Looking for advice

[kelmac284]

Never mind I see he has it on there. I thought I read Soarin but it was screamin! Go show!

 

[RichardG]

kelmac284,

California Screamin is the reason why we're getting one-day park hopper tickets. If that's the only ride I get to do in DCA, I will be a happy man (of course, I hope it won't be that busy).

HydroGuy,

I will add the Tiki room to my list.

Now, I'm just wondering about the crowd level on that day. I didn't know you had a school fall break. I knew about Spring break but not the fall break. Hopefully it won't be too bad. But I have no control on the crowds so we'll deal with it.

Richard

 

[Hound 109]

I agree with SM FP first....then Indy FP second.

The question (amongst some of us) is whether to get Splash FP next or HMH next. Depends on weather, crowds etc.....thankfully they are VERY close to each other & easy to grab one OR the other (& ride one or the other....or both ).


Richard, even with a fall break, remember HG's (& everyone else's) golden rule....if you arrive EARLY & tour & pick up FPs effieciently & often, then even if crowded, you'll be OK.

When i visited last year in mid Oct., it steadily got more crowded as the day wore on (& was real crowded between 4-7pm). I think this had alot to do with local day trippers with AP passes checking out the holiday decorations & parades etc. Because of this, SM, Indy, HMH & FantasyLand were PACKED from 11am on (& especially between 4-7pm) & the parades & fireworks were crowded as well.

Was no problem for us because we had toured & picked up FPs early. Used the FPs later in the day (night) when it was crowded.

( in my trip report in the link below, I even mention what the standby lines were as we toured in the late afternoon/evening using our FPs....I recommend reading if you haven't already )

 

[HydroGuy]

Another thread reminded me that there is a good chance that the FP machines for BTMRR and Roger Rabbit will be turned off on your visit due to it being an off-season day. So you will probably have to do these through the standby line.

 

[kelmac284]

I don't blame you there Richard! Screamin is one of my favs! Have to do that at least 3 or 4 times every trip!!

I agree with ALL the advice given! Just remember to watch your FP's for the next available time and make sure you get more when you can. When we go we always send my husband to get either splash or space first thing while the rest of us ride say pirates. (he doesn't care about that as we have been on it millions of times). Then we meet up and ride another high capacity ride like Indy or something while it is still not busy. Then usually after we get off it is almost time to get the next pass so we either get it on the way to the next ride or hubby gets it while we ride something else. Now I know that is not going to work for you but I suggest that you try to get your FP's as you are touring around. Just keep track of those times!! Also you can usually get them closer together the earlier you go but they space out more as the day goes on. As it gets later and more crowded you will have to wait about 2 hours between FP's.

We always try and get as many as we can and ride as MUCH as possible early in the morning and then ride everything with our passes later in the day when it is packed and the lines are really long.

Something else you need to remember is that there will be a new fireworks for Halloween as well as the space mountain overlay besides all the normal halloween stuff that will draw the crowds. So hopefully it won't be too bad. I think Columbus day is that Monday so there may be stragglers from that day as well.

But with good planning you can see a LOT! All the advice is great and if you do everything recommended you should be able to do everything at least once! Good luck and have a blast! I'll be there the next weekend!

 

[RichardG]

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

It will really help us and I'm sure we'll have a great time. I'll let you know how it worked.

Richard

 

[RichardG]

Update:


My wife and I finally visited DL and DCA on Wednesday, October 14th. We had a blast !

Took HydroGuy's plan and tried it. It looked good until the very first ride.

We got FP for Space Mountain and headed for Alice but because of the rain, Alice wasn't operating. Skipped to Matterhorn, understaffed, bobsleds were wet, waited for 15 minutes to get on, but then, waited 5 minutes for Toad, Pinocchio and Buzz.

Got to Indiana Jones at 10 to get a FP....FP were not avalaible but the ride was opening so waited only 5 minutes to ride it (well, the 5 minute walk to get thru the queue, that is such a long queue). then POTC (no wait, alone in the boat)

No FP for Haunted Mansion (waited 10 minutes), skipped Splash because we were already wet, hungry and a bit tired (we drove to DL straight from Las Vegas during the night). We had lunch at the Rockets place in Tomorrowland. Was good, we enjoyed. Used FP for Space Mountain, Ghost galaxy, thrilling, especially right after lunch

Hit Toontown, no FP for Roger Rabbit so waited 15 minutes to ride it, then met Mickey at his house before hitting IASW (no wait)

Left for DCA. Skipped GRR (same reason than Splash), waited 10 minutes for Monsters Inc, 5 minutes for Tower of Terror, little bit of shopping.

