PTR: And now for something completely different - a WDW Family does DLR *(new October 9th)*

[TheMaxRebo]

October 11th sounds like a busy but fun day! Can't wait to hear about all the food you guys eat that day!

Your Safari Park day sounds great! I'm sure after the day before, it will be nice to not be travelling to too many places on this day!

Thanks Alexis! I am hoping that the days won't be too crazy and we can definitely adapt as need be.

BTW - just realized your ticker says "1 day until Disneyland" ... very exciting!!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 20 - One Month From Today: October 13th - Disneyland Ho! ... or at least HoJo
​

Ok, so one month from 2 days ago again, and we will be driving north to Disneyland!!!!

Other than getting up and out we don't have any plans for this morning. They offer free cooked-to-order breakfast at the hotel, so assuming that turns out to be decent I suspect that will be the option for this morning and then we will be up and at-them!

The plan is to stop for lunch at Pizza Port in San Clemente which is about an hour away. Seemed like a good option and figure the kids will always eat pizza and their create your own pizza sounds pretty good! And they are also known for their beer and having quite the selection of beers on tap! In fact, they keep up a webcam so you can see what is currently on tap. Here is what they have as of, well, right now: At this location it is largely their own beer, but they have some guest beers available as well:


They open at 11 and I suspect we will be there not long after that given that still not sure what timezone we (the kids) will be on and the excitement of getting to Disneyland. So thinking by 12:30 or so we will probably be on our way out.

From there we will head to our hotel in Anaheim - the HoJo! Or excuse me, the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground!

If my plans work we should be here by 1:30pm. I suspect that our room will not be ready but hopefully we will be able to stash our bags and change into swim close and explore the water playground area! Looks like a lot of fun and I want to make sure we get time to enjoy it - and figure the kids will like it after being in the car for a bit.

(pretty sure that is the monorail track in the background of this view of the water playground)

Check in isn't until 4pm but I am hoping our room is ready at least a little early so we can shower and change and head out for the evening before it gets too late. Once ready though I think the kids will get a kick out of the room as we booked the two room suite with the bunkbeds in the kids room - and both Olivia and Peter have wanted bunkbeds forever!

Ideally, by 4:30pm at the latest we should be heading towards the esplanade and over to the Disneyland Hotel - with first stop being Trader Sam's for drinks and appetizers .... and drinks! And souviner cups .... and drinks!

Depending on time I might also want to explore the Disneyland hotel a bit, but if not we should have time the morning we leave when we have breakfast at Steakhouse 55.

After first drinks/apps the plan is to explore DTD a bit - maybe hit up the Lego store, etc. I also want to take this time to exchange my voucher for the actual park tickets so we are set for the next morning. Not sure if I can trade in my photopass plus certificate at that time too or if that has to wait until in a park

The plan is then for more drinks and apps and just enjoying the evening at Uva Bar and Cafe. Looks like a fun place, especially at night and seems just kinda in the middle of it all.

Food sound good too, especially the shared plates with dips and flat breads and arepas and stuff.

Probably won't be out too late as we have to get up a bit on the early side as we have an early ADR for breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza!

Travel for day 3 - first driving:


and then walking:


TTFN

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Looks like fun. That is the Monorail track in the background of the hotel pic, and you are just across Harbor blvd from tomorrowland. Your hotel is closer to the park than the Contemporary is to MK, just shifted North a bit.

I'm not sure about where you exchange your PhotoPass voucher, but they will know when you get your tickets exchanged, which is at the East end of Downtown Disney in the plaza between the parks. Your plan should work well, to head to the Disneyland Hotel and then work your way back East through DTD, and eventually to your hotel. Should be a fun arrival day.

 

[PrncessA]

Sounds like a solid plan! I wish we had had more time to explore the Disneyland Hotel, and we never made it to Trader Sams!

You will exchange your PhotoPass voucher inside the park. I am not sure of the location at DL, since I went to DCA first, but it is not at Guest Services. At DCA it is to your right, right past the lockers in the corner. It was so hidden I had to ask to find it. They exchange your voucher for a receipt which you give to another CM who gives you your lanyard and card. Oh and make sure to hold on to the CD and case they sent you, it has the code needed to "buy" your CD or downloads when you get home. Mine got misplaced and I had to call to get help.

 

[hokieinpa]

Again, not many comments on DLR but I do love that most of your plans revolve around food and drinks. That is the way to plan a trip, in my opinion!

I'm excited to read your reviews of Howard Johnson. It looks like a great places for kids - bunk beds and a water park!

