I’m taking my granddaughter age 9 to DL this summer, the first week of August. She will have a DAS due to anxiety/sensory issues, but overall does OK. Its more an issue with new things and anticipation building anxiety and emotion overload. We managed WDW last summer pretty well, watching videos ahead of time and taking breaks when needed.
That being said, last summer the FP lanes were only for DAS, tours, and ride recovery, so most of the time depending on the merge points, there wasn’t more than a 20 min wait, which worked out. We will have to see how the more crowded lines work out
This trip will be 3 days at the parks and will have a major perk due to a splurge from my mom who recently passed away: two afternoons of a VIP tour.
Our trip planned res is DL first day, CA second day, and the 3rd day startvat DL butwill need to end around 7pm, as we are switching to a hotel near Universal for a park day there on day4, going home day 5. We will have park hoppers.
Plan to start the tour at 1 pm both day one/two. So we are on our own in the morning, and the last day. Plan to purchase Genie on 3 rd day. And try to do character breakfast at Plaza Inn first thing on 3 day. Hopefully Fantasmic and fireworks will be back so we can take advantage of tour seating on those days
So on our first 2 days we will be doing mornings on our own. Plan to use her DAS to get return times and do more of the shows and eat lunch before our tour. So I would like to know which lightening lanes usually take longer, would rather not spend $$ tour time, might as well do those in the morning. Definitely want to do the animation drawing at CA, my granddaughter loved that at AK.
I haven’t been back to Disneyland since they reopened fastpass/LL but I did it last month in WDW. We never waited more than 5 minutes in any LL and if we did wait five min it was because it was a line they merged us in for the last little bit. Of RotR there is a line between the pre show rooms/transports and the actual ride. It didn’t feel very long but I didn’t time it and it wasn’t more than 15 min. So probably RotR if you count all the pieces together but we went straight into the Rey/BB8 pre show with zero line.
Since all the dark rides in Disneyland don’t have LL like PPF and Toad and Alice I always aim for those first when I traveled to DL in the days of Fastpass. I was able to get fastpasses for everything else in one day including two Star Wars ones. I don’t remember waiting long in that trip for anything but the train which we did in the afternoon from Toontown/Fantasyland
Thanks, I had been reading some discussions, not sure if here or another one, that some we’re complaining that some of the LL we’re slower than others. We rode Rise last summer at WDW, but using her DAS bc of the long boarding group line(I think it may have been down for a bit), we were let in a side door just in front of Rey holo. Some ride queues merge with LL earlier than others, and so the wait is longer. We are going to be a relaxed pace, I’m a slow walker,so a mad dash at rope drop is not happening, I’d end up behind everyone anyway.
Mom was great and planned well for the older years, loved family and to travel. She was 91, and had Alz that had got worse in the last year, so my grief is a complicated thing. But we had a great Christmas, and the end was peaceful
While I did responsible things with my inheritance, college funds for the grands etc. We decided to do some joyful, splurgey stuff also. Because that’s what mom splurged on experiences.
This will make the days special, and l will only have to have my phone out for mobile order for most of the day! And can concentrate on my granddaughter and fun.
I hope someone can help with the lines situation or you get lucky like we did in WDW. And your mom sounds like my kind of person. I was looking at clothes and thinking what do I need designer clothes for. I work at home. Save that money for college for the kids and trips. ;-).
Also I get what you mean. I watched my best friend lose her father to a brain tumor and the man he was the last several months was not really her dad. While she cried when she lost him, I also remember her feeling a sense of peace for him and her family.
Thanks, her anxiety is the issue. Especially something new. I want to go, but I’m anxious, round and round, and them emotions overwhelm, and tears… Not great when you want to have a good time, plus then if you say it’s OK we will do something else, then she’s down on herself for not doing it. Hence the DAS. 20 min or less, If she gets anxious I can distract, but a loud close queue, for 30? Not going to work for the “big girl” ( gd is 9 )rides she wants to now do, but is still a little scared of. Like Thunder mountain or Splash or Matterhorn or Indiana Jones etc. She is still not entirely sure they are screaming for fun, yet.
Gotcha. From what I’m gathering over there, they do not have side entrances, so if the LL is too long you just have to skip or try later in the window (so probably best to go as early as possible in the window so you have the opportunity to circle back).
Also be aware that they do not have the pre-drawn guidelines on the paper at Animation Academy in DCA. I’ve asked and will likely skip as I cannot freehand a circle to save my life. May not be an issue for you or her, but I probably won’t waste my time to make something that looks like crap because I can’t even do the guidelines right.
Don’t your VIP tours include front of the line access to rides?
The Fantasyland rides do not have Genie+. As such, those lines can build fast and those queues are narrow and claustrophobic. But if your LL ride goes down, the pass will convert and you will be able to use it on most other rides, including a Fantasyland ride (Very confusing.). The shortest lines are during the first 90 minutes or so after opening. Consider having breakfast like at 10:30 am so that you can take advantage of the short wait times at opening.
Following are the rides included in Genie+ for DL:
Autopia
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones Adventure
“it’s a small world”
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Millennium Falcon : Smugglers Run
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Following are the rides included with Genie+ for CA:
Goofy’s Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
Incredicoaster
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Soarin’ Around the World
Toy Story Midway Mania
We just came back from DLR. The LLs wait times build as the day progresses. By evening, TSM was about 30 minutes for LL! You can read about our wait times in my Trip Report: LunEAR New Year. Things will change. Read other DLR trip reports through the weeks as your trip gets closer to gauge their experiences. You can also see the current stand by wait times and available LL’s on your Genie+ Tip Board.
Thanks for the info. The VIP tours don’t get front of the line access, they use the LL in most cases. I think in Fantasyla lnd there is a work around maybe using the exit?
Special VIPs like celebrities probably do get front of the line and backstage entrances for security, but I’m not that kind of VIP
It is my understanding that the Fantasyland rides that dont have LL, can still be used with DAS, but are unavailable for the Advanced DAS selections that come with the pre arrival video DAS set up.
I was told that DAS uses the exits in some cases.
You can read about our wait times in my Trip Report: