What to do first?

[tinkerbell_mom]

This will be our first trip to Disneyland. I'm looking for some advice on what rides to do first in both parks. I'm sure getting there at park opening is best. What rides should we go to first in each park? What should be get fastpasses for first? Any advice is really appreciated!!

Thanks!

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

Everyone has a different plan...we always go and get a FP for Indy, then go on Splash, then HM, the POTCB, then get a FP for BTM! OR we get a FP for Splash and go on Indy....we generally always do that side first....

 

[DangerMouse]

The DangerMouse family mantra:

Peter Pan First! Peter Pan ALWAYS first!

 

[oc_tony]

Depending what day/time of the year you are going, FPs for some rides (i.e. Buzz) are available well into the afternoon. That being said, we usually FP Space, Splash, and Indy early in the day, then move on to BTMRR and others later.

When we took out-of-town relatives last year, we sent one (fast) person to get FPs for Space for everyone, while the rest of the us headed for Splash and had barely a wait in the standby line. They are on opposite sides of the park (just like at MK), but even with waiting for our FP "runner" to join us at Splash, it worked great.

Matterhorn doesn't have FP, so you may want to do it earlier in the day to avoid lines. IMHO, that ride is better at night, so we like to do it after it gets dark, even if there is a line. Ditto for BTMRR (with FP).

Have a fun time!

 

[oc_tony]

DangerMouse brings up a good point. We rarely have really little kids in our group, so Fantasyland is kind of an afterthought. If you have little ones, well this changes things...

Do Peter Pan and Dumbo first!

 

[goofycathy]

When we (my sis and I) were young and were there with our family (mom and dad) we always took the path to the left and went on Jungle Cruise first, we did it for years! When I grew up and got married and had kids and all the stuff I thought I would change things up so now we go to the right and head to Peter Pan.....and its tradition to always call my sister when we are waiting in line and she does the same to me....wierd stuff, but its tradition!

 

[DLR29]

Rides that build long lines quickly:
-Peter Pan (THE single fastest growing line in the park, failure to get in line within the first 5 min of park opening might mean a wait of 30 min or more)
-Dumbo
-Finding Nemo
-Space (FP)
-Indy (FP)
-Matterhorn
-Alice in Wonderland

And at DCA:
-Toy Story Midway Mania
-Soarin

Rides to FP first (in this order):
-Space
-Indy/Splash (Splash first during warmer months)
-Big Thunder/Haunted Mansion Holiday (HMH only October-December)
-Buzz/Autopia/Roger Rabbit (you can get Roger Rabbit regardless of if you already are holding a FP for something else)

DCA:
-Soarin
-Screamin/Grizzly River Run (GRR during warmer months)
-ToT
-Mulholland

 

[michelleh1]

Rides that build long lines quickly:
-Peter Pan (THE single fastest growing line in the park, failure to get in line within the first 5 min of park opening might mean a wait of 30 min or more)
-Dumbo
-Finding Nemo
-Space (FP)
-Indy (FP)
-Matterhorn
-Alice in Wonderland

And at DCA:
-Toy Story Midway Mania
-Soarin

Rides to FP first (in this order):
-Space
-Indy/Splash (Splash first during warmer months)
-Big Thunder/Haunted Mansion Holiday (HMH only October-December)
-Buzz/Autopia/Roger Rabbit (you can get Roger Rabbit regardless of if you already are holding a FP for something else)

DCA:
-Soarin
-Screamin/Grizzly River Run (GRR during warmer months)
-ToT
-Mulholland

I'm so glad you posted this! thank you!

is your wait time for Peter Pan during peak-season or off, or both?

 

[DLR29]

I'm so glad you posted this! thank you!

is your wait time for Peter Pan during peak-season or off, or both?

I have never been during "off season" because the off season keeps changing due to strange crowd patterns, but that's a different story.

Anyway, my statement about Peter Pan was based off of trips in June, August, October, and December. However, even in the "off season", Peter Pan's line doesn't get short I can guarantee that. Maybe not 60+ min like during peak season, but I'd predict 20-45 most of the day.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

I think it all depends on who is in your traveling party and how many days you will be in the parks.
If with kids, like others have said, definatly Peter Pan first then Dumbo.
If multiple days and without kids, I would still do PP first, on day, as it really is a magical ride and fun for all.

If with older kids/teens or no kids, My choice Matterhorn because it has no FP. Findig Nemo, I personally do not care for, but it is also a ride that line builds quickly, so if of interest for you, might ad to your first list.
Indiana Jones, although it is a FP ride, even the FP line is long.
All other rides are either FP or quick/short lines

For DCA- Toy Story, definatly Toy Story first

And of course this is all just my opinion, take it or leave it

Enjoy!

 

[DDhunter]

I personally do not understand why anyone bothers with a fast pass on Big Thunder, the lines are never very long and if you hit it right, they are usually in the 15 minute range. The only rides we ever fast pass are Indy and Space in DL and Soarin is an absolute must FP over in DCA (probably Tower of Terror too).

