A little late to freak out?

[organized mommy]

Okay, so apparently I am very unprepared for our visit to DL. We are in CA now and will be getting to our hotel on Tuesday. But.. I have absolutely no plans! Aahh!! Help! I had hoped to plan a little and research more, but life just gets in the way We will have 12/1 (Tues to Fri) 12/4 at the Hotel and we are staying at the Fairfield Inn across the street. After that we will be picking our RV back up (it is getting repairs done) and will be staying at the Anaheim RV Park not far from Disneyland as well. So we will also have possibly Sat/Sun and definitely Tues and then another possible Sat/Sun that we can spend at the parks.

We would prefer to get most of the park touring done Tues-Fri and the next Tues as my husband will have off those days. What are the must see/do things we need not miss? We don't plan on getting PH as we don't think we will need them. We have a 3 yr old and an 11 yr old. Where are the best places to eat? The don't miss characters?

We are frequent WDW visitors, so I'm stressing a little bit over this not having a plan thing. Tell me about DTD. What's it all about? Should we take time to go there? What about resort hopping? Okay, breath! I know, it'll all be just fine! HELP!!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Start by taking a deep breath (!), then read this thread: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. There is lots of helpful info there to give you a basic idea of the similarities and differences between WDW and DLR. Park hopping is so easy at DLR. DL and DCA are separated by an esplanade about the size of a football field. The FP grids (paper FPs) are not linked, so you can hold FPs for rides in both parks simulataneously. And when you feel one park is too crowded, just hop on over to the other park. Easy peasy. DL's Candlelight Processional will take place on the Sat. and Sun. of your visit (12/5 & 12/6). Search for threads on this board about CP. This is an unpublicized Christmas concert for special Disney guests, but anyone can view from the standing areas. CP takes place at the train station in Town Square. Traffic around Main Street for that weekend will be a bit different to accomodate the seating and performance areas. If you love Christmas and carols, don't miss CP. It is really special. DtD is just outside of the esplanade's west exit, by the M&F tram stop. It consists of stores (e.g. WOD, Build-a-Bear, Wonderland Gallery, Lego Store, etc.), kiosks (e.g. snacks, face painting, gifts, etc.), and restaurants (e.g. Jazz Kitchen, Tortilla Jo's, House of Blues, Rainforest Cafe, etc.). It is a nice place to walk around, get something to eat, do some shopping -- all without entering the parks. There is also a movie theater (AMC 12). Everything at DLR is so walkable that it is easy to see both parks and DtD without losing your bearings. Tell us a little more about what kind of restaurants/food you like and which characters your kids love. You'll get lots of good suggestions.

 

[mom2rtk]

Relax! This is DLR. You haven't missed out. FPs are not gone like they might be at WDW if you hadn't planned. I imagine you can still get some decent ADRs if you like.

Crowds are definitely up this year, but you are going mid-week when you are most likely to have lower crowds.

I'd say the one thing you might want to plan for is which days to see which shows.

 

[sdchickie]

No freaking out necessary, we've had AP's at both WDW and DL and they are totally different touring styles. When I do WDW I know where I'm going to eat and what rises I'm doing each day months in advance, but with DL is much easier to fly by the seat of your pants. For our trip to DL in two weeks the only thing I have made reservations to is the BBQ because I learned that they are no longer taking walk ups. Other than that my suggestions are to be there for rope drop and get one or more of the big 5 out of the way each morning. Big 5 is space mountain, Peter Pan, jingle cruise, haunted mansion, and it's a small world. These rides are especially busy now because of their holiday overlays. Also in CA you'll want to get right over to the racers in cars land at rope drop, grab a FP before you get in line because you'll probably want to ride this again, and then secure FP to the world of color for that night. Also, there's two different WOC shows each night so if you are doing 2 days at CA make sure you see both, the early show is their holiday show and the late show is the 60th anniversary show. Hope this helps, enjoy your trip!

 

[luulu1999]

i would prob go ahead and fig out where you might want to eat and nake reservations if needed

 

[Angel Ariel]

Okay, so apparently I am very unprepared for our visit to DL. We are in CA now and will be getting to our hotel on Tuesday. But.. I have absolutely no plans! Aahh!! Help! I had hoped to plan a little and research more, but life just gets in the way We will have 12/1 (Tues to Fri) 12/4 at the Hotel and we are staying at the Fairfield Inn across the street. After that we will be picking our RV back up (it is getting repairs done) and will be staying at the Anaheim RV Park not far from Disneyland as well. So we will also have possibly Sat/Sun and definitely Tues and then another possible Sat/Sun that we can spend at the parks.

We would prefer to get most of the park touring done Tues-Fri and the next Tues as my husband will have off those days. What are the must see/do things we need not miss? We don't plan on getting PH as we don't think we will need them. We have a 3 yr old and an 11 yr old. Where are the best places to eat? The don't miss characters?

We are frequent WDW visitors, so I'm stressing a little bit over this not having a plan thing. Tell me about DTD. What's it all about? Should we take time to go there? What about resort hopping? Okay, breath! I know, it'll all be just fine! HELP!!!

First things first...DLR isn't WDW. You don't need a plan at DLR the way you do at WDW!

Things not to miss..all of the nighttime shows! A Christmas Fantasy parade, haunted Mansion holiday, small world holiday, jingle cruise, thunder mtn (SO much smoother than at wDW!), hyperspace mtn, radiator springs racers, the tree ligthing at 5pm in DCA, pirates (though be aware you may get wet like splash!)...these are all things we LOVE as wdw vets ourselves.

Characters not to miss...Oswald at DCA! If you want to and they are available the Minnie and friends breakfast is amazing. So much better than wdw character meals. We saw 10 characters in one breakfast!

