How does our first morning sound? Help needed!

[jacobsmommy]

Since Ridemax hasn't added any dates in awhile, I've kind of had to go on my own for now. It'll be me, dh, 6yo ds, and 2yo dd. How does this sound for our first morning (Wednesday, June 23rd):

There before rope drop (7:30 okay for 8:00 opening?)
Ride Nemo Subs first
get Buzz FP and Space Mountan child swap for me and ds
Ride Autopia
Ride Buzz
Get in line for Princess Fantasy Faire (what time should we be able to do this? opens at 9:00)
While dh and dd wait, ds and I can go use Space child swap, and get another Buzz FP
Minnie's Breakfast reservion at 9:40

After breakfast, head to DCA

Get Soarin FP
Ride Monsters Inc
see TT w/crush
Animation Academy
Muppetvision
use Soarin FP (if ready)

Take our break for the afternoon

How does this sound??

 

[letitsnow]

you probably won't needs a fp for buzz..there is usually no line there in the morning. if anything not more than a 5-10 minute wait. If you get a fp for buzz you can't get another one for an hour after. If anything I'd get a fp for space mountain if you are planning on riding that.

usually when we get there the hubby and the kids head to space mountain, ride it and get a FP to ride it later in the day. Then they head to buzz and ride it.

 

[jacobsmommy]

I was just getting the two sets of Buzz FP for later on that evening. We plan on taking a break after DCA and then doing the Pixar Parade before heading back to DL. I thought we'd use the Buzz FP, maybe ride POTC and Haunted Mansion, eat dinner, and wait for a fireworks spot.

 

[stevejanelle]

Since Ridemax hasn't added any dates in awhile, I've kind of had to go on my own for now. It'll be me, dh, 6yo ds, and 2yo dd. How does this sound for our first morning (Wednesday, June 23rd):

There before rope drop (7:30 okay for 8:00 opening?)
Ride Nemo Subs first
get Buzz FP and Space Mountan child swap for me and ds
Ride Autopia
Ride Buzz
Get in line for Princess Fantasy Faire (what time should we be able to do this? opens at 9:00)
While dh and dd wait, ds and I can go use Space child swap, and get another Buzz FP
Minnie's Breakfast reservion at 9:40

After breakfast, head to DCA

Get Soarin FP
Ride Monsters Inc
see TT w/crush
Animation Academy
Muppetvision
use Soarin FP (if ready)

Take our break for the afternoon

How does this sound??

Be aware that you can't get a FP until the regular park hours start at 8am.

 

[chrissiecutie]

I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do all that in one hour and then get to the Princess Faire by 9am. It always takes longer then you think it will so IMO you may want to prioritize your morning more to ensure that you hit the "musts" on your list.

For example, if the Princess Faire is a must and you want to do it first thing in the morning, then you may have to skip Autotopia or something...Remember that the Princess Faire is a bit of a walk from the farthest reaches of Tomorrowland, ie. Space Mt. area. Plus the kiddos may want to look in the shops or ride something twice- this happened to me with DS. He wanted to ride Pirates 3 times in a row, which we did.

Nemo has a pretty long line even 1st thing in the morning and most likely this will eat up a ton of your MM morning. By the time you are done here you may realistically only have time to grab a FP and head over to Princess Faire- if that's your priority.

Anyways, it sounds like a great plan I'm just concerned that you won't have time to do it all??

 

[jacobsmommy]

I guess we could do this: Nemo subs right away, get Autopia FP, ride Buzz, get Space child swap, get in line for PFF, ds and I duck out of line to do Space and get a Buzz FP for later on our way back to meet them. Then we'll have two sets of FP for when we return to DL that evening. Would that work better? We could always still ride Autopia if there's time, but at least we'd have a FP for later if not. What time should we line up for PFF? Where is it exactly? I remember seeing it on our trip three years ago, but we only had our ds then, so we didn't pay much attention to it.

It's not a MM day, but we can get there closer to 7:00 if needed to be at the beginning of the line for Nemo. My dd is up by 7:00 central time, so we may end up being up by 5:00 every morning!

