How does this plan look? And a Park Hopper Question...

[musicmcb]

We arrive on a Thursday in October and have 3 day park hopper passes. This is my husband's first trip to DL (we honeymooned in WDW 28 years ago!) and we are huge Star Wars fans. I've been to DL with large groups of high school kids 4 times over the past 20 years. I've spent an obsessive amount of time reading, listening and watching strategies, tips and tricks for optimizing our time at the parks. I appreciate all the posts and advice so much. Even though the trip is still 2 months away, I go back to teaching soon and my planning time will be more limited. Here's my current plan...

Thursday - arrive in the parks between 2-3 pm. Our starting park is DL but thought I'd see if one park is less busy when we arrive (it's an Oogie Boogie night so I assume DCA will be busier at that time) and start there. Do we have to scan in to DL before "hopping" to DCA or can we just start at DCA since it's after 11 am?

Our plan Thursday is to just see and ride whatever we can in 5-6 hours. We plan to leave the parks around 8pm as we are ropedropping the next morning. I am hoping to pull a HM VQ in the morning before we leave and take my chances on them letting us ride whenever we get there. I'll start grabbing any available LL once we arrive, but if it's crazy busy, I figure we can go explore Galaxy's Edge.

Friday - RopeDrop DL

• Grab a HM VQ in the morning - in case we missed it the previous day, or to just ride again - it's another favorite of ours
• Get Indy LL immediately (in an attempt to possibly get an MEP If this doesn't happen, I will modify it for Space Mtn
• Pull 2nd LL Guardians @9:30
• Pull 3rd LL Guardians Monsters @11:30 ( I assume these will be hard to get, so I thought I'd try right away on our first day)
• Ride these standby
  • Indy
  • Pirates
  • Jungle (wait for later since this isn’t an LL ride?)
  • Big Thunder
  • Matterhorn
  • Astroblasters
  • Space LL
  • Star Tours
• Head to Galaxy’s Edge
  • Eat at Docking Bay 7 for lunch
  • Millennium Falcon LL?
  • Rise of the Resistance ILL?
• Mickey and Minnie LL
• Fantasyland Dark Rides depending on wait times or Head to DCA
• Lamplight Lounge - reservation at 6:30pm
• Fireworks in Galaxy's Edge

Saturday - RopeDrop DCA is questionable....I'd like to, but if we go all day Friday, I'm not sure my husband will be up for the early start
LL order to consider - TSMM, Incredicoaster, Guardians, Webslingers, Monsters after Dark, Soarin, Grizzly (this will depend on what, if anything, we are able to rope drop)

1. Get TSMM LL @ 7:30
2. Guardians
3. Web Slingers
4. Incredicoaster
5. Toy Story MM
6. Sky School
7. Grizzly?? I love it, but this may be weather and husband dependent
8. Soarin'
9. Monsters
10. ILL Radiator Springs? Or Single Rider depending on wait time and how much money we've spent
11. Savi's Workshop reservation at 4:05pm - thinking maybe this should be later in the evening?

Open to any and all advice on this plan. Thanks for taking the time to read it....I know it's a lot!

 

[edwaffle]

Lmao that list looks almost exactly as mine!

I've spent an obsessive amount of time reading, listening and watching strategies, tips and tricks for optimizing our time at the parks. I appreciate all the posts and advice so much.

Also, I feel you, I'll be going there on October and and I'm a bit frenetic

Here's what I found at the Disneyland website. Never been to DLR but I hope my limited help gives you a bit of light on your trip!

After 11:00 AM, if you have not entered any park yet, you may enter either park (despite what you designated for your first park on your park reservation). Please check the Park Hours calendar or the Disneyland app for the most up-to-date Park Hopper hours, as they could change depending on the day and park.

 

[OlliePop27]

I think you are way ahead of the curve and will be in great shape! You do not have to scan into your reservation park first if it's already after the hopping time. Head straight to where you want to go!

