Back from 1st trip to DL staying at HOJOs!

[mermaidwannabe]

I'm actually not back from our vacation yet as we went to San Diego and Zion too but am on someone's computer and wanted to make a quick post. This was our first trip and I was worried about my family not liking it as much as DW, but we LOVED it! If you take Epcot out of the equation, I would say I liked it even better. We park hopped a lot in our 3 days and the close proximity to DD was awesome!!

By the way we were there on a Mon, Tues and Wed (June 23, 24 and 25th) and followed all the tips gathered here. We were there before the gates opened and did TONS of rides by noon in addition to getting 6 FPs to use later. We never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride but by mid-afternoon the lines were LONG. Good thing we got there early and got FPs!! I felt sorry for everyone waiting in the hour-long lines!

We stayed at HOJOs and the people there really are great. I did appreciate the nice trees and flowers in their landscaping, and the pool was great for us. They were working hard on the Castaway Cove, well past dinnertime one of the night's we walked by. It's going to be so cool!

Thanks to all you DISers for all the advice. Aladdin was a must-see for those of you on the fence. Even my DH, who isn't into anything on a stage, really enjoyed it, especially Genie.

I had my first Dole Whip which was as good as everyone raves about. I had a pineapple wedge every day at the parks and didn't even mind paying $2.50 for it!

For those of you who aren't sure they'll like DL as much as DW, you will!! I LOVED how close everything was, and some of the rides really were better. We fell in love with DL and will definitely be back!! My kids kept telling me they missed DL while we were at the beach in San Diego.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask, but I may not be back to a computer for a couple of days!! Special thanks to HydroGuy for the tips!!!!

 

[annieb727]

glad to hear you had such a great time!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I am just starting my research for our trip to DL next year and I thank you for your post! I have a quick question... can you accumulate FP's and use them later in the day, after the expiration time?

thanks!

 

[DangerMouse]

I am just starting my research for our trip to DL next year and I thank you for your post! I have a quick question... can you accumulate FP's and use them later in the day, after the expiration time?

thanks!

Yes, you can. Check out Hydro's sticky thread at hte top, for more info on how to best use FPs at DLR:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1186052

 

[KCmike]

We really love it there too. I like how you said if you took Epcot out the equation....because that was the only park our family missed as well.

 

[avalon451]

So glad you had a great time! Looking forward to a full trip report when you get back!

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

can you accumulate FP's and use them later in the day, after the expiration time?

thanks!

You sure can!
That's how I always do it.
Also, when you switch parks between DCA and DLR you can immediately get another fastpass at the one you just entered. And keep a lookout for "expired" ones people might have left on the ground, I've gotten a few that way as well.

And this is much less common but occasionally the machines malfunction and start spitting passes at you, eventually they get marked as void but you can get several for the same time before the machine notices! XD How evil of me to benefit from that!

Sorry for the slightly off-topiness.

I'm so glad your family enjoyed Disneyland and the delicious dole whips!
What did you think of the walk from the HOJO's to the park entrance? I was eating and the Mimi's nearby one morning and saw a group of people walking to the park, it seems pretty far compared to all the places I've stayed before! They must have great endurance to do that at the end of the day!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

You sure can!
That's how I always do it.
Also, when you switch parks between DCA and DLR you can immediately get another fastpass at the one you just entered. And keep a lookout for "expired" ones people might have left on the ground, I've gotten a few that way as well.

And this is much less common but occasionally the machines malfunction and start spitting passes at you, eventually they get marked as void but you can get several for the same time before the machine notices! XD How evil of me to benefit from that!

Sorry for the slightly off-topiness.

I'm so glad your family enjoyed Disneyland and the delicious dole whips!
What did you think of the walk from the HOJO's to the park entrance? I was eating and the Mimi's nearby one morning and saw a group of people walking to the park, it seems pretty far compared to all the places I've stayed before! They must have great endurance to do that at the end of the day!

The walk from Hojos wasn't too bad. We did it twice during the afternoon and those times were no sweat. At night, after fireworks, it was a bit tiring, but really, it's not that much further and it was worth it for us. Had we not had our stroller for our DD5, it may have been a different story...and there was the night that my DD11 and DD8 laid down from exhaustion on the front of McDonalds lawn while my DH got a snack. We really pushed it too much that day though. I was very whiny too. All in all, I would've walked the extra distance to HOJOs UNLESS I had really small children, then Tropicana would've been our choice. HTH!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

THanks for the info regarding FP's!