Wide Right & other 'hacks'

[NaturalNine]

Hi All

In the late stages of planning for our march vacation to Cali.

When we were last at DL/DCA back in 2013 we successfully used the Wide Right technique in Carsland for RSR - is this still useful?

I've read this evening about a trick to get front of the rope for parades by hanging out in the shop closest to the fire station right up until start of the parade, how does this work?

And lastly, is there any other tricks or hacks you will share with me to help create an advantage in the parks? Ones like the two above... I promise to keep it our secret lol

Thanks in advance James From Australia!

 

[VandVsmama]

If you're going in March, then I'll assume that you will probably be at DL during what we call "Spring Break" in the US. Spring Break is when US schools are out for a week. Which week it is totally varies from 1 school district to another, which results in a lot of March being rather busy at DL. Spring Break can also go into April leading up to Easter.

The following are tips that I've read about here and used on our family's trip to DL...tips that we have learned seem to work well for us. Your mileage may vary, of course!

General "stuff":

1. There's a big advantage to getting to the parks at rope drop. Makes it easier to do this if you stay at a hotel within walking distance. However, if you're not a morning person, then don't sweat it!
2. If you DO decide to do 'rope drop,' then get to the main gate of the park (DL or DCA) 20-30 min before official park opening. Same applies to if you're going to use Extra Magic Hours or Magic Morning entry (which gets you in 1 hour before everybody else).
3. Make sure you're aware of the general security rules ahead of time. No glass bottles. No knives or weapons. It helps move the security line along faster if you have your bag(s) unzipped, including all of the inner pocket zippers.
4. You MAY bring food into the parks. What you CANNOT do, however, is do this: bring a loaf of bread, a container of condiments, lunch meat, etc. and make your sandwich there. It has to be made before you get to the parks.
5. The website http://dlrprepschool.com/ has a lot of helpful info, too, in addition to DIS Boards.
6. Restaurants - menus & prices can be found onhttp://allears.net/dlr/dining/menus.htm in addition to the Disneyland website.
7. Have each person in your travel party/group pick THE #1 attraction that they want to go on or see while you're at DL Resort. Then try to do those on your first day. This way, if that attraction breaks down, then you have the remainder of your trip to go on it.
8. Set expectations with everybody...they can pick ONE attraction that is their "must do" and everything else is icing on the cake.
9. Expect that 1 or more of you will get theme park fatigue and have a plan for how to handle it. For our family, it involves taking a break back at our hotel so we can rest and recharge.
10. Look at the DL schedule before you get there. Know before you leave home which attractions will be off line so you can set expectations with your group.
11. If you have cell phone service when you'll be in the US, download the DL app to your smart phone ahead of time. It's helpful for finding out ride wait times without having to walk to each ride in person to find out. There is no Wifi available at DL or DCA.
12. There's a PhotoPass+ that you can purchase ahead of time which is a bit less expensive than if you buy it when you get there. It's 1 price for something like a week of PhotoPass+ service and I believe it includes ride photos, too. We've used it before and I would do this again.
13. Use Fast Passes wisely. Our routine goes like this - at park opening, we grab a FP for a ride. We go on other rides while we wait for the FP 1-hour return window to begin. When that FP return window starts, we then get a FP for another FP ride and THEN we go on the ride for that 1st FP. Repeat throughout the day.
14. If you have a FP for a ride and the ride breaks down while you are in line or is down/offline when you get to the attraction, keep your FP tickets and you can use them on that ride at any point later in the day.

DCA:

1. There's no FP for Toy Story Midway Mania. It's a cool ride. Everyone in our family loves it. The wait isn't too bad for the first hour after park opening, but then the line gets longer. I'd consider an hour wait for this too long for my liking, but a 30 min wait seems to be "average" and 20 min is pretty darn good. Try to hit this ride in the first hour after park opening.
2. World of Color - there are multiple ways to see this. Worst idea is to rely on the standby line. There are FPs available for this. You can also get a premium viewing location by doing 1 of the dining packages, but this still involves you standing up the whole time along with everybody else. Most expensive option is to go for the dessert package seating, which is something like $70-$80/person, I think, and you get to sit down and CM's serve you dessert while you get to watch the show.
3. DCA has some really great Counter Service options for food, including a lot of really healthy choices that taste pretty good, so there really is something there for everybody.
4. RSR has Single Rider line!
5. It's Tough To Be A Bug can really be sensory overload for younger kids. I wish that we'd paid attention to the warnings ahead of time. We hated that attraction and won't ever do it again. We did not enjoy the 4D thing at all.
6. At dusk in Carsland, they turn on all the neon lights to the tune of "Sh-boom." It's only a minute or 2, but it's pretty magical and really neat.
7. There are "free" lockers at GRR in DCA where you can store your belongings so you don't get them soaked on the ride. I say "free" because you do have to swipe a credit card in order to get into the locker the first time around but it's free for the first 2 hours, I think.
8. If you don't want to get soaking wet on GRR in DCA, purchase some cheap Dollar Store ponchos ahead of time and pack them with you in your park bag for the day. Then share the Disney magic and hand them off to another guest when you are exiting the ride.
9. The entrance to DCA from the GCH is for GCH guests only in the morning. Then some time around 11am or so, any park guest can use that entrance.
10. If you are staying at the GCH, don't use the GCH entrance to DCA in the morning because it tends to get backed up and it can actually take longer to get into DCA than if you went to the main entrance. Also, don't use the GCH entrance if your first priority is to go on RSR.

