Which Park First for a 3 Day Trip?

[Amore Disney]

Hello, I'm finally planning a trip to DL since my last trip 4 years ago, and I am beyond ecstatic to join my SO to his first ever Disney Park! ETA: This will be a three day trip Thurs-Fri. I usually plan my weekend trips to be DL-DCA-DL, with DL on each of our travel days. As a rope dropper that stays offsite, I don't know how I feel about using my second day for DCA with EMH that Friday vs just squeezing DCA in on Day 1. Either way, the current plan is for just one day at DCA.

Relevant Details:

• Day 1 (2/28) park hours: DL with MM 8am-9pm, DCA 9am-8pm
• Day 2 (3/1) park hours: DL 8am-12am, DCA with EMH 8a-10pm
• No hoppers because we will be purchasing Maxpass
• Thursday 8:50am arrival in LAX, carry-on only
• Planning to uber to Doubletree Anaheim-CC to drop bags before Disneying
• We are planning for DL on our 3rd day to use Magic Morning and stay till 1pm
• Must dos at DCA are FP rides only esp RSR; DL aiming for almost every ride

1. If there are no flight delays, what would you consider a generous estimate of entering the gates?
2. If we do arrive around said time, which park would you go to and why?

And I would love to hear any other tips you got for us. Thanks for your help!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

So you’re going Thursday-Friday-Saturday, but your only full day is Friday?

You’d be lucky to be in the parks around 11 on Thursday.

I’d probably do DL Thursday and Friday and DCA on Saturday.

ETA: I realize this means giving up your MM... it’s still what I’d do.

 

[chickapin parterre]

your late arrival puts you out of the running for RSR fastpass at DCA on Thursday, so use that day to soak in the minor details of Disneyland for a first itme visitor, = train, Mark Twain, Small World, monorail

On Friday you are only behind hotel guests who may be leaving that noon, so RSR fastpass should be favorable,with maxpass, shouldn't be a problem. For a significant other who is an adult and first time visitor, they find DCA to be a highlight with all the rollercoasters and food and openness.

Saturday with MM would be fun for first timer, Disneyland is fresh, Fantasyland more available and puts you in place for fastpass attractions that morning.

Don't let you emotional ties hinder you from seeking a favorable trip for the first timer....sure...not having a full day in Disneyland is not optium in squeezing out the magic, but this trip if for the other person with you.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Are you both up for using Single Rider? SR will help you on rides if FPs aren't available (although keep checking for cancellations using MP -- they do show up and they don't last longer than a few seconds! Grab them when you see them!). SR will also help you get repeat rides without a FP. I agree with Skyegirl1999's plan of DL, DL , DCA if you want to make the most efficient use of your park time. Are parkhoppers totally out of the question? They would let you get the most out of MP since you could book FP for one park while still in the other park. And you would be able to still use your MM on the Saturday, then go right over to DCA when it opens. And... Food & Wine starts on 3/1 in DCA -- so you might want to hop back and forth for food. The parks are so close together that lots of DLR regulars hop to DCA for food regularly. If the budget in any way allows for hoppers, I think you would really enjoy it!

 

[Amore Disney]

ETA: I realize this means giving up your MM... it’s still what I’d do.

...I agree with Skyegirl1999's plan of DL, DL , DCA if you want to make the most efficient use of your park time.

We are open to SR (esp for rides without pictures), and we will try to always keep that in mind. At this point in our budget, we would have to choose hopper vs maxpass but would definitely choose both if we could. I'd love to hear why DCA on the last day! Esp how that would be the most effective use of our time. I didn't even consider it as an option.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

So, you want to do a lot at DL, but not so much at DCA. That means that using your only full day at DCA would be a real waste, so Friday is out for DCA.

As for Thursday: DCA FPs run out well before DL ones do (mostly because there are fewer of them). So by the time you arrive on Thursday, there's a good chance you won't be able to get a RSR FP anymore, and you will be all backed up for the others. So, DCA with Maxpass on Thursday is not a good plan - but over at DL, you'll have a lot of FP availability when you arrive mid-day.

So, that leaves your partial Saturday as the smartest day to do DCA - you'll get much more out of Maxpass at DCA 1st thing on Saturday as opposed to mid-day on Thursday, and you'll have plenty of time to hit the DCA highlights before you leave at 1.

If you start at DL on Friday morning, when DL hasn't been open for a Magic Morning, you can get a TON done - we just essentially rope-dropped DL yesterday, and we'd done Alice, Dumbo, Casey Jr., Pinocchio, and Snow White before 8:30 (we entered the park at 7:59 precisely, so if you were there a little early to truly be "at the rope," you could do even more). So, even though you'll miss out on MM, you'll be doing a DL rope-drop without MM, and that's a nice deal, too.

Anyway, that's why I think it makes the most sense to do your first day and a half at DL, and then your last half day at DCA.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

Have you considered hoppers without MaxPass on your short days? I was going through the same decisions money wise but realized I didn’t need MaxPass on shorter days because by the time I got to the parks the MP would not have been as effective due to FP’s being gone. Your dates are during the ticket promo as well if you buy online through the Disney website which might help since MP is only $10 instead of $15 at the gates. Enjoy planning- it’s a huge part of the fun!

 

[Christin82]

I’d do DL, CA, DL.

 

[Nonsuch]

Your Avatar is Elsa/Olaf, so I assume you are a fan of Frozen

Don't miss Frozen at the Hyperion (in DCA). I am a fan of Frozen (and musicals) and love the show.

There is also a Frozen meet and greet in the Animation Academy. 2 rooms: Anna/Elsa and Olaf/Kristoff

 

[Amore Disney]

Your Avatar is Elsa/Olaf, so I assume you are a fan of Frozen

Hey thanks for catching that! YES I am a huge fan!! As much as I would love to see the musical, my SO is not exactly as big of a fan of Frozen as I am. If it comes down to doing DCA on one of our half days, I'm going to skip the musical to make sure my SO gets the most out of his first visit.

The M&G sounds like a great idea though! Do they still have paper fastpasses for those? The M&G would take less time than 2hrs of waiting and watching the musical, so I'd love to fit that in our DCA day.

 

[Amore Disney]

Anyway, that's why I think it makes the most sense to do your first day and a half at DL, and then your last half day at DCA.

Thanks for such a detailed response!! I totally agree with you on not doing a Friday DCA. Based on your input, I'm now planning to make the call on Thursday based on the availability of FPs by that point according to the DL app. Because I have emotional ties to MM's and I know my SO would also enjoy that hour, I would still love to try to use it on Saturday. If Thursday turns out to be a DL day, then DCA on Saturday sounds like we could still accomplish our goals before we fly out!

Also I've read your guide to Maxpass and it's so incredibly helpful!! I've bookmarked it for our trip