Disneyland experts - Do I expect too much?

[fely1st]

This christmas my husband surprised me with a DL trip. We usually go to WDW once a year and I am super excited. While doing some research for our trip I found a review page which made me panic. Everyone was dissapointed about rude CM, multiple broken rides, crowds of people and terrible experiences. I really was shocked.I know people tend to post the bad things more likely but is it really that awful? I know it will be crowded since we go the week before Halloween, I know rides can break down and I know that CM are also only human which do a hard job.
But we stay at the Grand Cali Hotel, we are early birds and so I made my planning. Do you think I will be fine or is it not doable. All tipps are welcome, by the way.
We have two early mornings at DL, I want focus on the fantasyland rides and do Indiana Jones, Halloween Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder with FP . The other morning will be Space Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz and Matterhorn.We do the other rides when lines are short. We also try to do two Halloween Partys, one for Halloween stuff and one for the rides. Do you think there will be a party between 10/28 and Halloweenday? Then we have three early mornings for DCA which I think is enough. Want to ride Radiator springs as oft as possible because my husband is really ino cars. Then do GotG and Toy Story, maybe the new incredible coaster. Don't think we have time problemes in this park.So what do you think.
Two more questions: Saw that you can see WoC from the hotel, is it worth it or should I try to book a dessert party? Can you compare the morning hours with WDW where we do a lot of rides in the first two hours, or will it be crowded from the beginning so that I can't do all classic fantasyland rides in one morning? Sorry for the long post but since our way is long too - we are from Germany -I want to make this trip super

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Wilkommen! What a wonderful Christmas gift! (And what a wonderful husband! Gold star for him!)
First off, read this thread for lots of helpful tips and information: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. Don't be put off by negative reviews -- people do tend to vent about things pretty easily, but don't always remember to write about all the good things that happen. You are right about expectations -- unrealistic expectations can get people into trouble at DLR. Then they don't hesitate to rant about their experience. People who look for things to complain about are guaranteed to find them. Positive attitude is key to a magical trip! Be open to the magic -- you will find it (especially in places you didn't think to look)!
Keep reading these boards for updates and information before your trip -- you'll find lots of good reports here (and honest, helpful reviews, too). Feel free to ask any questions about your planning. You'll get plenty of good advice and suggestions here.
Next, definitely book the WOC Dessert Party! There is no comparison to that view vs. the hotel view (which is ok, but not great). The Dessert Party is lots of fun! There is a new Dessert Party for Paint the Night parade viewing at DCA -- this is brand new and there isn't a lot of information about it yet. Keep watching threads here for more information and reviews.
Make sure to download the free DLR app for your smart phone. It is very helpful and you can start getting familiar with it little by little now. Get familiar with the park layout (it is different from WDW -- sometimes that can disorient people).
If you can afford MaxPass, look into getting it for all your park days. It can really help make efficient use of your time and the free PhotoPass is fun, too.
There have been rumors about changes to Mickey's Halloween Party (like having it move to DCA for the next two years), so keep watching these boards for updates about the parties and tickets. Announcements about the parties and ticket sales should come this summer, usually in July.
Happy Planning! You're going to have a wonderful trip!

 

[katyringo]

First off your in great shape staying at GCH because you will have early entry to DCA and get so much done in that hour even if it’s busy later. Everyone here will tell you that arriving early is the key to getting stuff done. That and use maxpass!

Also I totally recommend the WOC dessert. It’s awesome.

Lastly I totally know about being hesitation with reviews. Our first trip was over Christmas break when crowds were crazy. Every review and blog I read about that time of year had me in a panick. With some planning our trip was darn near perfect and amazing! I truely believe attitude and planning is everything when it comes to Disneyland! We didn’t run into a single rude CM, but we were always kind to them too. A couple of situations we had were others around us were upset with CM were because a CM told them something they shouldn’t be doing and the guest became rude back at the CM. Sometimes CM have to say things we don’t like to hear like “you can’t stand there or you can’t line up yet” because that is their job. Too many people become rude with them. We had amazing CM interactions during the busiest days of the year.

