Early Admission and Grand Californian

[emilyann415]

So....I've been to Disneyworld more times then I can count, but I'm going to DL for the first time in a few weeks. We are staying at Grand California and I thought I read somewhere that you don't want to use a certain entrance from the hotel for early hours. Now for the life of me I can't find that info.

Anyone have helpful hints?

Emily

 

[lana772]

Everyone has a different view on this. We have used all the entrances for EE and never had a problem. If you use the one into DCA directly from the hotel, just be there 30 mins early so you don't get in the back of a long line. Usually about 15 mins before EE they start checking bags and letting people into the park, but you wait until the given time at a "rope".
Really you should line up early at any of the entrances to maximize your EE.

Lana

I'll add- what works for us is I stand in the line (in the hotel) with one DD while DH gets us bagels and coffee at White Water Snacks with the other DD.

 

[HydroGuy]

So....I've been to Disneyworld more times then I can count, but I'm going to DL for the first time in a few weeks. We are staying at Grand California and I thought I read somewhere that you don't want to use a certain entrance from the hotel for early hours. Now for the life of me I can't find that info.

Anyone have helpful hints?

There is special entrance from GCH to DCA that is only for DLR hotel guests - especially in the morning. Before last year it was always an advantage to use this entrance if you were a hotel guest. Since CarsLand opened in June 2012 it became clear this entrance was more liability than help because of the slower security / bag check process. Since then folks have tried to avoid it if they are going early into DCA. Otherwise it is a great short cut.

There was a report last week that Disney has made this line more efficient first thing in the morning.

 

[lana772]

There is special entrance from GCH to DCA that is only for DLR hotel guests - especially in the morning. Before last year it was always an advantage to use this entrance if you were a hotel guest. Since CarsLand opened in June 2012 it became clear this entrance was more liability than help because of the slower security / bag check process. Since then folks have tried to avoid it if they are going early into DCA. Otherwise it is a great short cut.

There was a report last week that Disney has made this line more efficient first thing in the morning.

We used it several times this last Christmas week without problem. Every time we were in the park in front of Grizzly River Rapids before EE started.

Lana

 

[Girimama33]

If your goal is to ride RSR standby first thing when EMH begins, you should use the main entrance. You have a better advantage there. If RSR is not the priority first thing, then use the GC entrance.

 

[Nonsuch]

There was a report last week that Disney has made this line more efficient first thing in the morning.

There is limited physical space to make much improvement, although EMH gates opened 15 early during my visit a week ago.

The GCH registration CM made a special point to recommend using the main entrance during EMH, calling it her "gift" to us.

 

[mmmears]

There was a report last week that Disney has made this line more efficient first thing in the morning.

I really hope that it will work that way -- I'd much rather get in line at that entrance than the main gate since we have to be there 30 mins early anyway. I was planning on trying the WWS thing Lana was talking about. It's a shame if they take away the efficiency of that entrance.

We used it several times this last Christmas week without problem. Every time we were in the park in front of Grizzly River Rapids before EE started.

Lana

So glad to hear this -- I'm so glad you mentioned eating breakfast in that line -- that's what we were planning to do until I read that we should only use the main gate...

 

[ValpoCory]

It's a shame if they take away the efficiency of that entrance.

The efficiency left when Cars Land opened. They are trying to get some efficiency back.

Remember, the main entrance is closer to Cars Land than the GC entrance. The main entrance has at least 5 times as many turnstiles open than the GC entrance.

If you are headed to Cars Land, use the main entrance. If you aren't heading to Cars Land, still use the main entrance if you are not going to be one of the first 20 people in line at the GC entrance.

If there are 50 people in line at the GC entrance, and your goal is to go to GRR first thing, I'd use the main entrance. It's that slow.

A family who got to the GC entrance 45 minutes early ended up 15 minutes behind me in the RSR line for EMH, after I past him in the GC entrance line, went and ate breakfast at WWS, past him again as I headed to the main entrance, and walked to RSR. I didn't believe how bad the GC entrance bottleneck was until that happened. That was in late January.

 

[mmmears]

The efficiency left when Cars Land opened. They are trying to get some efficiency back.

