Advice Needed on Planning First Disneyland Family Vacation

[Matrixleos]

Planning to take my family (2 adults and 3 kids ages between 12-17) to Disneyland for the first time end of July. Already have a 2 day Park Hopper tickets and will keep checking the reservations site, as the dates we want will open up in 26 days. We are out of state but taking the gamble that things will open up by our trip at the end of July.

Just found this website and it's great, going to keep exploring and reading all the different thread topics. Although I did have a couple of questions and would appreciate any feedback, much thanks in advance!!!

1) Mickey Mouse Waffles - As a family, we've visited Walt Disney World and have gone on a Disney Cruise. This might sound funny but our favorite way to start off the day on a Disney vacation is to eat Mickey Mouse Waffles for breakfast. We are staying at an off-site hotel but was curious to see if it's possible that any restaurants near by offer Mickey Mouse Waffles for Breakfast? Would one of the Disney hotels offer them and is it possible to eat there without staying on property? If they do, which Disney Hotel would be worth eating breakfast at?

2) Sit Down Meals at Disneyland Parks - Planning on having one sit down meal at each park. What would be the best restaurants to reserve a sit down meal at both Disneyland and California Adventure Park? Plus once we select where we want to eat, when would be the best times to make the reservation, 60 days out? Better to make reservation on the website or app, is there a difference?

3) Park Arrival - Our off-site hotel is a 5 to 7 minute walk to the main entrances to both parks. What would be the best time to arrive to wait to get in the park, 30 minutes before the park opens?

4) Best attraction/ride to start the day - With no Fast Pass, which rides would be best to get to as the park opens to avoid any lines. I'm guessing Soarin in California Adventure Park and the new Snow White ride in Disneyland? Any other to rush to early on to avoid lines as the park fills up in the morning?

 

[Bigmace]

1. Several of the disney hotel restaurants serve them and I believe the Plaza Inn and Carnation Cafe have them at Disneyland or did at one point. But a lot of the restaurants are not open yet. So I would do more research as your trip gets closer.

2. Generally reservations are available 60 days in advanced and will go fast. I tend to prefer making them on the computer but shouldn't make a difference between computer and the phone app.

3. The parks have been letting people in about an hour early every day. I would check again when your trip gets closer but I would say try to arrive over an hour early if this continues.

4. Disneyland: Snow White, Smugglers Run, Peter Pan, and if capacity gets increased a lot rides like space mtn, splash mtn, big thunder mountain, the Matterhorn, and Indiana jones can get pretty long lines. And don't forget to try to get a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass. Check there thread here for details on how.
California Adventure: Cars - Radiator springs, Guardians Mission Breakout, the new Spider Man ride coming out, Toy story midway mania. Honestly the lines for Soarin don't get that bad unless the park gets really busy.
*But one thing to note is that if you check the wait times right now they are really short. I would imagine that Disneyland will increase capacity by July though if the state lets them.

 

[Kender]

Things could change by the time your dates open for registration, but please keep in mind that until the residency restriction is lifted, you cannot make park reservations as you have to certify you are a California resident during the process.

A lot is not open right now and we don't know when those closed things will open so these questions are difficult to answer. Like even if you wanted something at GCH, the hotel is off limits to non-guests. Menus are also very limited. But things are always changing so what's true now possibly won't be true in a month

At this time, I can't find Mickey Waffles on any menu. Watch for Carnation Cafe to reopen.

I would keep an eye on how things develop. Things only just opened this past weekend and the garages are only officially scheduled to open a half hour before scheduled park opened starting today. They opened at 6am (3 hours before scheduled park opening) for opening. We're still learning the morning pattern.

 

[mouschievous]

1 - Plaza Inn definitely had them in the before times, and they have a great character breakfast IF it's going.

2 - Again, hard to know what will be open in July, but Blue Bayou is my fave sit down in DL. We didn't do sit down in DCA, but I'd like to try Carthay Circle.

3 -That I can't help with, sorry!

4 - In DCA, I would race-walk to Radiator Springs. That was hands down the busiest ride for us, with the longest line. The wait was consistently 2 hours. In DLR, Pirates is always my first stop. We always, always do Pirates, HM, Big Thunder. But Rob would tell you to go straight to Peter Pan

 

[Matrixleos]

Much thanks for all the suggestions. First time planning for a trip to Disneyland, so want to be prepared as much as possible.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Goofy's Kitchen (at DLH) had them before as well, but who knows when that will reopen. I'd personally recommend the character breakfast at Plaza Inn, if that reopens by the time you go.

Keeping in mind who knows what will be open.... For DCA, Carthay Circle is amazing. Absolutely delicious, seasonal food (and the price to match lol). The counter service game at DCA is pretty strong. Personally, it's not a Disney trip for me if we don't do Flo's (in Cars Land, diner-type food). Lucky Fortune (Asian food) is also pretty good, and there's also the soup and salads in bread bowls at Pacific Wharf. For Disneyland, honestly, I think Blue Bayou is overrated. Cafe Orleans is fun for the Monte Cristo. For counter service, we're big fans of Rancho del Zocalo (Cal-mex) and Jolly Holiday (soups and sandwiches). The fried chicken at Plaza Inn is still pretty good, as well. I also really liked the counter service restaurants in Galaxy's Edge.

Like everyone else said, keep an eye here on how it's going. It seems like they're regularly letting folks in and preloading ride queues almost an hour before park open.

For Disneyland, Peter Pan was the classic answer, though it looks like Snow White is the new winner, at least for the time being. Our go-to is usually to do Fantasyland first thing as they're all slow loaders (and short rides) so in the old days you could knock most of them off (besides Peter Pan) with very little wait. Indiana Jones tends to be very temperamental (it breaks down a LOT) so it may be best to do first. In DCA, Radiator Springs Racers has pretty long lines, as does Toy Story Midway Mania. I'd definitely recommend having the Disneyland app on your phone and keeping an eye on wait times. You've already got the right idea about going at opening.