Which rides/places do we need to get to in the AM?

[whatRUcelebrating]

I am new to the board so hope I am posting in the right section.

We are going to DL next week for just 3 days and I'm wanting to know which rides/events are those we need to hit as soon as possible in the mornings to avoid long lines later in the day. Our oldest child is 5 and isn't big enough for some rides, so some of the popular rides are out anyway. Here is my list of places I *think* might be the popular ones. Would anyone care to help me by saying which are THE most popular that we should begin the day with? I omitted all the FP rides.

It's a Small World
Disney Princess Fantasy Faire (to meet the princesses)
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Finding Nemo
Star Tours

And in CA
Brother Bear Show
Monster's Inc

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[DangerMouse]

Everyone chant with me now:

Peter Pan First! Peter Pan ALWAYS First!

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

Read HydroGuys tips - I followed the FL list & got on everything in record time & had time to kill before the rest of the park opened (EE day). I never did ALL the FL rides bc they didn't interest me but we did that day bc we had the time!

 

[whatRUcelebrating]

Everyone chant with me now:

Peter Pan First! Peter Pan ALWAYS First!

OK thank you! I am so clueless I didn't even have that pegged as a high volume ride. I am off to search for Hydroguy now. Thanks!!

 

[rmonty02]

Yes, hit fantasy land first one day and ride Peter Pan & Dumbo. Then Finding Nemo first on another day. Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Small World all have fast ques, so don't worry too much about those.

 

[Gisele]

That is humorus...... P P, first .... always. I continue to read post that say just that. So I say, that is most definitely a good idea.
Fast Passes are very important too. I always get them for my most favorite rides, when they are available. Also, remember, that the fast passes are good for the entire day, not just the time that is stamped upon them. Some people believe that they are good for another day, they are not. For that is only fair, to all park guests.

Have a wonderful and fun time at Disneyland!

 

[Gisele]

Haunted House

.......................


It is The Haunted Mansion, actually.

 

[whatRUcelebrating]

Also, remember, that the fast passes are good for the entire day, not just the time that is stamped upon them.

OK another huge thank you! I had no clue you could use them past the time stamped on them. That will most definitely make things run more smoothly as we won't be stressed about having to get there in exact time. I do know you can't have more than 1 at one time or something like that though.

 

[perlster]

Er, "Peter Pan first" sounds good but not next week - it's closed for refurbishment.

 

[Gisele]

OK another huge thank you! I had no clue you could use them past the time stamped on them. That will most definitely make things run more smoothly as we won't be stressed about having to get there in exact time. I do know you can't have more than 1 at one time or something like that though.

Your most welcome!

Yes, there is a time table that will tell you when you can recieve another Fast Pass. If one does it too soon, the machine will give you a ticket that says to the affect of it being too soon.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

If you have 3-day parkhopper tickets, then you probably are eligible for one Magic Morning.

The HydroGuy Tips Compilation also has these 2 threads:

"Magic Morning (Early Entry) Super Thread" by DLR29
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

"Critique of MM/EE" by Hound 109
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392671

Your 5-year-old might surprise you. He or she might be ready for BTMRR, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain.

HTH

 

[imjen]

I agree with the previous poster. My 4.5 yr old rode everything she was tall enough for, which included everything except Indiana Jones, Screamin' and one or two others at California Adventure. Start out with the slower, calmer rides and work your way up. Her favorite ride is Splash Mountain.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My DD who is *not a tall* almost 6 year old (B~day is 7/3) has been tall enough for every ride except Indiana Jones for a couple years now. Take advantage of the child swap pass (available for rides with a height requirement and you have a child who is too small, one adult sits with the child(ren) while the other adult and children who are tall enough ride), use them in combination with Fast Passes ~ IE ~ use a FP for you and your 5 year old to ride Space Mtn. then the 5 year old and other parent (assuming here) can ride it again with the child swap pass (which is basically a fast pass).

We visit both parks each day, start at DL, head to CA in afternoon, head back to DL in the evening.

