Seeking touring plan suggestions

[ratfam]

My family (me, DH, DD13 and DD10) will be spending one day at Disneyland park. Hours not yet online but guessing 10am to 8pm, maybe 9am early admission for hotel guests. We have been to WDW several times and to DL once with kids, many years ago. Will be at DL with my parents (fortunately no mobility or health issues), my brother and sister in law and nieces 4 and 2 (their first trip). Will spend large portion of the day with the whole group, including hitting the small world/pooh/alice in wonderland type rides but will spend some time apart getting our kids on the larger rides. Main priority for this time is Indiana Jones, since that ride isn't available at WDW.

Am curious if people have suggestions for how best to organize the day--try to get everyone in early and hit the kiddie rides first and try for some fastpasses to hit larger attractions with our kids later in the day, or try to hit Indy first thing and join up with the group mid-morning? Will probably be at WDW in 2010, so missing attractions available at WDW won't be a big deal.

Sorry for the lengthy lead-in, but any thoughts on how to arrange a successful day for our multigenerational group appreciated.

Also, we will arrive the day before our DL day, late afternoon, but won't go into the parks. Any thoughts? Downtown Disney area? Any good character dinners to recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Disneylvrforever]

My advice would be to either hit the bigger rides first or Peter Pan. The only reason why I mention PP is because this line never dies down and even though they close it for the fireworks, the line fills up really fast once it opens up again.
So if you decide to hit the big rides after, the lines should still be fairly short and I'd suggest to get a FP so you can ride it later and then go in the stand-by line. Just note that Fantasyland & Tomorrowland will only be open (from what I've experienced) for Magic Mornings, so you can hit up Space if you wish.
For the Fantasyland rides and Nemo, I'd suggest to do them at night but if you're doing Magic Mornings, then you can do them during that time.
As for Pooh, don't fret on trying to make time for this ride. The lines are usually really short. I usually head over there after I go on Haunted bc Pooh is tucked in that dead end corner.
The only character meals that are available for dinner is at Ariels's Grotto in DCA and Goofy's Kitchen at the DLH and since you're not going in the parks, Goofy's is your best bet. Plus, it's a really great character meal. I usually eat their brunch, but it's all good.

 

[Hound 109]

My family (me, DH, DD13 and DD10) will be spending one day at Disneyland park.

WHAT DATE OR DAY OF WEEK WILL YOU BE GOING?


Hours not yet online but guessing 10am to 8pm, maybe 9am early admission for hotel guests.

WILL YOU BE STAYING AT ONE OF THE 3 DLR HOTELS?


We have been to WDW several times and to DL once with kids, many years ago. Will be at DL with my parents (fortunately no mobility or health issues), my brother and sister in law and nieces 4 and 2 (their first trip). Will spend large portion of the day with the whole group, including hitting the small world/pooh/alice in wonderland type rides but will spend some time apart getting our kids on the larger rides.

YOU CAN RIDE MANY OF THE FANTASYLAND RIDES DURING MM OR THE FIRST HOUR OF YOUR NON-MM DAY IF YOU'RE IN LINE 30-40 MIN. PRIOR TO OPENING.

Main priority for this time is Indiana Jones, since that ride isn't available at WDW.

I CAN THINK OF A DOZEN OTHER RIDES IN ADDITION TO INDY THAT WOULD BE "MUST DO'S" FOR A WDW VET VISTING WALT'S PARK.

Am curious if people have suggestions for how best to organize the day--try to get everyone in early and hit the kiddie rides first and try for some fastpasses to hit larger attractions with our kids later in the day,

USUALLY A GOOD IDEA TO BEGIN THE FP COLLECTING EARLY IF POSSIBLE...BUT ALSO BEST TO GET PP, DUMBO, MATTERHORN & TOADIE IN EARLY AS WELL.

or try to hit Indy first thing and join up with the group mid-morning? Will probably be at WDW in 2010, so missing attractions available at WDW won't be a big deal.

