1 Day (11/5/16) at DL and DCA, first time Cars Land, with EXACT attraction times

[alandjas]

Introduction

I know long trips are more exciting to read about than 1-day trips, but this TR will be unique in that I will post EXACT attraction times for all the things we did at DL and DCA on Saturday, 11/5/16. For example, when I post:

8:10 8:13 8:20 TSMM​

This means that we entered the Toy Story Midway Mania line queue at 8:10, got on the ride at 8:13, and got off the ride at 8:20. I know it's a lot of info, but I'm hoping it will not only be interesting as a different kind of TR, but also that having exact times will help some of you to plan your own future trips to DL and/or DCA.

Here's a preview of what we accomplished on 11/5/16 as we park-hopped between both parks:

California Adventure:

RSR (2x)
TSMM (2x)
Soarin' (2x)
Screamin'
Goofy
Mickey's Fun Wheel
Luigi
Mater
Monsters
Little Mermaid
Sorcerer's Workshop
Turtle Talk w/ Crush
Show: Frozen Live at the Hyperion​

Disneyland:

Space Mountain (2x)
Big Thunder (2x)
Indiana Jones
Star Tours
Buzz Lightyear
Matterhorn
Pirates
Fireworks
Show: Mickey & the Magical Map​

Cast of characters:

Husband (me)
Wife
Son, age 16​

We are Southern California locals, but we cannot afford the ever-increasing Disneyland annual passes. We had the luxury of having annual passes a LONG time ago, but that's when they were only a couple of hundred bucks each. So when we recently received three 1-day park hopper tickets as a special gift, I was determined to make the most of this opportunity! We've been to California Adventure in the past, but that was before Cars Land came into being. So our top prioirities for the day were to ride Radiator Springs Racers (once during the day and once at night), check out the entire "look" of Cars Land (our son was a big Cars fan growing up), ride the new Soarin' Around the World, and see Frozen Live at the Hyperion. Everything else would be just gravy on top.

A couple of interesting things you'll see during this TR:

We got to DCA an hour before the 8am rope drop and ended up being first at our turnstile. We stayed until Disneyland closed at midnight, so it was a LONG day!​

I had to do a quite of bit of walking (even from park to park) to get all the FP throughout the day! But it was worth it to cut out the lines.​

At one point, I had FP to RSR, Soarin', Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, and Star Tours all at the same time!​

Some things went smoothly during the day and some things did not. We encountered a ride breakdown, mid-show delays, and some timing issues that hindered the ideal use of our FP in certain cases. But we still ended up doing all that we had hoped to do by the end of the day!​

 

[buttercup3]

Following along! I've been looking for a realistic idea of times for each ride, so this is perfect!
How did you keep track of the times? Did you have a little notepad, or enter it on your phone?

 

[alandjas]

Following along! I've been looking for a realistic idea of times for each ride, so this is perfect!
How did you keep track of the times? Did you have a little notepad, or enter it on your phone?

Glad this may be helpful to you! I started with a typed itinerary, which I'll post later this evening if I have time. It was on a regular sheet of paper that I kept folded in my pocket, so just a plain-old paper/pen method. I just kept mental notes of when we entered the queue and got on the ride, then wrote down all of the times as we exited the ride.

I never used to do this at DL/DCA before. But then again, when we had an annual pass, we never needed to plan an order of rides. Since we hadn't been there for years, and we might not be there again for years, I wanted to ensure that we made the most of the opportunity. Here are my main reasons for recording the times:

To have a record of what we did, for memory's sake.

If we go in the future, I'll know what worked and what didn't, and how to be more efficient.

To help other people plan their own trips.
​

I'll hopefully post my original itinerary later this evening.

 

[alandjas]

My 1-Day DCA/DL Itinerary

So before I post what we actually did, here's our planned itinerary. It's pretty ambitious, but it gave me something to shoot for. For all FP, the plan was to pull them myself, while my wife/son went to the next ride and waited for me (less walking for them).

7:00-7:15am Be in front of DCA turnstile
7:30 Enter park and wait for 8am rope drop
8:00 FP RSR

TSMM
Screamin'
Goofy​

9:00 FP Soarin'

FP Space Mountain (crossover to DL and back)
RSR (w/ FP)
Luigi
Mater​

10:00 Soarin' (w/ FP)

Monsters
FP RSR (shooting for a return time ~6pm, right after "Sh-Boom" moment at sunset)​

10:45 Hop to DL

FP Star Tours
FP Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain (w/ FP)
Matterhorn (regular or SR, depending on line)
FP Indiana Jones​

12:00 Star Tours (w/ FP)

Buzz Lightyear (w/ FP)​

12:30 Get seated for Mickey & the Magical Map (eat lunch - sandwiches/drinks from home)
1:00 Mickey & the Magical Map (~22 minutes)
1:30 Indiana Jones (w/ FP)

