OK all you DLP experts .........

[mmtdevlin]

Can you guys [and gals!] check my tour plan for our one day trip to DLP in a couple of weeks. We are staying in Paris and will be taking the RER A train out and back. Party consists of just me and DH (NO KIDS!).

Comments and suggestions for alterations very welcome! If you would do something different or you have spotted an error please reply.

TIA Martina aka Library_girl

oops oh yeah and its our first time to DLP.

----------------------------------------------------
Friday 11th August

Leave hotel at 06:55 AM to be at Chatelet RER station for around 7.10 AM to catch train at 7:26AM.

Be at front gates at 8:20AM
Clear the turnstiles and move forward quickly to the end of Main Street and proceed to the central plaza ---- here veer left to the rope drop of Frontierland.

Alternatively head up Liberty Arcade and at the top wait to turn left into Frontierland!

At rope drop - ride Big Thunder Mountain without a Fast Pass.
Afterwards, pick up a FP for later on. [BTM FP entrance is at the far end of the ride, nearest the Cowboy cookout]
Head to Discoveryland and pick up Fast Passes for Star Tours and Buzz Light-year Laser Quest to ride later on. Buzz is in the blue building at the entrance to Discoveryland, marked Annual Passport Office!! The entrance is opposite Orbitron.
Ride Space Mountain 2 without a Fast Pass. Afterwards, pick up a FP for later on.
Head to Fantasyland and pick up a FP for Peter Pan.
Ride Dumbo the flying elephant if crowds not too long. [slow loading!]
Head to Adventureland pick up a FP for Indianna Jones and the temple of Peril Rollercoaster. [upside down ride]

YOU NOW HAVE FAST PASSES FOR ALL THE POPULAR RIDES.

See ‘Honey I shrunk the Audience’ in Discoveryland.
Ride Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland. [Fast loading]
Ride Phantom Manor in Frontierland. [P.M. is fast loading so queue will dissolve quickly!]

Have lunch around 11am before the lunch crowd arrives --- in Café Hyperion in Discoveryland [the airship shape restaurant]

Ride Star Tours with FP.
Check your other FP ride times to see if you are near any of their times.

As soon as you have ridden a Fast Pass ride ---- pick up another Fast Pass for it if there are any more available!

After about 12:00PM when there are loads of people in the park: ----- Head to the DISNEYSTUDIO PARK

Obtain a FP for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster [upside down ride].
Do the Behind the Scenes Tram ride
See the Moteur Action show –
Ride Armageddon. Outside Armageddon is one of the best places to stand for the parade.
Ride Flying Carpets Over Agrabah in the Studios.
Trace route back to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with your Fast Pass.
At the studios-- the Disney Cinema parade is on at 1.45

Around 2:00PM - Return to DISNEYLAND PARK. It will be very busy.

See if you are near any of your Fast Pass Return times.
Go to Frontierland for a ride on the Thunder Mesa River boat. [This may not be available in August]
See the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House in Adventureland.
Stroll around Adventure Isle and Skull rock (both in Adventureland).
Check out the castle and the dragon!

Stroll to MAIN STREET to browse the shops there as it will be very busy at the end of the day when everyone is going home!
Ride Casey Junior in Fantasyland. [Queues rarely build up]
Ride Le Pays des Contes de Fees in Fantasyland. [queues rarely build up]

Around 3:00PM - The ‘Wonderful World of Disney’ parade starts at 3pm or 4pm. [check the time] About ½ hour beforehand - get yourself to near the archway into Fantasyland opposite the Pizzeria Bella Notte to view the start of the parade ----- The parade enters the Parade Route from next to "it's a small world" and ends at Town Square next to Discovery Arcade.] ---- [Alternatively, about 1 hour before the parade get to the concrete benches near fantasy land - - to the side of the castle - people use them to watch the parade. Sit in about row 3.

As soon as the parade has passed you by get back to the rides immediately while lots of others are watching it.

Ride Pirates of the Caribbean again in Adventureland while everyone is watching the parade.
Walk through Alice’s Curious Labyrinth [maze] in Fantasyland.

At 6:30PM -- Have dinner in Frontierland at : Lucky Nugget Saloon Buffet.


Re-enter the main park.
Ride Indiana Jones and temple of Peril ride or BTM with your FP.
See Honey I shrunk the Audience in Discoveryland if you didn’t see it earlier.
The Princess parade at Disneyland park is on at 7.15pm.
Fantillusion parade is at 10.30pm. It runs from Fantasyland to Main Street or reverse.

 

[andy6326]

Hi there -

sounds like an action packed day. I only have one comment and that is that your itinerary reads a lot like the unofficial guide ones for serious thrillseeker visitors to WDW. I'd recommend at DLP you maybe take it a little easier and build in some time to smell the coffee and appreciate the little touches that make DLP special.

