A few more questions??

[Bugsmom73]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. We are currently booked at the Hojo with the entertainment rate for 3 of our 5 days. We are there May 30-June 4th.

We are arriving at SNA at around 12:30PM. DH will already be in LA at a conference, so just the kids and I are flying in. DS has autism so it makes things a little more difficult. I am looking for the simplest route, even if it is a little more expensive.

1. What is the best way to get to the Hojo? We are not renting a car for anymore than a day.

2. We would like to take a day to do something outside of Disney but not sure what? It needs to be fairly economical. Would not be adverse to going to the beach but realize Monday is probably a better day.

3. How many days Park hopper do we need? 3 or 4. We Fly out at around noon on Wednesday so that day is out. We went so long and hard a WDW the last time, we ended up really tired and sick. We would prefer not wearing ourselves down. We are staying at the Howard Johnson's on Harbor Blvd.

4. Which one character meal would you do? I don't want a princess one. DD loves anything Disney. DS classic characters, mickey etc. and Captain HooK

5. Do we need tickets for fantasmic? Kids are 4 and 7 and how late is fantasmic?

6. WOuld you recommend a guide book?

 

[Hound 109]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. We are currently booked at the Hojo with the entertainment rate for 3 of our 5 days.

We are arriving at SNA at around 12:30PM.

1. What is the best way to get to the Hojo?

2. We would like to take a day to do something outside of Disney but not sure what? It needs to be fairly economical. Would not be adverse to going to the beach but realize Monday is probably a better day. The beach is great. Huntington or Laguna are both nice.

3. How many days Park hopper do we need? 3 or 4. We Fly out at around noon on Wednesday so that day is out. We went so long and hard a WDW the last time, we ended up really tired and sick. We would prefer not wearing ourselves down.

4. Which one character meal would you do? I don't want a princess one. DD loves anything Disney. DS classic characters, mickey etc. and Captain HooK

5. Do we need tickets for fantasmic? Kids are 4 and 7 and how late is fantasmic? NO. Only for the fairly expensive "Fantasmic Desert". The show is in the main park of DL & no "ticket" is needed.

6. WOuld you recommend a guide book?

Sure. But then read posts here (especially all the stickys) after you read your guidebook for more "inside" info.

Have a great time at Walt's Park.

 

[Jax]

So far I have only done one character meal, but I loved it and I can't wait to go again in a couple of weeks.

I would recommend dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. We had 20 family members with us last time and each family member loved their meal at Goofy's Kitchen. It is a buffet meal but they had so many options and I thought the food was great.

I think the characters are what you might be looking for too. We had Goofy, Chip&Dale, Peter, Wendy, Fairy Godmother, Wizard from Sword and the Stone. I believe that Minnie, Mickey and Donald were also around.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[mindylovesmickey]

1. What is the best way to get to the Hojo? I can't really help with directions from the airport, I would pull up google maps or mapquest and look at driving directions.

2. We would like to take a day to do something outside of Disney but not sure what? Does your ds like aquariums? Aquarium of the Pacific isn't too far from there. There is also the Discovery Science Center if he likes dinosaurs, space, etc. Neither is real expensive. It needs to be fairly economical. Would not be adverse to going to the beach but realize Monday is probably a better day.

3. How many days Park hopper do we need? 3 or 4. We Fly out at around noon on Wednesday so that day is out. We went so long and hard a WDW the last time, we ended up really tired and sick. We would prefer not wearing ourselves down. We are staying at the Howard Johnson's on Harbor Blvd. If you are planning on doing other things on a few of the days I would just do a 3 day hopper, but if you are going to use all the days, go for 4. Don't run yourselves ragged, either. Take breaks, go back to the hotel take a rest, go swimming. I find it's totally not an enjoyable time if I end up tired and sick because we went too hard.

4. Which one character meal would you do? I don't want a princess one. DD loves anything Disney. DS classic characters, mickey etc. and Captain HooK
I think Minnie's Breakfast or Goofy's Kitchen would be great! We enjoyed Lilo and Stitch, the character interaction was great, but we did't see as many characters as the other two places.
5. Do we need tickets for fantasmic? Kids are 4 and 7 and how late is fantasmic?

