When Touring Fantasyland...

[LisaDKG]

...why is it suggested to first head to Peter Pan over Dumbo? When planning for our trip to WDW, all suggested that Dumbo was the slowest loading ride and therefore had the longest lines first - therefore you'd better get it in first or there'd be no Dumbo for YOU!
Is this not the case in DL? Is Peter Pan somehow more popular with westcoast disenylovers than Dumbo (is this a longitudinal issue?) Are the rides different? We have ridden them at both parks, but our trip to DL was in 2004 and my memory is fuzzy. This is not really a pressing issue - I'm just curious!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I haven't been to WDW in a long time, so I can't really comment on if the rides are different at the two parks, but I can tell you from experience at DL, that yes, Peter Pan always has the longest line in Fantasyland. Dumbo's can get long, and might actually be the slowest to load, but Peter Pan seems more popular. If you don't get in line for PP first thing, the line can easily go to 45 minutes long by the end of the first hour. During MM, we've been able to walk to Peter Pan and then still be able to walk on Dumbo.

 

[Winks At Tink]

both seem to me to be long when the crowds are in but Peter Pan is the first i visit in dlr . The wait time is usually 20min. if you get there when it opens after that it almost instantly shoots up to a 40min. wait and the longest in summer was over an hour. dumbo pretty much stays at 40min. they are very close to eachother.

hope this newb made some sence.

 

[avalon451]

There's a particular order to riding the fantasyland rides that's been researched by those wonderful people geeky enough to do our hard work for us. Seriously, the guy who writes the RideMax planning has all kinds of algorithms in place to calculate the best order to minimize your wait times. On every one I've seen, it starts with Peter Pan.

Don't remember the whole list and I couldn't find it in quick once over of the sticky's but it seems like it's something like:
Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Teacups
Matterhorn
Toad
Carousel
Snow White
Pinocchio

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong-- thanks!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Never been to WDW either. But I can tell you Peter Pan gets VERY long, VERY quickly. Dumbo does get long, but Peter Pan can get to be over an hour within minutes it seems. We've always rode Dumbo usually 3rd or 4th and while there was a line it was no hour!

 

[mommy2kande]

I've never waited longer than 20 minutes for Dumbo. We usually skip Peter Pan because of the lines, but last time we went, we rode. We waited by the rope while they finished up fireworks and then got on about 10th or 11th, total waiting probably about 40 minutes.

 

[Hound 109]

...why is it suggested to first head to Peter Pan over Dumbo? When planning for our trip to WDW, all suggested that Dumbo was the slowest loading ride and therefore had the longest lines first - therefore you'd better get it in first or there'd be no Dumbo for YOU!
Is this not the case in DL? Is Peter Pan somehow more popular with westcoast disenylovers than Dumbo (is this a longitudinal issue?) Are the rides different? We have ridden them at both parks, but our trip to DL was in 2004 and my memory is fuzzy. This is not really a pressing issue - I'm just curious!

Dumbo is slower loading, but Peter Pan generates a line immediately & stays long throughout the day. BUT....if you are one of the first dozen or so folks on PP (which isn't difficult since 80% of all folks at rope drop head towards Nemo) then you can hop on PP with no wait, then immediately walk 20 steps over to Dumbo & ride Dumbo on the first cycle (or second cycle). Dumbo will wait till all Elephants are full before starting.

I also had been to WDW many times & thought Dumbo was supposed to be first, but like many things.....at DLR it's different.

Here's a link that describes this very topic when i asked the same question a year ago. (Still applies).

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381874

hound -

 

[DangerMouse]

Don't question the tried and true method, just repeat the DM Mantra, slowly and steadily as you walk (with purpose) down Main Street USA with nobody in front of you:

"Peter Pan First! Peter Pan ALWAYS First!"

 

[jenjersnap]

I haven't read the thread Hound 109 referenced yet, but I would think the difference is FP. Even with FP, WDW's line for PP is so crazy that we only ride it first thing in the morning or during special ticketed party nights. So, I can easily imagine DL's PP being a madhouse.

Just my theory ... based on zero algorithms and no research.

 

[pumpkin5156]

I haven't read the thread Hound 109 referenced yet, but I would think the difference is FP. Even with FP, WDW's line for PP is so crazy that we only ride it first thing in the morning or during special ticketed party nights. So, I can easily imagine DL's PP being a madhouse.

Just my theory ... based on zero algorithms and no research.

Our PP doesn't have FP. Not sure if that's what you meant...

 

[cccdisney]

WDW's Peter Pan has Fast Pass, but DL's Peter Pan does not have Fast Pass.

 

[ballarinamom]

The one difference we noticed in the two rides is that DL has stars over London and WDW did not. You just saw darkness

 

[jenjersnap]

WDW's Peter Pan has Fast Pass, but DL's Peter Pan does not have Fast Pass.

Yes, of course. That is what I was saying: lack of FP might make DL's line that much longer.

 

[DLR29]

I think it also has something to do with how the rides load. MK's Peter Pan loads continuously because the boats never stop. They continue along and riders use a moving sidewalk to exit and enter, kind of like HM. However at DL, the original ride system is that the boats stop and start for riders to board and disembark. This probably slows down the overall rider capacity.

 

[Winks At Tink]

The one difference we noticed in the two rides is that DL has stars over London and WDW did not. You just saw darkness

No stars I would of been very upset if I did not know this when I visit WDW.

I also looked like this

when I watched F! on youtube with my DD and seen that awful tug boat they pull : thats my favorite.

 

[minniebeth]

That is a very interesting point about the difference between how the two rides at the different parks load....

I guess my intense planning does rub off on my kids, my youngest DD6 even says when we're talking about our trip, "Don't forget Mommy, we walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle and go right to Peeetahh Paaan (in a little Brittish accent!)". There's something just so magical about that first ride of the trip!!