Help a Disneyworld expert who is attending Disneyland for the first time.

[Brett Wyman]

We will be staying in a GCV studio May 10-14th 2019. We have 4 day park hoppers with the MaxPass add on already purchased. We will be renting a car from LAX. I have a few questions and please add any tips and tricks that would be helpful!

1. Renting a GC DVC Studio - is parking free for DVC like it is at Disney World?
2. I cant seem to link my DVC reservation to Disneyland MDE like I can at DW.
3. What is typically the best day to burn your morning magic? I assume DL is the better park to use that in.
4. What the best Character Breakfast or should we just skip them since we do them frequently at DW?
5. So the characters just walk around? Whats the etiquette? Do they still do autographs?
6. Whats the best way to utilize Maxpass?
7. Are the pools there heated like they are at DW?

 

[Winnowill]

I can't answer all of your questions, but here are some:

2. Do you mean the Disneyland app? DL doesn't have MDE, and your accommodation reservations do not link to the DL app.

3. As you're staying on-site, you get early entry every day. It alternates though - Tues, Thurs, and Sat at DL, Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sun at DCA (typically). Only hotel guests get EMH at DCA, so it's a pretty great perk.

5. Yes, some of them. Some of them have established meet-and-greets, some are roamers. Some sign, some don't. Some sign SOMETIMES. Usually, the roamers don't sign and don't allow lines to build. They'll interact and you can take pictures, but nothing formal.

6. As soon as you can, get another FP. That's always the rule, but it's way easier to do with MP because you don't have to physically go to the kiosks.

 

[DisneyJac]

I’ll vote for best character breakfast which is Minnie’s breakfast at at the plaza in the park. But it’s similar to Crystal Palace. I understand the Grand California has updated:changed its character breakfast an I haven’t been to the new one yet, but would be convenient to try since you are in that hotel.

 

[figment_jii]

3. As a PP said, EMH (which is only available to guests staying at one of the DLR Hotels) is offered in DCA and DL, while MM (available to all guests with an eligible ticket) happens only in DL. DL's EMH and MM morning are on the same day. As a guest of the GCH, you'll be eligible for EMH, which usually happens in DCA on Sun, Mon, Wed, and Fri and in DL on Tue, Thu, and Sat. Both are good (if you can get up that early), but I would try to take advantage of EMH in DCA because fewer guests are eligible for that one. Most of the "big" rides are open and the waits are pretty reasonable.

4. There are 4 character breakfasts (Plaza Inn (DL), PCH Grill (PPH), Storytellers (GCH), and Goofy's Kitchen (DLH)). From what I've read (I haven't done any of them in a while), the characters at the Plaza Inn can be the most varied. The other three meals have characters, but it's not really rare or unusual characters. If you're a regular at the WDW character meals, I'd be tempted to forgo the character meals at DLR.

5. I tend think that there are three types of M&G at DL: roaming, stationary, and fixed.

• Fixed/Dedicated: These are dedicated M&G location (like Princess Fantasy Faire, Pixie Hollow, etc.). Characters may vary at these locations (e.g., the princesses rotate), but there are always characters at these locations when they're open. I tend to think of these as being very similar to many of the ones at WDW.
• Stationary Characters: These are locations where the characters will stay put and greet guests. They'll pose for photos and (usually) sign autographs. The main difference from the fixed/dedicated locations is that these spots are not dedicated structures. For example, you'll often find characters scattered throughout Town Square. These characters allow lines to form (they'll take photos and (usually) sign autographs), but there might not always be characters out at the spot and the exact spot can vary from time-to-time.
• Roaming Characters: These characters roaming throughout an area. They will take pictures and talk with guests (some sign, some do not), but they won't stay in one place for very long and they try not to let a line form. For these characters, you just have to approach them and engage them as they move about. (Sometimes you'll come across a character that is heading to a stationary location and they'll act like a roaming character; they'll usually allow guests to walk with them and take a photo (while walking).)

