Cars Land strategy suggestions

[luckyman_apd]

I hope that's the case tomorrow. We avoided DCA today because of the SoCal last day before Summer blackout. We don't have EE so we will be going straight to RSR for a FP, and sending the wife and 2 kids to Luigi's. Once that is done, we look forward to checking out Paradise Pier.

 

[skier_pete]

I hope that's the case tomorrow. We avoided DCA today because of the SoCal last day before Summer blackout. We don't have EE so we will be going straight to RSR for a FP, and sending the wife and 2 kids to Luigi's. Once that is done, we look forward to checking out Paradise Pier.

Make sure to let us know how that worked for you!

 

[sammons70]

I would put 1 person in your party in the line for Fast Passes and the rest ride Mater and Luigis. If you wait in the RSR stand by lie up Luigis will start to get a really long line.

I couldn't agree more. This will be the best strategy if the demand for Cars land is still at its current levels.

 

[We_love_WDW]

We are planning on going to DL on July 13th and California Advendture on the 14th...what do you think as far as crowds? Are these blackout days? I am soooo worried about crowds. This is our first trip to DL (we are WDW experts) and I am stressing myself out!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

We were just at CA yesterday. We didn't arrive until about 11 am and expected to just be able to fight the crowds to look at CarsLand. Instead we ate at Flo's with no problem at 11:30 am, then got in the single rider's line for the Racers at about 12:15 pm. We were on the ride in 40 minutes! (The stand-by line was well over 2 hours long.)

We were able to repeat that same thing about 8:30 pm (so that we could ride in the dark). So if your group is old enough, I really recommend the single rider line if fast passes are too hard to get.

(We also rode the tractor ride - a lot of fun - after about a 45 minute wait in the stand-by line. The tires just didn't seem worth the hour wait to us.)

After a fastpass trip to cool off on Grizzly, and a typical hour wait for Toy Story, we walked over to Disneyland and were able to eat an early dinner at the Blue Bayou as walk-ups (with about a 20 minute wait.) We were even given a great table!

We were all pleasantly surprised at how well our day went, considering we were there less than 2 weeks from the opening of CarsLand, in the summer no less.The crowds were bad, but we expected that, and just relaxed and went with the flow. Turned out to be a great day. Hope you have a fun trip!

 

[HydroGuy]

We are planning on going to DL on July 13th and California Advendture on the 14th...what do you think as far as crowds? Are these blackout days? I am soooo worried about crowds. This is our first trip to DL (we are WDW experts) and I am stressing myself out!

Your concern about blockout days is one of many that have gotten out of hand in recent months.

Blockout days can be an issue in June (before the summer blockout) and in August (after summer blockout lifts) and then around Thanksgiving and Christmas for a few days.

In general blockout days are not good indicators of when you should or should not visit DLR.

In July the summer blockout is for the whole month so is not an issue. Zero.

Your "so worried about crowds" concern is also misplaced. What many of us have been predicting appears to have turned out to be in fact true - that DLR looks like normal summer crowds - maybe a bit lighter than normal - except for the new CarsLand. CarsLand is crazy busy. The rest of DLR is not. Normal summer crowds are not light by any means. But they are manageable and most visitors are surprised they are not as bad as expected.

Which parks you choose to visit on July 13-14 are not going to matter much. There will be early entries by some which will impact lines in the parks in the mornings for those like you without EE. So you will be much better off if you arrive early. ESPECIALLY FOR DCA - by 7:15AM at the latest but some are suggesting 7AM if you want to see Cars Land.

On the DL day then you should be fine arriving by 7:30-7:40AM.

If you arrive later - most do - then you will feel the crowds more.

 

[sammons70]

I couldn't agree more. This will be the best strategy if the demand for Cars land is still at its current levels.

I don't think you need to stress. I was there last weekend. Yes, RSR has crazy wait times, and if you want a fast pass for it, you need to get there when the park opens. The ride is well worth any planning/ strategizing you have to do. If you want to ride Luigi's Flying Tires, make that your first ride ( we skipped it, and from what I've read, so have others. It doesn't look too appealing to me, especially with an hour wait).That being said, the rest of the attractions have minimal to no wait. Screaming had 20-30 minute wait times the whole time we were there. Toy Story ranged from 20-40 minutes. We walked right on to Little Mermaid in the afternoon, and never waited longer than 5 minutes for Monster's INC. Across the street, Disneyland has been essentially dead compared to crowds at DCA. We walked right own to most rides (no waits for Buzz, Snow White. Pinocchio, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Teacups and Small World). Waits of about 30 minutes existed for the mountains and Star Tours, but you can use fast passes for most of those. My wife and I had never seen the crowds so light at Disneyland. We kept looking at each other in disbelief, and saying "this is a weekend in June!"

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

If we want to talk about strategy for the rest of the park, while planning around CL, that's easy.

This past week, FPs were so "cheap" - as in, the return time is shortly after you get them, allowing you to get another right away. We were easily getting new FPs every 60-90 min. By midday, you could have FP for 3 rides easily. Basically, we would get a FP, get into a short line, and by the time the ride was done (and after waiting and walking), we would be able to get another FP, or at least within 15 min.

