Need fastpass advice at Disneyland

I am going to DL in two weeks and I don't know much about the park. I do know that they still use paper FP's. (I am pretty good with the magic bands now at WDW). I was supposed to go last year but got sick on the day we were going to go, so ended going 2 days later for only a few hours (as much I could stand - literally - I was so weak) and only went on Indian Jones ride and the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain. What are your suggestions for getting good times or rides at DL? We are going basically for first time. I want to do rides that we don't have in WDW or are different in DL that in WDW. I know we want to do SpaceMtn for sure, but what others do you think? Not sure I want to do BigThMtn again or Indiana, but would want to do the Matterhorn again. Any suggestions to make the most of our time for the one day would be most welcome. Thanks! :) PS. I am happy just to go and walk around the original park that WALT BUILT and walked around... :) Dreams do come true...

In my experience, fastpass at Disneyland/California Adventure isn't nearly as critical as it is at WDW. It isn't even available for very many attractions there, and for most of those, it's not really necessary most of the time.

At Disneyland, the things where fastpass is most helpful are probably Indy, and the mountains - maybe Star Tours if crowds are heavy.

At California Adventure, Radiator Springs Racers is a must as standby can easily be 2 hours (although single rider is always an option with much shorter waits). Also Grizzly River Run and California Screamin' are excellent choices for using fastpass.

Everything else is very dependent on crowd level, time of day and your tolerance for waiting in line more than 20 minutes. Most queues are outside, so on hot days, that can be a factor in your fastpass decisions as well.

Enjoy!

Steve

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Originally Posted by Fangorn

In my experience, fastpass at Disneyland/California Adventure isn't nearly as critical as it is at WDW. It isn't even available for very many attractions there, and for most of those, it's not really necessary most of the time.

At Disneyland, the things where fastpass is most helpful are probably Indy, and the mountains - maybe Star Tours if crowds are heavy.

At California Adventure, Radiator Springs Racers is a must as standby can easily be 2 hours (although single rider is always an option with much shorter waits). Also Grizzly River Run and California Screamin' are excellent choices for using fastpass.

Everything else is very dependent on crowd level, time of day and your tolerance for waiting in line more than 20 minutes. Most queues are outside, so on hot days, that can be a factor in your fastpass decisions as well.

Enjoy!

Steve

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GRR and CS both also have single rider lines available if that's something you're willing to do and then you can skip the fast pass for them. I'd disagree about Indiana Jones. The fastpass only gets you to the 'temple' entrance, so if the line isn't outside at that point there's really no point to the fastpass. It depends on how busy of a day it is. Indy also has a single rider line which in the past has been a great way to miss a lot of the line. The last time I went they were getting a little stingy with letting single riders in. I'm not sure if that was just a one off, or a new policy. The Splash Mountain fastpass is one of the best ones in my opinion.

The fastpass systems at the two parks are not connected so you can hold active fastpasses at both Disneyland and California Adventure at the same time.

In two weeks,school will be in session, assuming you are coming on a weekday. You will be able to get a lot done!

Big Thunder recently reopened with some AMAZING special effects, as did Matterhorn. Ride both! Use FP for Space Mountain. Use Single Rider for Indy, Matterhorn, Splash. Ride Big Thunder first thing or mid afternoon for the shortest lines. Definitely do Pirates, Alice in Wonderland, and the Fantasyland dark rides that are not at WDW (Toad, Pinocchio). Ride It's a Small World; it is very different than WDW (better!). Use FP for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters because it is not connected to the FP system so you can get it and then another at the same time!

In DCA, use either FP or single rider for RSR, Toy Story Midway Mania, and CA Screamin. Use FP for Tower of Terror and Grizzly River Run.

Download the official Disneyland app and start using it to periodically check wait times at different times of the day to get an idea of what lines might look like.

I don't know if it is still the same but when we were there, both in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014,the line to get the FP for the Racers was as long as the one to get on the ride. It put me in mind of TSM before the FP+ thing. The line in the morning was huge and the FP were generally gone by 11am. (this was during the week when school was in).
Have fun! With the Diamond celebration it should be incredible!

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Originally Posted by EeyoresBestFriend

I don't know if it is still the same but when we were there, both in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014,the line to get the FP for the Racers was as long as the one to get on the ride. It put me in mind of TSM before the FP+ thing. The line in the morning was huge and the FP were generally gone by 11am. (this was during the week when school was in).
Have fun! With the Diamond celebration it should be incredible!

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It is not quite so crazy anymore. FP will usually last until about 1pm or so. The line is only crazy right at rope drop. If you wait like 15-30 minutes, you can just walk up and get a mid-late afternoon ride time.