Splash Mountain (regular or SR, depending on line)
FP Space Mountain (shooting for a return time ~8pm)​

2:30 Hop to DCA

FP Soarin'
Get in line for Frozen Live at the Hyperion​

4:00 Frozen Live at the Hyperion (~1 hour)
5:00 Dinner at Flo's V8 Cafe

FP Screamin'
FP Star Tours (crossover to DL and back)​

5:55 Get ready for Sh-Boom moment

Relax in Radiator Springs, shop, etc.​

6:15 RSR (w/ FP)

Screamin' (w/ FP)
Little Mermaid
Soarin' (w/ FP)
FP Big Thunder (crossover to DL)
FP Buzz Lightyear (crossover back to DCA)
Crush / Sorcerer's Workshop​

8:00 Hop to DL

Space (w/ FP)
Buzz Lightyear (w/ FP)
Big Thunder (w/ FP)
FP Haunted Mansion​

9:00 Get spot for Fireworks
9:30 Fireworks
10:00 Pirates

Haunted Mansion (w/ FP)
Then go home or keep riding other rides...
​

So there you have it! That was "the plan."

One big decision I had to make was how to start our day at DCA. For me it came down to either:

Option 1: FP Soarin', then go straight to TSMM & Screamin', then get RSR FP before riding Soarin'

Option 2: FP RSR, then go straight to TSMM & Screamin', then get Soarin' FP before riding RSR, then hopefully get another RSR FP ~11am for later that evening

In the end, I decided to go with Option 2 (i.e. focus on getting an RSR FP at rope drop).​

Since our main priorities focused on Cars Land, the new Soarin', and Frozen show, we didn't plan on doing Tower of Terror, Fantasyland rides, etc. We would have liked to do Peter Pan, but it wasn't a priority enough to wait 45 minutes on this trip. My goal was a maximum wait of 20 minutes for rides, with one long wait of 1 hour for the Frozen show.

My next post will be what we actually did, with all of the exact times. You'll see that the first part of the day went pretty close to plan, but then some FP timing issues threw things off when we did the late morning hop to DL. In the end, everything worked out pretty well, and it was a great learning experience and a lot of fun!

 

[alandjas]

1 Day at DCA/DL with exact times!

When three times are posted, the 1st time is when we entered the line queue, the 2nd time is when we got on the ride, the 3rd time is when we exited the ride.

6:53 Board tram from Mickey & Friends

7:05 1st family in front of one of the DCA turnstiles

7:30 In park, wait at Rope Drop

8:00 FP RSR (RT: 8:40-9:40)

FP now in hand: RSR​

8:10 8:13 8:20 Toy Story Midway Mania

8:24 8:26 8:30 Screamin'

8:32 8:36 8:43 Toy Story Midway Mania

8:48 8:53 8:56 Goofy

9:00 FP Soarin' (RT: 9:40-10:40)

FP now in hand: RSR, Soarin'​

9:07 9:15 9:23 RSR (w/ FP)

9:28 9:37 9:40 Luigi

9:42 9:47 9:49 Mater

10:00 FP Space Mountain (RT: 11:55-12:55)

[Had to cut across to DL and back]
FP now in hand: Soarin', Space​

10:12 10:15 10:26 Soarin' (w/ FP)

[2nd time (10:15) is when we got into the holding area for the pre-flight video]​

10:32 10:37 10:41 Monsters

10:45-11:00 Sorcerer's Workshop

11:00-11:20 Turtle Talk w/ Crush

11:30 FP RSR (RT: 5:30-6:30)

FP now in hand: Space, RSR​

11:35 Hop to Disneyland

11:43 11:58 12:02 Big Thunder

12:08 FP Indiana Jones (RT: 2:05-3:05)

FP now in hand: Space, RSR, Indiana​

12:13 12:21 12:24 Space Mountain (w/ FP)

12:30 Get in line for Mickey & the Magical Map

12:45 Get seated & eat lunch (sandwiches/drinks from home)

1:00-1:25 Mickey & the Magical Map

1:35 Ice cream snack, watched Main Street ragtime piano player

2:05 FP Space Mountain (RT: 8:05-9:05)

FP now in hand: RSR, Indiana, Space
​

2:10 Indiana Jones (w/ FP) - this did NOT happen because ride broke down!

