What to do first when the park opens?

[Mommy26]

We purchased Ridemax but it doesn't answer all of our itinerary questions.

If we did Magic Morning Early Entry hours and the rest of the park is about to open, is it best to stay in tomorrowland and get in line for star tours before general admission crowds get there, or is it best to head over to adventureland/frontierland and get in line for rope drop (or whatever) and start the rides on that side of the park?

If we start there should we start with Indiana Jones (cuz its right there) or go all the way down to Splash and start there?

Also when toon town opens (an hour later) is it best to get in line (30 minutes ??) so we can ride gadgets go coaster first thing when TT opens, or is it a better use of time to stay in Adventureland/Frontierland and ride splash/indy etc while crowds are low?

What is the best use of time if you are park hopping (on a different day) to stay in disneyland and rides rides while lines are short, or wait in line at DCA to be the first in line while lines are short there??

Sorry for the long post and detailed questions. I just can't stop planning.... (so need to get a life!)

 

[bakerudall]

This is a tough question to answer because there is so much personal preference involved. I would spend my entire magic morning in FL. (Check the stickies for MM guides if you haven't already).

I am a huge Star Wars fan, and I haven't seen the new ST yet, but I will be waiting until after MM to race over to TL for ST. Some people prefer to head to Indy right away. Others prefer to collect FP's for later use and ride all the non-FP's in the morning.

I would save Splash for the last ride before a break. This allows some time to dry off. Also, will you have TTMM passes on your trip? If so, save GGC and the other TT stuff for that hour.

As far as park hopping, it is best to hop over when DL lines are reaching their peak in the early afternoon. However, if you have a favorite ride or would like to hit TSMM without a horrendous line, you may want to head over to DCA for its traditional early opening.

Ridemax will break it down for you, but you still have to prioritize which rides are most important to your family for the amount of time you have in the parks.


Lastly, don't feel guilty about over-planning. That is half the fun for many of us! It's the thrill of the hunt before the big ki... errr...payoff.

 

[Mommy26]

Thank you.

I have read the MM thread and plan to stay the full hour but don't know what to do next. I know that FL/TL side starts busier on MM/EE days, but thought I might try Star Tours and then head over to the other side.

I do not have TTMM tickets.

 

[skiingfast]

When MM ends, TL is already pretty full and will be really full as soon as the regular guests get in.

I used to do 1 of two things. Either wander out of TL a couple minutes before the rope drops, or walk up to the FP machines for ST or previously SM. In either case I would go in AL or Frontierland.

No though, since the rope drop isn't at the end of Main Street anymore because of constuction they started this Winter that will end for the Summer. Currently and how knows if it will change the Rope Drop is in the Main Street third of the hub, so I would go around the Castle Side and into Frontierland.

Ride, BTMRR, HM, grab a Splash FP ride Splash, then come back and do pirates and grab an Indy FP. Sometimes ride Indy too, often it opens late and quite a few times even though the park has been open an hour I've been able to get in the first wave of guests and the wait is under 15 minutes.

Then I go to DCA for it's 9:30 opening. Of course this Summer the DCA opening may be earlier and the morning hop to DCA will have no advantage.

 

[bakerudall]

I like your back door to BMRR idea, Ski. Great tip! You could even squeeze in a fast Pooh ride while you're in the area.

 

[Eeee-va]

I think it all depends on what your priorities are. More often than not, I'm in line for Space Mountain as the Magic Morning ends. I know some people say you shouldn't ride any FP rides during MM, which is fair enough, but it's hard to resist my favorite ride, which I could happily ride 5 times a day (as opposed to some of the Fantasyland rides I'm happy riding once a trip). Being in Tomorrowland a couple minutes after MM ends allows me to grab a FP for Space Mountain or Star Tours after I ride.

So if your top priority is Star Tours, you might get in line for it near the end of your Magic Morning, then get a FP after you leave. Whereas if your goal is to ride every ride in the park once, you can technically make more efficient use of your time. (But if you want to ride a certain ride a bunch of times, like me...well, the heart wants what it wants! )

How many days are you there? If you have multiple days, I'd do different parts of the park each morning.

You don't necessarily need to worry about riding Splash and Indy when lines are low, since they offer Fastpass. And the lines for PotC and Haunted Mansion usually stay reasonable for a few hours after park opening, unless the park is totally crowded or one of them just came up from a refurb.

Hopping again depends on your priorities. If you want to ride all the headliners with no wait/dealing with Fastpasses (in the case of Tower of Terror/Screamin'/Soarin') then getting there early in the day is wise. Otherwise it may not matter so much (though when Cars Land opens that may change).

Have a great trip!

 

[rramstad]

I think the comments so far are really good -- only you can prioritize what you think are the things you really really want to emphasize, so the big picture is something you need to set.

Personally like a previous poster, I would spend 50+ of the minutes of MM in Fantasyland, and then I would probably head over to get a Star Tours FP, there's a line for the machines that will start moving as soon as the MM is over, and once I have FP in hand, I would go ride Space Mountain in the regular standby line. Something like that. My next move would probably be BTMRR standby (which shouldn't be bad), then Haunted Mansion and/or Pirates, then grab a Splash FP for later when it's warmer.

My most recent visit was July 2011 and Star Tours was the hardest ride to get on... by grabbing an FP early early, it ensured we'd get to ride it each day without having to wait much, and without losing a big FP window. (The other option would be to grab FP before hopping to DCA, so the 2 hours isn't "lost".)

 

[Mommy26]

Thank everyone, I knew you'd have the answers.

What is the best way to do toontown?

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

You could even squeeze in a fast Pooh..... ride while you're in the area.

I'm sorry, thats how I read that I apparently have the sense of humor of a 5 year old, I apologize.

 

[bakerudall]

Hey, sometimes at DL you just don't have much time when your family is outside waiting for you.