One day visit-hopper worth it?

[Jnc91]

We are going to DL in June 18th. We normally get there by 9am and leave at 7pm. That's the max my son can handle, as he has autism. We've never gone to DCA but my son is really wanting to go on rsr. He doesn't understand it's a different park. But ten hours doesn't seen like enough time to do both parks. What do you think?

 

[ronandannette]

We are going to DL in June 18th. We normally get there by 9am and leave at 7pm. That's the max my son can handle, as he has autism. We've never gone to DCA but my son is really wanting to go on rsr. He doesn't understand it's a different park. But ten hours doesn't seen like enough time to do both parks. What do you think?

If you're set on going at all, I recommend going all the way and getting the hopper. We did this 2 weeks ago and found the crowd levels to be so heavy that we "hopped" just to try and avoid them. June 18 is a Wednesday, we were there on a Monday and DL was unbearable by early afternoon.

I suggest DL in the morning and DCL afterwards but that will leave you having to do single-rider for RSR. (We missed out on the FP's and the single-rider line was 30 minutes long by 11:30). Maybe try ducking into DCA first thing just for FP's (I "think" RSR and Soarin' are disconnected) and then hurry back to DL for the rest of the morning.

If you are going to do just one park it should definitely be DCL, but that might not seem "Disneyland'ish" enough for your DS. Good luck!

 

[Jnc91]

If you're set on going at all, I recommend going all the way and getting the hopper. We did this 2 weeks ago and found the crowd levels to be so heavy that we "hopped" just to try and avoid them. June 18 is a Wednesday, we were there on a Monday and DL was unbearable by early afternoon.

I suggest DL in the morning and DCL afterwards but that will leave you having to do single-rider for RSR. (We missed out on the FP's and the single-rider line was 30 minutes long by 11:30). Maybe try ducking into DCA first thing just for FP's (I "think" RSR and Soarin' are disconnected) and then hurry back to DL for the rest of the morning.

If you are going to do just one park it should definitely be DCL, but that might not seem "Disneyland'ish" enough for your DS. Good luck!

I'd be concerned just going to dca wouldn't be disney enough. And ds will have just turned 6 so we can't do single rider line. He should qualify for a das however which will help on rides with waits over 30-45 min.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

We frequently do one day trips and usually only go to DL. two weeks ago we decided to change it up and hop. We have decided that its not worth it for us for just one day. It felt too rushed. We did a lot at each park but lost a lot of that relaxed feel. We also did not have time for RSR because we did not want to start the day at DCA, so we missed the FP opportunity. I felt like we were just checking DCA off the list rather than enjoying. In the future we will only hop on multi day trips.
That being said, if you have a good plan and understand that you won't see/do a heck of a lot in one of the parks you'll be OK. I think its all about priorities. If Cars Land is a must then start the day at DCA...ect...
Have a great trip!

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

Here's how we spent one day *hours were 8am-12am, we left after the second Fantasmic - this was pre Cars Land, consider the single rider line for RSR - http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2232766

 

[ashleysev]

We've done the one-day park hopper and were able to do both parks, but we didn't have littler ones with us. We were there from open to close.

 

[ronandannette]

I'd be concerned just going to dca wouldn't be disney enough. And ds will have just turned 6 so we can't do single rider line. He should qualify for a das however which will help on rides with waits over 30-45 min.

Sorry - I'm unfamiliar - how does that work? Does he get to go to the front of the line, or perhaps given a return time to walk on? RSR stand-by is often at least an hour and sometimes more than twice that. FP and/or single-rider can be 30 minutes or more.

If you've decided to hop in order to satisfy both the "Disney" factor and do RSR, I really stand by my first recommendation. Run in and out of DCA first thing for FP's only and then do DL for the early part of the day.

 

[Jnc91]

Sorry - I'm unfamiliar - how does that work? Does he get to go to the front of the line, or perhaps given a return time to walk on? RSR stand-by is often at least an hour and sometimes more than twice that. FP and/or single-rider can be 30 minutes or more.

If you've decided to hop in order to satisfy both the "Disney" factor and do RSR, I really stand by my first recommendation. Run in and out of DCA first thing for FP's only and then do DL for the early part of the day.

From my understanding (haven't been since the gac changed to das) is if the stand by line is 2 hrs we will get a return time of 2 hrs later to come back to ride it using an alternative entrance. So we are allowed to wait those two hrs elsewhere instead of the crowded line(which is hard on Ds). So it's not a front of the line pass really since we are waiting the same amount as everyone else. If the lines 30 min or so I think I'll attempt the normal standby line and hope for the best. We do this at lego land so he can practice (we have passes there) but he chooses no rides instead.

 

[ronandannette]

From my understanding (haven't been since the gac changed to das) is if the stand by line is 2 hrs we will get a return time of 2 hrs later to come back to ride it using an alternative entrance. So we are allowed to wait those two hrs elsewhere instead of the crowded line(which is hard on Ds). So it's not a front of the line pass really since we are waiting the same amount as everyone else. If the lines 30 min or so I think I'll attempt the normal standby line and hope for the best. We do this at lego land so he can practice (we have passes there) but he chooses no rides instead.

Ooooh, it would be a rare occasion indeed for the RSR stand-by line to be that short. If an accommodation is available I think I'd be using it.

 

[SMD]

How many people are in your party? If there's another adult, but less than 6 people, you should send someone with your son to request the DAS while someone else gets the RSR FPs. You can get the DAS at either park, all of the tickets just need to be scanned into one park. So if it's easier to start at DL, just have everyone enter there, then have your FP runner take all of the tickets to DCA to get the RSR FPs (you can wait at the machine until a later time comes up), then meet up back at DL and collect a set of FPs there too. If you think you might stay until WOC, you might as well get a set of those FPs while in DCA before hopping back.

 

[mummabear]

We have never gone for just one day but always get hoppers and treat DLR like one large park.
You could easily spend one day in either park or catch the headliners at both.
I would ask myself if riding RSR is worth $56 per person to ride if that is the only thing reason you are heading to DCA.
Have fun.