October DL planning help please

[moose615]

I have booked VGC Oct 7-12 2013 for DD5 and my first DL trip, I plan on buying 4 day passes (are hoppers a good idea?) I plan on alternating parks based on EMH and I'm assuming atleast one of those days will be MHP (DD loved MNSSHP this year) so we plan on going one of the night. The first day will prob be a check out hotel and pool day, any ideas or dining help would be awesome, thank you

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Originally Posted by moose615

I have booked VGC Oct 7-12 2013 for DD5 and my first DL trip, I plan on buying 4 day passes (are hoppers a good idea?) I plan on alternating parks based on EMH and I'm assuming atleast one of those days will be MHP (DD loved MNSSHP this year) so we plan on going one of the night. The first day will prob be a check out hotel and pool day, any ideas or dining help would be awesome, thank you

I would definitely recommend park hoppers! They're an excellent way to tour the parks efficiently! For dining, I would recommend going to at least one character meal. If you DD is into the Princesses, I would recommend Ariel's Grotto. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere when we were there in April, and the character meal is a sure way to meet all the princesses without the 90+ minute wait at Fantasy Faire. We also use our check in day to explore the hotel and go for a swim. For our trip next year we are planning on spending the afternoon in Downtown Disney doing some shopping and getting some things we will use in the park the next day (Ear hats, autograph books, etc) We will also be booking ADR's for the Rainforest cafe for dinner. We went for a walk through the gift shop last time we were there but never had the chance to eat there, and after looking at the menu online decided this would be a fun way to start our Vacation. Also, if you are staying at one of the on sight hotels, or a Hotel with a view of the fireworks, I would suggest getting your dessert to take away and watch the fireworks from the roof of your hotel and eating your dessert while you wait. I'm pretty sure the on sight hotels allow you to take blankets from your room up to the roof so you don't get cold. That's what we're planning on doing anyway (We are staying at the PPH) Hope you and your daughter have a magical first trip to Disneyland together

[moose615]

Originally Posted by KiwiMouseGirl

I would definitely recommend park hoppers! They're an excellent way to tour the parks efficiently! For dining, I would recommend going to at least one character meal. If you DD is into the Princesses, I would recommend Ariel's Grotto. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere when we were there in April, and the character meal is a sure way to meet all the princesses without the 90+ minute wait at Fantasy Faire. We also use our check in day to explore the hotel and go for a swim. For our trip next year we are planning on spending the afternoon in Downtown Disney doing some shopping and getting some things we will use in the park the next day (Ear hats, autograph books, etc) We will also be booking ADR's for the Rainforest cafe for dinner. We went for a walk through the gift shop last time we were there but never had the chance to eat there, and after looking at the menu online decided this would be a fun way to start our Vacation. Also, if you are staying at one of the on sight hotels, or a Hotel with a view of the fireworks, I would suggest getting your dessert to take away and watch the fireworks from the roof of your hotel and eating your dessert while you wait. I'm pretty sure the on sight hotels allow you to take blankets from your room up to the roof so you don't get cold. That's what we're planning on doing anyway (We are staying at the PPH) Hope you and your daughter have a magical first trip to Disneyland together

Thank you for the tips, Ariel is her favorite so the grotto sounds like a must, we are staying at Grand Californian so ill have to see what the best place to watch the fireworks at is. Thanks for the help on park hoppers, didn't know if its best to stay in one park and do all you can each day, but It seems like certain times one park will be busy and the other not so much, from what I've read at times

[Elk Grove Chris]

I would highly recommend doing the MHP on a Tuesday versus a Friday, assuming they keep the same party days.

[moose615]

Originally Posted by Elk Grove Chris

I would highly recommend doing the MHP on a Tuesday versus a Friday, assuming they keep the same party days.

That sounds like a great idea, didn't think about crowds, I was thinking of Friday since it was our last night before we fly back sometime Saturday , but Tuesday sounds a lot better , very excited, now if I can score a reservation at club 33 then it would be perfect lol, a guy can always dream can't he?

[Meriweather]

We'll be there from the Oct. 6-12 also...........see you there

[moose615]

Originally Posted by Meriweather

We'll be there from the Oct. 6-12 also...........see you there

I'll prob be the one trying to drag his daughter out of the pool and begging for her to go to the parks haha, she loves WDW (and I'm sure also DL) but if she see a pool, it's hard to get her out. That's why Im planning the first day be hotel/pool day

[Meriweather]

it is a nice pool............we'll be at VGC also. Love it!!

[Kilala]

If one of those days are on a Tuseday or Friday then you should be able to go to MHP

[moose615]

Originally Posted by Kilala

If one of those days are on a Tuseday or Friday then you should be able to go to MHP

I actually planned the days based roughly on when this years MHP were Monday-Friday so in case they changed anything we would still be able to go for one of the days. If it stays the same we will def do the Tuesday an hope crowds are low, we did a Monday MNSSHP this year but we didn't realize it was also Columbus Day so the crowds were higher but still wasn't bad, we still got to do everything we wanted that night.