My DL trip report!!!

[Bossy22]

After my previous post telling about how bad day 1 and 2 of my trip were I thought I should give a brief report now that I'm home and have had time to process. Overall it ended up being a great trip but it will definitely be our last for awhile! Disneyland has just changed to much for the negative that I can not spend my hard earned money (coming from Canada is not cheap) on this trip anymore. My kids still had a blast and we definitely made some great memories!!! I'll break down the trip into the good and the bad!!!

The bad:
day 1 and 2 of our trips were crazy. The park was slammed and everything was breaking down. Rides were consistently over 2 hours and it was just not a very fun atmosphere. Within an hour of park opening things were crazy and they stayed that way till late on both days!!! Even though it was slammed the ride breakdowns and the genie+ were the main contributors to the long lines and the huge crowds everywhere.
Days 3-5 still had ride breakdowns but not to the level of days 1-2.
genie+ and lightning lane make the park almost impossible to navigate. We got in line for RSR (I know, bad move but my kids wanted to ride it) and the wait time was posted at 50 minutes. As we waited they kept announcing increased waits and there were periods of 20 minutes where we did not move at all as they just let ligtning lane through. I get why they need to let them through faster but they need to do better at posting wait times then because 50 minute posted wait time was over 2.5 hours! And it's not just on RSR. We waited over an hour for small world that had a 20minute wait time posted. Not acceptable in my books!
In 5 days we did not get on Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Goofies Sky School, Monsters Inc, Autopia, Toy Story Mania, Webslingers and many more. You just don't have time to do all the genie+ rides, especially if you prioritize other rides.
Rope drops - in the past rope drops were essential to having a great day and this is even more true! The reason I put this here is that you can literally rope drop and only get 1 or if your lucky 2 rides done before it is slammed. I wish we had more budget for genie+ but then I would have really hated how much the trip cost!!!

The good
Rise of the Resistence is amazing as is all of Star wars land!!! Rise broke down all day the first 2 days we were there, after that we figured out a good system. Stay away till 8:50 then get in line. The ride closes at 9 so there is no lightning lanes keeping your line from moving after 9! We rode it twice with less than half hour waits!!! After that go to Smugglers before the firworks ends. It is a walk on some nights and at worse about 15 minutes. One night we did it 3 times in a row with no more than 3 minutes wait!
Another great find is that 10-12 pm is the new rope drop. We rode Indy, Pirates, HM, Jungle Cruise (the side of the park during fantasmic) with walkons to 10 minute waits and most of our rides were done in the last 2 hours of the park being open. With kids 12,11 and 7 this was tough but an afternoon break (swim, my kids don't nap) and days off were esential to making this work!

So overall it was a good trip, ask questions and I'll try to answer them. I'm never went in the animation building and not been able to walk until this trip! We didn't do shows or parades as people were claiming spots over 2 hours before they started (yes, over 2 hours!!!). We did do the lion king and really liked it!

 

[Pluto468]

Thanks for the report! I'm glad you had some good days in there. The crowds sure can be frustrating. The breakdowns really threw a wrench in our plans, too. I agree about 10-12. We had some good wait times when we stayed late.

What was your favorite ride? Did you have any meals you especially liked?

 

[Bossy22]

Thanks for the report! I'm glad you had some good days in there. The crowds sure can be frustrating. The breakdowns really threw a wrench in our plans, too. I agree about 10-12pm. We had some good wait times when we stayed late.

What was your favorite ride? Did you have any meals you especially liked?

The food was decent but our favourite by far was the Plaza inn chicken meal. We would buy 1 to share between and adult and a kid for lunch (double potatoes and no veggie) and it was just about right for lunch and very tasty!!! We LOVED Rise of the Resistance, it was awesome! We also loved our old favs like Big Thunder, Pirates ,etc. Also the kids loved smugglers!!!

 

[Kender]

I think people mean 10-12am . 10-12pm would be going to mid-day .

And yeah, that's been a fun, somewhat hidden secret for years (that is sadly becoming more known). If open to midnight or later, it's a good reason to stay that late just to get in the usually lower crowds.

 

[brightlined]

We got in line for RSR (I know, bad move but my kids wanted to ride it) and the wait time was posted at 50 minutes. As we waited they kept announcing increased waits and there were periods of 20 minutes where we did not move at all as they just let ligtning lane through. I get why they need to let them through faster but they need to do better at posting wait times then because 50 minute posted wait time was over 2.5 hours! And it's not just on RSR. We waited over an hour for small world that had a 20minute wait time posted. Not acceptable in my books!

