tnd
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2008
- Messages
- 882
Who: Me (30), DH (30), "The boy" - 2.5
When: March 9-13, 2008
Stayed at: DLH
Day 1:
We arrived Sunday right before noon, after driving up from San Diego where we'd been for the past 3 days while my husband spoke at a conference. (Side note - we stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado and it was completely fantastic, but very expensive!)
The boy fell asleep in the car for about 30 min. before we got to DLH, so I went in to see if we could get a room early and the woman who helped me was so great. She got us into a room at noon (check in is normally 3pm), and was able to get us the King bed and sleeper sofa we'd wanted. We'd also requested the Dreams Tower and we got it. We did not pay for an upgraded view, but we had a fanastic room (2137 on the 3rd floor of Dreams). It was at the end of the hall, so it was very quiet, very close to the elevator, and the sorcerer hat was right outside. Also, we could see a good chunk of the fireworks from our room, which was pretty cool. I suspect if you were a floor or two higher in the same area, you'd also be able to see them.
We were hoping the boy would nap, so I went to get some lunch from DTD while my husband put him down. I also got my cool pin and lanyard from the Pin Trading place. I brought back lunch from Tortilla Jo's tacqueria which was very tasty. The boy still didn't want to nap, so we drove over to the nearest Vons and stocked up on water, soda, snacks and breakfast items (cheerios, milk and fruit). After that, he napped (about 4pm!), so we vegged out until 7pm and woke him up.
We took the monorail to DL and ate dinner at Redd Rocket's Pizza Port which was not bad. My husband had the chicken caesar, I had pizza, and my son had the kid's pasta with a meatball. It was very good and pretty quick. Then we walked through the park. We caught the end of Fantasmic (it was not very crowded, so we could just stand and watch) and then rode POTC twice because there were no lines. After that, we headed back because the boy was getting sleepy. We all went to bed and got a good night's sleep.
Day 2:
This was a Monday, and not an early entry day, so we ate a bit in the room, and wandered down to the parks right at 9. I did stop for coffee and a donut at Compass Bookshop Cafe in DTD and it was pretty good. They have Krispy Kreme donuts packaged in boxes of 2 and 4, which is convenient for families. We got in just as the park opened and headed right to Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo twice with basically no line. Then we rode the Casey Jr. Circus train twice, then Dumbo again. The carousel was closed, which was a bummer. We also rode the teacups a couple times. This was basically all within an hour and 15 min. The lines were really quite minimal. We wandered around the Big Thunder Ranch and played with goats for a while. Then we picked up FPs for Big Thunder Mountain. The line was short, but we decided to come back later. We wandered around, letting the boy roam free (which for him meant running up and down the stairs wherever possible). We rode POTC and HM and then decided to see if we could grab an early lunch. We went over to Cafe Orleans and they were able to seat us right away (it was about 11:45, so I think we beat the rush). We had a delicious lunch. DH had the blackened salmon salad, I had the Monte Cristo (fantastic!) and the boy had the mac and cheese. After that we headed back to the hotel for naps and relaxation.
After the boy woke up, we decided to go swimming and I discovered I left my swimsuit in San Diego (oops!). So we drove to the nearest Costco and I grabbed a cheapie replacement. We hit the Cheesecake Factory in the Garden Walk for dinner. It was delicious. Its one of my favorite chain-type restaurants, so it was a fun treat. After that, the boy was exhausted, so we ended up taking him back to the hotel and putting him to sleep early. I ditched the guys and went to DL by myself. I rode Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones (twice 15 min. lines), POTC, HM, and got a Tigger Tail for dessert. Then I walked back to the hotel and went to sleep.
