Disneyland Itinerary help- 1st timer

[Jdinshreve]

My family and I will be visiting DL for the first time July 22-25. We have been to WDW several times and I was always very prepared with notecards for each day with which rides to ride first and when to get Fast Passes for which rides, etc. I started out using Tour Guide Mike for our first WDW trip and then when he fizzed out, I used info on easywdw. There's lots of detailed itinerary information out there for WDW, but I can't find any for DL and I'm starting to get very nervous! I know it will be very busy during our visit and want to make sure we maximize our time and get to ride and do the "must do" rides/attractions. I know we'll need to arrive at the gates before rope drop. But what to hit first, second, etc.???? I'm used to knowing and having my note cards with which order to ride each ride/attraction, when to get a FP, etc. My kids are 11 and 14 and we're staying at the GC. I'm very excited about our trip, but nervous! Also, I know there are FPs available for WoC and F!, but would it be better to do the dining package for those instead of getting FPs or does it matter? Any tips and info will be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!

 

[Imdboss]

Do you have park hopper tickets?

Since you are staying at GC and plan to be there for rope drop that puts you doing DCA EMH on 7/22 and 7/24 and DL EMH on 7/23 and 7/25. Is that what you are planning?

Are you open to SR lines?

As far as regular FP vs dining package FP I guess it just depends on whether or not you want premium viewing or not. Also how much time you want to invest in the shows before they start. With the dining package you won't have to get there nearly as early to get your spot. Personally I find WoC to be a huge waste of time and the two times I've attempted to watch it I've had so many people in front of me that I can only see the more elevated things. I've never tried the dining package though, it's just not that important to me, there are other things my family prefers to do over the shows.

 

[Jdinshreve]

Do you have park hopper tickets?

Since you are staying at GC and plan to be there for rope drop that puts you doing DCA EMH on 7/22 and 7/24 and DL EMH on 7/23 and 7/25. Is that what you are planning?

Are you open to SR lines?

As far as regular FP vs dining package FP I guess it just depends on whether or not you want premium viewing or not. Also how much time you want to invest in the shows before they start. With the dining package you won't have to get there nearly as early to get your spot. Personally I find WoC to be a huge waste of time and the two times I've attempted to watch it I've had so many people in front of me that I can only see the more elevated things. I've never tried the dining package though, it's just not that important to me, there are other things my family prefers to do over the shows.

We have 3 day Parker hopper tickets. We actually will be checking into the GC on the 21st and checking out on the 24th. So we'll only be in the parks the 22, 23, and 24. Sorry I wasn't specific on that. We were planning to be at DCA on the 22nd. What are SR lines?

 

[Imdboss]

SR lines are single rider

 

[ADLFAN]

That would be Single Rider, where you are likely to be split up from your party as you fill in open spots in the ride vehicles.

Lets see, in Disneyland, the first ride that people rush to is Peter Pan, with it's notoriously long line that developes early and stays all day.

In DCA, everyone rushes to either Radiator Springs Racers, the Fastpass distribution for Radiator Springs Racers, or down to the pier area for Toy Story Midway Mania.

My advice might be to avoid those typical rush spots in the early morning, hit the other rides and just know that those few will be the long waits [except for FP on Radiator Springs] and space them throughout your trip!

Both WOC and F! require a bit of lining up for the best views. CM's keep people moving until they are ready to start lines, so no one can camp out for a spot. The dining packages allow you to line up with a smaller crowd who also purchased dining packages rather than everyone else who pulled Fastpasses in the morning, and some of the nicer restaurants offer them, so if the menus sound appealing to you and you usually do table service lunches or dinners anyway, it would probably be worth it.

You get early entry to DCA which is only for hotel guests of the 3 Disney resorts, whereas Disneyland has early entry for all hotel guests and anyone who purchases a 3 day or more Park Hopper ticket. You can probably really do a lot in DCA during that time, with no crowds.

Once DCA opens for all guests, it is very easy to run back and forth to grab Fastpasses in Disneyland and switch parks. You can even have Fastpasses in both parks, and somewhere around here there is a list of which rides use FP.

There are lots of rides clustered together, making it easy to 'go on that one next', or 'skip that one and come back later'.

Have fun planning! You guys are going to have so much fun!

 

[violentlyserene]

My family and I will be visiting DL for the first time July 22-25. We have been to WDW several times and I was always very prepared with notecards for each day with which rides to ride first and when to get Fast Passes for which rides, etc. I started out using Tour Guide Mike for our first WDW trip and then when he fizzed out, I used info on easywdw. There's lots of detailed itinerary information out there for WDW, but I can't find any for DL and I'm starting to get very nervous! I know it will be very busy during our visit and want to make sure we maximize our time and get to ride and do the "must do" rides/attractions. I know we'll need to arrive at the gates before rope drop. But what to hit first, second, etc.???? I'm used to knowing and having my note cards with which order to ride each ride/attraction, when to get a FP, etc. My kids are 11 and 14 and we're staying at the GC. I'm very excited about our trip, but nervous! Also, I know there are FPs available for WoC and F!, but would it be better to do the dining package for those instead of getting FPs or does it matter? Any tips and info will be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!

I've been using touring plans to look at the way crowds behave and where we'd run into problems. I'll make itineraries for what I think will work but going off script won't be a big deal with this info.

 

[limace]

I would either use the touring plans in the back of the Unofficial Guide or subscribe to Ridemax-each will only add a few dollars to your trip and will walk you through your options.