Itinerary check for 3-5 Augst

[mushu4ever]

Hi incredible Disneyland brains trust! I have been eagerly planning a trip for me (30F) and my mum for 3-5 August. We are travelling from Australia and it will be my first visit to the park as an adult.

We are both pretty active and know we'll be covering a lot of ground on the journey and that it will probably be pretty hot in mid summer. However, I have tried to be generous with times to allow for snacking and relaxing. I'd really love to meet some characters throughout the parks, but I figure it's hard to schedule that so I just need to keep an eye on the app and my surroundings.

We have a couple of dining reservations, but I also have a long list of snacks/foods that we can choose from depending on what we feel like and where we are in the parks. I anticipate we'll just have a light breakfast before we get to the park.

I would be IMMENSELY grateful for your feedback on the schedules for our visit that I have sketched out in the posts below. I also have two specific questions I'd love your thoughts on:
⦁ I would like to squeeze in a second ride of Soarin on our day at DCA as it's my mum's favourite ride. When would be best to do that in the standby line?
⦁ I find I can get very motion sick with full simulation rides. While I will be dosing up on motion-sickness tablets, are there any rides I should avoid entirely?

 

[mushu4ever]

Wednesday 3 August (DCA with G+)
8:00-9:00am: Head to Car's Land and ride Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters. Try to get early ILL for RSR.
9:00-11am: Explore Pixar Pier and ride various non LL rides that take our fancy, plus Toy Story Midway Mania and Incredicoaster.
11:00am-1:00pm: Explore Avengers Campus and ride GotG (LL) and Web Slingers via single rider line.
1:15pm: Lunch reservation at Lamplight Lounge
2:30pm: Ride Grizzly River Run (LL)
3:00pm: Ride Soarin Around the World (LL)
3:30pm-5:30pm: Wander Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land, including riding Monsters Inc and Turtle Talk with Crush. Consider Animation Academy if we want some sitdown time in the air-conditioning.
6:30-7:30pm: Get some dinner and relax.
7:30-8:30pm: Head to Cars Land for sha-boom moment. Explore the land at night and grab some dessert. Ride RSR again via single rider line.
8:30pm: Go to our World of Colour viewing area if I've managed to get a spot in the virtual queue and we still have some energy.
9:30pm: Head on home!

Thursday 4 August (Disneyland with G+)
8:00-11:00am: Explore Fantasyland starting with Peter Pen's Flight and Storybook Land Canal Boats and then working through the other non-LL rides. Finish with Small World (LL).
11:00-11:30am: Break for snack and rest
11:30am: Ride the Matterhorn (LL)
12:00pm-2:00pm: Explore main street shops and get a later lunch
2:00pm-5:00pm: Explore Galaxy's Edge. Ride Smuggler's Run via LL. Try to get ILL for RotR in this timeslot.
5:00-7:15pm: Watch Tale of the Lion King at 4:50pm or 6:00pm. Free time to explore/ride anything that takes our fancy.
7:35pm: Dinner reservation at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar
8:30pm-9pm: Grab dessert from Downtown Disney
If we have the energy:
9:00-10:30pm: Head back into Disneyland. Try to grab a few LLs for good nightime rides (Maybe Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jungle Cruise or standby for Astro Orbitor).
10:45pm: Catch the second showing of the MSEP and then head home.

Friday 5 August (Disneyland with G+)
9:00-10:00am: Ride Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones (LL).
10:00am-12:00pm: Ride Haunted Mansion (LL), Splash Mountain (LL) and Winnie the Pooh. Consider the DCE Canoes if it's not too hot and it seems appealing at the time. Finish at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (LL).
12:00-1:00pm: Grab a snack and have a rest.
1:00pm-3:00pm: Explore Tomorrowland and ride most things, including Space Mountain (LL) and BLAB (LL)
3:45pm: Late lunch reservation for Hungry Bear Fantasmic package (we will eat this if we're hungry, but honestly I chose this mainly for the cheapest premium Fantasmic seating)
4:00-8:00pm: Free time to explore/ride anything that takes our fancy. Get some dinner and then a takeaway snack to enjoy while we watch Fantasmic.
8:15pm-9:30pm: Get seats for Fantasmic and watch the show.
9:30-10pm: Watch the fireworks from our Fantasmic seats.
10pm: Head on home!

 

[Pluto468]

Your best bet for Standby anything is rope drop. Or maybe at the very end of the night.
The only ride I can't go on because of motion sickness is Space Mountain. I'm not really sure why, it doesn't seem much intense than some of the other big rides.
Web Slingers was a little intense for me, because of the 3-d and video. I just shut my eyes for a little while if it got to be too much.

