Early Mornings Vs Late Nights

[AnnaTink]

Hi everyone,

I'm heading back to Disneyland in June and am already well aware it is going to be a bit different to Disneyland in September, but was wondering what are the benefits of getting to the park early in the morning vs going later in the day and staying until close.

Do fastpasses tend to run out? Are the queues as bad in the evening? How about during fantasmic?

Sorry loads of questions but I want to be as organised as poss without taking away the fun

 

[ScooterL]

Being at the park WHEN IT OPENS is the best time to be there - you can do a whole lot of attractions (especially Fantasyland) during the first hour or so when most of the day visitors (who are locals driving in from the southern California area) are still arriving.

If you're staying in the DL area, I think the best strategy is to be at the park when it opens, stay until noon or 1:00, then go back to your hotel for a rest, then come back around 4:00-6:00 in the afternoon and stay until closing.

Yes, Fastpasses will run out for the popular rides (Space Mountain, Indy, Soarin') - on a really busy day Fastpasses will run out for every ride that has them.

I think the standby lines are as bad in the evening as they are in the afternoon, so you're really better off doing most of the popular rides in the morning when the lines are shorter.

Lines might be somewhat shorter during Fantasmic! and the fireworks, but it's not like you'll find everything is a walk-on.

 

[DLR29]

Early! Early! Early!

You can do much more in the first two hours, than you can in the last 4. Plus you can stock up on FPs that you can use later in the day. Getting the first FP time frame (for any FP ride it would be: 45min after opening-1hr45min after opening) means that you can pick up your second set of FPs sooner, and so on and so on.

Lines are still long in the evening (especially in June). It is just harder for a lot of people to wake up early than it is to stay up late. To beat the crowds you must do the opposite.

 

[CindyH]

I'm a morning person, so I'd rather get up early than stay late anyway!

 

[HydroGuy]

We do both. Of the two, mornings are more important as others have said. But with a 4-5 hour break each day and nap at the hotel, we open and close the park most days and then get out of Dodge when it starts getting hot and crowded. We all hit the pool and then take a 2-3 hour nap - adults included.

My philosophy is starts with this question: How many hours can you spend in the parks each day? For us it is 11-12 hours. So lets use 12 hours for the sake of discussion. DL is open 8AM-Midnight in the summer and at 7AM on MM days. That is 16 or 17 hours. Of those 16-17 hours, when would you want to spend your 12 hours? 9AM-9PM? 8AM-8PM? What we do is spend 5-6 hours in the morning (we usually leave around 1PM). If it is an 8AM opening we get in 5 hours. Then we return to the parks at 5 or 6 PM and spend the remaining 6-7 hours until closing (on most days). Thus we spend our 12 hours at the times when the crowds are least and the temperatures are cooler. Plus our evenings are more fun because we are fresh.

 

[DisneyLover4Ever!]

Hi everyone,

I'm heading back to Disneyland in June and am already well aware it is going to be a bit different to Disneyland in September, but was wondering what are the benefits of getting to the park early in the morning vs going later in the day and staying until close.

Do fastpasses tend to run out? Are the queues as bad in the evening? How about during fantasmic?

Sorry loads of questions but I want to be as organised as poss without taking away the fun

My advice is that if you want to avoid alot of the crowd go to the park about half-hour to an hour before they open, you'll get a good place in line, and when you get in you will have a very little wait in the lines of the most popular rides.

 

[AnnaTink]

I thought they were the kinds of responses I'd get, although I was hoping for the opposite I guess its a bit of a no brainer really - we're staying in the Grand Californian so it's not as if we have far to go to get from our beds to the parks


Hydroguy - thats a fantastic way of looking at it and makes perfect sense - I'll just make sure I pack my alarm clock

When it comes to it we want to do as much as we can with minimum queues and heat so if mornings are the way to go it just means some afternoons enjoying the Californian sun by the pool

Thanks for the advice

 

[HydroGuy]

I thought they were the kinds of responses I'd get, although I was hoping for the opposite I guess its a bit of a no brainer really - we're staying in the Grand Californian so it's not as if we have far to go to get from our beds to the parks


Hydroguy - thats a fantastic way of looking at it and makes perfect sense - I'll just make sure I pack my alarm clock

When it comes to it we want to do as much as we can with minimum queues and heat so if mornings are the way to go it just means some afternoons enjoying the Californian sun by the pool

Thanks for the advice

You might get some more helpful info here:

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

 

[mystic_path]

I am also going in June, I went in the first week of october in one of my last trips and I will definately tell you EARLY EARLY EARLY!!!!

