30+ min. lines...? I'll take that every day of the week for those rides... I've heard of horror stories about 2 -1/2 hr lines for some rides in CALI...
No, that was 30+ minute lines for Dumbo and Peter Pan within 15 minutes of opening on a day rated a 1 by the Unofficial Guide/TouringPlans. By the time we left Fantasyland to wait in line for Innoventions to open at approx 10:45 am, the line for Peter Pan was at least 1 hour and the same for Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland. I have no idea how long they were later in the day as we left at 11:30, because all the lines for attractions we wanted to visit were more than 20 minutes.
Personally, I go to MK in FL during the off season, and even when the standby line for Peter Pan is 1 hour, you can usually still FP it unless it is late in the day or a 5+ crowd day.
RSR in DCA does get very very very long lines. As I said, I saw a crowd of people lining up around 8:30 am in the middle of early entry to get FPs for it when the machines opened at 9. I used single rider, so the line was only 20 minutes for me. Our longest line was 30 minutes for the Chew Chew Train in Flik's Fun Fair which I would 100% definitely skip if I can next trip.
Sorry to disagree with a prior post, but I find the lines at DL to be much shorter at DL vs WDW. You will not see 60-120+ minute lines there for Soarin' and Midway Mania except in very rare circumstances.
I LOVE LOVE DL and California Adventure. NO buses! Walk easily from park to park. Lots of characters in the park, walking around, interacting with guests in a much more personal way than at WDW.
I will be at DL the same time as you, pretty much. I arrive on President's day.
They will be selling reduced cost passes thru DapperDays.com website. Dapper Day is February 23. Depending on your exact dates, you might qualify for these, it could save you $50 a ticket.
And yes, Peter Pan is super popular at DL, we usually ride that first (no FastPass for PP there).
I now go to WDW and DL each year. I love them both.
As I said, DCA (where Soarin' and Toy Story are) we didn't encounter any horrific lines. I think Soarin' peaked around 45 minutes and I don't remember how bad the lines were for Toy Story, but when we road it shortly before the park opened to the public, the wait was 10 minutes, which is unheard of in FL.
I don't know how long the regular standby line for RSR was because I used single rider which was 20 minutes. It must have been at least 1 hour though, probably more and the FPs were gone.
However, the lines in
Disneyland proper were just awful. We ended up having to buy a ticket for a 2nd day there to even be able to attempt some of the attractions and character meet n greets without 1-1.5 hour lines. (And I should mention we left Disneyland around 11:30 am.)
I love Disneyland in CA in theory. I love the DLH, the rooms are well appointed and huge and the pool is amazing. I love the waterslides which are perfectly designed to allow even young children to utilize them. I love that you can walk everywhere! I love walking, and I always visit DTD in CA vs. FL where I never go there. However, the last two times I've been to Disneyland Park I've been incredibly disappointed with how long the lines are and the lack of FP options. Perhaps if DD was 10 and only cared about thrill rides I would feel differently.
Most of the characters we met (and we met A LOT) in CA were amazing. The Goofy in DCA, Chip at Goofy's Restaurant, Thor and both Tinkerbells we met were truly standouts. However, we also met the all time worst Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella ever at Ariel's restaurant in DCA. (Several other mothers and I discussed in the ladies room how Snow White seemed to not like children!) Character lines in DCA were amazing short. Character lines in Disneyland Park really varied and several of them felt like gyps. In FL, you meet Tinkerbell and a friend. The friend might be a fairy your kid is not into, but I've never been there when it is *JUST* Tink. And while our Tink was one of the best I've ever seen, we still waited 30 minutes to meet just Tink and had no idea we weren't going to be seeing another fairy until we were at the front. We waited over 1 hour to meet Anna. We didn't find out until we got to the front that Elsa was "not there yet" and no one knew when she was due to arrive. This really is not acceptable. The CM kept assuring people Elsa was on her way, but who wants to wait in a 1.5 hour line, with no guarantees at all. I heard another visitor complain about waiting 1 hour to meet one Princess, as no other princess were in the hall, the others were on break. (At least we got to meet 3 princesses in the hall with a minimal wait.)
I'm sure we will go back to the CA parks. We have family in CA. But I honestly prefer DCA to Disneyland itself and prefer MK to Disneyland in terms of lines (at least if you compare off season to off season.)