I think your itinerary sounds good, but I would suggest expecting some rides to be down and having to change your plans at the last moment. I tried to get on Peter Pan every day of our 5 day trip but didn't manage it until the last day. It was down a couple of times, or the line was 45 minutes long and I had other places to be. I'm always happy to wait as long as I have to for it, but sometimes it would interfere with a LL or dining reservation. We also ran into other closures, like Indy, Haunted Mansion and Rise. But at least we got some MEP from those

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[DisneylandFan22]

⦁ I would like to squeeze in a second ride of Soarin on our day at DCA as it's my mum's favourite ride. When would be best to do that in the standby line?
⦁ I find I can get very motion sick with full simulation rides. While I will be dosing up on motion-sickness tablets, are there any rides I should avoid entirely?

For Soarin rope drop/early morning and then later in the evening. You can always watch the app to try to find shorter times.

My girlfriend gets motion sickness and it is the worst on Star Tours and Smugglers Run. She avoids Star Tours entirely but may do Smugglers Run as long as she is not a pilot. Engineer is the farthest back and easiest, but if you have bad pilots it can still be somewhat rough. If you’re a pilot you are in the front and have to look at the screen.

Star Tours is not in Galaxy’s Edge it’s in Tomorrow Land. You have it listed in GE.

You are probably over planning for the rides. After the morning it is extremely unlikely to go as you plan. Your best blocks are the ones where you are open to whatever works. You may find that your extensive planning goes out the window very fast around 10:30-11.

Depending on where you’re staying it also may be helpful to plan an afternoon break. This can help you rest and get out of the heat and crowds at the peak time of day so you can spend more time in the parks later when it is cooler and less crowded. It is always nice to get in a line a few minutes before the park closes for one last ride and then stroll out of an almost empty park.

If you don’t absolutely have to sit next to each other I highly recommend SR for RSR first thing in the morning. You could honestly go on 4-5 times in a row at least with very little wait. Many times with 2 people you will get in the same car just not next to each other. It also can be fun to be in different cars but race each other.

GRR may be very crowded at 2:30 if it is a hot day. Also remember to plan for the fact that you may get soaked on this attraction.

You may want to try to do Canal Boats at night and especially not spend morning time on it. I don’t see Casey Jr. train listed and I prefer that to Canal Boats.

Things I don’t see that I recommend: Mickey’s Philarmagic (a fun show and in a very cool building for a hot day), Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (the lobby rotates memorabilia and has Walt’s bench as well), Disneyland Train (ride it all the way around the park), and Enchanted Tiki Room (classic).

Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer Island can be a nice place to explore, even for adults. Mark Twain Riverboat can also be a fun and relaxing ride (it has a real steam engine).

If you go all the way to the bottom of Redwood Creek Challenge you can find your spirit animal.

The Penny Arcade on Main Street has some fun things to explore.

You are going to be in DL before going to Trader Sam’s so consider taking the monorail over to save steps and have another ride type experience.

I love Mushu! You should have a great time!

 

[mouschievous]

I'm marking this to come back to it when I can get to a computer. I have thoughts based on our trip last week but it's too hard to do on my phone!

 

[monkeypat83]

Another way to ride Sourin' a second time would be to "fish" during the day (possibly first thing in the morning) for Multi-Experience passes and use it on Sourin'. There are some good threads on here on how to "fish" but basically it is to get a LL reservation for a ride that is closed temporarily and it will turn that reservation into a Multi-Experience pass when the time frame opens if it is still closed.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I find I can get very motion sick with full simulation rides.

You may want to consider skipping Star Tours and Smuggler's Run. I have never done Jungle Cruise at night, but I think the ride may be more enjoyable during the day. Hopefully someone who has ridden it at night can provide more information.

I would consider adding the Enchanted Tiki Room. It's a dated classic, but it's still enjoyable and a technological marvel for its time.

 

[sophy1996]

Just keep in mind this is an incredibly ambitious schedule. Not sure how old your mom is, but when I was 27 I took my 54-year-old mom to London. 54 isn’t at all old, but the combination of jet lag from international travel and a busy schedule wiped her out by dinner time. I ended up doing some evening things myself while she went back to the hotel to rest.

You’re looking at 3 straight days of 12-15 hours in the parks, in the heat of summer. That’s a lot for anyone.

 

[JMommyof3]

I would do Soarin at RD then do Cars Land. Luigi and Mater don't typically have long lines that early and you should still have minimal waits even if you hit them after Soarin.

I get horrible motion sickness and can't ride Star Tours at all (or if I do, I close my eyes the whole time) and for MFSR I have to sit in the very back and really not look at the screen too much.

 

[starlite_]

I just don't feel that much planning is even doable no matter how perfect the day starts, things happen. Maybe the ride you are on breaks and it takes 30 min to evacuate or you simply spend a longer time shopping that expected. Take this from an overplanner, it never works out well and everyone ends up stressed. To paraphrase PotC, use your schedule more like a guideline and not actual rules.

 

[mushu4ever]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone! I should have clarified at the outset that my itinerary is more of a guide and subject to our energy levels, ride closures etc. I absolutely understand that there are a myriad of things out of my control and I fully expect half of this to go out of the window haha. However, it helps me to have a plan sketched out so I don't feel too overwhelmed on the day, particularly so I know where to start.

