Late morning arrival (11am?) - still worth it for first park day?

[Mardigras2025]

Hi all!

We will be visiting with a 6 year old, 4 year old, and their grandparents from Ohio on the way to Hawaii, staying three nights.

I am looking at flights for our first day and the arrival time, we would land at 9:22am at LAX. We do not have direct flights to Orange County or Long Beach unfortunately. Optimistically assuming we could be in the park by 11/11:30am. This would be day 1 of 3.

Day 2 - early entry to DCA
Day 3 - early entry to DL
Day 4 - leave for HI

Would it still be worth it to arrive in Disneyland at 11:30am, missing the first 3-4 hours? I assume we can get some LLs, see the parade, the beauty and the beast / rapunzel show, maybe see some characters, Tom Sawyer island, maybe do some things like Pirates and Haunted Mansion in the early evening. I would assume the kids will be too tired to make it to Fantasmic on night 1, so likely saving that for our final night. I also assume we might need a short afternoon break at the hotel after the travel and time zone change, especially for our four year old.

If not worth it, would you do “resort day” with pool, get groceries, eat at downtown Disney, maybe go to some shops? Then only have two park days? I don’t think I want to extend this part of trip to 4 nights, but it is something i considered in order to get three full park days with early entry (staying in a cheaper hotel on night 1).

 

[disneychrista]

Since you only have one day at each park scheduled I think a half day at Disneyland would be worth it. We used to do a park day in our arrival day to help cut the cost of hotel. We’d arrive at 1 and head to the parks for a few hours then check into the hotel and then head back for the evening. It made for a long day since we’d have been up since 330.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

If you get Lightening Lane then 100%, will get you on more then enough attractions to make it worth it

 

[Mardigras2025]

If you get Lightening Lane then 100%, will get you on more then enough attractions to make it worth it

Great! I assume the strategy would probably be to skip over things like Indiana Jones and Space Mountain (saving them for day 2), since they will likely be pushed out too far by 11/11:30. Maybe try to get Runaway Railway when we scan in since that will likely be a top priority for the group.

 

[OlliePop27]

I think it's worth it visiting on arrival day, also coming from someone flying in from the east. Especially since you have such limited park days. Just go into that first day with low expectations, then you'll be amazed at how much you can do! Like someone else said, there will be plenty of LL available midday and all afternoon.

It takes some pressure off your two main days since you'll already have visited some attractions/experiences. I had a 5 y/o on my last trip. The time change will be challenging for Fantasmic, even on your last night but worth trying!

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Great! I assume the strategy would probably be to skip over things like Indiana Jones and Space Mountain (saving them for day 2), since they will likely be pushed out too far by 11/11:30. Maybe try to get Runaway Railway when we scan in since that will likely be a top priority for the group.

100% things like Buzz, Autopia, Pirates, star Tours, Mickey etc that have return times that are pretty close then you can switch off from a LL ride to something you standby line wait in as you wait for the next LL.

 

[Pluto468]

Definitely worth it! I've gone in as late as 4 or 5 on my first day and had a wonderful time. You'll beat the morning rush but will still be able to get LL etc. The Rapunzel show was so great when we saw it in April. Your kids will love it. Toontown has alot of places for kids to relax and unwind a bit after the renovation. There's a green space to run around or lie on the grass, plus all the other toontown attractions.

I do like your idea of an extra night, though. The more Disneyland the better

 

[maleficent55]

I’d say yes! Most definitely worth it!

 

[Mardigras2025]

Thanks everyone! Park day it is! I knew I would not be able to arrive and not go straight in!

Now the question is, is it crazy to head straight to Mickey’s house right away (probably top priority), or save that for early evening or morning on DL day 2 when the line is not so bad…

 

[LKing]

I would meet Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto on Main Street rather than Toontown.

You didn't mention when you are visiting. The first parade is usually around 3 pm (starts at Small World and ends at Main Street). The second is around 6 pm and goes in the opposite direction.

 

[Mardigras2025]

I would meet Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto on Main Street rather than Toontown.

You didn't mention when you are visiting. The first parade is usually around 3 pm (starts at Small World and ends at Main Street). The second is around 6 pm and goes in the opposite direction.

Great idea!! Then we can visit the houses on the second morning.

We are visiting in March, so expect the spring break crowds unfortunately. Probably getting ahead of the specifics, but needed to know if I was planning on two park days vs. three or an extra night at a hotel.

 

[LKing]

Great idea!! Then we can visit the houses on the second morning.

We are visiting in March, so expect the spring break crowds unfortunately. Probably getting ahead of the specifics, but needed to know if I was planning on two park days vs. three or an extra night at a hotel.

The reason I asked what month is because right now they have a cavalcade, not a parade.

By 11 am, there should be a ton of characters, including princesses, when you first enter the park and on Main Street. They bring out more characters when they need to slow the flow of traffic into the park.

 

[Mardigras2025]

The reason I asked what month is because right now they have a cavalcade, not a parade.

By 11 am, there should be a ton of characters, including princesses, when you first enter the park and on Main Street. They bring out more characters when they need to slow the flow of traffic into the park.

That sounds amazing and what we are most excited for!

 

[Pluto468]

Great idea!! Then we can visit the houses on the second morning.

We are visiting in March, so expect the spring break crowds unfortunately. Probably getting ahead of the specifics, but needed to know if I was planning on two park days vs. three or an extra night at a hotel.

We went to Mickey and Minnie's houses around 7 last time and there was nobody else there, it was great. Of course if you want to meet Mickey and Minnie you'd need to go in the morning I guess.

 

[Dfoerch]

Can anyone speak to a good strategy at Disneyland Park (we will have LLMP) for a 1:00pm arrival on a Tuesday in late April?

 

[OlliePop27]

Book what is available and interests you! Tons will be available starting at 1:00. I've arrived many times closer to 3:00 and easily booked things like Big Thunder with relatively short return times. More popular rides might be out further into the evening, but still easily doable. Rides like Small World, Pirates, and Buzz almost always have very close return times. Look here for good detailed data: https://www.thrill-data.com/lightning-lane/dlr.

 

[Dfoerch]

That's good to know. Thank you.

 

[Dfoerch]

Book what is available and interests you! Tons will be available starting at 1:00. I've arrived many times closer to 3:00 and easily booked things like Big Thunder with relatively short return times. More popular rides might be out further into the evening, but still easily doable. Rides like Small World, Pirates, and Buzz almost always have very close return times. Look here for good detailed data: https://www.thrill-data.com/lightning-lane/dlr.

Oh-and what is the current procedure to enter the park? I'm only use to WDW, where we use our magicband plus.

 

[LKing]

Oh-and what is the current procedure to enter the park? I'm only use to WDW, where we use our magicband plus.

Sync your MB+ to your Disneyland account. You may need to un-sync it from your WDW account first. You can use either your MB+ or the ticket on your Disneyland app to enter the park.

 

[twodogs]

We always go to the parks on arrival day, even arriving later than you are planning. Book the LL that you want, and then you can “modify” it for hopefully an earlier time. Don’t be discouraged by late return times or even rides that seem to be “out” of LLs for the day. Just use modify to see if a better time or better ride comes up. The LL availability can be very fluid, and this helps you get more out of your LLs, even with a later entry to the parks.