Help Me Make a Plan?

[katmigordon]

I have 2 days to do all of this - we will probably not be rope dropping - but will be staying until close, it will be over the weekend and will be December 12 & 13

Haunted Mansion
The Disney Railroad
Winnie the Pooh
Star Tours
small world
Tiki Room
Great moments w Mr Lincoln
Walt disney animatronic Show
Snow White
Pincho
Alice
Peter Pan
Rise of the Resistance
Indiana jones
royal theater beauty and the beast
royal theater tangled
Main Street Cinema
Penny Arcade
Magic shop
"Believe...In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular
Together Forever - A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Fortune Tellers
Donald's Duck Pond
The Dapper Dans
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
"Believe...In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular

And fantasmic but only if it's really different then then the one in disney world - which i can catch next year.

 

[irlandaise]

And fantasmic but only if it's really different then then the one in disney world - which i can catch next year.

Someone can correct me, but I think the storylines are somewhat different between the two shows. I haven't seen the WDW one in over a decade...

However, the presentation at DL is much more impressive.

 

[Pluto468]

Plans are so tricky because they often go awry if a ride is down or there's some kind of delay. This all depends on if you want to do all the rides in one day or spread it out, but it's one way to get it all done:

You can do all of your Fantasyland rides in one morning. Peter Pan is the only one that will have a half hour or so wait first thing.

So:
Peter Pan
Mr. Toad
Snow White
Pinochio
Alice
Small World

Snack break!

Take the train over to New Orleans Square and do:
Indy
Haunted Mansion
Winnie The Pooh
Rise

This would be a good time to do lunch or watch a show at Royal Theater.

Do you go back to the hotel for afternoon breaks? If so, you might be ready for one by this point. You could then go back in the evening for dinner and the fireworks.
~

Day 2 you could start out meandering down Main Street and do:

Great moments with Mr Lincoln
Walt disney animatronic Show
Main Street Cinema
Penny Arcade
Magic shop

Have lunch, then do Star Tours.
Tiki Room

Do any rides you missed yesterday or want to do again.
Royal Theater
Dapper Dans
Parade

Afternoon break?

Head back for evening shows again.

~


I've heard Fantasmic is better at Disneyland, so it would be good to fit that in if you can. You can watch the fireworks right after Fantasmic if you want to.

 

[LKing]

Haunted Mansion - This will be Haunted Mansion Holidays with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay when you are there
The Disney Railroad - Note that there is no ramp for ECVs at Main Street. There is a ramp at the other stations.
Great Moments w Mr Lincoln + Walt Disney animatronic show - These are both in the Opera House. They don't open until July 17. The schedule is currently unknown
Rise of the Resistance - This is identical to WDW
Main Street Cinema - Walk (or roll) in. No wait.
Penny Arcade - Are you referring to the Crystal Arcade which is shopping?
Magic shop - This is a very small and narrow shop. ECVs fit inside but it can be tight.
Together Forever - A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular - Will not be showing when you are there
Fortune Tellers - There are two fortune tellers, Esmerelda the Fortune Teller at the entrance to Candy Palace on Main Street and The Tall Tales of Fortune Red which is in a small alcove in NOS, next to Royal Street Veranda dining. You can do them for free with the Play Disney app.
Donald's Duck Pond - This area can be very crowded with small children. It isn't the easiest to get around in an ECV.

 

[wench]

This list might be a little ambitious for 2 days in mid December if you’re not very familiar with the park. But you can probably get it all done. If you were rope dropping you’d have an even better chance because you can get so much done in that first couple hours. I’d highly recommend it. It would also help if you avoid long table service dining & just use mobile order for quick service locations.

It is to your advantage that some of these will only take a couple minutes to experience. The fortune tellers for example. And Donald’s Duck Pond is cute, but isn’t really much of anything to do. The Penny Arcade has dwindled over the years & there are really just a few machines left to experience right inside the entrance. The Magic Shop & Main Street Cinema will also be quick.

 

[katmigordon]

This list might be a little ambitious for 2 days in mid December if you’re not very familiar with the park. But you can probably get it all done. If you were rope dropping you’d have an even better chance because you can get so much done in that first couple hours. I’d highly recommend it. It would also help if you avoid long table service dining & just use mobile order for quick service locations.

It is to your advantage that some of these will only take a couple minutes to experience. The fortune tellers for example. And Donald’s Duck Pond is cute, but isn’t really much of anything to do. The Penny Arcade has dwindled over the years & there are really just a few machines left to experience right inside the entrance. The Magic Shop & Main Street Cinema will also be quick.

Will investing in lightning lane help? We can do that. Also, we never had any issues doing magic kingdom in 2 days - is this going to be that different?

 

[katmigordon]

Oh and though I mention maybe not doing rope job the latest I see us getting into the park is like 9, we wont be taking a mid day break, breakfast is always going to qs, some lunch is qs but yeah most dinners are ts - but we'll be there till they kick us out.

 

[Pluto468]

Will investing in lightning lane help? We can do that. Also, we never had any issues doing magic kingdom in 2 days - is this going to be that different?

Yes, lightning lane will help for sure.

 

[wench]

Will investing in lightning lane help? We can do that. Also, we never had any issues doing magic kingdom in 2 days - is this going to be that different?

Lightening Lane will always help. Although only 4 of the attractions on your list are on the multi pass. But Indy & Haunted Mansion will probably be crazy without it.

