DCA Magic Morning

[northshoremama]

Never done Magic Morning at DCA before (always DL). Thinking we need to try out DCA during our next trip in September. What DCA rides/attractions are open during Magic Morning in DCA?

 

[mom2rtk]

Technically it's not "Magic Morning" at DCA. It's Early Entry, and it's only available to onsite guests.

 

[northshoremama]

Technically it's not "Magic Morning" at DCA. It's Early Entry, and it's only available to onsite guests.

Thanks for clarifying...we are staying onsite so we'd like to take advantage of Early Entry at DCA.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks for clarifying...we are staying onsite so we'd like to take advantage of Early Entry at DCA.

Generally it's well worth your time, more so than DL which also includes off-site guests using Magic Morning.

I don't have a complete list of rides, but RSR, CS, TSMM and ToT are open. Others too I'm sure. But if I recall properly, the rest of Paradise Pier doesn't open until regular rope drop.

Most head to RSR at rope drop, so CS and TSMM are awesome choices.

 

[We7Johnsons]

We are headed to DL next week. My 3 day non-hopper ticket says:

Magic Morning
Ticket includes one admission for Magic Morning. Magic Morning admission allows admission into selected attractions at Disneyland Park before the park opens to the general public on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. Each Guest must have valid theme park admission. To enhance the Magic Morning experience, it is strongly recommended that Guests arrive at least one hour and 15 minutes prior to regular park opening. Magic Morning admission is based on availability and capacity. Applicable days and times of operation and all other elements including, but not limited to, operation of attractions, entertainment, stores and restaurants and appearances of Characters may vary and are subject to change without notice. Subject to capacity, cancellation and other restrictions. ©Disney

So it's only Disneyland that we can get in to early on a Tue / Thur / Sat? Not early in to California Adventure???

 

[agamble]

We are headed to DL next week. My 3 day non-hopper ticket says:

Magic Morning
Ticket includes one admission for Magic Morning. Magic Morning admission allows admission into selected attractions at Disneyland Park before the park opens to the general public on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.

So it's only Disneyland that we can get in to early on a Tue / Thur / Sat? Not early in to California Adventure???

Correct! Magic Morning is for Disneyland only. Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are both open. The rest of the park is closed. Fast Pass machines are not turned on during this time. It's a great time to head to Fantasyland if you have little ones and want to get on the rides with little to no wait.

 

[We7Johnsons]

I am SO GLAD this was mentioned. This would have been a terrible error on our part and possibly messed up our plans royally. Thank you so much!

 

[northshoremama]

I am SO GLAD this was mentioned. This would have been a terrible error on our part and possibly messed up our plans royally. Thank you so much!

Are you staying onsite at one of the resort hotels? If you are, I believe you can get an extra hour at DCA on Sun, Monday, Wed, and Fri (so the non DL magic morning days).

 

[We7Johnsons]

Nope. We are at a nearby Best Western. DH got his corporate rate so that got us down to a great rate for our family suite. We couldn't afford any of the DLR.

 

[meggles]

We love extra magic hour at DCA! It's so much less crowded than EMH/MM at DL. We go straight to Toy story and ride a couple times. Then we do CS, Soarin', and then go line up for RSR fastpass just prior to regular park opening time.
Then we do carsland and get a snack at Flo's or the cozy cones while waiting for RSR.

 

[northshoremama]

Nope. We are at a nearby Best Western. DH got his corporate rate so that got us down to a great rate for our family suite. We couldn't afford any of the DLR.

I'd recommend getting to DL about 30mins prior to magic morning opening! We always enjoyed the extra time at DL

We love extra magic hour at DCA! It's so much less crowded than EMH/MM at DL. We go straight to Toy story and ride a couple times. Then we do CS, Soarin', and then go line up for RSR fastpass just prior to regular park opening time.
Then we do carsland and get a snack at Flo's or the cozy cones while waiting for RSR.

This sounds like a great plan

 

[challer]

I can't get a straight answer as to whether DCA Early Entry takes place at the Grand Californian entrance only, or at either main or GC. Any wisdom?

 

[Disney_Alli]

I can't get a straight answer as to whether DCA Early Entry takes place at the Grand Californian entrance only, or at either main or GC. Any wisdom?

You can enter from either but most suggest using the main gates as the side gate gets overloaded very early on and has long waits.

 

[northshoremama]

You can enter from either but most suggest using the main gates as the side gate gets overloaded very early on and has long waits.

So leave GC and go to the main DCA gates to enter that way instead??
This is our first time staying at GC and definitely taking advantage of EMH, so knowing the best route into DCA will be helpful!

 

[WillowRain]

That's interesting. So even though we have the entrance at the hotel, we should just go straight to the main gate? That kind of stinks lol. Would be SO much easier to go through the hotel. Does anyone know how early people line up there? I mean, I don't mind getting down there at 630 as long as my family can meet me down there and get in line with me.

 

[mom2rtk]

So leave GC and go to the main DCA gates to enter that way instead??
This is our first time staying at GC and definitely taking advantage of EMH, so knowing the best route into DCA will be helpful!

Yes, go out into DTD and enter through the main gates (it's very close). There is only one line open at the GCH entrance and it can get really bogged down.

 

[Nonsuch]

I can't get a straight answer as to whether DCA Early Entry takes place at the Grand Californian entrance only, or at either main or GC. Any wisdom?

Your question leads me to believe some guests assume the GCH entrance must be used for DCA EMH. This incorrect assumption might contribute to the long line.

That's interesting. So even though we have the entrance at the hotel, we should just go straight to the main gate? That kind of stinks lol. Would be SO much easier to go through the hotel. Does anyone know how early people line up there? I mean, I don't mind getting down there at 630 as long as my family can meet me down there and get in line with me.

The hotel entrance is very convenient, but not during the first hour.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Generally it's well worth your time, more so than DL which also includes off-site guests using Magic Morning.

I don't have a complete list of rides, but RSR, CS, TSMM and ToT are open. Others too I'm sure. But if I recall properly, the rest of Paradise Pier doesn't open until regular rope drop.

Most head to RSR at rope drop, so CS and TSMM are awesome choices.

We went to ride ToT one EMH and were informed it did not open until park opening. Soarin was open for our EMH.

RSR is the main attraction for EMH but it's been 50/50 whether or not it's up and running that early or broken down the last few trips we've had. If RSR is down or test running I advise not waiting there hoping it will open soon. Just haul over to Paradise Pier for TSMM & CS. We got sucked into waiting in line for RSR one EMH because it was "testing" but 20-30 mins later we were informed it's down and they would clear out the cue. Complete waste of our EMH, don't make our mistake.

And if you want to make the most of DCA EMH definitely walk to the main entrance. There are 3-4 gates at GCH for entry, there are like a dozen gates at the Main entrance so they process people into the park a lot faster. All other times of day the GCH entrance is great.

 

[VandVsmama]

It can sometimes take 20-30 min to get through the DCA gates at the GCH. The capacity to handle a lot of park guests is very limited at that entrance compared to the DCA main gate, which is why it can take awhile.

It's similar to what happens on the freeway when 3 lanes merge down into 2. There's a big back up.

 

[agamble]

That's interesting. So even though we have the entrance at the hotel, we should just go straight to the main gate? That kind of stinks lol. Would be SO much easier to go through the hotel. Does anyone know how early people line up there? I mean, I don't mind getting down there at 630 as long as my family can meet me down there and get in line with me.

LOL!

I'm not sure how rope drop works on Early Entry, but on regular opening those that enter through the hotel gate are sent towards the main part of the park to wait with everyone else. It saves some walking, but not likely worth a 90 minute wait.