 

[katyringo]

Oh also if it’s just you and hubby and you don’t mind possibly splitting up you can use single rider lines.

 

[mom2rtk]

Definitely make full use of early entry each day. I think that will help add to your enjoyment if the parks are really busy.

Definitely do the WOC dessert party. But also watch WOC from the hotel one night. It's cool from the hotel, but a completely different experience.

 

[fely1st]

Thank you so much for your tipps. Will do the dessert party for sure. And with desserts you never can get wrong. The rumors for Halloween moving to DCA are total new for me, but there is so much going on at disney I think it is hard to keep on track with everything. Will follow that. Any tipps on early morning in DL, fantasyland rides?

 

[mom2rtk]

Peter Pan can soak up a lot of your early entry time. Unless you are at the front of the pack entering the park, I would skip it during EE. You can end up spending 20 to 30 minutes of your hour on it. Start with Alice and then move on to the other FL rides. Watch the app for times on Peter Pan. If you see a 30 minute wait later in the day, do it then. Better to spend your EE hopping quickly between other rides than soaking up so much on one ride.

Or just get there really early and be one of the first ones on PP.

Definitely focus on non fastpass rides during EE.

Get MP and always keep a FP on your account. I would probably schedule one for Matterhorn first so you can do that right at park open. Then grab one for Space or Indy.

The subs are a hard one to get on. You can use early entry, but like PP it soaks up a lot of time. It loads slowly and is a fairly long ride. Definitely another one to watch return times on.

 

[HydroGuy]

This christmas my husband surprised me with a DL trip. We usually go to WDW once a year and I am super excited. While doing some research for our trip I found a review page which made me panic. Everyone was dissapointed about rude CM, multiple broken rides, crowds of people and terrible experiences. I really was shocked.I know people tend to post the bad things more likely but is it really that awful? I know it will be crowded since we go the week before Halloween, I know rides can break down and I know that CM are also only human which do a hard job.
But we stay at the Grand Cali Hotel, we are early birds and so I made my planning. Do you think I will be fine or is it not doable. All tipps are welcome, by the way.
We have two early mornings at DL, I want focus on the fantasyland rides and do Indiana Jones, Halloween Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder with FP . The other morning will be Space Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz and Matterhorn.We do the other rides when lines are short. We also try to do two Halloween Partys, one for Halloween stuff and one for the rides. Do you think there will be a party between 10/28 and Halloweenday? Then we have three early mornings for DCA which I think is enough. Want to ride Radiator springs as oft as possible because my husband is really ino cars. Then do GotG and Toy Story, maybe the new incredible coaster. Don't think we have time problemes in this park.So what do you think.
Two more questions: Saw that you can see WoC from the hotel, is it worth it or should I try to book a dessert party? Can you compare the morning hours with WDW where we do a lot of rides in the first two hours, or will it be crowded from the beginning so that I can't do all classic fantasyland rides in one morning? Sorry for the long post but since our way is long too - we are from Germany -I want to make this trip super

Adding to some of the other great advice from the PPs, it was not clear if the naysayers were WDW vets but it sounded like they were. I would be interested in an honest poll of WDW vets giving DLR a first try and how many of them make a serious effort to come to places like this and get some tips and guidance and help with expectations. And then what their experience is like after.

What burns me are WDW vets who never have time to come here before their trip and seek guidance, but seem to have lots of time after their trip to come here and complain. I think the ridicule those folks often receive is justified as their credibility is zero. You can usually tell from their negative posts here that they made many easily avoidable, classic mistakes. Sort of like a person who goes to WDW for the first time and they go in August then complain about how hot and humid it is. Did they never look at weather.com before choosing August??? Maybe they should have chosen March if weather is so important to them???

Good news is it looks like you are not one of them!

