Help with upcoming trip (includes Oogies Bash) - Thanks!

[fenix]

Hello, I have a trip upcoming and have a lot of last minute questions & thoughts. I haven't been to Disneyland since Christmas 2019 so I feel like a rookie all over again. I appreciate any tips/suggestions.

1) From SNA airport, do they have shuttle type service to Paradise Pier? Unfortunately I read the Mickey shuttle has been stopped What's the best way to get to the hotel now? Not a huge fan of uber.
2) Does Earl's have any location? Popup? That was my breakfast goto every trip!
3) For Rise of the Resistance, it seems roughly an hour wait all day/every day. I read for the first experience, it's best to do standby to see the entire queue. Do you agree? I'll probably be doing a standby and LL for this one.
4) Not so thrilled about the changes to Fast Pass system, one ride per day etc. Overall does this seem to keep standby waits more tolerable though?
5) Best viewing spot for the Halloween parade? Is this running twice or just once? Same direction each time? Would like to find a nice balance of not waiting too long to see it (towards beginning of parade start?) but also having a nice ambiance/backdrop.
6) Is it safe to wait until late to do the Villain's Grove towards the very end of the night? Any tips here?
7) Treat trail - is this one big loop you do? I definitely want to see some of the characters, how much time does each take roughly? Trying to budget time efficiently. Don't want to spent an hour to see (walk past?) Mother Gothel, for example.
8) Definitely want to experience Monsters after Dark, it seems ride waits get pretty good during Oogies.
9) No fast pass for Cars without paying sucks, and the standby line seems always about 1-2 hours. Feel like my hand is about forced here to pay for a ride. That's a lot of time to dedicate to waiting for 1 experience if you don't.
10) Fantasmic second showing: I have a dining package at Blue Bayou, I'm imagining you can still choose between early/late show once you get there with your waiter. I want to see the Halloween fireworks by the castle, so I bet I have to Fantasmic after, not before. For the 2nd fantasmic showing, do you need to line up early to get a good spot in the reserved section. Typically in the past I was there an hour early for first show and still had people there before me. Never did the 2nd show.

I'll be in DCA the entire day of Oogies, so there will be time to experience a lot. Just trying to make good use of the night during Oogies.

I really appreciate any tips and suggestions you may have! THANK YOU!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Your thread has been moved to the Disneyland forum.

 

[sophy1996]

OBB both parades start from Paradise Pier. It takes a long time for the parade to reach the other end of the park. We were by Little Mermaid and the first parade didn’t come by for nearly a half-hour. And the second parade started late (we were at the start and it was like 10:20).

Treat trails are separate trails for each character. They seemed to get significantly shorter later in the evening.

RSR -we always use the Single Rider line.

Standby waits are not more tolerable. There are so many breakdowns that LL can get backed up. Yesterday at TSMM the standby wait was 85 minutes while the queue was barely out of the side building. The LL line stretched out along the sidewalk past Mr. Potato Head and took at least 20 minutes.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

1) Uber/Lyft is best. Taxi second best. You could also look into hiring a private car service.

2) No Earl’s right now.

3) I don’t think the RoTR queue is something you need to wait in purposely. It’s cool but you’re not missing much by choosing ILL. That line sometimes drops under an hour so I’d just keep an eye on it on the app.

4) Standby lines are the worst I’ve ever seen them personally. Genie+ has completely ruined the standby lines. Not sure why it was so much better with free fast pass and MaxPass were available to everyone. It’s a mystery. I hate Genie+ but it’s almost mandatory for the infrequent guest.

9) Yes, your hand is pretty much forced on RSR. I hate it. That said, if you don’t mind splitting up your party single rider can be much faster (and free). When I visited a week ago RSR was down from park opening until about 4 or 5pm. Brutal. That’s happening a lot lately so don’t count on RSR.

10) I am not sure regarding choosing your show. Does your BB reservation indicate which show it’s for? I don’t see a need to go an hour early unless you have a large party and/or have a very specific spot you want.

 

[fenix]

1) Uber/Lyft is best. Taxi second best. You could also look into hiring a private car service.

