Bonus $10.00 ESPN and EE

[albianne]

I will be buying 3 annual Passes but was told I would be better to get the park hoppers with the bonus and then upgrade. Is the EE a really big deal, can you get a lot done in that hour. Would the $30.00 ESPN credit keep us entertained for a while. I must confess I have no idea what ESPN is, I would imagine it is some kind of arcade but does $30.00 go very far there. I am trying to weigh up whether the bonus is worth standing in line twice for. As you can tell we have never been to DL before. Reading all the posts has got me really excited for our first trip, my daughter has never been on a ride of any kind in her entire life (country bumpkins)

 

[Eeyorecln]

You can buy your parkhoppers in advance just like AP's so you shouldn't have to wait in line twice. As for the EE, it is worth it. We went the last week of August, when it was still pretty crowded, and rode the matterhorn 4 times(my DS's loved it), Alice in Wonderland, and Dumbo. You could do most of FL in that hour. Most of the FL rides are crowded pretty much all day so an hour there without crowds is great. By the way, this was the only time we rode the Matterhorn. Lines were always 30 min. or more during the day.
As for ESPN, my boys liked it(including big boy DH ). I'm not sure how long the credits last, we didn't use ours up. We just played while waiting for a table for dinner one evening. The California fun book had a coupon for free kid's meal. The food is average. We plan on using the rest of our credit in Dec. only this time DH will go over with kids to play while I wait for a table at Rainforest Cafe(nearby) then call his cell when ready. We liked this restaurant better.

 

[albianne]

It does sound like it is worth it. I thought you had to stand in line regardless because you have to get your picture taken but maybe I am misunderstanding, do only annual passes have your picture on it? If I order a 5 day pass and have it delivered by mail will we be good to go as soon as we arrive at DL?
Thanks for the tip regarding the Rainforrest cafe, this was one of the restaurants we really wanted to see and I don't mind waiting while my hubby and dd go to the arcade. Do you have to eat ESPN to use up the credits or can you just play?

 

[azgal81]

The ESPN arcade is on the second level and no you don't have to eat there you can just come in and play. I believe 10 dollars will get you 30 credits and each game averages about 6 credits, that's what we were told when we exchanged ours! You can at least play a couple of games with the 10 dollar credit.

 

[karylrocks]

I think ESPN is worth it only if you have sports enthusiasts. You can shoot basketballs, throw footballs, there is a bowling type game, etc., and they each cost a few dollars. It is in Downtown Disney right near the Disneyland Hotel. You do not have to eat there to play the games. EE is worth it not to have to wait for Space Mountain, Buzz, Peter Pan, Monorail, and other Fantasyland rides. If you are staying at a Disney hotel you can use EE every day it is offered regardless of what type of ticket you have. If you purchase park-hoppers ahead of time you can enter the park as soon as you arrive. To upgrade to AP, you need to go the the Bank of America which is just inside Disneyland to the right as you enter. They will take your picture and it will be printed on your plastic pass; only AP's have your picture.

 

[snoodledoo]

Ok, I haven't been to DL since '01...how does EE work? Is it only for Fantasyland, and if so, how do they keep everyone there? Is there a special entrance? Sorry for the dumb questions!

 

[azgal81]

Early entry is for fantasyland and I know some rides for tomorrowland were open for early entry when I went back in August (don't know if that's still the case). Those are the only attractions which will be open before the park opens. I think there might be a rope that stops people from going to the other sections of the park. I've never checked it out though!

 

[brenda1966]

Jumping into this thread with another EE question...
SInce I only have EE for one day (and will be using it) what time should I get to the parks on an EE day that I can't use EE? The park opens at 10 regularly. I'm assuming they don't let anyone w/out EE in until 10 sharp. Also, what part of the park should we head into. I know Fantasy land will already be busy and assume Space Mountain would be packed so best to head to Adventure land?

 

[Eeyorecln]

On EE days we didn't use EE, we went to Adventureland or Frontierland. FL and TL were crowded at opening because of EE so we started at the opposite end of the park. If you don't have EE, and the park is open late, ie. 12 AM, we rode most FL rides one night between 11 and midnight. The tea cups and Dumbo were 5 min. waits and we walked on Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinnochio and Carousel. Then we hopped in line for Peter Pan at 2 min. til we got on about 12:10 AM. The Matterhorn line was long even at this time, though. We could have done Alice, it was a 5 min wait as well, but we ran out of time. Hope that helps.
As for ESPN, they do have car and motorcycle games you drive,as well as sports games. My kids love driving games so thats where our credits went.