Initial impressions & trip report from a first timer

[Khalil]

Got a lot of great information from this forum and I just wanted to give my family's impression from our first trip to Disneyland (we've only been to WDW once pre-covid so that's our only point of comparison):

We only had two days in the park (7/26-27) and did parkhoppers. Both days seemed crowded to us after the first couple of hours, but the mornings were quite lovely.

Got in the security line around 7:10 each day and were through security before they opened Disneyland gates at 7:30. Made it to the hub by around 7:45 and had a short wait before rope drop.

We were a little nervous about not having fastpass but we found we were able to ride more than we expected each day (15-16 rides during a 12 hr day in the park, more so than we did at WDW with FP+) by going hard in the first two hours and then going to whatever had the shortest lines in the middle of the day.
Ex: We headed to Indy at rope drop our first day but it had an extended closure, but we still ended up doing Jungle Cruise, BTMR, Matterhorn, Splash, Winnie & MFSR in the first 90 mins before heading to RotR. There still seemed to be plenty of attractions (HM, PotC, Star Tours etc) with decent wait times in the late morning and early afternoon if you timed it right.

That said, it seemed clear that the waits on the app were not always accurate. Sometimes it worked to our favor (30 minute waits for HM & PotC turned out to be 20-25) but we also got burned a couple of times (40 min wait for Soarin turned out to be 50, 25 min wait for GRR turned out to be 35).

On a side note, the largely unthemed, outdoor lines in DCA sucked & we consequently spent a lot more time in DL. My kids didn't even want to bother with Carsland as a result. That was really the only area of the parks that we had planned for and didn't get to, but in the end we preferred to go re-ride 2-3 rides in DL instead of spending 60+ mins waiting for RSR. If we had time for a third day in the parks, I'm sure we would've gotten to it though.

Anyways, thanks again for all the information and hopefully this info could be reassuring to any DL first timers who are on the fence about going. We all had a great time, but I also think that had a lot to do with getting in early each day.

 

[felice]

Yep, the queues for RSR can be a long wait - but the ride itself is well worth it though. Hope you can get to RSR next time you visit.

 

[pharmama]

On a side note, the largely unthemed, outdoor lines in DCA sucked & we consequently spent a lot more time in DL. My kids didn't even want to bother with Carsland as a result. That was really the only area of the parks that we had planned for and didn't get to, but in the end we preferred to go re-ride 2-3 rides in DL instead of spending 60+ mins waiting for RSR. If we had time for a third day in the parks, I'm sure we would've gotten to it though.

I won't disagree about the unthemed queues for a lot of DCA but Carsland is the exception with the queues for all three rides having plenty of interesting stuff to look at. They're all mostly outdoors but generally pretty well shaded/covered for most of the queue. Hopefully you'll give them a chance next time

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I find that DCA is best in the early morning or in the evening. I dislike the sunny queues during the afternoon. But it shines at night with the lights, and early morning DCA includes some of my favorite family memories - discovering quiet areas with very few people, as well as going on lots of rides with little to no wait time. Carsland is also a favorite because it has the best theming in DCA - much more like a land in DL than any of the other sections of DCA imo. I think one of the issues with DCA theming is that it just isn't fantastical - it is based on real stuff for the most part. Old time Hollywood charm might be lost on many travelers, and even Avengers campus is basically the present time, but with superheroes. Not quite the same kind of theme to work with as you have in DL!

 

[Khalil]

We did briefly stroll around Carsland and it looked cool but the IP wasn't a strong enough draw for us to wait an hour in line. If we had time for a third morning in the park, we would've definitely headed there first.

and just so I'm not being totally negative about DCA, we all really appreciated the animation building as a great afternoon stop that's a real change of pace from anything offered at either park. I thought that filled the hole left by the lack of shows.

 

[Aspencreek]

We usually do about 4 days at the parks when there and most often will do 3 at DL and only 1 or a partial day at DCA. They've got a few cool things there (Guardians, RSR, Animation Studios) but I think the whole vibe is just different and it feels more like a standard park to me and not so much Disney. I don't ever seem to get bored of DL no matter how long I'm there, but DCA.....

