Let me illustrate practical issues with fixed plans and pace with strollers.
Last week I rope-dropped Disneyland at 8:00 with 4-year-old twins, ran to Alice In Wonderland, parked the stroller far away and returned to a 10-minute line. It was a great ride, followed by the Casey Jr. Train and Storybook Canal boats. We then walked onto Small World and proceeded to Toontown.
Then we rode Runaway Rail, visited both Mickey and Minnie’s Houses, and stood in line for Roger Rabbit’s ride, which broke down. We played at Goofy’s Play Yard and returned to Fantasyland for Snow White and Pinocchio. At noon we got lunch and left before 1:00. That is around 10 rides in 4 hours, or 2.5 rides per hour, rope-dropping with a solid plan during a slow week.
At California Adventure Park, we rope-dropped Soaring Around the World at 8:00, and then stood in line for Luigi and Mater’s car rides, which both broke down. We used ILL to get Radiator Racers at 9:00 (ILL), came out at 9:30, and finally rode Luigi and Mater by 10:30 or so.
We continued to Mickey’s Philharmagic and Animation Academy+Sorcerer’s Workshop and ate hot dogs at Award Wieners. We rode Little Mermaid and Jessie’s Carousel and left before 2:00. That is 8-11 attractions in around 5 hours plus time for lunch.
Our days had normal delays for stroller parking, water/snacks, sunscreen, bathrooms, and diaper changes. The official touring plans have an aspirational pace, not a realistic one. That is fine if you know how to prioritize, but don’t expect an aggressive pace with small kids.
I am sorry if you felt some measure of disappointment in your park days. It is certainly a boatload of work to get two pre-schoolers anywhere, and of course you want your return on investment to be as good as possible.
With the acknowledgement you may have wished for more rides, I want to say that at least your Disneyland day sounds exceptionally fun! I have six kids (now grown), and many Disney trips under my belt, and I’m not sure I’ve had too many mornings that would match that. An average of two rides an hour is pretty good. I certainly don’t get 20 rides in when I spend 10 hours at any park.
DCA is another story. The two down rides in a row would frustrate me entirely. It does sound like you did do most of the 4-yo friendly attractions.
I hope you got some fantastic pictures and as the days go by you are rewarded with their happy memories.
When I was in WDW with very young kids, I used the “very relaxed” setting for walking pace on the TPs. Now that my kids are 11 and 8, I go with “average”. Two four year olds are definitely going to require more time for walking than average.
Thanks for the support. I was happy and think I optimized pretty well. I wasted time parking a stroller at Alice in Wonderland because nobody had yet parked strollers nearby. We got unlucky with ride breakdowns. But we got lucky to find Soaring Around t/he World with no line. Most importantly, we prioritized the attractions and the kids loved them.
I see Reddit posts bragging about rope-dropping Disney World’s Peter Pan/Small World/Seven Dwarves/Jungle Cruise in 30 minutes. I’m skeptical. Of course, somebody is first in line every day. A single sprinter with no kids might get lucky. We were happier with realistic expectations that prioritize kid-friendly attractions.
The stroller part IS challenging. And FINDING it can be a time-eater too.
We all have been at the losing end of ride shut downs. I had a very frustrating morning in Disneyland one day in January. They even ran out of FOOD I wanted early in the AM.
Hmmmmm. Thirty mins?
If you were the absolute first in line for PP and it opened a few minutes early, you’d have no problem getting on and off IASM, and you might get through 7DMT on a quieter day, but I can’t see also getting through JC. Maybe into the queue for JC. All the stars would have to align. What do others think?
I stuffed these 4 into a tp plan.
It takes 10 minutes total to walk fast from each ride to the next. 16 minutes if walking relaxed.
The length of each ride added together is 28 minutes.
Wait times not added in yet
If we rope dropped Magic Carpets, Pirates and Tiki Birds I’d be happy to get that in before a 10:30 breakfast at Crystal Palace.
Because bathrooms, snacks, and often, shops.
With experienced 8 yo on a mission, we have switched out Tiki for [then] Splash, BTMRR and Haunted Mansion before 10:30 Crystal Palace tho usually HM is a casualty of time.
That is definitely possible. I’ve done PP in 30 minutes for EE and then RD JC for regular operating hours with essentially no wait (the ride is 10+ minutes). iasw usually has little to no wait most of the day. To get 7DMT in under 30 minutes you’d have to get there quite early, but not necessarily front of the pack.
You know -
I am the overly optimistic type. Sometimes.
I have definitely been OFF rides before park open at times.
IF Peter Pan started loading 4 minute before park open, and you were the first in line, I think you COULD possibly clear the first three rides, and be in line for JC some days of the year.
When my wife and I rope dropped during EE at a recent trip at MK (not DL), we were relatively close to the front, and we were in and off PP in about 20 minutes, managed to do IASM and then was in line for HM for official park opening, roughly. I see absolutely no way people could mean all four rides in 30 minutes.
Yeah when I rope drop PP, I’m usually toward the back of the pack so it takes about 25 minutes or so, but arriving earlier you could easily do it closer to 15 or even less.
I call BS too on this reddit-er. First, there is no way to get all four of those done in 30 minutes even on the least crowded day of the year. Second, no self respecting WDW fan rides IaSW during Early Entry or at Rope Drop
