Reality Check for DL newbie!

[lake queen]

I am a WDW vet traveling to DL July 25-27 with a 15 and 18yr. old.

Just how crowded can I expect the parks to be. I read that the walkways can get very congested. Is it like Main Street after a parade at MK? That is pretty crowded. Is that what I should expect for our whole trip? Just trying to be prepared for the worse!

Also, still very confused about what should be the first rides that we should do in the mornings. I of course know to go to CL at DCA 1st thing, But still confused about DL.

We are not a dawdling family. We are used to moving out, experiencing lots of attractions with out a break. Its just how we roll! Any tips about what to do first?

Also, have seen lots of post about how hot the LA sun is, but is it really worse that WDW when it is 98 degrees out?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Argento]

Also, have seen lots of post about how hot the LA sun is, but is it really worse that WDW when it is 98 degrees out?

No, LA at 98 is nowhere near as bad as 98 in Florida. Heck, even LA at 104 isn't as bad as 98 in Orlando. We can thank the considerably lower humidity in SoCal for that.

Just how crowded can I expect the parks to be. I read that the walkways can get very congested. Is it like Main Street after a parade at MK? That is pretty crowded. Is that what I should expect for our whole trip? Just trying to be prepared for the worse!

I would go in expecting the worst because even normal Disneyland summers are very crowded. This summer, with a considerably larger roster of new attractions, is expected to make things worse, it's just not all that clear yet how bad it will really be...

 

[coaches24]

I am a WDW vet traveling to DL July 25-27 with a 15 and 18yr. old.

Just how crowded can I expect the parks to be. I read that the walkways can get very congested. Is it like Main Street after a parade at MK? That is pretty crowded. Is that what I should expect for our whole trip? Just trying to be prepared for the worse!

Also, still very confused about what should be the first rides that we should do in the mornings. I of course know to go to CL at DCA 1st thing, But still confused about DL.

We are not a dawdling family. We are used to moving out, experiencing lots of attractions with out a break. Its just how we roll! Any tips about what to do first?

Also, have seen lots of post about how hot the LA sun is, but is it really worse that WDW when it is 98 degrees out?

Thanks for your help!

I've never been to WDW so I can't compare crowds at all but I think if you have a good plan and get to the parks early so you are one of the first ones in each day then you can beat the crowds and collect FP all morning. Then when it gets crowded you will have already done quite a bit and will have FPs to use at your discretion.

Basically if you have a decent plan of attack for the morning then the rest of your day goes by so much smoother. If you have a MM or EE then be sure to use it and read the posts explaining how to maximize your time during those times.

Also since you have older kids it may be an option to open and close the park (up to you of you want a break in the afternoon to rest or swim). We have a 3 year old so closing the park didn't work for us but I hear it's a good ride time the last hour or two before the parks close.

 

[AquaDame]

I've never been to WDW so I can't compare crowds at all but I think if you have a good plan and get to the parks early so you are one of the first ones in each day then you can beat the crowds and collect FP all morning. Then when it gets crowded you will have already done quite a bit and will have FPs to use at your discretion.

This.

(edited because I got my parks mixed up, lol!)

 

[HydroGuy]

I am a WDW vet traveling to DL July 25-27 with a 15 and 18yr. old.

Just how crowded can I expect the parks to be. I read that the walkways can get very congested. Is it like Main Street after a parade at MK? That is pretty crowded. Is that what I should expect for our whole trip? Just trying to be prepared for the worse!

Also, still very confused about what should be the first rides that we should do in the mornings. I of course know to go to CL at DCA 1st thing, But still confused about DL.

We are not a dawdling family. We are used to moving out, experiencing lots of attractions with out a break. Its just how we roll! Any tips about what to do first?

Also, have seen lots of post about how hot the LA sun is, but is it really worse that WDW when it is 98 degrees out?

Thanks for your help!

We will be there that week. Basically the parks do have narrower walkways but but it really is only an issue in certain places and certain times. The worst by far is adventureland - also called "the Gauntlet" by many folks around here. After parades and fireworks things get busy and crowded but it is manageable. I think you are worrying too much about crowds. It is not that bad - usually.

As for what to do in the morning, you may want to get a copy of Ridemax - www.ridemax.com - to help. This may help too - "Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

Weather at DLR beats WDW in the summer hands down. I doubt it will be 98 but it can be. More likely it will be low 80's. See "Comparison of Weather For WDW and DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098

Have a magical trip!

