One Magic Morning....DCA or DL?

[Chumpson]

Thoughts on which park MM helps the most?

 

[jina]

MM (from a 3 day hopper) is only good at DL (Tues. Thurs and Sat - although I think they had MM every day over Xmas).

EE is for on site hotel guests and EE at DL is the same as MM. DCA has EE on days DL does not.

If you have EE which park depends on what rides you really want to go on the most - if you love Tomorrowland and Fantasyland stuff then DL is probably your best bet. Otherwise, DCA is great for EE as you can get quite a bit done especially if you skip RSR and get a FP at regular open. Note that some of the rides on the left side of Paradise Pier (Fun wheel onward) is not open until regular open.

 

[chickapin parterre]

magic morning only happens on days with the letter T at Disneyland for guest with 3 day or more ticket wth advance purchaseor varaiton of city pass. Extra magic hour is a seven day benefit of staying on site, once again using the "T" rule.

 

[chickapin parterre]

......so having never stayed on site i bring MM prejudice to my observation.......for me, it takes care of the Peter Pan ritual, first ride, once a day.....it allows me to ride BUZZ over and over and over...it allows me to be at adventureland rope drop to fastpass grab on Indy and then ride splash over and over and over.... and yes, walking thru NOS empty reminds me of the turn of the century non rope days, when paying the dues for being early at the park meant, empty, all alone....Quiet,too Quiet, the ogre I am.

 

[Chumpson]

So staying offsite with a three day park hopper. Do I get in early to DL on Saturday? Yes or no? We will only be there Sat, Sun, Mon.

 

[chickapin parterre]

so on saturday the gates will open around 6:20- 6:40 to MM folks which you are if your tickets are purchased in advance. This will lead you to a rope drop at the end of main street or to the hub with ropes waiting. Only fanstaslyand is open and only certain rides and tomorrowland are open. no fastpass collection. The crush of folks running at rope drop are headed to Peter pan and space mountain, though trip reports are also indicating that Matterhorn has gained popularity during MM. So depending on your priorities it is workable and magical if you avoid the crush areas.

 

[Chumpson]

The official park opens at 8, so I think you are off by an hour, right?

 

[chickapin parterre]

indeed, off an hour, christmas season mode...sorry.

 

[chickapin parterre]

.....so wow, it is tough to be a summer visitor.....but the rewards for early are grand, just make sure to break away from the park mid day, makes the night so more enhances. It is not so much about crowds, heat, but the relief from the constant shuffle....to just stop for an extended period of time.

 

[figment_jii]

As jina said, Magic Morning (MM) is only offered in Disneyland on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday mornings. This also happens to be the same mornings that onsite guests get Extra Magic Hour (EMH) access to Disneyland. You can find more information here:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/magic-morning-early-admission/

Note that you have to pre-purchase your park tickets if you want to have the MM perk. If you wait to purchase the ticket at the Disneyland ticket booths, those tickets will not be Magic Morning eligible (my friend found out the hard way). Also, you only get access to one Magic Morning per ticket (so even with a three day ticket, you can only go in for one Magic Morning).

As mentioned, Magic Morning allows guests access to certain attractions (Fantasyland and Tomorrowland), shops (same, plus much of Main Street), and dining locations (mostly Main Street) one hour earlier than regular park guests. Unlike non-MM/EMH mornings, the ticket gates do not always open early, so they may not allow guests to begin to enter the park until MM/EMH starts. I was there last November and the ticket gates open right at 9:00 am (park opening was 10:00 am). If you are planning on going to MM, I would make an effort to get to the ticket gates early so you are near the front of the line to get in.

After having done MM back in November, I realized that unless your in the front of the line to get into the park, it's not necessarily worth it to try and ride Peter Pan. The line quickly grows to be 30 to 45 minutes, so if you get to Peter Pan and the line is already that long, I would strongly consider skipping Peter Pan and going for other FL (or TL) attractions. Peter Pan is going to have a long line all day long, so whether you do it first or later, doesn't necessarily matter. Other FL attractions will have lines that build-up during the day, but may be markedly shorter during MM. This didn't seem to be as big of an issue with the TL attractions (my friends rode Space and Star Tours in the time we spent waiting for Peter Pan).

 

[chickapin parterre]

Peter pan is really weird at rope drop. The CMs have not opened up the chains but funnel you thru one length of chain then onto the the loading dock. As a result, with the stroller jam in the area where there should be a line and crushing wave of folks, they line up all the way back to the castle entrance. Then on a direction from somewhere, the chain maze is opened and a CM directs you into the maze. It is possible to find the line at the sword shop and be in despair, but give it a try anyhow as the line could very well be short but looks like it is spilling out into the walkway, when in reality, the CM has not opened the maze. I do not run but UPS shuffle to Peter Pan after a finger touching rope drop, a rope that is long as it extends the length of the castle if at the hub. I am done with the whole ride by 10 mins past rope drop. But when waiting for the 8 mins to board, I am always watch the CM chain process and wonder why the maze is never opened. If in line at the sword shop, give a look and see if the maze is being used. If it is being used fully, then despair and travel else where and maybe come back at park close.

 

[figment_jii]

Not having the full queue in use right at opening is not that uncommon. It means that the first guests can funnel into the attraction more quickly. Eventually, the CMs will open the rest of the queue and it'll fill up like normal, but most rides do not make the guests walk the entire queue initially (unless the queues cannot be avoided for the most part).

 

[Jaxs27]

Question....We are staying at DL hotel, but we are not purchasing our tickets until the day we get there. Will we still get MM since we are resort guest?

 

[filghtBOS]

Question....We are staying at DL hotel, but we are not purchasing our tickets until the day we get there. Will we still get MM since we are resort guest?

You should get Extra Magic Hours, so MM won't really matter. As long as you show your room key, its my understanding that you can get it even without magic morning (and you're not limited to just one MM). AND you get into DCA early on alternating days.

 

[Jaxs27]

Thank you so much! This is our first time at DL, so I'm not very familiar with the terminology. Great!

 

[filghtBOS]

Thank you so much! This is our first time at DL, so I'm not very familiar with the terminology. Great!

When're you headed out? My family is going for the first time in three weeks...quite excited!

 

[Jaxs27]

When're you headed out? My family is going for the first time in three weeks...quite excited!

July 26-August 1 We are very excited also! We have been to WDW many times, so decided to try DL this year.

 

[figment_jii]

Question....We are staying at DL hotel, but we are not purchasing our tickets until the day we get there. Will we still get MM since we are resort guest?

Onsite guests are eligible for Extra Magic Hours (EMH). Extra Magic Hour and Magic Morning are the same thing at Disneyland (happen at the same time, on the same mornings). There is no Magic Morning in DCA, only Extra Magic Hour, so it's one of the perks of staying onsite. The schedule is typically:
DCA EMH: Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
DL EMH/MM: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays

So, having access to EMH is not tied to what type of ticket you have (whereas access to MM is typed to ticket type(. However, in order to enter the park for EMH, you still need to have a valid park ticket for admission.

 

[filghtBOS]

July 26-August 1 We are very excited also! We have been to WDW many times, so decided to try DL this year.

Same here. We'll be there the week prior. Last minute surprise trip. We've been to WDW 50+ times (used to be AP holders), but never been to DLR, so this will be a totally new experience!