Can't use Ridemax...help me with plans!

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I have a Mac....so does everyone I know. So no Ridemax for me.

Our trip: Myself, DH, my mom, DD7, DD4, DD2, DS(9 mo). We will be in DLR for 6 days (9/11-16). I've never headed to DLR with a "plan" but with the kids, I'd like to go with a basic idea of where we are going on each day.

My main questions:

1. What's a good order for MM? We have never done Nemo, but I have 4 kids under 8 so I also want to get a lot done in FL without much wait.

2. We will be arriving (hopefully before noon) on Friday 9/11. I know we should hit DCA first, but we will most likely have to go back to the hotel (Portofino Inn&Suites) to check in and get our stuff into the room. I also want to run to Target/grocery store for food, waters, diapers, etc. What rides should we try to hit first in DCA?

3. With the running around, we also want to make PS for DHs bday at ESPN Zone before heading into DL for the evening. I was hoping 5ish before it got too busy with Friday night crowds, but with a Target run would that be feasible? We won't have much room in the car to fit food and a weeks worth of diapers and wipes for 2!

Any other suggestions on "good planning ideas" would be welcomed! TIA!!

 

[50sjayne]

Most people would say Nemo first if that'a a priority for you. I don't think it would hurt these days though to do Peter Pan first- another one that gets crowded fast. We did everything that was open in fantasy land, then both sides of the matterhorn before wandering on to Nemo and only had a 15 minute wait, if that. Toy Story for CA.

 

[DangerMouse]

Here's my suggested MM order:

Peter Pan first (Peter Pan ALWAYS first)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn, Teacups, Toad (whichever order you like although Toad can be a bit scary for youngers)
Buzz
Then jump into Nemo line at the end of MM
Grab Space FP at park opening

Good luck and have fun.

The other rides in FL never have huge lines and I suggest doing them later in the day.

 

[Casken]

The book "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" is an excellent book and it has various touring plans.

I have Macs too. It's pathetic when a website still does not allow Mac users to download. I mean, it's time to get with it.

 

[wrightut]

When we went, we did Nemo on a non-MM day (well, DH did it with our 3 year old while I did Space Mountain with the older kids) and made it on the first sub. The next day was our MM and he did Nemo with the older boys (again on the first sub) while I did Peter Pan, etc with the 3 year old.

If you plan to get there when the park opens every day, you can do Nemo on a non-MM day (Monday might be a good day for this) if you want and still avoid the long lines.

Have fun!

 

[Sherry E]

I have a Mac....so does everyone I know. So no Ridemax for me.

Our trip: Myself, DH, my mom, DD7, DD4, DD2, DS(9 mo). We will be in DLR for 6 days (9/11-16). I've never headed to DLR with a "plan" but with the kids, I'd like to go with a basic idea of where we are going on each day.

My main questions:

1. What's a good order for MM? We have never done Nemo, but I have 4 kids under 8 so I also want to get a lot done in FL without much wait.

2. We will be arriving (hopefully before noon) on Friday 9/11. I know we should hit DCA first, but we will most likely have to go back to the hotel (Portofino Inn&Suites) to check in and get our stuff into the room. I also want to run to Target/grocery store for food, waters, diapers, etc. What rides should we try to hit first in DCA?

3. With the running around, we also want to make PS for DHs bday at ESPN Zone before heading into DL for the evening. I was hoping 5ish before it got too busy with Friday night crowds, but with a Target run would that be feasible? We won't have much room in the car to fit food and a weeks worth of diapers and wipes for 2!

Any other suggestions on "good planning ideas" would be welcomed! TIA!!

I also think you should hit Peter Pan and some of the other FL rides first. I know the lure is there ot hit Nemo first because the wait is so hideously long and slow, but some folks say that the Nemo line actually gets better and more tolerable later in the day and early evening. Some have even reported only 20-minute lines!! The Fantasyland rides' lines get long FAST.

If you happen to be in DCA before it officially opens, the common sentiment is to go right to Soarin' because you can get on it just after 9:30 a.m. and then head over to TSMM after, which by that time has already acquired a long line. My friends and I don't do that. We don't worry about Soarin' until a little bit later because that has Fast Pass. TSMM does not have Fast Pass. What we do is go into DCA somewhere before 10:00 a.m. and immediately wait in the line forming over near GRR. Usually the CM attending the line will begin to walk everybody over to TSMM somewhere around 9:50 a.m. (depending on which CM it is, they may wait an extra 5 minutes, or they may start walking you over at 9:45 a.m.). Whatever the case, you can usually end up in the short line and/or on the TSMM ride by - if not before - 10:00 a.m., getting a head start over the folks who entered through the main gates of DCA And when you come off the TSMM ride, you see all the people in line that you beat to the ride, and waiting for a short bit by GRR early in the morning suddenly makes sense!. The TSMM line gets long quickly, and even though it is a relatively fast-moving line, waiting in it in the peak of the heat during the day can be daunting, whereas waiting by the cool GRR area for a few minutes in the morning seems a better option.

