How would YOU do ONE day at DL & DCA? Please comment!

[disney-inspired]

My friend is coming down (I live in Orange County) tomorrow and we are spending the day at Disneyland.

I know it will be crowded because many people have spring break and I checked Mousewait times on my iTouch. All of the lines are over 30 minutes at least and some rides have "broken down".

We want to do the biggies:

* Aladdin (I'm not sure if it's open since it's Wednesday but it is spring break)
* Captain EO
* BTMRR
* SM
* Indy
* HM
* TSMM

I will definitely be at the park at rope drop since I'm only 15 minutes away but she has to deal with early AM traffic so she's giving herself 2 hours to get to the parks.

We both have APs but she lives 1 hour away and works a lot so it's rare that both of our schedules allow us to go at the same time or we would have definitely picked another date.

My question is:

How would YOU maximize one day at Disneyland & California Adventure during peak season?

We are two able-bodied 21 year olds.

Oh and we are definitely maximizing FPs.

 

[sonnyjane]

Captain EO shouldn't have much of a wait. I went last week, which was obscenely crowded, and we didn't have to wait and the theater was less than half full. Also, even though everything was REALLY REALLY crowded, Haunted Mansion was never longer than 13 minutes. Use FP for Space, Indy, and Thunder. The only one that won't have an FP is TSMM, which is always a long line regardless, so just accept that you'll have to wait 45 minutes or so and go on your merry way I'd collect some FP's at DL, hop over to DCA, then come back to DL to use the passes later. If you don't have time to get FP's for Space, Indy, AND BTMRR, I'd just stick to Space and Indy - BTMRR was never longer than 35 minutes last week while Indy was up to 120!!!

The only thing I don't know about is Aladdin, sorry!

 

[BillyFan]

Here's what I would plan on doing.

Get a FP for Space, and watch Captain EO.
If your FP time isn't up after EO, go on Buzz
Get FP for Indy and ride HM
Get FP for Big Thunder
Hop to DCA and get a FP for Soarin or TOT.
Brave the line for TSMM
Use whatever FP you got in DCA, see Aladdin if it is playing
Hop back to DL to use your collected FPs.

You know how to work it, so I'm sure you'll be able to get more into your day. But sorry, friend, but the Billys are off on Wednesdays, so you'll be missing out on that.

 

[Raindown]

You'll want to see the fireworks. However, you'll probably have to get a spot about an hour ahead of time, but IMO it is worth it. After that you can cash in some FP while you wait for FL to reopen and ride anything in there that you did not get that morning.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Here's what I would plan on doing.

Get a FP for Space, and watch Captain EO.
If your FP time isn't up after EO, go on Buzz
Get FP for Indy and ride HM
Get FP for Big Thunder
Hop to DCA and get a FP for Soarin or TOT.
Brave the line for TSMM
Use whatever FP you got in DCA, see Aladdin if it is playing
Hop back to DL to use your collected FPs.

You know how to work it, so I'm sure you'll be able to get more into your day. But sorry, friend, but the Billys are off on Wednesdays, so you'll be missing out on that.

This looks good, but I would hit Screamin single rider line after doing TSMM.

Also, I would hit Indy Single Rider line, if you want to ride it more than once. Do the oops I forgot to go to the singles elevator trick and just re-merge into the regular line after the CM points you in the direction, then you will ride together for sure. Or just hop onto different jeeps and meet at the exit.

Have fun!

 

[Eeee-va]

It looks like Aladdin might not be playing.
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...ly/daily?name=CalendarDailyPage&date=20100407

For myself, if I had just one day, I'd do:

*Grab Space Mountain FP (and I love that ride so if the line was less than 10 minutes, which is possible if you get in at rope drop, I would get the FP and then ride it!)
*Buzz Lightyear (optional)
*If Indy line is less than 15 minutes and you're not doing single rider, you might consider just doing it, as the ride is prone to breaking down, which might keep you from riding it that day, and it generally takes 10 minutes to go through with FP anyway. Otherwise,
*BTMRR (should be a very manageable line in the first hour or so of park opening)
*Pirates of the Caribbean
*HM
*Grab Indy FP (whenever your window opens)

You might also be able to get a BTMRR FP, but I'd make that the lowest priority, unless you want to do Indy Single Rider (I wouldn't use any tricks but it will get you through quicker than FPs I think; you just may not ride together).

Then I'd hop to DCA, get a FP for Soarin', and go brave the lines for TSMM. I'd do whatever else I wanted to do over there (since I don't like big drops, honestly, on a 2-day trip that's pretty much TSMM and Monsters, Inc., maybe the Pixar Play Parade if you're in the mood). You can rest in the Animation Academy building (or Innoventions in Disneyland). When you're done with DCA you can catch Soarin' on your way out (hopefully) and head back to Disneyland:

*I would do Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln because I haven't seen it since the refurb and it shouldn't be crowded
*Use Indy and/or BTMRR FP
*Use SM FP
*Captain EO (max wait is probably 20 minutes anyway and I've heard the theater doesn't even fill up late at night, so you can probably do that fairly late if you want)
*Star Tours tends to be deserted nearer to the end of the day

With one day I personally would try to see fireworks (but only because I haven't seen that show since 2005). If it looks like a windy day I probably wouldn't try hard to get a good spot.

If you're staying until closing you can do most of Fantasyland (excepting Peter Pan's Flight) just fine after maybe 10:30 or 11 PM, if you so desire. If you REALLY want to max out your time in the parks, if you are in a line at park closing, they will generally let you ride (so you could hop into a 40 minute Space Mountain line at close and ride well after midnight ).

For meals I would probably hope to eat something quick at the Bengal Barbecue and if weather permitted, maybe an ice cream sundae; oh dear. In reality I'd end up eating whenever and wherever it looked convenient.

Have a great time!