One month from today is when we fly out to San Diego but travel will really start the day before as after Olivia gets home from school we will drive out to Judi's parents house in central PA as we will be leaving our dogs with them while we are gone.

We will spend the night there and probably right after lunch head down to Dulles International Airport - it's the easiest big airport to get to from their house and we've done pretty good in the past finding flights from there

I think at this point, you'll be fairly close to me in State College! We usually fly out of Pittsburgh when we are heading to Florida but use either Philadelphia or Dulles when heading to the west coast!

We will pick up our car which we are renting through Budget via USAA discounts. I believe one has to take a shuttle to the Budget location so I suspect that we will do the reverse of departure and I will go get the car and come back to pick Judi and the Kids and all our stuff up.

This is what we have done during rental car pick up/drop off. I keep the kids inside and we do the bathroom break thing and such while Jim takes care of the car. It makes life much easier than trying to maneuver 3 kids around a parking garage.

We will see how we are doing hunger wise - either get something quick at the airport or, as @Leshaface suggested, try In-N-Out Burger as we have never been there and I saw via google maps that there is one right north of the airport.

This is one of the few pieces of you CA plans that I have experienced. I recommend In-N-Out Burger 100%, especially the fries!

 

[gluestickgirl]

I can't wait to see what you do with the GoPro - we love ours. Let the kids get some footage, too - it's always fun to see what they shoot.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Looks like fun. That is the Monorail track in the background of the hotel pic, and you are just across Harbor blvd from tomorrowland. Your hotel is closer to the park than the Contemporary is to MK, just shifted North a bit.

I'm not sure about where you exchange your PhotoPass voucher, but they will know when you get your tickets exchanged, which is at the East end of Downtown Disney in the plaza between the parks. Your plan should work well, to head to the Disneyland Hotel and then work your way back East through DTD, and eventually to your hotel. Should be a fun arrival day.

Wow, when you put it like that, closer than the Contemporary, that really puts it into perspective.

So I can take the view of of ... yeah, we stayed at the Contemporary last trip but that was just not close enough to the park for us, so we had to do better this trip

Sounds like a solid plan! I wish we had had more time to explore the Disneyland Hotel, and we never made it to Trader Sams!

You will exchange your PhotoPass voucher inside the park. I am not sure of the location at DL, since I went to DCA first, but it is not at Guest Services. At DCA it is to your right, right past the lockers in the corner. It was so hidden I had to ask to find it. They exchange your voucher for a receipt which you give to another CM who gives you your lanyard and card. Oh and make sure to hold on to the CD and case they sent you, it has the code needed to "buy" your CD or downloads when you get home. Mine got misplaced and I had to call to get help.

Trader Sam's has always been a priority for me, though now that they have one at WDW it is slightly lower, but still definitely want to hit it up .... and spend all my souvenir money on tiki glasses.

Thanks for the info on the PP voucher and also I will be sure to keep the CD!

Again, not many comments on DLR but I do love that most of your plans revolve around food and drinks. That is the way to plan a trip, in my opinion!

I'm excited to read your reviews of Howard Johnson. It looks like a great places for kids - bunk beds and a water park!

I think at this point, you'll be fairly close to me in State College! We usually fly out of Pittsburgh when we are heading to Florida but use either Philadelphia or Dulles when heading to the west coast!

This is what we have done during rental car pick up/drop off. I keep the kids inside and we do the bathroom break thing and such while Jim takes care of the car. It makes life much easier than trying to maneuver 3 kids around a parking garage.

This is one of the few pieces of you CA plans that I have experienced. I recommend In-N-Out Burger 100%, especially the fries!

I'm hoping things work out at the Ho Jo and we get to fully utilize the water playground enough. I think the kids will love the room - just hope no one falls off the top:

Good to know about the fries. As much as I love the Shake Shack burgers their fries aren't anything special

I can't wait to see what you do with the GoPro - we love ours. Let the kids get some footage, too - it's always fun to see what they shoot.

Great thought to give it to the kids at times!

 

[Dugette]

Catching up!

That pancake flight looks amazing!

I'm excited to see how you like the HoJo - that's what we booked as well.

Trader Sam's! Since we missed out on the WDW one (TR spoiler), we've got to have this on our tentative-trip-to-DL agenda!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Catching up!

That pancake flight looks amazing!

I'm excited to see how you like the HoJo - that's what we booked as well.

Trader Sam's! Since we missed out on the WDW one (TR spoiler), we've got to have this on our tentative-trip-to-DL agenda!

Oh cool, didn't realize you picked the Ho Jo .... hopefully we do like it!