 

[letthembelittle]

I am just not sure you will be able to get anything done in the morning if you also want a short line for PFF, when we were there in April I "walked with purpose" staight to the PFF at park opening to get in line and it still took us almost exactly an hour to make it through the meet and greet line.

 

[jacobsmommy]

Reallly? Maybe we should rethink Ariel's Grotto-even if the only thing I like on their menu is on the kid's menu...

 

[chrissiecutie]

I guess we could do this: Nemo subs right away, get Autopia FP, ride Buzz, get Space child swap, get in line for PFF, ds and I duck out of line to do Space and get a Buzz FP for later on our way back to meet them. Then we'll have two sets of FP for when we return to DL that evening. Would that work better? We could always still ride Autopia if there's time, but at least we'd have a FP for later if not. What time should we line up for PFF? Where is it exactly? I remember seeing it on our trip three years ago, but we only had our ds then, so we didn't pay much attention to it.

It's not a MM day, but we can get there closer to 7:00 if needed to be at the beginning of the line for Nemo. My dd is up by 7:00 central time, so we may end up being up by 5:00 every morning!

Ok....I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this really isn't going to work time wise. For some reason I thought you said you had MM for this day (oops!) and even then it would have been pushing it. Also, Autotopia and Space Mtn are at the far end corner of Tomorrowland and Buzz is near the enterance. It just doesn't make any sense to keep criss crossing back and forth- that's a big time sucker right there!

Princess Faire is off to the side and up the hill closer to the enterance of Toontown- I think! It's nowhere near Tomorrowland. I have a boy so we've never done it but it's super popular and like another PP said, takes at least an hour. It's a ways off from the area you are planning on starting your day. Quite honestly, you will need to choose which you would rather do.

How many days do you have total in the parks? In June, it's alot busier so you also need to accomodate for the summer crowds.

I would suggest heading straight to Princess Faire by way of Tomorrowland and grabbing a FP for either Autotopia or Space Mtn, most likely Autotopia since you can do rider swap for Space Mtn.

In regards to Buzz, I highly recommend grabbing FP's for this ride towards the end of the day. It's near the enterance to Tomorrowland so you don't have to venture way back in order to get the FP's, thus saving you time. Once you grab a FP for Buzz you can kill time by riding on Star Tours, which is directly across from Buzz or heading back to Space Mtn and doing the rider swap. Plus Buzz is super cool at night!

If you have more then one day in the parks, then I suggest doing Nemo first for another day. You could also try it towards park closing time, which might be pretty cool to see it at nighttime vs. day.

If you only have the one day, then you will need to decide which is more important. Keep in mind that rides/attractions clear out a bit during parades and shows so this can help with your overall timing.

You may also want to rethink your PS res time, 9:40 I think you said?? Even if you make it to Princess Faire by 9am, you won't be able to make it to your 9:40 PS unless you skip most of the Princess Faire- which is just plain silly!

Another thing to think about, and something I've never done but heard you CAN do...is to make a PS for before the park officially opens. I think you can do it at WDW, so maybe you can do it at DLR?? It would be awesome to have your breakfast before the crowds arrive and then you can be at your first ride/attraction before folks have even made it through the gates. Which will save you lots of time. Someone help me here...can you do this at DLR??

 

[love dland]

Just a thought... Has your DD ever been around any characters? I have taken my DD every year since she was 2 for an annual mother/dtr trip to DL, she would not get near a character, even a princess until she was 6! If you are going to be there longer than 1 day, you may want to see how she interacts with the characters before you invest the time in PFF , because it truly is an investment, unless you are the first person line and to do that you will be there for at least an hour, IMO... When my DD was 7, we did the whole hair and face painting there and then pictures with princessess, truly worth it and a memory we will not forget!! Well worth the Disney magic and the $$ if your DD likes the characters.....

