When to fit in Indy? (and general touring plan advice)

[Artygal90]

Going to Disneyland in 2 weeks with a toddler and my friend who hates rollercoasters. This will be their first trip. We have one full day, Genie+, and are avoiding most of the thrill rides except for Indy and Rise of the Resistance. On the rides the toddler can't go on, we'll alternate using our LLs or do rider swap if LL isn't an option.

When would you book your Indy LL and what return time would you aim for, given the following rough itinerary?:

8 am - 12 pm : Fantasyland, Toontown, Tomorrowland (if time)
12 pm - 3 pm: Break for lunch, hotel nap
3:40: Oga's Cantina (friend's request)
4-6: Galaxy's Edge (ROTR standby with rider swap)
6:30 - 7:30?: Blue Bayou Fantasmic Package (friend's request)
8 ish: Toddler and I go home for the night, friend sticks around for Fantasmic, fireworks, and late night rides.

More rambling thoughts...feel free to correct or guide my thinking...

The thing I'm having a hard time with is that Indy LL return windows are already out to midafternoon by 9:30 a.m....I could book a LL first thing at 7:30 and ride immediately, but it feels wrong to go to Adventureland first on my baby's first Disney trip! I also don't want to have to hoof it over there from Toontown. If I book at 8:15 am I could probably get a 10:30-11:30 am return window and plan to do Adventureland before lunch rather than Tomorrowland? And then book LLs for Buzz and Autopia for right after our midday break? OR we could hit it up on our way out/while my friend is waiting for Fantasmic to start and pray the toddler isn't having a full meltdown.

Another option would be to try for a stroller nap between 12-3 and do Galaxy's Edge then. That also frees up the afternoon to see the second parade. Plus then we're not doing Smuggler's Run or RotR with cocktails in our tummies...

It's crazy how we're skipping so many popular rides - Space, Big Thunder, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, etc. - and still feels like it'll be impossible to get our modest list of must-dos done. Sigh. I wish I was a lotto winner so we could stay as many days as we wanted and not have to optimize limited time!

 

[Aspencreek]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I'd almost think you should switch out the Rise ride for Indy in that 4-6 timeframe in your plan. With just one day and so much already planned out it might be a big risk to try for Rise standby in the afternoon. That ride has one of the longest average wait times (usually an hour+), yet goes down extremely frequently and takes around 45 minutes to reset once it does. So you could easily blow/waste 1-2 hours and not ride it. Not the biggest deal if you have multiple days, but with just one day that would be horrible. So if me I'd go for Indy with a LL instead. Just grab one sometime mid-morning for the afternoon time slot you want. Can modify the time if needed and if it goes down during your slot you'll end up with a MEP! (Won't get that with Rise standby, just a "oops, better luck next time."

 

[DLRExpert]

If coasters are an issue Indy could scar them and make it harder for them to ride Rise.
Rise first then Indy later. You can always refresh the LL and find a time for Indy that works. Especially during your break.

If they want to attempt a coaster.
Chip and Dale Coaster before 945am.
Big Thunder Mountain next in line.

Order should be
715am: Arrive at the entrance. Once in the park book Indy, but you will not use it. Look into getting an MEP (read that thread).
8-845am: Fantasyland. Order Pan, Alice, Dumbo, Toad.
845am-920am: Toontown: CnD Coaster, Roger, Railway
930am-11am: Head to Adventureland Jungle Cruise, Pirates LL, Thunder LL

 

[Artygal90]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I'd almost think you should switch out the Rise ride for Indy in that 4-6 timeframe in your plan. With just one day and so much already planned out it might be a big risk to try for Rise standby in the afternoon. That ride has one of the longest average wait times (usually an hour+), yet goes down extremely frequently and takes around 45 minutes to reset once it does. So you could easily blow/waste 1-2 hours and not ride it. Not the biggest deal if you have multiple days, but with just one day that would be horrible. So if me I'd go for Indy with a LL instead. Just grab one sometime mid-morning for the afternoon time slot you want. Can modify the time if needed and if it goes down during your slot you'll end up with a MEP! (Won't get that with Rise standby, just a "oops, better luck next time."