Oh, and not sure if you can break up your group, but if we don't have fastpasses we never do the normal line at RSR. We always do the single rider which takes about 20 mins when the standby line is 60. Granted, you might feel like a hitchhiker that some family picked up, but the wait is way better!

 

[LizzyS]

40 min wait for Soarin turned out to be 50

I have never waited longer at an attraction than for Soarin' at DCA, lol. In saying that, when we went there first thing at EPCOT and walked right on, I felt like I was somehow doing something illegal! I was flabbergasted after becoming accustomed to the DCA Soarin' experience.

 

[Wesley815]

Granted, you might feel like a hitchhiker that some family picked up, but the wait is way better!

LOL!! I'm never going to think of Single Rider the same on RSR again, they could even theme it to hitchhiking.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Single Rider on RSR since the car seems small, like you literally got into a random families car.... I prefer it on attractions with a little more "individual" seats/rollercoasters if that makes sense. Especially on ride photos are funny with a happy family, mom, dad, two kids- and then a random stranger sitting next to them in same car.

 

[nutshell]

We got in line at closing for RSR a couple days ago. 65 posted. Took 25.

 

[Khalil]

I pitched that idea but the kids chose Mickey Bars and a seat on Main Street to wait for the fireworks

 

[lalasmama]

That said, it seemed clear that the waits on the app were not always accurate. Sometimes it worked to our favor (30 minute waits for HM & PotC turned out to be 20-25) but we also got burned a couple of times (40 min wait for Soarin turned out to be 50, 25 min wait for GRR turned out to be 35).

A few years ago, I asked a CM about the wait time discrepancies. They explained that they try to get the wait times accurate, but will error on the side of "longer" rather than "shorter" so that the guest feels like they got a "special deal" getting through the line faster than anticipated. Then, when the wait time is a little longer than posted, most guests feel like they already "cheated" by getting through those other lines faster, and are less likely to balk about one longer wait when the last 3-4 waits were shorter than expected. Kind of along the idea that it will all be equal (more or less) at the end.

 

[BadPinkTink]

LOL!! I'm never going to think of Single Rider the same on RSR again, they could even theme it to hitchhiking.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Single Rider on RSR since the car seems small, like you literally got into a random families car.... I prefer it on attractions with a little more "individual" seats/rollercoasters if that makes sense. Especially on ride photos are funny with a happy family, mom, dad, two kids- and then a random stranger sitting next to them in same car.

lol this reminds me of an experience I had. I use single rider all the time at RSR and this particular time I was directed by the CM to a car which had a family in it. The Mom was NOT happy that I was joining the car and aggressively told me not to get into the car. I had a polite exchange with her explaining how single rider works and I got into the car, in the front, where the spare seat was. I could feel her evil eyes on me the whole time, so as we went around the track I whooped and yelled and made lots of noise, raised my arms when I knew the camera for the in ride photo was coming up and generally just gave a big French You to the mom.

I will NOT be intimated by a Disney Mom just because I am on my own and a foreigner! I will always use single rider when it is available and I really don't care if the random people I am put with have an issue. Disney are providing that option so its not up to a random guest or family to stop me doing something that Disney wants guests to do.

 

[lalasmama]

lol this reminds me of an experience I had. I use single rider all the time at RSR and this particular time I was directed by the CM to a car which had a family in it. The Mom was NOT happy that I was joining the car and aggressively told me not to get into the car. I had a polite exchange with her explaining how single rider works and I got into the car, in the front, where the spare seat was. I could feel her evil eyes on me the whole time, so as we went around the track I whooped and yelled and made lots of noise, raised my arms when I knew the camera for the in ride photo was coming up and generally just gave a big French You to the mom.

I will NOT be intimated by a Disney Mom just because I am on my own and a foreigner! I will always use single rider when it is available and I really don't care if the random people I am put with have an issue. Disney are providing that option so its not up to a random guest or family to stop me doing something that Disney wants guests to do.

I'm a frequent SRL user as well, and it seems like RSR is the most common "cranky" place when I'm hitch-hiking in a family's ride car. There seems to be a subset of people that are offended that I would be so presumptuous as to join them on a ride. After all, they "paid good money to be here," and adding another party (even if it's just a single person) is "ruining their experience". Eye roll. I paid the same "good money," folks. I've had to get a cast member to explain the SRL to a group a time or two when they wouldn't slide over for me. Thankfully, though, most people aren't like that!

