DL & DCA In A Day

[Ticholas]

Greetings,

I am planning a one day trip to DLR on April 14th following a trip to Coachella Music Festival. I couldn't resist trying to make this happen before my 10 PM flight back to Raleigh, NC.

About me: I consider myself a Universal Orlando Vet. I can hit everything at both parks in the same day. The challenge is enough to motivate me to get everything done before my time to go. Additionally, I grew up in Florida and made tons of trips to WDW and USF as a kid.

Off the top of my head, here's a list of attractions I'd like to see:

Disneyland: Indiana Jones (if opened), Space Mountain, Star Tours, Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Roger Rabbit, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and Pirates.

DCA: Radiator Springs, Soarin', Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Screamin', Monsters Inc., Muppets, Grizzly River, and Little Mermaid (if open).

What's the best strategy for knocking all these rides out in a single day? I plan on getting there 30 minutes before opening. What should I get to first? Which attractions should I grab FastPass for (assuming they do not have single riders line)? Are there any attractions I left off my list? I'll have until 7 PM to knock all this out.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dream.Finder]

Hmm... well, cramming all Disneyland has to offer into a single day will be tough, but doing at least what you have on your must-see list is quite possible. Let me give you a guide on what'd my strategy would be:

I'd start your day at the Disney California Adventure Park. And yes, it's because of Radiator Springs Racers. Arrive early and head straight for Cars Land. Walk onto Radiator Springs Racers first thing and then perhaps try and pull a FASTPASS for another ride on RSR later, if possible. Then, I'd head to Paradise Pier to knock out Toy Story Midway Mania!, California Screamin', and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure... in that order! Then I'd make my way over to the Hollywoodland area of the park and hit the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, Muppet*Vision 3D, and then cap everything off in the Golden State with a ride on the Grizzly River Run.

As you dry off, head on over to Disneyland Park. I'd pull a FASTPASS for Space Mountain, and do either the Star Tours or the Matterhorn. Once you've made your way out of Tomorrowland, try and get another FASTPASS for either the Indiana Jones Adventure, Splash Mountain, or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Try and ride those and head over to Fantasyland and Toontown. Ride what you can there in any order you wish, it will probably be equally busy in those areas at the time of day you'd get there, so just endure and try and get on what you can.

Also, what about shows? World of Color? Fireworks? Fantasmic!? They are great shows and I'd suggest seeing all of them. With one night, you can't really do this. You could do two shows if you time everything right. If you're doing World of Color, I'd suggest pulling a FASTPASS for your reserved viewing location after you hit Raidator Springs Racers in the morning. If not, then maybe catch the Fireworks and Fantasmic! as those are the easiest to see both of them. Though, World of Color would be more exclusive to Disneyland. On the same note, Fantasmic! at Disneyland is quite different than WDW's... I really enjoy it and the Dragon animatronic is amazing! Really, I'd try and do at least a 2-Day Park Hopper if you can afford doing so! A 3-Day is usually the safest bet. We always do 5-Days on our trips... but that's because we plan for them and don't make it a side-stop!

Oh, and expect larger crowd levels around this time of the year as well!

 

[Ticholas]

Thank you for the quick response, Dream Finder. The reason I excluded shows was due to the 7 PM departure time. I've seen Fantasmic! in Florida, and have little desire to see it again. I am interested in World of Color. Is there typically a performance before 7 PM?

Going to DCA first is an interesting strategy. I assumed I should hit Disneyland, then move over to DCA. Does it matter if I am going solo and will be able to hit the single rider lines? Also, why would this be a busy day for the parks? Spring Break is typically over by April 14th, correct? Plus, it's a Monday.

 

[Stitch35]

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure that offer single rider service are Indiana Jones Adventure, Splash Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Radiator Springs Racers, California Screamin', Goofy's Sky School, Grizzly River Run, and Soarin' Over California.

Get FP for Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Star Tours for the ones on your list. You can definitely get what you want to do done with single rider and FP. Think about possibly changing your flight by a day or two if you want to relax a bit or see things not on your list.

 

[Ticholas]

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure that offer single rider service are Indiana Jones Adventure, Splash Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Radiator Springs Racers, California Screamin', Goofy's Sky School, Grizzly River Run, and Soarin' Over California.

Get FP for Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Star Tours for the ones on your list. You can definitely get what you want to do done with single rider and FP. Think about possibly changing your flight by a day or two if you want to relax a bit or see things not on your list.

Great, this information is very helpful. I'd love to stay longer, but have to catch a flight out of Raleigh to Spain two days later. I'm tacking this adventure on last minute since my flight back home is so late. I've always wanted to go to Disneyland and figured I might as well since it's on the way back to LAX from Coachella Valley. Exhaustion clearly isn't in my vocabulary.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I don't have an in depth plan for you, but here are a few thoughts.

