Question for Fantasyland MM Experts!

[pixarmom]

We're adjusting to the differences between MM at DL and EMH at WDW! I'm hoping that some MM Fantasyland experts can help with a strategy.

I understand the FP machines are not on until regular park opening at DL, so we can concentrate on Fantasyland non-FP attractions during the MM hour. (We'll get Buzz and SM FPs when the machines are on.) We're thinking Matterhorn first, and then teacups, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Snow White and Pinocchio. Our priorities are Matterhorn (for everyone) teacups (for our youngest) and Mr. Toad (for me - nostalgia.) Any recommendations on the order? Which lines develop first? What should we expect to be able to do before we run for SM FPs at 8am?

P.S. We use EMH and FP at WDW, so we don't wait in line more than 15 minutes - if the wait is more than that, we skip the ride!

 

[koalagirl5]

Hi! So here's what I copied down for my June trip from a post somewhere here on the DIS about MM. The order worked great, as Peter Pan had a long line pretty fast.

Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Carousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

We actually only did some of these rides, but we walked onto all the ones we did ride. We did Peter Pan, Dumbo, Teacups, Carousel, then Teacups and Dumbo at least one more time each.

I hope this helps.

 

[chandraorme]

I would do Dumbo first...the line gets long really fast.
We usually do Dumbo or the Rockets first,
then:
Peter Pan
Matterhorn
Alice
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Carousel
Snow White and Pinocchio
If you are there right at opening you should be able to knock out most of those in an hour....but since you can only get one fast pass at a time I would suggest that you do Buzz or SM and then get a fast pass for the other one right when they open....then run over to Indiana Jones while you wait for the FP to be good.....then get a FP for Splash before heading back to your first FP.....does that make sense?

 

[the donut]

I like koalagirl5's list, though we usually throw Storybook Canal Boats in there around Alice or the Matterhorn (if we do them at all). If you're near or at the front for rope drop I definitely would do Peter Pan first. That is the slowest loading of the lines in Fantasyland. However, that is also the ride that pretty much everyone heads for. If we somehow end up in the middle of the pack at rope drop, we skip PP and start the list at Dumbo. That puts us one step ahead of the pack and there won't be any lines pretty much for the whole list. Of course, we go fairly often, so it's no big deal if we miss PP on the occasional visit.

I agree you should be able to do the whole list in the first hour. I would say that the carousel pretty much never has a line during MM and is generally pretty short lines throughout the day and would be the one I would skip if we started to get behind, as well as snow white, pinnochio, and mr. toad.

 

[DLR29]

Hi! So here's what I copied down for my June trip from a post somewhere here on the DIS about MM. The order worked great, as Peter Pan had a long line pretty fast.

Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Carousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

We actually only did some of these rides, but we walked onto all the ones we did ride. We did Peter Pan, Dumbo, Teacups, Carousel, then Teacups and Dumbo at least one more time each.

I hope this helps.

YES YES YES! This is the strategy you should use. I've used it several times and I've tried others. This is by far the most recommended strategy on these boards and the most efficient.

I would do Dumbo first...the line gets long really fast.
We usually do Dumbo or the Rockets first,
then:
Peter Pan
Matterhorn
Alice
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Carousel
Snow White and Pinocchio
If you are there right at opening you should be able to knock out most of those in an hour....but since you can only get one fast pass at a time I would suggest that you do Buzz or SM and then get a fast pass for the other one right when they open....then run over to Indiana Jones while you wait for the FP to be good.....then get a FP for Splash before heading back to your first FP.....does that make sense?

If you were to do Dumbo first, the Peter Pan line might be 20-30 min already by the time you get off (depending on when you visit). Peter Pan's line builds immediately. Dumbo's line begins building about 20-30 min after the park opens. But I do agree that you should get Indy and Splash FP before Buzz.

I like koalagirl5's list, though we usually throw Storybook Canal Boats in there around Alice or the Matterhorn (if we do them at all). If you're near or at the front for rope drop I definitely would do Peter Pan first. That is the slowest loading of the lines in Fantasyland. However, that is also the ride that pretty much everyone heads for. If we somehow end up in the middle of the pack at rope drop, we skip PP and start the list at Dumbo. That puts us one step ahead of the pack and there won't be any lines pretty much for the whole list. Of course, we go fairly often, so it's no big deal if we miss PP on the occasional visit.

I agree you should be able to do the whole list in the first hour. I would say that the carousel pretty much never has a line during MM and is generally pretty short lines throughout the day and would be the one I would skip if we started to get behind, as well as snow white, pinnochio, and mr. toad.

