One day in DL...

[aagee]

This will be my first time to DL, & we will only be there one day. We are actually vacationing in San Diego, but I couldn't be that close to DL & not spend a little time there

Any tips for getting the most out of a one day visit?

 

[DLR29]

1. Arrive early early early early. #1 tip. If you can't do anything else, do this. Get to the gates 30-45 minutes early and you will not wait in any lines for pretty much the first hour. Most people show up around 9:30-10AM so if the park opens at 8AM you can have a lot of time to enjoy short lines.

2. Use FastPass as much as possible. Hydroguy has some great threads on FP. It works very much like the WDW ones, but there are some advantages to DLR FP. For one, Grizzly River Run(DCA) and Roger Rabbit (DL) are not connected to their own park's central FP system, allowing you to obtain FPs for them even while holding onto another ride's. Also the proximity of the parks from each other makes it very easy to hop and be holding FPs for both parks at the same time.

3. Understand the attractions. Know which rides have long lines, which rides have high capacities, which rides have FP or single rider lines. You don't want to be riding Pirates at 8 in the morning because that ride has such a high capacity that you can get on with a short wait almost anytime. On the contrary, you don't want to ride Peter Pan, Dumbo or Nemo at 1 in the afternoon when their lines are 60min+. Research on the DIS and other sites, maybe buy the unofficial guide, as it's very good at this kind of tip.

Also some people recommend RideMax in order to get the most out of your day.

 

[avalon451]

Who's in your group? Young kiddos?

Unofficial Guide to DL has some good one-day touring plans, one for families with young kids (I believe it's called "Dumbo or Die in a Day" plan ) plus a couple of ones more geared toward adults or older kids who like the bigger rides. UG is available in bookstores or online.

Too bad you can only be there one day! You can really only cover the highlights. 3 days is minimum for really getting a good feel for the parks.

I agree with all of DLR's suggestions, too!

 

[aagee]

It will just be me & my husband. We are only going to Disneyland, not CA. I think it will be bad enough cramming one park into one day, so I don't even want to attempt 2!!

 

[mybestieismickey]

My best tip is that you should only go into Adventureland if you are going to ride Indiana Jones or the Jungle Cruise. For anything else you should go through Frontierland. I find Adventureland to be one big traffic jam most of the time, and while distance wise it may look shorter to get to New Orleans Square and Critter Country, you'll likely get to that side of the park faster and a lot less frustrated (with fewer stroller bruises) if you go through Frontierland.