No, spring break is not over. In fact, that very well could end up being part of peak spring break season. I haven't checked the SoCal school schedules, but they typically have either the week before or the week after Easter off, and some schools seem to have both. It is a late Easter this year, April 20. I live in northern California, and we are having spring break much earlier than Easter, but I think many So Cal schools stick to the Easter break. So you will be there the Monday before Easter. Expect busy. Also though expect longer park hours which is a good thing when you're trying to get a lot done. Probably an 8 AM opening with 11 PM or midnight closing for DL and 8 AM opening with 10 PM closing for DCA.

Actually, since you are solo, I wouldn't start with DCA. Since you're going on a Monday, you will be at a disadvantage starting at DCA unless you are staying at an onsite hotel. You will not be able to just walk in at opening and hop right onto RSR or Toy Story with no wait since the early entry folks will already be in the parks. Your best option for RSR will be to ride single rider or hop over during the first 1 1/2 hours and pick up a FP. I don't suggest starting your day getting the FP because you are sinking prime ride time into the endeavor that way.

Somebody already mentioned the single rider line. I would recommend it in most cases except for maybe Soarin'. You would probably do better with a fastpass with Soarin'. Soarin' is one of the rides that is rumored to be closed anyway, so add it to your ride if open list. If you've been following along, you've noticed the refurb list is very dynamic right now.

 

[Dream.Finder]

Thank you for the quick response, Dream Finder. The reason I excluded shows was due to the 7 PM departure time. I've seen Fantasmic! in Florida, and have little desire to see it again. I am interested in World of Color. Is there typically a performance before 7 PM?

Sadly, no. The earliest DCA will ever put on the World of Color show is at 8:15 PM. But during that time it would probably be at 9:45 PM or later...

Going to DCA first is an interesting strategy. I assumed I should hit Disneyland, then move over to DCA. Does it matter if I am going solo and will be able to hit the single rider lines? Also, why would this be a busy day for the parks? Spring Break is typically over by April 14th, correct? Plus, it's a Monday.

I say DCA first simply because of Radiator Springs Racers. But that is true, if you are by yourself... you might have only a 30 minute wait for RSR with a single rider pass. Other rides you could do single rider on is California Screamin', Soarin', Indiana Jones Adventure, and Splash Mountain. Take advantage of Indy and Splash's single rider!! You can do them both several times with hardly any wait. Single rider passes are excellent time savers when travelling alone!

Also, I said it may be busy because it is still the Spring season. Not Spring Break, persay... but still... busier than what some might consider an "off season". But since it is a Monday, it should be better than weekend crowds!

HAVE A FUN DAY AT DISNEYLAND!!

 

[sporter]

As others have said DCA first.

Get over to RSR. California Screamin, TSMM and Soarin. Maybe try to get in Goofy's roller coaster and the Mickey wheel.

Head out to DL and grab a fast pass for Space Mountain.
Get to Matter Horn or Thunder Mountain (if open).

Then onto Pirates, Indiana Jones, Splash and Haunted Mansion..

However you just might want to hit IJ, Splash, HM and Pirates as soon as you enter (that's what we usually do).

 

[Dream.Finder]

HM and Pirates

Oops! Forgot about these two... don't hit me! You could always do these on your way to/from Adventureland and Frontierland/Critter Country.

 

[spellhex]

Oooh, this is right up my alley. I always try to do everything in one day, and just going off your list it should be very achievable.

Start off in Disneyland. Yes, RSR in in DCA, but I've found that mornings are the least busy and great for knocking everything off before you hop over to California Adventure.

Go to Tomorrowland first. Get a FP for one of Star Tours or Space Mountain ASAP. Then go on the other ride stand-by. There will still probably be time to wait. Head over to Fantasyland to start doing the dark rides. Peter Pan generally has lines ranging from 30-45 minutes; if less, get in line. If more, try to wait it out. The other Fantasyland rides shouldn't top 10 minutes, if that. Then go back to Tomorrowland once your FP window is open.

Head to Toon Town to see if Roger Rabbit has a long line. This one is weird, because sometimes the line is 5 minutes, sometimes it's 60. You don't want to use FP on this, so either go on if the line is short or skip for later if it's long. Head to the Matterhorn single rider on your way to the West side of the park.

Get a FP for Thunder Mountain. While waiting for the window, ride on Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion (fast loading) and Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain (single rider). Go back to Thunder Mountain once the FP window is open. It's probably around noon, so get lunch at a counter service place.

