I have been meaning to write this since we got back in August but finally sat down to do it. My DH and 2 teenage DD went to DLR for 2 days the first weekend of August. This was our first trip to DLR, even though we have been to WDW many times. It was part of a larger trip to southern CA and unfortunately, our days to visit DLR fell on a Friday and Saturday. I was paranoid about the crowds but found that they were very manageable. I didn't want to do an entire trip report, just share some thoughts/observances.
- First and foremost, thanks to everyone (especially Hydroguy) who posts such helpful information on this site. It was invaluable.
- We drove from San Diego in the morning (Fri) and had checked into our hotel (Candy Cane Inn) and were entering DL by 10:30 am. When we first got there, the crowds were light. We managed to ride a lot of rides and when it got too busy, we headed to DCA, which was not too crowded by then. The next morning (Sat), we were at DCA at rope drop - 7:45 am on a non-EMH day. We spent some time there and then went over to DL again around 12:30. We left DL for an afternoon rest & lunch and returned around 5 pm for the evening.
- As far as RSR, we went straight by Soarin' when the ropes dropped and headed to TSMM. We love that ride!! We rode it once and I headed to RSR FP as soon as we were done. My family rode TSMM again while I went for FPs. There was absolutely no line for FPs and I pulled one for 11:10 - 12:10. Then, I headed back to TSMM and we rode it again together. There was still no wait for TSMM, even though it was a summer Saturday.
- We found that the parks didn't really get busy until about 1 pm. At least that was our experience both days. Maybe CA is more laid back that FL??? But, they were busy both evenings. It seemed to us that the crowds were a little heavier at night.
- We used a Disneyland wait times app and Fastpasses and never waited more than 15 mins for a ride. If a ride had too long a wait, we would check on the app and head to a ride with a shorter wait. And, we used FPs a lot. The longest wait we had was for the Matterhorn and we rode that as people were lining up for the early evening parade and only wait 15 mins.
- We really enjoyed the counter service meals compared to the ones at WDW (besides Epcot, which I think has great food). We chose not to dine at a sit down restaurant to save time.
- We LOVED how close the 2 parks were to each other. We switched back and forth both days to head to the least crowded park.
- We also left the park to take a rest on Saturday, which was the first time we have EVER done this. It was so much easier to walk 10 mins to the hotel than it is to take the long journey back to many WDW area hotels. I highly recommend it.
- We really, really enjoyed DLR. It was much more manageable than WDW, in my opinion. I loved the theming of DCA. It was so colorful, cheerful and fun. Of course, we loved DL as well. But, DCA was a pleasant surprise.
- I would highly recommend seeing Aladdin at DCA. And, Indiana Jones was awesome and as many have mentioned, Pirates is much better at DL. So was Small World. And, we enjoyed the parade that was shown in DL.
- We were only there for 2 days but really felt like we were able to get everything done that we wanted to get done. And even had time for some "relaxing" later Saturday. We chose not to do quite a few things b/c we didn't want to (like WOC and Fantasmic and some rides). But, we did see the fireworks and met some characters and managed to ride some of our favorite rides twice.
- Even though we were there at the "busiest" time of year, it was quite manageable with a little bit of planning and thought.
- Overall, we really enjoyed our trip and would be thrilled to be able to visit again.
I am happy to help out with anything, if people have questions. Thanks again for all of the help!!!
- First and foremost, thanks to everyone (especially Hydroguy) who posts such helpful information on this site. It was invaluable.
- We drove from San Diego in the morning (Fri) and had checked into our hotel (Candy Cane Inn) and were entering DL by 10:30 am. When we first got there, the crowds were light. We managed to ride a lot of rides and when it got too busy, we headed to DCA, which was not too crowded by then. The next morning (Sat), we were at DCA at rope drop - 7:45 am on a non-EMH day. We spent some time there and then went over to DL again around 12:30. We left DL for an afternoon rest & lunch and returned around 5 pm for the evening.
- As far as RSR, we went straight by Soarin' when the ropes dropped and headed to TSMM. We love that ride!! We rode it once and I headed to RSR FP as soon as we were done. My family rode TSMM again while I went for FPs. There was absolutely no line for FPs and I pulled one for 11:10 - 12:10. Then, I headed back to TSMM and we rode it again together. There was still no wait for TSMM, even though it was a summer Saturday.
- We found that the parks didn't really get busy until about 1 pm. At least that was our experience both days. Maybe CA is more laid back that FL??? But, they were busy both evenings. It seemed to us that the crowds were a little heavier at night.
- We used a Disneyland wait times app and Fastpasses and never waited more than 15 mins for a ride. If a ride had too long a wait, we would check on the app and head to a ride with a shorter wait. And, we used FPs a lot. The longest wait we had was for the Matterhorn and we rode that as people were lining up for the early evening parade and only wait 15 mins.
- We really enjoyed the counter service meals compared to the ones at WDW (besides Epcot, which I think has great food). We chose not to dine at a sit down restaurant to save time.
- We LOVED how close the 2 parks were to each other. We switched back and forth both days to head to the least crowded park.
- We also left the park to take a rest on Saturday, which was the first time we have EVER done this. It was so much easier to walk 10 mins to the hotel than it is to take the long journey back to many WDW area hotels. I highly recommend it.
- We really, really enjoyed DLR. It was much more manageable than WDW, in my opinion. I loved the theming of DCA. It was so colorful, cheerful and fun. Of course, we loved DL as well. But, DCA was a pleasant surprise.
- I would highly recommend seeing Aladdin at DCA. And, Indiana Jones was awesome and as many have mentioned, Pirates is much better at DL. So was Small World. And, we enjoyed the parade that was shown in DL.
- We were only there for 2 days but really felt like we were able to get everything done that we wanted to get done. And even had time for some "relaxing" later Saturday. We chose not to do quite a few things b/c we didn't want to (like WOC and Fantasmic and some rides). But, we did see the fireworks and met some characters and managed to ride some of our favorite rides twice.
- Even though we were there at the "busiest" time of year, it was quite manageable with a little bit of planning and thought.
- Overall, we really enjoyed our trip and would be thrilled to be able to visit again.
I am happy to help out with anything, if people have questions. Thanks again for all of the help!!!
. This was the second year in a row that Dapper Day was in the 100 degree range. We're thinking of switching over to Tiki Day 
I found this paragraph to be most helpful as we are planning our DCA day in 2 weeks and was wondering how its been working with going to TSMM first and then going to pick up RSR fastpasses.