Was the posted time still 50 minutes after the announcements? I would normally expect the posted wait time to change to 120 minutes or more if they're making those announcements - it means there was a technical problem. (And the posted time when you get to the ride entrance really isn't your expected wait time - for better or for worse, it's frequently more a representation of how long a person who just finished in line and got on the ride waited.)

 

[Bossy22]

Was the posted time still 50 minutes after the announcements? I would normally expect the posted wait time to change to 120 minutes or more if they're making those announcements - it means there was a technical problem. (And the posted time when you get to the ride entrance really isn't your expected wait time - for better or for worse, it's frequently more a representation of how long a person who just finished in line and got on the ride waited.)

No, the posted time kept growing as the lightning lanes kept coming! There was no technical problem though, it's just how lightning lanes work and it sucks!!!

 

[Aspencreek]

I sure miss the old FastPass/Maxpass days...... good times, good times....

Just to clarify, you did not use Genie+ at all on this trip?

 

[Bossy22]

I sure miss the old FastPass/Maxpass days...... good times, good times....

Just to clarify, you did not use Genie+ at all on this trip?

I purchased it for photo's and we went with another family who did use it on one day. Overall for a family of 7 it just costs too much and shouldn't be necessary. If everyone needs it, include it in the price. If you don't need it make the parks more nonuser friendly!

 

[brightlined]

No, the posted time kept growing as the lightning lanes kept coming! There was no technical problem though, it's just how lightning lanes work and it sucks!!!

I'm going to gently disagree - that's not a normal LL situation. Otherwise, the wait time would be 150 minutes all day long, solely because of the LLs. (And they wouldn't be announcing a longer wait time, since that would be a normal LL thing.)

I hate that situation for you, but it's likely something happened. Honestly, given that the sign said 50 minutes when you got into it - it's likely that they had a lengthy breakdown before you got on. (And you likely got on right after the ride went back online.) If that were the case, all of the people who had LLs for the time that the ride went down got in line once it came back up, which would explain why they started putting more LLs into the line than normal.

And they kinda have to do that. The paid LLs are basically a promise of a short wait.

I totally relate to the complaint that LLs are making lines longer, and that's definitely true. But going from 50 minutes to 150 minutes while you're in line means there was something else going on - especially if they were announcing it.

(Normally, if I hear that announcement, I look at the current wait time in the app and decide if it's still worth it.)

 

[Aspencreek]

I purchased it for photo's and we went with another family who did use it on one day. Overall for a family of 7 it just costs too much and shouldn't be necessary. If everyone needs it, include it in the price. If you don't need it make the parks more nonuser friendly!

Seems that Genie+ is almost a required buy at this point if it is at all feasible to add that cost to the trip. 4 of us is bad enough for trip cost - can't imagine 7! Guess I'd better read up and watch some videos on how to best use Genie+ for our upcoming trip. In the past as the new systems rolled out (paper fastpass, digital maxpass, app queue reservations) it took a day or two of use to get a good handle on how to best maximize usage. Would like to be ahead of the game this time.

 

[Lisa24jks]

I'm going to gently disagree - that's not a normal LL situation. Otherwise, the wait time would be 150 minutes all day long, solely because of the LLs. (And they wouldn't be announcing a longer wait time, since that would be a normal LL thing.)

I hate that situation for you, but it's likely something happened. Honestly, given that the sign said 50 minutes when you got into it - it's likely that they had a lengthy breakdown before you got on. (And you likely got on right after the ride went back online.) If that were the case, all of the people who had LLs for the time that the ride went down got in line once it came back up, which would explain why they started putting more LLs into the line than normal.

And they kinda have to do that. The paid LLs are basically a promise of a short wait.

Seconding this. It's a sucky situation, especially for those in standby, but when that happens, what it usually means is there was a significant ride breakdown so they have to try and get the LLs caught up before they can get the Standby line rolling again. (And yes, ride breakdowns have been an issue at both parks, so that doesn't help either. If breakdowns were less frequent, you wouldn't see this happen that often.)

I was there on a Sunday when one of the Soarin' theatres broke down IMMEDIATELY at open (I had RDed Soarin'... for... reasons - fluffernutter churros nearby reasons...), and stayed broke down all day I think. So there were parts of the day where they were only taking people with Genie+ and nobody in Standby, because they only had one theatre. Which, yes, very much sucks if you don't have Genie+. (It did not stay that way ALL day, just when the LL got severely clogged up.)