Remember, the main entrance is closer to Cars Land than the GC entrance. The main entrance has at least 5 times as many turnstiles open than the GC entrance.

If you are headed to Cars Land, use the main entrance. If you aren't heading to Cars Land, still use the main entrance if you are not going to be one of the first 20 people in line at the GC entrance.

If there are 50 people in line at the GC entrance, and your goal is to go to GRR first thing, I'd use the main entrance. It's that slow.

A family who got to the GC entrance 45 minutes early ended up 15 minutes behind me in the RSR line for EMH.

Thanks for the info -- I think we wont wait at the GC entrance unless it's pretty empty there. And even then, I'm not sure if I want to take the chance.

 

[DLovinFam]

Two days during our stay in late February, we walked to the GC entrance. The first time there was a long line, so we decided to go through the DCA entrance with no wait at security or the DCA entrance. We thought Monday would be better at the GC entrance, but it was worse. We went the DCA way again with no wait. Only a 20 minute wait for RSR both days and one day we stopped for Starbucks first. We were happy with that. That was our experience anyway. Maybe things have changed since then. Monday was a late, off season opening, so that gives people plenty of time to line up early without having to wake up at the crack of dawn. It may be different with an earlier opening time.

 

[rms123]

It was like that this morning. We were running behind and got there 10 min early and there were a few hundred people in line there and not moving. We did the 5 min walk to the main entrance and walked right in. It's the way to go.

 

[sgrap]

We just stayed at the GCH 2 weeks ago, Sunday-Friday nights, so we had 3 EE days in DCA. On Mon and Wed we were at the security gates by 8:15 (9 a.m. EE), which opened about 8:30 and we were first in line at one of the EE DCA gates both times. We used the Wide Right and were in the RSR 2nd car on Mon and the 3rd car on Wed. Note that quite a few people seem to know about the Wide Right these days, and it was definitely intense to keep that spot. I didn't like it (all the jockeying for position and people trying to get by us), and by Friday we had had enough of fighting for that primo spot (and they had ridden RSR probably 6 times by then between the Wide Right, fastpasses and single rider), so we decided to use the GCH entance for EE on Friday. We got down there around 7:20-7:30 for the 8:00 EE that day, and we were not too far back in line--maybe 4th or 5th family. The line did stack up and go well past White Water Snacks (and who knows how much farther), but we were in fairly quickly. I don't think it would work very well to try to do the rope drop for Cars Land from GCH entry because it is a farther walk than from the main entry and people really dash from the main entry to the rope drop. We waited at the rope drop they did by GRR, where they walked us to the intersection between where you would head to either Paradise Pier or Cars Lane. We headed down and did TSMM several times . . . unfortunately Screamin' wasn't running but it was up by about the end of EE and was still a a very short wait for the next hour or so. If you don't do RSR during EE, you can really get a lot done! Even doing RSR, since we were early in line, we easily got through RSR, Luigi's and Mater's by about 9:40 and could fit in some Paradise Pier before EE ended. I always got in line for RSR fastpasses around 9:30-9:40, got them at 10:00 when the park opened and then headed off to get them FP's for something else.

Hope that helps!

 

[hjgaus]

If your goal is to ride RSR standby first thing when EMH begins, you should use the main entrance. You have a better advantage there. If RSR is not the priority first thing, then use the GC entrance.

Ditto on this!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you enter near Grizzly, you have to walk all the way to the other side of Grizzly to get to Carsland. I would rather walk from the front gates.

If you're going to use the Grand's entrance, be there EARLY. I would say "at least" 30 minutes early, not just 30 minutes.

 

[gunka]

Depends if you are trying to be first in or not. With a little one sometimes it's hard to get up first thing in the am. If you just want to get a fastpass for RSR try this. Wait till 1/2 hour (1/2 hour before regular opening) after EM and then enter, all parties need to have their ticket scanned. We took our daughter down in her PJ's and then mom and her returned to the room to finish waking up and getting ready. I went to the the FP line for RSR, which doesn't start until the park officially opens. Then went and got FP's for soarin and then returned to our room, by then family was ready. We returned to the GCH entrance and enjoyed our day - no pushing and shoving through lines.