Arriving this Friday - seeking advice

[Lori of the Lodge]

Seeking advice from DLR Experts (I know you are out there) about my itinerary...and I also have a few questions.

We're two adults (WDW Vets, DLR newbies), arriving this Friday evening at LAX. Staying four nights (3 days in the parks.) Picking up our rental car at LAX and driving to Residence Inn Maingate. I pre-ordered 3-day Hopper Bonus Tickets from ARES travel. We're doing the DCA Segway tour Sunday morning as our "splurge."

Itinerary:
1/15 (Friday) Arrive around 6:30 p.m. at LAX. Pick up rental car and drive to Residence Inn Maingate, check in. Find nearby grocery store and stock up. Walk around Downtown Disney area.

1/16 (Saturday) MM at DL 7:00 a.m. (We'll still be on east coast time, so this shouldn't be a problem.) Take advantage of early entry to see the major attractions and get fast passes, then tour leisurely for the rest of the day, taking long breaks for lunch and dinner (and perhaps a nap back at the hotel). Maybe hop over to DCA at some point in the afternoon. "Remember...Dreams Come True" Fireworks at 9:25 p.m.

1/17 (Sunday) Segway tour - arrive by 7:15 a.m. After tour, spend the day at DCA.

1/18 (Monday) Last day in the parks. Hop between DL and DCA to ride all our favorites again. Concentrate more on scheduled shows and things we may have missed.

1/19: Check out of hotel, drive to LAX for flight home, departing at noon.


QUESTIONS:
1) Should we plan to pick up our pre-paid tickets at the main entrance ticket window Friday night? Or will it be quick and easy to pick them up Saturday at 7:00 a.m. at DL before MM?

2) What is the nearest grocery store (that has a nice selection)? I would like to buy cheese, cold cuts, fruit, coffee, bottled water and a few lite snacks...and a bottle or two of wine. Will I need to drive, or is a market within walking distance?

3) At WDW we love to "resort hop" and visit the various themed resorts and their restaurants. Do people do this at DLR? Should we plan to see Grand Californian, maybe have lunch there one day?

4) I'm a little confused about the monorail. Based on where we're staying (Residence Inn), will it make sense for us to ride the monorail? If so, where is the station? Is it on our way to the park entrance?

Thanks! I'm looking forward to your expert advice.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

QUESTIONS:
1) Should we plan to pick up our pre-paid tickets at the main entrance ticket window Friday night? Or will it be quick and easy to pick them up Saturday at 7:00 a.m. at DL before MM? ~ If you can pick them up Fri. night that'd be great! I'm not sure you'll be able to though??

3) At WDW we love to "resort hop" and visit the various themed resorts and their restaurants. Do people do this at DLR? Should we plan to see Grand Californian, maybe have lunch there one day? Definitely check out the Grand ~ it is lovely.

4) I'm a little confused about the monorail. Based on where we're staying (Residence Inn), will it make sense for us to ride the monorail? If so, where is the station? Is it on our way to the park entrance? ~ No, you won't need it, it only picks up and drops off in Disneyland (Tomorrowland) and DTD ~ near Rainforest Cafe/DLH.

I'm not sure where you're staying ~ is it within walking distance? I sure hope so. Have fun!

 

[ttds17]

We will be there this weekend too!

1. If the ticket windows are still open by the time you get to DD, definitely pick them up. I'm not sure what time they close though. I'm thinking an hour before the park closes, but I could be wrong. Someone else here probably knows the answer to that.

2. No clue. We never do this.

3. Yes, it's very common to do this at DLR. Definitely see the GC. It's stunning! There are some nice restaurants there as well.

4. You won't need the monorail. It only stops at the oposite end of DD from where you are and in Tomorrowland. Does your hotel have a shuttle? It's hard to tell how far it is from DLR on the map. Just for fun though, I would ride the monorail if you have time. It's a nice way to relax, have some downtime and get a great view of the resort as well. We enjoy it.

 

[blackjackdelta]

The RI Maingate is less than 1/2 mile from the park and an easy walk. You will find that for a number of posters this is to far away. We love the RI Maingate for the 6 of us.

