Early Entry/Magic Morning advice

[luckyman_apd]

We will be out west in San Diego, and then heading up to Anaheim on June 27th and flying home July 1st. We are getting 4 day park hopper passes for that Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat. We won't get there till close to noon on Wed.

Our current plan is to hit DL first on Wednesday to surprise the kids. Then go to DCA on Thursday to see Carsland, and planning the whole day at DCA because I'm sure it will be crowded due to Carsland, but not as crowded as Fri/Sat (or so I've read). We will have 1 magic morning (I think that's what it's called....I'm used to Magic Hours) but Thurs and Sat are the early entry days available. Should be just do the early entry on Thursday, do a few rides, and then go over to DCA for Carsland? or should we just save the morning for Saturday?

I know park hopping is said to be easier in DLR than WDW, but we are DVC owners for the BLT so we just usually hop the Monorail back and forth from MK and Epcot. I know this will still be much quicker, but until I've experienced it I won't know. Just looking to see what anyone else would do. I've asked about how I should plan our trip before, but I didn't know what days would have the early then.

 

[HydroGuy]

We will be out west in San Diego, and then heading up to Anaheim on June 27th and flying home July 1st. We are getting 4 day park hopper passes for that Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat. We won't get there till close to noon on Wed.

Our current plan is to hit DL first on Wednesday to surprise the kids. Then go to DCA on Thursday to see Carsland, and planning the whole day at DCA because I'm sure it will be crowded due to Carsland, but not as crowded as Fri/Sat (or so I've read). We will have 1 magic morning (I think that's what it's called....I'm used to Magic Hours) but Thurs and Sat are the early entry days available. Should be just do the early entry on Thursday, do a few rides, and then go over to DCA for Carsland? or should we just save the morning for Saturday?

I know park hopping is said to be easier in DLR than WDW, but we are DVC owners for the BLT so we just usually hop the Monorail back and forth from MK and Epcot. I know this will still be much quicker, but until I've experienced it I won't know. Just looking to see what anyone else would do. I've asked about how I should plan our trip before, but I didn't know what days would have the early then.

June 28 will be a particularly bad day to visit DCA and would be much better for DL. That is the final day before the SoCal AP blockout.

Parkhopping should be done regularly and takes about as long as walking from Tomorrowland to Frontierland at MK.

Use Early Entry Magic Morning on Thursday. You will have the most energy and best chance of getting to bed early the night before.

See

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

 

[coaches24]

Use the MM as early as possible on your trip so you have the most energy. You might be tired later and not want to get up that early. We have gone to MM gotten FL and a couple of tomorrow land rides done and then headed to DCA as it opens but that is when it opens at 10. I think it opens at 8:00 during the summer so that may not work as well when you go. You might want to hit DCA on Wed and DL mm on Thursday. I think that might work better.

 

[mystic_path]

I would suggest that park hopping should always be considered as an option. When one park is getting too much and you want to change it up, you can always go to the other. Plus if you want to catch shows like a parade, the fireworks or what have you, you have the option of just going next door. The parks literally face each other and its less then a minute walk to the next park entry gate. It's not like WDW where you need to get transportation to the next park. Everything at the Disneyland resort is compact and within walking distance. I wouldnt want you to feel you missed out on anything.

 

[luckyman_apd]

June 28 will be a particularly bad day to visit DCA and would be much better for DL. That is the final day before the SoCal AP blockout.

Parkhopping should be done regularly and takes about as long as walking from Tomorrowland to Frontierland at MK.

Use Early Entry Magic Morning on Thursday. You will have the most energy and best chance of getting to bed early the night before.

See

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

The only reason we were considering DCA for Carsland on the Thursday is because of my 6 year old. We have taken her to WDW 3 times so far. She is a Disney nut like us, and we've never surprised her with it. With this trip to California, it's easy to disguise the Disney part of it because she doesn't know there are two Disney's. On Wednesday we are heading up from San Diego, and she will recognize DL more than DCA I think. Also with us not getting there until probably noon, I'm sure all the Carsland rides will be at their longest.

I'll probably take your advice. We have 4 days to get do it all, and we want to try and be relaxed as possible on this trip. Thanks.