First Trip to DLP - Some help please

[Zeebs]

Hello all,

We are planning our first trip to DLP for our son's 4th birthday and would like some assistance from those of you in the know.

Cast myself (will be six months pregnant) hubby, Cullen (birthday boy) and Seth 2

Date 26/2/10

Our first decision is to decide when to go. As hubby is a contractor the finances don't work if we go during the week so we will have to include the weekend.

First question: Is it better to go Thurs, Fri, Sat (his birthday) and return to London on the Sunday

Or my other option is head away Sat, Sun, Mon and return on the Tues.

I thought if we do the second option then maybe we could arrange a character meal the Saturday night and visit the pool after arriving at the hotel which would be exciting for the kids and would mean we hopefully we would miss a busy Saturday??

Second Question: Which hotel? I did think Hotel Cheyenne but the rooms it offers seem to only have bunks and the boys are too small for those just yet.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We have visited both DL and WDW in the past both at off periods and once to DL in the summer which was just soo busy and hot it drove us nuts.

We also don't do late nights very well in our house. We might get away with one but that would be it otherwise we will look like one of those families you see people complaining about on here yelling and crying alot (and that is just me ;))

Kirsten

[mommy2ash]

hmmm i always go sunday to saturday so im not sure which would be best to be honest. monday and tuesday are usually quieter than thursday or friday. saturday and sunday will be busy regardless. have you checked are there school holidays when you are going. that will make it much busier. i went the start of feb this year and had an empty park all week. i went in for emh on saturday and that was busier than any point during the week.

they cheyanne mostly have bunk beds, i have heard of some rooms with double beds which you could request but you are not guarenteed to get them. also the cheyanne doesnt have a pool.

cafe mickey is wonderful. are you booking a birthday cake?

if you have any other questions then ask away

[Zeebs]

Thank you very much for the information.

I have just seen some pictures of the bunks and I think Cullen would be ok as they have that little rail along the top.

Not sure what to do about the pool will it be that important in Feb????

Will go and check the holiday time table. Maybe we should go earlier in the month.

Kirsten

[wildelady]

We have just booked our first trip to dlp and are staying in the cheyenne, was going to be the sl but after the reviews on here decided on cheyenne. When we booked through the travel agent (what a palava but that is a different story) we just asked foer a room. When we got the letter from disney noticed we had been given a buffalo room?. What is this?
We are going the first weekend of april, not our choice but dh in forces and had to fit round his leave dates. We are there friday to sunday so we know it will be busy but hopefully park will be open longer. We are also there for ds 6 birthday, we have booked a cake and are going to book the dinner vouchers but have to do that next month as they didn't have the prices of the premium tickets yet.

[disney_princess_85]

When we got the letter from disney noticed we had been given a buffalo room?. What is this?

It's just a preferred location room that is close to the hotel's facilities, i.e. the restaurant and shop. We're staying in one of these rooms next month. :thumbsup2

[manxtatt2]

a buffalo room is closer to reception /restaurants etc and is facing the river side as far as i know

:cool1:

[mommy2ash]

Thank you very much for the information.

I have just seen some pictures of the bunks and I think Cullen would be ok as they have that little rail along the top.

Not sure what to do about the pool will it be that important in Feb????

Will go and check the holiday time table. Maybe we should go earlier in the month.

Kirsten

if you are not tied to school holidays then i would avoid them. i went the first week in feb this year. it was very cold. it snowed overnight which was lovely to look at. as long as you are prepared for the weather you are fine. i had warm clothes and thermals for my little one and the weather didnt bother us at all. if you have a look at the trip report section there are links to trs from each month. check out februarys to get an idea. we did have a wonderful time as i loved my dd being able to choose what rides to go on without having to look at queue times. the trips are for her after all :lmao: yep thats my story and im sticking to it lol.

to be honest it depends on yourself if you would like a pool or not. i dont swim so it doesnt come into play for me. i dont think i would have the time in any case. even off season the park closes at seven and after i grab a snack and look in the shops i am passed out in bed ready for another early morning.

[Zeebs]

Thanks for the help, I have just discovered if I move my trip forward to the begining of Feb I can save £200.00 give or take. Or we can upgrade to New York Hotel for the same price as we would pay over his birthday weekend.

I am not too worried about the cold, dress up warm and away we go.

Cullen is at Nursery but we aren't tied to the holidays at this point. Also his birthday weekend falls after the half term break. But then it is more expensive.

I will do some more research on here and get a feel of the hotels, I like the themeing of Cheyenne

What extras do I get for an extra two keys in accommodation?

Do some of the rides shut down if it gets too cold?

Kirsten

[wildelady]

I know when we booked ours by moving the date forward a week we saved nearly £200, does anyone know if they have anything special on for easter? We are arriving on Fri 2nd April and leaving on the Sunday 4th. Can anyone suggest the best way to see things, what should we head to first, our ds will be 5 (6 while we are there). Then its just dh and me (prob the bigger kid:lmao:)

[PChef]

I would think the fact that the New York is much nearer to the parks would swing it for me with little ones in February. It would be nice to pop back to the hotel to warm up! I know there are buses everywhere but with 2 little ones and a pushchair that can be quite stressful.

My boys are 8 and 11 now so distance is not a problem, we are staying at the Cheyenne this week. Don't think I would have put them in bunk beds before the age of 5 or 6 but maybe that's just me.

Enjoy the planning!