Jack

 

[Lori of the Lodge]

As I undersand, the hotel offers the disneyland shuttle that's $4 per day, or $10/for your entire stay....(those details may be slightly off). We're both in fairly good shape, so we intned to walk the 15 min. (1/2 mile) journey to the park, unless it is raining or something.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... Take advantage of early entry to see the major attractions ...

FWIW, here are a couple of threads about Magic Morning early entry:

"Magic Morning (Early Entry) Super Thread" by DLR29
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

"Critique of MM/EE" by Hound 109
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392671

 

[Leofoenget]

if you are asking if you should ride the monorail into the park No. Walk from your hotel to the front gate. Other than that, you can ride the Monorail whenever you want just don't plan on it for hotel transportation

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... 2) What is the nearest grocery store (that has a nice selection)? I would like to buy cheese, cold cuts, fruit, coffee, bottled water and a few lite snacks...and a bottle or two of wine. Will I need to drive, or is a market within walking distance. ...

There's a Super Target at 12100 Harbor Blvd. (Garden Grove, Calif.). It's just a mile or two south of DLR.
Here's a wikimap link: http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=33.7872174&lon=-117.9138619&z=18&l=0&m=b

There are two other Super Targets nearby:
101 South Euclid St. (Anaheim) (3.5 miles from DLR)
200 West Orangethorpe Ave. (Fullerton, Calif.) (4.5 miles from DLR)

FWIW, there's also a 7-11 fairly close to the Residence Inn:
Here's a wikimap link: http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8037766&lon=-117.9070732&z=19&l=0&m=b

The locals on this board might have better shopping information than I do, but here's my 2 cents.

HTH

 

[Quilter007]

Three options for eating at the Grand Cal:

Counter Service:

White Water Snacks -- sandwhiches, salads & pizza -- it's tucked in by the pool area -- a little hard to find. Personally, I love the chicken salad sandwhich.

Storytellers -- character breakfast. no characters for lunch/dinner. Buffet $30-ish for adult -- it's fabulous. They also have a menu. We have only ordered off the menu once, one day when we were literally too tired to walk to the buffett and because we had just sold one house and hadn't bought the new house had a bunch of cash in the bank & were feeling rich...was very good, but cost us twice as much to order off the menu. We order make your own pizza for kids off the menu -- that's less expensive than the kids buffet.

Napa Rose -- never been there -- pricer than Storytellers -- waiting for the kids to be old enough to wander about the park eating corn dogs & riding rides because they won't appreciate it. Supposed to be amazing.

It's worth it just to walk through the lobby @ the Grand Cal.

 

[Lori of the Lodge]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I love Super Target...that will work beautifully for the few groceries we need.

I'm so looking forward to Southern California and escaping the cold weather in Atlanta, GA. We've been in the icebox for more than a week - lows in the teens, highs in the 40's....that's too cold for my thin skin.

 

[darph nader]

As I undersand, the hotel offers the disneyland shuttle that's $4 per day, or $10/for your entire stay....(those details may be slightly off). We're both in fairly good shape, so we intned to walk the 15 min. (1/2 mile) journey to the park, unless it is raining or something.

Sounds like the ART system. You're too close,just walk.

 

[Lori of the Lodge]

I'm leaving today....YAY!!!!!!!
Four hours and counting.....

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Have a wonderful time!!!

Another alternate for groceries is going to the Ralphs on Sepulveda, about 1-2 miles south of the LAX Airport. They have a very nice deli there, salad bar, other ready-made salads, hot food, and good choice in produce & other groceries that you may need. You can go to Ralphs, then when you're done, go back on Sepulveda a few blocks, turn right on Imperial Hwy & get on the 105 freeway. It's all very close, and that store is really nice in a good neighborhood.

(I work right by it & go there often enough)

 

[HappieMommie]

We just got home last night from Disney and I have to tell you this: HAVE FUN! The parks were super slow (except Friday night!) and on our last day (Wednesday) we walked onto rides (I walked onto Soarin'!), it was super duper slow. It was my most magical experience, and I have only been to WDW and now DLR. There's something VERY extra special about Disneyland, that WDW didn't have. I like both, but I REALLY like DLR!