Which is better? DL from 3pm to 12am Monday Oct 30 or Sun 8am to 2pm Nov 5th with Genie+?

Hello,
I was hoping to get thoughts about whether Monday, Oct 30th from 3pm to 12am or Sunday 8am to 2 or 3 pm would be the best use for a DL ticketed day with Genie+?
Thanks

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Hmmm. If it were me I’d prolly choose Genie+ cuz it works really well and I can usually get every stinking ride. But I am a night owl and the parks do thin out about 10pm so you can do a lot then too. Tough choice. I’d still probably do it with Genie unless you’re a regular visitor who doesn’t mind not riding everything you want.

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Night time is the right time.

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If it were me I’d pick the 3pm-12am because I am also a night owl.

Also one thing to consider, Oct 30th the park will all be done up for Halloween with the orange, white & brown bunting down Main St & pumpkins everywhere (some far corners/out of the way area will have some Christmas decorations going up). By Nov 5th they will have taken down all the Main St. decorations and will be in a transition to Christmas decor with not everything quite up yet & won’t have officially started the Christmas season yet. Because of this, Nov 5 is potentially a low(er) crowd day. But that might mean operations aren’t staffed for as high demand so it can feel like you’ll wait around more for things like food service, merchandise purchases, security & entry lines and maybe even rides but main walkways won’t be as crowded.

They haven’t released the Halloween party dates yet and if Mon Oct 30th is a party then Disneyland will be busier with non-party guests who have annual passes or park hopper tickets being forced into Disneyland while the party is going on in DCA. But you will have a chance to see the Disneyland Halloween Screams fireworks that should run in DL. And if it is expected to have higher crowds operations will be more efficiently staffed so even though walkways will be crowded with people, lines for things like security, front entry, food service & merchandise will move efficiently or be non-existent. Rides will be longer (but may move at a more efficient pace on the rides that have variable capacity).

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The issue is that you can’t start booking Genie+ until you’re in the parks - right? So could be tough to get all the rides at that point.

I’m torn.

I love certain areas at night, but I also love RD at DL.

I think the right answer is both? :joy:

But I do agree the Halloween decorations will still be up (and possibly fireworks on October 30 (my birthday!)) and they will not have fully switched over to Christmas by November 5.

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Correct…mostly. You can book your first as soon as you’re scanned into the park. So unless you’re able to go over in the morning and scan in to start stacking before going back at 3pm there may be some that are gone or have late return times.

If you pick the 8am start (which I assume is rope drop), if you can be in the security line early enough to be up at the front of one of the turnstile lines, they will usually scan tickets in for the people at the front before the park officially opens and you can pick your first as soon as you’re scanned in. I used that multiple times when I went in Feb 2022 and never had an issue getting what I wanted. (I also became an expert at stacking anytime by picking something that was down (but that I’d be willing to ride or cancel if it came up) and if the ride was still down when it got close to the time or they knew it was going to be down a while it would convert earlier. Once converted - even if it’s not been 2 hours - you can book another.

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