Disneyland with no LL

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Really? I thought the new crowd "rule" was when lower AP's are block and single day tickets are higher it is a GOOD time to visit for lower crowds.

I am beginning to think I may have to rethink the time for my tentative trip.

All bets are off for certain holiday weekends. That is one of them. It’s packed.

 

[disneychrista]

Lots of kids have that week off for Ski Week, or at the very least a 4-day weekend. It’s a popular time for family vacations.

While looking at the blockouts/individual ticket prices can be useful if you’re picking a random day in June to visit, this is more like the week after Christmas. It’s so blocked out/expensive because they know soooo many people travel and plan to go that weekend. The prices won’t deter vacationers.

All bets are off for certain holiday weekends. That is one of them. It’s packed.

Bummer.

 

[twodogs]

I pulled some of the actual data off of www.thrilldata.com for this exact weekend in February of 2025 (the holiday weekend you will be attending in 2026). You can see wait times throughout the day and by ride. I pulled Friday 2/14/25-Sunday 2/16/25, which should reflect on the similar weekend in 2026. It really shows how Rope Drop is your best friend, and the middle of the day is…NOT.






Sorry not sure why the screen shots are so grainy. Seems the DIS decreases the resolution of the photo on upload. I will try to post a link that shows the data also.

 

[twodogs]

Basically, in the color chart, anything yellow or orange or red is 40 minutes or greater wait times. So you can eyeball it and see that after 10am and before 9pm, the majority of rides are yellow (40 minutes) or worse for wait times.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

That looks like great data info. Maybe the time zone change will work in our favor to rope drop. At WDW, we are more of stay til the end of night people.

 

[LKing]

Just a reminder that the parks in California open earlier and close later than the parks in Florida.

 

[China Expat]

I just went to DLP yesterday, supposedly a low crowd day, so did not pre -purchase LL. After an hour, I added it and was glad because the park was beyond crowded! Also paid for Rise of the Resistance.

 

[LKing]

I was in the parks yesterday. It was quite crowded, especially for a Thursday in between Halloween & Holidays.

 

[twodogs]

That looks like great data info. Maybe the time zone change will work in our favor to rope drop. At WDW, we are more of stay til the end of night people.

We are from Dallas, and the 2 hour time gain really helps us RD, even when our kids were little (and even needed it more so when they were teens!). We stay at the GCH, so even now that DDs are 18 and 20, we head back for a mid day break, I stack LLs for later, and all are happy!

You can purchase LL with your multi day ticket, which must be added to all days of the ticket at the time of ticket purchase. It does lock in the price of LLMP at the time of purchase.

You can also add it day by day, as you wish, while in the parks. This can save money if you only want LL on some of the days of your ticket. The downside risk here is that daily LLMP purchases are subject to surge pricing (which is more likely on crowded holiday weekends), and LLMP does rarely sell out and then is not available for same day purchase. This is usually only big holidays, and often in October (the most popular time at DLR other than Christmas/NY).

 

[dunkindonut]

With PLL I think YMMV, because I bought it when it was cheaper and of course there was basically no crowds and 5 min waits for like everything. I’d probably just do a rope drop and sparingly use LL next time I go in December. Mind you, I had early entry since I stayed at Disneyland Hotel and that perk itself was very nice to have. Definitely helped get in a big ride or two before the park even opened to everyone.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Looking at the list of LLMP rides, if we skip the 2 rides that the youngest is too short for and save those for a future trip, the main LLMP rides we want to ride are the Matterhorn and Small World in DL and Guardians Mission Breakout, Webslingers, Monsters Inc (if it still open), and possibly Goofy's Sky School (assuming it is not just a copy of the Barnstormer at WDW). It looks like a lot of our must-do list isn't on the LLMP list. Would just one day of LLMP suffice, or two days, or a combo of rope drop and LLMP, if there are only 4-6 rides we are looking at?