Screamin' being disconnected helps a ton. One day we rode it 3 times because we only used FP, and kept getting a new one right before getting on the ride. They kept expiring within 60 min of each other.

Assuming CL keeps the attention of most of the park goers, at least for the first part of the day, the wait times and the fast passes for the rest of the park(s) should be pretty low.

 

[jsoren11]

I read a post on here a while back referring to a touring plan they had come up with, and was wondering if anyone had tried this:
rope drop at DCA,
get fastpass for Soarin'
head to TSMM, ride TSMM.
get FP for Screamin
Head to RSR, get FP for RSR.
Ride Luigi's,
Ride Mater's
get FP for TOT
ride Soarin,
ride Screamin
ride Mermaid
ride TOT
ride RSR later with FP.

Has this ever worked for anyone?
Has anyone ever gotten a RSR FP after getting a FP for a different ride?
This is assuming Screamin is still disconnected

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

rope drop at DCA,
get fastpass for Soarin'
head to TSMM, ride TSMM.
get FP for Screamin
Head to RSR, get FP for RSR.

Has this ever worked for anyone?
Has anyone ever gotten a RSR FP after getting a FP for a different ride?
This is assuming Screamin is still disconnected

If you try this, your runner better be just that - running. By the time you get back to RSR for a FP you run the risk of it being sold out. I think you'd have a hard time getting back to RSR FP before 9am, which is when they are consistently being sold out. Additionally, you will also have to have good timing in getting your RSR FP after the "expiration" time of the 1st FP you get. (I forget when the first return time is on FPs though). Either way, if you have to wait until 9 to get an RSR FP - be it because you went on a ride, or your first FP isn't up yet, then you are taking a big risk.

EDIT
If you went to TSMM, you wouldn't be off that ride until probably 8:30 or later unless you are the first person in line. At rope drop, 5 min walk there, wait for 10 min probably (unless one of the first), then it is a 10 min ride (rounding up), 5 min walk back to RSR FP, and a minimum of half hour wait to get a FP and you are staring down the 9am hour.

 

[DLR29]

I read a post on here a while back referring to a touring plan they had come up with, and was wondering if anyone had tried this:
rope drop at DCA,
get fastpass for Soarin'
head to TSMM, ride TSMM.
get FP for Screamin
Head to RSR, get FP for RSR.
Ride Luigi's,
Ride Mater's
get FP for TOT
ride Soarin,
ride Screamin
ride Mermaid
ride TOT
ride RSR later with FP.

Has this ever worked for anyone?
Has anyone ever gotten a RSR FP after getting a FP for a different ride?
This is assuming Screamin is still disconnected

I posted this, and I will be attempting this strategy in 2 or 3 weeks, although I don't plan on riding Luigi's and Mater's...by that time I'd assume Luigi's would be over an hour wait and maybe a 30-40 min wait for Mater's.

 

[AquaDame]

Sounds like Saturday was a great day, how about Sunday? I have deluxe so I am blocked out on Saturday, but our flight doesn't get in until 9am or so so we would be well past rope drop anyway even if I bought a blackout ticket. Hoping Sunday was also a little lighter in carsland!

 

[TotalDreamer]

If we want to talk about strategy for the rest of the park, while planning around CL, that's easy.

This past week, FPs were so "cheap" - as in, the return time is shortly after you get them, allowing you to get another right away. We were easily getting new FPs every 60-90 min. By midday, you could have FP for 3 rides easily. Basically, we would get a FP, get into a short line, and by the time the ride was done (and after waiting and walking), we would be able to get another FP, or at least within 15 min.

Screamin' being disconnected helps a ton. One day we rode it 3 times because we only used FP, and kept getting a new one right before getting on the ride. They kept expiring within 60 min of each other.

Assuming CL keeps the attention of most of the park goers, at least for the first part of the day, the wait times and the fast passes for the rest of the park(s) should be pretty low.

Can someone explain to me what Screamin' being disconnected means? I assumed it meant the FP machine wasn't working.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Based on what I read, fast passes for RSR currently tend to run out a little after 9am on most days, so, if that's the case on the days you will be in the parks, you would not be able to get it as the second fast pass that day, because by that time they'd probably be all gone.

As to TotalDreamer's question about the Screaming fast passes being "disconnected": Most fast passes are on one of two systems, one for Disneyland and one for California Adventure. Within those systems you have to wait either 2 hours after the first fast pass was issued or until the beginning of your return time for that attraction (whatever comes first) before you can get another fast pass. There are a few fast pass machines, which are disconnected from these two systems, but which of those are can change with little or no notice. You can get fast passes from those "disconnected" attractions at any time, even if you just got a fast pass that is connected to the system and that fast passes return window has not yet started.

World of Color fast passes are generally disconnected. Also, in the past Screaming in California and Roger Rabbit in Disneyland have been disconnected, but I don't know if that's still the case.

