DL questions from a WDW vet

[poohj80]

We went to DL a couple years ago but just decided on a last minute trip just prior to President's Day weekend and I have some questions I hope the DL vets can help me with.

1. Have magic bands come to DL yet?
2. Can we reserve FPs ahead of time like at WDW?
3. Does RSR still average 2 hour waits (what we experienced last time)?
4. We're thinking about skipping Fantasmic to ride rides. Are lines considerably shorter around this time?
5. With the long list of attractions that are closed for rehab, are lines for the attractions that are open noticeably longer?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Fantaluminishes]

We went to DL a couple years ago but just decided on a last minute trip just prior to President's Day weekend and I have some questions I hope the DL vets can help me with.

1. Have magic bands come to DL yet?
2. Can we reserve FPs ahead of time like at WDW?
3. Does RSR still average 2 hour waits (what we experienced last time)?
4. We're thinking about skipping Fantasmic to ride rides. Are lines considerably shorter around this time?
5. With the long list of attractions that are closed for rehab, are lines for the attractions that are open noticeably longer?

Thanks for the help!

If you are going "prior" to that weekend, you should be in pretty good shape. Here are my answers to your questions:

1 & 2: NO - Magic Bands and FP+ are not available at Disneyland yet. We still have the paper Fastpasses.

3: YES - Radiator Springs Racers still has stand-by lines that will get up to 2 hours. It's not that way all day long, but it's long. Get a FP, first thing in the morning to be safe. The single rider line is very popular, and the waits are often thirty minutes or less.

4: NO - Lines don't typically get shorter during Fantasmic. I would expect now that with World of Color down, and with the new Fantasmic FP program, lines for other rides are probably a bit longer than normal.

5: MAYBE - There will be six attractions closed at DL, and five closed at DCA over during much of February. It's not really a "long" list. While many people are in a panic state over the refurbs, this really isn't that long of a list, when you consider how much there is to do at DLR. I'd be more concerned about the "temporary" closures that happen throughout the day.

 

[poohj80]

Thanks for the feedback! We will be there Thursday and Friday so I expect Friday to be pretty busy.

Last time we were there, the line for RSR FPs took over 30 mins as everyone went at rope drop and FPs were all given out pretty quickly. Is this still the case?

One more question - is the FP return time window enforced or can you come back any time after FP window starts?

 

[Disneyluvr2]

FP return times are enforced, so don't be late!

 

[figment_jii]

DLR does enforce return times for FPs, so plan to be back during your one hour window. There are inconsistent reports that CMs give folks up to a 15 minute grace period, but it seems to depend on the CM, so the general advice is to not rely on it.

In terms of RSR, the wait times varies throughout the day. During the period period of the day, it'll still say 2 hours. At opening or later in the evening, my guess is that it will drop to around 60-90 minutes or maybe even lower depending on crowds. The RSR FP is now linked to the rest of the DCA FP system and they no longer allow guests to line up before park opening to get a FP, so the result is FPs lasting longer into the day. Unless you trying to get a RSR FP for early in the day, I would probably do something else at opening and then come back for an RSR FP about 45-60 minutes after opening. I typically try to go to DCA on a non-EMH morning and get there at rope drop. I head straight to TSMM (no FP for this ride and that line also tends to remain long throughout the day), and then afterwards go get a RSR FP.

 

[poohj80]

DLR does enforce return times for FPs, so plan to be back during your one hour window. There are inconsistent reports that CMs give folks up to a 15 minute grace period, but it seems to depend on the CM, so the general advice is to not rely on it.

In terms of RSR, the wait times varies throughout the day. During the period period of the day, it'll still say 2 hours. At opening or later in the evening, my guess is that it will drop to around 60-90 minutes or maybe even lower depending on crowds. The RSR FP is now linked to the rest of the DCA FP system and they no longer allow guests to line up before park opening to get a FP, so the result is FPs lasting longer into the day. Unless you trying to get a RSR FP for early in the day, I would probably do something else at opening and then come back for an RSR FP about 45-60 minutes after opening. I typically try to go to DCA on a non-EMH morning and get there at rope drop. I head straight to TSMM (no FP for this ride and that line also tends to remain long throughout the day), and then afterwards go get a RSR FP.

