Tips for the late arriving crowd?

[TeKa21]

Wife and I coming for 5 days next week for our 2nd trip but first without the kids. We are planning on a very casual touring style that involves lots of sleeping in and getting to the parks mid afternoon or evenings most days. Wondering if MaxPass will even be worth it since I imagine most FP will be gone before we even enter the park. Figure that over 5 days (Fri-Tues) we should be able to get most things done regardless. Is this realistic? Planning on 3 days at DL and 2 at DCA, non hopping.

Does anyone have any tips thoughts on the best way to approach the parks with this casual, adults only, late arriving style?

 

[pharmama]

It's hard to say if MP will be worth it arriving that late. Depending on how busy things are it is possible that there won't be much left in the afternoon/evening though if its on the slower side there likely will still be some availability. You can always keep trying for returned MPs too but that's very much a random thing. If you haven't already bought tix with MP you'll have to buy it each day anyway so you can choose to do it some days, perhaps when you arrive earlier, and not others. MP also includes PhotoPass downloads so if you plan to do much with the PP photographers (though arriving in the evening will limit that as well) you may still want to get MP for at least one of you.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

We have done a couple days of wandering into the parks late. FPs have been mostly gone for DCA but still available for a lot of DL. About 2 hours before park closing at DL everything really slows down and you can get a lot done without maxpass. And single rider is useful too.

ETA: as of 530pm all DCA FP are gone. DL has all but SM. IASW is at 630 but all the rest are 8pm or later. Hope this helps.

 

[Disney_Alli]

You can download the app on your smartphone and check out wait times and fastpass return times right there which will give you a better idea of when stuff tends to run out and if you think Maxpass will be worth it. I'd also check every day prior to your arrival if it'll be worth it *that* day as each day is different.

 

[wingednike]

Depending when you go, late afternoons and evenings might be crowded. If rides are not a big deal for you, just enjoy sleeping in and catch a few shows. You might also still be able to get paper fastpasses for some rides

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you are willing to be split up (not always, but the possibility is there), use SR for rides that have this. Even if FPs are gone, you can still ride IC, IJA, RSR, SM, Matterhorn, etc. if the SR lines are open. We arrive at the parks late often, stay until closing, and still manage to get quite a bit done using MP (yay for cancellations!) and SR. As others have said, keep an eye on the app to see how FPs are running out each day. Also, if there is a chance you and your wife could activate your tickets earlier in the day (e.g. on your way to lunch -- just go through the gates and exit), you would be able to use MP even while you aren't in the parks, stacking FPs for the evening.

 

[wareagle57]

It's hard to say if MP will be worth it arriving that late. Depending on how busy things are it is possible that there won't be much left in the afternoon/evening though if its on the slower side there likely will still be some availability. You can always keep trying for returned MPs too but that's very much a random thing. If you haven't already bought tix with MP you'll have to buy it each day anyway so you can choose to do it some days, perhaps when you arrive earlier, and not others. MP also includes PhotoPass downloads so if you plan to do much with the PP photographers (though arriving in the evening will limit that as well) you may still want to get MP for at least one of you.

I knew I couldn’t get MP until I got there (purchased dapper day tickets). But I didn’t realize I’d have to buy them each day. That’s kind of annoying. Though on the upside I might decide I don’t need to by the end of the trip.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I knew I couldn’t get MP until I got there (purchased dapper day tickets). But I didn’t realize I’d have to buy them each day. That’s kind of annoying. Though on the upside I might decide I don’t need to by the end of the trip.

I felt the same way as you but have converted. We are on day 6- and have skipped MP twice. I’m now glad I didn’t pre- purchase; it would have been a waste. As far as buying at the time, it really takes one minute once you decide in the morning. Memorize your security code on the back of your CC to make it quicker.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Re: MP and late arrivals: Remember that not all rides are on the FP system, so MP won't help you with the non-FP rides anyway. As the parks get closer to closing, the non-FP rides can have shorter lines, e.g. dark rides in FL. Another example is POTC and HM during F! (HM has FP, but during F! the lines for both those rides can be quite short.) After the second F!, the lines for FL rides get shorter (PP excepted, but that is a fun one for ending your night and closing out the park). Water ride lines often get shorter/non-existant at night, especially late at night. Just remember that TT closes earlier than the rest of DL, so if you want to ride Roger Rabbit, don't wait until too late. And FL will close during fireworks, but reopen after the safety check after the show. If you are right there when FL reopens, the lines can be shorter then, too.

 

[j9isawesome]

My husband & I don’t have kids so just about every trip we do is kids free We are night owls and even if I wake up early I feel sick most mornings, so we are rarely in the parks before noon & often don’t start our days til hours later than that. First pro you’ll encounter is that security lines are way shorter than if you come during morning rush. If you stay til closing the parks usually empty out and most rides will have short lines. The hour after closing main st is still open for window shopping & gorgeously lit nighttime photos if either of those interested you. We have MP included with our AP so I use it every trip but if it was worth the $15 upcharge or not really varies from day to day. Sometimes there are still FP for everything in the evening, or guest cancel fastpasses & you can snag great ones, and you can still grab fastpasses that are good almost immediately despite long standby lines but sometimes the only fastpasses left are for things like Buzz & Roger Rabbit & if that was the case I wouldn’t bother with MP. The great thing is you don’t have to decide in advance. Just peek in on the app & see what return times & fast pass availability look like & decide in that moment if you’ll get MP for that day. 5 days should be plenty even if they are shorter evening days. Many ppl that go early also leave early and or take a mid day break, so it’s not like you are even giving yourself less park time overall compared to most guests. Our touring style is to be very go with the flow- only make a couple dining reservations or any actual plans for the entire trip & just see where the day takes us. Compared to Disney World or some other vacations I’ve been on, Disneyland is great because you really don’t have to plan much in advance to have a great time.