The key for you to maximize the chances of having an enjoyable trip is to get your expectations properly set. That does not mean to lower your expectations. It means to adjust them to DLR. DLR offers some things that WDW never really can. Learn about DLR and how to experience those rather than trying to make DLR fit into your WDW filter.

Any tipps on early morning in DL, fantasyland rides?

This link should help: "Early Admission (MM/EMH/APEE) Super Thread" by DLR29 www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

 

[cruisehopeful]

But we stay at the Grand Cali Hotel, we are early birds and so I made my planning

You are in a good place. The hotel is great and you have the option of walking back to your room from DCA park whenever you want to. Even though it will be very crowded, you probably won't mind.

We have two early mornings at DL, I want focus on the fantasyland rides and do Indiana Jones, Halloween Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder with FP

As far as I know, only the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides are open during that early hour. You'll be able to go on the other rides as soon as the park opens to the public. I've done that several times and since you are already in the park, you will have very little wait for those rides.

Saw that you can see WoC from the hotel, is it worth it or should I try to book a dessert party?

Do the dessert party. It's really nice to be able to sit down and relax at the end of the day without people shoving you. The view from the hotel isn't nearly as good as the view from the dessert party.

You will be going during a very popular and busy season. That means that more rides will be open and the hours will be longer. There are times when rides go down, but they will be up again later. Buy MaxPass for a day that you just want to focus on the rides. If there is a Halloween party while you are there, but your tickets early, as soon as they go on sale. The lines for rides are much shorter during the parties.

 

[fely1st]

Thanks to HydroGuy, just made my way through your great post about WDW Vets going to DL, that must have been hard work. I got some good advices for my daily planning. I know I can't and I don't want to compare DL with WDW, I want to enjoy both for what they are special for. And I really love to read as much as I can about my "new" disney destination.It is like a whole new world to explore. Thanks for all your help.

 

[nikkislaght]

Thanks to HydroGuy, just made my way through your great post about WDW Vets going to DL, that must have been hard work. I got some good advices for my daily planning. I know I can't and I don't want to compare DL with WDW, I want to enjoy both for what they are special for. And I really love to read as much as I can about my "new" disney destination.It is like a whole new world to explore. Thanks for all your help.

Ive only done The WORLD once years ago.. on the west coast here and we do The LAND.. the convenience of being able to walk from one park to the other will win you over... well it does us..lol
Like anything you will get back what you put into it.. we go mostly round Spring break and its crazy.. but we know that and so arent fazed by what we need to do to navigate the parks and lines. Thats one reason I dont tend to spend to much time looking at bad reviews.. because I will have a different experience from you..
Im sure like the World there are times when people have had a not so good time..

I know people that have said.. oh year we went and I hated it.. I say, then you didnt do it "right"

Hope you enjoy CA and have a wonderful magic filled Disney Trip!!

 

[VandVsmama]

The week before Halloween might not be all that bad, actually. A LOT of schools in the western US (especially California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah) have a week in October off for "Fall Break." Some schools will end up with the week of 10/8-10/12 off. Other schools will have 10/15-10/19 off. But if you're going the week BEFORE Halloween, then that means you'll be there the week of 10/21-10/27.

Here's what I think it will be like crowd-wise:

1. Disney just announced that for So Cal AP holders, they are blocking out all Sundays in October. So if you'll be there at DL on Sunday 10/21, this would be a good DL day for you.
2. In the late afternoon/evenings on the week days (10/22-10/26), it will probably feel more crowded than earlier in the day.
3. Why? Because the locals to southern California who live within an hour's drive of DL will leave work and head straight to Disneyland so they can experience some of the Halloween fun & decorations. They'll go on a couple of rides and go home.
4. MOST school-aged kids in the western US are in school and not on a vacation/holiday break the week before Halloween.
5. On non-Halloween party days in the past, DL park closed to regular park guests at 6 pm. On those evenings, DCA can suddenly get pretty crowded as the masses leave and park hop over to DCA. So on those days when there's a Halloween party and you don't have a Halloween party ticket, make sure that you've done big E-ticket rides at DCA earlier in the day OR make sure that you have a FP for your favorite ride if you want to go on it at DCA in the evening.

