Am I overbooking?

[geekypeach]

Hello all! So nice to say hi, as I have been lurking for some time.

We are leaving from Utah to our first family trip to the 'Land next Sat. We have 4 nights booked at HoJo for a 3 day park stay. We also have an alternate hotel booked in Seal Beach for the first night. The thinking was we could drive in that Sat, spend the rest of the late afternoon at the beach, eat dinner at the end of the pier, then crash at the hotel only to rise and shine bright and early for our 8 am character breakfast. See, my husband or children have never seen the ocean, so it is big that we get that in sometime.

The worry is that we'll be too pooped from a full day driving to schlep on down to the waterfront and enjoy it. Or, maybe not and we'd be totally excited and stokked.

You all seem to have collectively more experiences with family vacations and a better idea of what is/is not over planning. Thoughts?

Oh, and by the way, so nice to meet you all!

Nicole

 

[Sherwin]

Hi and welcome!



This is definitely not overbooking, IMO. A 3-day DL trip + the beach is a pretty modest vacation. I think if you guys decide to take it easy the first day on the water, then I'm sure you should all have enough energy to carry you through the rest of the day. Excessive walking or recreational sports may wear you out a bit, but that's the fun in a good day.

 

[Tasscrapper]

So you'll spend the first night at Seal beach, check out and get to the breakfast at Disneyland by 8am? I don't see that happening to tell the truth. If you were staying at a hotel by Disneyland yes but not if you have to check out and drive there first. At least I can't see it happening with my family. I'd just go to the beach then drive bakc to the hotel by Disneyland.

 

[Sherwin]

So you'll spend the first night at Seal beach, check out and get to the breakfast at Disneyland by 8am? I don't see that happening to tell the truth. If you were staying at a hotel by Disneyland yes but not if you have to check out and drive there first. At least I can't see it happening with my family. I'd just go to the beach then drive bakc to the hotel by Disneyland.

Right, I forgot to mention that as well. You'll do fine the first day, but Seal Beach is far from DL. You absolute latest you'd have to get up is 6am, and that's never a friendly time.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Welcome!

6am would be too late for my family to get up for DLR even if we were right there! You want to be at the parking garage around 7ish if the park opens at 8am. It should open at 7 but we found we didn't have to be there at 7 on the dot. Then you take the tram and walk over to the security check point. This would be around 7:30ish. Then you walk over to the gates. We start getting up around 5am just to get everyone in to the bathroom in the morning. Don't know how far the beach is from DLR but then you'd have to take the drive into account too.

Of course, if the beach is top priority with your family then maybe you just get to DLR later in the morning that first day and move your breakfast to the next day, if possible. Maybe some of the locals know how long it will take to get to DLR from where you are staying.

 

[Brady's Mom]

We drive from Utah, also. We leave around 4 am so we can get to Anaheim in the mid-afternoon. This way we miss a lot of traffic, too. We also love the beach and an afternoon/evening at the beach with some dinner would be a great choice for us. I would second the recommendation of just adding another day to HoJo since it isn't really that far to get from Seal Beach to Anaheim. Estimated driving time on Mapquest is 24 minutes. And, it's about 18 miles.

We stayed at HoJo in Dec. and loved being able to walk to the parks. We had only stayed at hotels that we had to drive from before and I won't choose to do that again. It is really easy to get up and go - you don't have to plan for traffic patterns and congestion and parking and the tram and security. You get up, get ready, walk out the door, walk across the street, go through security and hit the turnstyles. Takes about 10 minutes.

Have you thought about moving your breakfast to later in the morning to take advantage of early morning park time? If you get into DL right at opening and head to Fantasyland you can really optimize the amount of rides you can do - and also maximize Fast Pass collection.

One thing to consider is picking up your tickets the night before you actually go to the parks - you can get them at the ticket booths (unless you got them from Disney.com) and then skip the ticket booths the next morning. If you got them from Disney, you can skip the ticket booths anyway.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Another thing to think about the seperate hotel for the first night is that you are going to have to check into the HOJO at some point on your first day at Disneyland. Are you planning on going straight to the park for your breakfast then leaving to do an early check in or going to check in after lunch? Either way you do it it is still going to take extra time out of that first day to check in, unload the car and unpack. If you unpack and don't just leave everything in the suitcases. If you are planning on having down time for the kids that first day it might be a bit hard with the check in.

I would really look into if you can get that first night at HoJo's too and either stop and check in, unload, do a potty break ect then say "all right lets head to the beach!" or go to the beach first then go do a late check in. It could be so much easier to already be by the park in the morning. Just my opinion though. Personally I'm now a fan of driving through the night and geting there for early morning. I live in the Salt Lake Valley. I love being able to get here without the kids whining and wasting a whole day traveling.