[But our FP can still be used anytime by the end of the day]​

2:25 Hop to DCA

2:30 FP Soarin' (RT: 8:20-9:20)

FP now in hand: RSR, Indiana, Space, Soarin'​

2:44 2:52 2:58 Little Mermaid

3:05 Get in line for Frozen Live at the Hyperion

3:45 Get seated for Frozen Live at the Hyperion (Mezzanine, 3rd row)

4:00-5:20 Frozen Live at the Hyperion

[Normally 1 hour, but there were several technical issues during the show which caused delays]​

5:45 FP Star Tours (RT: 7:45-8:45)

[Had to cut across to DL and back]
FP now in hand: RSR, Indiana, Space, Soarin', Star Tours​

5:55 Get ready for Sh-Boom moment (happened ~6pm)

6:10-6:38 Dinner @ Flo's V8 Cafe

6:41 6:54 7:01 RSR (w/ FP)

7:13 FP Screamin' (RT: 7:50-8:45)

FP now in hand: Indiana, Space, Soarin', Star Tours, Screamin'​

7:15 Shopping break

7:57 8:22 8:32 Mickey's Fun Wheel

[My son didn't feel like doing Screamin' again because of a stomach issue, so we didn't end up using the FP, he instead decided to do Mickey's Fun Wheel so this turned out to be a longer wait]​

8:43 8:52 9:03 Soarin' (w/ FP)

[2nd time (8:52) is when we got into the holding area for the pre-flight video]​

9:07 Hop to Disneyland

9:15 Tried to do Star Tours (w/ FP) but our FP window had expired... bummer!

9:17 9:27 9:30 Space Mountain (w/ FP)

9:30 Watched fireworks from Tomorrowland

9:35 FP Star Tours (RT: 11:00-12:00) and FP Buzz Lightyear (RT: 10:10-11:10)

FP now in hand: Indiana, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear​

9:46 10:10 10:19 Indiana Jones (w/ FP)

10:28 10:38 10:54 Pirates

11:02 11:08 11:12 Buzz Lightyear (w/ FP)

11:14 11:20 11:31 Star Tours (w/ FP)

[2nd time (11:20) is when we got into the holding area for the pre-flight video]​

11:40 11:42 11:45 Matterhorn

11:53 12:01 12:05 Big Thunder

End of a long but fun day!

This is just the overview with times... I'll spell out more of the details in my next post. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

 

[buttercup3]

Wow! You got a lot accomplished in a day! I'll definitely be using your list as a reference when planning my days!

 

[alandjas]

Wow! You got a lot accomplished in a day! I'll definitely be using your list as a reference when planning my days!

Glad this can be of use to you! I know you'll have a great trip as well!

A couple of things I think everyone who reads this should be aware of:

Don't expect that you'll get the exact same results when you go to DCA/DL. Your mileage will vary. Your priorities will be different, your family/friends with you will be different, the crowds that day will be different... so take this only as one example of how to strategize.

We were a family of 3, so that means less bathroom breaks and easier maneuvering than a larger group. We are physically fit and don't have any young children, so a straight-through schedule of rope-drop until park closing could work for us... although we were still pretty wiped out by the end of the day! We felt the need to go "commando" because we probably won't have the opportunity to be back for a long while. But if you have more days, then go hard in the morning and take a mid-day break if possible, before returning in the late afternoon or evening!

I don't think everyone necessarily needs a full-day itinerary when planning out DCA/DL. But I'm a firm believer in waking up early and getting there before rope drop and planning out very specifically how you will spend the first 2-3 hours. Even for rope drop, if you arrive at the gates when the park opens, you already have a huge crowd ahead of you. But if you arrive at least 1/2 hour or more before the park opens (the earlier the better) and get a good place near the front of the line, you can get a good jump on the crowds and reap that benefit not just for "ride #1", but you're one step ahead of the crowds for subsequent rides as well. You can get so much done in the first 2-3 hours after park opening if you plan it out and utilize FP well! Then while everyone else is getting to the park and waiting in 60-90 minute lines, you either have a FP to bypass them or have already ridden some of those rides! During the day, our longest waits for rides were 20-25 minutes, and most waits were under 15 minutes. When we did WDW in 2012 at the end of April, our longest wait at any park was 20 minutes by using the same principles... get to the park before rope drop, have a good plan for the first few hours, use the afternoon to stay out of the heat with shows or a mid-day break, and use a strategy to maximize FP throughout the day.
​

A couple of phone apps that I found helpful were:

1. Disneyland app
2. Wait Times for Disneyland app

The Disneyland app was the most helpful, in that I used it extensively for checking FP return times. If you want to maximize FP during the day and are willing to occasionally crisscross from one park to the other to pull a FP, you need to determine the approximate times you as a family plan to be at one park or the other. If for example you start at DCA but plan to hop to DL at 11:30am, at around 9am you should use the app to check FP return times at DL, then a little before the "right time" send over a volunteer to pull a FP (e.g. Indiana or Space) so when you all head over to DL at 11:30, you can start by pulling another FP and then head over to the ride for which you already have a FP. The Disneyland app is also helpful throughout the day to check out approx. wait times, menus for restaurants, even where the bathrooms are!

The Wait Times for Disneyland app is also helpful for a quick reference on how the rides in both parks are currently stacking up. It was usually pretty close to the wait times on the Disneyland app, but sometimes it's helpful to see all the rides in one scroll-down list when you have about 30 minutes to spare and are trying to figure out a short-standby ride to fit in before your next FP window comes up.
​

Ok, that's it for now. Still to come: the details of our 1-day trip to DCA/DL.