6. I've come to like MaxPass a lot because you can get FPs via the App. If you have not already done so, I would highly recommend downloading the official Disneyland App, making an account, and linking your tickets. Maxpass is not like FP+, it's more like the old paper FP system, but with a few upgrades. You cannot pre-select your FPs (you must have entered the parks using your ticket before you can purchase or use MP) and you cannot pick your time window (you are offered what is currently available). I found that MP works best on moderate-to-low crowd days; I felt like it was less useful on very busy days, although not having to walk to the FP machines was great on any day.

 

[DLgal]

We will be staying in a GCV studio May 10-14th 2019. We have 4 day park hoppers with the MaxPass add on already purchased. We will be renting a car from LAX. I have a few questions and please add any tips and tricks that would be helpful!

1. Renting a GC DVC Studio - is parking free for DVC like it is at Disney World?
2. I cant seem to link my DVC reservation to Disneyland MDE like I can at DW.
3. What is typically the best day to burn your morning magic? I assume DL is the better park to use that in.
4. What the best Character Breakfast or should we just skip them since we do them frequently at DW?
5. So the characters just walk around? Whats the etiquette? Do they still do autographs?
6. Whats the best way to utilize Maxpass?
7. Are the pools there heated like they are at DW?

1. Parking is free for DVC members. Not sure how they handle renters. You should ask the person you are renting from.

2. No linking of hotel reservation with Disneyland app. It doesn't have that functionality. You will get a keycard for your room.

3. You don't need to worry about Morning Magic. I would avoid DL on days that have MM, personally. It's usually a cluster and not worth the time. Instead, go to the other park that morning.

4. Best food is probably Storytellers Cafe. They have Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and sometimes Pluto. Best character variety is Plaza Inn, but you may have to eat outside there, so keep that in mind. The food there is meh. Goofys is the most popular and I think, most expensive.

5. Some characters walk around. Some characters have fixed meet and greet locations. The "Big 5" can be found in Town Square throughout the day (they will rotate how many are out at once). They will have people line up for those, and there will be a Photopass photographer with each. Autographs are allowed. Tinkerbelle has a fixed meet and greet between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Pluto appears in Toon Town. The rest of the characters at DL will just randomly show up and walk around. You will see Cruella we Villa often in Town Square. The Evil Queen, Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins, and Bert will often wander around Fantasyland near Matterhorn. Peter Pan and Hook often "play" chase around Fantasyland. Alice and the Mad Matter along with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hang out near their rides, and often jump on line and ride with guests, or host a Tea Party at the tables under the monorail beam near Small World. Pinocchio and Gepetto sometimes come out in Fantasyland as do Belle and the Beast (you can find Gaston and Flynn Rider hanging around the new Princess Greeting hall, to the left of the castle at the end of Main Street (this is the fixed Princess meet and greet indoor location). Stormtroopers frequently walk around Tomorrowland, and the Star Wars character M&G is located inside the Launch Bay. You may see Woody and Jessie walking/setting up a meet along Big Thunder Trail. Dr. Facilier meets in New Orleans Square as does Red the Pirate. Pooh and Friends meet in Critter Country. The DL app lists all the characters and their locations.

DCA is lighter on characters. You can meet the big 5 near Carthay Circle. There are Marvel characters that rotate in Hollywood Land. Groot, Gamora and Star Lord are over by the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The Incredibles are over by the Incredicoaster. Mike and Sully meet near the Pixar Pal Around ride. Buzz hangs out near Toy Story Midway Mania. Chip sometimes hangs out at the Redwood Creek area. Pluto has a meet by the airplane there as well. Clarabelle Cow meets near the waterfall across from Carsland. You can meet Lightning McQueen, Mater, Red, and Cruz Ramirez at Carsland near the Cozy Cone Motel. All the characters at DCA have fixed location meets where you will line up. They don't "play" like they do at Disneyland.

