[Question] 5 days till our trip...advice

[phi1215]

So, we live in the far northern end of Ca, it will be a long drive, but well worth it. Since it's crunch time, any last minute advice, travel tips, or anything you can think of? I am traveling with an elderly lady and two 8 year olds, so I don't want to get jammed up on the trip or once we get there. All advice and tips are warmly welcomed since we are newbies! Thank you awesome micechatters, you are stellar!

[RedHandedJill]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

I'd say to just remember to take it slow around the park and don't rush from each attraction because it just tired you out easily. Some good places to eat in DLR are: The French Market,Carna tion Cafe, Plaza Inn, Cafe Orleans, Blue Bayou, Big Thunder Ranch, and The River Belle Terrace. In DCA there is: The Taste Pilots' Grill, Pacific Warf Cafe, and Whitewater Snacks (located inside Grand Californian). Have loads of fun!

[sediment]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

So, we live in the far northern end of Ca, it will be a long drive, but well worth it. Since it's crunch time, any last minute advice, travel tips, or anything you can think of? I am traveling with an elderly lady and two 8 year olds, so I don't want to get jammed up on the trip or once we get there. All advice and tips are warmly welcomed since we are newbies! Thank you awesome micechatters, you are stellar!

Whatever you do, do NOT put the elderly lady on top of the car in a plastic bag, then drop her off at a cousin's house on the way. Else, it is a guarantee that Disneyland will be closed on the day you go. And no, you may NOT coerce the guard into opening up just for you.

Other than that, have a great trip! It's Disneyland. What could possiblie go wrong?

[GummiBears_Rock]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

don't eat yellow snow :lmao:

sorry i couldn't resist, i never get to use that one
but what my family likes to do is get there early
and then in the afternoon when it's all busy, we go back to our hotel and take a nap

also i'd say if the fastpasses are at a reasonable time you should get them.
if the line is 30 minutes but the fastpass says to come back 40 minutes later i say get the fastpass. you can enjoy more of disneyland instead of staying in line the whole time

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Whatever you do, do NOT put the elderly lady on top of the car in a plastic bag, then drop her off at a cousin's house on the way. Else, it is a guarantee that Disneyland will be closed on the day you go. And no, you may NOT coerce the guard into opening up just for you.

Other than that, have a great trip! It's Disneyland. What could possiblie go wrong?

Funny, the other night we were watching that movie, and my husband said, "This movie is totally us"! lol,

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

don't eat yellow snow :lmao:

sorry i couldn't resist, i never get to use that one
but what my family likes to do is get there early
and then in the afternoon when it's all busy, we go back to our hotel and take a nap

also i'd say if the fastpasses are at a reasonable time you should get them.
if the line is 30 minutes but the fastpass says to come back 40 minutes later i say get the fastpass. you can enjoy more of disneyland instead of staying in line the whole time

That advice is always appropriate!! Mostly trying to figure out if I am forgetting anything for the trip, I always over think it and forget half of everything I need!

[GummiBears_Rock]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

that sounds like one of those vacation movies i can never remember the name of

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

National Lampoon, we are the Grizwolds!

[GummiBears_Rock]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

ok i knew that, i really did )

[SillySpook]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Newbies to DLR? How exciting! I'm not sure how long you will be there, or what days of the week (although you've said your trip begins in 5 days), but our family has gone to DLR this exact time of year for the past three years, but not this year alas. Here are some tips:

