I just wanted to share a few thoughts about our recent trip to DL. We were a family group of 3 adults & 5 kids. We've been to WDW several times, but I am the only one who had been to DL before (and it's been 20 yrs). We were there June 7-9 with 3 day parkhoppers. We knew going into it that there were grad nights & the last few days before pass holders were blocked out for the summer. But boy was it crowded!
Magic Morning: We used our MM the first day and were at bag check at 6:30. We rode almost everything in Fantasyland in the first hour & a half. The frustrating part was that not all the rides were up and running till closer to official park opening or they were down for at least part of our MM. We quickly learned that rides are down a lot! It seemed like the bigger rides were down at least once during the day. Kind of frustrating.
Fastpasses: Use them! Yes it is exhausting running from ride to ride to get them but it's totally worth it. I have never understood waiting in lines for 90-180 min for a ride, when you can get a FP for it. We got FPs every 2 hours & rode our favorites multiple times this way. And if the ride breaks down during your FP time (which happened often), you can use your FP anytime for the rest of the day.
DL- Everything you've read about getting there early is so true! From open till about 10-11am, we walked on or had small waits for several rides, esp on the Adventureland side of the park. (This was also true for DCA.) The crowds were there in full force by noon though. Very congested to get around through Adventureland & Tomorrowland. The Paint the Night parade was awesome! We loved it and even saw it twice. We watched the fireworks/projection show near Small World. This was a great show and easy to find an up close spot at IASW without large crowds. Sleeping Beauty's castle was small but I thought it was quite charming. Hyperspace mtn was awesome! Big Thunder mtn, Pirates & Small World were so much better at DL!
Minnie's breakfast- We had a 10:10am seating at Plaza Inn for this character breakfast. It was fantastic! The food was very yummy, esp the French toast with caramel syrup. We saw so many characters too- Minnie, Fairy Godmother, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Chip & Dale, Max, Rafiki, Captain Hook & Pinocchio. Great experience.
Characters: We had some fun spontaneous interactions with characters. If you see them walking through the park, follow them. They are usually walking to their meet & greet spot & you will be one of the first people in line. Most of the characters roaming through the parks don't have CM handlers. They handle their own lines. We did this with Alice & the Mad Hatter, Tiana & Dr. Facilier & the Evil Queen. These meet & greets were great.
DCA: We loved this park. It was a nice relief from the DL crowds. Cars land is absolutely adorable. It was like walking into the movie. Radiator Racers was such a fun ride- definitely get a FP for this one. The line was 180 min long a few times during our visit. The Grizzly Peak area was done very nicely too. Kids loved taking a break at Redwood Creek trail. CA screamin was so much fun too! We rode it 4 times in a row one morning with a minimal wait. Smooth rollercoaster. The Frozen show was phenomenal. I know it's had some technical problems and even our show was delayed. But the show itself was smooth and there are so many different special effects- just really worth seeing. World of Color was so so. From where we were standing, it was very hard to see much. It seemed like it could be a really neat show though if you had a good spot.
Pixie dust: I was disappointed in the lack of pixie dust at DL. I'm sure it's there but we did not experience it. I hate to compare the 2 parks, but at WDW you are in a magical bubble. For example, at WDW, numerous CMs refer to my daughters as princesses & wish us a good night each night. Not once did either of those things happen. We heard CMs complaining about their back hurting or when their shift was up. While my kids were meeting Aladdin, I asked Aladdin how his day was going. He replied "pretty painful". I was shocked. I have never seen a Disney character break character. Overall, it felt much more like a general amusement park rather than a Disney park.
Also, we loved being able to walk across the street from our hotel to DL. It was so convenient to be so close and not have to mess with transportation. When we wanted to take a break, it was nice to be able to walk back to our hotel. And the amazing weather in DL doesn't even compare to WDW. Overall, we had a great visit! I would be happy to answer ?s if I can. Hope this helps someone.
Magic Morning: We used our MM the first day and were at bag check at 6:30. We rode almost everything in Fantasyland in the first hour & a half. The frustrating part was that not all the rides were up and running till closer to official park opening or they were down for at least part of our MM. We quickly learned that rides are down a lot! It seemed like the bigger rides were down at least once during the day. Kind of frustrating.
Fastpasses: Use them! Yes it is exhausting running from ride to ride to get them but it's totally worth it. I have never understood waiting in lines for 90-180 min for a ride, when you can get a FP for it. We got FPs every 2 hours & rode our favorites multiple times this way. And if the ride breaks down during your FP time (which happened often), you can use your FP anytime for the rest of the day.
DL- Everything you've read about getting there early is so true! From open till about 10-11am, we walked on or had small waits for several rides, esp on the Adventureland side of the park. (This was also true for DCA.) The crowds were there in full force by noon though. Very congested to get around through Adventureland & Tomorrowland. The Paint the Night parade was awesome! We loved it and even saw it twice. We watched the fireworks/projection show near Small World. This was a great show and easy to find an up close spot at IASW without large crowds. Sleeping Beauty's castle was small but I thought it was quite charming. Hyperspace mtn was awesome! Big Thunder mtn, Pirates & Small World were so much better at DL!
Minnie's breakfast- We had a 10:10am seating at Plaza Inn for this character breakfast. It was fantastic! The food was very yummy, esp the French toast with caramel syrup. We saw so many characters too- Minnie, Fairy Godmother, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Chip & Dale, Max, Rafiki, Captain Hook & Pinocchio. Great experience.
Characters: We had some fun spontaneous interactions with characters. If you see them walking through the park, follow them. They are usually walking to their meet & greet spot & you will be one of the first people in line. Most of the characters roaming through the parks don't have CM handlers. They handle their own lines. We did this with Alice & the Mad Hatter, Tiana & Dr. Facilier & the Evil Queen. These meet & greets were great.
DCA: We loved this park. It was a nice relief from the DL crowds. Cars land is absolutely adorable. It was like walking into the movie. Radiator Racers was such a fun ride- definitely get a FP for this one. The line was 180 min long a few times during our visit. The Grizzly Peak area was done very nicely too. Kids loved taking a break at Redwood Creek trail. CA screamin was so much fun too! We rode it 4 times in a row one morning with a minimal wait. Smooth rollercoaster. The Frozen show was phenomenal. I know it's had some technical problems and even our show was delayed. But the show itself was smooth and there are so many different special effects- just really worth seeing. World of Color was so so. From where we were standing, it was very hard to see much. It seemed like it could be a really neat show though if you had a good spot.
Pixie dust: I was disappointed in the lack of pixie dust at DL. I'm sure it's there but we did not experience it. I hate to compare the 2 parks, but at WDW you are in a magical bubble. For example, at WDW, numerous CMs refer to my daughters as princesses & wish us a good night each night. Not once did either of those things happen. We heard CMs complaining about their back hurting or when their shift was up. While my kids were meeting Aladdin, I asked Aladdin how his day was going. He replied "pretty painful". I was shocked. I have never seen a Disney character break character. Overall, it felt much more like a general amusement park rather than a Disney park.
Also, we loved being able to walk across the street from our hotel to DL. It was so convenient to be so close and not have to mess with transportation. When we wanted to take a break, it was nice to be able to walk back to our hotel. And the amazing weather in DL doesn't even compare to WDW. Overall, we had a great visit! I would be happy to answer ?s if I can. Hope this helps someone.
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