Saturday grad night touring strategy

[jlsmith376]

We are WDW vets heading to DLR for the first time in May. We only have a day and a half to hit the highlights - full day Sat May 14 and most of the day Sun May 15. We plan to get 2 day park hoppers and are staying at VGC so we will be able to use EMH both days. I just found out that Saturday is a grad night and am trying to make the best of it and would appreciate input on my plans.

From what I have been reading here it sounds like on Saturday we should plan to visit DL early, then head to DCA late-afternoon and evening until the grads arrive. Is that the best strategy? I am creating touring plans and it is showing that we can pick up a fastpass for Soarin around 4 p.m. and the return time would be 6-7 p.m. Does that sound reasonable? I keep reading how crowded DLR is on Saturdays and even more so with grad night crowds so would fastpasses for a headliner be available that late in the day?

We plan to head back to DL for the 1st PTN parade (9 p.m.) and do not intend to stay for the fireworks. I booked a lunch Aladdin's Oasis PTN package and I believe the designated viewing area is near IASW. What will the crowds be like leaving DL after PTN from that location? Is the package worth it to have the reserved viewing area, or would we be alright without it if we don't intend to stake out a spot an hour in advance?

We would like to get back to VGC so we can watch WOC from there. It sounds like in the past there has been a 10:15 p.m. showing for grads. Can anyone confirm and is there a schedule available?

Other than the exhaustion, does this plan sound doable? TIA for the advice!

 

[sherilaine]

Your plan to tackle DL early in the day is exactly what I'd recommend. Staying at VGC you can get into DL at 7AM on Saturday and I'd recommend getting to security before 6:30 to get a good start on your day.

If you'd like to ride RSR, as it's very popular, one of your can hop over the DCA after your EMH and grab fast passes for your entire party - you only have to enter one park to obtain fast passes to both. If you time it right your return time for RSR can be when you decide to go over to DCA later in the day. Using the Disneyland app can help you gauge this timing. I have never used a touring plan to predict fast pass return times, I have heard the reliability at DLR is very low compared to WDW but since I've not used them I'll leave that for others to correct or comment on.

As to the parade viewing, there have been mixed reviews. If you are going to actually eat and enjoy the meal you are buying (in that you might buy it regardless) then I think they are a decent value. However, with the age of your group, you are likely going to want curb seating rather than standing. We just found a spot to stand as our kids are a bit older so it worked great without any package. If you want curb seating then you'd likely be looking at more than an hour (maybe close to 2) on a Saturday night which is a lot of time out of only having 1.5 days at DLR overall.

The grad nites are hit and miss - we experience two - one bad and one not so bad. They will be there during the parade though and fireworks as they get their own WOC after park close. So I'd count on them being in DL until at least 10 - we saw some there even later on a Friday night when they were supposed to be headed to DCA for 10.

Have fun!!

 

[tlovesdis]

If you are watching PTN from Small World and plan to head out after the fireworks, it will be next to impossible! The fireworks crowds on a Saturday night will likely be nuts and there will be a lot of congestion. You are basically at the back of the park, trying to get to the front! When we are in the back, we wait for the fireworks to end and then wait another 30 minutes or so before trying to start heading out.

My suggestion would be to try and find a spot for the parade on Main Street, closest to the entrance/exit. Then as soon as it ends and everyone is jamming up Main Street you can leave without much issue.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yes to EMH and doing DL until it gets too full of grads & hopping over to DCA. For PTN I don't know about AO package viewing. And trying to leave DL from IASW during fireworks sounds difficult, some nights I felt I was being ushered through a one way maze by CMs while trying to get around the park at night! If you really want to see PTN & skip fireworks & get out of DL I agree with the above poster in regards to watching it from Main St, closer to the park exit the better.

You mention viewing WOC from VGC? Do you mean from the viewing platform on the 6th floor? If that's the case just so you are aware you can't see any of the projections. You can see videos on YouTube to evaluate if you really want to do that. I thought it sounded great until I saw those videos. Thank goodness for YouTube! An alternative is do WOC and then the late PTN. You could pull a FP in the morning for WOC (they're not linked btw) and finding a viewing spot for the late PTN was easier for me last year. That way you'd get the best of both performances.

Pull a Soarin FP at 4 for 6-7 on Sat? IDK as I avoid weekends but maybe others can help there.

Have a great trip, it sounds exhausting but way fun!

 

[jlsmith376]

Thank you so much to all that have responded - this has been so helpful! Sounds like I definitely need to rethink our PTN/WOC viewing strategy. We might sacrifice PTN for WOC since it sounds like DCA won't be such a nightmare to leave after the show, and unfortunately we can't keep the kids up for the late PTN since we're planning to hit EMH at DCA the next morning.

 

[jlsmith376]

Yes to EMH and doing DL until it gets too full of grads & hopping over to DCA. For PTN I don't know about AO package viewing. And trying to leave DL from IASW during fireworks sounds difficult, some nights I felt I was being ushered through a one way maze by CMs while trying to get around the park at night! If you really want to see PTN & skip fireworks & get out of DL I agree with the above poster in regards to watching it from Main St, closer to the park exit the better.