(1) Get to DL Park early, right when the Park opens if possible. The entrance gates on the left seem to be less crowded than the ones on the right.
(2) Go on Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Buzz Lightyear Astro-Blasters first thing.
(3) Head over to Critter Country and ride Splash Mountain, which I consider one of the very best rides in Disneyland Park. It's never crowded first thing in the morning, although you have to be prepared to get a little wet despite the cool temperatures.
(4) In Critter Country, after you get off of Splash Mountain, you can often find Pooh and Tigger walking about virtually alone. We've had several good photos of our son with Tigger around the 9-9:30 a.m. timeframe (assuming 8:00am park opening).
(5) If you can afford it, do a Character Breakfast at the Plaza Inn, so that you can have about 1 hour of intensive character greetings (along with a decent if unspectacular meal) without having to wait in long lines elsewhere in the Park to meet them. Trust me, if you stop and get in line in front of every furry character you see, you will not have time to enjoy any of the awesome rides.
(6) On the weekend, use FastPass when needed. But at this particular time of year (post-Thanksgiving, pre-Dec. 15), your weekdays should not be particularly crowded. In fact, if you have enough days to work with, consider going to DL Park on the weekdays, and DCA on the weekend days, because DCA is always less crowded than DL Park those days.
(7) Favorite rides of my 7-year-old son, which might translate well for your two 8 year olds: Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Soarin' Over California (DCA), Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (DCA).
(8) Turn off your BlackBerry or other smart phone and resist all temptation to do any work while enjoying DLR. This is the Happiest Place on Earth. Unfortunately, some of my more recent vivid memories are of trying to type a lengthy BlackBerry message to a client while standing in line at Star Tours on a busy weekend - let me just tell you, it wasn't worth it! :-)

Have a great time!

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Thank you so much Silly! We are going to be there Sun - Friday, we booked all 5 of the character breakfast/meals, went over the top! We are having a birthday dinner at Goofy's Kitchen for my daughter on Tuesday and we are staying at the PP Hotel! I am hoping we have enough time to do a lot of stuff, not just the main attractions!

[hyperlitehunny]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

I hope you guys have a great trip! I don't have any advice to give, except to have a great time and take lots and lots of pictures! [=

[Ron W]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Watch out for multiple lines (parking entrance, tram stations, security bag-check, ticket booths, entrances, exits, etc.). Most people get into the first line they see, so you often have one big long line and a bunch of much shorter lines a few feet away.

At Pirates of the Caribbean on busy days, take the line to the right. Usually they are about the same length, but sometimes when it's busy, they run the left line around the side of the building making it much longer than the right.

My experience is only with the men's restrooms, but the ladies' are probably similar. Avoid the restrooms in Adventureland, New Orleans Square, and the one in Tomorrowland by the Space Mountain exit. They tend to get crowded, dirty, and very smelly.

[brian11811]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

I'm going Sunday-Wednesday. Hopefully it won't rain this Sunday. Last time we went (last Feb) it rained and there was no Fantasmic, so we were hoping to catch it this time along with all the other outside entertainment. Just booked it a week ago and BAM rain comes! Maybe we'll get lucky. The plus side is there are almost NO lines during the week on a rainy day.

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Yeah, the extended forecast calls for rain on Thursday, which we will be there then still, maybe it will pass over us, who knows!

[micahglitters]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

turn your phone off (yeah, right...i can never manage it myself).

and just soak in the magic. dont rush!!!!

[Jazziered]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Have fun.. Wear your seatbelts, and ride Space Mountain once for me. I always have two different insoles for my shoes, that I like and I carry them in a zip lock bag, and change them half way through the day. Less tiring on the feet.

[akfandisney]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

One land you want to do first is Fantasyland
One main Attractions allway will have a line is Peter Pan's Flight
There is NO fastpass.

It is ok to use fastpass if pass the second come back time.

You only can get One fastpass for each person and about two hours for the next attraction fastpass you can get.

[akfandisney]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

One land you want to do first is Fantasyland
One main Attractions allway will have a line is Peter Pan's Flight
There is NO fastpass.

It is ok to use fastpass if pass the second come back time.

You only can get One fastpass for each person and about two hours for the next attraction fastpass you can get

Soda and water are Now $3.00 dollar That right (3) 20oz

ware good brake-in shoes walk or running type.

[phi1215]

Re: 5 days till our trip...advice

Yeah I still don't get the fast pass thing, I even read the thread about fast passes and still don't get it, lol, I must be dense as a block of wood!! hehe