Fast Pass probabilities in DCA for 1 day w/out Magic Hours access

[teach_n_tax]

Our family (kids ages 14, 12, 10) will be visiting Disney CA Adventure using 1 Day, 1 Park tickets on Wed., June 29, 2016. Park hours are regularly 8 am to 9 pm that day, but they have Extra Magic Hour, opening at 7 am.

We are using SPG points to stay 2 nights next door at Sheraton Park Hotel. Therefore, we are NOT eligible to enter the park at 7 a.m.

Any advice on Fast Pass strategy given that we cannot enter until 8 a.m? Will Fast Pass access be severely limited or delayed? We are especially excited to see the new Soarin' show and would like to do that multiple times if we can.

There is some potential we can rearrange our itinerary to visit DCA on Tue 6/28, but that doesn't fit our travel schedule nearly as well.

Thanks for your guidance!

 

[jeffg4]

If you do not have access to EMH, I would recommend visiting the other park on that day. You will be a bit behind the crowds and will end up waiting in line for TSMM, which does not have FP. If you must visit DCA, your first FP should be RSR, which will likely get you a late morning/early afternoon ride. If you want to ride at night (recommended), you should be able to pull a FP for Soarin' first thing and still be able to get an RSR FP for the evening.

 

[figment_jii]

DCA does not start issuing FPs until the park opens to the general public (i.e., no FPs distributed during EMH). EMH means that the most popular attractions will already have a line when the park opens to the general public. Soarin', along with RSR, TSMM, and ToT are generally included in EMH, so there will probably already be a line when you get into the park.

In general, my guess is that the two most popular FPs will be for RSR and Soarin'. Once you've pulled a FP for an attraction, you cannot get another FP for two hours or until the time window opens, whichever comes first. So if you get a Soarin' FP at 8:00 am and the return time is 9:00 am, you can get another FP at 9:00 am. If the return time is noon, you can get another FP at 10:00 am (but not another Soarin' FP until the time window opens at noon). I would get either a RSR or Soarin' FP at park opening and then look at the standby lines and decide what to do while you wait for the FP window to open.

 

[scrapquitler]

I suggest riding RSR as single riders. When we were at DCA last month, the FP for the day were already gone by 11am when we got to RSR, and the standby line was 100 minutes long. We rode single rider and were on the ride in about 20 minutes. We were so happy that we got back in the Single Rider line and rode it again, and it took slightly less than 20 minutes the second time.

 

[mathmakesmehappy]

I would also highly recommend that you get a Fastpass for World of Color early, as this will not affect your ability to get any other Fastpasses and is probably the coolest thing in DCA. Getting the Fastpass earlier generally corresponds to a better viewing area.

 

[Arielismyfave]

We also stayed offsite and did 1 day at CA. Prior to our trip, I looked at touring strategies and crowd calendars on several websites to attempt to maximize our time there. (Google "fast passes strategy California adventure" and several sites will come up)

At a 9:00 opening with 8:00am EMH, We were allowed into the main park area at 9:00, and went for a FP for RsR first and then rode other rides. Our return time was 11:00am for RsR, so not enough time to get another FP other than disconnected WOC.

Looking at the app right now, FP are still available for most rides.

• California Screamin - still available 1 hour return; 30 minute wait
• Goofy's Sky School - still available 1 hour return; 15 minute wait
• Grizzly River Run - still available 1 hour return; 40 minute wait
• Radiator Springs Racers - not available; 60 min wait
• Soarin' Over California - still available 1 hour return; 35 minute wait
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - still available 1 hour return; 30 minute wait
• World of Color (distributed at Grizzly River Run)

I'd check the Disneyland app periodically between now and your trip to get a feel for wait times and FPs.

Did you also post this on the Diseyland forum? You might get more assistance there. Have a great trip!

 

[pinkprincess30]

I'm a little late to the party but wanted to mention... If you want to see the new Frozen production be sure to get a Fastpass first thing in the morning as well. The FP's are disconnected (meaning you can hold a Frozen FP and also get a FP for RSR, etc.). The Frozen show is going to be very popular and they are only doing 3 shows a day. Have fun!

