help me figure out our days (DL vs CA, MM or not)

[riostoker]

We are going to be in Anaheim for three full days, so my original thought was to get a 3-day park hopper. We would go to DL one day (whichever day had MM), CA one day, and then on the third day, we could park hop to go on favorite rides again or visit whichever park we enjoyed the most. Easy. We will not be staying at a DLR hotel.

Now, I'm rethinking. We will be there Wed 9/23, Thurs 9/24, and Fri 9/25. I'm hoping Friday will be a Halloween party date, in which case, we would do the Halloween party Friday night. I have heard people say that it makes sense to just relax, swim, nap, go to downtown Disney, etc. before the Halloween party rather than being at a park all day since it will be a late night. If we do that, then I guess I would just get a two day pass, with no MM. Or, I can still get a three day pass, and we could use one on 9/22 just in the afternoon/evening since that is our arrival day.

My other thought is this... if I do get the three day pass, then it seems like we'd want to take advantage of MM on Thursday at DL. That puts us a CA on Wednesday though which is an EMH day.... so, we would be behind all the early morning people in trying to do RSR, TSMM, and Anna/Elsa even if we get there at rope drop. Does it make more sense to NOT use the MM and swap the days so that we are doing CA on Thursday since it isn't an early day there?

I am really excited about Carsland and experiencing all the fun things at CA that aren't at WDW. I'm more nervous about fitting everything in at CA that we want to do than I am about DL. There aren't as many "must see" things that I feel strongly about at DL. I'd like to ride RSR in the morning and at night. I love TSMM, so would love to ride that twice, love Soarin, little one will want to meet Anna/Elsa... just lots I want to do there. For DL, I'm more easy-going... whatever we see, we see!

So... if you've made it through all my rambling... what do you think of any of these plans?
1. Wed CA (behind all the EMH folks), Thurs DL (MM), Fri morning park hop, Fri night HP
2. Wed DL (no MM), Thurs CA, Fri morning park hop, Fri night HP
3. #1 or #2 but no halloween party
4. afternoon/evening Tues at CA, Wed CA (behind EMH folks), Thurs DL (MM), Friday relax until HP
5. afternoon/evening Tues at CA, Wed DL (no MM), Thurs CA, Friday relax until HP
6. 2 day pass - Wed DL, Thurs CA, Fri night HP

I guess I'm leaning toward 1, 2, or 3. I like the idea that we have the potential for two mornings at CA since mornings are best there.

What about fireworks, WOC, etc? Are those only on certain nights in the off season? I suppose that should factor into where we go if they are only on particular nights.

Thanks!!
Ann

 

[PHXscuba]

Given that the priorities you've stated seem to be DCA and the Halloween party, I think I'd go with #4. It gives you more time at DCA and doesn't make you too tired to enjoy the Halloween Party after 3 days at the resort. I add that using that MM is only worth it if you can be at the gates of DL before the MM park opening.

Since the HP date haven't been announced: Tuesday might be a party day, and you could attend that night? Weeknights are usually cheaper and less crowded. There is (highly unconfirmed) speculation about whether the party might return to DCA, or whether they will do the halloween fireworks for sure, etc. I don't think I'd make final ticket plans until they announce it. You can also start with a one-park ticket and add the parkhopper if you end up needing it

World Color has traditionally shown almost every night since it opened several years ago. No one knows with the new fireworks how often they will show them.

PHXscuba

 

[chickapin parterre]

I like #5

1. Your youngster will be fresh into the park and that would be a great time to RSR at night. I would discourage you from seeing it first during the daylight but see it first when it is dark and all the lights are like a Christmas present for the next day. On the other nights youngster may not be so eager to view the lights.

2. Wednesday mornings are great in Disneyland and are actually better than MM. MM has no FP value and is even FP gathering ground at rope drop.

3. you can use friday to RSR also, giving you RSR on Tuesday, Thurs and Fri. Though RSR will be single rider on Tuesday,, and if you can't double up with youngster, just return to the end of the line and try again, letting one adult ride. Stand-by RSR not so fun if over 20 mins.

4. You will have a grasp of the layout of DCA from Tuesday night and can use that Thursday to gather RSR FP

 

[figment_jii]

By late September, the parks will probably on the non-peak season entertainment schedule, which means fireworks (not counting nights with a MHP) and F! are likely to be only presented on weekend (Fri, Sat, and Sun). As PHXscuba mentioned, WoC has, historically, been presented nightly. At this point, we do not know what will be happening in terms of PtN (nightly or not). Unfortunately, we probably won't know about MHP schedule until sometime in very late June or July. It makes the most sense to wait to plan out your days until after we know when the parties will be scheduled and where they will be held.

On preliminary question I would ask is: how old are your children? By late-September, the parks are often running on shorter operating days (e.g., 10:00 am to 9:00 pm) with only the weekends having longer days (8:00 am to midnight). That may mean you have more energy to spend as much time as possible in the parks, even on Friday. You can get a sense of the hours in September 2014 here.

Assuming MHP follows the same pattern as the past, guests are allowed to enter the parks starting 3 hours before the party starts (so at 4:00 pm on days when the party starts at 7:00 pm and at 3:00 pm on days when the party starts at 6:00 pm). I personally find going swimming to be just as tiring as being in the parks, so I don't really think of it as being all that much more relaxing. :rotfl I would opt to spend the time in the parks. Last year, DL was open from 8:00 am, so you could go in mid-morning and still have time to get a lot done before MHP starts.

I agree that unless you get to MM pre-rope drop, it doesn't really give you a huge advantage. I do think that regardless of which schedule you pick, you're going to be looking at standing in a long(ish) line for both RSR and TSMM at least once. If you do opt to go to DL's MM, you may want to consider sending a runner to get RSR FPs when DCA opens. At least that way you can still ride RSR at some point that day without a really long wait (the FP line tends to go pretty quickly).

 

[riostoker]

PHXScuba - Oh wow... if Tuesday is a Halloween party day, that would be ideal. We'll be driving up from San Diego... could just plan on arriving in time to hit the Halloween Party that night and then still have 3 full days at the parks with a 3 day park hopper. I hadn't even considered that. OK... now you have me crossing my fingers that the Halloween party starts that early!!

figment_jii - sorry, forgot to mention kids' ages. They are 7, 11, and 13. The 11 and 13 year old would be totally fine with doing single rider lines on things. Not sure the 7 year old would go for that even though she is old enough. Might work though for one of us to take her to some of the little kid attractions while the older two go on single rider lines with the other parent occasionally.

We would definitely get to MM pre-rope drop if we choose to take advantage of MM. If the parks aren't opening until 10:00 anyway, it will be easy enough to get to rope drop 30+ minutes early whether MM or not.

Thanks for all the tips and ideas!! Keep them coming!