DL on Thurs. or Fri. Need help...

[Iris1974]

Hi,

I'm finally going to the DLR after so many years of wanting to go. I had a different vacation planned with a friend and her friend, but that event was cancelled 2 weeks from the event happening. So we scrambled and decided on DLR. We're staying at the Staybridge Suites on Manchester Ave. We are going to DL one day and DCA another day. It looks like we are going to be there for the first day of Halloweentime. We have tickets for Sept. 5th a Thursday and Sept. 6th a Friday. We don't have park hoppers because my friend got a discount through her work and didn't get the park hoppers. I don't think we can all afford to get park hoppers at this point. What I'm wanting to know is what day would be the less crowded for DL? I would love to see the Halloweentime decorations at DL, but would rather be there on a day with less people. I know crowd calendars are not that reliable and some say that both day will be low crowds and other say Thurs. will be low crowds and Fri. will be very crowded. I know there's people here that go to DLR all the time and would know how crowded it would be on both days. I'm begging for your help. We leave in 11 days from tomorrow and need this help because two of us have never been there and one of us it has been several years. So does anyone have any ideas. Thank you so much in advance. I am really excited and can't wait to experience the DLR magic.

Shauna from MA

 

[Geemo]

Hi,

I'm finally going to the DLR after so many years of wanting to go. I had a different vacation planned with a friend and her friend, but that event was cancelled 2 weeks from the event happening. So we scrambled and decided on DLR. We're staying at the Staybridge Suites on Manchester Ave. We are going to DL one day and DCA another day. It looks like we are going to be there for the first day of Halloweentime. We have tickets for Sept. 5th a Thursday and Sept. 6th a Friday. We don't have park hoppers because my friend got a discount through her work and didn't get the park hoppers. I don't think we can all afford to get park hoppers at this point. What I'm wanting to know is what day would be the less crowded for DL? I would love to see the Halloweentime decorations at DL, but would rather be there on a day with less people. I know crowd calendars are not that reliable and some say that both day will be low crowds and other say Thurs. will be low crowds and Fri. will be very crowded. I know there's people here that go to DLR all the time and would know how crowded it would be on both days. I'm begging for your help. We leave in 11 days from tomorrow and need this help because two of us have never been there and one of us it has been several years. So does anyone have any ideas. Thank you so much in advance. I am really excited and can't wait to experience the DLR magic.

Shauna from MA

Looking at the calendar for park hours. I would choose the day by which park has the longest hours.
If these hours are accurate, I'd go to DL on Thursday, when it is open to midnight.
DCA is open to 10pm on Friday. This will give you an addition hour in each park.

Do not worry about crowds. Spend the money for MaxPass and it will help you maximize the two days you have.

 

[Iris1974]

Thank you Geemo!!! I'll let my friends know how long the parks are open. They will most likely want to go to the days you suggested. My friends will likely get maxpass. I have knee issues so I can't climb in and out of rides because my knees aren't that strong. I'm just going to go on a few easier rides, eat, people watch and take in the ambience. I'll probably talk to some cast members and window shop and maybe buy a few things. I told my friends I'm going to go at my own pace and they can go on as many rides as they want without me and don't have to worry about my feelings. This is literally a dream come true. Thanks again.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thank you Geemo!!! I'll let my friends know how long the parks are open. They will most likely want to go to the days you suggested. My friends will likely get maxpass. I have knee issues so I can't climb in and out of rides because my knees aren't that strong...

Don't hesitate to let CMs know that you need a little extra time to load and unload, especially with rides that have low vehicles, e.g. SM, RSR, Matterhorn, etc. You will be directed to the HC loading area where you will be given the extra time you need to safely and comfortably load and unload. Don't feel that you have to miss out on rides!

 

[Iris1974]

OMG!!! Thank you so much. This is wonderful news. I really want to see IASW in DL and POTC. I saw IASW in WDW when I was 13 years old and would like to see the DL one. I'm a very extroverted person and will not be afraid to ask for help. I'm even more excited than I was. Thanks so much again. I guess I'm getting MaxPass.

