Advice re: which ride first?

Shannon G

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 12, 2001
We fly out on Monday morning for our first ever DLR trip! (WDW vets here)

We will be in the parks Tuesday - Saturday, and have MaxPass, so I think we have plenty of time to see & do everything that we want to. But, I am trying to figure out the best approach for Fantasyland - specifically Peter Pan & Alice...

We are staying offsite, so we only have one MM day. Our plan is to use it on Tuesday, with the thought that we will still be mostly on east coast time & will be awake early anyway. We also plan on starting the day at DL on Wednesday. I've read mixed reviews about PP at opening. Are we better off to go straight to PP on Tuesday during MM, and then go to Alice first on Wednesday, or vice versa (i've read that Wednesday is generally the slowest park day). My mom has bad knees, so we will not be able to keep up with the folks racing at the front of the pack.

Thanks!
 
Given your mom's knees and your inexperience with the PP-RD vets, I'd skip PP at RD and head for Alice. Do the FL dark rides (other than PP) during your MM because they don't have FP, e.g. Dumbo, Toad, Snow White, etc. The Storybookland Canal Boats don't usually open until park opening, so just be ready to be in line when the line is short. Matterhorn and IASW have FP, so you can do those when the lines are short or grab FPs later. For PP, there is supposed to be a window between the MM/EMH wave and the regular park opening wave. If you happen to see the line when it is shorter during this gap, get in! Otherwise, just keep watching the app for times when the line is 30 minutes or less. Then grab a snack or a cold drink and get in line. Use the time to relax and chat about your day. We like to end our day with PP. As long as you are in line before closing, you'll be allowed to ride. Waiting in line with the lights of FL and the music from the carousel at the end of the day is a really nice way to end a day at DL.
Will your mom need a wheelchair or an ECV? If so, you'll be able to use the wheelchair return lines at DL (DCA lines are all accessible). Will your mom's knees be able to handle the steep steps to load/unload for the Nemo subs? If not, there is an alternate viewing room with no stairs. Just ask a CM at the front of the ride.
Have you already read this: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets? Lots of good info there!
 
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The advice everyone gives is always to arrive very early so you are first through the turnstiles and do Peter pan first. However, everyone knows this so everyone does it, and so it ends up being a mass race to the ride which can be very stressful. My advice is to do it at park closing. You won't have to get up super early to beat the crowds. You wont have to race and fight for your spot in line, so the experience will be much more enjoyable. The posted wait time will likely be 45 minutes at closing but dont let this fool you, in reality it will probably only take 15 minutes maybe 20 max if you get in line right at closing.
 
Thanks for the info! Mom doesn't want to use an ECV (she's used one at WDW before, but finds the difficulties of maneuvering through crowds with people cutting you off constantly to be more stressful than anything else). We'll go with the plan of tackling the other FL rides during MM, and watching for a shorter line at PP at some point.
 


Be aware that the castle walkway is closed right now while the refurb is going on. You'll be instructed to walk around the castle, either toward the Matterhorn or toward the left (actually, CMs have been discouraging this because that path is narrow). Head toward the Matterhorn because Alice is along that side. It's a little further walk than going directly through the castle to get into FL, so your mom might want to take it a little slower, first thing in the morning.
 
Thanks for the info! Mom doesn't want to use an ECV (she's used one at WDW before, but finds the difficulties of maneuvering through crowds with people cutting you off constantly to be more stressful than anything else). We'll go with the plan of tackling the other FL rides during MM, and watching for a shorter line at PP at some point.
That's a smart choice. On my first trip, I focused so hard on making to PP (and still failed) that I missed all the charm and ambiance of the park that morning.
 
We are WDW vets that love DL as well. We really love PP, but my advice is don't stress out about PP and just plan on the possibility of not riding it at DL unless you are willing to wait a good chunk of time. It is a pain no matter what you do. If you aren't at the front of the rope drop crowd that line builds fast. That line can stay long throughout the day. We keep an eye on it and if the line drops down to 30 minutes we ride it. There are definitely times- even on days that have not seemed that crowded that we have never seen the line drop below 45 minutes (on busier days- 60 minutes). At that point it becomes an issue of whether DD wants to ride it bad enough to wait that long. At WDW, before FP+ with the old system when we were at MK we would FP it 4 or 5 times a day- we would get a new FP for it everytime we were able and wouldn't FP anything else. It was DD's absolute favorite and as a preschooler she just wanted to ride it over and over. We've tried to get there quick at DLR- and it is just a rope drop hassle.

We love Alice!!! You shouldn't have any trouble with that one. That line builds up slower than PP in the morning, and it is pretty easy to get it even during the day with a 20 minute wait if you keep an eye on it. We typically are not in the front of the rope drop line- we head to Nemo and then Alice after Nemo and Alice is typically still 10 minutes or less by that time. Even if we are not there at rope drop, as long as we are there within the first hour and a half we typically can do Alice with a wait of 20 minutes or less.
 



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