A lot of random questions

[Mrs CP]

I'm planning our first trip for end of January 2017, and my brain is flooded with random questions about Disney. Our kids are 5 & 6 (boy and girl), and we don't plan to return for many years, so this is our chance to squeeze in the important stuff... no we'll do that next trip.

1. I don't know much about the shows. What shows are a must see? I'm thinking World of Color for sure. How is Disney JR show? Also Frozen at the Hyperion.

2. How do you meet Anna & Elsa?

3. Magic morning - how does this work, and what is the best way to maximize that extra time?

4. How prepared do I need to be for getting wet on rides? Should I have a small super absorbent towel in the backpack?

5. Should we be packing a separate bag and putting it in a locker each day with warmer clothes for the evening/spare clothes in case we get wet. How much is a locker rental?

6. Outside food/drink. Can you pack your own snacks and lunches in your backpack to have a picnic in the park?

7. Backpacks. How big of a backpack is suitable? Can you still take them on the rides?

8. How do you keep tickets organized? I bought a cross body purse for my wallet, phone, lip balm, etc. Is it easiest to keep tickets and fast passes in one of those pockets? Or should I have a lanyard as well? I don't have a pouch for my lanyard, so what should I buy for it? How big are the tickets and fast passes? Would they all fit in a small zipper pouch on a lanyard for a family of 4?

9. Does anyone know how long Paint the Night is running?

10. Which rides are a must do?

I'm sure I will have more questions, but these are what I've come up with so far. Thank you in advance!!

 

[Mysteryincorp]

I'm planning our first trip for end of January 2017, and my brain is flooded with random questions about Disney. Our kids are 5 & 6 (boy and girl), and we don't plan to return for many years, so this is our chance to squeeze in the important stuff... no we'll do that next trip.

1. I don't know much about the shows. What shows are a must see? I'm thinking World of Color for sure. How is Disney JR show? Also Frozen at the Hyperion.

my daughter is 6 and the Disney junior show is getting a little too "babyish" for her. But still a good show.
Mickey and the magical map is absolutely awesome and I Have seen it many ,many times. Don't miss this one. Easy to get good seating too. Haven't seen frozen yet.....I'm so over frozen.



2. How do you meet Anna & Elsa?

Easy, just enter the animation academy area, no fastpass needed. If the line is long come back another time.


3. Magic morning - how does this work, and what is the best way to maximize that extra time?


4. How prepared do I need to be for getting wet on rides? Should I have a small super absorbent towel in the backpack?

Other then GRR you probably won't get soaked on any rides. I usually bring flip flops and change my shoes for GRR. For splash mountain, the middle seats are your best bet to stay dry.


5. Should we be packing a separate bag and putting it in a locker each day with warmer clothes for the evening/spare clothes in case we get wet. How much is a locker rental?

I bring a backpack with sweatshirts, snacks, etc. I only have one kid though so you may want to utilize the lockers if the bag gets too bulky.

6. Outside food/drink. Can you pack your own snacks and lunches in your backpack to have a picnic in the park?

I bring a SOFT cooler with snacks.



7. Backpacks. How big of a backpack is suitable? Can you still take them on the rides?

I bring a regular size backpack, never had a problem in any rides

8. How do you keep tickets organized? I bought a cross body purse for my wallet, phone, lip balm, etc. Is it easiest to keep tickets and fast passes in one of those pockets? Or should I have a lanyard as well? I don't have a pouch for my lanyard, so what should I buy for it? How big are the tickets and fast passes? Would they all fit in a small zipper pouch on a lanyard for a family of 4?


I have a cross body lanyard pouch thing that fits my cell phone, AP, credit cards, and fast passes.


9. Does anyone know how long Paint the Night is running?


10. Which rides are a must do?
All of them!!

I'm sure I will have more questions, but these are what I've come up with so far. Thank you in advance!!

 

[chickapin parterre]

as a first time visitor there are no must do attractions. what you will encounter is the flexibility of your children for each attraction, be dark and scary, or fast and loud, or simple just sit and go with the flow and check your pulse occasionally. Be prepared to ride Autopia over and over and over or to never enter a dark building or switch back and forth on the roller coasters. Be prepared for you children to hug Mickey or run away. The best way to prepare for your trip is purchase a guide.

