Only have one day - and it's a grad night - should we skip DCA?

[steph613]

We are going on an exciting, very full, 2 week road trip from Phoenix to San Francisco this summer. We are big Disney fans so we HAD to fit in some time at Disney! Unfortunately, because this trip is mainly about visiting National Parks, we only will have ONE park day. Ack! We know we want to see DL. But now, I see that the one day we will be there, is a Grad Night (June 8th), an EMH at DCA and the pier will still be closed. So, my question, is it even worth it to park hop to DCA considering all of this? Or should we just concentrate on seeing as much as we can at DL?

A little about us: We are a family of 5 - DH and I and 3 kids, ages 15, 12, and turning 9 on the trip. The kids love thrill rides, which is why we were excited about DCA. We usually open and close the park on our trips to DW. I'm just not sure if we would even have time to get rides in with the crowds and shortened hours at DCA. Thoughts?

 

[MagicalMicycles]

You may not like to hear this, but Grad Nights are all-day events usually and are also Park Hoppers. Though the party starts after 10 at DCA, most schools arrive early and usually all the Grad Night tickets are park hoppers. If I were you, I wouldn't go that day, however, since I am NOT in your circumstance and yours is the way it is, I would suggest just going to Disneyland. Pixar Pier won't be open at the point and World of Color won't be showing until the pier opens. If you guys really, really have to do Mission Breakout and see Paint the Night, which are both things I would highly recommend, then I would do it, but if those things are not that important to you, DCA would be a skip. I just have to advise you that both parks will be very crowded either way.

 

[MisWal]

If I were you, I would rope drop DCA and spend the morning doing your must-dos. I would then hop to DL. Use maxis wisely and although it will be busy, I think it's doable.

 

[purple figment]

The Grad Night ticketing structure changed this year. There are three different ticket levels and each school can only choose one of the three. There is the ticket for the party only, the ticket for the party and DCA and the most expensive is the party with a park hopper. The parties have only started so there hasn't been much feedback for the crowd levels in DL and DCA.

The grads from each school have to arrive as a group and most don't start arriving until midday. We found that DL didn't start getting crowded until after lunch time and even then most of the grads were concentrated in Tomorrowland and at the thrill rides like Indy, Splash and Big Thunder so go on those earlier in the day. Likewise, DCA will be less busy in the morning since grads with parkhoppers will be at DL and those with just DCA tickets won't be arriving until midday.

If you buy MaxPass you should be able to accomplish a lot in one day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The change in the Grad Nite ticketing structure appears to have had a positive effect on GN crowds so far. This very recent thread may be helpful for the OP: Grad nights- my thoughts.
I would go, get hoppers, be there at opening (start at DL, but using MP can help you get FPs in DCA, too), definitely get MP and make sure you know how to get the most from it (!), make your plans (and back up plans), make any reservations (maybe a F! dining package as a treat?), ask any and all questions here (you're off to a great start already!), then go have a wonderful day! After all, you'll be at DLR with your family! How great is that?

 

[midnight star]

The change in the Grad Nite ticketing structure appears to have had a positive effect on GN crowds so far. This very recent thread may be helpful for the OP: Grad nights- my thoughts.
I would go, get hoppers, be there at opening (start at DL, but using MP can help you get FPs in DCA, too), definitely get MP and make sure you know how to get the most from it (!), make your plans (and back up plans), make any reservations (maybe a F! dining package as a treat?), ask any and all questions here (you're off to a great start already!), then go have a wonderful day! After all, you'll be at DLR with your family! How great is that?

I added my thoughts to this thread from my visit on Saturday that happened to be grad night. In short, I didn't see any difference in crowds than a typical Saturday. If anything,I thought they were lower, which may have come from the gloomy weather (it looked like it was going to rain but never did).

 

[steph613]

Thanks so much, everyone! I'm feeling much better about our chances of getting some rides in at DCA. I think we'll all have to sit down and make a list of our "must do" rides from both parks and then go from there. I know we won't see everything and that's okay. We're definitely planning on using MaxPass and will probably focus on rides over parades and shows and hopefully that will allow us to get in as much as possible. Thanks again!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Starting June 8th the two lower levels of annual passholders will be blocked for summer so hopefully that will help.

 

[DisneyFanxoxoxo]

Honestly, I would just get a park hopper. that way you can do whatever you want whenever

 

[steph613]

Thanks again everyone for the great advice! We're going to go for the park hoppers and hope for the best!