 

[teach_n_tax]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful replies! One quick question... can we get a Frozen FP as well as a World of Color FP and NEITHER of those passes then count against rides like RSR or Soarin?

 

[Nevada Jen]

Yes. But realize that frozen is an hour long. So you probanly lose two park hours to seeing it. Also, I would consider booking a late sit down lunch somewhere. You are going to want to rest in the air conditioning if you are talking a summer visit. Finally, toy Story is going to eat a lot of your time. Be aware that paradise pier closes earlier than the rest of the park

 

[pinkprincess30]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful replies! One quick question... can we get a Frozen FP as well as a World of Color FP and NEITHER of those passes then count against rides like RSR or Soarin?

Yes you can, the Frozen FP's & WOC FP's are disconnected from the Fastpass System.

 

[agamble]

Yes. But realize that frozen is an hour long. So you probanly lose two park hours to seeing it.

If they just want to see the show, but don't care about where they're seated, they can show up about 25 minutes before the show starts. The FP allows them to arrive as late as 20 minutes before show time. You don't have to wait an hour, especially since they're currently using FP for the show.

If you want to ride Toy Story I would head there first and grab a FP for Soarin' on the way. There will be a line since there is Early Entry, but it is still likely to be shorter at opening than any other time in the day.

 

[mastodon]

What app shows fast pass availability?

 

[figment_jii]

The official Disneyland App lists the current return time.

 

[Malcon10t]

Be forewarned, single rider for Soarin' is very different from RSR. Single rider at Soarin' is much slower. I don't think it is worth the effort of Single rider. Also, while Paradise Pier closes early, Toy STory remains open.

 

[Baptist]

I always like to get a RSR FP first, Frozen, then WOC FPs. Note, I'm usually the FP runner and don't have the family running with me. Ride Toy Story story then head towards Soarin. Depending on your timing and the stand by wait times, grab a FP or ride stand by then grab a FP for another ride on Soarin. At that point, your RSR FP should be ready. Can you tell why my family thinks I run them around at Disney? I have chilled out a lot at WDW with FP+.

I would not plan a sit down meal. With only one day, you want to make the most of it. Don't waste your time at a table service restaurant. DCA has good quick service options.

 

[hlbtimes2]

the official Disney app shows the current wait time. If you click on the wait time it will pull up info on the ride, tell you if fastpass is currently available and what the return times are.

 

[hsmamato2]

newbie to DL (pretty much) what is RSR?

 

[tdhickey]

What I do in this situation is get in line 30-40 min prior to park open so you hit rope drop, go ride RSR immediately (it will have a line, however with no FP people entering the standby line moves much quicker than normal). Then, once the ride is over, send a runner with your tickets to pull another FP for RSR for the group while going to line up for Toy Story, which is easy for one person to join their party in while in line. I've done this probably 15-20 times over 5 trips and it has yet to fail me, even on EMH mornings. People forget EMH is a very small amount of people since it's DL property exclusive and not everyone gets up in time.

 

[jammyjam25]

newbie to DL (pretty much) what is RSR?

Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland.

 

[agamble]

What I do in this situation is get in line 30-40 min prior to park open so you hit rope drop, go ride RSR immediately (it will have a line, however with no FP people entering the standby line moves much quicker than normal). Then, once the ride is over, send a runner with your tickets to pull another FP for RSR for the group while going to line up for Toy Story, which is easy for one person to join their party in while in line. I've done this probably 15-20 times over 5 trips and it has yet to fail me, even on EMH mornings. People forget EMH is a very small amount of people since it's DL property exclusive and not everyone gets up in time.

I like your strategy. We're still at the point where we have kids not tall enough to ride RSR, but some day when they're all tall enough we may try this out. We are Toy Story first and then grab a RSR FP kind of people. That way the first ride of the day everyone can do.