This 'GRR line to TSMM' tactic has worked wonders for some and other folks have ended up with CMs who were very by-the-book and refused to move any earlier than 9:58 a.m. or so, and those people ran into the crowds who were coming in the main gates. But overall, if riding TSMM is important and you want to try to avoid a long, possibly 40-minute or longer, line for it, I would suggest trying this method. Others may disagree, but it worked well for us!

Oh, and one other thing - are you making the ESPN Zone PS through ESPN Zone or through DLR? DL Dining only handles certain time frames for ESPN Zone PS's. I think they do the PS's for weekday-only, pre-5:00 p.m. meals. NO weekends. NO evenings. At least that is what they said the last time I called to make an ESPN PS. But on the ESPN website, if you sign up with their MVP Club, you can make PS's through them for later times.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Here's my suggested MM order:

Peter Pan first (Peter Pan ALWAYS first)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn, Teacups, Toad (whichever order you like although Toad can be a bit scary for youngers)
Buzz
Then jump into Nemo line at the end of MM
Grab Space FP at park opening

Good luck and have fun.

The other rides in FL never have huge lines and I suggest doing them later in the day.

Thanks! Unfortunately we will be there when SM is down for the overlay. It just gives me an excuse to come back for the Halloween fun!

The book "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" is an excellent book and it has various touring plans.

I have Macs too. It's pathetic when a website still does not allow Mac users to download. I mean, it's time to get with it.

I got Unofficial at the library, but haven't gone through it yet. Hard to find time with 4 kids (who don't know we are going yet!) looking quizzically at mommy reading a non-kid book!

If you happen to be in DCA before it officially opens, the common sentiment is to go right to Soarin' because you can get on it just after 9:30 a.m. and then head over to TSMM after, whcih by that time has already acquired a long line. My friends and I don't do that. We don't worry about Soarin' until a little bit later because that has Fast Pass. TSMM does not have Fast Pass. What we do is go into DCA somewhere before 10:00 a.m. and immediately wait in the line forming over near GRR. Usually the CM attending the line will begin to walk everybody over to TSMM somewhere around 9:50 a.m. (depending on which CM it is, they may wait an extra 5 minutes, or they may start walking you over at 9:45 a.m.). Whatever the case, you can usually end up in the short line and/or on the TSMM ride by - if not before - 10:00 a.m., getting a head start over the folks who entered through the main gates of DCA And when you come off the TSMM ride, you see all the people in line that you beat to the ride, and waiting for a short bit by GRR early in the morning suddenly makes sense!. The TSMM line gets long quickly, and even though it is a relatively fast-moving line, waiting in it in the peak of the heat during the day can be daunting, whereas waiting by the cool GRR area for a few minutes in the morning seems a better option.

This 'GRR line to TSMM' tactic has worked wonders for some and other folks have ended up with CMs who were very by-the-book and refused to move any earlier than 9:58 a.m. or so, and those people ran into the crowds who were coming in the main gates. But overall, if riding TSMM is important and you want to try to avoid a long, possibly 40-minute or longer, line for it, I would suggest trying this method. Others may disagree, but it worked well for us!

Oh, and one other thing - are you making the ESPN Zone PS through ESPN Zone or through DLR? DL Dining only handles certain time frames for ESPN Zone PS's. I think they do the PS's for weekday-only, pre-5:00 p.m. meals. NO weekends. NO evenings. At least that is what they said the last time I called to make an ESPN PS. But on the ESPN website, if you sign up with their MVP Club, you can make PS's through them for later times.

We have a 5-6 hour drive so I'm not expecting to be there at opening, but we will do DCA at opening on Monday and spend the day there until the Pixar Parade and WCT PS ressies, then move to DL the last 2 hours. I was thinking of doing Soarin' at opening, but TSMM is a higher priority so we'll do that first. Thanks for the tip!

And I joined the MVP club for ESPN so I can do PS ressies through them, even put an alert on my phone for the day I can make them!

 

[LuLusApple]

Here's my suggested MM order:

Peter Pan first (Peter Pan ALWAYS first)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn, Teacups, Toad (whichever order you like although Toad can be a bit scary for youngers)
Buzz
Then jump into Nemo line at the end of MM
Grab Space FP at park opening

Good luck and have fun.

The other rides in FL never have huge lines and I suggest doing them later in the day.

That's exactly what we did over Spring Break worked great even rode PP twice

 

[PinkBudgie]

I would try for PP first one day and Nemo first on another. When we were there this summer, Nemo was always very long. We had been on it last summer and decided we didn't need to do it again this year. The UOGDL suggests going to Dumbo first. Peter Pan or Nemo should always be first. I think we went on Dumbo second or and still had only a few minutes wait. We were with my 3 year old nephew and did PP, Dumbo, Casey Jr., can't remember the rest of the order but not long wait for the other rides first thing in the morning. This was a non MM day. Oh yeah, try to hit IASW during the morning time too. Shorter lines.

If you are not going to FL first on a certain day I would head over to Indy and get FPs for those. After that you could hop on the Jungle Cruise, HM, and Pirates.

What we did was collect FPs every two hours and rode the non FP rides first thing in the morning. We used the FPs after the lines were long for everything. This way we only had about a 15 min wait for rides all day.