 

[chickapin parterre]

wet rides. There is a sign on splash and grizzly as you enter, that you will get wet. How do you like being wet? you can purchase ponchos from the dollar store and wrap up and come out dry. You can wear pool shoes and store your walking shoes in you pack Or you can bring a towel, wipe down the wet seat and hope for the best 90% of the riders hope for the best. Folks who do not like being wet, do not ride splash or grizzly. I wear a poncho, exchange out my shoes and ride splash 4 times in a row when the attraction first opens in the morning. Then I spend the rest of the day drying out.

 

[chickapin parterre]

as a first time visitor it will be difficult to maximize early morning because you have no concept of how lines for each attraction. My advice is go directly to Dumbo, rotate to alice and toad. do not attempt Peter Pan. those three attractions should consume the hour and at 10 mins before the hour ends, head over to tomorrowland and wait for fastpass machines to open, gather them and and explore the area. Gathering the fastpass for tomorrowland is the biggest advantage for a first time visitor

 

[disneychrista]

As to wet rides. I do the opposite of what a lot of people suggest. I remove my sweatshirt, jacket, etc and then use a cheap poncho to help stay dry. I am not a fan of getting wet. Grizzly River run has lockers that you can use FOR FREE to keep things save & dry during your ride. If I had a back pack (which I don't any longer) I would throw flip flop in there and remove my shoes too. You can and will get wet - soaked on both GRR & Splash. Unfortunately Splash does not have free lockers.

 

[Malcon10t]

You don't mention where you are staying or how long this trip will be.

1. I suspect Disney Jr may be too young for your children. Frozen (in DCA) and Mickey's Magical Map (in Disneyland) are great daytime shows. WOC is a great nighttime show. I don't think Paint the Night will be playing.

2. Anna and Else can be found inside the Animation Academy. You line up and they take you into the Royal Hall to meet them.

3. Magic Morning - If you are staying offsite and have a 3 day or more ticket, you get entrance to DIsneyland on either Tues/Thurs/Sa one hour prior to the park opening. Rides are open in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

4. Wet - Both rides you will get wet. Ponchos will help.We take flip flops and switch to keep shoes dry. We also tend to ride last thing so we can go change.

5. Locker rental is $7 for small and $10 for larger lockers inside the park.

6. Yes, but make sure no glass containers and that food is premade (ie make sandwiches, not bread, meat lettuce separately.) There is a picnic area just outside the park to the west of Disneyland. Please be advised people don't appreciate it when picnic-ers take up tables at counter service restaurants. There have been times we have walked out of Plaza Inn with a tray of hot food and couldn't find a table while there were a lot of tables being used for picnics. Just be polite.

7.Standard backpacks work just fine.

8. FP and Tickets are about 2x3.5 inches And like 60 lb stck. My daughter carries a 4x6 small crossbody purse.

9. Paint the Night will likely end Jan 9th.

 

[biochemgirl]

When we've been in winter I avoided the wet rides because it was too cool outside to walk around soaked. When it's hot out, I love cooling off on a ride - just change into wet shoes and let it happen! Sometimes you'll just get a little splashed and then the next time through you'll be wring out the water wet.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I got drenched on Splash this summer which was a bit of a surprise - I'm used to getting a bit damp but this was standing in a shower fully clothed DRENCHED. Next time i'll make sure to have a bag to put my purse in, lol.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For the water rides, just to be safe, bring ziploc bags to protect your electronics. Witz cases (http://www.witzsportcases.com/see-it-safe.html) are great to hook to a lanyard for tickets and FPs. You can buy them on Amazon.com or at many sporting good stores. As others have stated, I don't think PTN will be running at the end of Jan. You can watch YouTube videos of rides with your kids to determine which ones are on the must do list. Also to determine ahead which rides might be too scary. Start walking together well before your trip to get used to all the excercise you'll get at DLR. Little legs will hold up longer (and yours will, too!) if shoes are comfy and broken in and muscles and stamina are built up beforehand.

 

[cruisehopeful]

4. How prepared do I need to be for getting wet on rides? Should I have a small super absorbent towel in the backpack?

Yes. Be prepared to get very wet. Ponchos will help quite a bit, but you'll still get wet. On Grizzly Rapids, keep your feet up off the floor. You can put them on the ledge under you or on the center console. That should keep your shoes from getting full of water. I was on that ride last week and my hair and Tshirt were wet enough to wring them out.

5. Should we be packing a separate bag and putting it in a locker each day with warmer clothes for the evening/spare clothes in case we get wet. How much is a locker rental?