One FYI about the Indy MEP is that apparently "acceleration" might no longer work most LLMP. I haven't confirmed this myself, but others have. It's still great to have an MEP to use at almost anything you'd like, when you want to.

In terms of scheduling at DL, I tend to find it best to do the non-LL attractions first thing, then head to some LL ones that take a longer time for a wait to develop. If the FL dark rides are not a priority, then the way you have it laid out is perfect. Later in the day, they will likely have some decent waits especially Peter Pan and Alice. Those two are very slow loading and low capacity rides. Also, note that those FL dark rides close from 8:00 - 10:30 for fireworks. About the same for Toontown.

I find Runaway Railway and Small World pretty easy to do standby early or late in the day. You can also almost always get a near immediate LL return time for Small World all day. Pirates is also easy to do standby later in the day after about 6:00. Note that Rise closes at 10:00, even if the park is open until midnight. A great time to get in line is right before it closes and you should wait less than 30 minutes to the first preshow (the wait time posted might say 45-60 minutes but it's not true). You can then hit Pirates, Indy, Millennium Falcon, Big Thunder, or whatever suits you!

 

[sophy1996]

I am really doubtful you will want to try DCA starting in the afternoon on an OBB night. It gets extremely crowded during the mix-in period. Extremely. You’ll probably be better off just sticking to DL park that day.

Savi’s—Maybe go on Thursday or Friday to have the lightsaber before fireworks at GE? There were a bunch of people with lightsabers by the MF before the show.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

I agree. You aren’t going to want to go to DCA between 2-3 on a party night. The lines to get in will be long and at 3 the park will be packed.

October is extremely busy. My advice is to take a break in the afternoons and go back to your room to relax. Plan your mornings and then have general ideas but be flexible and go where the opportunities are.

 

[OlliePop27]

October can also be very hot. Like 90's and 100's hot. Not every day, but it's not uncommon. Some people not from CA are surprised by the heat in October.

 

[Huskyfan860]

We arrive on a Thursday in October and have 3 day park hopper passes. This is my husband's first trip to DL (we honeymooned in WDW 28 years ago!) and we are huge Star Wars fans. I've been to DL with large groups of high school kids 4 times over the past 20 years. I've spent an obsessive amount of time reading, listening and watching strategies, tips and tricks for optimizing our time at the parks. I appreciate all the posts and advice so much. Even though the trip is still 2 months away, I go back to teaching soon and my planning time will be more limited. Here's my current plan...

Thursday - arrive in the parks between 2-3 pm. Our starting park is DL but thought I'd see if one park is less busy when we arrive (it's an Oogie Boogie night so I assume DCA will be busier at that time) and start there. Do we have to scan in to DL before "hopping" to DCA or can we just start at DCA since it's after 11 am?

Our plan Thursday is to just see and ride whatever we can in 5-6 hours. We plan to leave the parks around 8pm as we are ropedropping the next morning. I am hoping to pull a HM VQ in the morning before we leave and take my chances on them letting us ride whenever we get there. I'll start grabbing any available LL once we arrive, but if it's crazy busy, I figure we can go explore Galaxy's Edge.

Friday - RopeDrop DL

• Grab a HM VQ in the morning - in case we missed it the previous day, or to just ride again - it's another favorite of ours
• Get Indy LL immediately (in an attempt to possibly get an MEP If this doesn't happen, I will modify it for Space Mtn
• Pull 2nd LL Guardians @9:30
• Pull 3rd LL Guardians Monsters @11:30 ( I assume these will be hard to get, so I thought I'd try right away on our first day)
• Ride these standby
  • Indy
  • Pirates
  • Jungle (wait for later since this isn’t an LL ride?)
  • Big Thunder
  • Matterhorn
  • Astroblasters
  • Space LL
  • Star Tours
• Head to Galaxy’s Edge
  • Eat at Docking Bay 7 for lunch
  • Millennium Falcon LL?
  • Rise of the Resistance ILL?
• Mickey and Minnie LL
• Fantasyland Dark Rides depending on wait times or Head to DCA
• Lamplight Lounge - reservation at 6:30pm
• Fireworks in Galaxy's Edge