 

[prncssmel]

I agree about just adding a day to HoJo. That way you will be checked in, have all your stuff and can just get ready and go to the park in the morning.

Are you going to the parks everyday? We like to schedule the character breakfast on a day when we aren't going into the parks. That way we have more time to enjoy without worrying about rushing to the parks.

Wow, are we the only ones from Utah who don't drive straight through? We always stop and spend the night in Vegas on the way.

 

[LuLusApple]

I agree with what everyone has already said re: a later breakfast.
We are starting our driving a day early (sunday) and staying a couple hours away the night before we get to DL. The next day (Monday) we will check out at 6 am and hit traffic I am sure
Monday is a unscheduled day for us....
We have to drive into DL park in a parking structure. Hit DL for a bit then head to the hotel for check in. For us traveling with an infant, scheduling that day would be unbearable
I think your beach day will be fun and exciting. So go a bit slower the next day. Make a later brekki time so you won't get stressed out. It can take a while just to park the car and get on a tram. Not worth the stress IMO

 

[avalon451]

Hi, welcome! Glad you delurked to join us!

I agree with the others about staying at HoJo the night before, and about moving your character breakfast to later in the morning. Do you have 3 day hoppers, with a Magic Morning available? If the parks open at 8 a.m., that means MM is at 7. You could save your MM to do on Sunday, though, if that would be too early after your busy day on Friday.

If you read Hydroguy's tips, he tells you that the first hour in the parks is crucial for collecting FPs and taking advantage of low lines. This is especially important on weekends, and I think you're probably already getting into some spring breaks during that week and weekend, so it will be extra busy.

A better way to do it, might be to have some easy breakfast early, in your hotel room, to tide you over (juice, milk, cereal bars, muffins, fruit, yogurt... etc.) then have your character breakfast later in the morning, like 10 or 10:30, more like a brunch. then you won't need much lunch, either. Probably just a midafternoon snack.

Hope that helps, and hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I think a little beach time sounds wonderful!

...a couple of suggestions from a veteran of a skillion trips to WDW....


1.) Pack 1 small bag for the first night and leave everything else in the car overnight -- in the trunk. Avoid the "schlep" factor.

DH and I always do this the first night a Riverside in WDW...then move to another hotel the next day for the remainder of our trip.


2.) Remember....this is your vacation. If you cannot get everyone up in tme to make it to DL at 8 am......it's vacation. Give them the extra hour.

Don't try to see and do everything in one trip.

Our last trip to WDW I was sporting a badly injured ankle. DH rented a scooter for me. It gave me freedom...but getting around in crowds or tight lines was challenging. We skipped a few things which were too busy and one day slept in when I was too exhausted to venture out. Yet, we still found our magic!

 

[KelliLee702]

We also have an alternate hotel booked in Seal Beach for the first night. The thinking was we could drive in that Sat, spend the rest of the late afternoon at the beach, eat dinner at the end of the pier, then crash at the hotel only to rise and shine bright and early for our 8 am character breakfast. See, my husband or children have never seen the ocean, so it is big that we get that in sometime.

The worry is that we'll be too pooped from a full day driving to schlep on down to the waterfront and enjoy it. Or, maybe not and we'd be totally excited and stokked.

Nicole

I used to live in Seal Beach just 1/2 block from the ocean! The beach is very easy to access and the Main Street and Pier are great! There are showers and toilets under the Pier and a great playground just to the Left of the Pier! If you are planning dinner at the end of the Pier you should plan on a wait especially if you are trying to plan at Sunset. The food is OK but the view is great! Just be sure to dress warm because the weather gets cool and windy when the sun is begining to set.

You'll have a great time! it is very doable. Be sure to allow time for traffic and parking at DLR in the morning before breakfast!

 

[Teki]

sounds like the sort of trip Id plan, but Im used to doing things a little commando, squeezing things in between work and school. So if it were me Id say you'd be ok, but really its up to you and your family as to how tired you would be.

 

[geekypeach]

Well, golly, thank you all.

I think I have my answer, although not by my own doing. My dad and his wife have joined the trip, and although I have the first night double booked (HoJo and the Seal Beach hotel), they couldn't get the first night at HoJo. So, I believe we will be staying in SB the first night, and then delaying the character b-fast until late Monday a.m. (NICE suggestion on the brunch, BTW.).

My hubby gets a little stressed in new situations, so while this sounds rather loose to many, I worry about his sanity and would really love this to be a cherished trip for him so we can do it again and again and again, ad nauseum.

Again, thanks!