 

[jacobsmommy]

We have three and a half days in the parks. I was planning on doing one regular morning at DL, one MM at DL, and then one regular morning at DCA. Would it be possible to go into DL at park opening (usually two hours before DCA) and do Nemo then? Then we could get FP for something and head back out to park opening at DCA?

My dd has been to WDW twice and loved the characters. She is so ready to meet the princesses (she mentions it at least once a day). How is the line at PFF set up? If we line up at park opening for PFF, could we seperate to ride a ride and still find each other? I thought maybe dh could take the kids on Buzz while I wait or something.

Maybe I could push back the time of our reservation. I think the first seating at DL isn't as early as it is at WDW. I might be wrong about that though...

 

[PHXscuba]

The biggest problem with riding the Nemo subs first is that it eats up a big part of your "magical" first hour. We did this last October on a MM with even fewer crowds than a normal day and still regretted it.

We were there at rope drop and "walked with purpose" straight to the ride, which already had a 15-20 minute line of people who'd ran there ahead of us. By the time we got to the front, loaded, rode the subs (a long ride by Disney standards), unloaded, and exited, DH and my two older kids had just enough time to beat the rush of incoming regular rope drop to Space Mountain.

So it really took our whole first hour. And this was on a moderate crowd day during a MM! I had been advised against this plan on the DIS and thought I knew better. Forgive me DIS, for I have sinned.

If it were me on my first morning at DLR with smaller kids, I'd go to Fantasyland before the lines get long. I'm not sure there is a good "answer" for the subs (during parade? last thing at night?), but I don't think they're worth the whole first hour of ANY day!

PHXscuba

 

[chrissiecutie]

We have three and a half days in the parks. I was planning on doing one regular morning at DL, one MM at DL, and then one regular morning at DCA. Would it be possible to go into DL at park opening (usually two hours before DCA) and do Nemo then? Then we could get FP for something and head back out to park opening at DCA?

My dd has been to WDW twice and loved the characters. She is so ready to meet the princesses (she mentions it at least once a day). How is the line at PFF set up? If we line up at park opening for PFF, could we seperate to ride a ride and still find each other? I thought maybe dh could take the kids on Buzz while I wait or something.

Ok, so here's what I would suggest...

For your one regular day at DL, I would head straight to the PFF so your DD can visit her princessess- for girls, it's totally worth it!

However your DS may be bored and a little irrated to be surrounded by all the girly stuff, I know mine would be. Maybe you could split up? You take DD to the PFF and DH take DS, maybe on Buzz and Autotopia? Frankly, these 2 rides aren't huge draws for girls your daughter's age (2, right?) and if you don't NEED to ride these 2 rides, then I would just plan on splitting up for an hour or so and then meeting back up when done.

For your MM day, don't waste it on PFF. We always use our MM day to hit the "big ticket" rides that will be swamped for most of the day after MM is over. Prior to having my son, this meant the mountains- Space, Splash, BTMM, etc. Now with DS, this means Fantasyland. Just choose to use it on what your family wants to see most. Nemo is a MM ride, so maybe hit Nemo first then whatever else your family wants to do. Even if you are able to get to Fantasyland by the official opening time (so Nemo then straight to Fantasyland) you'll still be there before folks who didn't have MM, since they are just entering and walking down Main St and you've already ridden Nemo and are in Fantasyland. Or Tomorrowland...whatever you priority is.

With 2 young kids, you MUST do Fantasyland, you just MUST! This land gets hosed up worse then any other IMO, especially mid day- ugh! The rides are super short but the lines/ques are super long and do NOT move quickly. So plan on hitting it either 1st thing or last thing. It's pretty awesome at night!

As far as doing Nemo at park opening, grabbing a FP and then heading to DCA- you can easily do this. However park opening and the next hour or 2 after is usually one of the least busy times of the day at DL. I would seriously recommend staying in DL until at least lunchtime before heading over to DCA.