2) No Earl’s right now.

3) I don’t think the RoTR queue is something you need to wait in purposely. It’s cool but you’re not missing much by choosing ILL. That line sometimes drops under an hour so I’d just keep an eye on it on the app.

4) Standby lines are the worst I’ve ever seen them personally. Genie+ has completely ruined the standby lines. Not sure why it was so much better with free fast pass and MaxPass were available to everyone. It’s a mystery. I hate Genie+ but it’s almost mandatory for the infrequent guest.

9) Yes, your hand is pretty much forced on RSR. I hate it. That said, if you don’t mind splitting up your party single rider can be much faster (and free). When I visited a week ago RSR was down from park opening until about 4 or 5pm. Brutal. That’s happening a lot lately so don’t count on RSR.

10) I am not sure regarding choosing your show. Does your BB reservation indicate which show it’s for? I don’t see a need to go an hour early unless you have a large party and/or have a very specific spot you want.

This is so helpful thank you very much!
1) The Disneyland bus was all part of the experience for us, just a little less magical without it. My daughter still doesn't realize Disneyland is in CA lol. It's a magical place the bus took us too. Oh well.
2) That sucks about Earls, their breakfast sandwich was the perfect start to each morning. Is there a decent substitute on the way through DTD? Egg/Cheese/Meat on a roll/bagel?
3) Thanks for the tip on RoTR, I'll do it standby first, see how it goes and then decide if we're going to do it a second time with LL or wait again. That ride seems to have a steady but reasonable wait.
4) Yeah, I had the old system mastered, I'm really not too happy about the way this sounds on paper. I feel like such a park rookie again, just a step or two away from walking around with a map!
9) That's what I feared, single rider isn't going to work for us. Hopefully during Oogies we can sneak a ride in with a reasonable wait time and will be purchasing another.
10) Yes the reservation says for 2nd show, but every time we've done this package, the waiter usually asks which show we want. My understanding is the second show is much less crowded, but yes I usually like to be front row in the section, dead center. Hopefully weather permitting we get fireworks on Friday, and right after will make our way to Fantasmic queue. We've seen it many times, so not the end of the world. Just was curious.

I really appreciate the responses from you both!

 

[fenix]

OBB both parades start from Paradise Pier. It takes a long time for the parade to reach the other end of the park. We were by Little Mermaid and the first parade didn’t come by for nearly a half-hour. And the second parade started late (we were at the start and it was like 10:20).

Treat trails are separate trails for each character. They seemed to get significantly shorter later in the evening.

RSR -we always use the Single Rider line.

Standby waits are not more tolerable. There are so many breakdowns that LL can get backed up. Yesterday at TSMM the standby wait was 85 minutes while the queue was barely out of the side building. The LL line stretched out along the sidewalk past Mr. Potato Head and took at least 20 minutes.

Do you recommend seeing the parade near the beginning like that? Decent enough view/ambiance? Seems to makes sense to see it and get it over vs waiting towards the end for an hour for it to arrive.

 

[sophy1996]

Do you recommend seeing the parade near the beginning like that? Decent enough view/ambiance? Seems to makes sense to see it and get it over vs waiting towards the end for an hour for it to arrive.

We actually had a better view by Lttle Mermaid because people were sitting on the ground and we got 2d row at about 7:25. But we were there for 45 minutes so on reflection probably would have moved closer to PP so not waiting so long. People were standing by the start of the 2d parade so not nearly as good a view of the parade. But super interesting to see the floats coming from backstage (the performers knew they were onstage even though they hadn’t passed the gate yet and they were “on”).

We hadn’t intended to watch the parade twice but happened to be at PP at the right time so stopped and watched again.

 

[pharmama]

With regard to ROTR, last Monday (9/12) I waited until standby was posted at 60min and got in line (this was mid afternoon). I was off the ride in 55min so depending on when you count the "ride" starting I only waited about 40 min. I wouldn't say the standby queue is don't miss but once you're in the caves there are some mildly interesting parts (as well as ledges/seats...).