DL:

1. We tend to start at least 1 morning in Fantasyland because lots of those rides are slow loaders & can carry fewer total guests per hour than other rides like Pirates of the Caribbean. We will usually do Dumbo, Alice, Snow White, the carousel, Pinocchio, Matterhorn (I'm the only one who likes it, so I use the single rider line). If we're there to use our Magic Morning entry, then once the MM hour is up, we then go on It's A Small World and/or Storyland Canal Boats, then get FP's for either Star Tours, Space Mountain, or Indiana Jones.
2. When DL starts to get busy, they bring out a lot of "street entertainment" and in my opinion, it's pretty high quality. There's usually a couple of DL band "shows" (about 10-15 min long) in front of the castle and the Main Street train station a few times in the afternoon...and Bert & Mary Poppins participate. At Coke Corner on Main Street in the afternoon, kids can play musical chairs with Alice and the Mad Hatter. Ask for times at Coke Corner. New Orleans Square usually has a pirate band that roams around and plays tunes. They are totally awesome. All of the times will be in the DL entertainment guide that they give you when you go through the turn stiles. Or you can look it up on the DL app on your smart phone, too.
3. BIG ADVANTAGE TO GETTING THERE AT ROPE DROP - Fantasyland has a pretty decent # of characters just roaming around FL in that first hour or 2 after park opening. This is another reason why we love getting there for rope drop. We've literally bumped into Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and a couple of others.
4. I was at DL in mid-October of this year and went to Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland about 20 min before it was scheduled to close for the evening. And the meet & greet wait for Chewbacca and Darth Vader were ONLY 5 MIN LONG!
5. Meet & Greets with characters - this especially applies if you have kids with you, but even if you don't, you can do this and have a lot of fun with it. The DL characters are all pretty awesome. They will totally respond in fun & cool ways if you have conversations with them. Keep it a bit brief, of course, because there's usually a line of people behind you. If it's not a face character, you can still talk to them, but they can't talk back, of course. But the character will use gestures to communicate and "talk" back. Compliment Minnie Mouse on her dress. Tell Mickey that you thought he looked really dapper in his outfit when you saw him the other day on Buena Vista Street or how awesome he was in "Mickey & the Magical Map." Talk like a wookie to Chewbacca (that's my favorite). 1 time, I was walking through the castle in FL and as the Evil Queen (from Snow White) was passing by, I bowed down and said, "It's such an honor to be in your presence, my lady." She said, "Now THAT'S a proper greeting!" It was hilarious and totally awesome. If you temporarily suspend your sense of embarrassment & pretend you're 8 years old again just for a moment, it's really a lot of fun.
6. FP for Buzz Lightyear are usually disconnected from the other FP at DL. This means that you can have a FP for Buzz AND a FP for, let's say, Indiana Jones, at the same time.

 

[psac]

Not the OP, but thanks for all the tips!

 

[GatorChris]

We found wide right didn't work as well as it had in the past. One of the reasons was all the Festival of Holiday stands blocking off most of the right hand side. Plus they really didn't funnel people to the right when you get to CarsLand like they used to.

 

[redsoxfan808]

At the gates to enter the park do they still have certain gates that are for magic morning entry? And do those gates change to general entry once the parks are officially open to everyone? Usually the magic morning entry gates have shorter lines than the gates for regular entry. So if you time it right you can be at the front of the line when everyone can enter through that line and not just people with magic morning privileges. I did this a number of years ago. Don't know if the same trick still works though.

 

[ddwlms]

We found wide right didn't work as well as it had in the past. One of the reasons was all the Festival of Holiday stands blocking off most of the right hand side. Plus they really didn't funnel people to the right when you get to CarsLand like they used to.

GatorChris is correct, at least that was our experience as well in early December.

 

[lurpee]

That was a lot of great information! Hopefully someone can update us on the Wide Right Technique once all of the holiday decorations are put away.

