Help/ Feedback w/ 1/2 day DL TP in June

I need help with my 1/2 day “plan” for DL. I am trying to plug in a Touring Plan on TP for our last day at DL and am having trouble with FP. We are doing a 1/2 day, after hopping from DCA, so I plan to go get a SM FP as soon as we get in the park, then going to Fantasyland, then at our 2 hour mark getting a FP for Indy if there are still any. Then I plan to have a runner grab another FP at our next 2 hour mark since we will be doing Space Mountain around 8 and Indy around 9. Are there usually no FP left by 6 pm on a Friday in the summer? It is saying I can’t get one. Any suggestions? Also, feedback would be great. This is just to help me remember what time I want to get FP and what land I want to be in at different times. After Fantasyland I want to do the parade, go to Toontown, head to Tomorrowland, have dinner, ride Star Tours and use our SM FP, head to IASW and ride, and watch parade and Fireworks from there. The I want to do Matterhorn, Indy w/ FP and Splash and BTMRR
and whatever else we might have time for. Any suggestions for switching up our TP? This is our first time. I get that we will have to skip things and switch them upped if our FP return times vary, but this is a general plan. This is for me, DSS that is 20, DD (11) and DD (7) who loves roller coasters. Thanks!

  1. Space Mountain FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: 8:10pm-9:10pm
    2:35pm 0 1 0 5

  2. Alice in Wonderland
    2:41pm 21 4 0 2

  3. Peter Pan’s Flight
    3:08pm 21 3 0 1

  4. Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
    3:33pm 11 3 0 1

  5. Dumbo the Flying Elephant
    3:48pm 19 2 0 1

  6. Storybook Land Canal Boats
    4:10pm 11 10 0 6

  7. Indiana Jones Adventure FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: 9:15pm-10:15pm
    4:37pm 0 1 0 3

  8. Mickey’s Soundsational Parade
    Showtime: 4:30pm
    4:41pm 0 23 0 7

  9. Gadget’s Go Coaster
    5:11pm 21 1 0 1

  10. Minnie’s House
    5:34pm 27 5 0 1

  11. Star Tours FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: No forecast available.
    6:14pm 0 0 0 -1

  12. Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
    6:07pm 28 4 0 7

  13. Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port
    6:50pm for 30 minutes 6:46pm 0 30 0 2

  14. Astro Orbitor
    7:18pm 13 2 0 1

  15. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
    7:34pm 27 7 0 3

  16. Space Mountain
    8:11pm 10 5 5 4

  17. Paint the Night
    Showtimes: 8:50pm, 11:00pm
    8:35pm 15 15 0 5

  18. it’s a small world
    9:10pm 4 14 0 5

  19. Disneyland Forever
    Showtime: 9:30pm
    9:33pm 0 15 0 3

  20. Matterhorn Bobsleds
    9:51pm 26 4 0 6

  21. Indiana Jones Adventure
    10:27pm 4 10 0 5

  22. Splash Mountain
    10:46pm 12 11 0 3

  23. Haunted Mansion
    11:12pm 10 9 0 2

  24. Pirates of the Caribbean
    11:33pm 3 15 0 2

  25. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
    11:53pm 21 4 0 5

What day is this TP for? If it’s a Friday night, especially in the summer, I this plan will probably get behind and you will get frustrated. As someone who loves DL and frequents it with a TP, I see a lot of glaring mishaps waiting for you in this plan (a few examples, Storybook Land closes an hour before every parade so doing it at 4:10 with a 4:30 Soundsational isn’t . TPs is still a great tool that I use to help keep me in check from over-planning, but unfortunately they don’t always stay up to date with all the DL nuances (they tend to be more WDW focused).

If you make it through it all, here is my novel and detailed feedback on your current plan.

Space is usually one of the FPs that runs out faster, so good plan to start pulling here; however, at 2:30 your return time for Space will be later than this plan has it mapped out. This last weekend (CL 7) a friend of ours got into DL at 1:30, pulled Space Mtn first and it was for 9pm.

Alice and Peter Pan waits look low to me. Also you’ll want to get a parade spot sooner than 11 minutes after the parade starts. I usually budget 20-45 min. for finding a parade spot depending on crowds/heat. On warmer days finding shade is usually a priority for us so it’s usually right at that 45 min. Also, Storybook Land Canal Boats closes 1 hr before parades because the CMs for Storybook are used for crowd control/directing traffic so it’s not possible to do Storybook at 4:10 like the plan has you doing. With all that said, you’re not going to be able to do all of that and have time for the parade.

My suggestions to help you make the Fantasyland AND parade a bit more feasible are:

Option A) Do Alice, then Storybook Land Canal boats and skip Peter Pan, then look for a parade spot.
Option B) Do Storybook Land Canal boats then Peter Pan and skip Alice & go look for a parade spot.