It also seems like it might be a good idea to avoid Star Tours with my sensitivity to simulators, so I'll keep that in mind. It definitely wasn't high on my list anyway.

 

[xipotec]

I agree with everyone Overall looks good….but I would also get some more room for unexpected things.

I tend to only plan being in a “land” for a time period, then work the rides in that area.

Heck these days, I even get looser and just to left side or right side of the park in the AM and switch it later on in the evening….

BTW , we will be at the parks the same days as you!!!!

 

[mushu4ever]

For Soarin rope drop/early morning and then later in the evening. You can always watch the app to try to find shorter times.

My girlfriend gets motion sickness and it is the worst on Star Tours and Smugglers Run. She avoids Star Tours entirely but may do Smugglers Run as long as she is not a pilot. Engineer is the farthest back and easiest, but if you have bad pilots it can still be somewhat rough. If you’re a pilot you are in the front and have to look at the screen.

Star Tours is not in Galaxy’s Edge it’s in Tomorrow Land. You have it listed in GE.

You are probably over planning for the rides. After the morning it is extremely unlikely to go as you plan. Your best blocks are the ones where you are open to whatever works. You may find that your extensive planning goes out the window very fast around 10:30-11.

Depending on where you’re staying it also may be helpful to plan an afternoon break. This can help you rest and get out of the heat and crowds at the peak time of day so you can spend more time in the parks later when it is cooler and less crowded. It is always nice to get in a line a few minutes before the park closes for one last ride and then stroll out of an almost empty park.

If you don’t absolutely have to sit next to each other I highly recommend SR for RSR first thing in the morning. You could honestly go on 4-5 times in a row at least with very little wait. Many times with 2 people you will get in the same car just not next to each other. It also can be fun to be in different cars but race each other.

GRR may be very crowded at 2:30 if it is a hot day. Also remember to plan for the fact that you may get soaked on this attraction.

You may want to try to do Canal Boats at night and especially not spend morning time on it. I don’t see Casey Jr. train listed and I prefer that to Canal Boats.

Things I don’t see that I recommend: Mickey’s Philarmagic (a fun show and in a very cool building for a hot day), Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (the lobby rotates memorabilia and has Walt’s bench as well), Disneyland Train (ride it all the way around the park), and Enchanted Tiki Room (classic).

Pirates Lair at Tom Sawyer Island can be a nice place to explore, even for adults. Mark Twain Riverboat can also be a fun and relaxing ride (it has a real steam engine).

If you go all the way to the bottom of Redwood Creek Challenge you can find your spirit animal.

The Penny Arcade on Main Street has some fun things to explore.

You are going to be in DL before going to Trader Sam’s so consider taking the monorail over to save steps and have another ride type experience.

I love Mushu! You should have a great time!

Thank you for your super detailed thoughts on everything! I have sketched out the days to give me a bit of direction, but appreciate that we'll probably depart from the plans a lot. I also expect that one or both of us might end up wanting an early night or to have a nap/rest at our hotel, which is thankfully close by.

I was just looking at some videos of the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Mark Twain Riverboat, both of which I think would be welcome low-key attractions depending on our energy levels. I also really appreciate the suggestion to ride the monorail! Not something I would have thought of myself.

 

[mushu4ever]

You may want to consider skipping Star Tours and Smuggler's Run. I have never done Jungle Cruise at night, but I think the ride may be more enjoyable during the day. Hopefully someone who has ridden it at night can provide more information.

I would consider adding the Enchanted Tiki Room. It's a dated classic, but it's still enjoyable and a technological marvel for its time.

Thank you! It sounds like a few people think Star Tours and MFSR could be problematic, so they'll be very low down on my list. Also seems like the Enchanted Tiki Room is a fan favourite that I perhaps hadn't given enough credit to.

 

[Pluto468]

Tiki room for sure! Also the Mark Twain is delightful.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Tiki room for sure! Also the Mark Twain is delightful.

Both of these plus the Disneyland Railroad are such classics. I love them!

 

[Caitief]

I will be at Disneyland the same days and took screenshots of your plans as inspiration for when we make our specific plans.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Here's my thoughts.

If you're rope dropping Cars Land, you might as well try for Racers first. Luigi's sometimes isn't running at opening so have a backup plan to come back and wait 30ish minutes for it in the afternoon. If you're willing to do single rider, I really see no point of going for ILL for Racers. It's not clear if you're trying to do lightning lane for Midway Mania or standby. If you are tyring for standby, you want to be at Pixar Pier before 9. I also don't know if you would be able to control your Soarin' Lightning Lane time so that it is right after your Grizzly River Rapids one.

I can't remember if I've seen Peter Pan open at rope drop at all since the pandemic reopening. Some days, half of Fantasyland isn't open at rope drop so you may have to adjust that plan and come back to Fantasyland later. I also recommend trying to get as much of the lightning lane attractions done on your first Disneyland day as possible because you don't know how easy it will be to control the return times on the 2nd Disneyland day.