better to arrive early or stay late?

[Partridge4ever]

I've asked this before, but as our trip approaches I'm going into panic mode. The parks are open from 8 am til midnite every night of our trip. We have 5 day passes. Much as I would like to, there's no way we can stay until closing and then be at the gates at 8 am, even with an afternoon break. DH prefers to arrive later and stay until closing. Do the crowds thin at all after the parade/fireworks?

 

[gmi3804]

I've asked this before, but as our trip approaches I'm going into panic mode. The parks are open from 8 am til midnite every night of our trip. We have 5 day passes. Much as I would like to, there's no way we can stay until closing and then be at the gates at 8 am, even with an afternoon break. DH prefers to arrive later and stay until closing. Do the crowds thin at all after the parade/fireworks?

Most definitely, or so it seems. I've been planning my day using Ridemax, and when I enter everything I want to do and give it a window of 8am to midnight, I notice that most of the attractions are plotted in the evening hours. Unless you can arrive at opening and hit a few biggies in the first couple of hours and then leave for the rest of the day, returning around 6pm. If this isn't possible, I'd suggest arriving late if you had to choose between early or late arrival. Good luck!

 

[peachgirl]

If it were me, I'd go early on the day I chose to go to EE, and go later on the days I didn't.

The crowd really didn't get heavy on our EE day until close to noon. By then, we had ridden all of the rides we wanted to in Fantasyland and and several others.

On our first day, we got into DL around 1pm. I thought we got a lot done by using Ridemax and staying until close that night. I wouldn't attempt to stay through the busy hours though without really planning out the day and making the most use possible out of the fastpass system.

 

[HydroGuy]

One advantage of going early is that you can snag more Fastpasses in the morning and use them throughout the day. When you go in later, there are less Fastpasses available.

I think of the "go early and stay late" approach as sleep shifting. In the summer we always go at 8AM and stay until midnight. We try to get in our last line at 11:59PM. If you get to the gate the next day at 7:30AM, that will get you maybe 6 hours of sleep. Thus a two hour+ afternoon nap is essential, especially if you have kids like we do. It works best if you are staying nearby and can quickly walk to the hotel.

Have fun!

 

[gmi3804]

One advantage of going early is that you can snag more Fastpasses in the morning and use them throughout the day. When you go in later, there are less Fastpasses available.

How many Fast Passes can one have at a time at DL? And if I have DL FastPasses can I still get FastPasses at DCA on the same day while touring DCA with DC FastPasses in my pocket?

 

[lauraljp]

I been wondering the same thing since DL is open the same hours when we are there. We would love to get a full day in with a break during the day but I don't know if we will make it, hopefully at least one of the days.

I had a hard time getting my kids to actually fall asleep when we were at WDW. By the time they did, it was time to get up and go back. Maybe with the later closing time we could rest longer.

Laura

 

[HydroGuy]

How many Fast Passes can one have at a time at DL? And if I have DL FastPasses can I still get FastPasses at DCA on the same day while touring DCA with DC FastPasses in my pocket?

First, if you want to work the FP system it is worth learning how FP works and all of the tricks. The best, most exhaustive discussion is given here: http://www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5720.

The above link will answer your questions in detail. In short, there is no limit to how many FPs you can have at a time. Here is a summary of some critical FP issues:

1. When you get a FP, there is a one hour window for you to officially use it. However, it is common knowledge that CM's will accept the FP any time after the window opens. Thus, if the window is 10AM-11AM, you cannot use it before 10AM, but you can use it anytime after on that day.

2. When you get an FP, you cannot get another until one of two things happen: a) two hours have passed, or b) the one hour window has opened. When you get a FP, it will list on the FP the next time you can get another FP.

3. When you are able to get another FP, it can be for the same ride or another FP ride.

4. The DL and DCA FP systems are not networked, which means that FP time restrictions from one park do not affect the other.

