Starting Park/Hopping Time Wisdom?

[NewbieMouse]

We are heading back to Disneyland in February (fingers crossed!) after a long dry spell since December 2019 due to COVID. A lot has changed and all of my hard earned park strategy skills are woefully out of date.

We always used to get parkhoppers, hit the park always at rope drop, and usually hop pretty early (around 10:00-11:00, depending on what the lines were like). This time we're there with 3-day hoppers a Thursday, Friday, Saturday (February 17 - 19), and will spring for Genie+ when it is released. So far I have reserved our three days with starting parks as Disneyland - DCA - Disneyland, but I am torn as this is all new to me.

With the new reservations system and park hopping starting at 1:00, the spontanaeity factor seems to have been substantially reduced, and I'm wondering if there is any emerging DIS wisdom on which parks to start with and when to hop. TIA!

 

[JMommyof3]

We are going in Jan and are doing the same DL/DCA/DL. I'm considering starting in DCA 2x but only because we are staying in the Grand and have that fancy access The nice thing about DLR compared to WDW is once you hop at 1pm, continuing to go back and forth is a breeze. I think it depends on what rides you might want to rope drop or have more of a chance to get a VQ at that will determine where you start.

 

[DLgal]

So, my wisdom is going to be ALWAYS start in DL. When you start in DCA and arrive at park opening, it's kind of hard to kill enough time until 1pm, at least it is for us as our kids don't ride Guardians or Incredicoaster (and they wouldn't ride GRR in the morning). That leaves not that many attractions and like 5 hours of park time. I've been bored the times we started at DCA, to be very honest. This is especially a problem if you don't get a Webslingers BG (which is a LOT easier to get at the 12 o clock drop, but if you're willing to buy access using Genie+ ILL, not a big deal).

I also find the lines to hop into DL to be CRAZY at 1pm. I much prefer leaving DL at that time to enter a much less busy DCA.

I prefer doing mornings at DL and also late evenings at DL. Hopping to DCA around 1 and then back over around 6 or 7 works best for us.

The only reason we start in DCA would be if you want to have brunch at Lamplight Lounge, which is a worthwhile endeavor if you can get reservations.

 

[vacay77]

So, my wisdom is going to be ALWAYS start in DL. When you start in DCA and arrive at park opening, it's kind of hard to kill enough time until 1pm, at least it is for us as our kids don't ride Guardians or Incredicoaster (and they wouldn't ride GRR in the morning). That leaves not that many attractions and like 5 hours of park time. I've been bored the times we started at DCA, to be very honest. This is especially a problem if you don't get a Webslingers BG (which is a LOT easier to get at the 12 o clock drop, but if you're willing to buy access using Genie+ ILL, not a big deal).

I also find the lines to hop into DL to be CRAZY at 1pm. I much prefer leaving DL at that time to enter a much less busy DCA.

I prefer doing mornings at DL and also late evenings at DL. Hopping to DCA around 1 and then back over around 6 or 7 works best for us.

The only reason we start in DCA would be if you want to have brunch at Lamplight Lounge, which is a worthwhile endeavor if you can get reservations.

Agree with all of this. During our last visit, we had 3 day park hoppers and started at DL. We did DL/DCA/DL and it seemed to work well overall.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've been primarily starting in DL because I feel like the time flies quicker in DL than in DCA. Starting in DCA is good if you are going to do all the big rides first thing in the morning or if you are planning on having breakfast or lunch over there. DCA usually closes an hour earlier than DL, so that may or may not factor into your planning.