Saturday - RopeDrop DCA is questionable....I'd like to, but if we go all day Friday, I'm not sure my husband will be up for the early start
LL order to consider - TSMM, Incredicoaster, Guardians, Webslingers, Monsters after Dark, Soarin, Grizzly (this will depend on what, if anything, we are able to rope drop)

1. Get TSMM LL @ 7:30
2. Guardians
3. Web Slingers
4. Incredicoaster
5. Toy Story MM
6. Sky School
7. Grizzly?? I love it, but this may be weather and husband dependent
8. Soarin'
9. Monsters
10. ILL Radiator Springs? Or Single Rider depending on wait time and how much money we've spent
11. Savi's Workshop reservation at 4:05pm - thinking maybe this should be later in the evening?

Open to any and all advice on this plan. Thanks for taking the time to read it....I know it's a lot!

One small tweak - stacking LL's is every two hours after park open, not when they let you in, so you can grab that first LL at 7:30 but your next ones will be 10am, 12pm, etc. if you're stacking.

As far as other feedback goes - I totally get wanting to make sure you get a Guardians LL early (it's my wife's favorite ride!), but don't discount the 'pop up releases' that happen throughout the day: https://www.thrill-data.com/lightning-lane/dlr/popup. These are times when additional LL availability is typically released. This page (https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/a...dventure/guardiansofthegalaxymissionbreakout/) will have a *ton* of data for you, and you can make the call at what point in the morning you'd want to grab that Guardians LL.

 

[sophy1996]

One small tweak - stacking LL's is every two hours after park open, not when they let you in, so you can grab that first LL at 7:30 but your next ones will be 10am, 12pm, etc. if you're stacking.

Are you sure about this? We were able to grab our next LL 2 hours after the first (so, around 9:30-9:45) during our visit a few weeks ago.

 

[Huskyfan860]

Are you sure about this? We were able to grab our next LL 2 hours after the first (so, around 9:30-9:45) during our visit a few weeks ago.

That would definitely be welcome news if that's true!

 

[twodogs]

We always get one LL at 730 and then the next one at 930am, if we have EE.

 

[Huskyfan860]

Well there you go! Always good to learn something new :-D

 

[twodogs]

I believe you can't book a LL in the "other" park that you are hopping to until the return time is past 11am. So for GOTG, you will have to wait until it gets out that far (but it might happen very early in the day due to Halloween time crowds). You can always modify to a later time, but you will need to really have some good luck to get all of those SB rides in at DL, then do lunch, then GE and those rides and still get to DCA before regular GOTG stops running at 2pm (I think, maybe 3pm?). They don't give LLs for GOTG past that, as it shuts down for an hour to change to GOTG:MAD (which you can also get a LL for). As a yearly October visitor, I think your full day 1 plan is very, very ambitious, based on crowds.

 

[DodgerGirlMissy]

Savi's Workshop is a really fun experience! If you don't want to carry your lightsaber around with you, they can hold it for you at the Droid Depot. You can come back to pick it up when it's more convenient for you.

 

[OlliePop27]

We always get one LL at 730 and then the next one at 930am, if we have EE.

This is true, but the book next time is dependent on the return time. I noticed in July if I booked something with a 9:15 return time, that's when I could book another LL. If I modified to something with a 9:30 return time, that's when I could book. The booking window in the first 2 hours was dependent on when the other one could be used. That's not the case later in the day when it's every 2 hours or when used.

 

[musicmcb]

Thank you so much everyone for your input, advice and thoughtful replies. It's nice to know most of my thinking is on track and I have a plan to start with. I find having a structure to the day is helpful and am fully aware that we will likely have to deviate it at some point.

