Desperate for a Plan/Tips?

[AshleighKate]

Hey guys,

My family & I are travelling all the way from New Zealand, and we will be at Disneyland on supposedly a very busy day (Sunday 7th January, 2018). We have purchased RideMax for the other two days we are there, but it does not have a plan for Sunday.

Because this will the be the first day at Disneyland, we would like to experience the holiday stuff such as Haunted Mansion Holiday (specifically as it's the last day for it before closing), and the typical Disney things, as well as hopping over to DCA for California Screamin' as that also closes the next day.

This also means we plan to watch the fireworks & Fantasmic! on this day, as we will not be in the parks for the evenings of the other days. Is this an impossible feat, or completely doable?

We are absolutely clueless as to when is the best time to to all these things, so (I know it's a lot) but is it possible for someone to make a brief outline of plan for us? Or just any tips & hints for the lowest wait times possible.

Thank you so much!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Are you planning on purchasing MaxPass for your family? I would seriously consider it for Sunday, the 7th, to help you get as many rides (especially HMH and CS) done as possible. MP will really help you to maximize your time in both parks, as well as giving you free PhotoPass for the day. As for watching F! and fireworks on the 7th, have you made reservations for a dining package? That would probably be your best bet to reserve viewing for F! (Trying for standby may eat up too much of your time and not give you a good view in return -- there have been lots of complaints about standby F! viewing.) And if you watch the first show, you will be allowed to stay in your viewing area to watch the fireworks from the ROA. Be aware, though, that it is not uncommon for fireworks to get cancelled at DL due to wind conditions, so have a backup plan ready, just in case. You can do a search on this forum for threads on MaxPass and on the F! dining packages to get more information.

 

[Eatebow]

I would not be impossible if you all had MaxPass. Hopefully, the crowds will be light and you can see everything you hope to see!! You will Have to watch the fireworks from the same spot you saw Fantasmic, It isn't horrible but not as good as in front of the castle. Small World is also Holiday themed.

 

[az4boys]

Another vote for Maxpass. I think one of the Southern CA AP's is unblocked on 1/7 so the parks will be busy. When we went on some busy days in October, Maxpass made the difference between a miserable trip and an enjoyable one. I've used Ridemax in the past and liked it, but didn't feel like I needed it when I was using MP. My suggestions for that day: get there early, well before the park opens. I would suggest 45-60 min. As soon as you walk through the gates, get a FP for a high priority ride (haunted mansion?), then do rides that either don't have FP, or rides that have FP and you want to ride multiple times in one day. The lines at rope drop will be much shorter than later in the day and you can get a lot done. Focus on rides the first 3 hours and keep getting FP through MP as soon as you are allowed.

 

[BrookeMQ]

We went on a busy day. Get to the parks before they open and head to one of the rides on your list (Haunted Mansion??). And get a fast pass using max pass right away. We got so much done in the early morning when we were there. The locals come as the day goes on and it gets busier.

 

[Kdbruin]

I was in the parks last week and it was crowded. We found the best time to ride rides was before 11am and after 8 pm. Maxpass works good for the time in between but we found ourselves canceling some of our maxpass times because it didn’t go along with what we were doing right then. It was however very helpful with riding Radiator Springs Racers, Haunted Mansion Holiday and Its A Small World Holiday. We saw both World of Color and the fireworks and both were amazing. My husband got us a spot right in front of the castle for the firweorks but had to sit there for 2 hours The other great thing if it is still there, is the holiday parade. I am still humming the song. It was really worth seeing.

 

[Wahlee]

While Ridemax doesn't do plans for Sundays (because they don't visit the parks on Sundays and therefore don't have stats), you can generally do a plan for the Saturday on that same weekend and get something that will works pretty well.

 

[tnzzz]

Like others have posted, take advantage of MaxPass if it’s in your budget. I also like Casey’s tips over at Disneyland Daily. I think she has been working up a strategy with Maxpass for busy days.

What we did on a busy day earlier this month to prioritize the holiday offerings was to line up prior to rope drop, we were let in 30 minutes prior to park opening so I used that time to get MaxPass and immediately booked Haunted Mansion, then took some pictures in front of the tree, and once park opened we rode PoTC, got beignets, met Jack and Sally, then used our pass to ride HM. This was all in the first hour. Then we booked BTMRR, immediately rode that, then focused MaxPass on Tomorrowland and spent the rest of the morning there.

MaxPass was also useful for getting FP to IASW at night, I just kept an eye on the times and booked it late in the afternoon. You can do the same with CS in DCA, just watch the times and book it for whenever you want to park hop.

 

[Federalist45]

The hardest part will be Fantasmic and fireworks on the same night. Both are fantastic, so you should consider finding another night to get both in without sacrificing the quality or having to stress about it.