Finally got a FP for California Screamin, played a little bit in the boardwalk games, and waited 20 minutes for Toy Story mania. Took FP for Soaring over California. Had dinner at the Taste pilots, great ribs.

Rode California Screamin and we loved it, made our day. went for soaring after.

Shopping at Dowtown, went back to DL, Alice still wasn't operating, waited for the Halloween fireworks and walked back to the hotel, hands full of shopping bags for a good night sleep.

A great day that we really enjoyed thanks to all of you who gave me there advice for our short visit.

Thank you again
Richard

 

[Hound 109]

Update:


My wife and I finally visited DL and DCA on Wednesday, October 14th. We had a blast !

Took HydroGuy's plan and tried it. It looked good until the very first ride.

We got FP for Space Mountain and headed for Alice but because of the rain, Alice wasn't operating. Skipped to Matterhorn, understaffed, bobsleds were wet, waited for 15 minutes to get on, but then, waited 5 minutes for Toad, Pinocchio and Buzz.

Got to Indiana Jones at 10 to get a FP....FP were not avalaible but the ride was opening so waited only 5 minutes to ride it (well, the 5 minute walk to get thru the queue, that is such a long queue). then POTC (no wait, alone in the boat)

No FP for Haunted Mansion (waited 10 minutes), skipped Splash because we were already wet, hungry and a bit tired (we drove to DL straight from Las Vegas during the night). We had lunch at the Rockets place in Tomorrowland. Was good, we enjoyed. Used FP for Space Mountain, Ghost galaxy, thrilling, especially right after lunch

Hit Toontown, no FP for Roger Rabbit so waited 15 minutes to ride it, then met Mickey at his house before hitting IASW (no wait)

Left for DCA. Skipped GRR (same reason than Splash), waited 10 minutes for Monsters Inc, 5 minutes for Tower of Terror, little bit of shopping.

Finally got a FP for California Screamin, played a little bit in the boardwalk games, and waited 20 minutes for Toy Story mania. Took FP for Soaring over California. Had dinner at the Taste pilots, great ribs.

Rode California Screamin and we loved it, made our day. went for soaring after.

Shopping at Dowtown, went back to DL, Alice still wasn't operating, waited for the Halloween fireworks and walked back to the hotel, hands full of shopping bags for a good night sleep.

A great day that we really enjoyed thanks to all of you who gave me there advice for our short visit.

Thank you again
Richard

Thanks for reporting back Richard.

I'm glad you two had a good time....good for you for not letting the early morning ride glitches slow you down too much.

Looks like you'll have to do Alice (& Storybookland & others).....if you ever make it back.

How'd you like Toady & Pinocchio?

 

[RichardG]

Hound109,

The visit went great. Rainy but great.

I remembered Pinocchio and Toad from my only visit to DL in 1991. I enjoyed them again this time. But my favorite ride was Indiana Jones. I'm used to the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom and they both use the same system but I loved Indy a lot more. I also really enjoyed the Holiday Haunted Mansion. I wish they could do the same in WDW and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy was fun. I also liked IASM with the new characters. But I have to say that I wasn't that trilled by the Roger Rabbit's ride. Just ok.

In DCA, California Screamin is the best. Also really liked the Tower of Terror. Soaring over California seemed to be better than in WDW. I always get the feeling that the movie is out of focus in WDW but I didn't get that feeling in DCA. Don't know why...I was even able to see, for the first time, the hidden Mickey during the golf sequence.

It was a great day but I have to admit one thing. This year's visit gave me the same impression than in 1991. You don't feel the same way when you're in DL than when you're in WDW. The magic is different. Why ? Not sure, maybe it's because DL is more of a day trip thing than WDW, where people are usually on vacation. It just doesn't feel the same. Maybe because it was raining and the only way to see characters was to visit them in Mickey and Minnie's houses. No characters in the streets... I was also very susprised by the number of graffitis on the walls of different queues.

DCA also needs help. The rides are great but you don't feel like your visiting a Disney park when walking on the streets.

The next morning, we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen for my wife's birthday and right at the moment we sat down, it felt like Disney. We felt the same way as we usually do in WDW. Very comfortable...

We had a wonderful time.

RichardG