Other general advice:

• Being an early bird will work to your advantage.
• This page on Disboards has Disneyland historical park hours. It will give you a good idea of what the park hours will probably be for the week before Halloween this year. https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/
• 2 early mornings at DL are perfect! You can focus on Fantasyland rides for 1 of them and focus on tomorrowland rides during the 2nd one.
• NOTE: Not ALL Fantasyland rides are open during EMH/MM. Casey Jr, It's a small world, and Storybook Land Canal Boats don't open until regular park opening.
• Haunted Mansion Holiday will probably have FP. We've been able to ride it 2x/day in October before using FP.
• IJ, HM, and BTMRR will not be open during EMH.
• I think that there will probably be 2 Halloween parties between 10/28 and Halloween itself. Maybe 3.
• the Halloween parties are REALLY popular and the ones closer to Halloween always sell out every year. Party tickets usually go on sale in July, so pay attention to Disboards around that time and keep an eye out on the Disneyland website so you can get your tickets for the dates you want.
• Walt Disney really loved America. The spirit of this, I think, is captured in the Great Moments with Mr Lincoln attraction on Main Street and in the Flag Retreat Ceremony in Town Square. If you have time, I highly recommend going to the Flag Retreat Ceremony. It's about 15-20 min long and the main guy who handles/coordinates it is a guy that everybody refers to as "Gunny." He's an elderly African-American gentleman who is a retired gunnery sargent (I'm probably spelling that wrong) from the US Marines. During the ceremony, they ask any military veterans to step forward and Gunny thanks them for their service. The way Gunny lovingly folds the flag makes me cry. And before he and the other cast members end the ceremony, he goes up to every military veteran there and salutes them with the flag. The Dapper Dans are often there to sing and there's always traditional American patriotic music played. It's really moving. Even if you are not a fan of the military, it's a very moving thing to see. The veterans are of all ages...young and old. Some of them might be in a wheelchair. Some might be missing an arm or leg. And Gunny salutes every single one of them. It's hard not to have your eyes leak during that!

DCA suggestions:

1. I bet you can make it on RSR 3 times a day if you wanted to.
2. www.disneylanddaily.com has some excellent suggestions on how to navigate through popular rides at DCA to get on everything you want to go on.
3. DON'T USE THE GCH ENTRANCE TO DCA! ENTER THROUGH THE MAIN GATE! Entry through the hotel entry is slow.
4. DCA EMH #1: Walk with purpose to Carsland. When you enter Carsland, stay to the right. there's a sticky thread on here somewhere that talks about the "wide right" technique for getting onto RSR first thing in the morning. Go on RSR. Then go again, only in the Single Rider line. Then you can go on Mater's and Luigi's and head next to Toy Story and the Incredicoaster. When regular park opening time occurs, get a FP for RSR. Then when that return window opens up, get a FP for GotG. Or get FP for GotG first and THEN get your RSR FP when the GotG return window begins.
5. DCA EMH #2: Basically repeat EMH #1, but if you find that you LOVE GotG, then do that first and then do Carsland.
6. Consider getting Max Pass for the duration of your visit or at least for a day or 2. On Disneyland Daily's website last summer, the author reported being able to get FP for rides in DCA using Max Pass before the regular park opening. But the regular FP machines didn't distribute FPs until park opening time. She was able to get GotG FPs before the regular park opening this way. I don't know if that is still happening, though.
7. BE IN CARSLAND AT DUSK/SUNDOWN! You won't regret it. When they turn on the neon lights, they play that "Sh-boom" song from the Cars movie. It's only a couple of minutes long, but it's so magical and wonderful and amazing!
8. DCA has 'streetmosphere' Cast Members. Officer Blue and Molly Messenger are 2 that come to mind. We've been approached by both of them while sitting to rest for a few min on a park bench on Buena Vista Street. They're really great, especially if you get into the spirit of things with them. Officer Blue has given my kids tickets for "having too much fun." And Molly Messenger delivers telegrams to park guests. She was great, too! So much personality. Officer Blue tells silly jokes. We've enjoyed meeting them and taking photos with them.

