NorthernCalMom
Compulsive Touring Planner
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2012
We're frequent Dland visitors, but usually go in the middle of summer and stay in one of the resort hotels. We'll be in Disneyland next week (Saturday, December 23) and will be staying on the Harbor Blvd side, so I am trying to, as our family's planner, figure out how to adjust our usual touring strategies. I appreciate any feedback any of you may have for us.
Our main purpose is to give the kids a chance to experience the HM and IASW holiday versions, as well as to enjoy the seasonal decorations. If we can get a few rides in during the early morning before the lines go crazy, even better. We are not planning on getting Genie+, and we have no problem getting up early. We're not going to park-hop but will stay in Disneyland. Our kids are 16 and 18 years old and have pretty good stamina for a long day (as far as fatigue goes, I'm probably the family's weakest link). Touring Plan's crowd predictor expects it to be busy (crowd level 8 out of 10) but not as crazy as the 10 out of 10 expected on some of the days between Christmas and New Years. Another indication that it may not be insanely crowded, but somewhat similar to what we're used to from our August visits, could be that reservations for both parks are currently (12/17) still available for both parks. Also, the weather may be somewhat iffy, which could result in slightly lower numbers, too.
Our biggest unknown is when to be at the Harbor Blvd entrance to make it through security early and end up at the front of the ropes. What should our timeline be? When we come from the other side, we usually leave the hotel about 1.5 hrs before early entry, wait at the security entrance until they open, get through security quickly, speed walk through Downtown Disney, and end up in front at the turn stiles. Do we need to adjust that timeline for entering from Harbor Blvd? When does security usually open on that side? Are guests who passed security held at the turnstiles or scanned in and then waiting at the ropes?
I've been looking at wait times the past couple of Saturdays. It seems that the line patterns I know from our summer visits do apply: shorter lines in the early morning that more or less consistently rise throughout the day (with the rides that have holiday overlays starting with short lines and then building more quickly than they would in summer). Anything else we should know and factor in?
Thank you so much in advance for any advice you may have for us.
Edited to add: I saw in a few other threads that Harbor security opens 7am. What I‘m trying to figure out is how early to be there to be at the front of the pack when security opens. Would 6:30 work?
Our main purpose is to give the kids a chance to experience the HM and IASW holiday versions, as well as to enjoy the seasonal decorations. If we can get a few rides in during the early morning before the lines go crazy, even better. We are not planning on getting Genie+, and we have no problem getting up early. We're not going to park-hop but will stay in Disneyland. Our kids are 16 and 18 years old and have pretty good stamina for a long day (as far as fatigue goes, I'm probably the family's weakest link). Touring Plan's crowd predictor expects it to be busy (crowd level 8 out of 10) but not as crazy as the 10 out of 10 expected on some of the days between Christmas and New Years. Another indication that it may not be insanely crowded, but somewhat similar to what we're used to from our August visits, could be that reservations for both parks are currently (12/17) still available for both parks. Also, the weather may be somewhat iffy, which could result in slightly lower numbers, too.
Our biggest unknown is when to be at the Harbor Blvd entrance to make it through security early and end up at the front of the ropes. What should our timeline be? When we come from the other side, we usually leave the hotel about 1.5 hrs before early entry, wait at the security entrance until they open, get through security quickly, speed walk through Downtown Disney, and end up in front at the turn stiles. Do we need to adjust that timeline for entering from Harbor Blvd? When does security usually open on that side? Are guests who passed security held at the turnstiles or scanned in and then waiting at the ropes?
I've been looking at wait times the past couple of Saturdays. It seems that the line patterns I know from our summer visits do apply: shorter lines in the early morning that more or less consistently rise throughout the day (with the rides that have holiday overlays starting with short lines and then building more quickly than they would in summer). Anything else we should know and factor in?
Thank you so much in advance for any advice you may have for us.
Edited to add: I saw in a few other threads that Harbor security opens 7am. What I‘m trying to figure out is how early to be there to be at the front of the pack when security opens. Would 6:30 work?
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I kept checking the app during the past week for wait times, paying particular attention to the days when crowd pattern (per touring plan’s crowd level prediction) matched our day and ignored those on rainy days, since I figure they’re unusually short. This is our current plan:
