Last minute help request for 10/26 and 10/27

[Disneyfriend]

I am usually an organized uber-planner, but just this week we put together a Disneyland trip on the fly. Party of 5, including our 5 year old grandson.

Anyway . . .

1. We'll be checked into the Grand Californian and ready to leave by about 1:30 pm on Friday, 10/26. (Flying in, so can't get there any earlier.) We're planning to spend the rest of the day (maybe until 6 or 7 pm?) at one of the parks. Which one? I realize there's a Halloween party tomorrow night at DL.

2. If you had to guess, which fastpasses might still be available at 1:30 pm tomorrow? We're planning to add MaxPass to our tickets.

3. Same question for 10/27. We are seeing the King Tut exhibit in the morning, but would get back to the Disneyland Resort area by about 2 pm. If you had to guess, which fastpasses would likely still be available around 2 pm on Saturday?

Thank you sincerely for any advice you can give.

ps - I have done remarkably well on our dining reservations by stalking the website like a crazy person, so we are at least in good shape there. I even scored a Fantasmic dining package and a Paint the Night package for Friday and Saturday nights.

 

[gottalovepluto]

1. Because you’re bailing by 7pm Disneyland. DCA is insane during the cross-over pre-party hours!

2 & 3: All of them

CONGRATS on your dining res stalking! Nice! Have an awesome trip!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Uh- if you have a PTN package for Fri and you’re only going to one park you need to make it DCA...

 

[Disneyfriend]

1. Because you’re bailing by 7pm Disneyland. DCA is insane during the cross-over pre-party hours!

2 & 3: All of them

CONGRATS on your dining res stalking! Nice! Have an awesome trip!

Many thanks for the advice and congrats! It turns out that 50th time (or so) was a charm, ha!

And our PTN package is on Saturday night. Fantasmic is Sunday. (We do have one full day on Sunday, as well.)

 

[FCDub]

Go on the app today around 1:30/2, and you can see what FPs are available. Obviously won't be exact, but it'll give you a good sense.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Your 2nd day pop into the park and you can start booking maxpasses for the afternoon!

 

[Disneyfriend]

Your 2nd day pop into the park and you can start booking maxpasses for the afternoon!

Thank you so much for the reminder! I just figured out yesterday how Maxpass even works, and was just starting to ponder that strategy. It will be perfect!

 

[midnight star]

I also recommend all of you scan in early Saturday so you can book maxpasses while out and about. Saturdays have been slammed this month, so it could help. Just make sure all of you are physically there to initially scan in. One person can’t bring all of the tickets and scan in that way

 

[Disneyfriend]

I also recommend all of you scan in early Saturday so you can book maxpasses while out and about. Saturdays have been slammed this month, so it could help. Just make sure all of you are physically there to initially scan in. One person can’t bring all of the tickets and scan in that way

Thanks for the explanation - perfect!

 

[nursemelis374]

We were there last Friday and FP for Ghost Galaxy, Splash and Haunted Mansion were all gone by about 2.

 

[Disneyfriend]

We were there last Friday and FP for Ghost Galaxy, Splash and Haunted Mansion were all gone by about 2.

Yikes - busy! But I suppose I suspect no different. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We were there last Friday and FP for Ghost Galaxy, Splash and Haunted Mansion were all gone by about 2.

@Disneyfriend
Last Fri was an outlier due to UEA. Practically all Utah schools are out for a teacher conference or something so it’s colloquially known around here as Utah Escapes to Anaheim- those few days are known to be insane.

 

[ExcitedMama]

We were there last week and by 1:30 there were a lot of rides still available. I would say Cars, HM, SM, and GOTG were going the quickest followed by Soarin’ and TSMM.

It’s really hard to know what the crowds will be like in either park. Some days we chose one park, checked MP and then switched.

Do you use Waze? It allows you to plan a drive so you can get an idea of what traffic is like for your drive to and from the Science Center. It’s great because it can show you how traffic varies to find your best window.

We added King Tut to our trip too. It was a smaller exhibit than I’d expected. I wish we’d had more time for it though. We didn’t have time for the audio tour but I wish we’d had. We also did the Pompeii exhibit at the Reagan Library and it was much better with the audio. I would recommend against doing the IMAX if you’re bringing the 5 year old. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a modern movie. It’s an older movie with Omar Sharif, he was amazing, but my newly 6 yr old was very bored. I wish we’d seen the one related to the Endeavour instead. Make sure he sees the Endeavour if he’s with you. Has he been to the Natural History Museum next door? The dinosaurs are worth the trip and mine loved them even when they were 4 and 5.