Oh ~ earlier this month our 1st ride for our MM was Matterhorn (which has a height requirement of less than 40 inches ~ it's 30 something inches) ~ it's super fun! It was also our 1st ride our last day (non MM) because it doesn't have a Fast Pass option.

Peter Pan would've been our 1st ride on our MM day but it was down.

 

[SeansMom]

You might consider RideMax as well. It's a program that gives you all the information your asking for from the input you give it. We go to DL often, but I still use RideMax. It saves time and it has the closures in place for you so you don't have to search for which attractions are closed, or know which attractions (like the Haunted Mansion) load really fast (so a long line doesn't always mean such a long wait.)

One suggestion for your 5 year old; surf the web and find the sites that have the rides on video and show them to him (her?). You'd be surprised how a bit of familiarity will increase the readiness to ride factor .

Have fun!

 

[abouley]

We'll be there next week with our 5 year old and 2.5 year old!

Just a couple things I'd add:

You will want to also hit casey jr, the boat ride and tea cups early. My kids love these! Also Barnstormer in toontown. Matterhorn may or may not fly. My 5 year old is not a huge fan of it or BTMRR or Splash.

At DCA - the monster's inc ride does not usually have very long lines so we don't hit it early (although we usually end up riding it at least twice!). You will want to hit Toy Story first! Great ride and you'll probably want to do it again! Then we'd hit the bugs land area. Cute rides but not worth waiting in line. My kids love playhouse disney and we usually try to fit it in early while kids are still fresh. My 5 yr old loves soarin and has since he was 3! FP this definitely.

Just make sure that if you are counting on using FP's that you are collecting FP's throughout the morning so that you can get all you need and have time to ride those rides that day as well! We have a tendancy to get busy trying to ride while lines are short that we forget to send a runner to start getting our FP's!

 

[Hound 109]

OK another huge thank you! I had no clue you could use them past the time stamped on them. That will most definitely make things run more smoothly as we won't be stressed about having to get there in exact time. I do know you can't have more than 1 at one time or something like that though.

The bolded item isn't accurate.

Many Disers will collect 3-5 FPs in the morning hours at DL......hop to DCA......then return to DL in the late afternoon with those 3-5 FPs in our pocket to use in the more crowded late afternoon or evening.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We collect FPs all day, I end up giving them away in the evening.

 

[Gisele]

That is what I do too, with regarding my favorite rides that have the FP option at the time. I will collect them through out the day, as the next one becomes available. What is kind of funny though, is that I do lose time to one degree or another when I am going on the Indy excursion. For I really like to take my time as best as I can, so as not to end up being ran over by other zealous guests that are winding themselves as well around the caverns. I enjoy the ambiance of the environment, observing as much as possible that can be seen, and heard. I love to hear the bats flying overhead, that is just so wonderful. Better for them to fly over your head, than to land in your hair, right? I think that I still make for pretty good savings on time though, with Indy, when the lines are all the way out the entrance, and then some. I wish that every body would take a slower pace, so as to enjoy the total experience. And, I would not have to fear for my life anymore, when it comes to possibly being ran over by some one. Seriously.

 

[whatRUcelebrating]

Wow - you all are amazing!! I am so glad I discovered this board. I did go ahead and download RideMax. Very cool and I have already learned a TON from churning out sample schedules. Thanks again seriously for all the advice!!

As for our 5 year old, he is a wild man, and keeps measuring himself to see if he has grown tall enough for extra rides, so no fear there! Thanks again

 

[Sherry E]

I would not worry about putting Monsters Inc. first - any time I have been on that ride, there is never a line - or if one starts to form, it moves very quickly. In addition to the other suggestions people made, I would definitely say Toy Story is the one to put at the top of the list in DCA, because it does not have a Fast Pass and the line builds very fast after the park opens. It is such a fun and addictive ride that you will probably want to get at least one more ride on it later in the day but you should do that first in DCA. As for anything else I would suggest (like Buzz Lightyear), those are Fast Pass rides so you'll have those covered. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is a FP ride, but it is one of those that sometimes has NO line at all and sometimes has a line that is 40 minutes long. Don't miss that one.