Day 3:
This was an early entry day, so we left right around 8 and walked into the park around 8:10. We rode some of the FL rides (Dumbo again!). Then we decided to grab a quick breakfast, so we shared a platter from one of the Tomorrowland places, which was pretty good. Then we decided to walk over to DCA and check it out. We went right over to the Bugs Land Area. It was warm enough that we let the boy roam free in Princess Dots Puddle Park, which was the hit of the vacation for him. We probably spent at least 45 min. there. He was soaked by the end, but we had spare clothes and it was well worth it. We changed his clothes, then went on to the other Bugs Land rides. All of them were basically walk on, there was just no one there. We rode all of them except the bumper cars. I found the Ladybug Boogie to be much rougher than the Teacups, which surprised me. Then we took the tortilla factory tour and had lunch. The boy and I ate Mexican food at the café right near the tortilla factory and DH had the veggie chili from the Pacific Wharf place. The bread was great! I thought the food at DCA was very nice and quite fresh.
After lunch we went back to the hotel, took a nap, and then swam for quite a while. We didnt end up using the very cool looking Neverland Pool because my son is small and not swimming yet. There are two other pools and one of them has a lovely 2 foot section that was perfect for my son. The water was very warm, almost too warm in fact, but very nice. After getting dressed, we ate dinner at the ESPN Zone (had a coupon for free kids meal), which was fine, but not anything amazing. Then we went back to Disneyland, and our first stop was the Gibson Girl ice-cream parlor. We shared a giant ice cream sundae and then rode more rides. We rode Winnie the Pooh twice (a definite toddler favorite) and then got treats at the candy store. I had a caramel-marshmallow bar and the boy had a chocolate covered Mickey pretzel, which was a huge hit. Hes been asking for petznels since we got home. I should have bought some extras, but didnt think of it at the time.
We walked back through Downtown Disney and stopped to watch the fireworks, which could see pretty well.
Day 4:
We had to run an errand this morning, so we went to IHOP for breakfast, which was okay. The service was great, but the food was pricier than I remembered. Seriously, I think Disneyland was a bit cheaper! Then I had to find a place to print and mail in some documents for my summer job. In case anyone needs one, there is FedEx Kinkos in the lobby of the Marriott at the Convention Center. Its in the lobby of the Oasis Tower. But, be aware they charge a $10 fee to ship packages from their store. I only had an envelope, so I didnt have to pay the extra fee.
We ended up getting to Disneyland later than I would have liked, closer to 10:30, but it was still pretty empty. We went over to Toontown and rode the Roger Rabbit ride, which was very odd to me. Then we decided to get in line for Mickey. Surprisingly, the line was less than 5 min. We got pics taken and the boy got to hug Mickey again. Of course we had to buy the Photopass pictures. Then we played around the climbing areas on the Treehouse (but I think some of it was closed off) and the boat. After this, we ended up heading back to the hotel and I sent my husband out on an In N Out run. Had to have my double-double! We ate lunch, then I headed out while the boys napped. I went over to DCA and rode Soarin twice. I used the Single Rider line and waited very little, but even the standby line was only 30 min. I loved this ride, I think it was my favorite.
Then I wandered around, rode the Sun Wheel (no wait for the non-swinging gondolas and it wasnt really that impressive, I would have been sad ) and ToT (13 min. wait really more like 10). Then I ended up meeting my husband and son and he took a turn riding Soarin using the single rider line. My son wanted to explore the area around Soarin, so that worked well. After that, we decided to head back to Disneyland. We rode a few more rides. Then we tried to walk up to Blue Bayou, but they were already fully booked, so we had an early dinner at Bengal BBQ. The food was decent, but the service was painfully slow. I realize we got there a bit before dinner time, like 5:30ish, so they didnt have a lot already made, but it was really bad. Many people left the line because it was so slow.
After dinner, we went back to Fantasy Land and rode Dumbo a few more times, as well as the Teacups. We left shortly before the fireworks and that was the end of our park time.
Day 5:
We had a noon flight out of John Wayne Airport, but we decided to book a character breakfast before we left, so we had an 8am reservation at Goofys kitchen. It was a lot of fun, very good food. We had pictures with Pluto first, then got seated. We saw Goofy, Alice, Minnie, the Fairy Godmother (I think), an unidentified character (cat? Weasel? Not sure), and Princess Jasmine.
Then sadly, we had to fly home. Were already thinking about another trip to WDW in January. Well have to see how the finances shake out.
I wanted to thank everyone here for the tips everyone was so helpful and I think our trip was even better because we had already done some research!