I think what's most important is to take advantage of the mornings at DL. So many people sleep in (cuz, hey! they are on vacation!) and don't arrive until 11ish, so use this valuable time to your advantage! DCA also clears out alot in the evenings since it's been my experience that most folks get in at park open, usually around 9 or 10am and then leave by 5 or 6pm to go to DL for the nightime shows. Going against the crowds will really save you time and allow you to do and see more. Maybe stay in DL until 5 or 6 and then head to DCA??

 

[love dland]

If it is set up as it has been in the past, it is easily accessible to the outside and you could easily get your party back together if the rest went to do something else and met you.
I agree about Nemo, uses up all of the MM hour, do Fantasyland during your MM time, if you do Peter Pan first you will have enough time to ride some things twice depending on what your kids enjoy. Your DS would probably like the Matterhorn.

 

[jacobsmommy]

We are doing Fantasyland on our second day-MM. I have no problem getting in the PFF line while dh takes the kids on a ride or two-as long as that is allowed. I just don't know if our 2yo can wait in an hour long line.... I also have no problem missing out on the Nemo subs. I rode them last time (the summer they opened-yikes! what a swarm of people trying to run me (a pregnant lady with a stroller) over!) Maybe I could head to PFF while dh and kids do Nemo and Buzz. They could get FP for Autopia and child swap pass for Space on the way back to me. I could also try to push our breakfast back to 10:00 and we could use up the FP and child swap later on in the day. Would that work?

 

[chrissiecutie]

The biggest problem with riding the Nemo subs first is that it eats up a big part of your "magical" first hour. We did this last October on a MM with even fewer crowds than a normal day and still regretted it.

We were there at rope drop and "walked with purpose" straight to the ride, which already had a 15-20 minute line of people who'd ran there ahead of us. By the time we got to the front, loaded, rode the subs (a long ride by Disney standards), unloaded, and exited, DH and my two older kids had just enough time to beat the rush of incoming regular rope drop to Space Mountain.

So it really took our whole first hour. And this was on a moderate crowd day during a MM! I had been advised against this plan on the DIS and thought I knew better. Forgive me DIS, for I have sinned.

If it were me on my first morning at DLR with smaller kids, I'd go to Fantasyland before the lines get long. I'm not sure there is a good "answer" for the subs (during parade? last thing at night?), but I don't think they're worth the whole first hour of ANY day!

PHXscuba

I'm with you there! I wouldn't ever waste a MM on Nemo, since it will take that whole MM hour. Plus I have a 5 year old son and our priority is Fantasyland. We've missed Nemo that last few times around because I didn't feel the line was worth it but I'm going to try and hit it this time, maybe in the evening? DS really wants to ride it but I just don't see the point in doing 1 ride (Nemo) vs. all the Fantasyland MM rides...

 

[love dland]

I am not sure if you mean to line up for PFF during MM, I don't think that you can get that far back in the park during MM??

 

[chrissiecutie]

I am not sure if you mean to line up for PFF during MM, I don't think that you can get that far back in the park during MM??

I think you can, you just can't get in to PFF. Last time I was there we did Fantasyland with our MM, then headed over to Tootown to be there right at opening. Since PFF is so close to Toontown, I'm pretty sure you can get back there- I know we did! We were sitting outside the Toontown gates and saw folks starting to line up for PFF.

 

[jacobsmommy]

I was planning on doing PFF on a non MM morning-sorry for the confusion. We are planning on doing Fantasyland on our MM morning and then heading to Toontown at it's opening that same day. We will have a few hours in the parks on that Tuesday, but it's supposed to be oober busy since it's the last non black out day for awhile. I guess that would be a horrible afternoon to try PFF...

 

[love dland]

I think you can, you just can't get in to PFF. Last time I was there we did Fantasyland with our MM, then headed over to Tootown to be there right at opening. Since PFF is so close to Toontown, I'm pretty sure you can get back there- I know we did! We were sitting outside the Toontown gates and saw folks starting to line up for PFF.

I guess I have always gone the other way to Indy/Splash

I didn't do NEMO for two years and I have to say I was disappointed when we did finally go. I am glad my DD doesn't care about it now that we have done it, because it takes up so much time.....