Hop over to DCA. At this point, the order doesn't matter as much because it's the afternoon and lines are pretty established. RSR, Soarin, Screamin, and GRR all have single rider lines, so take advantage of those. See how long the line for TOT is - sometimes it's super long, sometimes it's 15 minutes. Probably get a FP for it. If the line for TSMM is shorter than 45 minutes, go for it. Longer, wait it out. Monster's Inc. should be a maybe 5 minute wait. Little Mermaid will probably be a walk-on.

After that, go back to whatever you want to ride again or if you skipped a ride earlier due to crazy lines. Barring any crazy crowds, you should have a couple of hours to eat snacks/re-ride rides/do other fun things.

 

[Kristina4109]

Respectfully disagree. I would absolutely start at CA. The only two times we have ridden RSR with a wait less than 50 minutes was when we hit that ride immediately. When we had access to Early Entry, we were OFF the ride at 7:25 AM. When we didn't, and the park opened at 8:00, we still managed to be OFF the ride by 8:25 AM.

The one good thing about the enormous popularity of RSR is that it's siphoning crowds away from TSM a bit. If you hit RSR and the rest of the Cars Land attractions first thing, you can head over to TSM without too much of a wait.

Although the thrill rides at DL still get long lines, none of them (at least when I've been there) approach the length of RSR. Star Tours, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, none of those lines approached the RSR lines when I was there.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Respectfully disagree. I would absolutely start at CA. The only two times we have ridden RSR with a wait less than 50 minutes was when we hit that ride immediately. When we had access to Early Entry, we were OFF the ride at 7:25 AM. When we didn't, and the park opened at 8:00, we still managed to be OFF the ride by 8:25 AM.

The one good thing about the enormous popularity of RSR is that it's siphoning crowds away from TSM a bit. If you hit RSR and the rest of the Cars Land attractions first thing, you can head over to TSM without too much of a wait.

Although the thrill rides at DL still get long lines, none of them (at least when I've been there) approach the length of RSR. Star Tours, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, none of those lines approached the RSR lines when I was there.

I'm not convinced that the start at DCA strategy is a good one. OP is going on a MONDAY, possibly during a busy or busy-ish time. OP has not stated that they have access to early entry. If OP doesn't have access to early entry, then OP should not start at DCA. By the time OP gets into DCA, there will already be lines at RSR and Toy Story because the people who did have early entry will already be inside riding the rides and waiting in the lines. OP will not face that disadvantage by starting at DL that morning. Also, since OP is going solo, single rider is an option and unless there are mobility issues, hopping back and forth one or more times between parks for the purpose of gathering fastpasses and riding rides at optimal times should not be too difficult.

 

[Ticholas]

I'm not convinced that the start at DCA strategy is a good one. OP is going on a MONDAY, possibly during a busy or busy-ish time. OP has not stated that they have access to early entry. If OP doesn't have access to early entry, then OP should not start at DCA. By the time OP gets into DCA, there will already be lines at RSR and Toy Story because the people who did have early entry will already be inside riding the rides and waiting in the lines. OP will not face that disadvantage by starting at DL that morning. Also, since OP is going solo, single rider is an option and unless there are mobility issues, hopping back and forth one or more times between parks for the purpose of gathering fastpasses and riding rides at optimal times should not be too difficult.

This is correct. I do not have access to early entry, am going solo, and have no mobility issues. In fact, I have an immobility issue since I just go, go, go.

My original question seems to have sparked an interesting debate: starting at DCA vs. DL. I am far removed from the idea DCA is a busy park. A lots changed with the addition of RSR & TSM.

The strategy I use with Universal Orlando is to hit everything at USF while the crowds flock to Harry Potter (which won't work anymore with Diagon Alley opening soon), then move over to IoA during lunch. Would this strategy make sense if I avoided RSR until noon when the masses are taking a break? Is it realistic to think I can hit all the Disneyland attractions by noon assuming the park opens at 8:00 A.M.?

One more question: am I able to hold Fastpasses for multiple attractions at the same time?

 

[Ticholas]

Strike the Fastpass question. I did some research and realized I can grab a second Fastpass once my original fast pass window opens.

 

[Ticholas]

Hey I'm bumping this thread to see if I can get more opinions. Especially from any experts out there who have done this on a busy day. I'm also adding Goofy's Flying School to my list of attractions.

BTW, if Indy's open, should I head to that first instead of Space Mountain? Or, should I count on the single riders line for Indy throughout the day?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Ticholas]

Another bump to my thread since my trip is a month away and I'm excited.

