which parks first? Easter, Mon, Tues trip

[ewasilau]

Hi all -

We are planning a 3-day trip to DLR (originally 2, but 3 seems to make more sense!) for our family of five (kids will be 8, 9 and 12) and we want to maximize our early morning hours. We are hoping to be able to enter when the park(s) open each of the 3 days (realizing it may be harder that third day if we stay out too late, so we'll see). Our three days are Easter Sunday (3/27), Monday 3/28 and Tuesday 3/29. We are not necessarily planning to spend the whole day at DLR on Tues, we may leave for San Diego as early as mid-day, but we are flexible and could spend the whole day there if we choose. We will be staying in San Diego that night though.

We are staying at Park Vue Inn starting Sat. night, so we will walk to the parks. I understand that we get one early morning entry with the 3 day park hopper. Is it for a specific day/park? I also think we should go to whichever park DOESN'T have early entry when we are not able to utilize it. Who has early entry on what days?

I'm also thinking that Easter Sunday may be slightly less crowded than Monday or Tuesday assuming some locals would be celebrating Easter instead of going to the park. Anyone agree? Some crowd calendars (touring plans.com) seem to agree.

Based on our trip days, in which part would you start each day? FYI - we have been to WDW before, never DLR. We are excited to see both parks. I anticipate a little more time in DL than DCA, but am not sure - kids are interested in all types of rides, seem especially excited about those unique to DLR.

Thanks for any input!!

 

[chickapin parterre]

days with the letter "t" are the MM days for Disneyland, only hotel guest can access DCA early on non"T" days.


The longer you delay your entry into into DCA, the later in the day for RSR you will find. so how important is RSR?

Mornings are always great at Disney, by noon the locals have arrived and then Disneyland remains crowded till after fireworks or parades. So from 1-6 is a great time to explore DCA

Arrive at the gates 45 mins before opening, chances are great there will be a rope drop so that actual entry into E attractions may start at 8:00 as opposed to gate trickle

So, if you are early risers and can be at the gates early, then skip your MM on Tuesday and go to DCA where the Fastpass for RSR is a level playing field.

for first time visitors, MM offers no advantage as you have no traditional values in the park, you will have already completed Disneyland so go to DCA to accumulate RSR fastpasses and away from the flow of folks at Disneyland

 

[figment_jii]

WI understand that we get one early morning entry with the 3 day park hopper. Is it for a specific day/park? I also think we should go to whichever park DOESN'T have early entry when we are not able to utilize it. Who has early entry on what days?

Certain pre-purchased 3-day or longer tickets include one Magic Morning, which happens only in Disneyland. Normally, DL has its MM on Tue, Thu, and Sat morning. DCA does not have Magic Mornings, but they do have Extra Magic Hours (EMH). EMH is only available to on-site guests, but it happens in both DL and DCA, usually on alternating days. DL has its EMH and MM on the same morning (basically at DL, EMH and MM are the same thing).) Assuming the parks follow the normal schedule, DCA should have EMH on Sun and Mon while you are there and DL will have EMH/MM on Tue. So in that way, you're only chance to use MM is likely to be on Tue morning.

Disneyland's MM only includes the attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. If you are going to take advantage of MM, I would highly recommend getting to the gate before MM/EMH is slated to start so you can be among the first guests into the park. The most popular attractions are likely to be Peter Pan and HyperSpace Mtn. Hyperspace Mtn does have FPs (not available until the park opens to everyone), but Peter Pan does not. Like WDW, Peter Pan's line will steadily build throughout the day. If it's on your list of attractions to ride, I would either ride it then (if you get there and the line is short) or wait and do it later in the day; in other words, don't spend the majority of your MM waiting in line for Peter Pan (use that time to do other FL/TL attractions). What you do during MM really depends on what you family likes to do (e.g., FL type dark rides, thrill rides like Matterhorn or Space, etc.). I think MM can be very useful if you plan it right.

I'm also thinking that Easter Sunday may be slightly less crowded than Monday or Tuesday assuming some locals would be celebrating Easter instead of going to the park. Anyone agree? Some crowd calendars (touring plans.com) seem to agree.

Possibly, but none of the days are likely to be non-busy in the parks. A lot of school districts have either the week before or week after Easter off, so you have a fair number of "tourists" visiting the parks. I think you might possibly see lower (relative to Mon/Tue) crowds for the first few hours after opening, but by noon, I don't think it will make much of a difference. The parks are likely to be very busy (based on how the crowds have been since the start of the 60th Celebration).

Based on our trip days, in which part would you start each day? FYI - we have been to WDW before, never DLR. We are excited to see both parks. I anticipate a little more time in DL than DCA, but am not sure - kids are interested in all types of rides, seem especially excited about those unique to DLR.

As a WDW vet, I highly recommend taking a look at HydroGuy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It'll help give you a sense of the similarities and differences between the two resorts.

In terms of where to start each day, I don't know that it'll make a huge difference. Most folks would recommend starting in DCA on a morning when it doesn't have EMH, so that you have a chance to ride TSMM and RSR at rope drop. TSMM does not have FPs and its line tends to build during the day. RSR does have FPs and a Single Rider Line. They do not start distributing FPs until the park opens to everyone. I would probably send a runner to DCA to get RSR FPs on Sunday (assuming you started in DL) when the park opens. (Note: Unlike WDW, you can get FPs in either park once you've used your ticket to enter either park. So as long as you enter DL, you can get FPs in DCA and vice-a-versa. They are enforcing return times and there is not set grace period. Also, they are still using the legacy/paper FP system.)

 

[chickapin parterre]

so if you arrive early fron San Diego, you can explore downtown disneyland and can also ride the tram to the parking structure for a view of what the park looks like on the outside and to understand how the major flow of folks into disneyland actually arrive. It is always the first attraction that I take my visitors on to have a feel of the thrill of being near Disneyland