Hope this helps.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I read a post on here a while back referring to a touring plan they had come up with, and was wondering if anyone had tried this:
rope drop at DCA,
get fastpass for Soarin'
head to TSMM, ride TSMM.
get FP for Screamin
Head to RSR, get FP for RSR.
Ride Luigi's,
Ride Mater's
get FP for TOT
ride Soarin,
ride Screamin
ride Mermaid
ride TOT
ride RSR later with FP.

Has this ever worked for anyone?
Has anyone ever gotten a RSR FP after getting a FP for a different ride?
This is assuming Screamin is still disconnected

I posted this, and I will be attempting this strategy in 2 or 3 weeks, although I don't plan on riding Luigi's and Mater's...by that time I'd assume Luigi's would be over an hour wait and maybe a 30-40 min wait for Mater's.

I am sorry, I just returned from our trip and, based on our experiences, I don't believe the plan above will work. If you want an RSR FP, then you will need to go immediately to that line or have someone in your party go to that line. I've never seen a long line! It was a 45-60 min wait just to get a FP. The line was wrapped all the way around and almost back to the animation building. It was absolutely nuts! Maybe things will be different in a couple of weeks but I doubt it.

We were at the main gate at 6:15 for an extra magic hour entry of 7:00am and went straight to RSR and rode it. We LOOOOOOVE Toy Story. So, on our second chance for extra magic hour, I was at the main gate at 6:15 for a 7:00 entry and we skipped RSR and went directly to Toy Story. We were the only ones there for quite a while! LOL! We rode it twice without getting out of our car, then we exited and got back in line and went again. We were sooo happy to be able to ride it a few times with absolutely NO WAIT. No one goes to the attractions on the Pier -- they are all over in CL. So, if you like TSMM, Screamin, Goofy's, etc. you will be able to walk on all of them.

Good luck!

 

[DLR29]

I am sorry, I just returned from our trip and, based on our experiences, I don't believe the plan above will work. If you want an RSR FP, then you will need to go immediately to that line or have someone in your party go to that line. I've never seen a long line! It was a 45-60 min wait just to get a FP. The line was wrapped all the way around and almost back to the animation building. It was absolutely nuts! Maybe things will be different in a couple of weeks but I doubt it.

We were at the main gate at 6:15 for an extra magic hour entry of 7:00am and went straight to RSR and rode it. We LOOOOOOVE Toy Story. So, on our second chance for extra magic hour, I was at the main gate at 6:15 for a 7:00 entry and we skipped RSR and went directly to Toy Story. We were the only ones there for quite a while! LOL! We rode it twice without getting out of our car, then we exited and got back in line and went again. We were sooo happy to be able to ride it a few times with absolutely NO WAIT. No one goes to the attractions on the Pier -- they are all over in CL. So, if you like TSMM, Screamin, Goofy's, etc. you will be able to walk on all of them.

Good luck!

Granted I haven't been since the opening weekend, but most reports I've seen have been that the line for the RSR FPs have been no more than 30 min long. I've also seen most reports saying that FPs are running out sometime between 9:15 and 9:30.

Also if TSMM really isn't getting long lines until later...I am assuming that if I am at rope drop, I can be done with my TSMM ride at 8:20 at the latest (with 1 FP runner getting the Soarin and WoC FPs at the rope). Then with a fast 10 min walk from the back of the pier to the end of the RSR FP line, I want to be in line for those at 8:30 at the latest. Even with a 30-45 min wait (which is unlikely), I would still be able to get one of the final FP return times.

Granted I know timing is everything and 1 small thing (i.e.TSMM not working first thing) could set everything off. I'm also a young college kid who loves ambitious, fast-paced plans like this so...I recognize it's not for everyone.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Even with a 30-45 min wait (which is unlikely), I would still be able to get one of the final FP return times.

I'm not sure why you would say a 30-45m min is unlikely. I was just there and experienced it. One CM told me the line would take 45-60 mins and then I overheard another CM tell someone that she didn't recommend waiting in the FP line!

I am basing my info on the fact that at about 8:30am I asked someone exiting the FP line with their FP in hand what their return time was and he said 11:30-12:30. That was at the same time the line was wrapped back almost to the animation building.

I'm wishing you all the best and hope it works out. Many here will look forward to hearing all about your experience.

 

[TotalDreamer]

As to TotalDreamer's question about the Screaming fast passes being "disconnected": Most fast passes are on one of two systems, one for Disneyland and one for California Adventure. Within those systems you have to wait either 2 hours after the first fast pass was issued or until the beginning of your return time for that attraction (whatever comes first) before you can get another fast pass. There are a few fast pass machines, which are disconnected from these two systems, but which of those are can change with little or no notice. You can get fast passes from those "disconnected" attractions at any time, even if you just got a fast pass that is connected to the system and that fast passes return window has not yet started.

World of Color fast passes are generally disconnected. Also, in the past Screaming in California and Roger Rabbit in Disneyland have been disconnected, but I don't know if that's still the case.

Hope this helps.

Ahhh thanks!

 

[jsoren11]

Thanks for all the replies. Id like to see what happens to FP line wait times and lines over the month of July. It will give me a better idea of what to expect Aug 2nd

 

[jsoren11]

DLR, will you let me know what you find in a couple weeks, that would be great!