If at the end of the night you finish ahead, then you can go back and into line for whichever one you skipped to end your night. You can also elect to skip the parade (it’s a fun one though so I recommend it!) and just make sure you move Story Book Land to before 3:30. Doing Peter Pan during the parade might also see you wait for a time that’s closer to what the TP says.

If you do the parade, you can also send your FP runner to Indy while you look for a spot. Since you want to do Toontown after the parade, looking for a spot as close to It’s a Small World will give you a great position to head into ToonTown next. Spots do start to fill at 20-30 min before a parade on a busy day. And the area by It’s a Small World is HOT when it’s not under shade cover so the earlier you can find a spot the better a spot you will have. Anywhere along the route down towards Storybook Land Canal boats should still keep you close enough to Toontown.

Gadget’s is a very little kiddie roller coaster that literally lasts less than 30 seconds. My DS4 who is turning 5 this July and is tall enough for Space & Big Thunder is starting to outgrow it but will ride it for his little sister. It’s cute and fun for the littles and I love seeing my DD3’s face (just barely 3) since she is not tall enough for other coasters, but that’s the only reason I ride it. It can easily be another thing you skip if you are falling behind plan AND I wouldn’t wait longer than 25 min for it ever because it’s so short a ride. I usually try to hit it early in the day right after ToonTown opens to avoid anything longer than a 10-15 min wait. Also, Minnie’s house is adorable and fun even without her, but if you want to meet her at her house she is usually not there after about 3-4:30 depending on the day. If you’re going in summer she may be there later, but today the DL App only has her there until 4:30. I would verify as your date gets closer (the DL app that you can download lists character meet times). If she is there past 4:30 you can absolutely go after the Parade. But if it’s a priority you might have to re-arrange to hit ToonTown first, then Fantasyland after the parade.

The reason your Star Tours FP is saying no forecast available is because you have it at 6;14 but your last FP was pulled at 4:37 which means you won’t be eligible for one until 6:37. If a FP is available at 6:40ish then it will most likely be for the end of the day, but hopefully close to your SM one so you can knock out both.

As for PTN, if you want to do the first show of it, you will need to find a spot AT LEAST an hour before. People start camping out for spots 4 hours before as soon as Soundsational ends. Showing up 15 min before the parade you will be unlikely to find a spot anywhere along the route. I highly highly suggest doing the 2nd one at 11 because you WILL be able to find a spot 15 min before. Also, once the parade viewing if full and until after the FWs clear (so from about 7:45 to 9:45) it is a human traffic jam so the best advice I can give you is to pick a side of the hub and stick to it. That leaves with either Tomorrow Land or the entire West side (Frontier Land, New Orleans Square, Critter Country). If you are set on doing dinner at Pizza Port for dinner then that would leave you in Tomorrowland which is really fun at night all lit up with Star Wars music and some projections and there’s still all great stuff to do. However, the Pizza Port is the bottom of all the counter service locations in DL. The Galactic Grill nearby has decent burgers and sandwich options. Also, if your return times for Space Mtn and Star Tours are later (after FWs which would be after 9:45pm), I wouldn’t venture into Tomorrowland and would instead accomplish some West side rides instead and get food on the West side for dinner. I love French Market and there is also the Golden Horseshoe (fish and chips or chicken tenders and fries) or the Stage Door Cafe which has the wonderful Disneyland Corn Dogs.

If you weren’t able to get a Star Tours FP at 6:40 and you do really want to eat in Tomorrowland, it’s possible you could do Star Tours standby right after dinner, without a bad wait with everyone being in their spots for the early parade. But it would also depend on if your Space FP window would open up in time for you to do it before FWs. If your Space FP window isn’t open after your Star Tours ride and you still choose to do Tomorrowland, then you might have the opportunity on Astro Orbiter if the timing works out right, to get a glimpse of the parade, maybe even from the ride itself which would be a really fun way to see a preview of it before your 2nd viewing.

If the parade does indeed pass while you’re on the ride, then you’ll want to head towards your FWs viewing spot, so again depending on your Space FP return time, you may not be able to do both. From Astro Orbiter you’ll only have the option to watch from the hub and/or Main Street. If you want to watch from IASW, go around the back of the Matterhorn and head that way after the first parade. Then you can ride IASW after the FWs; however, depending on the direction of the wind, IASW might close during FWs and in that case would have to wait for the fire marshall to declare the area open and safe again before it would open back up. Can take 15-20 min. after FWs.

