Back from a magical three days in the parks! (7/25-27)

[tkradtke]

I was honestly really worried about things given some of the recent posts, but the crowds seemed really manageable for those three days. And we had some really magical moments (which we fully attribute to us getting pixie dusted at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on our first morning in the parks lol).

Genie+:
We had Genie+ but used it mainly for photos the first two days with maybe one or two LLs. The last day we used lots of LLs. We used the idea from here to book Indy first for a LL and on both days in DLR we had multi-experience passes before rope drop since Indy wasn't set to open on time. We were able to book our second LL before rope drop those days. On the second day in DLR our second choice also went down right away, twice, so by 9:30 we had three MEPs. We did buy an individual LL for RSRs just because.

Wait times:
We never waited in line more than 15 minutes during our three days in the parks. We don't necessarily hit the big rides though. In three days we rode the following:
DLR: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion (2x, once with LL), Pooh (2x), Indy (LL), Big Thunder (LL), Mark Twain, Smuggler's Run (LL), Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan (15 min wait at rope drop), Toad, IASW, Alice, Tea Cups, Astro Blasters (LL)
DCA: Soarin', Goofy's Sky School, Emotional Whirlwind, TSMM (LL), RSR (ILL), Monsters Inc, (LL), Ariel

Characters:
We had some of the best character interactions this trip and got to meet and get autographs from so many! We did do Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn and met Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Daisy, Pooh and Tigger (I think that's it). In the parks we got to meet Pooh, Darth Vader, Officer Blue, Sulley, Molly the Messenger, Phi Phi the Photographer, Minnie (Chase Disney Visa photo op), Mrs. Incredible, Bo Peep, Clarabelle, Pinocchio, Geppetto, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Moana, Aladdin, Captain Lightyear, Tiana (she was on the Mark Twain), Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, The Evil Queen and Captain Jack Sparrow.

General Entertainment:
We loved the Pearly Band in front of the castle with Mary Poppins and Bert. The Disneyland Band with Belle in front of the castle was great too. We followed the band to the front of the park for the performance with the characters and the Dapper Dans. We enjoyed seeing the Dapper Dan's performance. The cavalcades were fun and there were some different characters in each of the three times we watched them.

Nighttime Entertainment:
We love the Main Street Electrical Parade! We watched it twice. The first time we had the Plaza Inn Dining package. The viewing area was nice and not overly stuffed with people. The second time we watched was the second parade down by IASW... so nice! Hardly anyone was down there so we were able to sit on a ledge and had no one in front of us. And, as a bonus, we got to see the Encanto projections on IASW while we waited. We did not get a package from WOC, but were able to join the virtual queue at noon. The passes we got weren't for blue or yellow, but could be used for either... we went to the yellow side and had no problem finding a great space to stand. For Fantasmic! we did the Hungry Bear package and thought it was good! Thought the seating area was a nice view as well. Oh... and it was a good spot to view the fireworks as well.

Magical moments:
We accidentally timed it just right our first night to walk onto Alice, just as the MSEP was getting to that spot, it was so cool to watch it go by while on the ride. It was fun to wave to the characters on the floats from the top. We walked straight onto the tea cups after and got to continue watching the parade go by.

Meeting Pinocchio and Geppetto together on our last day with not another soul around. From there we went to IASW where they were giving every group their own boat.

Having Tiana board the Mark Twain just before we left the dock.

There were other magical moments, but those stood out!

One more note: We hit rope drop and then left early/mid afternoon for a break at the hotel, returning pretty much just in time for the nighttime event we wanted to see. After the show/parade, we walked onto a bunch of rides and stayed until near close (never made it all of the way to close). I think, for us, taking that big break helped as we didn't experience the height of the crowds and heat.

I hope this helps someone else out there! I hope to do a real trip report with photos once I go through them all.

 

[Pluto468]

Wow, sounds like a wonderful trip! I'm glad you had a magical time Thanks for sharing!