On a related-but-different note, it makes me giggle that sometimes a group of 3-4 will attempt to join my row on Pirates or Small World. It's not a single rider attraction, my Disney-ing friends; my row is MINE on boat rides!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We ride RSR first every single trip.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

On a related-but-different note, it makes me giggle that sometimes a group of 3-4 will attempt to join my row on Pirates or Small World. It's not a single rider attraction, my Disney-ing friends; my row is MINE on boat rides!

It's never bothered me to share a bench on it's a small world or Pirates - pretty long benches. My favorite, most perplexing single rider experience was when a third person joined our party of two in the doom buggy on Haunted Mansion. We were so shocked and didn't have time to tell her to go on the following seat so the three of us were literally squashed on that attraction.


Thanks for your report, Khalil!

 

[Khalil]

We talked about doing single rider, but we didn't feel comfortable doing that with my 7yr old (or for our first time riding).

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We talked about doing single rider, but we didn't feel comfortable doing that with my 7yr old (or for our first time riding).

I also thought about it for those of us that could, but since we had a 5 yr old we figured might as well all wait. I'm also always feeling a bit bad for the SRL folks who get slotted with us - we're a crazy bunch (family of 7, typically 5 riding at a time). I also like trolling friends and family with the ride pictures, claiming the stranger as our newest family member

 

[lalasmama]

It's never bothered me to share a bench on it's a small world or Pirates - pretty long benches. My favorite, most perplexing single rider experience was when a third person joined our party of two in the doom buggy on Haunted Mansion. We were so shocked and didn't have time to tell her to go on the following seat so the three of us were literally squashed on that attraction.


Thanks for your report, Khalil!

Oh, goodness, I don't know what I would have done if they tried to get in my Doom Buggy with me! I'll admit, though, that I had this concern on my first solo trip! I mean, the announcement says the doom buggy will fit 2 or 3 people, so I started worrying that they would plop me in a doom buggy with some stranger! I quickly discovered that it doesn't happen like that (well, other than in your case, haha! ). I gotta wonder what your new friend thought about being directed to squish so close to strangers!

 

[lalasmama]

We talked about doing single rider, but we didn't feel comfortable doing that with my 7yr old (or for our first time riding).

I totally get this! Our youngest daughter wasn't comfortable with single rider lines until she was 9. We take our grandkids when they turn 7. Our first grandson wouldn't have been able to do single rider. He's got some special needs, is timid until he knows someone, and in the event of an emergency evac, he'd be so anxious that he would probably not even respond to someone directing him to go somewhere. However, our second grandson is talkative, friendly, charming, and listens and responds well with strangers. We would go with him on his first time with each ride to gauge his comfort level, and if all was good, we'd let him do the single rider line as much as he wanted (within reason). We had no concern about emergency evacs with him; we knew that he'd maintain his composure enough to follow the other riders off the Matterhorn or out of the Grizzly rafts, but wouldn't be taking his seat belt off until a grown up instructed him to do so. Our third grandson is coming with us for his first time next summer, and I'm curious to see what he thinks about the single rider idea!

 

[smartlabelprint]

I'm a frequent SRL user as well, and it seems like RSR is the most common "cranky" place when I'm hitch-hiking in a family's ride car. There seems to be a subset of people that are offended that I would be so presumptuous as to join them on a ride. After all, they "paid good money to be here," and adding another party (even if it's just a single person) is "ruining their experience". Eye roll. I paid the same "good money," folks. I've had to get a cast member to explain the SRL to a group a time or two when they wouldn't slide over for me. Thankfully, though, most people aren't like that!

On a related-but-different note, it makes me giggle that sometimes a group of 3-4 will attempt to join my row on Pirates or Small World. It's not a single rider attraction, my Disney-ing friends; my row is MINE on boat rides!

I wouldn’t do my best to ruin their ride like tink.

It happened to me too. Dh and were alone and we never use single ride with our little kids. A family wouldn’t go in. I asked and they pretended (maybe) they didn’t understand English. Like seats abc they took b&c. I just climbed over them. My dh was petrified. He wasn’t in our car.