That is a good point with the downtime....my friend is iffy on it anyway due to the drop but we are both theatre kids and I just loved the interactive aspects of the ride so much (especially the CMs in the queue/preshow). It was a highlight of our 2020 trip to Hollywood Studios in Florida so I feel like it would be "worth" the brief thrill of the drop for her. Maybe I can present the two options and let her decide. Or spring for her to get an ILL. Or she could do it alone at the end of the night if it's running and she hustles over from Rivers of America.

If coasters are an issue Indy could scar them and make it harder for them to ride Rise.
Rise first then Indy later. You can always refresh the LL and find a time for Indy that works. Especially during your break.

If they want to attempt a coaster.
Chip and Dale Coaster before 945am.
Big Thunder Mountain next in line.

Order should be
715am: Arrive at the entrance. Once in the park book Indy, but you will not use it. Look into getting an MEP (read that thread).
8-845am: Fantasyland. Order Pan, Alice, Dumbo, Toad.
845am-920am: Toontown: CnD Coaster, Roger, Railway
930am-11am: Head to Adventureland Jungle Cruise, Pirates LL, Thunder LL

Interesting, I think of Big Thunder as more of a true roller coaster than Indy so we were planning to avoid it. Being in a row at the end of the train especially whips you over some of those lift hills quickly! Indy (as far as I recall) just kind of shakes you around and moves you fast like you're on a runaway Jeep, right? My friend doesn't like the "drop" sensation or feeling g-forces on coasters but some thrilling movement and speed are ok.

For Fantasyland, would you skip Pan if it's an Early Entry morning (which we won't have)? Thrill Data says it's a 30-45 minute wait all day so I was thinking we'd try to squeeze it in between other stuff as breaks etc. allow, and spend that first hour knocking out all the other Fantasyland rides that have 0-10 minute waits first thing.

Edited to add that my friend is definitely up for Chip N Dale - not sure about the toddler though! We already know carousels are a no-go so we plan to start with Dumbo and see how that goes.

I definitely have been reading the MEP thread closely

 

[Artygal90]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I'd almost think you should switch out the Rise ride for Indy in that 4-6 timeframe in your plan. With just one day and so much already planned out it might be a big risk to try for Rise standby in the afternoon. That ride has one of the longest average wait times (usually an hour+), yet goes down extremely frequently and takes around 45 minutes to reset once it does. So you could easily blow/waste 1-2 hours and not ride it. Not the biggest deal if you have multiple days, but with just one day that would be horrible. So if me I'd go for Indy with a LL instead. Just grab one sometime mid-morning for the afternoon time slot you want. Can modify the time if needed and if it goes down during your slot you'll end up with a MEP! (Won't get that with Rise standby, just a "oops, better luck next time."

Just wanted to report back after doing some more digging on Rise's downtimes...I looked on Thrill Data and Rise appears to have gone down for at least an hour (but often multiple hours, for multiple times per day) 20 out of the last 30 days! That is crazy! And most of the days without downtime seem to be from before Memorial Day weekend...yeah I think I will be arguing for us to find other ways to spend our time in the afternoon for our one full Disneyland day. If we can work it in great, but I won't be sweating about it. Thank you for suggesting I reconsider!

 

[DisneylandFan22]

We usually keep an eye on Rise in the early evening and when it drops to 40-50 minutes we ride. The line moves consistently and we find it doesn’t actually take that long. Keep an eye on the line and make sure it isn’t outside. The ride is definitely worth it and the drop is very quick and with everything going on around it I find even people who hate drops can deal with it. Try to sit in the front row middle for Indy. The back rows and edges are much rougher. It is a considerable difference. You might want to move your break time earlier to start at 11-11:30. We have found that is when it starts get really hot and busy.