You mention viewing WOC from VGC? Do you mean from the viewing platform on the 6th floor? If that's the case just so you are aware you can't see any of the projections. You can see videos on YouTube to evaluate if you really want to do that. I thought it sounded great until I saw those videos. Thank goodness for YouTube! An alternative is do WOC and then the late PTN. You could pull a FP in the morning for WOC (they're not linked btw) and finding a viewing spot for the late PTN was easier for me last year. That way you'd get the best of both performances.

Pull a Soarin FP at 4 for 6-7 on Sat? IDK as I avoid weekends but maybe others can help there.

Have a great trip, it sounds exhausting but way fun!

Thanks for the tip on the VGC viewing lounge! We definitely want a good view so we will plan to watch it at DCA instead!

 

[jlsmith376]

Your plan to tackle DL early in the day is exactly what I'd recommend. Staying at VGC you can get into DL at 7AM on Saturday and I'd recommend getting to security before 6:30 to get a good start on your day.

If you'd like to ride RSR, as it's very popular, one of your can hop over the DCA after your EMH and grab fast passes for your entire party - you only have to enter one park to obtain fast passes to both. If you time it right your return time for RSR can be when you decide to go over to DCA later in the day. Using the Disneyland app can help you gauge this timing. I have never used a touring plan to predict fast pass return times, I have heard the reliability at DLR is very low compared to WDW but since I've not used them I'll leave that for others to correct or comment on.

As to the parade viewing, there have been mixed reviews. If you are going to actually eat and enjoy the meal you are buying (in that you might buy it regardless) then I think they are a decent value. However, with the age of your group, you are likely going to want curb seating rather than standing. We just found a spot to stand as our kids are a bit older so it worked great without any package. If you want curb seating then you'd likely be looking at more than an hour (maybe close to 2) on a Saturday night which is a lot of time out of only having 1.5 days at DLR overall.

The grad nites are hit and miss - we experience two - one bad and one not so bad. They will be there during the parade though and fireworks as they get their own WOC after park close. So I'd count on them being in DL until at least 10 - we saw some there even later on a Friday night when they were supposed to be headed to DCA for 10.

Have fun!!

Thanks for your help! I have a question about your suggestion to hop over and pull a fastpass for RSR for later in the day. Are fastpasses for both parks connected? Just wondering if we have already pulled fastpasses at DL will we have to wait until the return time has passed to get one at DCA?

 

[jlsmith376]

If you are watching PTN from Small World and plan to head out after the fireworks, it will be next to impossible! The fireworks crowds on a Saturday night will likely be nuts and there will be a lot of congestion. You are basically at the back of the park, trying to get to the front! When we are in the back, we wait for the fireworks to end and then wait another 30 minutes or so before trying to start heading out.

My suggestion would be to try and find a spot for the parade on Main Street, closest to the entrance/exit. Then as soon as it ends and everyone is jamming up Main Street you can leave without much issue.

Thank you for this suggestion! If we do decide to watch PTN the spot on Main Street sounds perfect.

 

[sherilaine]

Thanks for your help! I have a question about your suggestion to hop over and pull a fastpass for RSR for later in the day. Are fastpasses for both parks connected? Just wondering if we have already pulled fastpasses at DL will we have to wait until the return time has passed to get one at DCA?

No, each park has their own FP system, so you can pull a FP from one park and immediately go to the other park and pull another. Also, the entire group does not have to go, they simply have to take all the park passes with them and go to the other park to get the fast passes and then return. It is good though to pull fast passes in the park you are in before you hop over to the other, to make sure everyone's park passes were scanned properly at the entry gate. There are times when a ticket does not scan properly and when you try to pull a fast pass with that pass you get a fast pass that tells you to return to the gate to re-scan your ticket. This doesn't happen a lot I don't think but we did have it happen once.

Another suggestion is to check on the Disneyland App before you hop to the other park to make sure the ride is not temporarily down, if it is then they will not be distributing fast passes until it comes back up. You can also tell on the app what the return time window is currently for the fast passes which is very helpful in timing when you go, so as to make sure you'll actually all be in that park during the fast pass return window.

 

[jlsmith376]

No, each park has their own FP system, so you can pull a FP from one park and immediately go to the other park and pull another. Also, the entire group does not have to go, they simply have to take all the park passes with them and go to the other park to get the fast passes and then return. It is good though to pull fast passes in the park you are in before you hop over to the other, to make sure everyone's park passes were scanned properly at the entry gate. There are times when a ticket does not scan properly and when you try to pull a fast pass with that pass you get a fast pass that tells you to return to the gate to re-scan your ticket. This doesn't happen a lot I don't think but we did have it happen once.

Another suggestion is to check on the Disneyland App before you hop to the other park to make sure the ride is not temporarily down, if it is then they will not be distributing fast passes until it comes back up. You can also tell on the app what the return time window is currently for the fast passes which is very helpful in timing when you go, so as to make sure you'll actually all be in that park during the fast pass return window.

Thanks so much!