When: March 9-13, 2008
Stayed at: DLH
Day 1:
We arrived Sunday right before noon, after driving up from San Diego where we'd been for the past 3 days while my husband spoke at a conference. (Side note - we stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado and it was completely fantastic, but very expensive!)
The boy fell asleep in the car for about 30 min. before we got to DLH, so I went in to see if we could get a room early and the woman who helped me was so great. She got us into a room at noon (check in is normally 3pm), and was able to get us the King bed and sleeper sofa we'd wanted. We'd also requested the Dreams Tower and we got it. We did not pay for an upgraded view, but we had a fanastic room (2137 on the 3rd floor of Dreams). It was at the end of the hall, so it was very quiet, very close to the elevator, and the sorcerer hat was right outside. Also, we could see a good chunk of the fireworks from our room, which was pretty cool. I suspect if you were a floor or two higher in the same area, you'd also be able to see them.
We were hoping the boy would nap, so I went to get some lunch from DTD while my husband put him down. I also got my cool pin and lanyard from the Pin Trading place. I brought back lunch from Tortilla Jo's tacqueria which was very tasty. The boy still didn't want to nap, so we drove over to the nearest Vons and stocked up on water, soda, snacks and breakfast items (cheerios, milk and fruit). After that, he napped (about 4pm!), so we vegged out until 7pm and woke him up.
We took the monorail to DL and ate dinner at Redd Rocket's Pizza Port which was not bad. My husband had the chicken caesar, I had pizza, and my son had the kid's pasta with a meatball. It was very good and pretty quick. Then we walked through the park. We caught the end of Fantasmic (it was not very crowded, so we could just stand and watch) and then rode POTC twice because there were no lines. After that, we headed back because the boy was getting sleepy. We all went to bed and got a good night's sleep.
Day 2:
This was a Monday, and not an early entry day, so we ate a bit in the room, and wandered down to the parks right at 9. I did stop for coffee and a donut at Compass Bookshop Cafe in DTD and it was pretty good. They have Krispy Kreme donuts packaged in boxes of 2 and 4, which is convenient for families. We got in just as the park opened and headed right to Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo twice with basically no line. Then we rode the Casey Jr. Circus train twice, then Dumbo again. The carousel was closed, which was a bummer. We also rode the teacups a couple times. This was basically all within an hour and 15 min. The lines were really quite minimal. We wandered around the Big Thunder Ranch and played with goats for a while. Then we picked up FPs for Big Thunder Mountain. The line was short, but we decided to come back later. We wandered around, letting the boy roam free (which for him meant running up and down the stairs wherever possible). We rode POTC and HM and then decided to see if we could grab an early lunch. We went over to Cafe Orleans and they were able to seat us right away (it was about 11:45, so I think we beat the rush). We had a delicious lunch. DH had the blackened salmon salad, I had the Monte Cristo (fantastic!) and the boy had the mac and cheese. After that we headed back to the hotel for naps and relaxation.
After the boy woke up, we decided to go swimming and I discovered I left my swimsuit in San Diego (oops!). So we drove to the nearest Costco and I grabbed a cheapie replacement. We hit the Cheesecake Factory in the Garden Walk for dinner. It was delicious. Its one of my favorite chain-type restaurants, so it was a fun treat. After that, the boy was exhausted, so we ended up taking him back to the hotel and putting him to sleep early. I ditched the guys and went to DL by myself. I rode Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones (twice 15 min. lines), POTC, HM, and got a Tigger Tail for dessert. Then I walked back to the hotel and went to sleep.
Day 3:
This was an early entry day, so we left right around 8 and walked into the park around 8:10. We rode some of the FL rides (Dumbo again!). Then we decided to grab a quick breakfast, so we shared a platter from one of the Tomorrowland places, which was pretty good. Then we decided to walk over to DCA and check it out. We went right over to the Bugs Land Area. It was warm enough that we let the boy roam free in Princess Dots Puddle Park, which was the hit of the vacation for him. We probably spent at least 45 min. there. He was soaked by the end, but we had spare clothes and it was well worth it. We changed his clothes, then went on to the other Bugs Land rides. All of them were basically walk on, there was just no one there. We rode all of them except the bumper cars. I found the Ladybug Boogie to be much rougher than the Teacups, which surprised me. Then we took the tortilla factory tour and had lunch. The boy and I ate Mexican food at the café right near the tortilla factory and DH had the veggie chili from the Pacific Wharf place. The bread was great! I thought the food at DCA was very nice and quite fresh.