I do have a question about driving. My flight back home on Monday departs at 10:15 PM. My rental car return time is 8:30 PM. What time do you recommend I leave Disneyland to make it to LAX on time? Right now, I have 7:00 PM departure on my itinerary. Thoughts?

 

[Ticholas]

Here's my itinerary for attempting DL & DCA on April 14th (10 hours approx.). Please let me know if I should make any revisions...

8:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Disneyland

• Space Mountain (Fast Pass only if >30 min)
• Star Tours (Fast Pass only if >30 min)
• Buzz Lightyear (only if <15 min)
• Matterhorn (Single Rider)
• Roger Rabbit
• Mr. Toad
• Peter Pan (only if <20 min)
• Snow White (only if <20 min)
• Pinocchio (only if <20 min)
• Big Thunder Mountain (Fast Pass)
• Splash Mountain (Single Rider)
• Winnie the Pooh (only if <20 min)
• Haunted Mansion
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Jungle Cruise (if <20 min)
• DOLE WHIP & SNACK !!!!
• Castle Walk Through (if all rides are done before 1:00 PM)
• Captain EO (if all rides are done before 1:00 PM)
•
1:00 PM-6:00 PM California Adventure

• Tower of Terror (Fast Pass)
• Radiator Springs (Single Rider)
• California Screamin’ (Singe Rider)
• Toy Story Mania
• Goofy’s Sky School (Single Rider)
• Grizzly River (Single Rider)
• Soarin’ (Single Rider)
• Monsters Inc.
• Muppets (if there's time)
• Animation Academy (if there's time)
• Aladdin (if there's time)

 

[danv]

To get off to a good start, as soon as you enter the park, you might want grab a fast pass to Star Tours and then proceed to ride Space Mountain - the line should not be too long at time. You might be able to ride Buzz before returning to Star Tours.

Similarly, you might want to get the fast pass for Big Thunder and then do Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (single rider), and any other rides in Fantasyland, before returning to Big Thunder.

 

[Ticholas]

To get off to a good start, as soon as you enter the park, you might want grab a fast pass to Star Tours and then proceed to ride Space Mountain - the line should not be too long at time. You might be able to ride Buzz before returning to Star Tours.

Similarly, you might want to get the fast pass for Big Thunder and then do Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (single rider), and any other rides in Fantasyland, before returning to Big Thunder.

Thank you for the suggestion. Since I'm on a limited amount of time, I agree I should probably take advantage of Fastpass for Star Tours even if it only saves 15 minutes.

I also agree with grabbing a FP for Big Thunder. I am adding this right after Roger Rabbit. However, I'm not sold on the idea of hitting POTC and HM after since those attractions are people eaters. I'm thinking I'm going to double back to Fantasyland and hit those within the first 2 hours of opening since they have long waits after.

So, here's my updated itinerary:

8:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Disneyland

• Star Tours (Fast Pass)
• Space Mountain
• Buzz Lightyear (only if <15 min)
• Matterhorn (Single Rider)
• Roger Rabbit
• Big Thunder Mountain (Fast Pass)
• Mr. Toad
• Peter Pan (only if <20 min)
• Snow White (only if <20 min)
• Pinocchio (only if <20 min)
• Splash Mountain (Single Rider)
• Winnie the Pooh (only if <20 min)
• Haunted Mansion
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Jungle Cruise (only if <20 min)
• DOLE WHIP & SNACK !!!!
• Castle Walk Through (if all rides are done before 1:00 PM)
• Captain EO (if all rides are done before 1:00 PM)
•
1:00 PM-6:00 PM California Adventure

• Tower of Terror (Fast Pass)
• Radiator Springs (Single Rider)
• California Screamin’ (Singe Rider)
• Toy Story Mania
• Goofy’s Sky School (Single Rider)
• Grizzly River (Single Rider)
• Soarin’ (Single Rider)
• Monsters Inc.
• Muppets
• Animation Academy
• Aladdin

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Just a few thoughts.

Unless you ride Peter Pan first or happen upon it when it is just coming up after a closure and people haven't realized yet, then I think it's pretty unlikely you are going to find less than a 20 minute wait for it. Forty is what I see most commonly, but I think 30 minutes could be a realistic possibility too.

That RSR single rider line is highly variable. I have heard of times when it took only 20-30 minutes through the single rider, but I have also heard of times when it was a 50 minute wait. We haven't tried the single rider, so I am only reporting second-hand.

Soarin' single rider can also be one of those waits that is unexpectedly long. You might almost do better with fastpass if you are able to get one.

Goofy's Sky School doesn't always offer single rider, so it can't be absolutely counted on.

Toy Story Mania typically has lines of 40-50 minutes during the afternoon on busy days.