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View Full Version : Ride Strategy for week of Dec 27- Jan 1



pisces
08-31-2004, 02:03 PM
Well, now that we know the hours of the Park for that week......

8:00 a.m - 12:00 Midnight !!!!!

How best to utilize the time? I won't have the enhanced fast passes, just the regular ones.

I'm planning to make my breakfeast/brunch reservations for 10:30, and leaving open from 8:00 - 10:15 am for as many rides as possible.

I'm hoping to get in an early Splash, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and Indiana Jones, all without lines, in that two-hour window of time 8:00 - 10 am. Is this realistic?

I'd then go have brunch, and back to the hotel room till 1:00 ish, and then do the California Adventure till 5:00 ish. Back to the hotel for another nap and snack (We fishes need our rest) .

And, then re-enter Disneyland Park that evening, at 8:00 ish, trying to pick up as many rides as I can, hopefully another round with that morning's fastpass....on Splash----- and rounding out the evening on one more matterhorn ride, if possible.

Is this do-able?

Niwel
08-31-2004, 02:12 PM
Yes, you should be able to get on all four of those before 10:30 -- at which point you will come to a grinding halt. After that, you might be lucky to get on another four rides at DL the rest of the evening.
I think the DCA hop is a good idea -- but i'd hit Tot or Soarin and get a FP as soon as you can (the FPs might/will run out if you wait too long).
My suggestion: hit Matterhorn, grab an FP for Indy on the way to Splash. Ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. Do Splash. Do Indy. Then Grab an FP for Big Thunder so you can come back at night and ride it (a preference among many padders, including yours truly).
Others might have different ideas, but the above has worked for me in the past -- then again I avoid DL during Xmas-New Years like the plague. :)

BTW: Nap time good!

sediment
08-31-2004, 02:18 PM
1. RideMax might help.
2. You going to do the same thing everyday? I suggest mixing it up a bit.
3. 12/31 will probably be the absolute worst. Make sure you get in, as it generally closes admission due to the PAP holders that make this a yearly ritual. If you want to do anything, you'll have to do it early.
4. There will be lots of people thinking the same thing as you. You'll get on, maybe, one ride without a significant wait. And without Space diverting people to the right, there's only one way for most to go.
5. Get Indy fastpass; go on Splash; Go on BTMRR; back to ride Indy; then over to the Matterhorn for a decent-sized wait. I don't know if this will work, since I don't go when it's crowded.
6. One day, do all the Fantasyland rides first.
7. And to take full advantage of the late hours, make sure to stay until the very end. Lots of the locals with the young ones will have left by then.

rentayenta
08-31-2004, 03:35 PM
I have heard that when the park (DL) is super busy they stop letting people in when it reaches capacity. If you leave on one of those days you won't be let back in.

Missing Marbles
08-31-2004, 03:43 PM
Does anyone know how a park hopper ticket will work if one can not hop parks if Disneyland is closed while some one is in DCA? Would that person still be able to go to Disneyland? Would they get a refund for partial use? Seems this could create legal issues.

pisces
08-31-2004, 06:00 PM
This is the one thing that's going to mess me up.......they close the park!

Dec. 31.....all bets are off. I expect that day to be crazy.

But, the four days leading up to that ought to be somewhat manageable, I hope?

Someone was saying that when they close the park early, it usually opens up again by 8 or 9ish???

What is the strategy for getting back in once the park is closed? Do you hang around the gate? Or, can you go back to the hotel and they will page you, when they start letting people back in?

sediment
08-31-2004, 06:11 PM
But, the four days leading up to that ought to be somewhat manageable, I hope?

Don't count on it. You got possibly two Rose Bowl teams' (assuming USC makes it to the big championship game in Miami) fans swarming the joint, as well as the PAPs from other worlds coming into town, plus local PAPs showing visiting out-of-town relatives a good time.
Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but that has to be the worst week of the year to come, in terms of crowds.
How to deal with it:
1. Go other places. San Diego. The beach. The Getty. LAMOCA. Historical museum. MOMA.
2. Go at a leisurely pace, knowing that it's possible over six days to see everything at least once, and see your planned favorites more than once.
3. Go super-early, and go stay super-late. And do something else in-between.

Wendi
08-31-2004, 06:36 PM
I would absolutely use RideMax at that time of year!