I think you are way ahead of the curve and will be in great shape! You do not have to scan into your reservation park first if it's already after the hopping time. Head straight to where you want to go!

One FYI about the Indy MEP is that apparently "acceleration" might no longer work most LLMP. I haven't confirmed this myself, but others have. It's still great to have an MEP to use at almost anything you'd like, when you want to.

I had just learned this was even a thing about 2 weeks before the Genie+ change....such a bummer....but an MEP would still be great.

In terms of scheduling at DL, I tend to find it best to do the non-LL attractions first thing, then head to some LL ones that take a longer time for a wait to develop. If the FL dark rides are not a priority, then the way you have it laid out is perfect.

Fantasyland isn't much of a priority. We would like to get on Peter Pan and Mr. Toad's at some point, and figure we might as well be in those lines when all the wait times are long.

I am really doubtful you will want to try DCA starting in the afternoon on an OBB night. It gets extremely crowded during the mix-in period. Extremely. You’ll probably be better off just sticking to DL park that day.

Totally figure this will be the case....just threw it in there to keep tabs on it in case we got lucky with Guardians

 

[musicmcb]

October is extremely busy. My advice is to take a break in the afternoons and go back to your room to relax. Plan your mornings and then have general ideas but be flexible and go where the opportunities are.

I threw this idea out to my husband and he couldn't understand why anyone would leave the park and come back to be there when it's dark...hahaha....so we will see how this all plays out .

 

[musicmcb]

As far as other feedback goes - I totally get wanting to make sure you get a Guardians LL early (it's my wife's favorite ride!), but don't discount the 'pop up releases' that happen throughout the day:

The "Thrill Data" (the forum didn't like me quoting it) is great new information. I didn't realize they'd release more throughout the day. My husband won't be thrilled that there's another reason for me to be looking at my phone, but this is the way!

You can always modify to a later time, but you will need to really have some good luck to get all of those SB rides in at DL, then do lunch, then GE and those rides and still get to DCA before regular GOTG stops running at 2pm (I think, maybe 3pm?). They don't give LLs for GOTG past that, as it shuts down for an hour to change to GOTG:MAD (which you can also get a LL for). As a yearly October visitor, I think your full day 1 plan is very, very ambitious, based on crowds.

Thanks for the reality check...and good point about probably not getting to DCA for the early Guardians before it switches. Husband probably wouldn't be thrilled with the idea of running over there and not staying put for awhile. I might consider just trying for the After Dark version on day 1 and prioritize the regular version on day 2.

 

[OlliePop27]

I threw this idea out to my husband and he couldn't understand why anyone would leave the park and come back to be there when it's dark...hahaha....so we will see how this all plays out .

It's funny...my family can't imagine NOT taking a midday break. Being in the park from 7:30 - Midnight in the throngs of people is a lot. We love nighttime at the parks - the most magical time of day in our opinion!

This is what's great about Disney - each person can do it differently and each way is right!

 

[LKing]

To clarify, the lines within DCA will be long after 3 pm. The line to get into the park before 3 pm will not be long. You will see a massive crowd in the esplanade between the parks. They are waiting until 3 pm to enter, but if you walk up to the turnstiles, there is space in front of the crowd for non OBB guests to enter the park. After 3 pm, it is one big line.

Where are you staying?

Fantasyland isn't much of a priority. We would like to get on Peter Pan and Mr. Toad's at some point, and figure we might as well be in those lines when all the wait times are long.

Thoughts on nighttime entertainment? If you don't care about Fantasmic, fireworks or WOC, you might plan on doing Fantasyland after the 9:30 fireworks.

 

[EricaatthePark]

Fantasyland isn't much of a priority. We would like to get on Peter Pan and Mr. Toad's at some point, and figure we might as well be in those lines when all the wait times are long.

If there is a parade running at DL Fantasyland has much shorter lines during the parade. We waited less than 15 minutes for Peter Pan on July 21st during the parade. And then we met 4 princesses with a 20 minute wait!