HELP! WDW planner needs touring advice for DL and DCA...

[WDW4us2006]

We will be at the DLR for three days next month midweek with a 2 day Park hopper. We are a family of 4: me, hubby, teen boy, teen girl. We are staying at the DLR and plan to do DL with our early entry on a Wednesday, and DCA the next morning. I bought the hopper option, since the parks are so close, I wanted to have the freedom to change me mind, especially with teenagers!

My question is: what's the best way to "attack" each park in the morning? I could do the Magic Kingdom with my eyes closed and my fast pass strategy, but I am clueless about these other parks, despite my research. Assume we want to to all of the major rides.

I know it will be very crowded, so I am worried about being one of the clueless tourists I always take pity on in WDW!!

I woudl love to know how all of you tour these parks. Thanks!!

 

[DangerMouse]

The first thing you need to do is look at Hydroguy's Tips thread found on the first page of this forum. Specifically the "DLR for WDW Vets" will be helpful.

Second thing you need to know is that there is no EE on Wednesdays at DLR. Your EE days are Mon, Tues, Thurs and Sat.

Hopefully Hydro's tips will fill in the rest for you! Have fun!

 

[HydroGuy]

We will be at the DLR for three days next month midweek with a 2 day Park hopper. We are a family of 4: me, hubby, teen boy, teen girl. We are staying at the DLR and plan to do DL with our early entry on a Wednesday, and DCA the next morning. I bought the hopper option, since the parks are so close, I wanted to have the freedom to change me mind, especially with teenagers!

My question is: what's the best way to "attack" each park in the morning? I could do the Magic Kingdom with my eyes closed and my fast pass strategy, but I am clueless about these other parks, despite my research. Assume we want to to all of the major rides.

I know it will be very crowded, so I am worried about being one of the clueless tourists I always take pity on in WDW!!

I woudl love to know how all of you tour these parks. Thanks!!

Here is a link to the "DLR Guide for WDW Vets": www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599. Lots of other tips can be found in my signature line.

Here are some quick tips based on your post:

1. It is much easier to park hop at DLR. In order to hit the shows and rides we want, and to maximize park hours, we usually hop every single day at least once and sometimes two or three times. Read the DLR Guide link above for more "touring philosophy".

2. FP works similarly at DLR but it has some kinks that differ from WDW that you will want to understand. Read this for more info: "Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132

3. The mix of visitors at DLR differs from WDW in that there are many more locals. This influences touring strategies even more than WDW. See "Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

4. Absolutely not to be missed for a WDW vet and DLR first timer:

o Aladdin show at DCA

o Remember Dreams Come True fireworks/special effects/laser show (plan to see it from the hub early in your trip (it was designed to be viewed from the hub) - see "HydroGuy's Fireworks Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199851

o Indiana Jones Adventure

o POTC (much better than MK)

o Matterhorn

o Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

 

[Hound 109]

I would add the following "not to be missed" rides for a WDW vet (unless your family ONLY likes monster rides like SM):

- Alice in Wonderland
- Mr. Toad
- Pinocchio
- It's a Small World (much prettier than WDW)
- Storybookland Canal Ride
- Roger Rabbit
- Jedi Training Academy (not a ride & i heard they might start offering this in WDW full time)
- Tiki Room (much better than WDW)
- Griz Rapids in DCA. (much better than Kali at AK)

& if you have little ones:

- The Bugs Life themed collection of rides in DCA
- The Redwood Trail themed romp around area in DCA - good for ages up to about 10.

(Print & read the links that HydroGuy suggests)

Have fun.

hound

 

[WDW4us2006]

You guys are awesome! Hydroguy: I have printed off most of your links and will be hunkering down to read them tonight! I'm sure I will have more questions. I guess I was just wondering if there was a specific "order" of things to do for EE and the hours following it. I'm sure I will find the answers somewhere in these pages. Thanks so much!!

 

[HydroGuy]

You guys are awesome! Hydroguy: I have printed off most of your links and will be hunkering down to read them tonight! I'm sure I will have more questions. I guess I was just wondering if there was a specific "order" of things to do for EE and the hours following it. I'm sure I will find the answers somewhere in these pages. Thanks so much!!

FWIW, when I trekked out to WDW last year for the first time I too was uncomfortable with my knowledge of how lines build at rides there. I subscribed to RideMax - www.ridemax.com - and that really helped me get a feeling for the lines. We never followed a RideMax itinerary, but between that, the UOG and TGM I had a good enough feel of what to do first that everything worked out using seat-of-the-pants decisions influenced by my DLR knowledge.

So, you may want to spend the $15 for a RideMax DLR subscription, because it will give you hard numbers for wait times. Test driving different scenarios gives you a feel for how much is too much at DLR.

In general your WDW knowledge will come in handy. The big differences between MK and DL is that DL has more headliner-type rides and 30% more rides overall. In addition to SM, BTMRR, Splash, POTC and HM, DL has IJA and Matterhorn. While BTMRR is one of the "big three" at MK (BTMRR, SM, and Splash), it tends to be less popular at DL because there are so many other headliners. So getting FPs for BTMRR is easier at DL, and you hardly ever see a line for BTMRR at DL more than 30 minutes while at MK 60 minute lines are common.

The big three rides at DL, IMO, are SM, Splash and IJA. BTMRR is more along the lines of HM. A headliner to be sure, but a second level headliner.

For EE, the two most important rides to do first are PP and Dumbo. Unlike MK, none of the DL Fantasyland rides have FP, so you have to hit these first or the lines will be huge. The two next most important are Matterhorn and Alice.

However, if you have more than one EE day you should use at least one to ride the Nemo Subs as that is open during EE.

 

[Hound 109]

..... I guess I was just wondering if there was a specific "order" of things to do for EE and the hours following it. I'm sure I will find the answers somewhere in these pages. Thanks so much!!

Here is a link of my experience with EE. You should still consider getting ridemax, but sometimes it's helpful to see how others have have enjoyed it.

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392671

(Note: On this trip, i only had one day EE & it was 2 mos. before Nemo opened up)



Also, if you have a children between 5 & 12, consider Jedi Training Academy. The following link describes our experience with JTA.

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1478699


Good luck.