General Touring Strategies

[MischaOz]

Greetings! WDW vet here planning a short one day at Disneyland as part of a long weekend trip to SoCal to visit a dear friend. My DH and 4yo daughter will be with me. Since we only have one day, or focus will be the rides that either don't exist at WDW, or our favorites that are different (e.g. PoC, HM).

If anyone can share general touring styles, I would be most appreciative! For example, do you head to Fantasyland first? Where do the crowds build most quickly, so where would we be best served spending the first couple hours before crowds build? For point of reference, we aren't huge Tomorrowland people, so if we have to skip something, that's probably what we'll cut. Thank you!

 

[savvy?71]

WDW vet here too -- loved our 1st DL/DCA trip last summer & planning another! Considering your daughter's age, definitely hit Fantasyland. Alice is unique to DL and such a cute ride even my 10 yr old daughter loved it. And believe it or not, DL's IASW is kind of great! Past that is Toon Town - age-friendly coaster & Mickey's & Minnie's houses ( where Mick & Min spent a lot of time interacting with our kids with zero crowds get there early!). Storybook Canal boats is great for little ones- nothing thrilling but cute & just in DL.

Loved walking in to breakfast at Minnie's - so many characters & different ones from WDW with more interaction. In fact I found all character interactions better at DL & often they roamed out of nowhere right where we'd be.

Pirates is a total experience at DL. It made me not want to bother with WDW's again. Indy is another vastly different & awesome experience at DL. My kids love BTMR better at DL; there's a couple added surprises.

Are you planning to check out DCA or,just stay in DL? Not sure if your daughter is into Cars or that kind of ride but Carsland is a must see/must do, in my opinion. Radiator Springs Racers is so.much.fun. but lines build immediately so it's either a first thing in morning ride or get a fastpass ( which should,be pulled early as,well).

Take advantage of close proximity between the 2 parks & hotels, rope drop/early magic hour, & the good old fashioned legacy fast pass system.

 

[MischaOz]

Savvy, thank you so much for the feedback, this is very helpful! Since we only have one day and DD is not that into Pixar, we're going to stick with DL this trip. I am pretty sure we'll be back though!

 

[figment_jii]

I highly recommend checking out HydroGuy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets because it'll help you get a sense of the similarites and differences between the two resorts.

I have a few questions:
1. When specifically are you going? That can impact operating hours, entertainment schedules, and touring recommendations. As a related question, are you going on a day when DL has EMH/MM? If so, it's worth noting that FL and TL open for EMH/MM, so if you don't have access to those, the lines for the popular attractions (e.g., Peter Pan, Hyperspace/Space Mtn) in both those lands may already be long by the time you get in.

2. Are you getting park hoppers or are you only going to Disneyland? The two parks are very close together (ticket gates are about 110 yards apart) and park hop is very easy, but with one day, it might make sense to stick to just one park (e.g., DL).

3. Do you plan to have sit down meals or are you planning on CS meals? If you want to do a TS meal, they take about the same amount of time at DLR as at WDW - about 60 minutes for a two to three course TS meal.

4. Do you plan to meet characters? DLR has only a few fixed M&G locations, but there are a lot of semi-fixed locations where characters meet guests. Meeting characters is a lot of fun, but it can be time consuming. There are some unique characters to DLR and characters in unique outfits.

5. Have you downloaded the official Disneyland app? If not, I highly recommend doing so before going. It can help with wait times, FP return times, character schedules, etc.

6. Are you rope drop people? Are you "close the park down" people? With one day, I would highly recommend trying to get there as early as possible and stay as late as possible.

 

[MischaOz]

Hi! Thanks for the feedback! To answer your questions:

1. We're going on Mon, Feb 22. Park hours are 10am-9pm. My understanding is there is no EMH/MM that day.

2. Given that we just have one day, we're not going to park hop and will stick with DL this time around.

3. We're not big TS people so we'll just do CS.

4. DD loves characters. We just spent 6 days at WDW in Dec with lots of character meets, but we'll still need to do some this trip. Aurora is a priority if we can find her, since we missed her last time. Also Jasmine and Tink. Maybe Mickey & Minnie - I heard their area in Toontown is pretty neat?

