Disneyland Park strategy- August (w/ G+)

[megankj]

Hi everyone,

I'm a fairly recent transplant to Southern CA, and a friend of mine from back East will be visiting at the end of August- and we've decided to spend two days at Disneyland! Currently we're planning to stay at the Cortona Inn with a Wed check-in and Sat check-out, hitting Disneyland Park on Thursday and DCA on Friday (which happens to be my birthday!). I'm in my late 30s and he's a couple years older. We did a similar two-day DL trip together at least 5 years ago, and I did a day trip to DCA just before Christmas- so while we're not newbies, I know a lot has changed in Disneyland Park particularly since my last visit.

We typically move fast, and will plan to be at the front of the crowd for rope drop- either walking the mile from the hotel, or crossing the street and hitching a ride on the shuttle from the Toy Story lot. We'll pay for Genie Plus with such a short trip, and are willing to pay for an ILL for Rise if it makes sense, since Galaxy's Edge is a big priority (new since our last trip, my friend is a Star Wars fan and I really enjoy the immersive theming of places like Avengers Campus in DCA and Pandora in WDW).

In terms of strategy, I want to find a balance between minimizing wait times and being able to enjoy the theming of various lands- which for me, is hard to do if I'm constantly bouncing back and forth between the world of Tomorrow, the Wild West, and a fairytale. So here's what I'm thinking... let me know if this sounds like a decent approach? I'm assuming no Splash/Bayou Adventure yet, and likely no Haunted Mansion that week due to the transition to the holiday version.

• Fantasyland
  • Keep an eye on wait times caused by EE guests, but if we can get right up to the rope at the castle: try to hit Peter Pan, Alice, Matterhorn (LL), Teacups and IASW in the first hour+
• Toontown
  • M&M's Runaway Railway, Roger Rabbit (LL), and depending on how time is looking, possibly Mickey's house
• Tomorrowland
  • Space (LL), Star Tours (LL), Buzz (LL)
• Frontierland
  • Lunch at Rancho del Zocalo, BTMRR (LL)
  • How big a deal is it that Rancho doesn't do mobile order? I would have done French Market but it looks like that's gone and Tiana's won't be open yet, and places with interesting veggie/pescatarian options and good theming are limited.
• New Orleans Square
  • Pirates
• Adventureland
  • Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room (and a Dole Whip!), Indy (LL)
• Misc
  • We should now be in the busiest and hottest part of the day, but also through all our must-dos other than Galaxy's Edge and the evening entertainment.
  • Likely do some combination of riding the railroad, re-riding Space and/or Matterhorn using Single Rider, or seeing the Lion King show (mostly for sitting time, lol)
• Galaxy's Edge
  • This is where I'm most stuck, which is unfortunate because I know I need to book a reservation for Oga's Cantina at the 60 day mark.
  • We definitely want to do ROTR, Smuggler's Run (LL but not Single Rider since we want to see the queue stuff), Oga's, and have dinner at Docking Bay 7, plus enjoy the atmosphere of the area at dusk (sunset should be around 7:30)- but what order makes the most sense?
  • I'm tempted to book Oga's for about 5:30 and try to do both rides prior to that (buying ILL if necessary), with dinner and exploring after. That seems like it might give us the most amount of room to pivot if there is a breakdown, prohibitive crowds, etc?
• Evening Entertainment
  • I'm hoping Fantasmic will be back (even without Maleficent) by then, and will probably have 2 shows. I think we'll probably plan to grab some beignets and watch the early show but save the second for a backup depending on crowds, our energy levels (this will be a LONG day), etc.
  • We do want to see fireworks, likely from Main Street to appreciate the show as designed- but are willing to consider other options. I think watching from Galaxy's Edge looks cool but I really do think we want the audio for a one-time-only viewing.
  • Last year it looks like there was a nighttime parade, but am I correct that there won't be one for 2023?

I know this will likely be a packed day, but I'm curious what potential pitfalls you see, or what I might not be thinking of. For the record, I know unexpected things will happen and we'll have to pivot and that's fine! I just do better with a plan ahead of time to deviate from, rather than feeling pressured to make all the decisions in the moment.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Federalist45]

I would suggest Pan/Alice, then straight to Toon Town. Small World takes up too much precious morning time and it also has LL.

