What are your Disneyland Park Strategies?

[missafabu]

This is my first time posting here. Heading back to Disneyland for the first time in many years and I'm not quite sure how to navigate without Fast Passes. What are your ride strategies after rope dropping?

 

[OneThree]

1. Pack your patience
2. Rope drop if you are able to avoid long lines at popular rides like Indy, RSR, Space Mountain
3. Take a break midday to avoid peak crowds and return in the evening

 

[missafabu]

Thank you so much! I should have specified - what are your ride park strategies? What's the order you typically try to hit them in after rope dropping?

 

[missafabu]

1. Pack your patience
2. Rope drop if you are able to avoid long lines at popular rides like Indy, RSR, Space Mountain
3. Take a break midday to avoid peak crowds and return in the evening

Thank you so much! I should have specified - what are your ride park strategies? What's the order you typically try to hit them in after rope dropping?

 

[OneThree]

For DL we pretty much always rope drop Indy and then knock out PotC, HM, BTMRR, basically that side of the park. We watch wait times and hit Fantasyland next. Space Mountain is usually an evening ride.

For CA we hit RSR and then things like Incredicoaster. When we were there last week waits never really got high for Soarin’ and GotG always had inflated wait times. RSR on the other hand hit 60 plus and stayed that way from 8:30 AM on.

 

[missafabu]

For DL we pretty much always rope drop Indy and then knock out PotC, HM, BTMRR, basically that side of the park. We watch wait times and hit Fantasyland next. Space Mountain is usually an evening ride.

For CA we hit RSR and then things like Incredicoaster. When we were there last week waits never really got high for Soarin’ and GotG always had inflated wait times. RSR on the other hand hit 60 plus and stayed that way from 8:30 AM on.

Thank you SO much!!!!

 

[Aspencreek]

In my experience there are about 4 popular "big" rides and 2 popular "small" rides that pretty much always have a long wait. So if we are rope dropping then we will head to:
Space Mtn, Matterhorn, Indy, or Splash Mtn if doing big rides, and Peter Pan or Astro if doing smaller. We try to get those done asap before crowds get bigger. After that then we just play it by ear and head to what looks like a short wait on the app or whatever else sounds good at the moment.

 

[Mike_M]

Quality over quantity is always the most important way to experience the park for me. I tend to take my time and generally choose strategies that don't necessarily squeeze the most attractions into my day, but instead allow me to savor the different experiences available throughout the park.

For example, I tend to ride everything in a land before moving onto another land. It enhances the immersion and helps make the ride experiences seem deeper and fuller. Adventureland might be the smallest land, but after experiencing all the attractions, shopping and snack options in that land together, you end up with a pretty satisfying time in the jungle.
Jumping around from Adventureland to Fantasyland, then to New Orleans Square and then over to Tomorrowland has a tendency to water down some of the magic for me.

Another strategy I have is that I plan for the most days possible at the park to give me the chance to take my time. Can you do every ride at DL in 2 days? Sure. But it would be such a blur, It would loose something as a result for me. 4 days is the sweet spot IMO. I typically do 5 though. By the 4th day, we've generally done everything. The 5th day is usually our chance to get one last go at our favorite experiences (Pirates, HM, etc).

Lastly, I'll say that with few exceptions, standby queue times are not that big of a deal overall. A 20 min queue time is more than reasonable for most attractions in the park. Many of the queues have some entertaining quality to them which can be considered part of the attraction (Where does Haunted Mansion's experience truly begin? The doom buggies? The Stretching room? Or maybe once you pass through the gates and begin your stroll through the gardens and pathways towards the house.). There is almost always something to turn a line into part of the attraction.

All that said, the best strategy is the one that makes your trip the best for you. If you love getting in as many rides as possible, then study the app and watch the wait times. Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Indy, and Peter Pan are usually the slowest queues so hitting them up right at rope drop can knock them out with the shortest line possible. Pirates has one of the fastest moving lines so even a long queue time will 'feel' fast since it will be constantly moving. If savoring the experience is something you desire, then give my way a try. It's amazing how large and full a land feels after you've spent a couple hours straight in it.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I've tried the quantity approach as well as the quality, and I have to say I prefer the slower approach in DL and the quantity approach at DCA. There is definitely a lot to be said for minimizing steps/travel time in park too - not just wait time. I'm just in the beginning phases of planning for a June 2022 trip, but I think I'll be doing a land by land approach this time, using 4 or 5 day hoppers.