Which Park to Start At

[my2boyz]

We have two days set aside for park days (an upcoming Wed/Thurs).

We have park hoppers and genie+. One of the days DL closes at 8 for special event which we are not attending.
Where would you plan to spend/book your first day based on crowds. Do people usually avoid parks when special events are scheduled since they close early, making them less busy till around 5pm or am I over thinking this?!
We haven't been to DL in 7 years so lots to figure out in short period.

 

[mdmost]

We always start at DL. Starting at DCA seems weird. I'm frequently wrong but I believe the conventional wisdom is if there is an event at one park, it moves the crowds to the other one. Though you also get a more crowded park before the event starts as people are let in early.

 

[Rmouse]

Wondering though, if you always start at DL, doesn’t that force you into long lines at CA because you are always there peak times? I’ve been struggling with this as well. We have one who is 6 so can’t do single rider and I don’t think he will last in a line standby line. I don’t want to pay $ for ILL but seems that would be the only option unless starting at CA?

 

[EagleRockTony]

We have been starting at DL lately, the kids rope drop to standby for Rise of the Resistance and usually choose Smugglers Run or Big Thunder as the first GP. The only reason we would start at CA would be to start at RSR but with GP and being able to park Hop at 11am there seems no reason. If we didn’t buy GP for a day then CA first could make more sense. I think it would be helpful for you to read the first sticky, Rope Drop Strategies, it is long but informative and comprehensive.

 

[mdmost]

Wondering though, if you always start at DL, doesn’t that force you into long lines at CA because you are always there peak times? I’ve been struggling with this as well. We have one who is 6 so can’t do single rider and I don’t think he will last in a line standby line. I don’t want to pay $ for ILL but seems that would be the only option unless starting at CA?

Oh, I mean we always start our trips at DL, not each day. Sorry. We do first day fully at DL and then the 2nd day at CA fully. If you only have two days and park hoppers, I would still recommend starting at DL and the 2nd day at CA. I think CA is so easy to breeze through if you have Genie+. What day is the late night closure happening at DL?

 

[whjensen]

We'll be there from Thursday, so following.

I'm interested to hear how things like Genie+ and the park hopper restrictions have affected this. We last went in 2019 and I'm guessing that things have changed.

 

[DLgal]

Wondering though, if you always start at DL, doesn’t that force you into long lines at CA because you are always there peak times? I’ve been struggling with this as well. We have one who is 6 so can’t do single rider and I don’t think he will last in a line standby line. I don’t want to pay $ for ILL but seems that would be the only option unless starting at CA?

No. Because once the hopping starts, a large proportion of guests who started at DCA hop over, plus most people close out the night at DL, not DCA, so the park is less crowded on evenings than DL is. The people that do stick around do so for WOC, but then the rest of the park is a ghost town after like 8pm.

 

[DLgal]

My advice is start at DL the night it closes early. Hop over to DCA in the evening.

Start at DCA the other day and close out DL park.