How Mumbai darshan actually works
Mumbai's big mandals run two separate queues. The navsachya line is for those making or fulfilling a vow and goes to the feet of the idol; it is far slower, and at Lalbaugcha Raja it can run most of a day. The mukh darshan line passes at a distance for a view of the face and moves considerably faster.
Queues are shortest early on weekday mornings and worst on the weekend and on the final days. The lines are corralled through barricaded approach roads well away from the mandap, so the entry point is often nowhere near the pandal itself.
The mandals
Lalbaugcha Raja
Live darshanलालबागचा राजा · Lalbaug, Parel · est. 1934
The single most visited mandal in India. Queues routinely run many hours; the mandal separates a "navsachya" line for those making a vow from the general darshan line.
Ganesh Galli (Mumbaicha Raja)
गणेश गल्ली (मुंबईचा राजा) · Lalbaug · est. 1928
Known for a large replica-architecture mandap rebuilt to a new theme each year.
GSB Seva Mandal, King’s Circle
जीएसबी सेवा मंडळ · Matunga / King’s Circle · est. 1954
Noted for the quantity of gold ornamentation on the idol and for strict adherence to Vedic ritual. Immerses earlier than Anant Chaturdashi.
Andhericha Raja
अंधेरीचा राजा · Azad Nagar, Andheri West · est. 1966
The best-known mandal of the western suburbs.
Chinchpoklicha Chintamani
चिंचपोकळीचा चिंतामणी · Chinchpokli · est. 1920
Its "aagman" — the arrival procession bringing the idol to the mandap — is itself a major draw, days before the festival opens.
Getting there
The Lalbaug cluster — Lalbaugcha Raja, Ganesh Galli, Chinchpokli — sits between Chinchpokli and Currey Road on the Central line, and the stations themselves get crowd-controlled at peak. Suburban rail is still the only sensible way in; roads around Parel are closed or crawling.
Visarjan-day road closures and rail crowd advisories are issued by Mumbai Traffic Police shortly before Anant Chaturdashi — check the official advisory rather than relying on last year's.