 

[Rabb it]

At the gates to enter the park do they still have certain gates that are for magic morning entry? And do those gates change to general entry once the parks are officially open to everyone? Usually the magic morning entry gates have shorter lines than the gates for regular entry. So if you time it right you can be at the front of the line when everyone can enter through that line and not just people with magic morning privileges. I did this a number of years ago. Don't know if the same trick still works though.

Typically there is just one gate off to the side in my experience for MM. Instead of saying "Enter" above the turnstiles it will say "Magic Morning" for DCA it's normally the gate to the far left. Might have changed since I did it last...

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

As of June 2016...our last trip to DLR:

* Wide right at EMH RD still works for DCA's RSR. Family and I were first in line the one time we went straight to RSR.
* EMH RD for Fantasyland worked exceptionally well. We were first in line for Peter Pan, Dumbo and Matterhorn. Knocked out FL during EMH and hit Space MTN and TL during the park's first hour. Lines were non-existent.
* If not going straight to RSR, recommend proceed straight to TSM at EMH RD. My family and I were able to do three rides on TSM and three on the roller coaster within the first hour of EMH. Then when the park

Most strongly recommend to stay on DLR property, use EMH and RD every AM to maximize enjoyment and short lines.

 

[coaches24]

Typically there is just one gate off to the side in my experience for MM. Instead of saying "Enter" above the turnstiles it will say "Magic Morning" for DCA it's normally the gate to the far left. Might have changed since I did it last...

I have never had EMH at DCA as that didn't exist for that park when I stayed onsite my one time. But at DL they have many gates dedicated to MM and EMH. We were first in line for one of them on Wed. But most of the entrance gates were open for MM guests. At least for the initial rush. That has always been my experience with MM at DL since 2010.

 

[chrisaman]

They start out with most of the gates open for magic hours but as the hour winds down they start to change the gates over to normal entrance so by the end there are only a couple of magic hour gates

 

[Jen cook]

If you're going in March, then I'll assume that you will probably be at DL during what we call "Spring Break" in the US. Spring Break is when US schools are out for a week. Which week it is totally varies from 1 school district to another, which results in a lot of March being rather busy at DL. Spring Break can also go into April leading up to Easter.

The following are tips that I've read about here and used on our family's trip to DL...tips that we have learned seem to work well for us. Your mileage may vary, of course!

General "stuff":

1. There's a big advantage to getting to the parks at rope drop. Makes it easier to do this if you stay at a hotel within walking distance. However, if you're not a morning person, then don't sweat it!
2. If you DO decide to do 'rope drop,' then get to the main gate of the park (DL or DCA) 20-30 min before official park opening. Same applies to if you're going to use Extra Magic Hours or Magic Morning entry (which gets you in 1 hour before everybody else).
3. Make sure you're aware of the general security rules ahead of time. No glass bottles. No knives or weapons. It helps move the security line along faster if you have your bag(s) unzipped, including all of the inner pocket zippers.
4. You MAY bring food into the parks. What you CANNOT do, however, is do this: bring a loaf of bread, a container of condiments, lunch meat, etc. and make your sandwich there. It has to be made before you get to the parks.
5. The website http://dlrprepschool.com/ has a lot of helpful info, too, in addition to DIS Boards.
6. Restaurants - menus & prices can be found onhttp://allears.net/dlr/dining/menus.htm in addition to the Disneyland website.
7. Have each person in your travel party/group pick THE #1 attraction that they want to go on or see while you're at DL Resort. Then try to do those on your first day. This way, if that attraction breaks down, then you have the remainder of your trip to go on it.
8. Set expectations with everybody...they can pick ONE attraction that is their "must do" and everything else is icing on the cake.
9. Expect that 1 or more of you will get theme park fatigue and have a plan for how to handle it. For our family, it involves taking a break back at our hotel so we can rest and recharge.
10. Look at the DL schedule before you get there. Know before you leave home which attractions will be off line so you can set expectations with your group.
11. If you have cell phone service when you'll be in the US, download the DL app to your smart phone ahead of time. It's helpful for finding out ride wait times without having to walk to each ride in person to find out. There is no Wifi available at DL or DCA.
12. There's a PhotoPass+ that you can purchase ahead of time which is a bit less expensive than if you buy it when you get there. It's 1 price for something like a week of PhotoPass+ service and I believe it includes ride photos, too. We've used it before and I would do this again.
13. Use Fast Passes wisely. Our routine goes like this - at park opening, we grab a FP for a ride. We go on other rides while we wait for the FP 1-hour return window to begin. When that FP return window starts, we then get a FP for another FP ride and THEN we go on the ride for that 1st FP. Repeat throughout the day.
14. If you have a FP for a ride and the ride breaks down while you are in line or is down/offline when you get to the attraction, keep your FP tickets and you can use them on that ride at any point later in the day.

