Is there a good plan for park hopping?

[NokOnHarts]

I've seen some good plans for either DL or DCA but is there a good plan somewhere for park hopping? Would want to hit the major attractions at DL and then hop to DCA (or vice versa) but hopefully to RSR at night. 2 day hopper. What are your best plans for hopping to minimize waits?

Also, which is better for early Sept. weekends (after Labor Day) - Saturday or Sunday? We'd also have all day Friday.

 

[figment_jii]

When in the "early Fall" are you going? HalloweenTime is a very popular time of the year (historically starts in early-September), so the weekends can be very busy. There are also Halloween Parties (starting towards the end of September historically) that impact Disneyland's operating hours on Fridays.

Personally, I would make an effort to be at the parks at rope drop. The first few hours of the day tend to be least busy regardless of the day. I would tentatively consider starting in DL on Friday or Sunday because it does not have EMH/MM historically (EMH/MM impacts FL and TL), and then go to DCA on Saturday (no EMH historically). I don't have any specific time I'd recommend hopping; it's going to depend on what you want to do and how the lines are looking. I would definitely hop to DL after DCA closes (or vice-a-versa) and get in a little bit extra time at whichever park is open later.

I would download the official Disneyland App and you can use that to see what time the RSR FPs are for and then head over to the FP distribution location when it gets near to the time you want (I've found that the app runs a bit behind what is being distributed, so I'd head over before the app says they're distributing the time you want).

 

[NokOnHarts]

When in the "early Fall" are you going? HalloweenTime is a very popular time of the year (historically starts in early-September), so the weekends can be very busy. There are also Halloween Parties (starting towards the end of September historically) that impact Disneyland's operating hours on Fridays.

Personally, I would make an effort to be at the parks at rope drop. The first few hours of the day tend to be least busy regardless of the day. I would tentatively consider starting in DL on Friday or Sunday because it does not have EMH/MM historically (EMH/MM impacts FL and TL), and then go to DCA on Saturday (no EMH historically). I don't have any specific time I'd recommend hopping; it's going to depend on what you want to do and how the lines are looking. I would definitely hop to DL after DCA closes (or vice-a-versa) and get in a little bit extra time at whichever park is open later.

I would download the official Disneyland App and you can use that to see what time the RSR FPs are for and then head over to the FP distribution location when it gets near to the time you want (I've found that the app runs a bit behind what is being distributed, so I'd head over before the app says they're distributing the time you want).

Thanks for the tips. I edited the post - likely the weekend after Labor Day. Is it possible now to get FP for RSR later in the day then vs. first thing in the morning?

 

[figment_jii]

For the last few years, the weekend after Labor Day is when HalloweenTime starts, so fairly large crowds are expected as guests visit the parks to see what kinds of Halloween offerings there are this year. It's hard to say what crowd patterns will be in September and what kinds of impacts MaxPass will have on FP. I would wait until after MaxPass has been implemented to see how long FPs are lasting.

 

[Winnowill]

Thanks for the tips. I edited the post - likely the weekend after Labor Day. Is it possible now to get FP for RSR later in the day then vs. first thing in the morning?

FPs for RSR are typically gone by noon, depending on what time the park opens. You might luck out and have them last till 1:00, but that's unusual.

 

[NokOnHarts]

Okay, makes sense. Maybe the better question is what rides are the "best bet" for afternoons / evenings that we could plan for later in the day at either park?

 

[ktlm]

DL/DCA are like one big park. We watch the wait times on the app, and if it looks like the lines are quite a bit shorter in the other park, we hop. If you want to ride RSR at night and the line is too long, I would recommend the single rider line, unless you have kids too young for it.

 

[NokOnHarts]

For the last few years, the weekend after Labor Day is when HalloweenTime starts, so fairly large crowds are expected as guests visit the parks to see what kinds of Halloween offerings there are this year. It's hard to say what crowd patterns will be in September and what kinds of impacts MaxPass will have on FP. I would wait until after MaxPass has been implemented to see how long FPs are lasting.

Would a Saturday make more sense then if some of the APs are blocked that day vs. a Sunday?

 

[Nevada Jen]

All the lines get a lot longer in the afternoons. You should be able to get fastpasses for a lot of rides at DL still after your two hour window from getting the RSR evening fastpass runs. I think it is too soon to tell what dca will be like in the afternoons since GOTG is not on line yet and TSMM is still new to fastpass.