 

[VandVsmama]

Where Max Pass could really save you a lot of walking is in situations in which your DH wants to go on RSR again, but you're currently in DL. And maybe you're all the way at the back of the park by It's A Small World, which is a big long walk to get to the FP machines for RSR.

If you have Max Pass, then you can be pretty much anywhere and get a FP for RSR.

BUT one thing to note since you are an international visitor...Wifi in Disneyland is terrible. It's not available everywhere. So you pretty much have to have a data plan on your phone in order to use Max Pass or to use the Disneyland app on a smart phone.

So do some research back home in Germany to see what the costs would be for international data usage in the US for your vacation. OR plan on going to a Walmart or Target to get a pay-as-you-go cheap phone with data to use just for your vacation and then basically toss it when you're done (or save it for your next trip).

 

[Niltiac]

I think you've got a pretty good trip planned. Sure it might be crowded, but it's pretty much like that all the time now, and it won't be nearly as crowded as it is at Christmas. The weather is usually nice that time of year, and I love the Fall decorations. Since you've got EMH, you're early birds, and if you're coming from farther East you have a time difference making it even easier to get up early, you should be able to get a lot of rides done in the early morning before the crowds arrive. Since you'll likely be awake anyway, look into the morning walk they do through DCA before it opens. You have to sign up at the hotel. Then when it does get crowded, you can have a leisurely lunch and people watch, or go to the pool, watch a show, etc. I would definitely get MaxPass, especially since you're staying at GCH, so you can relax in the room when it gets crowded but still be able to collect FP for the evening (make sure to ride RSR at night at least once). In the afternoon, just do whatever you need to do to not let the crowds get to you, and don't worry about rides unless you have a FP. Since your husband likes Cars, a good place to take a rest is in the seating area behind Flo's, where it's usually nice and quiet and you can watch the RSR cars zoom by.

October is my favorite time to go and typically all the rides are up and running. Rides break down sometimes, but since you're going for several days just try to hit the high priorities early in the trip so you have time to try again if it breaks down. Use the app to keep an eye on when the rides come back up - they're typically only down for an hour or so if a sensor got tripped and the ride just needs to be reset. I don't often see a ride actually break and need to go down for an extended repair.

As for the bad reviews, I think you just need to manage your attitude going in. The impression I get from a lot of people who have bad reviews of whichever park they're not used to is that maybe going into it they started questioning whether it was worth travelling across the country to try a new park they might not even like. Since they're already uncertain, they get there and start to notice all the little things that they're willing to overlook in their home park. There will always be a rude person here or there (be it a CM or a guest), lines, crowds, trash, etc. But if you're relaxed and enjoying your vacation, you don't really take the time to dwell on them and looking back you don't even remember those little negative things. But if you go in already apprehensive that you made a mistake going somewhere new, you'll grab on to every little flaw and use it to justify your apprehension. Try to focus on the adventure of exploring everything that's new, as opposed to thinking about what's missing or different from WDW.

 

[tlcdoula]

What a great surprise!!! Don't pay any attention to the bad reviews, people like to moan and groan when things don't go exactly how they thought they should. We did a trip last Halloween and were there from Oct 27th for a week, we had a party of 7 and everyone enjoyed themselves. We did the Halloween Party on the 31st and it was great, just walking around admiring all the costumes etc, and the waits for rides were good. We did a couple treat trails in Toon Town for the kids and they got so much stuff it was insane actually.

Try to make time to see Fantasmic, I think the one at DL is far better than the one at DW (hiding my head now haha) World of Color is great too, we have done the Dessert Package and my feet loved it. Being able to sit and relax was amazing!!! It is expensive but it was a nice splurge.