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

I personally do not understand why anyone bothers with a fast pass on Big Thunder, the lines are never very long and if you hit it right, they are usually in the 15 minute range.

Last time I was there the fastest was 30 min...I guess why not FP it, if you have "room" to FP it does go way faster!

 

[DLR29]

I personally do not understand why anyone bothers with a fast pass on Big Thunder, the lines are never very long and if you hit it right, they are usually in the 15 minute range. The only rides we ever fast pass are Indy and Space in DL and Soarin is an absolute must FP over in DCA (probably Tower of Terror too).

I went right before Christmas and used BTMRR FP 3 times. The line was 45 min (yes, they extended the queue longer than I've ever seen). Yes, we also use FP for Indy and Space, but once those have run out, why not grab a FP for BTMRR? The return window is usually about an hour or so ahead, which makes it easy to get multiple FPs for BTMRR in one day.

We try and use FP as much as possible, even if that means getting some of the "lesser" FPs later in the day when the more popular FP rides have run out. I personally do not understand why anyone would not want to get a FP when they could.

 

[californiamomof4grls]

We always go to the Jungle Cruise line frist and while we wait in line my hubby goes to get his fast pass for Indy!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

First thing in the morning: I head to Peter Pan with the kids and get in line while DH runs and gets FP for Space Mountain.

When we arrive mid day on our 1st day: Jungle Cruise is almost always first.

 

[rszdtrvl]

This will be our third year in a row, and my family always starts at DCA. The first ride we always go on is Grizzly River Run.

From there, we go to Soarin', and to Screamin', and to Toy Story Mania.

We only have 1 1/2 days in the park, so to start at the less busy one will definitely help us to do all that we would like to do in the DL parks!

 

[wvnative]

I tend to travel with teenagers, almost always just girls, which affects our ride choices somewhat. First thing in the morning one day we head for Peter Pan. We then hit anything in Fantasyland they want to ride. If it's stuff I don't want to ride, I go pick up FP's for Space. WE all take turns picking the first ride each day. The most popular choices for our group are Space and Indy.

Of course, our first day there is usually a half day arriving around lunchtime so the first thing we hit in someplace to grab lunch. lol

In DCA, I try to grab a FP for Soarin' on our way to TSMM. There's not many rides in DCA that we ride though so we don't spend much more than an afternoon there.

 

[dstorm]

I went right before Christmas and used BTMRR FP 3 times. The line was 45 min (yes, they extended the queue longer than I've ever seen). Yes, we also use FP for Indy and Space, but once those have run out, why not grab a FP for BTMRR? The return window is usually about an hour or so ahead, which makes it easy to get multiple FPs for BTMRR in one day.

We try and use FP as much as possible, even if that means getting some of the "lesser" FPs later in the day when the more popular FP rides have run out. I personally do not understand why anyone would not want to get a FP when they could.

I had this same experience - once after Fantasmic ended was very glad we had fast passes to BTMRR - line was very long.

I think people often overlook the 'return window' factor when collecting fast passes.

Space or Indy should always be #1 if you are there for park opening. But we employed a sequence of Space, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Splash, Buzz Light Year, Indy and walked out at lunch set for the return trip in the late afternoon.

BTMRR, Haunted Mansion (when open) and Buzz give you shorter windows to be able to collect more fast passes on busy days. I don't think you'd ever be in danger of having Indy run out before 1 or 2pm. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong there.

 

[WannaseePooh]

The first time we went to Disneyland, we didn't go into Fanasyland for 3 days. By the time we got there, the kids had been on all the other rides. They were completly unimpressed with Fantasyland at that point. All the other rides had jaded them to the experience, although they did like the teacups. I couldn't get them to go back there again, and we missed half of the rides. If I had it to do again, I would do Fantasyland first and Toontown second, before hiting the rest of the park.

 

[HydroGuy]

I went right before Christmas and used BTMRR FP 3 times. The line was 45 min (yes, they extended the queue longer than I've ever seen). Yes, we also use FP for Indy and Space, but once those have run out, why not grab a FP for BTMRR? The return window is usually about an hour or so ahead, which makes it easy to get multiple FPs for BTMRR in one day.

We try and use FP as much as possible, even if that means getting some of the "lesser" FPs later in the day when the more popular FP rides have run out. I personally do not understand why anyone would not want to get a FP when they could.

I had this same experience - once after Fantasmic ended was very glad we had fast passes to BTMRR - line was very long.

I think people often overlook the 'return window' factor when collecting fast passes.

Space or Indy should always be #1 if you are there for park opening. But we employed a sequence of Space, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Splash, Buzz Light Year, Indy and walked out at lunch set for the return trip in the late afternoon.

BTMRR, Haunted Mansion (when open) and Buzz give you shorter windows to be able to collect more fast passes on busy days. I don't think you'd ever be in danger of having Indy run out before 1 or 2pm. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong there.

For more info on these excellent posts see

"Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132

"Which Fast Pass First?" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1107718 (see my post #4 in that thread)