DCA:

1. There's no FP for Toy Story Midway Mania. It's a cool ride. Everyone in our family loves it. The wait isn't too bad for the first hour after park opening, but then the line gets longer. I'd consider an hour wait for this too long for my liking, but a 30 min wait seems to be "average" and 20 min is pretty darn good. Try to hit this ride in the first hour after park opening.
2. World of Color - there are multiple ways to see this. Worst idea is to rely on the standby line. There are FPs available for this. You can also get a premium viewing location by doing 1 of the dining packages, but this still involves you standing up the whole time along with everybody else. Most expensive option is to go for the dessert package seating, which is something like $70-$80/person, I think, and you get to sit down and CM's serve you dessert while you get to watch the show.
3. DCA has some really great Counter Service options for food, including a lot of really healthy choices that taste pretty good, so there really is something there for everybody.
4. RSR has Single Rider line!
5. It's Tough To Be A Bug can really be sensory overload for younger kids. I wish that we'd paid attention to the warnings ahead of time. We hated that attraction and won't ever do it again. We did not enjoy the 4D thing at all.
6. At dusk in Carsland, they turn on all the neon lights to the tune of "Sh-boom." It's only a minute or 2, but it's pretty magical and really neat.
7. There are "free" lockers at GRR in DCA where you can store your belongings so you don't get them soaked on the ride. I say "free" because you do have to swipe a credit card in order to get into the locker the first time around but it's free for the first 2 hours, I think.
8. If you don't want to get soaking wet on GRR in DCA, purchase some cheap Dollar Store ponchos ahead of time and pack them with you in your park bag for the day. Then share the Disney magic and hand them off to another guest when you are exiting the ride.
9. The entrance to DCA from the GCH is for GCH guests only in the morning. Then some time around 11am or so, any park guest can use that entrance.
10. If you are staying at the GCH, don't use the GCH entrance to DCA in the morning because it tends to get backed up and it can actually take longer to get into DCA than if you went to the main entrance. Also, don't use the GCH entrance if your first priority is to go on RSR.

DL:

1. We tend to start at least 1 morning in Fantasyland because lots of those rides are slow loaders & can carry fewer total guests per hour than other rides like Pirates of the Caribbean. We will usually do Dumbo, Alice, Snow White, the carousel, Pinocchio, Matterhorn (I'm the only one who likes it, so I use the single rider line). If we're there to use our Magic Morning entry, then once the MM hour is up, we then go on It's A Small World and/or Storyland Canal Boats, then get FP's for either Star Tours, Space Mountain, or Indiana Jones.
2. When DL starts to get busy, they bring out a lot of "street entertainment" and in my opinion, it's pretty high quality. There's usually a couple of DL band "shows" (about 10-15 min long) in front of the castle and the Main Street train station a few times in the afternoon...and Bert & Mary Poppins participate. At Coke Corner on Main Street in the afternoon, kids can play musical chairs with Alice and the Mad Hatter. Ask for times at Coke Corner. New Orleans Square usually has a pirate band that roams around and plays tunes. They are totally awesome. All of the times will be in the DL entertainment guide that they give you when you go through the turn stiles. Or you can look it up on the DL app on your smart phone, too.
3. BIG ADVANTAGE TO GETTING THERE AT ROPE DROP - Fantasyland has a pretty decent # of characters just roaming around FL in that first hour or 2 after park opening. This is another reason why we love getting there for rope drop. We've literally bumped into Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and a couple of others.
4. I was at DL in mid-October of this year and went to Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland about 20 min before it was scheduled to close for the evening. And the meet & greet wait for Chewbacca and Darth Vader were ONLY 5 MIN LONG!
5. Meet & Greets with characters - this especially applies if you have kids with you, but even if you don't, you can do this and have a lot of fun with it. The DL characters are all pretty awesome. They will totally respond in fun & cool ways if you have conversations with them. Keep it a bit brief, of course, because there's usually a line of people behind you. If it's not a face character, you can still talk to them, but they can't talk back, of course. But the character will use gestures to communicate and "talk" back. Compliment Minnie Mouse on her dress. Tell Mickey that you thought he looked really dapper in his outfit when you saw him the other day on Buena Vista Street or how awesome he was in "Mickey & the Magical Map." Talk like a wookie to Chewbacca (that's my favorite). 1 time, I was walking through the castle in FL and as the Evil Queen (from Snow White) was passing by, I bowed down and said, "It's such an honor to be in your presence, my lady." She said, "Now THAT'S a proper greeting!" It was hilarious and totally awesome. If you temporarily suspend your sense of embarrassment & pretend you're 8 years old again just for a moment, it's really a lot of fun.
6. FP for Buzz Lightyear are usually disconnected from the other FP at DL. This means that you can have a FP for Buzz AND a FP for, let's say, Indiana Jones, at the same time.

Wow! awesome list! Thank you!