​

 

[princess_jamie]

I am so impressed!! Great planning and hopping! How busy did you feel the parks were?

 

[alandjas]

I am so impressed!! Great planning and hopping! How busy did you feel the parks were?

Thanks for following along!

In terms of park attendance, here are my thoughts.

I'm not a Touring Plans subscriber, but about a month before I had checked the Touring Plans Disneyland crowd calender (30+ days out are free to non-subscribers) and both DL and DCA were rated a crowd level of about 8, which is somewhat high. But I've learned that even when projected crowds are high, it's possible to stay one step ahead of the crowds by getting there early and having a good game plan.

When we got into DCA, I was surprised at how much we actually got done the first 2 hours! There were plenty of people there, but most lines weren't too bad. However, when I crossed over to DL at 10am to pick up a Space Mountain FP, it was crazy busy, much busier than DCA was at the time. Maybe it's partly because DL had EMH that morning, so people were entering the park since 7am. By noon, both parks were really busy and lines for all the headliners were 60-90 minutes, and even Pirates got up to 30 minutes. It wasn't until later evening that the lines seemed to start decreasing again, and then by really late evening (after 10pm) many families had left the parks and it was clearer sailing again.

By the way, speaking of EMH: As a local, I don't typically have access to EMH at DCA/DL, so whenever I have gone in the past, I make sure to attend the park that does NOT have EMH, because EMH will draw all the resort guests and I will lose the benefit of getting there at rope drop (many people already in the park). Even at WDW when I stayed on-site, instead of using EMH at whatever park I "could" enter one hour early, I avoided that park and started at rope drop at another park because once again, I believe that EMH attracts more people in general and that park will just be busier overall.

What I've learned from my experience at DCA/DL and WDW: the parks will always be somewhat busy in that Disney is good at keeping their resorts full year round with promotions, special events, etc. What really makes the difference in crowd levels is how many locals and annual passholders are showing up. And during any day at the park, families with children tend to arrive later (gotta get the kids up, eat breakfast, park, get through security lines, etc.) and leave earlier (after the parades/fireworks, etc.), so the busiest times and longest lines will be between 11am - 8pm with it probably being worst Noon - 5pm. Sure enough, that was the case during our one day trip on Saturday, 11/5!

No wonder the Disney planning experts will suggest taking the afternoon off for a rest break if you can afford it. You miss the worst crowds, get some relaxation back at the hotel, give the kids a nap or a swim, etc. Then you come back late afternoon or early evening when the crowds are starting to thin out. I WISH we could do this, but in reality, at both DCA/DL and WDW we needed to maximize our time at each of the parks, so my overall plan involved:

Get to the turnstile well before rope drop

Go hard and fast in the cool morning hours, utilizing an efficient FP strategy

From Noon-5pm when it's the hottest and most busy, see the indoor shows and do the rides where there is an indoor queue and/or lower wait times, or do rides that we've pulled a FP for already

In the evening, get back to the rides and if we still have the energy, take advantage of the last 2 hours before park closing as many people have already left the park
​

If there's one takeaway from all of this, I would summarize it down to this: No matter what day of the year it is, mornings (first 2 hours) at the non-EMH park are GOLDEN. (Small disclaimer: the earlier the park opens, the more golden it will be. 8am openings are best!)

 

[alandjas]

The Details of our 1 Day at DCA/DL (11/5/16), Part 1

We got up at 5:45am, left the house by 6:15, ate breakfast in the car and parked in the Mickey & Friends parking lot around 6:45. We boarded the tram at 6:53, got dropped off in Downtown Disney, then went through the short security line and were at the turnstile at DCA by 7:05. I wasn't sure what to expect since it was a Saturday, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were several turnstiles with no line yet, so we were the 1st family in our line! Looking over at DL, it was much busier on that side because everyone was heading there due to EMH.

A little after 7:30, the green light was given to the turnstiles, so we got scanned through quickly and I did my power walk to the RSR rope drop area while my wife/son headed over to the rope drop area near Soarin'. Our plan: I would get FP then meet them in front of Toy Story. While waiting for rope drop, I had a great conversation with a dad who was doing the same for his family... getting a FP while his family headed to Tower of Terror. This made the waiting time go by quickly, and before we knew it it was time for the 8am rope drop! They simply dropped the rope and told us not to run, and everyone did a pretty good job obeying those instructions.

A bunch of people went straight forward to ride RSR standby, but I headed off toward the left to get FP. I must have been one of the first 6-7 to get these passes, so there was NO LINE! Awesome! Was out of there in a few seconds with an 8:40-9:40 return time. Met the rest of the family at Toy Story at 8:10, and in 3 minutes we were on!