 

[mrswh]

DL can definitely get pretty crowded in the summer. Interestingly, though the park feels much more crowded than WDW (MK for example), the standby lines for rides are typically shorter. The problem is just the narrower walkways. It can get to the point (esp. after a parade, or when people are saving spots for fireworks 2 hrs in advance) where people will start mooing.

I don't mind crowds and lines but when it starts getting hard to move around, I'm outta there. The most important thing, IMO, to avoid crowds at DL, is to go first thing in the morning. The first few hours are blissfully uncrowded. Like others have said, collect some FPs too. Take a lunch/swim/shopping break in the afternoon when it starts to get really hot and crowded, and then return to the parks in the evening when some of the daytrippers are filing out. Also, we never go over to DL within an hour of weekend fireworks - we will go over about 5 minutes in advance to watch the show, and then hightail it out of there before getting caught up in the herd.

While DCA is likely much more crowded now than it has been for any of our past trips, I am betting that it still feels less crowded than DL. It has nice wide walkways and is just generally more spread out. More like what you are used to at WDW.

Oh, and DL in the morning - Peter Pan is a good one to jump on first thing because it will have a 40+ minute wait the rest of the day. Probably Star Tours. And I am guessing Matterhorn is probably going to have long waits this summer since it has been closed for a while. I also like to go on Pirates pretty early because that line can get and stay long - but since it's a long ride, you'll get fewer rides in for early a.m. if you do.

The sun can get pretty hot! Especially if it's in the 90s. The beauty of LA over FL, though, is that in LA it's perfectly pleasant in the shade. There are plenty of things to do in the shade or indoors in both parks (make sure you check out the Animation Building in DCA - the perfect place to go to avoid crowds and heat!), so you'll be fine!

Have fun!!

 

[lake queen]

Thanks for the tips.

We are good at collecting FP for the crowded parts of the day, and I fully expect that we will close out the park each day.

The difficult part is deciding what rides to start with each day, since there seem to be so many that it is recommended to go to first!

 

[coaches24]

Thanks for the tips.

We are good at collecting FP for the crowded parts of the day, and I fully expect that we will close out the park each day.

The difficult part is deciding what rides to start with each day, since there seem to be so many that it is recommended to go to first!

Depends how many days you are going but you can always have a different plan each time. We stayed on property last time and had 2 EE to DL so we used those for fantasy land first and then star tours and space and collected FP in that area as well. Then when the rope dropped we headed for Indiana, POC, HM, JC etc and collected FPs there as well.

On our first EE we went to DCA when they opened after getting FL done and we got on our favorites there early too. Park hopping is a great strategy as well. Esspecially when the parks open at different times.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Just how crowded can I expect the parks to be. I read that the walkways can get very congested. Is it like Main Street after a parade at MK?

ever done MNSSHP or MVMCP???? the crowds that are on Main St. during and after the fireworks is what it should be like on Main St. and Adventureland...difference is you will be able to walk some on Main St. whereas, AL can be, at times, standstill ...the only 2 things of dire importance over there is IJ and JC and of course Tarzans Treehouse (dont know if thats important for you) so in otherwords, avoid AL at all costs if you can, except at the beginning of the am or late at night after the crowds have cleared from the last F! its really easy to bypass it altogether by just going around Frontierland..and as far as the heat goes...no sweat...your going to see a world of difference between Orlando's summer heat and ours

 

[rtfelt]

If you're going to close the park then I would recommend that other than PP that is long even at the end, do FL the last hour of the day. Most of the guests with small children, who clog this land, have left the park and the lines dwindle to nothing.

One morning should start with PP then Mattahorn. Mattahorn, which usually has a 30-40 minute line in summer has been topping out at 90 minutes, and it doesn't have a fastpass, but it does now have a single rider line, so if you don't mind going without your group that may be a good option later in the day. Be sure to send a runner to get SM or ST FP's at the same time.

Another note, if your group is really into getting on as many rides as possible, but don't care about going together the single riders can be a great option. DL doesn't have as many single rider rides as DCA, but it can sure help on some.

 

[lake queen]

ever done MNSSHP or MVMCP???? the crowds that are on Main St. during and after the fireworks is what it should be like on Main St. and Adventureland.

Yes, we have done MNSSHP, now I will be prepared for how crowded it is.
I think we will go to FL first, then go over to Indy and adventure land when the rest of the park opens up.