Overall, your plan is very ambitious. You may need to get an MEP from genie+ so you have access to “accelerating” LL’s to stick to anything close to your plan.

One day to do Oga’s, dinner on Batuu, Fantasmic, and Main Street Fireworks sounds stressful.

If you want to do the first Fantasmic! show, you should consider an early dining package.

 

[chezcurrie]

That’s 17 rides, possibly 2 shows, plus evening fireworks. Not to be a downer but I think accomplishing all of that in one day is a recipe for disaster, disappointment and exhaustion if you try and do it all in one day.

I always suggest people outline their top priorities and make it about that. In your case, since you said Galaxy’s edge is your priority I would not wait until evening to experience it, and instead would want to experience it day and night. I would zig instead of zag. So my suggestion would be:

1) Turn left when you enter the park and do Jungle Cruise and Pirates standby and snag a LL for Indy as your first LL. Jungle Cruise and Pirates don’t have LL so it’s good to do these when wait times are low.

2) Head to Galaxy’s edge after Adventureland via the Hungry Bear route and purchase a $LL for Rise then LL Smugglers Run (make Smugglers Run your next LL after tapping in to Indy.) Rise goes down a lot so do not wait until evening to experience this or you may not be able to. I am not sure what you are referring to in the queue for Smugglers Run - IMO there is nothing that would make me want to do standby vs LL. If you love it (we do) repeat with single rider - you will likely get engineer but they let parties of 2 in and it is nice to be able to experience it again. Can also repeat this at night.

3) after Galaxy’s edge head to Frontierland (book Thunder LL after tapping into Smugglers Run) and have your lunch at Rancho del Zocalo - it does offer mobile order at certain times.

It will now be midday and likely hot. Do tiki room on your way out of Frontier/Adventureland and then head to Tomorrowland and LL or single rider Space Mountain (you will likely need to use the modify feature for this LL as space tends to go quickly.) Alternatively head to Toon Town/IASW and save Space for later in the evening.

Book Oga’s in the evening and do dinner/watch fireworks from there. Catch the second showing of Fantasmic which should not require a dining reservation.

I would do Fantasyland in the evening either before or after Galaxy’s Edge/Fantasmic, but again would prioritize your top 2 you want to accomplish.

If it is in your budget I would consider adding hoppers to your tickets so that you can maximize your DCA day - either start day 2 in DL and do fantasyland in the am while stacking your LL in DCA. Or so you can hop back to DL to see the fireworks (make sure they are running the dates you are there and bear in mind they do get cancelled fairly often.)

 

[megankj]

Thanks, everyone!

In my hurry to post before a busy day yesterday, I should have said that I definitely have places to cut to keep us roughly on schedule. I'd be ok skipping any of the Fantasyland rides, Roger Rabbit, and Buzz, just to start. The reason I'm starting there is a combination of lack of lightning lane, and not wanting to linger- since if we run into more waits/waiting for a LL to come around in other lands, those are places we'll enjoy being more. As the trip gets closer, and I can monitor wait times in the app to have an idea of what to expect, I'll go ahead and put target times in to know when we might need to skip ahead.

One thing I don't think I'm prepared to compromise on is evening, rather than afternoon in Galaxy's Edge. I'm certainly willing to get there earlier if everyone thinks we need more time, but I think it'll feel more immersive if we make it a self-contained thing, if that makes sense! Plus if we get a drink at Oga's early in the day, I'll just feel gross as the day progresses. Day drinking isn't my friend.

I think I'm weird, but the best trips I've had were the ones that were most packed- in Disneyland, WDW when I lived back east, and other vacations too. For some reason, even in my non-vacation life, downtime makes me really anxious or just lets me feel tired. I really do feel most free to enjoy myself (especially with other people!) if I have an ambitious plan I can just execute, and pivot as necessary. Thankfully, the friend who is coming has traveled with me lots of times, and is generally game to follow my lead as long as he doesn't have to do the thinking. So the goal in the next few months is to refine the plan as much as possible!