Once we decided to go to DLR Trader Sam's was one of the "must dos" for me Hopefully things work out and we get to enjoy it and just check it out - and that it isn't too crowded. We shall see.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 21 - One Month From Today: October 14th - Disneyland, CA, Breakfast with Minnie Mouse​

- but we definitely want to be back in time to watch the lights come on in Cars Land
After all the planning and travel today is the first day we will actually set foot in the Disneyland Park. The plan is to start with Disneyland Resort which is open from 8am to 6pm this day (Halloween Party starting at 6pm) and then head over to DCA.

Hopefully we will get there for opening and first thing we have up is breakfast with Minnie & Friends at the Plaza with an ADR of 8:10am. If time before hand we might try to run and get FP for Space Mountain or something.

I am pretty excited for this breakfast as it seems like a fun collection of characters with some good breakfast foods. We got new Minnie Dresses for the girls to wear this morning - did some modeling last night:


After breakfast one thing we will want to do is send a "runner" (likely Judi) over to DCA to get FP for Radiator Spring Racers. Question: Does anyone know of an app that shows FP return times as well as wait times? Downloaded a few yesterday and couldn't find one that showed FP return times

I believe it is not connected to the same system so the same runner will also look into getting FP to meet Anna & Elsa. We also got matching A&E dresses for Olivia and Emma (though Emma was pretty done modeling stuff last night so only got Olivia in hers (Emma's is the same, just smaller). Peter was upset at not getting to model anything so got in the picture and was being a bit cheeseball:


Beyond that the plan is to head into Tomorrowland and knock a bunch of that stuff out. Riding Space Mountain at Disneyland at all is a priority for me - but especially with the Ghost Galaxy overlay, so will try to ride that and/or get FP for later for that:

Also will look to ride Buzz Lightyear and Autopia and maybe check lines for Nemo subs or Matterhorn or something like that to try and do some rides that can get lines.

Depending on time we might also head back to Main St. and ask at the Main St. Railroad Station about taking a ride in the tender car as I think Peter would really love that. Again, if time might head over to Adventureland and do Jungle Cruise, etc.

Plan is to hop over to DCA for lunch - eating at Pacific Warf and Paradise Grill. Will work around when our return time for RSR is assuming we get FP. Beyond that, plan is to stick around the Paradise Pier area are ride things like:
- California Screaming
- Mickey's Fun Wheel
- King Triton's Carousel
- Toy Story MM (if line not too long)
- Silly Simphony Swings
- Jumpin Jellyfish
- Goofy's Sky School

Only exception being if we do get FP for Anna & Elsa we will make our way over for that.

We will then look to grab a snack later at the Cover bar - Lobster Nachos! - and some drinks, .....

..... and then watch the lights come on in Car Land and check out the lines for the other Cars Land attractions ... maybe see if line not too long to ride RSR again (or had grabbed another FP) at night.

Plan is to then head back to the hotel and hopefully see some of the fireworks from there. Don't want to be out too late tonight as the next day is our early entry day to Disneyland and want to be sure to be there on time for that.

Hopefully this gives us a good flavor of both parks and we get a lot done ... but we'll just take it as we go.

TTFN

 

[KatMark]

Phil, I'm sorry...I tend to forget to come over here for the few TR's I'm following or just haven't had time (been sick for two weeks). I can't believe how close your trip is. And I can't wait to read all about it since we are now going in February (with several DIS meets involved).

Your day to day plans so far sound great. I skimmed the chatter, but some of the questions you asked, Roni can probably answer if you want to post them by us.

 

[Dugette]

That breakfast sounds like a lot of fun!

That's cool that you get the overlay at Space Mountain!

Carsland at night looks awesome!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Phil, I'm sorry...I tend to forget to come over here for the few TR's I'm following or just haven't had time (been sick for two weeks). I can't believe how close your trip is. And I can't wait to read all about it since we are now going in February (with several DIS meets involved).

Your day to day plans so far sound great. I skimmed the chatter, but some of the questions you asked, Roni can probably answer if you want to post them by us.

Oh Kathy, sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well .... hopefully you are doing better now!

it's funny with how busy I have been at work with tons of travel I don't think it has fully hit me how close the trip is!

Thanks for the suggestion to post some questions with Roni and others can see them!

That breakfast sounds like a lot of fun!

That's cool that you get the overlay at Space Mountain!

Carsland at night looks awesome!

I've heard some great things about the Breakfast with Minnie so pretty excited for it!

Very glad we are going this time of year where we get the overlay for both Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion!

I hope things work out that we get to see the lights come on at Cars Land, just sounds really neat!

 

[hokieinpa]

What a fun day! I've heard lots of good things about breakfast at the Plaza Inn. It seems like lots of fun characters will be there!

