1 Day (11/5/16) at DL and DCA, first time Cars Land, with EXACT attraction times

Great, have fun planning! I'm sure you'll have an awesome trip!

Just a caution, however... not necessarily for you, but for people in general who are reading this trip report... please keep in mind that your mileage will vary on the day you actually go to DL/DCA.

Will do! Just the actual structure of how you did it will help with the planning on the day. We are there mid week, so hopefully lowish crowds and are on the move early, so your plan fits out touring style well.

Thanks again, we can't wait.
 
Great report! I loved that oil can souvenir cup! I think my daughter is going to need one ... LOL! I can't wait to see Carsland this summer!
 
Will do! Just the actual structure of how you did it will help with the planning on the day. We are there mid week, so hopefully lowish crowds and are on the move early, so your plan fits out touring style well.

Thanks again, we can't wait.

Awesome! Not sure if you're planning on starting at DL or DCA... but I know for DCA they open the gates at about 7:30am for an 8am park opening, then you rush in to wait at the rope drop area of your choice. When the park opens at rope drop, there's a TON of people waiting behind the rope, so how close or far back you are can determine the return times of that first FP. Unless you're staying at a nearby DL resort, you really have to plan adequate time to park, take the tram, get through security, etc. so you can be right near the front of the turnstile. If you're right in front (#1 or #2), they will scan your ticket beforehand, so when they start letting people in, you're already good to go! You can bring some breakfast food and eat it at the turnstile while you wait (yes, you can pass food through security as long as there are no glass bottles; we ate breakfast in the car but brought in sandwiches, chips, and soda for lunch). Have a wonderful time!

Great report! I loved that oil can souvenir cup! I think my daughter is going to need one ... LOL! I can't wait to see Carsland this summer!

Yup, cool cup huh? I think I saw it online once and thought it would make a great souvenir from Cars Land! As a cup itself, it's hard to suck up the last part of the drink through the sipper, and it's a bit of a trick finding out how to unscrew the top part off... but the "coolness" factor makes it worth getting, haha. I'm assuming it's your first time seeing Cars Land as well? If you have the time, it's definitely worth going on RSR once during the day and once at night. And the Sh-Boom moment at sunset (check sunset time online) is also worth experiencing. Have fun anticipating your trip!

A few tips I should add for those planning to pull FP from both parks:

Make sure the FP runner has ALL the tickets in hand when crisscrossing (i.e. not just his/her own ticket).

Remember that it takes a while (and a lot of extra walking!) to crisscross parks to pull FP, so if you're trying for a particular return time window, you need to send the FP runner in advance of that window opening up. And make sure that FP runner is in good shape!

While the FP runner is crisscrossing, the other family members can go on something else during that time, or just do a snack/shopping break; the key is to make sure that you plan an efficient way to meet back up, because much time can be lost if you get separated.

Make sure you keep track of when you are eligible to pull another FP from each of the parks. FP from DL are on a separate system from DCA, so you can have multiple FP from both parks at the same time. As I mentioned in a previous post, the key is having a good idea of when you'll be hopping from one park to the other, and plan your return times accordingly. Remember that every time you hop, it's a lot of extra walking, so don't hop too many times!​
 
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Sorry for raising back an old thread, but I just found out TODAY that as of last month (April 2017), the FP systems at DLR and DCA are now connected. So that means that you cannot hold a FP at DCA and run over to get another FP at DLR if your FP window is not already open. Really bummed about that! That means that there is NO WAY that we can any longer execute the kind of strategy that I used in this thread. Park hopping can still be helpful (e.g. hop over to park midday), but it loses its overall "efficiency" (used to be able to park hop throughout the day to hold simultaneous FP... and therefore maximize FP and minimize wait times).

Another interesting thing that changes strategy is the fact that TSMM now has FP, whereas it didn't before.

So the next time we go to DCA, our strategy would look very different. If I had at least two days to see the parks, I would probably NOT buy hopper tickets and just focus on one park per day. If I only had one day, I'd probably start at rope drop with the non-EMH park, hit some of the "highest priority rides" for our family, then hop over and try to hit the other "highest priority rides" at the other park. But I know for a fact that we would NOT be touring as efficiently as we could if the FP systems were disconnected, so our ride totals for the day would be greatly decreased. But I'm sure we would still have a wonderful time regardless!

Just wanted to point this out in case people read this thread and don't realize that the rules have changed since then.
 


Thanks for posting! I'm try to do both Disneyland park and DCA in one day this August.

Great! Just want to make sure you saw my latest post on the fact that the FP system is now connected between DLR and DCA. Meaning that you can no longer get a FP at DCA, then hop over and immediately get another FP at DLR like we did back in November. At one point I had 5 simultaneous FP to major rides at both parks, but those days are gone, so please keep that in mind. But if you plan your day well, you should still be able to get in a good amount of rides. You may not get on ALL the headliners at both parks, especially if the crowds are high, but I would suggest you prioritize your "must-dos" and figure out which park to start at. Here's a reminder of something I posted earlier that I think applies most days of the year:

What I've learned from my experience at DCA/DL and WDW: the parks will always be somewhat busy in that Disney is good at keeping their resorts full year round with promotions, special events, etc. What really makes the difference in crowd levels is how many locals and annual passholders are showing up. And during any day at the park, families with children tend to arrive later (gotta get the kids up, eat breakfast, park, get through security lines, etc.) and leave earlier (after the parades/fireworks, etc.), so the busiest times and longest lines will be between 11am - 8pm with it probably being worst Noon - 5pm. Sure enough, that was the case during our one day trip on Saturday, 11/5!

No wonder the Disney planning experts will suggest taking the afternoon off for a rest break if you can afford it. You miss the worst crowds, get some relaxation back at the hotel, give the kids a nap or a swim, etc. Then you come back late afternoon or early evening when the crowds are starting to thin out. I WISH we could do this, but in reality, at both DCA/DL and WDW we needed to maximize our time at each of the parks, so my overall plan involved:

Get to the turnstile well before rope drop

Go hard and fast in the cool morning hours, utilizing an efficient FP strategy

From Noon-5pm when it's the hottest and most busy, see the indoor shows and do the rides where there is an indoor queue and/or lower wait times, or do rides that we've pulled a FP for already

In the evening, get back to the rides and if we still have the energy, take advantage of the last 2 hours before park closing as many people have already left the park
If there's one takeaway from all of this, I would summarize it down to this: No matter what day of the year it is, mornings (first 2 hours) at the non-EMH park are GOLDEN. (Small disclaimer: the earlier the park opens, the more golden it will be. 8am openings are best!)

Get there really early, have a specific plan, and you should be able to stay one step ahead of the crowds, at least for the first 2 hours! Have fun!
 

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