Advice on where to start, height and princesses

ExcitedMama

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
We will have 3 day PH with the one day EMH for July 30-Aug. 2, which is Tues-Thur. I’m trying to optimize our plans. TP thinks those days are very busy at 8s. There are some posts that say Tuesdays are very crowded. Should I use our EMH for DL on Tuesday or Thursday?

I bought TP for the first time and was playing with their plans. They recommend starting with Alice which surprised me. We usually do it after FL and have never felt like it was a long wait. The lines seem to move quickly. Since we only have the one EMH I was planning on starting with Peter since that line just gets worse and moves slowly.

Since W is EMH at DCA should we start there or go DL? At DCA we want to do Soarin’, TSMM, Ariel and RSR. We will probably do MP since it’s going to be so crowded. Best to do it in the morning or just try to MP the afternoon?

DD is very excited about trying out new rides. She’s right around the minimum for Indy. I know some rides seem to have their own height sign that differs from others. Since a lot of rides are starting at 42 would any of those have one that goes to 46? Is the Indy one fickle? I’m wondering if I can measure her somewhere else instead of taking her to the ride and risk her getting rejected and sad since it would be a disappointment. It would be easier to find out ahead of time and avoided the ride altogether if she can’t do it.

She loves princesses so we always schedule the Royal Hall, usually twice a day to see the different rotations. Is Elena still meeting? Any idea when they rotate in and out? Is morning and afternoon still a good plan to see them all? Does a princess still meet outside the hall? Does Aurora’s still go to the well? Does Merida still roam around? Any other strategy for finding princesses in DL?
 
Indy is 46". I have measured it with a tape measure and it is exactly 46". The only ride taller is Incredicoaster which is 48". I don't know another that is 46". Most are 40". Grizzly, Goofy's Skyskool, and Matterhorn are 42".

I would simply prepare her that you are going to see if she is tall enough. If she isn't, you will simply do another ride that she is tall enough for. Cast Members are very good about helping them make it if it is borderline, but there are 3 places she could be checked. One is at the entrance, the next is just before the stairs, and then at the load area. Since the loader is responsible, if they spot she might not make it, they will recheck her there. Make sure she stands up straight, feet UNDER the bar, and let her know she NEEDS to hit her head. So many kids shy away from hitting their heads on the bar. Also, try it first thing in the am, kids are "tallest" then.
 
In our experience, Alice is the second most difficult ride without FPs to get on in FL, second only to PP. Whether or not you should do it or PP first depends on how early you make it to PP. If you can be towards the front of the line on PP (like in the actual queue rather than in the line outside the queue, if that makes any sense), and if you can see that PP is actually moving, I'd do PP first. However, if you end up too far back in line you'll end up using most of your MM waiting on PP. I suspect this is why Touring Plans doesn't recommend it first. Same is true if you get in line and see that the ride isn't moving. You'll have to arrive quite early in order to do this, as many people flat out run to PP. I've literally been first in line at one of the gates, right at the rope for rope drop, and still ended up fairly far back because I don't run and at my age, evidently don't walk fast enough, either!

If you have a stroller this will be particularly challenging. Be prepared to park that stroller quickly! However, it can be done (I've done it myself).

If you do PP first, ride Alice second. It's not usually a bad wait, but the problem I've seen with Alice is that it seems to go down more often than other rides during MM. Then once it comes back up, there's a big line. So we always do it second just in case.

I always say do your EMH the first day because by the third day you're more likely to be tired and less likely to actually get up in time to use it.

Given your rides at DCA, I'd probably start at DL on Wednesday and save DCA for later using MaxPass. You can reserve those while you're still in DL. Ariel is the only one you've listed without MP, and it's easy to get on. Then if you want to open DCA, you could do it on Thursday when you don't have EE at DL.

Have fun!!!
 
We do a lot of FL with my 3 year old. I wouldn’t waste your precious EMH time on PP. Unless you are touching the rope, the wait will be the same for the majority of the day. I usually pick a time when it’s not hot and when we want to get a snack and we will eat it in line. Also, when in the area, keep an eye on it. I notice that PP tends to have a little dip mid morning after the rush.

I usually do Alice, Dumbo, Storybookland Canal Boats, Casey Junior in that order, then Toad, Pinocchio, Snow Whitey, Carousel and keep an eye on Peter Pan.

Another good early morning ride is Nemo Subs as the line gets really long. But I wouldn’t do that first as it’s a long ride and will eat up you’re morning. I suggest checking it out after you’re done in Fantasyland.

I also like to hit Pirates, Jungle Cruise, HM as early as possible as the lines get long later in the day.
 


For princesses, I would check the app a few days before your trip and get a good idea of who meets where/when. It doesn't usually change a whole lot. On one trip, my daughter and I met all of them in one morning (excluding Elsa/Anna who were already in DCA.) I planned it all out the day before. It went something like - Ariel at well at 9:15. So we'd get there at 9 to head up the line. Then, we'd wait a little bit and get back in line, and time it so we could meet Aurora when she changed out at 9:45. Then Belle would meet under the umbrella at FF at 10:05, so we'd go over there to head up the line. Etc, etc, etc. It worked out so we had met everyone by 11 or so...it was a 2-2.5 hour chunk, but at the time she was 5 and this was super important to her, and probably the most important part of the trip, so we did it and it was nice to knock them all out. TBH, we haven't done royal hall twice in one day a LOT, but when we have it's generally been the same princesses...maybe one different? We have also missed Elena every time and it seems like she's hit or miss.
 

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