Sorry for the lengthy lead-in, but any thoughts on how to arrange a successful day for our multigenerational group appreciated.

Also, we will arrive the day before our DL day, late afternoon, but won't go into the parks.

WHY NOT? 1 & 1/2 DAYS IS MUCH BETTER THAN 1 DAY AT DLR.


Any thoughts? Downtown Disney area? Any good character dinners to recommend?

Thanks!

Will you have park hoppers? With only one (or two) days, I highly recommend them.

Might want to pass on the character meal with the limited time, but if you do one, you might do it mid afternoon (when DL is more crowded) & make it your main meal.

Have you seen HydroGuy's tip thread? Essential reading for the WDW vet:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483


Not neccesarily a recommended touring plan, but here's how I toured DLR on a One Day (Thursday) visit in October. (note: crowds were moderate that day & DS 9 & I tend to commando):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1975805


Have a great time planning a visit to Walt's Park.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Get a FP for Indiana ride early on. That line gets crazy and Adventureland is very narrow and squishy. Much better to use a FP, and they tend to go fast. Of course, that depends on what time of the year you go and what day.

If you have a park hopper you can go over to DCA in the afternoon if that is of any interest to you. I say afternoon because that is when DL tends to get more crowded and DCA is a nice break from that. You can get one FP in each park at the same time.

The night you arrive might be a good time to check out Downtown Disney. They also have the World of Disney store there so you go shopping the night before, saving time for rides the next day.

When I went for a day over the holidays with my family we didn't eat at any sit down places because we didn't want to take up that much time when we only had a day.

 

[ratfam]

Thanks for the input and suggestions. In response to the questions, I think it will be a Monday in early March that we will be there. Date isn't certain, but it doesn't look like it will fall over a heavy vacation period. We aren't going to do the extra half day in DL or DCA (or get park hopper) because its too expensive, we don't think we'll get enough out of it to justify the cost (the one day ticket is painful enough, we wouldn't even be doing this except for the desire to go with the extended family). I appreciate the links for other information and welcome any other input (especially curious about the other "must sees" for WDW vets in DL).

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Thanks for the input and suggestions. In response to the questions, I think it will be a Monday in early March that we will be there. Date isn't certain, but it doesn't look like it will fall over a heavy vacation period. We aren't going to do the extra half day in DL or DCA (or get park hopper) because its too expensive, we don't think we'll get enough out of it to justify the cost (the one day ticket is painful enough, we wouldn't even be doing this except for the desire to go with the extended family). I appreciate the links for other information and welcome any other input (especially curious about the other "must sees" for WDW vets in DL).

It's already been posted, but just for emphasis...

I would go to Peter Pan, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, and the Matterhorn as early as you can. (In that order.) The lines for those 4 rides grow quickly. I would also keep an eye on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Storybook Land Canal Boats.

It's a good idea to get to the entrance area (security tents) at least 30 minutes before DL opens.

Pirates of the Caribbean is much better at DL and is a Must See.

Enchanted Tiki Room (Under Walt Disney's Management) is a billion times better than the Enchanted Tiki Room (Held Hostage by Iago) over at MK.

The Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough just re-opened last November. Definitely worth a peek.

IASW will open again in Feb. It just had a major refurb.

I would check out Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. (Its 'FastPass' is not connected to the other FP machines.)

Buzz Lightyear is always lots o' fun. At the end of the ride, the ride photos can be e-mailed for free.

Since you only have one day in DL, I would recommend using FastPass for Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, and Indiana Jones.

HTH

 

[DLR29]

Good thing: Monday is not a MM day. Therefore, lines for Fantasyland lines won't be long already when you enter the park. So, like S.S. Columbia said, head to Fantasyland first, while grabbing a FP for Space or Indy along the way. You'll want to FP those two definitely sometime during the day.

For WDW vets, you'll want to check out Mr. Toad, Roger Rabbit and Pinocchio (though those are pretty intense for the little ones). Alice is also unique, but more mild. Pirates, Buzz, and Space are all better at DL. Definitely hit up the Matterhorn too because it's unique.