Just back! Great trip. My thoughts ...

[camouseketeer]

- DL on a Sunday morning at opening is empty! It's better than EE because everything is running!

- DCA is a cool park for a five year old! My DD went on many rides there for the first time and loved them. Her fav was MM.

- Getting a dream fastpass is the best! It certainly makes the day much easier to plan!

- The seagulls in the Nemo ride are hysterical! They sit out in the water and you can hear them "talk" as you walk by. Too bad there were no soft openings for us!

- Monster's Inc is a great dark ride for young kids. It's on par with Peter Pan as my fav dark kid's ride at DLR.

- The ELP is very cool. It wasn't hard to find a good spot and it's a very unique parade.

- The lines are the Princess Faire are insane. But, the games, storytelling, show, and dancing were well worth our time. They were a great break for our DD's.

- Lunch at Ariel's Grotto was worth it for us. The food was fine, and we saw the big five (Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Belle). My girls loved it!

- Fastpass is the only way to go.

- The Desert Inn & Suites was a very short walk. It was clean and reasonably priced for a one bedroom suite. I'd stay there again.

- Someone needs to explain to me how Jumpin Jellyfish has a 40 in height requirement but Matterhorn's is only 35 inches!

- Lightening Mcqueen and Mater no longer make appearances at DCA. My girls and I were quite disappointed! :

- The fireworks and I were just not meant to be. For the second trip in a row, they were canceled on the one night I had to see them.

- Two days is just not enough time ...

 

[TINKERIFIC]

We are going to be staying in Placenta with family and going to DL on Friday, 6/22 and DCA, 6/24 (we are going to go to DL at opening this day until 11am, then head to DCA).

- What are the crowds like at Pirate's Lair (Tom Sawyer). Trying to fit into schedule, but unsure how much to give to it. It is on my 6/22 day.

- pass on the good spot for electrical parade...High School Musical?

- Is DCA really that much less crowded? Which fastpass rides are seem to "sell out" quicker than others.....are there some rides a fastpass might not be needed?

 

[minniebeth]

Are the Cars gone for good?
Sounds like you had a great trip!

 

[bjsmom]

How was the weather? I am in stockton, near sac , and it is cold.

 

[camouseketeer]

How was the weather? I am in stockton, near sac , and it is cold.

It was mid to upper 70's. It was cloudy in the morning and warmer in the afternoon. We only needed sweatshirts in the evening.

BUT we drove home (to Roseville, just north of you) on Tues much cooler. I think it's supposed to be in the lower to mid 70's for the next few days.

Are the Cars gone for good?

For now they are, yes. Some CM's mentioned putting them in as a permanent exhibit by Soarin, but no one knew a time table for that.

What are the crowds like at Pirate's Lair (Tom Sawyer).

We never made it over there, but I looked at the rafts and there was never a line for getting onto them.

pass on the good spot for electrical parade...High School Musical?

That takes place in front of the Sunshine Plaza near the entrance of DCA. The float faces directly out toward the entrance gates, so get a spot facing the rest of the park.

Is DCA really that much less crowded? Which fastpass rides are seem to "sell out" quicker than others.....are there some rides a fastpass might not be needed?

DCA has much more walking space and room to move, so it seems much less crowded. On Sunday when we were there, crowds were never overwhelming. At 11:30 am, the wait for Screamin was 20 min. With a fastpass we walked right on.

On Monday afternoon, Mulholland Madness had a 15 min wait. We didn't have fastpasses, and the line moved just fine.


I would think that Screamin and TOT of sell out the fastest, but this past weekend that wasn't a problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[hrhlaurie]

We were there Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I didn't think the lines were that long anywhere and with fastpasses I don't think I waited longer than 20 minutes anywhere.

Space Mountain fastpasses go the fastest I believe.

Splash Mountain kept breaking down while we were there and it would re-open late at night when I didn't really want to get wet so I passed on it.

We also didn't do Pirate's Lair mainly because we wanted to do rides we can sit on and not sign up for more walking - our feet got pretty tired going from one park to another and back again with fast passes.

The weather was perfect and we did get to see the fireworks on Friday but they didn't run on Saturday. We enjoyed the Electric Light Parade instead.

Now I want to go back but my dh wants our next vacation to be some all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Does Disney have an all-inclusive cruise...?