Storybookland Canal Boats is not open for MM. Neither is Casey Jr. Circus Train.

Check out my MM superthread for any more questions! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

 

[bumbershoot]

Peter Pan first, always first.

 

[pixarmom]

Wow - this is great information - thanks so much to everyone!

Chandraorme, that makes perfect sense! I should have mentioned that we have 5 in our family and we split FPs, so we get 3 FPs for Space and 2 FPs for Buzz so our pre-schooler can ride Buzz with one of us while the other takes the older boys on Space Mountain. But it sounds like the order for FPs after that would be Indiana Jones and then Splash. Then Big Thunder last?

And speaking of our pre-schooler, if anyone has ideas for fun things to do with him while the older boys are using all these FPs, please let me know! (Short or no waits, play areas, etc. would be great.) I have a WDW list, but no ideas for DL!

By the way, PP is the same at WDW - by the time we get our SM/Buzz FP set, and ride Buzz together, the PP line is already 30 minutes! We skipped it last March at WDW and again last week - maybe next time!

 

[disneymom23]

Always do Peter Pan first. Then Dumbo. Then Alice or Matterhorn. We usually do Matterhorn before Alice. We will do both sides. Except this trip, the lines were already long so we only did the FL side. Then we'll go back and do teacups, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio. Around 7:50, we'll head to SM to get a FP right at 8:00. Sometimes we'll ride it then too, if the line is not more than 15 minutes. Its one of our favorites, so we like to ride in more than once per day. We like to finish our day (and trip) with SM so we always use our first FP of the day at the end of our day.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Peter Pan first for sure. Then Dumbo.....

 

[DLR29]

Wow - this is great information - thanks so much to everyone!

Chandraorme, that makes perfect sense! I should have mentioned that we have 5 in our family and we split FPs, so we get 3 FPs for Space and 2 FPs for Buzz so our pre-schooler can ride Buzz with one of us while the other takes the older boys on Space Mountain. But it sounds like the order for FPs after that would be Indiana Jones and then Splash. Then Big Thunder last?

And speaking of our pre-schooler, if anyone has ideas for fun things to do with him while the older boys are using all these FPs, please let me know! (Short or no waits, play areas, etc. would be great.) I have a WDW list, but no ideas for DL!

By the way, PP is the same at WDW - by the time we get our SM/Buzz FP set, and ride Buzz together, the PP line is already 30 minutes! We skipped it last March at WDW and again last week - maybe next time!

Depending on the weather, it could be Indy then Splash or Splash then Indy. If the weather is warm, you for sure want to get Splash FP before Indy. BTMRR doesn't develop super long lines until the afternoon, and even still they don't usually reach more than 30-45 min during the most crowded times of the year.

Stuff for younger ones while older ones are using FP:
-Indy: Tarzan's Treehouse, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room (original version), Mark Twain Riverboat or Sailing Ship Columbia
-Splash: Winnie-the-Pooh, Pooh & Friends meet and greet, Pirate's Lair (like Tom Sawyer Island, but with pirates), Canoes (if they are open)

 

[raftislander]

Peter Pan (always always always)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Toad/Teacups or Teacups/Toad
Carrousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

For just the Fantasyland rides. As I come back from the Matterhorn I try to judge the likelihood of getting on the teacups on the next loading without a wait. If they are loading and you will not get on, go on to Toad. If the Teacups are in motion and the line looks like you will make it on the next load, get in line for the Teacups. Not sure when you are going, but many times of the year you need not worry about the Carrousel, Snow White and Pinocchio during MM as these can be done later without much (or any) wait. If you have a child that wants to do AstroOrbiter then this also needs to be worked into the schedule, which can get tricky. Are you staying on property? Will you have more than one early entry?

 

[pixarmom]

Peter Pan (always always always)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Toad/Teacups or Teacups/Toad
Carrousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

For just the Fantasyland rides. As I come back from the Matterhorn I try to judge the likelihood of getting on the teacups on the next loading without a wait. If they are loading and you will not get on, go on to Toad. If the Teacups are in motion and the line looks like you will make it on the next load, get in line for the Teacups. Not sure when you are going, but many times of the year you need not worry about the Carrousel, Snow White and Pinocchio during MM as these can be done later without much (or any) wait. If you have a child that wants to do AstroOrbiter then this also needs to be worked into the schedule, which can get tricky. Are you staying on property? Will you have more than one early entry?

