CA on Thurs. Afternoon or DL?

[Samsma]

Hi! I am trying to input my Ridemax plans and I have to make a decision. We won't be arriving at DL until midafternoon this Thurs. Should I go to CA that evening, or should I start with DL. I realize that Thurs. is a EE day, so will that affect the crowds much by say 3:00?

And do they do the block party bash at CA on Thursday at 5:30? When does the Christmas Parade Run at DL- I want to see both parades, so will I have to make a choice there?

We will be leaving Sunday AM, so I am definitely spending all day Friday at DL, then EE at DL on Sat. switching to CA when it gets really crowded. HELP! I'm a compulsive Disney planner and I'm so confused by this trip- I'm used to spending a week at WDW every other year, and I'm lost.

 

[iceskatejen]

Go to Disneyland.com, click on Calandar and your date. That will give you the day's parade and show schedule--it will make it much easier to figure out which parades you want to see and when.

As for crowds--is your trip during a holiday week or not? If not, then crowds won't be too bad. If it is, then there will be bigger crowds.

 

[noryglory]

Hey Samsma, I think I was one of the people who told you to get Ridemax, because you probably wouldn't need it but IF you did you would regret not getting it? Well, I got it for the same reason and really enjoyed making a few different itineraries for us, and NEVER looked at them one time. It was so quiet it really didn't matter, the only adjustments we'd make is if we came upon a ride we wanted to go on (Space Mountain on Saturday night when we first arrived, for example), and the line was too long (45 minutes standby) we just went on it another time, in our case 5 other times during our stay with either FP or just with a short standby time (15 minutes at the longest).

So, what I'm saying is just have fun with the Ridemax, make a couple different plans including DCA or not, and then if you feel the need to use it you can. I bet you'll find it like I did. Seriously, even our Saturday evening was totally fine without it. Be sure to read their Fall Tips on everything esp. the parade. That info was worth $15 to me, since I didn't end up using their system in any other regard.

I agree with the other poster to check the online schedule and make your plans using that. I hope you had the same luck we did, it was really a joy to be there. I feel bad for those who were there this weekend, as we left on Wednesday and it was still quiet but I guess the tide turned on Friday because of the holiday. Have fun!

 

[noryglory]

Oooh, I just noticed your avatar. Have you seen the Aladdin show yet? You GOTTA make time for that, it is the absolute best! So be sure to plan around that as well. They show it four or five times a day. We went to the 12:30 show on Sunday. Everyone is fantastic and the genie is HIL-arious!

If you sit in the last row of the front orchestra, the elephant and other characters come by and you can interact with them a bit. Ali waved right at my son and a camel nuzzled with him later on in the show.

 

[Judy from Boise]

If money isn't a huge issue i would head to DCA thursday afternoon. Even if you can only be there for 3 hrs, you can get a lot of "must do's" done, especially if you pick up FP as soon as you get their for soaring.
I would never want my first time into DL to be mid afternoon, but DCA is fine !