Sleep is so overrated - Sept. '15 Disneyland PTR

[ShanaMouse]

We had a family member stay there and her complaint was 1. The fireworks happen above the hotel so if you are trying to sleep it's impossible (sounds like that won't be an issue for you) and 2. There were shady people EVERY night in front of the motel. Drinking or hanging out. There is a liquor or convenience store next door apparently. 3. It's deceptively far so you cannot walk it. She didn't know if the ART was available but if you have to drive and park that adds $20 to each day.

Hope that helps.

Also, I used to live in LA and worked at Warner Bros studios and I cannot stress how bad the traffic will be from 4pm to 7pm to Santa Monica. You may want to take one of the canyons instead of the freeway so you at least have a gorgeous view of all those homes but it will probably take you 2+ hours to get there.

Thanks for the feedback on the hotel, it's much appreciated. Yeah, the fireworks won't be an issue and I don't anticipate driving and parking at the parks, as I'd rather walk the 15 to 20 minutes than pay $20 each day. From the countless reviews I read from different sources, it seems like walking wasn't a big issue and the preferred method. Let's hope those shady people are gone by the time we get there .
We scrapped those Santa Monica plans and are only doing DLR, which takes care of avoiding that horrible traffic.

 

[PHXscuba]

I hope you have looked into the whale-watching options. Late summer is not prime time in Southern California for some of the species. Most of the boats will give you a free return trip if you don't see any, but if you only have one chance that doesn't matter. There are possibly options closer than driving all the way to Dana Point, which I know you originally chose because you were going to San Diego. Newport Beach and Long Beach may have whale watching trips.

PHXscuba

 

[ShanaMouse]

A Spoonful of Plans
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Alrighty, I finally have a few more updates to share. The schedule for early September has opened up, and now I am (im)patiently waiting for the other days to open up so I can see park hours. Here is a new rough itinerary that I came up with:

Thursday: Arrive at LAX and drive to Anaheim, check into hotel.
Friday: Disneyland Park Day
Saturday: DCA Park Day
Sunday: Park Hopping Day (really no schedule here; just seeing whatever we may have missed or wanted to see again)
Monday (Labor Day): Hollywood for most of the day followed by Downtown Disney in the evening
Tuesday: Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour and departure

While disappointed, I decided to skip the whale watching and have us do that another time when we are in California. Reason being is that I felt like we could get more essential sight-seeing in, if we headed up towards the Hollywood area and can break up our Disney time that way.

On our Hollywood day, we're going to go see the walk of fame and chinese theater along with the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. You know, that super touristy stuff .
We plan to do that for the first part of the day, then grab lunch and do the Warner Bros. Studio Tour until the late afternoon at which point we then drive back to Anaheim. That night, we'll take it easy and grab dinner at Downtown Disney and maybe do some shopping there. Depending on how much is left of the evening (I am not anticipating much), we may go into either of the parks to see fireworks or so. If we get back too late and the parks are already closed, we will just keep it at dinner, some shopping, and grabbing a drink.

On our last day, Tuesday, we are going to do a character breakfast and then the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. That'll pretty much fill up the time we have left on that day before we need to head out to the airport. Plus, I figure that it's a nice way to end the trip. I can't book the tour until 30 days out, so i have a couple of weeks.

Speaking of meals, I have also come up with a tentative plan for breakfast lunch and dinner. I am leaving off snacks, as that doesn't really need an allotted time, but we rather just grab snacks whenever we feel like it.

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So there are a couple of things on there that are labeled as 'TBD' and those'll probably end up being wild cards and we choose when we are there. The only one I am iffy about is White Water Snacks - I am trying to find an early breakfast that we can grab before heading into the park, as I don't want to waste valuable morning time sitting and eating somewhere, but from what I found online, there are limited options on property that open quite early. Any suggestions here would be awesome!

Otherwise, as far as table service goes, I have made all reservations and I timed them so that we don't miss any parades or shows going on. I am particularly excited about Carthay Circle. Have any of you been there? I skipped over Blue Bayou, as I have read many (and I mean many) mixed reviews. The reviews weren't bad, but some people seemed to be underwhelmed by the actual food, although the ambience made up for it in most cases. Either way, I heard and read that Cafe Orleans is amazing as well (and a little cheaper on the wallet) so we're going that route.
I chose not to make Fantasmic dining package reservations, as I don't necessarily think it's worth it, but definitely wanted to make World Of Color Dining Package reservations, as I have been reading how hard it is to see if you don't have a fastpass. And, we're going to eat lunch anyway, so I may as well combine the two .
The tour, on Tuesday, serves lunch at the Jolly Holiday bakery, so that was easy and in the morning we're heading to Storyteller's character breakfast. I love the fact that they aren't your usual characters, so I am excited for some neat photos!

In other news, I had read that the Haunted Mansion will be down for refurbishment, but that's the only ride, which is great news! I definitely wanted to ride it, but am glad that no other rides will be down while we're there.

I was originally going to purchase 5 day park hoppers, but being that we're spending most of one of those days off-site, I am going to get the 4 day park hoppers. There's actually only a $30 difference between the two, so I am thinking that if we get back early enough from Hollywood and want to head back into one of the parks, that we'll just pay the difference there. If we don't make it back in time, then I didn't lose any money so it works out.

That's all I have for now. Working on our next movie night on the weekend, so I'll talk to you all soon!