 

[LKing]

Matterhorn standby will be >45 min most of the day. Do it first thing or late in the evening. I didn't see when you are visiting. If PTN is happening, that is another good time to ride the Matterhorn.
Small World - Standby is usually <45 min but can get longer than 45 min throughout the day. Keep your eye on the app for shorter wait times. If you are visiting during the holiday overlay, wait times are almost always on the longer side.
Guardians is rarely less than 45 min.
Webslingers is usually long as well.
Monsters Inc has a buddy pass line. Ask the CM at the front for a buddy pass. You will need to divide into groups of two, but the wait will be <20min.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Matterhorn standby will be >45 min most of the day. Do it first thing or late in the evening. I didn't see when you are visiting. If PTN is happening, that is another good time to ride the Matterhorn.
Small World - Standby is usually <45 min but can get longer than 45 min throughout the day. Keep your eye on the app for shorter wait times. If you are visiting during the holiday overlay, wait times are almost always on the longer side.
Guardians is rarely less than 45 min.
Webslingers is usually long as well.
Monsters Inc has a buddy pass line. Ask the CM at the front for a buddy pass. You will need to divide into groups of two, but the wait will be <20min.

These are great tips. Also, Matterhorn has single rider if you don’t mind splitting up. Webslingers also has single rider but that’s really more fun to do as a group.

But no Space Mountain? (Space Mountain also has single rider line).

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

These are great tips. Also, Matterhorn has single rider if you don’t mind splitting up. Webslingers also has single rider but that’s really more fun to do as a group.

But no Space Mountain? (Space Mountain also has single rider line).

I do love Space Mountain at WDW, but the kids have often shown a reluctance to ride it. Since they have never been on the WDW version, I figured if we missed out on it at DL, it wouldn't be a big deal. Is there a significant difference between DL and WDW versions, other than the seating arrangement? My youngest is age 7 so I don't think we are ready to split into the single rider line yet.

Thank you to an above poster for the buddy pass tip for Monsters...2 and 2 is something we can do.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

So reflecting back on our no LL Presidents' Day trip....

Disneyland: the biggest thing was that if we had had Lightning Lane, we wouldn't have spent so much time in the Small World queue, and my son's Spider-bot shoulder sitter might not have gotten lost. Still hoping someone turns it in and it gets returned to us, but no luck yet. We bought him a new one, but he misses the original.

Other than that, it would have made Haunted Mansion go quicker, and maybe we could have done Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and/or Autopia at the end of the day instead of having to skip those rides.

California Adventure: it sure would have made Guardians go faster (waited 70 minutes) and then maybe we could have done more Pixar Pier rides...I am bummed we missed out on the ferris wheel, but the first night, my youngest ended up melting down at the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind (aptly named I guess), and when we hopped over the next day, we prioritized Monsters, since it would be closing (cute ride, sad it is going to go).

So do I wish I would have gotten one day of LL? The answer is a solid "Maybe."

 

[VGCgroupie]

So reflecting back on our no LL Presidents' Day trip....

Disneyland: the biggest thing was that if we had had Lightning Lane, we wouldn't have spent so much time in the Small World queue, and my son's Spider-bot shoulder sitter might not have gotten lost. Still hoping someone turns it in and it gets returned to us, but no luck yet. We bought him a new one, but he misses the original.

Other than that, it would have made Haunted Mansion go quicker, and maybe we could have done Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and/or Autopia at the end of the day instead of having to skip those rides.

California Adventure: it sure would have made Guardians go faster (waited 70 minutes) and then maybe we could have done more Pixar Pier rides...I am bummed we missed out on the ferris wheel, but the first night, my youngest ended up melting down at the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind (aptly named I guess), and when we hopped over the next day, we prioritized Monsters, since it would be closing (cute ride, sad it is going to go).

So do I wish I would have gotten one day of LL? The answer is a solid "Maybe."

Appreciate the update!

 

[JerrodDragon89]

If your coming to the Park for one day and will be back in a while

I say get LL, I know it sucks to pay more but I get it any day I'm at the park all day....even when I was a MK holder. I did it because if your at Disneyland all day its worth it. Even saving your self 20 mins here and 30 mins here doesn't sound like a lot of time it added up to 5-10 extra attractions or shows a day which to me is worth it