June 1-4 and GotG

[Brna]

Hi again! My family is going Disneyland June 1-4 and I have a couple questions. For some info: We are going with me (17), my friend (17), and my parents. We are staying at Paradise Pier and will be in Disneyland all day June 1st (Thursday), all day June 3rd (Saturday), and most of Sunday until our flight. We will be spending Friday at Universal. Right now our only reservation is for Lunch at Carthay Circle with WoC package the first day. Overall, how busy do you think it will be?
We will also be there pretty soon after the opening of GotG and I'm lost as to what our strategy should be. (This is only our second time to Disney so I'm not very in the know). We will have EMH we could use on Sunday but I imagine everyone there will run to GotG. So, should we try to be there right at Rope Drop and rush over to GotG? Should we wait until later on in the day or shoot for doing it a different day? We have park hoppers so we could try to do it any day.
Also, what can you tell me about the Soundsational Parade and the Pixar parade? I've seen neither and am not sure what to expect. How early should we wait and where is the best place to view it? What other shows are must sees?

Thanks for any help, I just want this trip to go perfectly!

 

[VandVsmama]

Not everyone will run over to GotG, but a lot of people will. People who don't like drop rides like TOT won't bother. Will you have park hopper tickets or just the "one park per day" tickets? I think you should do this:

• Thurs 6/1 - use your EMH @ DL. When DCA park opens that day at 8:00 am, send 1 person in your group over to DCA (assuming that you have park hopper tickets) and grab GotG FP for all of you.
• Sat 6/3 - DCA park opens at 8:00 am. Be in line at main gate at 7:15 am. This means you leave PPH at 7:00 am. When DCA park opens, walk with purpose to go directly on GotG ride. When you're done going on the attraction, get a FP to use later in the day.
• Sun 6/4 - use your EMH again @ DL. EMH will be 7-8 am. Do the same thing you did on Thursday...send a runner over to DCA to get a GotG FP.

 

[pharmama]

Not everyone will run over to GotG, but a lot of people will. People who don't like drop rides like TOT won't bother. Will you have park hopper tickets or just the "one park per day" tickets? I think you should do this:

• Thurs 6/1 - use your EMH @ DL. When DCA park opens that day at 8:00 am, send 1 person in your group over to DCA (assuming that you have park hopper tickets) and grab GotG FP for all of you.
• Sat 6/3 - DCA park opens at 8:00 am. Be in line at main gate at 7:15 am. This means you leave PPH at 7:00 am. When DCA park opens, walk with purpose to go directly on GotG ride. When you're done going on the attraction, get a FP to use later in the day.
• Sun 6/4 - use your EMH again @ DL. EMH will be 7-8 am. Do the same thing you did on Thursday...send a runner over to DCA to get a GotG FP.

Sunday 6/4 will be EMH at DCA from 8-9am, not DL.

I would put effort into trying to ride GotG on 6/1 since I think that will be your least busy day. Then you can decide how much of a priority you want to make it to do a repeat ride on other days.

I've never done much strategizing for either Soundsational or Pixar parades. I've always had pretty good luck with a walk up spot on Main Street without waiting too long for soundsational but perhaps we got lucky. The DCA parade route is very long so its usually pretty easy to find a good spot. We usually aim for near the Disney Jr Playhouse/entrance to Hollywoodland or over near Bugs Land/Mater's junkyard jamboree.

Sounds like you're already seeing World of Color so the other one thing I'd try for is the Main Street Electrical Parade.

 

[Winnowill]

Thanks for any help, I just want this trip to go perfectly!

Perfection is impossible, but planning does help! Even though a lot of hotel guest will be heading straight to GotG right at the start of EMH, the number of guests eligible for it and the fact that lots of them will still prioritize RSR would mean (I would think, anyway) that even if you're at the back of the pack entering for EMH you should be able to get on it pretty quickly - I'd guess within the first 20 minutes, depending on how many elevators they have running.