Thank you! I should have mentioned these factors - August 21-23. I know, it's a weekend and right as the blackout lifts, but we are trying DL for a few days before our annual Newport vacation with extended family, so the dates were not flexible. Staying at GCH - only one MM. Didn't think we would do Fantasyland at DL - we've become a Tomorrowland family at WDW - but we were just at WDW for an extra short trip last week and our pre-schooler all of a sudden became interested in Fantasyland - so new game plan! Thankfully, nobody has mentioned AstroOrbiter.

 

[pixarmom]

Depending on the weather, it could be Indy then Splash or Splash then Indy. If the weather is warm, you for sure want to get Splash FP before Indy. BTMRR doesn't develop super long lines until the afternoon, and even still they don't usually reach more than 30-45 min during the most crowded times of the year.

Stuff for younger ones while older ones are using FP:
-Indy: Tarzan's Treehouse, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room (original version), Mark Twain Riverboat or Sailing Ship Columbia
-Splash: Winnie-the-Pooh, Pooh & Friends meet and greet, Pirate's Lair (like Tom Sawyer Island, but with pirates), Canoes (if they are open)

This is an excellent point about weather! Splash FPs went super fast last week at WDW in the heat. I so appreciate this list for our pre-schooler and will definitely add it to our planning info! Thank you so much!

 

[DLR29]

Thank you! I should have mentioned these factors - August 21-23. I know, it's a weekend and right as the blackout lifts, but we are trying DL for a few days before our annual Newport vacation with extended family, so the dates were not flexible. Staying at GCH - only one MM. Didn't think we would do Fantasyland at DL - we've become a Tomorrowland family at WDW - but we were just at WDW for an extra short trip last week and our pre-schooler all of a sudden became interested in Fantasyland - so new game plan! Thankfully, nobody has mentioned AstroOrbiter.

By staying at GCH, you will have the ability to go to MM both Saturday and Sunday. It's all in that thread I linked earlier.

 

[pixarmom]

By staying at GCH, you will have the ability to go to MM both Saturday and Sunday. It's all in that thread I linked earlier.

Our flight doesn't get in to LAX until 9am on Saturday morning, so unfortunately we'll miss MM on Saturday morning, and we will only have Sunday morning. I'd be a little more relaxed if we had two MMs!

P.S. Also wanted to add that your MM thread is really helpful - I had seen that a long time ago when we started planning, but did not realize that it contained all that Fantasyland info until you posted it above - thanks again!!

 

[engo]

Peter Pan (always always always)
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Toad/Teacups or Teacups/Toad
Carrousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

Great advise.

The only time we skipped Peter Pan on a MM was the Thursday before WoC debut. The line was insane for Peter Pan, so DH took DS5 on Matterhorn and rode back to back on one side without getting out of the car and 1 more time on the other side, while I took DS2 on Dumbo back to back 5 times before meeting up at Alice. We decided to skip Peter Pan that morning since we knew we had 2 more MM. Had we not have the luxury of additional MM, we would have waited in line for Peter Pan.

 

[MulanFan]

Just a heads up, I read an article that Cal OSHA closed the Alice ride.

 

[brenda1966]

We always save the Carousel for last and it drives DD batty because we walk by it several times. LOL.

Yes, Peter Pan first always. Usually after you ride that Dumbo is still a walk on. We got to ride twice in a row on Dumbo after riding Peter Pan twice. Then we hit Mr. Toad a few times and then the Matterhorn (one side -- too rough for me to ride twice).

 

[raftislander]

I should have mentioned these factors - August 21-23. I know, it's a weekend and right as the blackout lifts, but we are trying DL for a few days before our annual Newport vacation with extended family, so the dates were not flexible.

I believe that August 21 is the last blackout dayfor the SoCal & deluxe annual passes. If you are planning to see World of Color, I would do it that Saturday before the masses descend Sunday on DCA. Unfortunately you also wont be able to take advantage of your GCH privilege of early entry to the WOC FP machines that Saturday morning. Have you thought about a WOC dinner package?

As far as FP go, I would probably get a Space Mt FP at park opening then do Indy, then Splash, then BTRR. The FP machines for Splash used to be near the exit for HM but when I was there in April, theywere using the ones closer to the entrance of Splash and deeper into Critter Country. If you are just trying to retrieve a FP for later use, it is a long way in and back out. Winnie the Pooh is back in this area to ride with your younger ones that may not do Splash. There is also lots of shade, benches, and a small play area near the exit of Splash. The Pooh characters meet and greets are back there as well.

I agree with the pp and second her recommendation of the Canal boats (which are not open for MM). The Casey Jr train and the canal boats give you different views of the same area. I suggest riding the train in the day and taking the canal boats at night.

Have a great time!