Toy Story Midway Mania is one of those rides that never gets old! It always leaves me happy, but a bit frustrated that I couldn't hit more of those elusive targets! My son broke 150,000 and my wife broke 120,000, but I was about 80,000 or something. Oh well! It's always fun, no matter the final score. After Toy Story, we went next door and practically walked on Screamin', which is a fun coaster! It's cool how it starts by shooting you forward from a dead stop. Then after Screamin', the line for Toy Story was still looking good so we decided to ride it again. And wouldn't you know it... the same result! My son got a huge score, my wife next, and me last. I guess I can take a hit to my pride as long as we're having fun together.

By the time we got off Toy Story, our RSR FP window had come up, but we decided to first ride Goofy before the line got long. We were on in 5 minutes, which was great. I have to admit that it was a little anticlimactic after having been on Screamin' a few rides before, but it was still fun! Then I sent my wife/son to RSR to wait for me while I stopped by Soarin' to pull FP (return time 9:40-10:40). I think the RSR standby line was about 30 minutes by then, but we got on the ride in 8 minutes with our FP.

This was our first time in Cars Land and riding Radiator Springs Racers! Even before getting in the line queue, we enjoyed seeing the Cozy Cone, Flo's V8 Cafe, some of the cars (Red, Lightning, Mater, etc.) that were rolling around... all of the details were awesome! Now on to the ride itself... we really enjoyed the first part where you're driving and encounter the beautiful outdoor terrain/waterfall. Then it's fun to move to the indoor parts, the "dark ride" aspect of the ride where you see the individual car characters. Then the final race at top speed is awesome and leaves you wanting more at the end! Really a highlight of the day, topped only by riding RSR again at night!

After RSR, we had a 9 minute wait for Luigi, which was unique and fun. My wife and son rode together, so out of all the cars I was the only solo adult... most others were riding with a child. Made me a little self-conscious, but hey it was my first time so I had to experience it too! After Luigi, we headed over to Mater and were on in 5 minutes. Another fun little ride.

This is where I feel like I made my first big "mistake" in terms of timing. Through the Disneyland app, I had been checking FP times for Space Mountain and was hoping to pull FP with return time ~11am. But by the time I made it over to Space, I got a return time of 11:55-12:55, which meant that I'd have to push back when we'd hop over to DL, thereby affecting the amount of rides we could do at DL before the afternoon shows I had planned. In retrospect, I should have run over to pull FP for Space Mountain maybe right after RSR, and the window would have worked out better. Oh well, planning doesn't always turn out perfect!

After pulling the Space FP, I met my wife/son in front of Soarin'. The standby line had grown to about 30 minutes, but thanks to our FP within 3 minutes we were in the holding area watching the pre-flight video. We had seen Soarin' Over California many times, but it was our first time seeing Soarin' Over the World. We really enjoyed the new version... the new scenes from around the world (Greenland, Australia, Egypt, China, etc.) really added freshness to the experience. But we still missed some of the scenes from the "California" version - especially the flight through Yosemite National Park... we love that place! One thing that turned out to be slightly problematic was where we ended up sitting on the ride - bottom row, far right, last 3 seats. The whole picture was a bit distorted throughout the entire flight. I'm glad we got another chance to ride this later on in the day - we had better seats, and it was a much better experience then!

After Soarin' we headed over to Monsters and were on the ride in 5 minutes. I think Disney did a really good job with this ride, packing a lot of story in a small space. I especially like the way they use mirrors to make it seem like there are hundreds of doors going back and forth, like in the movie scene.

After Monsters, my initial plan was to hop over to DL, but there were two problems... our Space FP window hadn't come up yet, and the bigger issue: before heading over to DL, I wanted to pull RSR FP with a return time after 6pm (ride in the dark after sunset), but return times were still too early. So we decided to stay longer at DCA and do Sorcerer's Workshop and Turtle Talk w/ Crush. I'm always amazed at the technology behind Crush! The guy who voices Crush needs to really be on his toes to answer the questions in real time from the adults and kids, and it's amazing how you feel like Crush is really interacting with you. If you haven't seen this, you gotta experience it!

Finally at 11:30, I pulled RSR FP with return time of 5:30-6:30, and we then proceeded to hop over to DL.

Part 2 up next!

 

[alandjas]

The Details of our 1 Day at DCA/DL (11/5/16), Part 2

We hopped over to DL at 11:35, but our Space Mountain FP window (11:55-12:55) wasn't open yet, so I checked the Wait Times app and the Big Thunder standby line didn't look too bad. So we headed over and in about 15 minutes we were enjoying Big Thunder. It's been awhile since our last time at DL, and it seemed like they've added some new details to the slow uphill parts, not sure if that's the case or not. But it was a fun way to start up our time at DL! By the time we exited the ride it was a little past noon, so my wife/son headed over to Space while I stopped by to pull FP for Indiana Jones (return time 2:05-3:05). Then I met the family at Space and thanks to our FP, we were able to bypass the 60-minute standby line and were on the ride in 8 minutes. Awesome ride!