Yes. Locker rental prices vary by size. The website says they run $7. - $15/day. That does include as many visits to the locker as you need.

6. Outside food/drink. Can you pack your own snacks and lunches in your backpack to have a picnic in the park?

You can bring your own stuff. They ask that you eat it in the picnic area outside of the parks, but I always see people eating in the parks. We had sandwiches while waiting in line for Peter pan once. That helped pass the boring time of being in line.

 

[Elima2015]

I don't know much about the shows. What shows are a must see? I'm thinking World of Color for sure. How is Disney JR show? Also Frozen at the Hyperion.
World of Color, Frozen at the Hyperion, Mickey and the Magical Map. Not a show but Animation Academy is pretty cool. It takes about 20 min and you get guided through sketching a character. My kids thought Turtle Talk with Crush was entertaining (we went to it while DH stood in line for Anna and Elsa).

2. How do you meet Anna & Elsa?
Inside the Animation Academy buiding. They queue the line inside the main lobby and then bring you to the M&G area

3. Magic morning - how does this work, and what is the best way to maximize that extra time?
Disneyland only, you get in an hour early on certain days (T, TH, Sat I think), once per 3+ day park hopper ticket. Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open. If you really want to ride PP, be in the front at the turnstiles and rope drop, walk quickly and directly there. Personally, we skip PP and can hit up so many of the other rides in the amount of time it would have taken. In fact, this last visit, we did 35 minutes of FL rides and then left for DCA.

4. How prepared do I need to be for getting wet on rides? Should I have a small super absorbent towel in the backpack?
Grizzly and Splash will get you wet. On Splash mountain the last two seats in the log stay fairly dry, but the front seat will get drenched and I watched the 3rd and 4th seats get their legs and feet soaked as water came over the sides. GRR there are no "safe" seats. I managed to only get my lap and feet wet, a couple stayed nearly dry and a couple people were completely soaked. There are free lockers outside of GRR and I would use them. My personal recommendation is to only ride those if you are ok being very wet. That will depend on your preference and the weather. Carry at least a zip lock bag to put cell phones in and/or make sure you don't bring them or other electronics on the ride.

5. Should we be packing a separate bag and putting it in a locker each day with warmer clothes for the evening/spare clothes in case we get wet. How much is a locker rental?
With your kids ages, I would consider bringing or renting a stroller. I know it seems silly for ages 5 and 6, but there is so much walking and long days that you all may do better with a place for the kids to sit and ride for a bit. Then just store sweatshirts, snack bag, water bottles, etc in the stroller.

6. Outside food/drink. Can you pack your own snacks and lunches in your backpack to have a picnic in the park?
Yes, I have never been questioned on food, but we only brought snack type items and an occasional PB&J. We tend to bring in things like apple sauce pouches, fruit cups, crackers to supplement a main purchased entree, which we can usually buy two to share among the four of us.

7. Backpacks. How big of a backpack is suitable? Can you still take them on the rides?
I would think a "normal" book sized backpack is fine. Especially if you rent a stroller. Yes, you can take them on the rides.

8. How do you keep tickets organized? I bought a cross body purse for my wallet, phone, lip balm, etc. Is it easiest to keep tickets and fast passes in one of those pockets? Or should I have a lanyard as well? I don't have a pouch for my lanyard, so what should I buy for it? How big are the tickets and fast passes? Would they all fit in a small zipper pouch on a lanyard for a family of 4?
I carry a crossbody as well and I store the park admission tickets in a interior zipper pocket. I store fast passes in an exterior zipper pocket. I keep them separate just so I don't accidently pull out and drop a park ticket when grabbing FPs.

9. Does anyone know how long Paint the Night is running?
I think just through the holidays

10. Which rides are a must do?
My favorites are Big Thunder Mountain RR, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gadgets Go Coaster is a great intro to fast rides for younger children, Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin, Screamin, Toy Story Midway Mania. I also enjoy many of the other rides for a nice break from the "big rides" - ones like Monsters Inc, Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion (though these lines can be long), Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

 

[hsmamato2]

as a first time visitor it will be difficult to maximize early morning because you have no concept of how lines for each attraction. My advice is go directly to Dumbo, rotate to alice and toad. do not attempt Peter Pan. those three attractions should consume the hour and at 10 mins before the hour ends, head over to tomorrowland and wait for fastpass machines to open, gather them and and explore the area. Gathering the fastpass for tomorrowland is the biggest advantage for a first time visitor

excellent....

