go stand in line for that one for it closes for refurb the rest of your trip even if the line is long. It is so much better than POTC at WDW. For me, that would be worth the time even if the line were over an hour at DLR.

I agree that if fireworks are important to you then try for those your first night. Our last trip we tried the last 2 nights of our trip and both times they were canceled due to wind. We couldn't even feel any wind in the parks, so we were surprised. It doesn't take much to cancel them at DLR, I guess because it is such a populated area around the park. Around here, if that kind of wind cancelled fireworks, I don't think there were would be any 4th of July fireworks anywhere in our state!