First 3 hrs -- ride how many of the LL rides?

Disneyland Attractions and Lightning Lane
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11 days until D day, still tinkering with strategy. Taking a first-time Disneylander with me (she was at Magic Kingdom once, decades ago).

A few weeks ago, I was thinking ropedrop ROTR. But we won’t have early entry for getting back there quickly. So now I’m thinking ROTR a little before the line closes.

Last time at Disneyland (several years) I ropedropped Indy, it quickly broke down, I stayed in line, it got back up before too long.

Right now I’m thinking start with Matterhorn and Big Thunder standby lines, saving their LLs for night.

If possible I’d like to save Haunted Mansion LL for sunset or dark.

I’m open to any time of day for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain (well, not too early), Millennium Falcon, Star Tours and Buzz.

I guess Small World will be refurb, and Autopia not a priority.

So … how many LL bookings do I need to get ridden in first 3 hours, if HM, ROTR, Matterhorn, BT are all going to be say 6pm or later?

I suppose at least Space Mountain and Indy, maybe Splash and Millennium Falcon?

When I wrote out a plan starting with 7 of the LL rides in a row before anything else, what I found was that in late afternoon I had no LL rides happening and a park full of long lines for PP, Alice, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, etc … Maybe late afternoon would be a good time to ride LL Buzz and/or Star Tours? And that way maybe be able to cross off Alice early?

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I don’t think Matterhorn is open - not sure. I would RD ROTR if you really want to ride that. It’s not open for early entry and I don’t think the early entry crowds are that large. But otherwise, I agree that it’s a good idea to RD rather than LL so you can save the LL for later. Indy is a big ? . We tried to RD that side of the park in September and both JC and Indy were down. It was anticlimactic. Would you consider RD’s Space? The BTMR line doesn’t seem to build as quickly as Space does, IMO.

Personally, I love RD’ing Fantasyland. I wouldn’t go to PPF, but you can knock out everything else pretty easily that way. However, you can also do those rides at 11:00 PM and they should be pretty easy then too. Or if you get some anytime LL’s you can use those in FL even on rides that do not have a LL.

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I agree with Julianne_fki. You may be able to do everything but you should prioritize.

The Fantasyland rides don’t have LLs, I would do those first if you want to ride them. But if an LL converts to anytime, most any ride, you can use it for the Fantasyland rides.

I don’t bother with RDing! I arrive between 7:40 and 7:45 at the gate! I’ve gone left twice recently and had good luck with JC and IJ. I just keep on going with Pirates, HM, BTMR (which tends to be short in the early morning), and Winnie with standby. You should be able to knock out all of those in about 2 hours. I don’t do water rides because I find the water gross! :nauseated_face: Keep an eye on when to make LLs.

I’ve never RDed ROTR but in September, it was a posted 35 minute wait time around 9:15 am! I’ve ridden around 1-2 pm, when the queue was entirely indoors, too (I think that was under a 45 minute wait time).

Lines can start building around 11 and continue through early evening. In September, there was a long queue for the Buzz LL in the evening!

DL is compact so I don’t usually mind crisscrossing the park. Enjoy!

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Matterhorn just reopened yesterday! It will probably have a longish line since it’s been closed for a while and MK holders will want to go. Might be a good RD option or early LL.

Usually I like to RD Space, then hit IJ and JC in the morning. Those lines build the fastest. Then get to Splash before it gets too hot (and the line gets long). HM and MFSR should be your other headliner priorities. HM will be especially popular due to the overlay.

Unless they’re a huge priority for you, i would do the popular FL rides at 10:30 or 11pm, and maybe hit some of the less popular ones throughout the day.

Grab a ST and iasw LL midday when lines are long everywhere else. They are usually immediate return.

You should be able to get almost everything done if you’re there RD to close. Good luck!

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