Starting at DCA?

[NewbieMouse]

We've been going to DLR for the holidays for years, and have always started our trip off at Disneyland. I like kicking it off there as the vibe is so great. I like kicking it off with Peter Pan - "Here we goooooooo...."

This year, it happens that our first day (Saturday, December 20th) has early entry for DLR hotel guests at DL (i.e., not us), so I have reserved DCA as our starting park. (We've started at DCA before, just never on our first day of the trip.)

I know that EE for hotel guests has been substantially watered down recently, is it worth the switch? Generally when we start at DCA we do Toy Story (vs. Cars) or sometimes Guardians. What is it like in parks with EE these days for non-EE guests?

 

[mdmost]

I found the early entry was much more significant at DCA than DLR when we went in August. We only did one day starting at DCA (a Monday) and early entry made the wait longer for Guardians which we rope dropped. I didn't find early entry at DLR to be that bad. We were still able to walk on Space Mountain two of the mornings we were there that had early entry. Wife and DD15 went to Fantasyland and had no issues getting everything they wanted to do accomplished when the rope dropped. Peter Pan is always going to be a long wait.

To me, starting at DCA is just too weird because we like to bookend our trips with starting and ending at DLR.

 

[LKing]

While most of the time I start in DL, I always like DCA in the morning. Pixar Pier is very quiet as most people focus on Cars Land and Guardians. I also like doing the pier before it gets warm out. After I do that loop, I circle back to Cars Land and it seems like it is more calm than at park opening. Note, I always do single rider so I'm not focused on the very long wait times for RSR.

Will you have park hoppers? If so, you could start at DCA and hop to DL when ready. Most of the Disneyland entertainment and holiday beauty will be later in the day. Also, if you are interested in the Festival of Holidays food offerings, being in DCA in the morning helps you avoid the long lines after others hop over. DCA has quite a bit of entertainment during the holidays. This thread has the November schedule. They haven't released December yet. https://www.disboards.com/threads/christmas-special-events-thread.3973115/post-66434777

 

[NewbieMouse]

Yes, we have hoppers. I do agree that we find mornings in DCA usually have a hoards heading to Cars so Pixar Pier is quite nice. I could do Toy Story five times in a row but my kids usually drag us away after three. I guess since hopping is now 11 am it will be OK. The way we have it now is 4 days starting at DCA, DL, DL, DCA. We do expect it to be a largely food driven trip, LOL.

 

[LKing]

We do expect it to be a largely food driven trip, LOL.

You'll like DCA for that.

Here are some pictures from the Festival Guide that might help.

 

[irlandaise]

I have a question about the guide step that says "Pickup [sic] at Window." Is that a separate window from the one where people are just ordering, which is likely to have a long line?

 

[NewbieMouse]

You'll like DCA for that.

Here are some pictures from the Festival Guide that might help.

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Stoked! Bringing stretchy pants.