Best places to eat...Napa rose is awesome for one nicer meal. We also enjoyed the plaza inn for dinner (we found that if at least one of us got the chicken, which comes with 3 pieces, that we didn't need to get our 3 y/o her own meal. There was more than enough to feed her from our 2 plates). Carthay circle had really good food as well. We also like Hungry Bear and Galactic Grill for counter service. The Pacific Wharf is where we head for counter service in DCA. The bread bowls with broccoli cheddar soup are delicious!

DTD is a 5 min walk from the parks. Definitely take some time to walk down that way. Visit the Grand Californian..their tree and gingerbread house is gorgeous! If you can, too, check out Trader Sams. If you have to bring the kids, you need to go before 8pm, but it's worth the visit

We had no tourING plans for our trip last week, beyond a few meals booked ahead and which park/day we were going to. We had a fantastic trip and got so much done! There's still a lot we didn't do, just because there's a lot there, but it just gives us a reason to come back for the holidays next year!

 

[ThumperWabbt]

I never have a plan. We just go and have fun. But then we also don't eat in the places where reservations are needed, so we have a lot of flexibility. Most of the time it's just fun to roam around and do things on a whim.

 

[organized mommy]

Thank you all so much!

I'm just so used to planning what parks and which restaurants we are going to each day. I'm a little concerned with not planning to have the PH that we will be limited.

My kids love Chef Mickeys for the characters. My husband and I don't enjoy buffets, so we usually do those for breakfast. We will probably pack our lunches to bring in. We have been branching out and trying new places for food in WDW though. So, really we are looking for anything that stands out that people just LOVE!! We have reservations for Ariel's for Breakfast, but I'm not sure that I'm going to keep it. I've seen people talking about the reservations for the fantasmic and the world of color dinner packages, are they really worth it? Especially since from what I can see, the park crowds are expected to be lower than 5 the days we are supposed to be there. I don't really want to waste a meal. (We usually do the Fantasmic Mama Melrose at HS and LOVE it!)

We are looking forward to doing things that are different than WDW. So, hadn't considered the Jingle Cruise (different than WDW's?) What about some of the other rides that are at both? Are there any that we can definitely skip? (Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Pooh, Splash, etc?)

 

[Angel Ariel]

We found the WOC and F! packages to be worth it. We are not a group that will sit to find a spot early, and with the packages we didn't have to. The food was good, especially at carthay circle.

If your family is mostly into princesses, then Ariel 's is a good place to go. Otherwise I would seriously look into Minnie and friends at the plaza inn inside DLR. It was the best character meal I've gone to in either park.

As for what rides you can skip, someone posted the link for hydroguy's DLR guide go wdw vets. I highly recommend reading that. It goes into that discussion in nice detail.

 

[sdchickie]

Jingle Cruise is different than the Jungle Cruise in WDW because of the holiday overlay. As far as rides that are different than WDW you will want to go on Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Matterhorn, Alice, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, and Space Mountain. In CA go on Monsters Inc, Radiator Springs Racers, Maters Junkyard Jamboree, Screaming, Mickeys Wheel of Death (go on the mild side if you tend to get motion sickness), and any of the Boardwalk rides that look interesting. There's Bugs Land since you have a little one.

 

[ZoZo]

I just wanted to pop on and recommend a restaurant, Cafe Orleans. Ate there for the first time last month, and it was wonderful! I got the Crescent City salad with blackened chicken, pommes frites, and Mickey beignets with berry dipping sauce. Both were absolutely fabulous!

And as another poster menioned, luckily you don't have to plan way ahead for a DLR trip. It's actually pretty easy to make ADRs fairly last-minute.

Darn, now I'm craving those Mickey beignets. With the berry dipping sauce, it's like the very best warm jelly donut you can imagine.

 

[NewbieMouse]

I don't think you'll need as much of plan as you are used to at WDW (I am planning a WDW trip right now and am a bit appalled at the level of planning required ) Get there early, use FP, eat at off times, take a midday break if you can, and you'll be good. Keep an eye on your FP times and get new ones again as soon as you can. You can hop very, very easily (much simpler than WDW, just a walk across the esplanade), so maybe consider that if it the cost is manageable.

I would definitely hit a few things that are DLR unique - the Storybookland Canal Boats (preferably at night), Pirates is a bit better I believe, California Screamin... You can easily do these parks without a huge plan months advance HAVE FUN - ANAHEIM ROCKS!!!

 

[ArchOwl]

I think Fantasmic is only on the weekends, so that may be something to consider. Use one of your DL days on the weekend if you want to catch F.

Otherwise, it is normally good policy to begin your day at the park that does not have early entry. That way you start on equal footing with all other guests. Obviously this may not work out perfectly depending on how many days you have and the early entry schedule, but it is a good place to start.

Parkhoppers are actually quite great for the DLR because the two parks are so close to each other. It also gives you that maximum flexibility to start in one park and finish in another. You may want to think about it.

I've found the WOC and F! packages to be a good value, but that is mostly because we enjoy table service restaurants and would probably eat at them anyway. And we like the reserved areas a bit better than the regular areas. But you can also get a perfectly fine spot if you invest a bit more time and energy into it.

I am guessing you know about the Season of the Force? There is a Star Wars overlay on Space Mountain and a new scene in Star Tours. There is also the Launch Bay meet and greet areas. That might be something to look into if your family likes SW.

Otherwise, if you want to eat at Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle, or Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, you should probably make dinner reservations. And perhaps look into Plaza Inn for Minnie's Breakfast if you want a great character meal.

But DL requires way less planning, so don't freak out. You should be just fine.