 

[DizMe]

I think this is a good lesson in taking everything you read with a grain of salt, as nothing is "normal" and much of what happens at DLR is unpredictable now. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful trip! Thanks for the report

 

[tkradtke]

I think this is a good lesson in taking everything you read with a grain of salt, as nothing is "normal" and much of what happens at DLR is unpredictable now. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful trip! Thanks for the report

Right! We had our disappointments during the trip, but we didn't let them overshadow the good things! We saved both Tinker Bell and the Lion King show until our last day, Wednesday, only to find out that day that neither was happening. Were we disappointed, yes... but we found other things to do instead. My daughter who adores Stitch, was bummed that he wasn't one of the Chase Visa characters like usual on the one day we were at DCA, but was so excited to get to meet Clarabelle (my daughter's name is Clara) lol! And to get her Stitch-fix, we attended the Stitch dance party in Tomorrowland. The wait was obnoxious for the princesses every time we went by (60-90 minute range)... but by wandering around, we got to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider with a five minute wait, the Evil Queen with about a 10 minute wait, met Tiana on the Mark Twain with no wait and watched Belle dance with the Disneyland Band. Flexibility was key for us.

 

[Skubygurl72]

"The second time we watched was the second parade down by IASW... so nice! Hardly anyone was down there so we were able to sit on a ledge and had no one in front of us. And, as a bonus, we got to see the Encanto projections on IASW while we waited.."

So is this across from IASW directly? ....just trying to nail down a spot in my mind to look for early on. THANKS!

 

[DontSpamMe]

"The second time we watched was the second parade down by IASW... so nice! Hardly anyone was down there so we were able to sit on a ledge and had no one in front of us. And, as a bonus, we got to see the Encanto projections on IASW while we waited.."

So is this across from IASW directly? ....just trying to nail down a spot in my mind to look for early on. THANKS!

Anywhere near small world for that second show is pretty open. We came off the Matterhorn and watched most of the show right by the single rider line entrance to Matterhorn. There were a few people in front of us but they were sitting so we had a perfect view. It was by far the best view we have ever had of the parade. Even better than the plaza viewing packages.

 

[Skubygurl72]

Anywhere near small world for that second show is pretty open. We came off the Matterhorn and watched most of the show right by the single rider line entrance to Matterhorn. There were a few people in front of us but they were sitting so we had a perfect view. It was by far the best view we have ever had of the parade. Even better than the plaza viewing packages.

Thank you so much !

 

[Pluto468]

"The second time we watched was the second parade down by IASW... so nice! Hardly anyone was down there so we were able to sit on a ledge and had no one in front of us. And, as a bonus, we got to see the Encanto projections on IASW while we waited.."

So is this across from IASW directly? ....just trying to nail down a spot in my mind to look for early on. THANKS!

As you're walking down the street to Small World, a bit past the Matterhorn there is a raised area on the right. There are some benches and stairs there. Once you are there you'll find it easily. You can also sit on the ground along the parade route.

Also the street on the left has good viewing spots. When I was an AP I used to watch the daytime parades from that area alot. I always stood behind a trash can because usually nobody would hop in front of me at the last minute!

 

[tkradtke]

So is this across from IASW directly? ....just trying to nail down a spot in my mind to look for early on. THANKS!

As you're walking towards IASW, we sat on the right, on a ledge right next to the roped off reserved seating (which remained empty). We were pretty much directly across from the pretzel cart. We were able to sit on the ledge with no one in front of us and no one next to us because the ledge next to us was too narrow to sit on. It was a nice spot and the Encanto projections helped pass the time!

 

[Aspencreek]

Great report, sounds like a really fun time!

When you list all the LLs, those are all the "free" ones that come with Genie+ purchase correct? You only paid extra over Genie+ for the Rise ride? Sorry, last time in the parks was just a bit before Genie+ launched so haven't used it yet.

 

[tkradtke]

When you list all the LLs, those are all the "free" ones that come with Genie+ purchase correct? You only paid extra over Genie+ for the Rise ride? Sorry, last time in the parks was just a bit before Genie+ launched so haven't used it yet.

Yes! Those are the ones that come with Genie+... we only bought the Individual Lightening Lane for Radiator Springs Racers this trip. We considered Rise, but we had ridden it our last two trips and decided to spend the $$ elsewhere this time. We meant to watch wait times to see about riding it stand-by but got distracted along the way lol!

We also fished for multi-experience passes and ended up with one on our first day and three on our last. But to be honest we never used them, we were able to walk onto almost everything we wanted late at night and the others, we decided that we were too tired to ride anything big and skipped them. It was super easy to fish for them though...we got Indy both mornings before rope drop and with Matterhorn in the morning, we would see it was down and request the first available slot. The open slots were super close to the current time, so even when Matterhorn wasn't down long, it was enough to trigger the MEP.