Unless you are at the front of the rope drop to do Fantasyland I always wait to do Peter Pan, I find that I can get the rest of the rides done in Fantasyland and then when Peter Pan is at 30 min or less for wait time I jump in line. Grab some popcorn or a churro and eat it while in line.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[hootey]

We have went to DL every Christmas for the last six years, five or six days of DL Christmas that is. We always stay at the DLH or the Grand and have EE plus, all of the extras you get with being a DLR guest. Yes, the parks can get a little crowded. Yes, some of the people are in bad moods and rude as they can be. Phoooey on them, We are at DL for Christmas and are going to have a good time. We take our own sweet time and enjoy being there. Getting in the park early is great and we ride the popular rides first. Being flexable helps, if the ride we want to ride next has a l o n g line, we skip it and ride it later. If New Orleans square gets packed with people(which does happen), we catch the train and go to another section of the park that is not so crowded. We take afternoon breaks and go swimming and hot-tubbing at the hotel. Go back to the parks in time for the parades a couple days and on other days while everyone else is watching the parades, we ride POTC and HH and other rides. . Sometimes we just need a break from the noise and the people in the parks, we head back to the Grand for coffee or a drink at the Hearth Stone Lounge.
We have a couple Character Breakfasts(which R a lot of FUN) and a couple nice dinners while there as well . Go to all the shows you can and do as much as you can at a pace that lets you enjoy being there. Roll with the good and bad, after all, you will be at the "Happiest Place on Earth" , enjoy it

 

[gottalovepluto]

This christmas my husband surprised me with a DL trip. We usually go to WDW once a year and I am super excited. While doing some research for our trip I found a review page which made me panic. Everyone was dissapointed about rude CM, multiple broken rides, crowds of people and terrible experiences. I really was shocked.I know people tend to post the bad things more likely but is it really that awful? I know it will be crowded since we go the week before Halloween, I know rides can break down and I know that CM are also only human which do a hard job.
But we stay at the Grand Cali Hotel, we are early birds and so I made my planning. Do you think I will be fine or is it not doable. All tipps are welcome, by the way.
We have two early mornings at DL, I want focus on the fantasyland rides and do Indiana Jones, Halloween Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder with FP . The other morning will be Space Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz and Matterhorn.We do the other rides when lines are short. We also try to do two Halloween Partys, one for Halloween stuff and one for the rides. Do you think there will be a party between 10/28 and Halloweenday? Then we have three early mornings for DCA which I think is enough. Want to ride Radiator springs as oft as possible because my husband is really ino cars. Then do GotG and Toy Story, maybe the new incredible coaster. Don't think we have time problemes in this park.So what do you think.
Two more questions: Saw that you can see WoC from the hotel, is it worth it or should I try to book a dessert party? Can you compare the morning hours with WDW where we do a lot of rides in the first two hours, or will it be crowded from the beginning so that I can't do all classic fantasyland rides in one morning? Sorry for the long post but since our way is long too - we are from Germany -I want to make this trip super

From Germany?! Awesome! You have found the right group to help you make the most of your trip

You cannot see WOC from GCH, well technically you can but the view is horrible. Book the dessert party for that, it's the BEST way to see the show!

EMH is perfect for Cars. If there is any sort of line Single Rider it and walk on over and over during EMH. Totally awesome.

You'll have to wait on the Halloween party schedule to see your options.

Maxpass is great for hitting up rides faster than using the traditional paper fast pass system but it requires a smartphone that can access the Disneyland App and a credit or debit card for purchasing MP, not sure if foreign cards work.

EMH at Disneyland: only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open then fyi. It's a great time to do the FL rides imho, hit up Alice toward the very beginning. It has the 2nd longest line in FL behind PP (idk about Dumbo since I don't ride that one). This is also a great time to single rider matterhorn!

You're main concern: bad reviews. Ignore them. If the parks were actually that bad people wouldn't be going to them en masse. You already are aware of any issues, so approach your trip with a great attitude and you'll have a great time!