6. Maxpass will tell you at what time you can make the next Fastpass reservation. Set your alarm and do it as soon as you are able. Choose the closest return time to whatever the current time is in order to maximize how many rides you do. I let that determine my order for the day. For instance, if it is 9am and return times look like this for various rides: 9:05, 9:15, 9:45, 10:20, 11:30, you pick the ride that has the 9:05 return time and head immediately there. Once you scan in, you can make ANOTHER Fastpass immediately, so you move to the ride with the next closest time, etc. You can stack quite a few rides early in the day this way. I do a mix of E tickets and lesser rides with Fastpass. You want to keep and eye on the return times for headliners so they don't get too late. Often, standby lines early in the day (before noon on weekdays) are very short so you can alternate using fastpasses with riding standby while you wait for your next FP return time. Just always be aware of when you can make the next FP reservation. Also, if you are park hopping, you can make FP in either park. This can be useful when you know you will be at a certain park later in the day. You can snag FP for popular rides as the return times get later, allowing you to hold that Fastpass reservation for the evening while still being able to make fastpasses in the current park. For instance, Radiator Springs Racers FP run out quickly and will have return times for the evening by about 10-11am. If you are planning to be at DCA in the evening, you make that reservation for 7 or 8pm at 11am, and then 90 min later, you can continue making more FP at whichever park you want. This way, you have FP lined up for the evening before they run out.

7. Pools are heated and it's usually quite warm in May. Sometimes we have crazy weather and it's cool and rainy. It's a toss up, but it's more often hot than cool in May.

 

[MrJT]

1. Parking is free for DVC members. Not sure how they handle renters. You should ask the person you are renting from.

Not sure how it is now, but in 2016, as long as you were staying at the DVC resort, parking was free. We weren't members, but my mother used somebody else's points, and we had the same benefits.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Very helpful.

1. Parking is free for DVC members. Not sure how they handle renters. You should ask the person you are renting from.

2. No linking of hotel reservation with Disneyland app. It doesn't have that functionality. You will get a keycard for your room.

3. You don't need to worry about Morning Magic. I would avoid DL on days that have MM, personally. It's usually a cluster and not worth the time. Instead, go to the other park that morning.

4. Best food is probably Storytellers Cafe. They have Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and sometimes Pluto. Best character variety is Plaza Inn, but you may have to eat outside there, so keep that in mind. The food there is meh. Goofys is the most popular and I think, most expensive.

5. Some characters walk around. Some characters have fixed meet and greet locations. The "Big 5" can be found in Town Square throughout the day (they will rotate how many are out at once). They will have people line up for those, and there will be a Photopass photographer with each. Autographs are allowed. Tinkerbelle has a fixed meet and greet between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Pluto appears in Toon Town. The rest of the characters at DL will just randomly show up and walk around. You will see Cruella we Villa often in Town Square. The Evil Queen, Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins, and Bert will often wander around Fantasyland near Matterhorn. Peter Pan and Hook often "play" chase around Fantasyland. Alice and the Mad Matter along with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hang out near their rides, and often jump on line and ride with guests, or host a Tea Party at the tables under the monorail beam near Small World. Pinocchio and Gepetto sometimes come out in Fantasyland as do Belle and the Beast (you can find Gaston and Flynn Rider hanging around the new Princess Greeting hall, to the left of the castle at the end of Main Street (this is the fixed Princess meet and greet indoor location). Stormtroopers frequently walk around Tomorrowland, and the Star Wars character M&G is located inside the Launch Bay. You may see Woody and Jessie walking/setting up a meet along Big Thunder Trail. Dr. Facilier meets in New Orleans Square as does Red the Pirate. Pooh and Friends meet in Critter Country. The DL app lists all the characters and their locations.

DCA is lighter on characters. You can meet the big 5 near Carthay Circle. There are Marvel characters that rotate in Hollywood Land. Groot, Gamora and Star Lord are over by the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The Incredibles are over by the Incredicoaster. Mike and Sully meet near the Pixar Pal Around ride. Buzz hangs out near Toy Story Midway Mania. Chip sometimes hangs out at the Redwood Creek area. Pluto has a meet by the airplane there as well. Clarabelle Cow meets near the waterfall across from Carsland. You can meet Lightning McQueen, Mater, Red, and Cruz Ramirez at Carsland near the Cozy Cone Motel. All the characters at DCA have fixed location meets where you will line up. They don't "play" like they do at Disneyland.

