first post here, need advice

[grandmaof10]

We are bringing two grandkids (ages 7 and 6) to Disneyland Sunday, May 5 to Wed May 8. We have a 3 day non hopper pass. My question is---would it be better to go on Sunday full day or a shortened day on Wednesday. (We fly out Wed evening) I assume the crowds will be considerably better on Wednesday and we may be able to do even more in a shortened day than a full day on Sunday?? Also, I read here that Mondays are super crowded? With a non hopper is it better to avoid the early morning parks? so, I guess another question is which park on which day is best? Thank you so much all you Disney experts.

 

[danieljk]

I would rather spend a full day Sunday than a shortened day Wednesday (as I get anxious about getting to the airport early enough). Even if Sunday is busier than Wednesday, you will be able to do more because you will have the full day.

As far as which park on which day, unless I'm a resort hotel guest or have a magic morning, I always go to the does not have guests in it before it opens to me, so that I can take advantage of rope drop and short lines. I would start at Disneyland on Sunday and Monday and Wednesday (since resort hotel guests have extra magic hour those mornings) and start at California Adventure on Tuesday (since Disneyland has magic morning that day). Hope this helps!

 

[Rich M]

Welcome to the DIS both of you guys. I think danieljk gave great advice. Not sure if you have done it yet but I highly recommend adding Max Pass to your tickets to help get the most out of your stay. Also I am a big fan of rope drop and then in the middle of the day go back to the room for a rest. While you are resting at the hotel you can still be getting some Max Passes. It was a great tool for our visit. We are taking my 3 year old GS for the first time so this will be a different trip for us later this month. We plan to utilize Max Pass and Child Swap to prevent as much line waiting as possible.

 

[Castillo Mom]

As a local AP holder, I'd recommend full day Sunday utilizing MaxPass with an early arrival getting to the park turnstiles 30 minutes prior to opening. There's another thread on the board on the best strategy for MaxPass use that I recommend reading as well.

Enjoy your trip and welcome to the boards!

 

[grandmaof10]

thank you for the replies. I do believe in rope drops. We took two other grandkids in January on a Thurs/Fri and used the Max Pass on Friday which worked wonderfully.

 

[jormom1030]

You might want to check. There is a good chance Fantasmic will only be shown on Sunday night when you are there.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I would spend themost time I could on Weds because it will most likely be the slowest day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Good suggestion above to check the entertainment calendar to see if the nighttime entertainment will be offered every night of your visit. If F! will only be offered on the Sunday and your grandkids want to see it, then make that a priority. I agree about getting more done with MP on a full day, especially starting at RD and having a good plan of attack. But have you looked at the cost to upgrade your tickets by adding on one more day? It can be very cost effective to add one more day, especially for non-hoppers. Just a thought. (And adding a day would get you a MM on Tuesday.) Or you might do a really nice farewell breakfast on Wednesday -- maybe a character breakfast and then some fun time in DTD?

 

[grandmaof10]

Good suggestion above to check the entertainment calendar to see if the nighttime entertainment will be offered every night of your visit. If F! will only be offered on the Sunday and your grandkids want to see it, then make that a priority. I agree about getting more done with MP on a full day, especially starting at RD and having a good plan of attack. But have you looked at the cost to upgrade your tickets by adding on one more day? It can be very cost effective to add one more day, especially for non-hoppers. Just a thought. (And adding a day would get you a MM on Tuesday.) Or you might do a really nice farewell breakfast on Wednesday -- maybe a character breakfast and then some fun time in DTD?

Fantasmic is only on Sunday. I'm not sure my grandkids can stay up that late though. I did think of maybe just adding the extra day. Can I do that with tickets I bought from undercover tourist? Would I do it at the park? Thank you.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Fantasmic is only on Sunday. I'm not sure my grandkids can stay up that late though. I did think of maybe just adding the extra day. Can I do that with tickets I bought from undercover tourist? Would I do it at the park? Thank you.

You should be able to upgrade the tickets before the end of your last day by visiting the ticket booths. If you wait until evening, the lines should be shorter, and you won't have to wait in the sun. At least one booth stays open until one hour after the last park closing.
If your grandkids can't stay up for F!, they are just the right age for MMM. We see kids that age loving that show every time we watch. They sing and dance along. And they love the snow!

 

[grandmaof10]

You should be able to upgrade the tickets before the end of your last day by visiting the ticket booths. If you wait until evening, the lines should be shorter, and you won't have to wait in the sun. At least one booth stays open until one hour after the last park closing.
If your grandkids can't stay up for F!, they are just the right age for MMM. We see kids that age loving that show every time we watch. They sing and dance along. And they love the snow!

Thank you. I'm excited, we will have a great time. We promised each grandchild a trip to Disney and taking two at a time. Fun times.

 

[WonkaKid]

We go nearly every Sunday and they’re (nearly) always awesome. A friend refers to the first 2.5-3 hours as “golden time.” Usually there aren’t a lot of people in the park till around 10:45-ish, presuming an 8:00 open. As another poster mentioned, Fantastic may only run on weekends as well.

 

[grandmaof10]

Update! We had a wonderful trip. We ended up doing Disneyland on Sunday, May 5 and Monday, May 6 and Calif Adventure on Tuesday, May 7. We were there about an hour early each day. Boy was it super crowded! We were able to do every available ride in Disneyland over the two days. the girls favorite was Big Thunder Mt. Thank you fastpass! We bought MaxPass for CA and did all the main rides and only missed like three rides in the park. Unfortunately the granddaughters never got any princess encounters, the line was always an hour. We took an afternoon swim break each day and that reenergized the girls and was probably their favorite part of the trip. Wednesday we did Downtown Disney, they loved the Lego Store, and spent time at Newport Beach before flying home. Now, I'm ready to plan the next grandkid trip!

 

[Barnabus Collins]

Sounds like a great trip, so glad you had fun!

 

[midnight star]

Update! We had a wonderful trip. We ended up doing Disneyland on Sunday, May 5 and Monday, May 6 and Calif Adventure on Tuesday, May 7. We were there about an hour early each day. Boy was it super crowded! We were able to do every available ride in Disneyland over the two days. the girls favorite was Big Thunder Mt. Thank you fastpass! We bought MaxPass for CA and did all the main rides and only missed like three rides in the park. Unfortunately the granddaughters never got any princess encounters, the line was always an hour. We took an afternoon swim break each day and that reenergized the girls and was probably their favorite part of the trip. Wednesday we did Downtown Disney, they loved the Lego Store, and spent time at Newport Beach before flying home. Now, I'm ready to plan the next grandkid trip!

Glad you had fun. Sad about the princesses..didn't know the line could get that long. The longest I've had is 45 minutes (and I didn't stand in it). But an hour?! Yikes!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So glad you had a great trip! Come on back when you're ready to plan the next one!