lots of questions from a newbie

[dmfan71]

hi

My husband is going to Anaheim for business so we are planning to go to DL for a couple of days. We will be there from May 30 and flying out June 2. I have a 6 yr old boy and 8 month old. My husband will be able to do the park half day thursday and all day friday.

Would you get a 3 day pass or a 2 day pass? I dont mind taking the kids for a bit on Wednesday by myself but is it worth it? I am assuming my 6 yr old can go on a lot of rides himself? I noticed a 3 day pass is only about $25 more per person. My other question is should we do both parks? or is Disneyland Adventure geared for older kids?

I find the whole thing very overwhelming...I dont have the patience to look on the websites and search each ride. We have Canada's Wonderland near us and from what I have heard Disney is like 1000 times bigger, so needless to say I am excited and frazzled at the same time. I know we will go to WDW in the future when my baby is older so I dont need to rush around and see everything at DL because we will go to the one in FL at some point.

And should I be getting fast passes? Someone I spoke to mentioned that if you pay extra there is a separate line up. Is this true and if so how much?

What are some of the must see/do rides/shows at each park. (especially for a 6 yr old) he does like Mickey and all the characters, toy story etc.

We also wanted to do a character dining. Is it worth it? He seemed interested in Goofys Kitchen. How much is this character dining?? We will be there in 2 weeks, is it too late to even book character dining?

How busy will it be end of May? And will these grad nights affect us? not really sure when they are or how they work. Do they have fireworks every night? and if so, what time?

I noticed carsland isnt opening until June 15 but the rest of the park is open, right?

I know this is a lot of questions and I thank everyone who responds. Everyone keeps telling me to have a plan...now I am getting scared..lol

thanks
Michelle

 

[sonnyjane]

Fastpasses are free - no need to pay extra. You put your ticket in the machine and get a pass with a return time. Here is an explanation of how they work: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1186052

One important thing to share is that at 6, your kiddo is too young to ride alone. They will want him to be accompanied by an adult.

 

[Girimama33]

I will help with what I can:

hi

My husband is going to Anaheim for business so we are planning to go to DL for a couple of days. We will be there from May 30 and flying out June 2. I have a 6 yr old boy and 8 month old. My husband will be able to do the park half day thursday and all day friday.

Would you get a 3 day pass or a 2 day pass? I dont mind taking the kids for a bit on Wednesday by myself but is it worth it? I am assuming my 6 yr old can go on a lot of rides himself? I noticed a 3 day pass is only about $25 more per person. My other question is should we do both parks? or is Disneyland Adventure geared for older kids? If you think you will be okay to go all three days, go for the 3 day. I would do both parks. There is a lot geared to kids at DCA.
I find the whole thing very overwhelming...I dont have the patience to look on the websites and search each ride. We have Canada's Wonderland near us and from what I have heard Disney is like 1000 times bigger, so needless to say I am excited and frazzled at the same time. I know we will go to WDW in the future when my baby is older so I dont need to rush around and see everything at DL because we will go to the one in FL at some point.

And should I be getting fast passes? Someone I spoke to mentioned that if you pay extra there is a separate line up. Is this true and if so how much? FP's are free for each guest. They are only available for certain rides. Here is a great thread about FP. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32518085&postcount=5

What are some of the must see/do rides/shows at each park. (especially for a 6 yr old) he does like Mickey and all the characters, toy story etc. Go to Toontown to see Mickey and friends. They have rides for LO's too. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is fun and Toy Story Mania in DCA.

We also wanted to do a character dining. Is it worth it? He seemed interested in Goofys Kitchen. How much is this character dining?? We will be there in 2 weeks, is it too late to even book character dining? Shouldn't be too late. We ate there last month and really enjoyed it. We saw the most characters at Minnie's breakfast at Plaza Inn.

How busy will it be end of May? And will these grad nights affect us? not really sure when they are or how they work. Do they have fireworks every night? and if so, what time? According to Touring Plans.com, the resorts will be about 50% capacity...of course, that is subjective. I don't think Grad nights affect it too much, but someone may have more experience with Grad Nights.

I noticed carsland isnt opening until June 15 but the rest of the park is open, right? Yes!

I know this is a lot of questions and I thank everyone who responds. Everyone keeps telling me to have a plan...now I am getting scared..lol

thanks
Michelle

 

[figment_jii]

Would you get a 3 day pass or a 2 day pass? I dont mind taking the kids for a bit on Wednesday by myself but is it worth it? I am assuming my 6 yr old can go on a lot of rides himself? I noticed a 3 day pass is only about $25 more per person. My other question is should we do both parks? or is Disneyland Adventure geared for older kids?

There are plenty of rides in both parks for young children. However, I think the age to ride alone is 7. So your 6 year old would not be able to ride alone. Also, there are height requirements for several rides:
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/plan/guest-services/height-requirements/

And should I be getting fast passes? Someone I spoke to mentioned that if you pay extra there is a separate line up. Is this true and if so how much?

No, you can't buy fast passes. The fast pass queue in some cases is the same as the normal line (i.e., you'll walk the same path, but the hold the standby line at some point), it might run parallel, or it might be completely separate. It's a good idea to get fast passes for any ride you really want to try, however, it's more of an issue for thrill rides (e.g., Splash, Space, etc.). For the kid-focused rides (like Peter Pan, Small World, etc.) there are no fast passes.