Fast passes can or will run out, the park would just be getting in full swing which would allow you to have less crowds and more time to get onto rides right away as they first open. This way you can collect fast passes all through the day and when it gets a bit busier at night, you can bypass all the line ups and use your fast passes and get right onto rides. Saves you so much time.

 

[CindyH]

We do both...Then we return to the parks at 5 or 6 PM and spend the remaining 6-7 hours until closing (on most days).

Wow, you must have a super amount of energy. I could do one or the other (get up early or stay late) but not both!

 

[OlivesMom]

DL is open 8AM-Midnight in the summer and at 7AM on MM days.

When will it become "summer hours"? My daughter and I are coming April 19-22 and are complete night owls. I was soo excited to see that the park was open until midnight, then I saw it was summer only. Dreading waking up but I imagine that we will be so excited to get there that it won't matter.

Thanks!

 

[seattlebusymom]

oohh I have to chime in on this one. As much as I am not an early bird I do drag my family up for EE. As a right of passage the entire family must do some disney dancing in the area past security. With all the fun music they pipe in how can you resist? On a side note my 12yr old neice was mortified I would make the girls do this and on the 1st day she unwillingfuly did a little jig but by the third day she was reminding the whole family including grandpa in a wheelchair to do hi Disney dance! Anyway... getting their early you can walk down mainstreet and capture pictures with little crowds. It felt to our family like the castle was our private place. Well worth the grouchys we had when the alarm clock went off so early!
On the flip side staying late is never not an option. It is like another place with everything backlit in magical lights and then being able to shop on mainstreet after the park is closed is the best. Oh and can not forget to mention the priceless pictures you get of your kids and friends with their glassovered gonna drop to the floor tired as my wedding day looks at 1am after a day of disney! HA.

 

[Hound 109]

oohh I have to chime in on this one. As much as I am not an early bird I do drag my family up for EE. As a right of passage the entire family must do some disney dancing in the area past security. With all the fun music they pipe in how can you resist? On a side note my 12yr old neice was mortified I would make the girls do this and on the 1st day she unwillingfuly did a little jig but by the third day she was reminding the whole family including grandpa in a wheelchair to do hi Disney dance! Anyway... getting their early you can walk down mainstreet and capture pictures with little crowds. It felt to our family like the castle was our private place. Well worth the grouchys we had when the alarm clock went off so early!
On the flip side staying late is never not an option. It is like another place with everything backlit in magical lights and then being able to shop on mainstreet after the park is closed is the best. Oh and can not forget to mention the priceless pictures you get of your kids and friends with their glassovered gonna drop to the floor tired as my wedding day looks at 1am after a day of disney! HA.

I wondered who that family was.....




I agree with all of the above. I can't do an "up at 7am....& at the park till midnight" either, but we'll often stay up till 9-10pm. & are able to do this if we have our nap/swim/rest during the hot/crowded afternoon.

It's really very simple. Up early translates to:

- More FPs for later.
- More rides.
- Less crowded with that you're alone in DL feeling.
- Relax (or hop to DCA) when the crowds come.

 

[HydroGuy]

Wow, you must have a super amount of energy. I could do one or the other (get up early or stay late) but not both!

With a 2-3 hour nap our kids almost always make it until midnight. But if they get too tired we head back early. Also, we usually have at least one "sleep in" day and we just go to DCA at 10AM.

 

[HydroGuy]

When will it become "summer hours"? My daughter and I are coming April 19-22 and are complete night owls. I was soo excited to see that the park was open until midnight, then I saw it was summer only. Dreading waking up but I imagine that we will be so excited to get there that it won't matter.

Thanks!

Summer hours are early June thru late August. Other times of the year with peak season hours are mid-March thru Mid-April and mid-November thru early January. And every weekend pretty much has peak season hours.

Late April is considered off-season and I bet the parks will close early on weekdays.

 

[OlivesMom]

Summer hours are early June thru late August. Other times of the year with peak season hours are mid-March thru Mid-April and mid-November thru early January. And every weekend pretty much has peak season hours.

Late April is considered off-season and I bet the parks will close early on weekdays.

Ah drat - I guess we need to start getting-up early so that we'll be ready to go when we arrive.

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

[deletedpenguin]

I have become more and more of a morning person, but DLand has a special cozy feel after dark, with all the lights on. I know it's not as empty at night as it would be in the morning, but an empty park isn't as fun either.

I choose night.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

Since getting my AP in January, I have been trying to get to DL at opening...which is not always easy coming from San Diego! I get up before my son (and THE sun) to get ready, get all the snacks ready to go, and we hit the road by 8 for a 10am opening. The last time we did this, we stayed straight through until closing at 8pm!

We were so exhausted the next day that I kept him home from pre-school so *I* wouldn't have to leave the house.

But it was worth it!