6. Maxpass will tell you at what time you can make the next Fastpass reservation. Set your alarm and do it as soon as you are able. Choose the closest return time to whatever the current time is in order to maximize how many rides you do. I let that determine my order for the day. For instance, if it is 9am and return times look like this for various rides: 9:05, 9:15, 9:45, 10:20, 11:30, you pick the ride that has the 9:05 return time and head immediately there. Once you scan in, you can make ANOTHER Fastpass immediately, so you move to the ride with the next closest time, etc. You can stack quite a few rides early in the day this way. I do a mix of E tickets and lesser rides with Fastpass. You want to keep and eye on the return times for headliners so they don't get too late. Often, standby lines early in the day (before noon on weekdays) are very short so you can alternate using fastpasses with riding standby while you wait for your next FP return time. Just always be aware of when you can make the next FP reservation. Also, if you are park hopping, you can make FP in either park. This can be useful when you know you will be at a certain park later in the day. You can snag FP for popular rides as the return times get later, allowing you to hold that Fastpass reservation for the evening while still being able to make fastpasses in the current park. For instance, Radiator Springs Racers FP run out quickly and will have return times for the evening by about 10-11am. If you are planning to be at DCA in the evening, you make that reservation for 7 or 8pm at 11am, and then 90 min later, you can continue making more FP at whichever park you want. This way, you have FP lined up for the evening before they run out.

7. Pools are heated and it's usually quite warm in May. Sometimes we have crazy weather and it's cool and rainy. It's a toss up, but it's more often hot than cool in May.

Amazing info thanks! So with Maxpass you can only ever hold one ride reservation at a time?

Not sure how it is now, but in 2016, as long as you were staying at the DVC resort, parking was free. We weren't members, but my mother used somebody else's points, and we had the same benefits.

Ok thats how it is at DW as well. As a renter we also get the free parking. So I think we will be good.

 

[CamDisDay]

Just to throw in DL is a more relaxed (at least for me when it comes to planning). If you rope drop you can get so much accomplished attraction wise by the afternoon and have the remainder of the day to roam around and soak up the atmosphere. Not to mention you can walk everywhere within the resort.... OH and for MP you can get FP for the other park (in DL and get a FP for DCA and visa versa).

Amazing info thanks! So with Maxpass you can only ever hold one ride reservation at a time?

Depending on the times you are able to get and when you are eligible for the next one you can have multiple... but usually it's one at a time. I book them as soon I use one (while in line) or when I'm eligible for another.... I've been able to use MANY FP during the day (opposed to just 3 at WDW). It's great that they are first come first serve so you have a better/fair chance to get all of them.

 

[DLgal]

You can hold as many FP as you can theoretically schedule using the parameters of the program. But, you cannot hold more than one FP for the same ride at the same time.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Last question - How will people know Im cool without my limited addition MagicBand on?

 

[GoingSince1990]

You should definitely do one rope-drop early entry at Disneyland, as there are so many non-FP rides there. Hustle to Peter Pan first, then Alice in Wonderland, then knock off the remaining Fantasyland rides that you want to do (none of them have FP). You’re then in a great position to use Maxpass for the rest of the day. And a good time for the Plaza character breakfast is immediately after finishing your non-FP rides (we’ve just shown up many times with no reservation and always been able to walk in. Such a contrast with WDW).

 

[HydroGuy]

Last question - How will people know Im cool without my limited addition MagicBand on?

Everyone who visits DLR is cool by definition. Hey, it's California! So new worries there!

 

[Winnowill]

Amazing info thanks! So with Maxpass you can only ever hold one ride reservation at a time?

Good heavens, no. One of the best aspects of MP is the ability to stack FPs for later in the day - even when you're not in the parks. This summer, we'd take an afternoon hotel break and continue to gather FPs while we were resting. We'd have four or five ready to go for our return!