What are some of the must see/do rides/shows at each park. (especially for a 6 yr old) he does like Mickey and all the characters, toy story etc.

Over at DL, Fantasyland is a good place to start. Over at DCA, you'll want to try Toy Story Mania if he likes Toy Story (no fast pass, pretty popular, so expect a line).

How busy will it be end of May? And will these grad nights affect us? not really sure when they are or how they work. Do they have fireworks every night? and if so, what time?

You can look on the daily calendar to see what events are occurring and what the park hours are. Based on the calendar, fireworks, Fantasmic, and World of Color are all showing.

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendar/#/default/2012/05/30-

I noticed carsland isnt opening until June 15 but the rest of the park is open, right?

Well, yes, but there are things that are closed for refurbishment, like the Matterhorn.

I know this is a lot of questions and I thank everyone who responds. Everyone keeps telling me to have a plan...now I am getting scared..lol

Don't be scared! DLR is very manageable (much smaller than WDW). Just remember, everything is within walking distance of each other.

You might take a look at the "DLR Info/Links" thread (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072276) and especially glance through Hydroguy's tips. Have fun!

 

[dmfan71]

thanks so much for the quick replies..I appreciate it.

ok, so there are no rides my 6 yr old can go on alone? I will check out the links that everyone posted but I cant believe he wouldnt be able to go on anything by himself.

He's been on tons of stuff himself at parks at home...like flying bumblebees (would be the equivalent to flying dumbo).

 

[sonnyjane]

thanks so much for the quick replies..I appreciate it.

ok, so there are no rides my 6 yr old can go on alone? I will check out the links that everyone posted but I cant believe he wouldnt be able to go on anything by himself.

He's been on tons of stuff himself at parks at home...like flying bumblebees (would be the equivalent to flying dumbo).

No, he won't be able to go on them alone, but there ARE plenty of rides that you can go on with both him and the 8 month old. Basically anything without a height requirement you can go on with the 8 month old.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

im going to add some things in here....

hi

Would you get a 3 day pass or a 2 day pass? I dont mind taking the kids for a bit on Wednesday by myself but is it worth it? I am assuming my 6 yr old can go on a lot of rides himself? I noticed a 3 day pass is only about $25 more per person. My other question is should we do both parks? or is Disneyland Adventure geared for older kids?

Ok I would personally say 3 days...now although your 6yo cant ride alone...there are tons of rides in both DL and DCA (bugs life area) that you can take the baby on...for instance the carousel, dumbo, peter pan, etc..they are very slow moving rides plus maybe you can take in Aladdin show at DCA, ride Little Mermaid, the rides over at Bug Life area..lots to do and see

I find the whole thing very overwhelming...I dont have the patience to look on the websites and search each ride. We have Canada's Wonderland near us and from what I have heard Disney is like 1000 times bigger, so needless to say I am excited and frazzled at the same time. I know we will go to WDW in the future when my baby is older so I dont need to rush around and see everything at DL because we will go to the one in FL at some point.
I dont think you should rush but at the same time I dont think you should think that because you are going to wdw that you dont have to see alot of DL...they are 2 TOTALLY separate things and TOTALLY separate ambiance...DL was Walt Disney Park..everything there was HIM to a tee...he died before even seeing wdw open so take it all in

And should I be getting fast passes? Someone I spoke to mentioned that if you pay extra there is a separate line up. Is this true and if so how much?

honestly, if your 6yo is a daredevil thrill seeker then yeah but if not then the only real one I can think of that you should get is Toy Story Mania at DCA...now just in case you didnt know, they have what they call the "parent swap" where your husband and child can go on a ride and then after they get off you can give your husband the baby and go on the same ride with your child without waiting..



We also wanted to do a character dining. Is it worth it? He seemed interested in Goofys Kitchen. How much is this character dining?? We will be there in 2 weeks, is it too late to even book character dining?

i think you may be ok with this one if you book it like soon..you have to pay up front though just so you know...if he likes Mickey, over at Paradise Pier Hotel they do a Surfs UP! with mickey and I love it...its my 2nd favorite character breakfast...my first is Minnie and Friends at Plaza Inn in DL itself...I myself prefer eating breakfast character dining rather than dinner

How busy will it be end of May? And will these grad nights affect us? not really sure when they are or how they work. Do they have fireworks every night? and if so, what time?

well heres the thing...gonna be grad nite kids, my grandkids get out for the summer 2 days after you get there and you have to keep in mind that its the week of memorial day and people may take a few days extra to be there..its hit and miss really

thanks
Michelle

whatever you do dont stress...go and have fun...ive said before that I do alot of planning before going in regards to where to stay, eat, and dates to go but once I get into the park, everything else goes out the door and I go with the flow...because you never know how tired they may get or you get or how crowded it is or not...just go have a good time and remember...YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND

 

[figment_jii]

ok, so there are no rides my 6 yr old can go on alone?

I did a quick scan of the rides at DLR (focusing on Fantasyland) and they all had "Supervise children at all times. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older" posted under "Guest Policies". See the bottom block of information on the Dumbo page:
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/dumbo-the-flying-elephant/

Here is a link to the rides that have "Rider Swap":
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/list/#/rider-switch