5. Yes, I have the app. I wasn't aware it could help with FP though, so I will look into that.

6. Since the park doesn't open until 10, we will definitely be there for rope drop.

 

[ktlm]

Aurora can be hard to find which seems crazy since she has a castle there! You might check at guest services to see if they can tell you when she will be out. She sometimes pops up around the castle in the afternoons. Tink is easy to find as she keeps regular hours at Pixie Hollow. Her line is typically pretty short in the mornings. Jasmine meets in Adventure land. Sometimes she is with Aladdin. Sometimes she is with Genie. It can also be any one of those 3 alone or a different mix. The Disneyland app has their scheduled times and who will be there (although we have found it is not always accurate). If you are not going to hop, you should be aware that Anna, Elsa and Olaf all meet at California Adventure, not at Disneyland. (Unlike WDW, they typically do have short lines at DLR). Toontown is a very cute area for 4 year olds. There are different versions of Mickey you might meet back there as you go to his studio inside his house. They even have Steamboat Willie Mickey- but we have never been lucky enough to see him. We have seen him there in his bandleader outfit, classic clothes or Fantasia robes I think. Have a great trip!

 

[savvy?71]

I seriously cannot wait until I am back at DL for a Matterhorn Macaroon. This, and other quick snacks/sandwiches can be found at Jolly Holiday. It's located kind of where you'd find Crystal Palace at WDW. I mention this since you said you guys are more into CS. I always found it quick and good there!

If I recall, Toontown opened later, and we just happened to be walking in that direction (we were kind of lost lol but it worked in our favor). No one was there yet. Goofy was hanging out, just waiting for folks, and being, well, goofy. Mickey and Minnie's houses were empty so my kids had a blast exploring and Mickey and Minnie were so much fun (I didn't even expect them there). There's an adorable coaster (think Barnstormer-like) that my kids went on about 6x continuously, plus a little fun house of some kind(?) and odd little Roger Rabbit ride (?) (I didn't go on either, just sent kids with dad on those!) But that area filled more time than I expected and having it so quiet was a huge bonus.

 

[figment_jii]

1. We're going on Mon, Feb 22. Park hours are 10am-9pm. My understanding is there is no EMH/MM that day.

That's good! It means the popular attractions in FL and TL won't already have long lines at opening. I would probably start in FL if that's your favorite land; my guess is that the line for Peter Pan will build quickly and remain long throughout the day. Alice is probably the next most popular attraction. Alice is unique to DL, but Peter Pan is one of those "similar, but slightly different" rides, so I'd play that one by ear (depending on the line length - but the line tends to hit 45 minutes quickly and then stay there all day long).

3. We're not big TS people so we'll just do CS.

DL has several great CS options. My favorites include the Plaza Inn (fried chicken dinner is one of the most popular dishes here on the Disboards), the French Market, and Jolly Holiday.

4. DD loves characters. We just spent 6 days at WDW in Dec with lots of character meets, but we'll still need to do some this trip. Aurora is a priority if we can find her, since we missed her last time. Also Jasmine and Tink. Maybe Mickey & Minnie - I heard their area in Toontown is pretty neat?

I think your best bet at finding Aurora is over at Princess Fantasy Faire near the castle. There are usually three princesses inside the faire and at least two are usually listed on the signboard. You can also ask the CM who is currently meeting inside the Hall. Jasmine can often be found (with Aladdin and the Genie) over near the entrance to Adventureland. As with anything, character schedules are subject to change without notice. Tinkerbell meets at the Pixie Hollow meet & greet area. Mickey & Minnie meet at several locations in the park. They meet in Toontown (at their houses) and they can also often be found in Town Square (in their 60th Anniversary attire).

5. Yes, I have the app. I wasn't aware it could help with FP though, so I will look into that.

Disneyland still uses the legacy/paper FP system. The App is helpful because it (usually) lists what the current return time is, so you can find out without having to go to the attraction. You cannot get a FP using the App, but it's a helpful planning tool.