Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[Nrthwnd]

One of those "off-seasonal questions" (for some of us) I ask here....

 

Do they ever RACE the two (x 2) Bobsleds on their tracks at - all - any more, in the Matterhorn?

 

Just curious. After finally riding it a few years back, after a few decades+ of not being able to,

I remembered it had the potential to do this. So...?

 

Ha! Disney invented the first steel racing coaster (without calling it that) in 1959!

I FINALLY got to ride both sides/tracks of the Matterhorn, after 30+ years of

"closed for maintenance." (o: Sept.13, 2016 after WCB. And still... Left Side > Right Side.

The (now) old sign. There's a new one now, I've read somewhere around here.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Oh yeah. When I was there in '16, I think the day before you were, they were racing Matterhorn, holding it until both sides were ready so they would go together. It was fantastic, and worth an immediate re-ride (Matterhorn and Tower of Terror were the only ones I rode more than once).

[Nrthwnd]

^ Noted for next year.

[chaos]

What?! Matterhorn can actually race? I feel so stupid I never knew that before now.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

I race on Matterhorn all the time, but it's just pure luck.

 

The park does not operate it as a racing coaster; instead as two seperate coasters. They do this for capacity, because holding a train more than is required, so that it can race inside the mountain, lowers the hourly throughput.

 

But, it is 100% happening every single day, randomly.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Cool to know! Thanks for your take on this, Chris.

 

Hmmmm. Random Racing. I like it!

[prospekt88]

They haven’t bulldozed it’s tough to be a bug and it closed a lot earlier than fliks fun fair. What makes you think this will be a whole new ride?

Think about it. If you were Disney, wouldn't you want the marquee attraction of what's going to be the most popular land in your park to be something more than "just" a 4D show?

 

I don't necessarily think this is going to be the marquee attraction. I think it could be similar to Toy Story Land with Midway Mania where the marquee attraction was already in the land (Guardians of the Galaxy). Plus isn't there rumors that an Avengers attraction is coming at some point after Spiderman also?

 

The concept art is a little strange to me. I see an Avengers logo and Stark on the side of the building. But this concept art for a ride that is specifically themed to Spiderman alone?

[A.J.]

The theme makes sense in regard to Marvel Cinematic Universe canon, considering Stark bankrolls the Avengers. The Spider-Man ride could have all of the Avengers in it, but the story could be told from Spider-Man's / Peter Parker's perspective.

 

It's kind of like those Justice League dark rides - it's pretty obvious who the main characters are but the story is told from Cyborg's perspective and you help him throughout the ride.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I agree. The latest Spiderman movie was closely tied to Tony Stark/Avengers. The theme makes sense.

[prospekt88]

Okay that makes sense that they would do that. It's a good way to differentiate their versions of the Marvel rides from the Universal ones as well.

[coasterbill]

Hey guys!

 

We're making our first ever trip to Disneyland in February. It's not an ideal setup as we're only going to be there for one day but we figured that one Disneyland day is better than no Disneyland days so it is what it is. We'll be back I'm sure and we're not expecting to do everything.

 

We're staying at a partner hotel (though it doesn't seem like that gets us any type of extra park time) but it's a Friday so while not posted yet I'm assuming we have at least an 8am-11pm day based on their January hours.

 

We're getting a 2 park ticket and Maxpass.

 

I'm becoming *slightly* less clueless when it comes to Disney World but I'm still 100% clueless when it comes to Disneyland. Any tips / maxpass strategies would be greatly appreciated.

 

PS: Our "can't miss" rides are mostly the ones that we can't ride in Florida: (Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, Guardians, Incredicoaster and Radiator Springs Racers) though of course we'd love to ride the traditional favorites like Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Pirates and Thunder too if we get the chance. I'd put Splash Mountain on the list but I'll go out on a limb and assume we can just ride it at night and walk right on since it's February (correct me if I'm wrong) so I don't need much strategy there.

 

Is there anything I'm overlooking? I know we won't get to everything and I know we'll miss out on some great attractions this time around and I'm okay with that.

 

PS: I don't give a sh*t about Peter Pan's Flight.

Edited December 5, 2018 by coasterbill

[Canobie Coaster]

Are you willing to use single rider lines or would you like to avoid them? I'm guessing not but you can usually get on Space, Splash, Mattherhorn, Indiana Jones, Incredicoaster, and Grizzly River Rapids in 5-10 minutes with them. Radiator Springs is a crapshoot, sometimes it's 5 minutes and sometimes it's well over a half hour.

 

I just did a weekend day at Disneyland (not even a full day) and had no issue riding all the rides you listed, some even multiple times. I did use single rider lines though. With a full day, I probably could have gotten a Fastpass or ridden all of those at least once. If it's cold out (65-70 degrees), Splash won't even have a line. I was able to stay on it for 4 straight rides this weekend.

 

Depending on the day, they may be doing early entry for Hotel guests. Even if you don't have early entry access to the rides (they make you show your hotel ID for those), they let you into the park which was a big help since I could get a MaxPass reservation right away. If you do this, get one for Radiator Springs Racers since that ride's Fastpasses disappear faster than all others. In general, the rides at California Adventure run out of Fastpass availability before those at Disneyland.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Canobie Coaster

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Oh sweet, have fun with that! I have done both parks in one day (in September rather than February if that makes a difference). Saturdays Disneyland has ERT for resort guests and multi-day ticket holders, so your best bet is to go to California Adventure first. All the big rides have Fastpass now, and it's easy to get around that park quickly. if you're just going for the ones that aren't in Florida, I'd suggest getting Fastpass to Radiator Springs Racers and going to Guardians at opening, then over to Incredicoaster, then RSR, then get out of there. Some people are going to tell you that's dumb and there are single rider lines, but you guys are going to want to ride together.