You can absolutely do DL in 2 days. But sometimes it gets insanely packed & holiday season is very popular there. You can just never tell how busy they’ll let the parks get on any given day with the reservation system. I would predict the 12th to be the busier day of the 2 since single day ticket prices are a little less that day.

 

[OlliePop27]

Will investing in lightning lane help? We can do that. Also, we never had any issues doing magic kingdom in 2 days - is this going to be that different?

Yes, LLMP will help and DL has a lot more rides even than MK has. 2 days just for DL without LLMP will be difficult, especially if not arriving in the park until after 9:00. As others have mentioned if you can get in by 8:00 and take a short afternoon break, that will actually allow you to accomplish more. The first 1-2 hours in the morning at DL are VERY quiet, much more so than at WDW.

 

[LKing]

LLMP will help with the following from your list:

Haunted Mansion
Star Tours
Small World
Indiana Jones

 

[katmigordon]

Yes, LLMP will help and DL has a lot more rides even than MK has. 2 days just for DL without LLMP will be difficult, especially if not arriving in the park until after 9:00. As others have mentioned if you can get in by 8:00 and take a short afternoon break, that will actually allow you to accomplish more. The first 1-2 hours in the morning at DL are VERY quiet, much more so than at WDW.

We're just not morning people so 9 is early for us - and afternoon breaks don't do anything to help even if I did manage to take a nap - I'd just end up sleeping through til morning. Once I'm asleep - I'm gone for at least 8 hours.

 

[OlliePop27]

We're just not morning people so 9 is early for us - and afternoon breaks don't do anything to help even if I did manage to take a nap - I'd just end up sleeping through til morning. Once I'm asleep - I'm gone for at least 8 hours.

Sounds great, do what works for you! No need to justify it to a stranger on the internet.

Afternoon break does not necessarily equal nap. There's ways to take a break without sleeping. Eating, going to a pool, sitting in the shade, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[AprilsZoo]

Will investing in lightning lane help? We can do that. Also, we never had any issues doing magic kingdom in 2 days - is this going to be that different?

It is different, definitely. There are a few big rides that don’t exist at MK— I saw IJ on your list… but there’s also the Matterhorn which has two different tracks inside. If you want to ride both, make sure you remember which side you rode already and ask the CM for the other side).

Some rides are in different places— for example Pooh is in Critter Country not Fantasyland. (If you get the front row, look up and behind the ride car, right as you exit the heffalumps and woozles room, & enter the “Honey Heaven” scene. You may recognize a few of the original occupants of the building that are still hanging around. )

LL will help some, but I have found that how much it helps can really depend on a lot of factors. There are several threads here that detail how to use LL to the greatest benefit. Those are 100% worth reading, and even asking questions. The strategies are not something CMs in the park will typically share with you. (Not to say they stretch or break the rules… it’s just strategies /tricks/hacks that frequent guests have figured out works.)

LL at Disneyland includes photopass too, so it could be worth it for that alone. (Speaking of… if you want your ride photo, be sure to snap a picture of the photopass number as you leave the ride— you will have to add the photos into the app manually. If you miss seeing the picture, snap a selfie of your party in front of the ride, then later, CMs can find it based on the time and your clothes.)

The biggest difference between DL and MK is the sheer volume of people. It’s always packed! That’s not to say it’s impossible… but with so many people (and a lot of bottlenecks) getting from A to B can take longer. There are less used paths in some instances, but the squeeze going between NOS and CC is one example of a bottleneck that there’s no way around.

Another difference— there’s a walkthrough story of Sleeping Beauty inside the castle. It has stairs, but they aren’t super steep and there’s sturdy handrails throughout. There’s plenty of levels in between short runs of steps where you look at the scenes. The dioramas inside are next level. (I may be a little biased, though …) Be sure to pause at least 10-15 seconds at each point to look for the effects in most of the scenes— shadows, sound fx, movement, morphing— it’s really very cool, and imo, it should be seen at least once by all visitors.

Park hoppers are great at DLR, because the distance between the entry gates is around the length of a football field… maybe just slightly more. But it means you can *literally* hop across to DCA in <5 minutes.

You can find the Dapper Dan’s schedule in the Disneyland* app. The schedule changes slightly sometimes, but the first performance is usually at about 11 am and the final performance is about 5 pm. They tend to tuck themselves into the nooks and “alleys” along Main Street. Ask one of the MS CMs where they’ll be… they should be able to find out for you, if they don’t already know.

*(quick note: DL does not use MDE. You will need to pair your MB+ to the DL app if you are planning to use one you already own. Also at DL you can switch users on a MB+ as long as it hasn’t been assigned and tapped for entry *on a current ticket*. So you can’t use it day 1 and let DH use it on day 2. Once someone taps into the park with it, then it is theirs for the rest of the trip.)

Hope this helps! DL & CA are awesome parks! WDW/MK have a lot going for them, and many unique experiences, for sure. But DLR will always be my favorite, I think. Although I haven’t made it to the international parks yet— I am dying to go to DisneySea!— so I may change my mind someday. Until then, I’m a DL gal, thru & thru!

Have a terrific trip!

 

[LKing]

@AprilsZoo, OP shared in another thread that they will be in a wheelchair or ECV with limited mobility. https://www.disboards.com/threads/worried-about-doing-disneyland-disabled.3968723/