Ok This is my first TR so I will do my best 
We started out in DL and we were there for rope drop. The CM's really made my kids feel special while we were waiting. I was surprised at how NOT busy it was when they let us in. We spent 3 days in DL and every morning seemed to be a breeze with the crowds till around 11ish. I have to thanks the boards for stressing how important it is to be early. Like I said we spent 3 days in DL but honestly I felt like we had everything done in a day and a half!!
Last 2 days we spent in DCA. So here it goes..this is the difference about an hr makes in the morning. I was really excited to get to the gate EARLY. We did not have any kinds of EE but I was at the gate at 6:45. I purposely made sure to on an APEE EE because of block outs and it made a HUGE difference. The crowds at DL seemed to be twice as big! As soon as they opened the gate I went strait to RSR FP line and was about the 12th person in line. Right at rope drop they lead the line to the FP area and it look me 5 min to get FP's. The return time was 9:55. Our family decided to take advantage of the rest of the park but I'm sure it would have been easy to get in a somewhat short line for RSR.
So day two. We were decided to sleep in a bit and we didn't arrive at DCA till 7:40. I headed for RSR FP line again while my family waited for rope drop. This time I was across the street from Award Wieners and the wait was 25 min with a return time of 1:55. This time I got 3 surprise FP for Scream'n! Right after I did go get our FP for the first show of WOC and No one was even around the FP area. We just kinda took our time in the park on the second day.
Highlights-- We ate at Flow's twice (Breakfast and Dinner) I thought food was good and priced very well. At breakfast the french toast was awesome if you like sugar in the morning
Plaza Inn was a huge hit for us, the food was good! DH wouldn't stop talking about it.
We had amazing viewing spots for F! and WOC. We did go early (90 min) for WOC. I did not mind the wait at all! It was fun to sit on a blanket and visit with another cute family that arrived right after us but had not idea they were waiting in a bad spot behind us so we invited them to sit with us.
At the end of everyday we had lots of FP's so it was fun giving them away. It was so fun to see people light up when we asked them if they wanted them.
Last RSR was amazing! If you can I would recommend riding in at night...it just seemed so special with everything lit up.
Hope this info helps anyone...just trying to pay it forward. Please ask me any questions and I will try to help
We started out in DL and we were there for rope drop. The CM's really made my kids feel special while we were waiting. I was surprised at how NOT busy it was when they let us in. We spent 3 days in DL and every morning seemed to be a breeze with the crowds till around 11ish. I have to thanks the boards for stressing how important it is to be early. Like I said we spent 3 days in DL but honestly I felt like we had everything done in a day and a half!!
Last 2 days we spent in DCA. So here it goes..this is the difference about an hr makes in the morning. I was really excited to get to the gate EARLY. We did not have any kinds of EE but I was at the gate at 6:45. I purposely made sure to on an APEE EE because of block outs and it made a HUGE difference. The crowds at DL seemed to be twice as big! As soon as they opened the gate I went strait to RSR FP line and was about the 12th person in line. Right at rope drop they lead the line to the FP area and it look me 5 min to get FP's. The return time was 9:55. Our family decided to take advantage of the rest of the park but I'm sure it would have been easy to get in a somewhat short line for RSR.
So day two. We were decided to sleep in a bit and we didn't arrive at DCA till 7:40. I headed for RSR FP line again while my family waited for rope drop. This time I was across the street from Award Wieners and the wait was 25 min with a return time of 1:55. This time I got 3 surprise FP for Scream'n! Right after I did go get our FP for the first show of WOC and No one was even around the FP area. We just kinda took our time in the park on the second day.
Highlights-- We ate at Flow's twice (Breakfast and Dinner) I thought food was good and priced very well. At breakfast the french toast was awesome if you like sugar in the morning
Plaza Inn was a huge hit for us, the food was good! DH wouldn't stop talking about it.We had amazing viewing spots for F! and WOC. We did go early (90 min) for WOC. I did not mind the wait at all! It was fun to sit on a blanket and visit with another cute family that arrived right after us but had not idea they were waiting in a bad spot behind us so we invited them to sit with us.
At the end of everyday we had lots of FP's so it was fun giving them away. It was so fun to see people light up when we asked them if they wanted them.
Last RSR was amazing! If you can I would recommend riding in at night...it just seemed so special with everything lit up.
Hope this info helps anyone...just trying to pay it forward. Please ask me any questions and I will try to help
I will say the roof top viewing deck was awesome for fire works if you want to avoid the crowds. 
I just think I want to venture out and try something else. I have never stayed at Hojo's but want when my kids are a little older. I have heard that the beds are comfy and the water park is amazing at Hojo's but the trade off with Desert inn would be the location. It was sooo nice to have such a short walk to take breaks during the day and at the end of the night. Our room was just fine other than internet (we didn't need it anyway) and ph service but we were clear in the back on the bottom floor. If you need wifi just request a room in the middle or towards the front. Also some people have said the beds are hard but we had no problems. Just keep in mind the rooms are clean but very basic. If you are planning on bringing food the mini fridge is a good size, and if there are not parking spots they will valet your car you. 
Five days is what I'm doing too! I'm curious, do you happen to know roughly how long the standby line was at this time too?