By now it was almost 12:30, so time to get in line for the 1:00 showing of Mickey & the Magical Map. There wasn't a whole lot of people waiting at 12:30, and the outdoor theater seats a good number of people, so in retrospect we probably could have waited another 15 minutes or so before heading over here. But we wanted to make sure we got a decent seat since it was our first time seeing this show. At 12:45, they dropped the rope and we were able to get a seat near the front. We had brought our lunch from home (sandwiches & drinks) in order to save time and money, so we used this waiting time to eat lunch. Then the show began, and we really enjoyed it! The show's stated length is 22 minutes, and they really pack in a lot of cool content in that short time. I especially liked the part where Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Pocahontas, and Mulan sing "I See the Light" together!

The show ended around 1:25, but our Indiana Jones FP window (2:05-3:05) wasn't open yet, so we decided to get an ice cream snack. So we headed over to the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street and got our ice cream. We also took some time to watch the ragtime piano player right nearby. He was great, but I really miss Rod Miller who played on Main Street for many years (he retired a little while back)... I have one of his CDs and his joyful, friendly personality was truly infectious! Still, this guy was really good as well. My son and I play ragtime, so it was great seeing someone who is good enough to get paid doing this!

Then at 2:05, my wife/son headed over to Indiana Jones while I swung by Space Mountain to pick up FP (return time 8:05-9:05). But while heading back to Indiana, I got a text from my son saying that the ride had broken down! Oh well, as least the FP we had would be honored until the close of Disneyland, so all was well. We would have been a little more upset if we had been waiting in that line for 30 minutes before hearing the news! We decided to hop back to DCA to get ready to see the Frozen show.

After hopping back to DCA at 2:25, I immediately got FP for Soarin' (return time 8:20-9:20). Oops, didn't think this would be so late, because I was initially hoping to hop back to DL around 8pm. This would turn out to be a minor problem later, in that we ended up missing our Star Tours FP later as a result... but I guess I can't control how fast the return times come up. We headed over to Frozen about 2:30 (for the 4pm showing) just in case the line was building up. There were only 2 shows that day, and we were determined to see it! But no line at all, so we decided to hit another ride first. We had never been on Little Mermaid, so we headed over there and waited only 8 minutes. Really enjoyed the ride, again I'm always amazed at how much story gets packed into a small space and short time! Then at 3:00, we headed over to Frozen to get in line.

Until very recently, DCA offered FP for the Frozen show, but no longer. I was actually happy about this, because I didn't have to worry about grabbing another FP at rope drop. But that meant that now I needed to decide for myself what "section" of the theater to get in line for. Through my research of online reviews, I heard that people like sitting in Mezzanine (middle level) because even though you are a little farther away than the Orchestra section, you can see the panoramic "big picture" view for certain scenes, as well as props that come down from the ceiling, things happening on the sides, etc. So we hopped in line for the Mezzanine section, which was quite a bit smaller than the Orchestra line, but even the Orchestra line wasn't that bad yet. I'm glad we showed up when we did, because the line continued to grow behind us. At some point (not sure exactly when, but maybe around 3:35 or 3:40) the cast members were telling people the show was full. I think they finally started letting us in around 3:50, and we ended up with a good seat in Mezzanine in the 3rd row. [Tip: watch out for sitting in the 2nd row as your line of vision might be obstructed by a metal safety bar at the front of the Mezzanine section.]

The show started about 5-10 minutes late. I was relieved when it started, because I have heard reports that shows were occasionally canceled due to technical or personnel issues. We really enjoyed the show overall! Yes, I know people miss the Aladdin show, which we also liked very much, but this show has some wonderful special effects and the performers always do a great job. I thought it was cool the way the reindeer Sven and the snowman Olaf were brought to life by the performer who is directly controlling them from behind - awesome! There were two times during the performance when there was a delay, and both times I was concerned that the show was going to be canceled from that point forward. One delay was at least 10 minutes. But in the end, the show resumed, and we ended up seeing the whole thing! Definitely a fun experience.

Then my wife/son headed over to Radiator Springs to check out the town while I quickly hopped back to DL to pick up FP for Star Tours (return time 7:45-8:45). I knew this would be cutting things close, as our Soarin' FP had a return time of 8:20-9:20. But I figured if we hit Soarin' at exactly 8:20, we could be out of there by 8:40 and squeeze into Star Tours with our FP (they give a 15-min grace period after the FP window has ended). At this point, I was amazed to have FP in hand for 5 major rides: RSR, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Soarin', and Star Tours! Then I headed quickly back to DCA and met my wife/son in Radiator Springs. It was almost time for the Sh-Boom moment at sunset - the time when the neon lights come on and the song "Life Could Be a Dream" starts playing. So we hung out there and about 6pm it happened! Very cool.

Up next, part 3!