 

Pirates is a beast and that line moves so quickly, you'll never stand. The boats go through so quickly they don't always have time to fill them all completely. It's quite a sight. Just do that whenever you feel like it. Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain are probably your best Fastpasses on the Disneyland side.

[Nrthwnd]

My only advice, is to have as AWESOME a day as you can, there.

And don't stress out too much about how things go, or don't go.

 

If you liked it, and we're sure you will, come back again!

[A.J.]

You'll definitely want to do Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. All three are very different compared to their Magic Kingdom counterparts. You also have the original Enchanted Tiki Room which is a blast. Other unique quirky "only at Disneyland" attractions are the Submarine Voyage, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, and the Fantasyland dark rides (Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, and the glorious WTF that is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride).

[DBru]

If you’re into shows at all, Frozen at the Hyperion (in DCA) is one of the most incredible (and expensive) broadway-style shows at any park anywhere.

 

Definitely don’t miss Pirates! It’s by far my favorite version above Florida’s and Paris’. Space Mountain is a lot different too, though in my opinion a little less interesting. Still worth it for the comparison though. The front row gives the most wild ride.

 

Grizzly is a must-do too, even if you have to wear ponchos. It is so well themed and has some CRAZY drops for a rapids ride. The only comparable one I’ve done is River Quest at Phantasialand.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

and the glorious WTF that is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride).

Yes! I forgot this isn't in Florida. You are required to ride Mr. Toad. It's totally your sort of ride.

[Nrthwnd]

^ So would be the "Alice in Wonderland" caterpillar ride vehicles, too.

 

 

Not to mention the ride itself. And IMhO, of the five dark rides past the castle,

the three on the right are by far the best of the bunch to me. And then after Alice,

you hit the Matterhorn! Both sides!

[coasterbill]

Wow, thanks guys! I forgot about some of those Fantasyland rides. We'll be sure to check them out.

 

Single rider wouldn't be our first choice but we'll totally do it if it the alternative is not getting to ride certain things at all. Thanks for the tips about the Fantasyland rides.

 

So (since I got some conflicting opinions) would the best strategy be to get there at open, reserve Radiator Springs Racers as soon as we step through the gates and head to something like Guardians or should I just head right for Cars Land?

 

PS: I'm stupid, it's a Friday and not a Saturday. They seem to have a midnight close either way though.

 

You also have the original Enchanted Tiki Room

Grizzly is a must-do

I'll get right on that.

[Canobie Coaster]

From experience, if California Adventure has early entry for hotel guests, Radiator Springs will already have a sizable wait. That's also where most people go at rope drop. Meanwhile Guardians was a walk-on for the first hour on Sunday even with California Adventure having early entry.

 

If you want to do the low capacity Fantasyland rides like Alice in Wonderland, going there first isn't terrible. There's no preshows and the ride time is short enough that you can get them all in a row. Plus you're near Matterhorn too.

[A.J.]

Remember, you're getting yourself MaxPass, so you won't have to go to the distribution location to get a FastPass for Radiator Springs Racers. Personally, I've never had any major issues with Radiator Springs Racers' single rider queue, but it's your call, as you may not want to ride separated.

 

Matterhorn's standby queue is the worst. It wraps around the perimeter of the mountain with little to no shade and nothing to look at except the other people walking around enjoying their days. I might even recommend to go to Matterhorn first to avoid that without having to do single rider. (EDIT: Matterhorn just came out of a refurbishment and this is no longer a thing.)

 

Also, why not the Enchanted Tiki Room? Twenty minutes or so in an air-conditioned building watching a fun show with a Dole Whip... Would be a good break if you have a FastPass coming up.

 

One thing you can do to help yourself plan is download the Disneyland app before your trip and if you're bored on a Friday, just open it up and check what the wait times are.

Edited December 5, 2018 by A.J.

[Nrthwnd]

Matterhorn's standby queue is the worst. It wraps around the perimeter of the mountain with little to no shade and nothing to look at except the other people walking around enjoying their days. I might even recommend to go to Matterhorn first to avoid that without having to do single rider.

 

I thought they just changed all that configuration, and put the queues more in front of the attraction than around the mountain, like before? I don't think it goes that way any more, as you posted. And I do remember those lines, back in 2016.

 

I need to find posts about that change. Hmmm.

[A.J.]

I thought they just changed all that configuration, and put the queues more in front of the attraction than around the mountain, like before? I don't think it goes that way any more, as you posted. And I do remember those lines, back in 2016.

You're correct, this has changed as of very recently. My mistake.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Actually, it looks (now) like a much better set up than before. Took them long enough to figure it out.

[prospekt88]

One piece of advice I would give is that they don't serve alcohol anywhere inside Disneyland. So you might want to spend at least part of the afternoon/evening at California Adventure if you're trying to get a buzz.

 

Should be a great day!