Shauna

 

[Geemo]

OMG!!! Thank you so much. This is wonderful news. I really want to see IASW in DL and POTC. I saw IASW in WDW when I was 13 years old and would like to see the DL one. I'm a very extroverted person and will not be afraid to ask for help. I'm even more excited than I was. Thanks so much again. I guess I'm getting MaxPass.

Shauna

Some of the rides have stairs.... If stairs are a problem for your knees let the CM know and they will direct you to the elevator.
I can do stairs on day one and two but the additional days after I have lots of problems with stairs. So I don't hesitate to ask for the elevator option.

Check the hours calendar a few days before your trip it could change from what I have posted from their site tonight.

Have fun.

G

 

[theluckyrabbit]

OMG!!! Thank you so much. This is wonderful news. I really want to see IASW in DL and POTC. I saw IASW in WDW when I was 13 years old and would like to see the DL one. I'm a very extroverted person and will not be afraid to ask for help. I'm even more excited than I was. Thanks so much again. I guess I'm getting MaxPass.

Shauna

Talk with the first CM at the entrance to the line -- he/she will keep you in that line or direct you where you need to go.

 

[mouschievous]

Definitely spring for maxpass. Even some of the rides that you might think of as smaller or easier (like IASW and POTC!) have fastpasses! Plus, Maxpass includes PhotoPass, which means that you can download all the photos that are taken by the DLR photogs and on the rides! It's a great way to be able to have your whole group in the photo. Have the BEST time! I am so jealous of your trip!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I have knee issues so I can't climb in and out of rides because my knees aren't that strong.

I don't know if you know this, but you can ask for an additional step for loading/unloading on The Jungle Cruise. I don't know if you even want to ride that, but we didn't know for a long time and avoided it because my husband's knee didn't bend enough to get in and out of the boat.

 

[avalon451]

Just an additional thought for which park on which day... I might consider doing the opposite. DL has early entry/ magic morning on Thursday, while CA has it on Friday. Since you won’t have it, you might want to consider doing the “opposite of EE day” strategy, especially if you are intending to use that first golden hour of park opening to take advantage of low crowds and wait times. If you hit the park after the EE people have already been there an hour, you lose that advantage. Although admittedly, lately, the wait times on the app have still been showing very reasonable for most rides even after EE. If you hit the park without EE, you are on a level playing field with everybody else.
Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Iris1974]

Thanks so much to everyone for your great info. I told my friend that I could go on rides and she's very excited the 3 of us will experience the rides together. I am getting Maxpass. I told my friend about it and sent her a blog post about how to use it and the digital fastpass system. I know it's changed since she was last there and my other friend and I are total newbies to DLR. So I think I can talk them into it if they are on the fence about it. The pictures alone will most likely make them want to get it. Thank you all for the well wishes. I'm so excited and I'm almost all packed. I'm a bit of an early bird when it comes to packing. We only have 9 days left tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone.

Shauna

 

[Geemo]

Thanks so much to everyone for your great info. I told my friend that I could go on rides and she's very excited the 3 of us will experience the rides together. I am getting Maxpass. I told my friend about it and sent her a blog post about how to use it and the digital fastpass system. I know it's changed since she was last there and my other friend and I are total newbies to DLR. So I think I can talk them into it if they are on the fence about it. The pictures alone will most likely make them want to get it. Thank you all for the well wishes. I'm so excited and I'm almost all packed. I'm a bit of an early bird when it comes to packing. We only have 9 days left tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone.

Shauna

Read this thread about MaxPass.
It might give you a few tips. Looks like the original Post #1 was updates about a month ago.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...view-and-some-strategy.3726246/#post-60074882

 

[DisTXMom]

When we go to DLR, we plan our park days based on hours. The crowds are unpredictable and we don’t attempt to work around them. Rather, choose the day with longer hours and work with the crowds .

 

[haileymarie92]

I agree with choosing the days with longer hours and using maxpass to combat crowds. You just can’t reliably predict crowd level anymore.
Also, I’ll be there the same days as you! We are doing DL on sept 4 and 5, DCA on the 6th

 

[smartlabelprint]

I wouldn’t take into account early entry. It’s not that big of an advantage to be in the parks first.