Help! What should I do first?

[Nermel9]

Hi everyone!

So I'll be going to Disneyland for the first time in less than 2 weeks, and I was wondering if you could help me with a strategy for the mornings in both parks.

My first day in Disneyland will be a Sunday, the park opens at 8. So I should be in line to get in at least by 7:30 right? Once I get in, what's the first thing I should do? I know a lot of people run to Fantasyland first for Peter Pan, right? I want to ride Peter Pan, but maybe not the first day, since I've done it so many times in WDW, I want to do something that's only in Disneyland. Should I do Indiana Jones, does that normally have a long wait time? Hyperspace Mountain? The Matterhorn? Alice in Wonderland? And even though I'm sure I will be rushing to get on that first ride, I also kind of want to walk slowly down Main Street to take it all in, you know? If I'm not running to Fantasyland, is there really any need to really make sure I get to my first ride THAT fast?

As far as DCA goes, our first morning there will be a Tuesday, when the park opens at 9. What's the best strategy for the morning at DCA? My priority of course is the same as everyone else's, RSR. I just don't know if I should get a FP for it, or just go straight to the standby line? I also would like to do Soarin' too at some point that morning, and Toy Story Mania. I just don't know the order to do things in this park! Oh, and I also want to get an FP for World of Color, so when should I fit that in?

Sorry for all of the questions, lol, Disneyland is confusing to me, there's so much to remember! Any help you guys can give me is greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Girimama33]

For DL, I would head to Alice and Matterhorn first in order to get those out of the way. Indy has FP, so you should ride that using one of those. I would grab one for Hyperspace Mtn first, and then head over to the Matterhorn.

In DCA, I prefer to head straight to TSMM first. Then ride CA Screamin if you want. After that, I would get a RSR FP. Since Soarin' is still going over California, it should not be too difficult to grab a FP after your RSR return time (or two hours later). Get your WOC FP when you are in the GRR area.
Have fun.

 

[kly]

For DL, I would head to Alice and Matterhorn first in order to get those out of the way. Indy has FP, so you should ride that using one of those. I would grab one for Hyperspace Mtn first, and then head over to the Matterhorn.

In DCA, I prefer to head straight to TSMM first. Then ride CA Screamin if you want. After that, I would get a RSR FP. Since Soarin' is still going over California, it should not be too difficult to grab a FP after your RSR return time (or two hours later). Get your WOC FP when you are in the GRR area.
Have fun.

So I can get another FP 2 hours later even if my return is even later? WOC FP do not count towards this limit?

 

[Girimama33]

So I can get another FP 2 hours later even if my return is even later? WOC FP do not count towards this limit?

Correct. The bottom of the FP will tell you when you can get a new one. The rule is either after the return time window opens, or after 2 hours...whichever comes first. The only time this doesn't work is if you have a return time for later and want to pull a FP for the same ride...you can only get one for the same ride after the return time window opens on your first FP. Hope that makes sense...and yes...WOC and M&G FP's will be disconnected from the ride FP's.

 

[kly]

Correct. The bottom of the FP will tell you when you can get a new one. The rule is either after the return time window opens, or after 2 hours...whichever comes first. The only time this doesn't work is if you have a return time for later and want to pull a FP for the same ride...you can only get one for the same ride after the return time window opens on your first FP. Hope that makes sense...and yes...WOC and M&G FP's will be disconnected from the ride FP's.

Thanks!

 

[avalon451]

For DL, I'd still ride PP first; I haven't been to WDW, but I understand it's better than the one there... one of my favorites. I'd recommend doing the Fantasyland thing first, just because those are some of the original "Walt" designed rides, and that's kind of cool and magical. A good ride order is PP, Alice, Matterhorn, Dumbo, Toad, Teacups, Snow White, and Pinocchio. If you have a FastPass runner, you can send them to go get a FP right off the bat for Hyperspace, Indy, BTMRR, or Splash (I guess I'd go with one of the first three; they're closer). I would try to get the rides done first that don't have FP.