 

[justafigment27]

Awesome report! I love the timing details and your play by play description. Thanks for posting! Looking forward to Part 3

 

[alandjas]

Awesome report! I love the timing details and your play by play description. Thanks for posting! Looking forward to Part 3

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry it's taking me awhile, it's been a busy week! Hopefully later today or early tomorrow I'll be able to continue.

 

[alandjas]

The Details of our 1 Day at DCA/DL (11/5/16), Part 3

Time for dinner! So at 6:10, we headed into Flo's V8 Cafe. Our order:

My wife and I: Roasted chicken (w/ vegetables & mashed potatoes) - 2 @ $12.49 each
My son: BBQ ribs (w/ cole slaw & mashed potatoes) - $13.99
2 really cool "oil can" souvenir cups w/ lemonade/soda - 2 @ $11.99 each
TOTAL with tax: $67.99
​

Here's what the souvenir cups look like (we got red and blue):

Our verdict: We really liked our food! We would definitely eat there again.

We finished dinner a little before 6:40, so we needed to use our FP for RSR before the "grace period" expired (return time was 5:30-6:30, grace period of 15 minutes = 6:45 at the latest). Perfect timing, because by now we would be able to experience RSR in the dark! Thanks to our FP, we were on the ride in 13 minutes, which sure beat waiting in the 75-90 minute standby line. There are a couple of reasons why we really enjoyed riding RSR in the dark:

It's a very different experience than riding during the day.
It was probably our imagination, but it seemed like we went faster at night during the speed portion.
It's great seeing all the evening lights as we were riding!
​

Another thing that we didn't realize... during the middle part of the ride, your car can either go on the "right track" through Ramone's Body Shop, or on the "left track" through Luigi's Tire Store. So earlier in the day, we went right, but at night we were lucky enough to go left! So we were able to see both sides. Keep that in mind, and hopefully if you go on RSR more than once you'll see both sides as well!

After RSR, I picked up FP for Screamin' (return time 7:50-8:45). At this point I still had FP to 5 major rides: Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Soarin', Star Tours, and Screamin'. My son was having a bit of a stomach problem, so we took a little shopping break and took it easy for a while. Our Screamin' FP window came up, but my son didn't want to upset his stomach more, so we decided to pass on it. He told me he wanted to do Mickey's Fun Wheel instead. I was a little worried about the line and whether we might miss our upcoming FP windows to other rides, but decided to accommodate him. I don't do well on the "swinging" cars, so we waited in the "stationary" line, but this takes longer because there are less stationary cars. This turned out to be our longest wait of the evening - a full 25 minutes! I enjoyed riding it with my son (great views from the top!), but by the time we got off the ride it was 8:32.

Now, 8:32 doesn't sound too bad given that our FP window for Soarin' was 8:20-9:20. The problem is that our FP window for Star Tours was 7:45-8:45, which was quickly disappearing. Could we ride Soarin' and still make it over for Star Tours in time? Probably not, but we decided to try. Thanks to our FP, we got to the Soarin' pre-flight video in 9 minutes, but didn't get off the ride until 9:03. We hopped back to DL and rushed over to Star Tours to see if they'd be nice enough to extend the "grace period" - NOPE! Oh well, there's another set of FP we didn't end up using! A little disappointing, but we were still having a great day so we moved on. Our Space Mountain FP window (8:05-9:05) was still good, so we waited only 10 minutes and enjoyed the ride for a second time.

By the time we got off Space Mountain, it was 9:30 and the fireworks were just beginning. We were originally planning to see the fireworks from Main Street, but we just hung out in Tomorrowland and watched the fireworks from there. Didn't have all the great music to go with it, but it was still fun. During the fireworks, I quickly pulled FP for Star Tours (return time 11:00-12:00) and Buzz Lightyear (return time 10:10-11:10). After the fireworks ended, we headed over to ride Indiana Jones.

If you remember, we tried to ride Indiana Jones with FP earlier in the day, but the ride broke down. Thankfully they honored our FP, but it was still a 24-minute wait because the line queue is still long even with FP (would have been much worse without FP though). Such an awesome ride, with a lot of action and adventure from start to finish! Only problem: the ride had several pauses at different points during the ride... not sure if they were technical glitches, or problems with loading/unloading, but it definitely took a little bit away from the ride. At least we had ridden it many times in the past, so it wasn't a big deal for us.

After getting off Indiana, we headed next door to ride Pirates. By 10:30, it was only a 10-minute wait. We agree with most people that Pirates at DL is much better than the WDW version. At DL, there is a longer "intro" and you feel slowly immersed into the world of the pirates. After Pirates, we headed over to Buzz Lightyear to use our FP and were on in 6 minutes. Can't remember the scores, but wouldn't be surprised if I lost again! Then we FINALLY were able to ride Star Tours with our FP, only waiting 6 minutes total. The initial plan was to ride Star Tours twice during the day, but this was the only time we rode it since we missed the FP window a few hours back. A great ride, amazing how you really feel like you are blasting away into hyperspace!

