Peter Pan ride

[cacruisin]

I am a So-Cal native and have visited DL since I was a child....I remember from my childhood riding Peter Pan...but back then (late 80's / early 90's) it did not have excessive lines or the popularity it does these days...I have taken my own child several times over the last few year and have not rode Peter Pan because of the always long lines....my question is....is it the same ride from "back in the day"? I am just trying to figure out the massive popularity to the ride now and if I am missing something....basically is it worth the effort to either wait in the long line or go there first thing in the AM? Is it different then it was long ago?....I do recall enjoying the ride as a child but I don't remember it as "worth waiting an hour in line for" great.....so again...what am I missing??????

Thanks in advance.....

 

[BadPinkTink]

I have only been going to Disneyland since 2009 so I dont know how it was back in the day. To me, it seems that Fantasyland rides and in particular Peter Pan have been left behind in terms of road loading times / ride capacity compared to the newer modern rides and attractions. Its not that it has increased in popularity, more that the modern rides can physically move more people in the same amount of time.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

I must be in the minority because I don't understand why that ride is so popular and always has a long wait. It's cute but not worth the wait. Last time we went on it, we waited until the wait died down to maybe 15 minutes. I regretted it because the rode broke down while we were on it. Lots of other rides Id rather go on.

 

[alvernon90]

It's a pretty delightful ride, if you have never been on it I think it is worth hitting it at rope drop or just investing some time (especially if the wait time is listed under 30 minutes).

But in my opinion, the upgraded Alice in Wonderland ride is now the best dark ride in Fantasyland.

 

[MillauFr]

It has long lines because it along with Alice are the best rides in Fantasyland.

 

[Toon crazy]

I must say my family and I weren't impressed. It's good to ride for the nostalgic aspect, at least once. However after you ride it once that's definitely enough.

 

[julesann]

Ahhh it's a sweet ride for me...nostalgic, magical, simple. There was an upgrade/refurb a few years ago but I don't really remember it from my childhood so it's just PP to me. I ride it every visit...and it's a tradition. I get to the park an hour before rope drop and position myself to be one of the first on the ride...so I tend to wait no more than 20 minutes. I find it fun to anticipate it; walk quickly to PP and then relish my sweet and simple 2 minutes. Magic for this almost 60 year old.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

My eight year old would say it is ABSOLUTELY NOT worth the wait, but I love it. For me it is nostalgic and sweet and everything I love about Disneyland.

 

[karen1987]

We hit Peter Pan at rope drop so there is a minimum wait time. It's cute and nostalgic, but we don't think it's worth the wait time it usually has throughout the day!

 

[chickapin parterre]

Peter Pan is the best example of fantasy.....you are flying, you are on a pirate ship looking down over the edge, there is familiar music and the best example of primitive art to create a thrilling ride, it also has a little dip that always catches me off guard, wind in your face. the other three attractions are on bench seats, toad is. great because it is in car but it moves way to fast to catch a story or become caught up in the fantasy.. But I do not consider Peter Pan the best 10 feet in Disneyland, I reserve that for Snow White's dwarf kitchen, which I ride three times or more in a row and naturally the very floating top of Chickapin.

 

[cruisehopeful]

is it the same ride from "back in the day"?

For the most part, yes. There was some updating, but the updates were pretty much more lights/colors in the flying over the city part and a few adjustments to the scenes of the characters. Chances are, if you haven't ridden it in many years, you won't notice the changes. I used to ride it frequently in the 90's and like you, avoided it for the past few years because of the long lines. We decided to go on it a few months ago. We ate sandwiches in line so we were at least having lunch instead of just standing around for 40 minutes. I concluded that it wasn't worth the wait and that I probably won't go on it again unless the line is 20 mins or less. Although, if I were going with a child who didn't mind waiting in lines, I'd go because I think children would love the ride.

 

[Frozen2014]

Ahhh it's a sweet ride for me...nostalgic, magical, simple. There was an upgrade/refurb a few years ago but I don't really remember it from my childhood so it's just PP to me. I ride it every visit...and it's a tradition. I get to the park an hour before rope drop and position myself to be one of the first on the ride...so I tend to wait no more than 20 minutes. I find it fun to anticipate it; walk quickly to PP and then relish my sweet and simple 2 minutes. Magic for this almost 60 year old.

You arrived at the park 1hr prior to rope drop and you still have to wait 20 minutes? Yikes. Wonder how those closer to the front of the line got there? We rode it at Disney World (with FastPass so small wait) and it was quite. Disney type ride where it tells a story. We'll try and go again on our summer trip but we're not "rope drop and run full speed" family so guess we'll have to see how bad the lines are.