 

[Rabb it]

I'm planning our first trip for end of January 2017, and my brain is flooded with random questions about Disney. Our kids are 5 & 6 (boy and girl), and we don't plan to return for many years, so this is our chance to squeeze in the important stuff... no we'll do that next trip.

1. I don't know much about the shows. What shows are a must see? I'm thinking World of Color for sure. How is Disney JR show? Also Frozen at the Hyperion.

2. How do you meet Anna & Elsa?

3. Magic morning - how does this work, and what is the best way to maximize that extra time?

4. How prepared do I need to be for getting wet on rides? Should I have a small super absorbent towel in the backpack?

5. Should we be packing a separate bag and putting it in a locker each day with warmer clothes for the evening/spare clothes in case we get wet. How much is a locker rental?

6. Outside food/drink. Can you pack your own snacks and lunches in your backpack to have a picnic in the park?

7. Backpacks. How big of a backpack is suitable? Can you still take them on the rides?

8. How do you keep tickets organized? I bought a cross body purse for my wallet, phone, lip balm, etc. Is it easiest to keep tickets and fast passes in one of those pockets? Or should I have a lanyard as well? I don't have a pouch for my lanyard, so what should I buy for it? How big are the tickets and fast passes? Would they all fit in a small zipper pouch on a lanyard for a family of 4?

9. Does anyone know how long Paint the Night is running?

10. Which rides are a must do?

I'm sure I will have more questions, but these are what I've come up with so far. Thank you in advance!!

1. World of Color, Mickey and the Magical Map, Frozen is cool if you LOVE Frozen, Paint the Night, Disney Jr Live on Stage is pretty fun, especially if your kids watch all the Disney Jr shows (Doc, Jake, Sofia etc.)

2. In DCA in the Animation Academy building. In this same building is Turtle Talk with Crush which is an absolute blast, he interacts with the kids and the kids go crazy for it.

3. If you stay at an on-site hotel you get into the park earlier than others, if you buy a 5 day pass? (think its 5 day, maybe it's 3 day) you get ONE magic morning entrance during your stay. The best way to maximize this extra time is by going on the rides with typically the longest wait times. And maybe going on them multiple times haha

4. OK wet rides, personally I dread the wet rides like Splash and Grizzly River, OBVIOUSLY they are tons of fun, but wet shoes and socks and underwear is not fun if possible bring some flip flops to switch into before the ride and honestly maybe some extra underpants, just my opinion!

5. Yes! I definitely support this idea, extra socks and undies for wet rides, coats for nighttime, and maybe a blanket in case you are sitting on the ground waiting for the parades!

6. You can bring in whatever food and drink you want and eat wherever. Obviously you cannot bring in alcohol.

7. However big you're comfortable with, you can take then on rides just fine.

8. Meh, I don't trust lanyards cause sometimes the ticket holding part rips off or gets caught on something, I just keep all the tickets/passes in one spot some someone doesn't lose theirs, also easier to get fastpasses that way.

9. It just started running again so until they switch it to Main Street Electrical you're good to go. Twice a day (night).

10. Hmm, this is a matter of opinion! As much as possible obviously!

 

[mich311e]

#8 For tickets & fast passes I bring a small binder clip to keep them all together. I have a slot in my crossbody purse for them but I usually just put them in my pocket.

 

[Leopardstars]

as a first time visitor it will be difficult to maximize early morning because you have no concept of how lines for each attraction. My advice is go directly to Dumbo, rotate to alice and toad. do not attempt Peter Pan. those three attractions should consume the hour and at 10 mins before the hour ends, head over to tomorrowland and wait for fastpass machines to open, gather them and and explore the area. Gathering the fastpass for tomorrowland is the biggest advantage for a first time visitor

I would recommend becoming familiar with the Fastpass systems because that can save you A LOT of time. Another tip is to be familiar with the rider swap program, especially if your kids are too small for some of the rides. Our 5 year old is now tall enough for all but two rides.

Since you mentioned this is likely to be your only trip for several years, I'd suggest a guide book. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland is my favourite because it has a ton of information on the rides, touring plans for trips with young kids and other great information.

 

[DL_Forever]

http://dlrprepschool.com/

If you haven't checked out this website you should. Lots of great info!