6. WOuld you recommend a guide book? I honestly wouldn't recommend spending money on a guide book, these boards and some of the other free sites are just as informative if not more since things can change and guidebooks aren't updated as quickly.

 

[Avery's mom]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. We are currently booked at the Hojo with the entertainment rate for 3 of our 5 days. We are there May 30-June 4th.
We are there (DL - we're at the Fairfield) the exact same dates!
We are arriving at SNA at around 12:30PM. DH will already be in LA at a conference, so just the kids and I are flying in. DS has autism so it makes things a little more difficult. I am looking for the simplest route, even if it is a little more expensive.

1. What is the best way to get to the Hojo? Are you renting a car?

2. We would like to take a day to do something outside of Disney but not sure what? It needs to be fairly economical. Would not be adverse to going to the beach but realize Monday is probably a better day. If you have a car, head to Griffith Park for the pony rides, train and awesome planetarium.

3. How many days Park hopper do we need? 3 or 4. We Fly out at around noon on Wednesday so that day is out. We went so long and hard a WDW the last time, we ended up really tired and sick. We would prefer not wearing ourselves down. We are staying at the Howard Johnson's on Harbor Blvd. I would get a 4 day - you are close (Hojo) and you may just want to head into the park on your first day for fireworks or one or 2 rides. Sometimes doing less during more days is better.

4. Which one character meal would you do? I don't want a princess one. DD loves anything Disney. DS classic characters, mickey etc. and Captain HooK We prefer Goofy's Kitchen, but since you are at the Hojo, it will be quite a walk. Minnie & Friends is inside the park and can be a great late breakfast break if you hit EE/MM.

5. Do we need tickets for fantasmic? Kids are 4 and 7 and how late is fantasmic? No tickets are needed, but a good healthy level of patience is, since this area is very congested and you may have to stake a spot at least 1 hour in advance. Perhaps we could work something out, since we are there the same dates and we are traveling with a large (16) group. My mom & I will be saving spots already, but not sure which day.

6. WOuld you recommend a guide book?

I am a reader, so yes, I would recommend a guide book. If this is your first visit, get any of the books for a good overview of the resort. But this site will give you more insider information and will be more helpful with the details

Please feel free to ask more questions

 

[ballarinamom]

We bought several guide books but I learn so much more here on the boards because it is up to date info.

If your family likes the classic characters, do Minnie at the Plaza as it covers the basics from Pooh characters, Minnie, Captain Hook and so on. Also it's in the Park so easy to get to and from with little ones.

It does not cost for Fatasmic but check the Disney Website and then go to calendar to check in times as it can change based on crowds.

It is very inexpensive to add days to a hopper. If on your first night or when you get back from checking out SoCal, you might want to go in for fireworks or a night ride. DH likes to hang out late while DD and I go to sleep. Also, due to wind conditions, firworks get cancelled a lot. You may want to have that option if by some chance they were cancelled on the other nights

 

[bumbershoot]

If you're just wanting the simple WAY to get to the hotel, vs a route to drive, I'd do something like Super Shuttle, or even just a taxi at a flat rate. It's very close, by the way.

Guidebooks...library only, for me. Put a hold on the absolutely newest edition of Birnbaum, Unofficial Guide, anything else they might have (but only the newest!), read 'em, and come back here for clarification, making sure, and specifics.

I'd get more days...the doing less on more days idea that someone else mentioned is good.

With your son's autism, assuming they are night owls and will be up for Fantasmic, you might think about buying the reserved seating which includes a box of desserts and beverages. It's spendy, 59 per, but it gives you seats that are reserved, rather than fighting the masses, IF fighting said masses will cause problems with your son.

I would probably do the Minnie and Friends character b'fast. But please make sure your kids know that exact characters aren't guaranteed...I mean, you and I might know that Hook shows up quite often, but I don't think he absolutely positively WILL be there, so it's best to make sure expectations match possible reality.