 

[Frozen2014]

...We ate sandwiches in line so we were at least having lunch instead of just standing around for 40 minutes. ....

Great idea

 

[Zbugz]

Previously I was in the "not worth a long wait" category. If I didn't hit it with less than a 10 minute wait, i.e. rope drop, I didn't bother. Tuesday the magic morning lines to get in the park were crazy. Despite being 35 minutes early to get in line, we didn't get in until 10 after the hour, so we skipped PP. By the end of the evening, we decided to stand in line for it as our last ride. It took 40 minutes to get on it, but the time went quickly, and it was a perfect ending to our day. If I had waited 40 minutes in the first part of the day, I would've been grumpy, but as our last ride, it was ok and worth it.

 

[WonkaKid]

We hit Peter Pan at rope drop so there is a minimum wait time. It's cute and nostalgic, but we don't think it's worth the wait time it usually has throughout the day!

Quite agree. I only do PP right at rope drop. Otherwise, it's simply not worth the wait.

 

[Mike_M]

I recently went to Paris Disneyland for the first time and their Peter Pan had an hour wait time the whole day so it isn't just ours, it's the design of the ride in general.

As a result, I decided to skip the Paris version. I don't believe it was any different than ours, plus I only did a day trip so budgeting my time was important.
It's a fun ride, and I always hit it up at least once per trip to DLR. I'm not sure how you could speed up load times without a complete redesign.

 

[closetmickey]

How long after the fireworks does PP open back up? What is the approximate wait at closing?

 

[WonkaKid]

I recently went to Paris Disneyland for the first time and their Peter Pan had an hour wait time the whole day so it isn't just ours, it's the design of the ride in general.

As a result, I decided to skip the Paris version.

I've been to DL Paris. I could have sworn they had a PP FP. Then again, I've been to all of the parks with the exception of Shanghai. Perhaps I'm confusing the parks.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am a So-Cal native and have visited DL since I was a child....I remember from my childhood riding Peter Pan...but back then (late 80's / early 90's) it did not have excessive lines or the popularity it does these days...I have taken my own child several times over the last few year and have not rode Peter Pan because of the always long lines....my question is....is it the same ride from "back in the day"? I am just trying to figure out the massive popularity to the ride now and if I am missing something....basically is it worth the effort to either wait in the long line or go there first thing in the AM? Is it different then it was long ago?....I do recall enjoying the ride as a child but I don't remember it as "worth waiting an hour in line for" great.....so again...what am I missing??????

Thanks in advance.....

The lines are long because people want to ride it.

The queue is slightly deceptive because you can't see all the switchbacks inside. And it's the first ride you come to in fantasyland.

If I were you (assuming they are around) I would check with the parents to see if your kid-memories are accurate. You might have been having such fun in line that you don't remember that it took ages.

Our experience in the 70s was that all lines were long. And we were there when space mountain was newish and waited hours. Fun hours (we were kids!) but hours.

You arrived at the park 1hr prior to rope drop and you still have to wait 20 minutes? Yikes. Wonder how those closer to the front of the line got there? We rode it at Disney World (with FastPass so small wait) and it was quite. Disney type ride where it tells a story. We'll try and go again on our summer trip but we're not "rope drop and run full speed" family so guess we'll have to see how bad the lines are.

PP at WDW pre FP+ (yuck) had looooong lines as well. I've waited in that line! And I'm sure the standby line for it, if you didn't get a fp+, is still long.

You need to get in line early at Disneyland so you are up front. That allows you to be closer to the front of the first ride line. It's very important. But there are many lines to enter the park, so just being at the front of one line doesn't get you anything unique. There will always be faster walkers (no running at Disney!), longer legged people, etc.

And often they open the gates early and the rope drop is held at the Walt/Mickey statue area. So being at the front of the gate line morphs into a crowd of people who were up front and bold people who won't allow a gap between people. (Nothing wrong with that mindset)

If you would prefer to not be there early, your wait to get into the park will still be long (but you'll be behind more people) and youll have a longer wait at each ride. I prefer to be closer to the front an hour before opening.

 

[julesann]

You arrived at the park 1hr prior to rope drop and you still have to wait 20 minutes? Yikes. Wonder how those closer to the front of the line got there? We rode it at Disney World (with FastPass so small wait) and it was quite. Disney type ride where it tells a story. We'll try and go again on our summer trip but we're not "rope drop and run full speed" family so guess we'll have to see how bad the lines are.

Well, this is worse case scenario...best case is 2-4 minutes. I am positioned right at the rope at the castle--this puts me in line (without running, but speed walking) in the first 20 -30 people. What I find with PP is that more than half the time, it doesn't open on time. That's how it gets to 20 minutes.