If DLR can increase their maintenance staff and keep the rides running better, you'd see so much less of this.(Genie+ is definitely not perfect, but it for sure works better when the rest of the park is working better.

 

[Bossy22]

Seconding this. It's a sucky situation, especially for those in standby, but when that happens, what it usually means is there was a significant ride breakdown so they have to try and get the LLs caught up before they can get the Standby line rolling again. (And yes, ride breakdowns have been an issue at both parks, so that doesn't help either. If breakdowns were less frequent, you wouldn't see this happen that often.)

I was there on a Sunday when one of the Soarin' theatres broke down IMMEDIATELY at open (I had RDed Soarin'... for... reasons - fluffernutter churros nearby reasons...), and stayed broke down all day I think. So there were parts of the day where they were only taking people with Genie+ and nobody in Standby, because they only had one theatre. Which, yes, very much sucks if you don't have Genie+. (It did not stay that way ALL day, just when the LL got severely clogged up.)

If DLR can increase their maintenance staff and keep the rides running better, you'd see so much less of this.(Genie+ is definitely not perfect, but it for sure works better when the rest of the park is working better.

That was my main point on my overall view, the days with unending breakdowns were unbearable, especially without genie+. They would of been frustrating with Genie+ but they are undoable without it, this should not be the case with what they charge for admission. If you need Genie+ raise the ticket prices and include it. I will not be back for the forseeable future unless they address some of these important issues.

 

[Pluto468]

The food was decent but our favourite by far was the Plaza inn chicken meal. We would buy 1 to share between and adult and a kid for lunch (double potatoes and no veggie) and it was just about right for lunch and very tasty!!! We LOVED Rise of the Resistance, it was awesome! We also loved our old favs like Big Thunder, Pirates ,etc. Also the kids loved smugglers!!!

Oh, I love the Plaza Inn chicken! I wish I knew their secret lol. I've heard so many people talk about about Rise but didn't really know what to expect. I was just amazed once we actually rode it. It's really something special. We went on twice and would have liked more!

 

[Tasscrapper]

What did you do in the evenings during fireworks/ Fantasmic show times to manage navigating the park? It sounds like one night at least you just stayed in Galaxy Edge. I'm glad at least part of the days worked out ok for you.

 

[Disturbia]

We came back yesterday and even the LL line was 30-40 mins and miserably hot for RSR (keep water bottles on you). Stayed till midnight and rode BTM twice in 20 mins

 

[DnA2010]

Oh boy, I'm getting really nervous for our family trip Sept 6-10...we will have 2 six year olds and a 3.5 year old, so the trip won't be able the big attractions, but we do want to take them on some rides...I guess I better get G+ in the budget...

 

[Chickinvic]

Sounds like Genie+ would make things more manageable. I personally won't even consider not having it (we come from Canada too). Just another part of the already pricy cost lol.

 

[Disturbia]

Genie+ does work way better at DL than at WDW but you need to scan in and we couldn’t make it before 10 am. The queues were as hot as WDW. The only rides our 5.5 year old didn’t meet height requirements for were Indiana Jones and Incredicoaster (Dad and teen rope dropped while younger kids stayed back at the hotel). Indiana Jones took longer than expected to ride because it was down most of the day (first day it was down all day and we got a MEP). Good time to grab a dole whip. JC queue was hot and long. Pirates was 15 mins after first Fantasmic show.

Sept will be much better vs this week where it was almost 90 degrees one day.

 

[wassily]

Oh boy, I'm getting really nervous for our family trip Sept 6-10...we will have 2 six year olds and a 3.5 year old, so the trip won't be able the big attractions, but we do want to take them on some rides...I guess I better get G+ in the budget...

It depends on what rides they want to go on as Genie+ doesn't cover all rides.
Like if you are going to stay primarily in Fantasyland, then Genie+ probably isn't worth it.

 

[Sarahyardley]

Oh boy, I'm getting really nervous for our family trip Sept 6-10...we will have 2 six year olds and a 3.5 year old, so the trip won't be able the big attractions, but we do want to take them on some rides...I guess I better get G+ in the budget...

We are going in late September and I am worried about wait times also! I didn't realize Mondays were so busy- and our first day at Disneyland is a Monday. Maybe we will get genie+ if we want to ride anything