5. One of the secrets is that there are some rides in DL and DCA that are not networked to their own park system, which lets you get even more FP's. The link provided above discusses this.

6. To get FP's for your group, all you need are the entrance tickets. You do not need to have everyone present. Thus when you have a group of kids and adults, send an adult as a "runner" to the FP machine with everyone's entrance tix, while kids rest, go another ride or get in line and save a spot for the runner.

7. When you grab a FP first thing in the morning (say you are one of the first into the park at 8:05AM on a summer day) it will have a return time at least 35 minutes later. You can thus get your second FP at say 8:40AM. But as the day progresses and a lot of FP's have been given out, the return time may be much later. Splash Mtn is the classic example of this, as they frequently run out of FP entirely by 2PM in the summer. Even if you get one at 1PM, the return time might not be until 10PM that night. Hence my point about getting FPs early. I always get a Splash FP early in the morning so we can use it mid-day when it is hot or essentially any time that day we choose.

 

[HydroGuy]

I been wondering the same thing since DL is open the same hours when we are there. We would love to get a full day in with a break during the day but I don't know if we will make it, hopefully at least one of the days.

I had a hard time getting my kids to actually fall asleep when we were at WDW. By the time they did, it was time to get up and go back. Maybe with the later closing time we could rest longer.

When we return to the hotel in the afternoon, we go for a 20-30 minute swim to cool off, eat a quick lunch, and get everyone in bed including adults. When we start the day at 8AM (especially after midnight the night before), we have never had trouble getting everyone to fall asleep. Everyone is just so tired, including mom and dad!

When we get back to the hotel some time after midnight, eveyone is asleep within 60 seconds of head hitting the pillow.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Partridge4Ever, sounds like you're going about the same time as me, when DL is open 8:00-midnite. What I'm doing is alternating early morning with late night (but then I won't do the parks all 5 days). I'll be there at 8:00 on the day I want to do Fantasyland, though.

 

[Tink33]

I suggest trying both.

Day one - get to the park at opening
Day two - get there late and stay until closing

Compare the two and see which way you get more accomplished. Then you have an idea for days 3 - 5.

 

[fire616]

WE had 5 day passes and had planned on going back to the hotel each day for a break.

The first day we were going to go back and eat lunch also - didn't happen. Once we were in the park we didn't want to leave.

2nd day we spent the whole day at DCA and when it closed at 6:00 pm we went back to the hotel and ordered pizza and stayed in.

We ended up only going back to the hotel for a nap on Saturday and on the way back the grandkids fell asleep. I was worried they would wake up but they didn't and we got to rest too.

Our hotel was approx a 15 min walk and we walked to and from each trip to the park and back.

 

[lntsmom]

was that, due to the fireworks, there were still a lot of people in the park late in the evening. I wonder if the new fireworks show is maybe throwing a kink into RideMax's plans. I've never used it, but it seems that this year may not LOOK like other years, due to the special 50th stuff going on.

What I do know is that the first hour in the park was invaluable! We walked right on to everything we wanted to do. If your kids want to do the "biggie" rides, I think I'd do early mornings, knowing you can grab a FP for Indie, go ride Splash Mountain, go back, etc. I would think you'd be much better doing these rides while there isn't a real need for FP's.

We didn't do the most of the big name rides...but the one we did (Soarin') we did 4x with hardly a wait at all...because we did it first thing after the park opened both times. I'd guess this would apply to the biggie rides at DL, too!

Another thought, it looks like you may have little ones who want to Dumbo, etc. I would definitely recommend an early morning for Fantasyland! I swear we waited an hour to ride Dumbo...that's one of the few things I'd change if we went again...rather than doing Buzz and HM first, we'd go straight for Dumbo.

 

[disneychrista]

Do both!! Get there early, then midday go back to your hotel for a nap/rest, maybe a swim or soak in the hot tub (if availalbe) then go back to the park after dinner for the evening.

But if you choose only one it is much better to go early to maximize your time in the park.