Also, planning IASW in between the first parade and FWs is not a great setup, because it’s possible that IASW will be closed if the wind is blowing in that direction and even if the wind is favorable and it DOES run in between the parade and FWs you’d have to be positioned in a spot near IASW before (which would require at least an hour camping out) and then you’d have to hustle to the line, hope the wait really is 4 or less minutes and then hope everyone in front of you is unloading running smoothlyfor the ride to be exactly 14 minutes long (sometimes the boats get clogged up unloading and so at the end and it can take a couple of extra minutes if you’re caught in a jam). Otherwise you will be a few minutes late to the FWs show and unlikely to get a great view and possible that CMs will just want to direct you away from the area anyway if it is too full.

Last little feedback (if you’ve made it this far I’m impressed!), your West side in the evening looks Fantastic! However, it would all be similar an hour before the parade through it being run, so another reason to eat dinner on the West side, do Splash, HM, Pirates, maybe get in Big Thunder and hopefully if you’re FP for Indy is around 9 you can end with that before heading towards the hub watch FWs, then after FWs accomplish Tomorrowland with your later Space and Star Tours FPs before lining up for the 2nd PTN right across from Matterorn near the Alice bathrooms. Spots there can easily be found 15 min. before the parde (might not be front row right the curb, but still plenty of room). Then you can end your night with Matterhorn, IASW and then go back for Big Thunder and/or Alice/Peter Pan if they didn’t fit in earlier.

Anyway, that’s my advice, you can take it or leave it, but just know that Disneyland is great and whatever you decide to do especially if you have some idea of a plan and plenty of patience for the crowds, you’ll have a fantastic time!

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Wow thanks! This was so helpful! I have re-worked our plan. I have have a Plan A if Space Mountain is a late FP, and Plan B if it is earlier. Here is the new Plan A. For Minnie’s house, we just want to see it and take a picture because I have a picture of the one in WDW with my mom before she passed and want to get a pic with my girls there. I took out dinner and we will just plan to grab something in whichever land we are in when we get hungry. It shows no FP for Star Tours or Splash Mountain at around 7:20, so I went with BTMRR, but I will be watching on my app to see what we can get at that time. Is there a way to do that? It looks like the most beneficial one would be Splash Mountain because of the long wait time. This is for Friday, July 2 so I am sure it will be crowded. Here is what I have now. We will skip Dumbo if necessary to get a spot for the parade. I will move Space/ Star Tours to whenver the FP return time is.

  1. Space Mountain FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: 8:10pm-9:10pm
    2:35pm 0 1 0 6

  2. Storybook Land Canal Boats
    2:42pm 11 10 0 1

  3. Alice in Wonderland
    3:04pm 21 4 0 1

  4. Dumbo the Flying Elephant
    3:30pm 20 2 20 3

  5. Mickey’s Soundsational Parade
    Showtime: 4:30pm
    4:15pm 15 23 0 3

  6. Indiana Jones Adventure FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: 9:40pm-10:40pm
    4:56pm 0 1 0 9

  7. Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
    5:06pm 26 4 0 1

  8. Minnie’s House
    5:37pm 27 5 0 4

  9. it’s a small world
    6:13pm 6 14 0 2

  10. Matterhorn Bobsleds
    6:35pm 35 4 0 6

  11. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad FASTPASS Booth
    Return Time: 9:40pm-10:40pm
    7:20pm 0 1 0 3

  12. Haunted Mansion
    7:24pm 13 9 0 2

  13. Pirates of the Caribbean
    7:48pm 6 15 0 4

  14. Splash Mountain
    8:13pm 45 11 0 8

  15. Disneyland Forever
    Showtime: 9:30pm
    9:17pm 13 15 0 3

  16. Indiana Jones Adventure
    9:48pm 4 10 0 2

  17. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
    10:04pm 6 4 0 7

  18. Space Mountain
    10:21pm 39 5 0 4

  19. Paint the Night
    Showtimes: 8:50pm, 11:00pm
    11:09pm 0 15 0 1

  20. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
    11:25pm 11 7 0 3

I just have one question. You say, “…doing a 1/2 day, after hopping from DCA” does this mean, you will be at DCA in the morning? If so, do you know you can have a FP for DCA AND DL at the same time. I would recommend you send a runner over mid/late morning from DCA to DL (check the DL app for the right FP return time) to pull your Space FP with a mid afternoon return. You could also get another one 2 hours later for Splash or ST or Indy or whatever for around the same mid afternoon time. Of course this assumes the current paper FP system, which may be changed by July, since they’ve been testing a FPP system.

1 Like

Thanks! Yes, we will be at DCA that morning, but it will only be me and my kids. My stepson might be able to be the runner, but then he would miss rides at DCA because we have a tight schedule with only a few hours there, plus we have a group breakfast at the Grand Californian Hotel that we have to attend. I will look at the schedule and maybe during breakfast one of us could run over. I didn’t know that you could do that and that is very helpful!