Tips for Newbies - One day only

[jjas]

My dd, her husband and I have one day to visit Disneyland between a family wedding and trip to wine country. The day we will be there is June 11. We are staying at a VRBO that is pretty close - 1.2 miles away. We have all been to WDW several times but this is our first trip to DL.

I have been doing some research and read a bunch HydroGuy's stickies. We know it will be crowded with SW opening on May 31st. We are planning to get one-day Park Hopper tickets and add MaxPass. Since it is just the 3 adults we plan to be there before the park opens and stay until it closes.

Any suggestions for how to maximize our day? We don't plan to do any of the SW stuff - we will have to save that for another time. When will park hours be posted for June? I only see through April so far.

Any tips or suggestions anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Janet

 

[Gaugersaurus]

Park hours should come out about 60 days in advance as that's when reservations open for dining. In June you'll probably see 8-12 at DL and 8-10/11 at DCA. Since June 11th is a Tuesday that means it will be Magic Morning at DLR for those with 3+ day park tickets (EMH for onsite hotel guests).

Since you only have 1 day I wouldn't do any table service dining. Make sure you download the Disneyland app so you can get familiar with how it works and you can also get a feel for when Fastpass/Maxpass run out for certain attractions. Also plan to get to security about 60-90 mins before the parks open to avoid long lines and still get a good spot for rope drop.

If you're okay with splitting up single rider for some rides can cut down on waits significantly; I've had the most success on Matterhorn, space mountain, splash mountain, and RSR. You can find a list of all the rides that may offer single rider on the DLR website.

 

[HydroGuy]

Park hours should be maxed. See -"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

Unfortunately for you that is a grad night - "The Scoop on Grad Nights at DLR in May and June" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2298400

Do some research.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you decide that you'd like to see a show, e.g. F!, or to eat somewhere TS, e.g. bucket list meal at Blue Bayou, make your reservations at the 60 day mark. You could kill two birds with one stone and do a F! dining package at BB -- great view, least wait time, souvenir cushion to take home. If you don't want to waste any time with shows or TS dining, rest assured that DLR has very good CS options and Mobile Ordering, too. Download the free DLR app now and start playing with it. The more used to it you are by your trip date, the less time you'll waste trying to find things or trying to figure it out. And make sure you have the latest version of the app before you visit -- the app can get wonky right before an update comes out.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

To save time and hassle, I suggest taking Uber to the parks rather than driving (unless you plan on walking!).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Will you be using your own data plan? Wifi at DLR isn't like at WDW. DLR has various hot spots located throughout the parks, but they aren't super strong. Most people we know use their own data plans in the parks. There are fuel rod machines in the parks and in the on site hotels or you can bring your own battery back up. Just easier not to have to worry about running out of battery when you only have one day.

 

[rstevens333]

MaxPass is worth it! The food in Adventureland is amazing compared to WDW.

 

[j9isawesome]

I suspect it will be crazy crowded throughout the parks because of star wars land even if you avoid that area. Take advantage of things like MaxPass & Mobile ordering on the app. If you are trying to do both parks in 1 busy day I would pick a few top rides, characters and or shows at each park that are must dos and plan around those because there is no way you’re getting it all done. Single rider is offered on many rides if you want to breeze through some lines and don’t mind riding separately. Since Disneyland has early entry that morning for many guests (but not your offsite 1 day tickets) I would spend the morning at DCA as they should have lesser crowds until around noon. I’m not normally one for “wasting” money on dining packages for shows but since you’re going at such a crazy time you might want to consider doing the desert package for World of Color or one of the many dining packages available for Fantasmic if you wanted a guaranteed chance of seeing either of those shows. MAYBE it being a Tuesday & early enough in the month that many kids are still in school it won’t be the wall to wall crush of humanity that I imagine Star Wars land turning the parks into. Maybe DCA will be fine while DL will be jammed full of ppl waiting for their SW entry reservation window to open up. Maybe I’m paranoid/wrong but I would rather hope for the best & prepare for the worst than be disappointed. Good luck & hope ya have fun.

 

[chickapin parterre]

June 11 is a tuesday, so you will be an hour behind unless VBRO gives you early entry into Disneyland, so best to start with DCA and fastpass RSR thru out the morning, if you leave DCA at Noon, you will probably being heading into the wave of folks leaving crowded Disneyland and park hopping to DCA, hoping that it is empty, by 2:00 all the veteran visitors have returned to their lodging to re-charge for the evening activities. So at that point in time you are bumping up to a crowd of tired folks in Disneyland who are seeking to rest themselves in the shaded attractions, the long sitting attractions and lines of food. So that could be a good time to tackle Fantasyland while you are waiting for return times on your FP,....there is no shade or food carts in Fantasyland, so that could be to your advantage. Autopia has no shade, Smallworld has no shade, Nemo has no shade, so those could be empty afternoon attractions. The lands around ROA are full of shade , places to eat and long sitting attractions, so it will be the most crowded of the lands....indicated by the willingness of folks to wait for three trains as the trains arrive at NOS pretty much full, so it takes about three trains before you can board. You can enter ROA area in the dark night and find that what little energy you have left will be sufficient to tour NOS, Adventureland and critter country.

 

[jjas]

Thanks for all of the info and suggestions. I'm not sure of our plans for data - I'll check with my youngins' as they are so much better at those things than I am!

I'm thinking we will not be doing any shows or TS dining - all things to add to the list when we can come back for a longer trip. We do plan to make the most of both MaxPass and Single Rider lines.

HydroGuy - I read up on some grad night information - thanks for making we aware of that. There are so many things to think about! I do have one question - it looks to me that the parks no longer close early on those nights for just grads. Is that correct?

Thanks again!

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks for all of the info and suggestions. I'm not sure of our plans for data - I'll check with my youngins' as they are so much better at those things than I am!

I'm thinking we will not be doing any shows or TS dining - all things to add to the list when we can come back for a longer trip. We do plan to make the most of both MaxPass and Single Rider lines.

HydroGuy - I read up on some grad night information - thanks for making we aware of that. There are so many things to think about! I do have one question - it looks to me that the parks no longer close early on those nights for just grads. Is that correct?

Thanks again!

That is correct. If you have hoppers I would plan to be in DL in the evening because the Grads will be moving towards DCA. During the day it won’t matter that much where you are. YMMV.