Which park to go to at open question

[edhmom]

We will be there Fri-Sun, Jan 11-13. We are getting 3 day Park Hopper tickets. As far as which park to be at to open each day, originally I had thought we would do Disneyland Friday. It's our first day there, it's my 16 year olds first trip to Disneyland, and it's Disneyland. I thought we would open DCA Saturday and figure out which one we wanted to do Sunday. We'll be departing the parks around 3:00 on Sunday to return home.

This morning I got to thinking about our MM hour and how that will affect our plan. MM is Saturday for Disneyland and EMH is Fri and Sunday for DCA if I'm reading everything correctly.

How crowded will DCA be at regular open on a EMH day? Would it be better to be there for a non-EMH open? If I do that, it means I am giving up my MM. Am I crazy to do that?

And yes, whichever park we are going to first each day, we are planning to get to early.

Thanks!

 

[DLRExpert]

Yes I would recommend avoiding MM at Disneyland. Its make the park more hectic overall and throughout the day.
I would only recommend MM if your time is limited and the park is opening later in the day.

Visiting DCA on a EMH when you do not have access to it is not a big deal as the only people who have access to the EMH are Disney Hotel guests.

DL on Friday all day will work wonders especially if you arrive at the entrance 30 minutes early
DCA on Saturday will also be great
Then make Sunday all about park hopping to your favorite attractions.

ME

 

[Winnowill]

Consider that MM at DL is Tomorrowland and Fantasyland only, and how many attractions you would want to do early in those areas will help you determine whether MM is of any (or much) use to you.

I disagree that MM makes DL more hectic - I don't think MM or EMH makes a difference in either park since park hopping is so easy. I also disagree the MM is better with a later park opening - 7:00 am MMs are fantastic because so few people want to get to the gates at 6:30 in the morning.

EMH at DCA doesn't really affect that park for those who don't have it, even on something like GotG. RSR is a different matter, but FPs are always a possibility, as is the single-rider line.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Are you getting PHs? I would recommend them. I would strongly recommend MP. I try to have an idea what we want to accomplish each day and know where the entertainment is. Beyond that it’s pretty much dependent on the MP options. One day I’d thought we start at DCA but it was packed with no MP available and even Ariel had a crazy long line so I ended up getting MP for rides at DL so we switched over to DL. It’s annoying to have to switch parks but with MP you can make it work. I know what rides my kids want to do once and the ones they love and must do more times so I try to fit it in as best I can with what’s available and cut down on the running around. If the rides don’t work at one park I try to cluster them together at the other one and near where we want to be for parades or shows.

I think you should start at DL for the Wow factor on your first day. MM are always best used as Fantaslyland which can get packed. With MP you can pretty easily get in what you want at DCA. On your Friday it would be a great time to walk in with a view of the castle and then head toward the classic rides like HM and POTC before they get crazy. We like to do those and MP Indy which can have a huge line at opening. If HM is not a walk on we MP. MP keeps things flexible as you figure out your options. You might try to get a Cars MP time for sunset. My DS also tells me the Incredicoaster is best done a night so maybe think of an afternoon start at DCA one day.

 

[edhmom]

Thank you all!

Yes, we are getting PH as well as planning to get MP. I got MP last October when I was there with my daughter and it was fantastic to have the flexibility without running all over the park. It wasn't crowded enough to require we have it, but it sure was nice.

I haven't been to DCA since 2005 and I know it has changed a ton since then.