Where to Head First in Both Parks

[Bowen9475]

We are visiting Disneyland and California Adventure in just about two weeks. We are WDW "pros" when it comes to planning our park visits. We are a little lost for Disneyland planning. Looking for suggestions of what rides/attractions/areas to head to first in each park. Thank you

 

[Laz]

The best answer I can give you is "that depends." Are you staying at a DLR hotel? if so, you will get early entry to one of the parks ever day. In that case, many people like myself head right to RSR. We then go to Toy Story, followed by Soarin. In DL, many head to Peter Pan due to the fact it just opened after a major rehab. I hit the mountains first, esp. the Matterhorn because it has no fast past. If you are not doing an early entry or magic morning, then you may want to decide if you want to get a FP for a major ride (like RSR) and then do stand by for another. Remember that you are back to using FP-. When we follow a traditional WDW touring plan, we find we get much more accomplished than we every would at WDW. Finally, remember to get FPs for both WOC and Fantasmic as early as you can to get the best seats.

 

[figment_jii]

It depends a little on whether your staying on-site and have access to EMH or not or (if not on-site), do you have a three-day or longer ticket that includes on Magic Morning in DL? While EMH/MM do not have a long-term impact on the parks (i.e., it's not really necessary to avoid the park having EMH/MM), it does impact the "start of day" plan (mostly at DCA).

(You mention being a WDW pro. I don't know if you've seen the thread, but HydroGuy has a useful thread: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It's worth taking a look.)

 

[Indiana Scott]

Most people start at the front and work their way back.
We like to head to the very farthest regions of the park first - like BTMRR. When we get back there it's almost empty and rides are often just walk on.
This doesn't work on MM days because half the park is closed still.

 

[hpfan100]

You want to hit the rides with longer waits and no fast pass early on.
At California adventure that's toy story.
At Disneyland that's matterhorn, nemo subs, Peter pan, dumbo, Alice almost of the other fantasyland rides.

If you little ones fantasyland will be the priority at Disneyland. If you aren't interested in those then hit Matterhorn first then head to space or Indy. Everything else is more manageable.

 

[IdahoMike]

Like others have said, it depends on what your priorities are. We only had one MM in DL, we used it on Tomorrowland since Peter Pan wasn't open yet, so we knocked out Space Mountain and Star Tours and the Matterhorn (yes I know that's part of FL) first. Had PP been open, we would have gone there, and knocked out most of Fantasyland that first hour. Non magic mornings, I would either head to Space, or to Indy and walk on if the line is short, or grab a FP and do other things while waiting for the FP time.

In CA, we found that getting FP for RSR worked best, and then heading to the pier to ride Toy Story (twice in a row walk on) and walked on Screamin as well. Others like to do standby for RSR right away, but we were still able to ride it twice a day by getting FP first, plus get on Toy Story with no line.

 

[scrapshappen]

If you aren't staying on site, than start at the park that doesn't have early entry. We like to start with Peter Pan at DL and Toy Story Mania at DCA.

 

[Micahisgood54]

Hello imo I love going into Disneyland 1st, but that is because from when I was young we just had Disneyland but its the way more nostalgic of the two. you really cant go wrong!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We have a few patterns that we follow when entering the parks. If you stay off-site and have a ticket for 3 or more days, you get one early entry day. We always use that day at DL and head for Fantasyland. We did this the week after Christmas and were able to get in 6 rides in the first hour (7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - Alice, Canal Boats, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White, Toad). Right at 8:00 a.m., we headed over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain and then get a Fast Pass for later. While there, we did Star Tours and Buzz, and stayed nearby until our Space time came up. After that, we headed over to Indy, Mansion, Pirates, Big Thunder, etc. and did that side of the park. The key is to always get as many Fast Passes as you're allowed. Take note of the time on the FP that says when you're eligible to get another one.

Our pattern on a non-early entry day is to head straight for Indy. Get in line, or if it's already more than 30 minutes, get a Fast Pass. Do Pirates, Mansion or both when waiting for the Fast Pass time. As soon as possible, get a Fast Pass for Big Thunder (not always necessary early in the morning), or Splash, depending upon how early in the day you want to get wet!

At DCA, we head directly for the Radiator Springs Racers FP line. It usually goes very fast. Then we head to Paradise Pier for Toy Story Midway Mania. We save TOT for later since there are usually FPs available by the time we get there. If you've never been to DCA, don't miss Monsters, Inc! It's the only Disney ride that takes you through a bathroom!