 

[2019TripIdeas]

Adding to some of the other great advice from the PPs, it was not clear if the naysayers were WDW vets but it sounded like they were. I would be interested in an honest poll of WDW vets giving DLR a first try and how many of them make a serious effort to come to places like this and get some tips and guidance and help with expectations. And then what their experience is like after

I am TOTALLY in this category so I think you're wise to come here ahead of time. I'd done some reading up beforehand, and knew some of the basics, but was crazy underprepared for the crowds. To me though, that was the only "major" negative, but it did reallly put a damper on our trip. We got up early, we got to the gates ahead of time, left the park in the middle of the day, etc. And still, the crowds left us feeling really frazzled by the end of our vacation.

That said, a big reason that we didn't "plan" was because I was told repeatedly that you don't need to "plan" Disneyland in the same way you do WDW. As such, I knew about fastpasses, but didn't know where the kiosks were. I didn't really bother reading up on the layout of the park. I had the app (but also simultaneously hated it because I was spending so much time looking at wait times, hoping things would go down- not engaging with my kids).

I'm currently in the process of planning a return trip to WDW (It's been over 10 years since my last trip, we've never taken our little ones) and though we could have gone to Disneyland again this March as well, we decided against it because of all of the above. That said, I thought it was really magical for my kids sake at the times things weren't crazy crowded.

One thing that I'd read about but also wasn't super prepared for was it not being an immersive experience. We stayed outside of the parks (Candy Cane Inn) which was great and not a problem at all... but walking around Anaheim is nothing compared to the feeling of walking around WDW as a whole. That was a big time buzzkill for us as well.

 

[chickapin parterre]

broken rides is a term that someone standing outside of the attraction will label an attraction not accepting riders. But actually, from all the years of reading here, that is seldom the case. Guest Behavior is the largest factor in a attraction temporary closing. Second, medical response to inside of attraction leads to temporay closure . third, recently with Space Mountain, safety rules kicking in and the attraction has to have complete shutdown and start-up. Disney regulates everything for attraction safety for your enjoyment....except guest behavior.

 

[JohnR5101]

Here is another tip if you are staying at the GCH. We went last September and totally enjoyed everything. When using the EE through the GCH be sure to get there a little earlier than you might expect. We got there about 15 min before entry time expecting we were in plenty of time - NO. The line was about 20 min long. Still it was the best way in for early entry and we got to do RSR and other stuff and watch the regular guests lining up at the rope drop. Actually it was cool being at the side of the path in front of the rope drop area and then taking a video of everyone as they walked by heading to RSR.

But here is my real tip: on another day we were planning EE to DL. We ordered breakfast in our room and it was delivered by 7:00. By 7:30 we headed down to the hotel entrance to Downtown Disney. Boy were we surprised by the line at that security gate. It was backed up way into the hotel lobby. Looked like it would be about a 45 min wait (just a guess). At that security entrance, it's narrow and room for only about 2 lines for checking bags, going through detectors, etc.

So we decided to go back out the hotel front entrance, walk across the street and parking lot areas over to the Disneyland Hotel area and head in through the main security checkpoint into Downtown Disney. There are about 12 security lines there and even though there were lots of people it only took us about 5 min to get through. That created a lot longer walk to go the roundabout route. So be warned that at EE for DL you need to get there much earlier than you think to get through the hotel security point. Never at any other time using that checkpoint did we experience anything more than waiting for 3 people.

You might even plan to get thru security early enough to get something for breakfast in Downtown Disney. That would probably work out time-wise.

Also, GET MaxPass. I've done paper fast passes for years, but MaxPass is just so much better. The time and energy saved by not having to walk to the kiosks alone is well worth it. Add to that you get ALL your ride photos and photographer photos included, good deal. We were there on our anniversary and when we told the photographer at the main entrance (the big Mickey) he really had us pose in so many great photos for the occasion (you can imagine). Then we did the same thing at the central hub in the evening. Great photos of the occasion.