 

[twodogs]

That is honestly a very ambitious plan. I think having such a strict plan, especially not wanting to leave a land until it is completed and then move to the next, will disappoint you a lot. The reasons are often beyond your control, which is frustrating but true. Ride breakdowns happen a lot (a LOT), and often LLs can’t be booked back to back in one land, or booked even remotely close to when you want to ride the ride. Your list includes LLs for all the rides in one land in a row. That is unlikely to happen in general, and even if it works out, it will take hours to do that most likely. It is impossible to ride PP without at least a 15 minute wait if you don’t have EE, and IASW ride time is about 15 minutes, even if you walk right on. So that is minimum 30 minutes under the best of circumstances. Then add Alice, Matterhorn and Teacups, and finish all rides in one hour+. I think you are setting yourself to be behind, stressed and rushed all day.

So my first advice would be to be willing to move back and forth between the lands all day or be willing to miss a bunch of rides and/or shows or experiences if you don’t want to back track. I am sorry to say that I just can’t see your plan working the way you have it done, in the time frame you have laid out (unless you did a VIP tour). You are saying you want to do the entire park, land by land, including Galaxy’s Edge and all of the headliners and slow moving rides without LLs/ILL, a show and re-rides, BEFORE 5:30pm when you want to do Oga’s. I just can’t see how this works, but if it does, yay!!

As PP said, if ROTR is a top priority, you are taking a big risk leaving it until evening. It closes every night at least an hour prior to park closing. Then if the ride goes down in the evening, sometimes they just don’t reopen it due to it needing to close earlier than park closing normally. Do you want to risk not riding it at all, in order to stick with your night time in GE’s plan? Only you know if the ride itself or the nighttime experience is more important. This ride goes down SO often, for hours at a time, I personally would not risk not riding it, especially if you only have one DL day and no hoppers.

I hope it all works, but I honestly don’t think it is an achievable plan without a VIPtour or the perfect park day.

 

[chezcurrie]

That is honestly a very ambitious plan. I think having such a strict plan, especially not wanting to leave a land until it is completed and then move to the next, will disappoint you a lot. The reasons are often beyond your control, which is frustrating but true. Ride breakdowns happen a lot (a LOT), and often LLs can’t be booked back to back in one land, or booked even remotely close to when you want to ride the ride. Your list includes LLs for all the rides in one land in a row. That is unlikely to happen in general, and even if it works out, it will take hours to do that most likely.

I hope it all works, but I honestly don’t think it is an achievable plan without a VIPtour or the perfect park day.

This this this this this. My suggestions above were assuming you can use the modify feature to bump up your LL selections. It would need to be an absolutely perfect day, and you will be on your phone quite a bit. Please do not wait until the evening to experience ROTR. even Smugglers Run breaks down often. We recently did a late arrival Galaxy’s Edge visit and Smugglers Run was down the entire evening.

I strongly suggest you and your friend outline your top 2-3 rides each and make those the priority. Focus on those and everything else is gravy. You will most likely have some backtracking but you can still “immerse“ yourself in Galaxy’s Edge - honestly going into the land is so special (kinda like Pandora in AK) and again it is a different experience at night. More roaming characters in thge day, evening ambiance at night.

EDIT: I have said this before and will keep saying it… G+ is not a ”ride everything” fast pass. Treat it like the WDW fastpass of before and use it to guarantee your top 3-4 rides.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

I agree with everyone. We usually plan out our mornings then go flexible. We have priorities and shows we want to see but flexibility is key. I don’t think there needs to be a choice between having a strict plan and not staying busy. We are able to constantly stay busy and only have down time if we want it. We are just responding to what is happening throughout the day and leaving room for unexpected experiences.

 

[coasternut22]

I suggest you watch the YouTube channel Earscouts. He has the best G+ tips out there. He did a video five months ago about getting a G+ selection for every ride in Disneyland. I suggest you watch that video, his 27 tips video, and some of his other videos. His style of getting all the rides is is not completing each land, but instead utilizing G+ as best as you can through refreshing for better times and crossing the park when necessary. What you suggest are conflicting strategies that will make for a frustrating experience. You will have to decide what is more important, being able to maximize G+ or completing each land in order. Watch his videos, learn the tips, and see how you can use it to fit your touring style.