After lunch we went back to the hotel, took a nap, and then swam for quite a while. We didnt end up using the very cool looking Neverland Pool because my son is small and not swimming yet. There are two other pools and one of them has a lovely 2 foot section that was perfect for my son. The water was very warm, almost too warm in fact, but very nice. After getting dressed, we ate dinner at the ESPN Zone (had a coupon for free kids meal), which was fine, but not anything amazing. Then we went back to Disneyland, and our first stop was the Gibson Girl ice-cream parlor. We shared a giant ice cream sundae and then rode more rides. We rode Winnie the Pooh twice (a definite toddler favorite) and then got treats at the candy store. I had a caramel-marshmallow bar and the boy had a chocolate covered Mickey pretzel, which was a huge hit. Hes been asking for petznels since we got home. I should have bought some extras, but didnt think of it at the time.
We walked back through Downtown Disney and stopped to watch the fireworks, which could see pretty well.
Day 4:
We had to run an errand this morning, so we went to IHOP for breakfast, which was okay. The service was great, but the food was pricier than I remembered. Seriously, I think Disneyland was a bit cheaper! Then I had to find a place to print and mail in some documents for my summer job. In case anyone needs one, there is FedEx Kinkos in the lobby of the Marriott at the Convention Center. Its in the lobby of the Oasis Tower. But, be aware they charge a $10 fee to ship packages from their store. I only had an envelope, so I didnt have to pay the extra fee.
We ended up getting to Disneyland later than I would have liked, closer to 10:30, but it was still pretty empty. We went over to Toontown and rode the Roger Rabbit ride, which was very odd to me. Then we decided to get in line for Mickey. Surprisingly, the line was less than 5 min. We got pics taken and the boy got to hug Mickey again. Of course we had to buy the Photopass pictures. Then we played around the climbing areas on the Treehouse (but I think some of it was closed off) and the boat. After this, we ended up heading back to the hotel and I sent my husband out on an In N Out run. Had to have my double-double! We ate lunch, then I headed out while the boys napped. I went over to DCA and rode Soarin twice. I used the Single Rider line and waited very little, but even the standby line was only 30 min. I loved this ride, I think it was my favorite.
Then I wandered around, rode the Sun Wheel (no wait for the non-swinging gondolas and it wasnt really that impressive, I would have been sad ) and ToT (13 min. wait really more like 10). Then I ended up meeting my husband and son and he took a turn riding Soarin using the single rider line. My son wanted to explore the area around Soarin, so that worked well. After that, we decided to head back to Disneyland. We rode a few more rides. Then we tried to walk up to Blue Bayou, but they were already fully booked, so we had an early dinner at Bengal BBQ. The food was decent, but the service was painfully slow. I realize we got there a bit before dinner time, like 5:30ish, so they didnt have a lot already made, but it was really bad. Many people left the line because it was so slow.
After dinner, we went back to Fantasy Land and rode Dumbo a few more times, as well as the Teacups. We left shortly before the fireworks and that was the end of our park time.
Day 5:
We had a noon flight out of John Wayne Airport, but we decided to book a character breakfast before we left, so we had an 8am reservation at Goofys kitchen. It was a lot of fun, very good food. We had pictures with Pluto first, then got seated. We saw Goofy, Alice, Minnie, the Fairy Godmother (I think), an unidentified character (cat? Weasel? Not sure), and Princess Jasmine.
Then sadly, we had to fly home. Were already thinking about another trip to WDW in January. Well have to see how the finances shake out.
I wanted to thank everyone here for the tips everyone was so helpful and I think our trip was even better because we had already done some research!
. The more reports I read the more I am convinced that the families that make sure their little ones get plenty of rest and naps have stress free vacations. Thanks for taking the time to share.
