Arriving late afternoon

[kwally]

We will be at DL in 14 days! Can't wait! We fly into LAX at 11:45am so I am not planning on us to be at DL until at least 3pm. We have a 2 hour time change, so my kids will not be ready to spend the whole night at DL. We only have 2 other days so want to take advantage of what we can that afternoon. What do you recommend we do that afternoon? I am assuming lines might be long on most things? Should we do a train ride first to let them really see everything? Just walk around and not do any rides? See any shows? What can you "experts" suggest? Thanks! Oh, we do have a park hopper, is one park better over the other at that time?

 

[blackjackdelta]

We will be at DL in 14 days! Can't wait! We fly into LAX at 11:45am so I am not planning on us to be at DL until at least 3pm. We have a 2 hour time change, so my kids will not be ready to spend the whole night at DL. We only have 2 other days so want to take advantage of what we can that afternoon. What do you recommend we do that afternoon? I am assuming lines might be long on most things? Should we do a train ride first to let them really see everything? Just walk around and not do any rides? See any shows? What can you "experts" suggest? Thanks! Oh, we do have a park hopper, is one park better over the other at that time?

We usually head into DCA when we arrive, usually around 1500. Hit Soarin, GRR, Screamin, ToT, and so on. We go to DL in the early evening, take the train then hit the rides.

Jack

 

[Dobie]

You might want to make a reservation for a late lunch at Carnation Cafe right on Main Street. The afternoon parade is usually around that time. Pirates of the Caribbean is a good afternoon ride, as is Haunted Mansion. The train is always fun.

 

[sahbushka]

Is this your first time to DL? Personally whenever I go I HAVE to go to DL park first...it just doesn't feel right to me to go to DCA first. I love taking the train around the park first because it gives a good idea of the layout of the park and it just seems like a nice way of getting into the groove! After that I get off on mainstreet and mosey up towards the castle...I love the smells and the sounds of mainstreet plus seeing the castle! You can also check out the wait times board at the end of mainstreet and plan your rides or shopping (if lines are too long) from there. Hope you have a great time!

SarahMay

 

[Dizneydaz]

So are you arriving on Thursday the 4th or Friday the 5th? DL is open until 8 on the 4th and midnite on the 5th. That alone tells you that DLR will be more crowded on the 5th vs. the 4th. DCA is only open until 6 on the 4th and 9 on the 5th.

If you are arriving on Thursday the parks shouldn’t be too crowded at all. I do just the opposite of PP. We’ll go into DL first and grab a few FP to use later in the evening. Then cross over to DCA and do some rides there. Cross back over to DL later to use your saved FP. This plan works best if you get there in the a.m. but it can still work in the afternoon as well.

If you are arriving on Friday I would still do the same thing, it’s even more important. On Friday, DLR gets more crowded in the evenings as us locals start arriving after work and school.

Thursday you’ll still arrive in time see some entertainment. CELEBRATE at 7 p.m., Aladdin at 4:15, HSM 3:35-3:55. If you’re arriving on Friday, you’ll be able to enjoy more entertainment. CELEBRATE at 3:30 or 6:30, fireworks at 9:25 (it’s why many AP go there on Friday evenings), Pixar Play Parade 5:15, HSM 3:35-3:55, Aladdin 5:50.

You can definitely take the train to get an overall view of DL but you really won't see alot of the park from the train. You'll see the back sides of many things (though the Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs are pretty cool!). Another way to see parts of DL is to ride the monorail. You could even enter that park using the monorail.

Do some rides, see some entertainment, enjoy the sights and sounds!

While there don't overlook some of the overlooked attractions. Don't know how old your kids are but my DD is 10 and she loves to spend time at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA and the Animation Academy in Hollywood (I enjoy this too!). Do the drawing class and see Turtle Talk with Crush. Grab your free tortilla at Mission Tortilla Factory. Bread at Boudini's. It it's warm out, they can play in the water areas at DCA in Flik's Fun Fair area.

As far as is one park better than the other in the late afternoon, early evening. My answer, especially on Fridays, is yes! DCA is almost always less crowded than DL.

Have fun!

 

[kwally]

We will be getting there on Friday, I guess I didn't count today when I added days, guess I am so excited. It is our first trip and our kids are young, 2 1/2, 5 and 7 so we won't be doing any big rollercoasters, they aren't that brave yet! But they are active kids and will want to stay up as late as possible checking everything out. Love the suggestions already! Thanks!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Okay, so definitely go to DL first and get the lay of the land as well as as many FP as you can collect. Then you can cross over to DCA for awhile if you want.

Your kids are just the right age for Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! They'll love it. Especially Smoke Jumpers which is a zip line only for kids. (the 2 1/2 yr. old won't be able to do it-there is a height restriction)

If they like to draw they will love to do the Animation Academy. A new class starts every 1/2 hour and takes about 15-20 mins. You get to take your drawings with you. You can usually get a rubberband from one of the CMs there to help protect your drawings. If you'll have a stroller with you it'll be a perfect place to carry them. The Animation Courtyard is the perfect place for one of you to wait with the kids if any of you want to ride ToT using the Baby switch. That's what we used to do when my DD10 didn't want to ride. Now she loves it!

Also, in the same building is Turtle Talk with Crush plus a few more fun/interesting things. This is a great area to spend some time when the park gets crowded and/or too hot or cold!

If any of your kids are into Star Wars, check out the Jedi Training Academy. They may get to participate in it.

Speaking of participation, your kids can be in the CELEBRATE! parade. Having them standing on the edge of the parade route makes it really easy for the CMs to get them to join in. There are 2 parts of the show where they can go out in the middle of the street to join in. During the Twist and later they can all hold onto a large rope while doing a little dance step around one of the floats.

If you plan on seeing the fireworks from Main Street you'll have to get there early. MS gets really busy. I like to watch them from NOS. Less people, but you can't see the castle so it's a trade off.

Your kids will probably enjoy exploring Tarzan's Treehouse. It's pretty cool and has a great view of what's going on with the Rivers of America. Unfortunately it'll still be drained while you are there otherwise it would be fun for the kids to check out Pirate's Lair.

There is a mild coaster in TT, Gadget's Go Coaster. Fun for all ages!