Best plan of attack (2 adults in June)

[KCAshley]

My husband and I are making our first trip to DLR for our anniversary in June- we went to WDW for the first time last year so I guess it's safe to say we caught the bug. It's just the two of us and we're 29 and 30 and in good shape, so we don't mind a jam-packed schedule.

Anyway, DLR is fitting into a larger SoCal trip for us, so we are only spending two days (without park hoppers for budgetary reasons). We're planning on rope dropping DL on Wednesday, June 8, taking a midday break and staying until close, and the same for CA on Thursday, June 9.

I feel like I've got a good handle on CA, and it's going to be a fairly leisurely day for us anyway.

I'm unsure about DL, though. When we did WDW last year we managed to do everything ewe wanted to do in MK (except splash mountain which I'm making a priority this trip!) in one day, and I had a fairly solid plan of attack. Everything I read about DL seems to conflict, though. Do we do Fantasyland or Tomorrowland first? Or hit all the mountains? Or all the little dark rides? How do we decide what to fast pass?

I know we'd like to hit all the mountains, Haunted Mansion, and Indiana Jones (I'm IJ obsessed). DH hated PoC at WDW (lots of breakdowns resulted in an hour wait...our longest of the trip), so I'm not sure if I could convince him to do that. I'd like to do the storybook land boat (or whatever it's called) and maybe finding Nemo. We don't do dumbo/other spinners or the teacups and StarTours made us both motion sick so we can skip those. I'm not sure that Peter Pan is a priority for us, either. Help!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Switch the days. Do DCA June 8 & DL June 9. June 8 is a grad night and DL can be quite chaotic on grad nites, you won't get much done. Grads won't bug you in DCA that night because they have their own private party after the park closes.

Now 2 words: Single Rider
That will be your new best friend A number of big rides offer SR (Splash is one!) so do that every time you get the chance, it will really help you fit in as much as possible!

 

[figment_jii]

I would keep the days as you have them planned because of EMH and MM. Assuming no changes in the traditional schedule, Wednesday will be DCA's EMH morning and Thursday will be DL's EMH/MM. Normally I don't think EMH/MM makes a huge difference in terms of crowds, but it does impact the first few hours of the day and given that you don't have park hoppers, I think it makes more sense to avoid the EMH/MM crowds. Otherwise, you'll find that the most popular attractions will already have fairly sizable lines at regular park opening (although, DL's EMH/MM only impacts TL and FL).

In terms of where to start in DL, it really depends on what you want to ride. I think it depends on whether you want to ride Peter Pan (no FP and always a long line) and how long you're willing to wait for the attraction. Personally, if the Peter Pan line is more than 30 minutes, I would probably skip it and do other things in the morning when the lines are shortest and then get back to Peter Pan later in the day (if you have time). In terms of FPs, the most popular attractions are Space (in DL) and RSR (in DCA). I would get those early to make sure you get one, otherwise there is a single rider line for RSR (no SRL for Space).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Have back ups for your favorite rides in case the rides go down. The big rides can go down frequently at DLR (reasons vary from weather related issues to guests not loading/unloading quickly enough to guests trying to touch things and setting off sensors, etc.), so know where to go next so you don't waste time trying to decide. Same with food -- try to have a general plan of where you want to eat and when. This will save a lot of time. And try not to skip POTC. As the original, it really is fun! And if you want to eat at Blue Bayou (reservations a must), you can dine inside the ride (totally unique to DL). PP is one of the best dark rides there is (even Tony Baxter says this), so if the line is longer than 30 min., come back to ride in the evening at at the end of your day. If you have to stand in line, at least you won't have to bake in the sun. Make sure to look for all the little details -- amazing!

 

[pa. dad]

One warning= there are a lot more attractions at DL Ca than at the MK. So seeing them all may be difficult so keep that in mind. Defintely do the Nemo subs and Pirates and Indy Jones and the Matterhorn and Mr Toad. You may want to do nemo subs first thing as it is popular and not a high capacity ride. If Florida is closer to you, you may want to concentrate most on the attractions that are unique to CA.
If you're going to take a midday break and maybe even if you aren't, you should figure out which attractions to skip in DL park as there really are a lot of them. Then you can come up with your touring plan.

 

[KCAshley]

We're planning on doing all quick counter service meals and snacks- we're eating at some nice restaurants the rest of our trip and really none of the DLR menus excite us much except the chefs table at Napa Rose (right?), bu that's out of the budget given how we're eating the rest of the trip.

Good tips here- keep them coming.

 

[avalon451]

Check the Unofficial Guide to DL; they have good one-day plans geared toward adults to hit the highlights. You can generally get a copy from the library. Alternatively, you can download their app at Touringplans.com; I think it's like 8 bucks for a year's subscription. It has some pretty good suggestions for a prefab itinerary. Also you can build your own and they'll optimize it for you.

Sounds like a lot of fun! Too bad you can't make it 3 days; that'd be more ideal and you could get a Magic Morning that way.

 

[SA-TX]

First, I would say congratulations on just going with your husband. I love our kids (now 16 and 21) and the memories we made there with them but it's so much fun, okay better, when it's just the two of us. The only thing I'll add is if you're going to do Storybook Land, do it at night because it just adds something to it. Not a lot of "magic" during the day. Same thing with the Jungle Cruise in my opinion. The real reason I responded though is to say you need to do POTC. Don't shrug it off because of the bad experience at DW. You'll regret not doing it, it's a lot better.

 

[KCAshley]

First, I would say congratulations on just going with your husband. I love our kids (now 16 and 21) and the memories we made there with them but it's so much fun, okay better, when it's just the two of us. The only thing I'll add is if you're going to do Storybook Land, do it at night because it just adds something to it. Not a lot of "magic" during the day. Same thing with the Jungle Cruise in my opinion. The real reason I responded though is to say you need to do POTC. Don't shrug it off because of the bad experience at DW. You'll regret not doing it, it's a lot better.

Honestly when we were at WDW last year we had so my hub we were wondering why you'd ever bring your kids, haha! (Well, we get why, but you know). We're definitely taking advantage of not having kids while we can!

I definitely want to do POC, it'll be dragging my husband along that will be the problem. I think when we rode it at WDW it was the day before it went down for refurbishment so there were probably a lot more breakdowns than normal- it was crazy though. Everyone says WDW in June is very busy but POC and the Aerosmith coaster were the only places we waited more than 25 minutes, and most rides were less. Maybe we just had good luck? I'm hoping that will continue at DLR!

 

[JulieKAU]

I'd be happy never to do POC again. Admittedly we did it at the end of a very long day, but it was slow and a little boring. I do have a habit of falling asleep in the middle of the movies too though, so take that with a grain of salt...