I agree with the above poster that for DCA, TSMM is a good bet for your first ride, because it builds up quickly. I like the idea of grabbing a FP for RSR and then doing Soarin'.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[kristabelle13]

If you're solo, don't waste a FP on Indy a their single rider line is awesome. you skip the queue a bit, but get a similar experience to get the gist.

 

[Nermel9]

For DL, I would head to Alice and Matterhorn first in order to get those out of the way. Indy has FP, so you should ride that using one of those. I would grab one for Hyperspace Mtn first, and then head over to the Matterhorn.

In DCA, I prefer to head straight to TSMM first. Then ride CA Screamin if you want. After that, I would get a RSR FP. Since Soarin' is still going over California, it should not be too difficult to grab a FP after your RSR return time (or two hours later). Get your WOC FP when you are in the GRR area.
Have fun.

For DL, I'd still ride PP first; I haven't been to WDW, but I understand it's better than the one there... one of my favorites. I'd recommend doing the Fantasyland thing first, just because those are some of the original "Walt" designed rides, and that's kind of cool and magical. A good ride order is PP, Alice, Matterhorn, Dumbo, Toad, Teacups, Snow White, and Pinocchio. If you have a FastPass runner, you can send them to go get a FP right off the bat for Hyperspace, Indy, BTMRR, or Splash (I guess I'd go with one of the first three; they're closer). I would try to get the rides done first that don't have FP.

I agree with the above poster that for DCA, TSMM is a good bet for your first ride, because it builds up quickly. I like the idea of grabbing a FP for RSR and then doing Soarin'.

Hope you have a great time!

If you're solo, don't waste a FP on Indy a their single rider line is awesome. you skip the queue a bit, but get a similar experience to get the gist.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

It's weird that you guys say to do TSMM first at DCA, I always assumed RSR was the very first thing everyone did there! I didn't think TSMM was a big deal the way it is at WDW so that's good to know!

I definitely want to ride PP, it just doesn't have to be on the first day, I think our 2nd Disneyland morning I will go right to PP. I want to concentrate more on the non-WDW rides first, so I'm thinking I'll do Alice or the Matterhorn first then grab some FP's for other things (I guess I should get Hyperspace Mountain first, before Indy? Then once I can get another, I'll get one for Indy?) I don't really have a runner, it's just me and my husband, and I don't know my way around Disneyland the way I do WDW so I'm afraid of us being separated until I at least know where I am, haha!

Do FP's for Hyperspace Mountain and Indy usually run out? Like what if I wanted an FP for later in the day, what time should I try to get one? I was planning on hopping over to DCA sometime in afternoon to check out the Food and Wine festival.

Thanks again, I'm SO excited! 11 more days!!!

 

[agamble]

LOL! I think RSR is what many people do first. But those in the know, know that it is the best time to ride Toy Story without a wait. And RSR has FP and single rider, which Toy Story does not.

I skip Peter Pan all the time. We love the ride, but the wait is long within minutes of the park opening. So, unless you're the first one on, it really isn't the best time to get in line. I like to ride Alice first. Personally I would go straight to Alice. Don't go through the castle, go around it between the Matterhorn and Fantasyland. After Alice, ride the Matterhorn. Then I would consider what ride to get a FP for first. Of course you could get a FP for Space first, but that is a LONG walk and would mean you'd miss out on the first ten minutes of ride time. The FP isn't going anywhere. If you plan to ride Pinochio and Snow White it is a good time to ride those. The lines won't be long for them. You'll basically be in and out of each ride in 5 minutes.

 

[taniahappy]

If you plan to stay until the park closes I would do Fantasyland rides very late at night - there is something about it that we just love!

 

[BriannaRuth]

Definitely do TSMM first in DCA! Without FPs the line for that builds quickly to over an hour and never goes away. At least you can get FPs for RSR.