I was just reading about the SM overlay - sounds like a very cool experience!

Seeing the lights turn on at Cars Land will be amazing!

 

[horse11]

WOW!!! You have been busy with updates!! first let me say Happy Birthday Judy!!! She looks amazing!!! Love the idea of you getting a GoPro would love to see what you think of it! Bet it would be fun on the rides! I have to say I am so with you on assuring ADR's I can not even imagine not being able to get them that late! Disney World has you trained to think way in advance. With us doing a day at Universal next trip I am having a hard time because I want to have everything planned already. Apparently Universal is a park that does not require the 6 months to a year planning as WDW does so I totally understand.
OMG the pictures of those pancakes!!!! So would love to eat that!!! Plus the view of the other places by the ocean that you plan on going to have me wanting to try California one of our upcoming trips!!
When I saw the pictures of the bunk beds at the Disneyland hotel I could not help but think of my boys and how much they would love that!!
Trader Sams looks like a fun place to relax. This is a well thought out vacation and sounds wonderful!!! Can not wait to hear all about it!!! I bet after hearing your trip report I will be convinced to try Disneyland!!! That Car Land looks like sooooo much fun!!!

 

[Cats2]

You will exchange your PhotoPass voucher inside the park. I am not sure of the location at DL, since I went to DCA first, but it is not at Guest Services. At DCA it is to your right, right past the lockers in the corner. It was so hidden I had to ask to find it. They exchange your voucher for a receipt which you give to another CM who gives you your lanyard and card. Oh and make sure to hold on to the CD and case they sent you, it has the code needed to "buy" your CD or downloads when you get home. Mine got misplaced and I had to call to get help.

Just to add the following: in DCA the place to go to is Kingswell Camera, and in DL you would go to Main Street Photo Supply which is (of course) on Main St near the hub. The main thing to remember to take a photo of your voucher (attached to the CD case), in case you forget your voucher! The super thread has photos of the 2 photo places in the 3rd post. http://www.disboards.com/threads/photopass-superthread.3147673/

 

[missangelalexis]

October 13th- Yay Disney arrival day! I hope your room is available early, that would be very convenient. Sounds like a good first night! And I'm pretty sure you can only redeem your photopass in the park, but don't quote me on that.

October 14th- Woo hoo park day!! I think you will LOVE the breakfast at Plaza Inn. Also, make sure you get into the entrance line all the way at the left that says "Breakfast Reservations" (Or something along those lines). Much shorter line that way! I don't believe there is an app for wait times, but I used the "Ask Otto" phone number and it was so convenient! You just say the name of the ride and it tells you the wait time + FP return time! I can also confirm the A&E FP is not connected to the system. The booth for it is right near the Hyperion Theater, it's unmarked so just keep your eye out for it. Sounds like such a great day!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a fun day! I've heard lots of good things about breakfast at the Plaza Inn. It seems like lots of fun characters will be there!

I was just reading about the SM overlay - sounds like a very cool experience!

Seeing the lights turn on at Cars Land will be amazing!

Hopefully the kids will be into meeting characters since the Plaza for breakfast is really our first stop - so no warm up acts for them!

very excited about the SM and the Haunted Mansion overlays!!

Also very excited to see the lights come on in Cars Land and just hang out there at night!

WOW!!! You have been busy with updates!! first let me say Happy Birthday Judy!!! She looks amazing!!! Love the idea of you getting a GoPro would love to see what you think of it! Bet it would be fun on the rides! I have to say I am so with you on assuring ADR's I can not even imagine not being able to get them that late! Disney World has you trained to think way in advance. With us doing a day at Universal next trip I am having a hard time because I want to have everything planned already. Apparently Universal is a park that does not require the 6 months to a year planning as WDW does so I totally understand.
OMG the pictures of those pancakes!!!! So would love to eat that!!! Plus the view of the other places by the ocean that you plan on going to have me wanting to try California one of our upcoming trips!!
When I saw the pictures of the bunk beds at the Disneyland hotel I could not help but think of my boys and how much they would love that!!
Trader Sams looks like a fun place to relax. This is a well thought out vacation and sounds wonderful!!! Can not wait to hear all about it!!! I bet after hearing your trip report I will be convinced to try Disneyland!!! That Car Land looks like sooooo much fun!!!

Well, I've gotten less busy with updates as I've gotten more busy at work, but such is life Hopefully will get the last few days covered shortly.

I think that is my issue in that WDW has me so trained that to have been so close to the actual trip and not have ADRs made kinda freaked me out as there is no way you would get all the ones you want at WDW with that short notice - but so far so good for DLR!