After finishing Star Tours at 11:30, we had to decide... go home, or do more rides? We decided to ride Matterhorn and to our surprise, it was only a 2-minute wait! It seemed much faster and smoother than in the past. Then it was one final ride on Big Thunder (8-minute wait) before the clock finally hit midnight and it was closing time. We then headed out of the park and took the tram back to the Mickey and Friends parking lot. As we headed home, my wife and son instantly fell asleep. Hey, what about me, I need sleep too?! A long, tiring day... but we pretty much did everything we had hoped to do!

Coming up, a few more odds and ends to wrap up this report!

 

[alandjas]

My 2012 WDW Trip Report (4/28 - 5/6) with Exact Attraction Times

In case anyone is interested in seeing how exact attraction times can look at the WDW parks, here is a link to my 2012 WDW Trip Report on another forum. A couple of caveats:

This was before Fastpass+, so we used a paper FP system like at DL.
There are new attractions since 2012, so of course this trip report will not reflect the latest park updates.
All prices have undoubtedly risen in the last 4 years!
​

I recognize that this particular post does not fit in with the fact that this section is dedicated to DL/DCA trip reports... but it still "fits" with the title of this trip report which has to do with exact attraction times. So I'm just putting it here in case anyone wants to see how this plays out at WDW.

With that in mind, here is our trip report, complete with detailed times and cost analysis for the entire week.

http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showt...16-years-4-28-5-6-with-exact-attraction-times

 

[alandjas]

Lessons Learned

Some final thoughts:

It's worth getting up early to get an early start. I've said this already, but maximizing efficiency in the first 2 hours really makes a difference in avoiding long lines throughout the day.

Park hopping can help to maximize FP effectiveness. At WDW, I did not purchase park hoppers because the parks are farther away from each other, and so we planned to stay the entire day at each park instead of taking mid-day breaks back at our resort. But since DL/DCA are so close to each other, and since you can simultaneously hold FP at both parks, it really helped to plan out in advance when we would hop parks and pull FP at the right times, so when we hop we already have 1-2 rides with open FP windows when we get there.

Planning and flexibility need to go hand in hand. Going in with a good plan really makes a difference. But even a "perfectly-laid plan" is subject to variables like crowd factors, rides breaking down, show delays, spur-of-the-moment whims, etc. So I've learned to go in with a good plan, but to have the attitude: "We'll do the first 2 hours according to plan. But the rest is all tentative and subject to change." That way, there's not a sense of disappointment when the plans get thrown off.

Relationships are more important than efficiency. Planning is great, but in the end the main goal is bonding as a family. I believe that well-laid plans can help family bonding to take place, but there is wisdom in recognizing when "the plan" is hindering more than helping. During our day at DL/DCA, there were a few FP we didn't end up using due to my son wanting to do Fun Wheel instead of Screamin', and it was important for me to adjust for his sake.
​

So that wraps up our day at DL/DCA! Thanks for reading and sharing in our experience!

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I really loved your thoroughness in this report! Great job!

 

[alandjas]

I really loved your thoroughness in this report! Great job!

Thanks! From the looks of your sig, you have tons more Disney experience than me. Glad the report was still interesting for you. Enjoy your upcoming trip!

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Awesome TR, thanks for all the information, this is helping my planning no end.

 

[alandjas]

Awesome TR, thanks for all the information, this is helping my planning no end.

Great, have fun planning! I'm sure you'll have an awesome trip!

Just a caution, however... not necessarily for you, but for people in general who are reading this trip report... please keep in mind that your mileage will vary on the day you actually go to DL/DCA. I certainly don't want to mislead anyone with these exact times, because especially during the upcoming holiday season, even the first 2 hours of park opening will probably be a lot more busy than the Saturday in November when we went. Or maybe not, I don't know. But like I said a number of posts back, I just want to reemphasize to everyone: don't just take my plan and expect you'll get the same things done in the same times, but instead use what I've done as an example of how to strategize.

If I were to go to DL/DCA in the next couple of weeks, I would probably go in with a more conservative plan (expecting longer overall waits) due to the holiday crowds, but one thing wouldn't change: I would still get there well before rope drop, have a clear plan for the first 2 hours and utilize an aggressive FP strategy between both parks.

One thing that people might consider when planning for the day is to build in some "buffer" time here and there to account for those little extra things that come up (snack/shopping breaks, "hey, let's go on this instead," etc.). And if you end up getting "ahead" of schedule, have a few "optional" things listed on the plan, i.e. things that are not top priority for the day, but would be a bonus if you actually got to do them.

Final thought to sum everything up: the "plan" will never be perfect, because "reality" is always beyond our control. But let's plan what we can, and let's be willing to be flexible, because the main thing is having fun at Disneyland with the people we care about!