Only a suggestion, but might be worth taking on board especially in the heat we're experiencing at present.

Cheers and have fun,

A

 

[mmtdevlin]

hey andy, thanks for the thoughts. Yeah I'm anticipating meltdown pretty early in that plan but I like to have things down just in case. DH is not a planner and does not like sticking to a plan but I get a weird kick out of having one.

Is there anywhere nice and cool where we can just sit back in the shade and relax for an hour or so in the parks? I'm presuming its not a place where you can just lay back on a bank of lawn and chill.

 

[wideeyes]

you seem very organised, however the fast pass system at the studios is not in operation so you can not get a fast pass for rock n roller coaster.

 

[andy6326]

Is there anywhere nice and cool where we can just sit back in the shade and relax for an hour or so in the parks? I'm presuming its not a place where you can just lay back on a bank of lawn and chill.

Maybe sit back with a cool one on the Plaza gardens terrace under an umbrella. Or if its too hot for that there are tables for the eateries inside the arcade, which I'm pretty sure has air con

 

[tinkerbell36]

One thing I would say is to try grab lunch in Cafe Hyperion when the Lion King show is on. Means you can have lunch and effortlessly watch a good show at the same time if possible I would also try to see the Tarzan show - great for a sit down and it is such a great show, very impressive.

Hope that helps

 

[nifferwilko]

At the beginning DEFINATELY head down liberty arcade for the "hidden" frontierland entrance. Me and my sister did this on Bastille Day and there were only 6 people stood here. We beat the crowds from the centre plaza into Frontierland and were on the first train of the day!

 

[isma]

Wow, you sure are organised! Reminds me very much of my way at the parks, be warned that your feet will be going to kill you at the end of the day!

Sounds very good so far, I was only wondering if the 2 hours calculated for the studios will be enough time to do all the things you planned. If fastpasses don`t work I suggest you skip Flying Carpets since it is pretty much the same as Dumbo and the queue in my opinion moves very slow. We didn`t have to use fastpasses on RnRC last week, always had shorter waits than what the sign said, but lines build up right after Moteurs so maybe try to ride it first...

And if I didn`t get you wrong I think you wrote that there would be Wonderful World of Disney Parade and Princess Parade but as far as I know they are the same and the Princess Parade takes place only once a day which is around 7.00. But then maybe they changed that for the time of your stay?
So in case there`s only one parade and you do not want to watch (although it`s cute) I found it to be a good time for rides at Fantasyland.

And don`t forget to take your time to just enjoy the atmosphere and not get stressed out because you want to stick to your plan, then rather leave out a second turn on one of the rides.

Oops, I wrote a lot.
All in all your plan sounds like it will help you to get the most out of the day, you will have a lot fun!!

 

[mmtdevlin]

Nifferwilko, andy, tinkerbell and wideeyes, thanks for your input. The tips have really helped me.

isma, the parades may well be the same. I went to the disneyland site and there is no 'wonderful world....' parade so I guess its just the Princess parade at 7pm. Dam*, I was hoping to be able to hop on some of rides with a minimal line when a lot of people are watching the parade at 4pm.

So, what rides are good to go on later in the evening, say after 5pm w/o long queues?

 

[Cyrano]

Sounds a great packed itinery

 

[isma]

So, what rides are good to go on later in the evening, say after 5pm w/o long queues?

Refering to last weeks visit I`d say POTC (10 minutes the longest), PM (no wait), Honey I shrunk ( you might have to wait 10-15 minutes but because it`s a cinema it then holds a great capacity of people), even Indiana was walk on in the evening. If you decided on watching the parade at 7.00 from the area around IASW you could have a try at Fantasyland again because many families get their place for the parade 30 to 45 minutes before so there might be a good chance for some of the rides there.
The maze is also very nice to walk through at evening and gets quiet by then.

 

[tinkerbell36]

Most of the rides except BTM, PPF and SM2 are *pretty much* walk on in the evening, and you will find (hopefully) that the park empties quite a bit around 3-5pm as some people choose to escape the heat and crowds and go back to their hotel or for a drink. Oh and you must take the time to see the Bazaar in Adventureland- its so atmospheric and can be a good place for picking up gifts as it has some stuff in it you can't get in any other shop

 

[nifferwilko]

PM (no wait)

I have to agree with this. We were lucky enough to be on a riverboat (yep they were open!!!) and as we went past PM I thought it was closed as there was NOONE there. It was open so we walked up and straight in. Amazing

 

[raptor1982]

you seem very organised, however the fast pass system at the studios is not in operation so you can not get a fast pass for rock n roller coaster.

Fastpass at WDS IS operational on crowded days (mostly sundays).