Peter and Olivia talk all the time about wanting bunk beds - so hopefully they do like having them! I think it will be nice just having some more room to come back to after long days at the park - and also I hope we have time to take advantage of the water playground!

Just to add the following: in DCA the place to go to is Kingswell Camera, and in DL you would go to Main Street Photo Supply which is (of course) on Main St near the hub. The main thing to remember to take a photo of your voucher (attached to the CD case), in case you forget your voucher! The super thread has photos of the 2 photo places in the 3rd post. http://www.disboards.com/threads/photopass-superthread.3147673/

Thank you so much! That is very helpful and convenient to know the Camera store on Main St is pretty close to the Plaza!

October 13th- Yay Disney arrival day! I hope your room is available early, that would be very convenient. Sounds like a good first night! And I'm pretty sure you can only redeem your photopass in the park, but don't quote me on that.

October 14th- Woo hoo park day!! I think you will LOVE the breakfast at Plaza Inn. Also, make sure you get into the entrance line all the way at the left that says "Breakfast Reservations" (Or something along those lines). Much shorter line that way! I don't believe there is an app for wait times, but I used the "Ask Otto" phone number and it was so convenient! You just say the name of the ride and it tells you the wait time + FP return time! I can also confirm the A&E FP is not connected to the system. The booth for it is right near the Hyperion Theater, it's unmarked so just keep your eye out for it. Sounds like such a great day!!

It would help if the room is ready - hopefully with it being a Tuesday it won't be totally sold out and the room will be ready at least a bit on the early side

Thank you so much for mentioning Ask Otto - that is the first I have heard of that! Definitely something to keep in mind to try if the apps aren't cutting it!

And from what I have heard the A&E FP is disconnected so hopefully right after breakfast Judi can run over and get FP for both A&E and RSR!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 22 - One Month From Today: October 15th - Disneyland and more Disneyland!​

So one month from today... well, we will be home since I've gotten behind in this So really 3-weeksish from now is our full Disneyland Day!

This is the day that we will have access to the Magical Mornings from having a 3-day park ticket, and we plan to take advantage of this by hitting up Fantasyland and trying to knock out what rides that are open there and then perhaps some others in various areas that also don't employ Fastpass.

This day, magical mornings are set to start at 7am so we will probably just grab some granola bars, etc. from the room for some initial sustenance and then, partway through the morning look for something to snack on later from a quick service location - if time to head over to River Belle Terrace for the Cinnamon Roll French Toast, or else to the Mint Julep Bar for some Mickey Shaped Beignets

Assuming everyone else goes straight to Peter Pan we might save that for a bit later, see how lines are/how we are doing, and instead try to knock out some of the other dark rides. During the morning though hopefull we will do:
- Peter Pan (either first or wait)
- Nemo Subs (if didn't ride the previous day)
- Mad Tea Party
- Storybook Canal Boats
- Casey Jr
- Mr. Toad's
- It's a Small World
- Roger Rabbit
- Matterhorn (if didn't ride the previous day)
- Pinoccio
- Alice in Wonderland

Go through Frontierland, getting FP for Big Thunder / check how standby lines are. Also check on Splash Mountain for wait times

We then have an 11:30 am ADR at Blue Bayou and I plan to get there a bit on the early side to ask for a water side table:

Definitely thinking to get the Monte Cristo sandwich there:

After lunch we will see how we are doing - I suspect at some point we will take a break at the hotel and pool as we plan to spend the evening at the park.

Afternoon, the focus will be on Frontierland and Adventureland:
- Ride Big Thunder
- Jungle Cruise
- Indiana Jones (get FP prior)
- Pirates
- Haunted Mansion
- Possible Splash and/or Pooh

For food we will likely just to counter service in the park or possibly go out to DTD if we want. I would like to hit up the Little Red Wagon and Bengal Barbecue as some point.

Evening, the priority is seeing Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever fireworks - most likely will try to watch from Main St. but I know there are other options too.

Question: One thing I am less certain of how to plan is for Character Meets. Is there any way to know who will be out and about where and when or is it all random?

TTFN

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like such a great day!!

You know I love characters, and it was certainly a different experience at DL vs WDW. Use the app! For the most part it is very helpful, especially with the times. Of course there will always be times where a character isn't listed but you may spot them out and about. Some of the characters will meet somewhere and have a line form (VIPs in Town Square, princesses, Tink's Nook, etc.) and some will be roaming around, take some pics, and then keep roaming (Noticed this with a few- Alice, Queen of Hearts, Mary & Bert). I'd be happy to help with any other questions you might have!