Disneyland first time

[AJ1983]

Hi everyone! Friends of mine are visiting Disneyland and California Adventure for one day next week. What should they do and which park should they hit first? Couple in mid 30's no kids (no interest in rides for really small kids) and the husband will want to do all the thrill rides. I juat found out today and want to help them make the most of their trip, so any suggestioms are appreciated. Also what are some good reasonably priced hotels (non disney) close to the parks? Where should they eat (they are not picky and love all different cuisine)

 

[figment_jii]

Which day of the week are they going?

Either way, I recommend getting to the parks before rope drop and making the most of the first few hours (usually when the crowds are the lightest). Be sure to get FPs as often as possible, especially for for Hyperspace Mtn and RSR (those tend to the most popular ones).

In terms of dining, I would forgo a TS meal if they only have one day. Counter Service is likely to be faster. I like Plaza Inn (DL) and French Market (DL).

 

[Kontos]

Rides I would do at DCA:

Tower of Terror
Cars
Grizzly River Run - was closed when I was there
California Screamin
Soaring over California - not a thrill ride but has a single rider and I think they're changing this one so it will be a different experience soon.

Both Cars and Soaring have a single rider line if you don't mind being seperated but if you want to do it together-definitely get a fastpass for cars. Also, California Screamin never had a wait longer than 20-25 minutes when I was there a few weeks ago

At Disneyland:

Hyperspace Mountain
Indiana Jones
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Matterhorn was also closed when I was there - not sure when it opens
Star Tours
Pirates

I'd try and get DCA over in one shot if possible if not split it up into 2 trips so you can work 2 fast passes in there for Tower of Terror and Cars/Grizzly River Run. You'll want to make the most of Disneyland. I think both Splash and Indy have single rider lines as well but they'll want a fastpass for Hyperspace Mountain for Sure

 

[SMD]

As someone in their mid 30s who visits with friends and no kids, we like to start in DL, go on rides and collect FP, hop to DCA, do what we want over there, usually single rider for RSR, so FP isn't a concern and then have drinks, then hop back to DL to use FPs or whatnot.

 

[AJ1983]

Which day of the week are they going?

Either way, I recommend getting to the parks before rope drop and making the most of the first few hours (usually when the crowds are the lightest). Be sure to get FPs as often as possible, especially for for Hyperspace Mtn and RSR (those tend to the most popular ones).

In terms of dining, I would forgo a TS meal if they only have one day. Counter Service is likely to be faster. I like Plaza Inn (DL) and French Market (DL).

Not sure which day of the week they are going but I told them to avoid Friday-Monday if possible due to Memorial Day weekend

 

[figment_jii]

I mainly asked because of Extra Magic Hours and/or Magic Mornings. DL has MM/EMH on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, while DCA has EMH on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. On those mornings, the parks with MM and/or EMH will have crowds in them before the park opens to the general public. FPs aren't distributed during EMH/MM. DL's EMH/MM only includes Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, so the attractions in the other lands will not be impacted. Over in DCA, it means that attractions like RSR and TSMM will likely already have lines at park opening to the general public. I don't think it's a huge deal, but it's something to keep in mind if they're only going for one day.

 

[AJ1983]

I mainly asked because of Extra Magic Hours and/or Magic Mornings. DL has MM/EMH on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, while DCA has EMH on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. On those mornings, the parks with MM and/or EMH will have crowds in them before the park opens to the general public. FPs aren't distributed during EMH/MM. DL's EMH/MM only includes Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, so the attractions in the other lands will not be impacted. Over in DCA, it means that attractions like RSR and TSMM will likely already have lines at park opening to the general public. I don't think it's a huge deal, but it's something to keep in mind if they're only going for one day.

Thank you so much! I didnt know they even had EMH there (I have never been to Disneyland)..Do they have the paper FP or FP+? If its the paper system does it operate such as you can get another once you use one or two hours later, whichever is earliest?

 

[figment_jii]

Thank you so much! I didnt know they even had EMH there (I have never been to Disneyland)..Do they have the paper FP or FP+? If its the paper system does it operate such as you can get another once you use one or two hours later, whichever is earliest?

EMH is a perk for guests staying on-site (DLH, GCH, or PPH), but MM is available to guests with select 3-day or longer tickets.

In terms of FPs, at this point, DLR is still using the "Legacy" FP system. There are no Magic Bands or FP+ at DLR, so you cannot "reserve" your FPs in advance, but for the most part, the FP system at DLR is similar to the FP system that WDW was using before they went to FP+. You'll insert your ticket into the FP machine to get the FP; they do post the current return time so you'll know if it works for you or not before getting the FP. You can also check the official Disneyland App, which will give you the current return time. Unlike WDW, there is no official grace period (either early or late), so plan on returning during the time window printed on the ticket.

Once you've obtained a FP, you can collect your next FP two hours later or when the FP window opens, whichever comes first. Let's say it's 9:00 am and you obtained a FP with a return time of 10:15 am to 11:15 am. You'll be able to get your next FP at 10:15 am (when the time window for the most recent FP opens, regardless of whether you've used that FP or not). On the other hand, let's say it's 9:00 am and you obtain a FP with a return time of 2:15 pm to 3:15 pm. You'll be able to get your next FP at 11:00 am (two hours after you pulled your most recent FP). (Caveat: You cannot hold two FPs for the same attraction, so if you already have a FP for an attraction, but its time window has not yet opened, you cannot get another FP for that attraction even if you're eligible to get more FPs.) A few other notes:

• There are a handful of "disconnect" FPs. You can obtain these FPs and they do not limit/impact your ability to get another FP immediately. The only "disconnected" attraction FP is for Buzz Lightyear. WoC is also "disconnected" FPs. In other words, you could go get a WoC FP and then immediately go get a RSR FP. F!, when it was being presented also used the FP system, but it is likely dark for the rest of 2016. We do not yet know if Frozen at the Hyperion will be disconnected or connected.
• The two parks are "disconnected" from each other. Meaning you can collect a FP in DL and then immediately hop over to DCA and collect a FP there. For example, if you are in DL and pull a FP for Space Mtn, you can immediately go over to DCA (assuming you have park hopper tickets) and get a FP for RSR.
• 
  
• Once a park ticket has been used to enter a park, you can obtain FPs in either park. So let's say your party all enters DL in the morning. You can then have one person (aka "the runner") hop over to DCA to get FPs in that park. (It's worth noting, I've only ever done this with park hopper tickets, so I don't know if works if someone had a one-park-per-day ticket). This is one of the biggest differences from WDW when it was still using the Legacy FP system.
• There aren't a huge number of attractions at DLR that use the FP system. Mostly they are the thrill rides and a few of the more popular non-thrill rides. Disneyland.com has a list of the attractions that currently use the FP system: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/#/fastpass/

It is worth noting that there have been some tests of a DLR version of FP+, which is markedly different from FP+ in WDW. The test locations have used an RFID reader to scan the FPs, but there are still no MagicBands and no ability to reserve/select FP times.

 

[Frozen2014]

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Sorry, wrong thread