Thanks for the tips! We will probably head to ride RSR from rope drop then hope for a FP after. We never got to ride it at night so would like to try for a later ride time.

Since we'll only be there 2 days, thinking we can live with non-hopper passes and then go to park without EMH each day and stay all day. This will put us at DCA on Thursday and DL on Friday (open until midnight).

Your comment about TSMM brought another question to mind - can anyone please point me to a list of rides which have FP since the list is different than what I am used to at WDW?

Thanks again for all the help!

PJ

 

[figment_jii]

Your comment about TSMM brought another question to mind - can anyone please point me to a list of rides which have FP since the list is different than what I am used to at WDW?

You can filter the attraction list on Disneyland.com to show which attractions have FPs:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/#/fastpass/

Given that you are not going to park hop, it's worth noting that all FPs within a park are connected to each other, except the show fast passes. I don't know for sure how the Frozen stuff works (I think the sing-a-long is connected, but the meet and greets are not), but I do know that you can pick up the WoC or F! FP/show pass and it does not impact your ability to get another FP. DLR uses the legacy/paper FP system that used to be at WDW (so if you're familiar with WDW's old FP system, you should be in good shape to use the one at DLR).
Some things to remember/note:

• You can get another FP two hours after you pulled your newest FP or when the time window opens, whichever comes first.
• The two parks are "disconnected". So if you decide to get park hoppers, it's worth noting that you can get a FP in DCA and then immediately get another FP in DL.
• Once a ticket has been used to enter a park, it can be used to get FPs in either park. This is one way that DLR's system differed from WDW's legacy FP system. So if you go into DL, you can send a runner to get FPs in DCA.

 

[poohj80]

You can filter the attraction list on Disneyland.com to show which attractions have FPs:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/#/fastpass/

Given that you are not going to park hop, it's worth noting that all FPs within a park are connected to each other, except the show fast passes. I don't know for sure how the Frozen stuff works (I think the sing-a-long is connected, but the meet and greets are not), but I do know that you can pick up the WoC or F! FP/show pass and it does not impact your ability to get another FP. DLR uses the legacy/paper FP system that used to be at WDW (so if you're familiar with WDW's old FP system, you should be in good shape to use the one at DLR).
Some things to remember/note:

• You can get another FP two hours after you pulled your newest FP or when the time window opens, whichever comes first.
• The two parks are "disconnected". So if you decide to get park hoppers, it's worth noting that you can get a FP in DCA and then immediately get another FP in DL.
• Once a ticket has been used to enter a park, it can be used to get FPs in either park. This is one way that DLR's system differed from WDW's legacy FP system. So if you go into DL, you can send a runner to get FPs in DCA.

More good tips, thanks again! Besides RSR, what are the hardest (i.e. best to get) FPs? Thinking we'll go for Indy at DL first since it was down on our last trip. Unfortunately, WoC is down as well so we will miss that during this trip.

 

[figment_jii]

More good tips, thanks again! Besides RSR, what are the hardest (i.e. best to get) FPs? Thinking we'll go for Indy at DL first since it was down on our last trip. Unfortunately, WoC is down as well so we will miss that during this trip.

My instinctive answer is Space is the hardest/first to run out in DL. However, it is nothing like RSR. I would second the plan to get a FP for Indy. In terms of the shows, I think F! FP/show tickets are probably going to the first thing to run out in DL (that and maybe the Frozen at Fantasy Faire, but I don't really know how long those last because there are multiple shows per day).

 

[poohj80]

I see need to read up on all the Frozen activities. I was thinking they were mostly at DCA but guess there is some at DL as well. My little princess will definitely want to partake!

 

[figment_jii]

I see need to read up on all the Frozen activities. I was thinking they were mostly at DCA but guess there is some at DL as well. My little princess will definitely want to partake!

There is a comedic-retelling of the Frozen story at the Fantasy Faire Royal Theater and there is a mini-Arendelle scene in Storybook Canals. Before the holiday parade started, A&E were featured on a pre-parade float for prior to start of Soundsational; I don't know if they came back after the holidays ended. Other than these things (and lots of merchandise), the rest of the Frozen stuff has moved over to DCA.