Booked for September first visit for 12 years !!!!

[gstq]

12 years and 3 children later my wife and I have just booked our family trip to Disneyland for our 20th anniversary.

It will be our 3rd time to Disneyland but first as a family with our two girls 6 and 9 and our son 2 1/2 ..... hope we have made the right decision

I think I got a good deal but what do you all think :


Return flights for 5 of us on Virgin for $4,900 (I thought anything under 5k was good ???)
2 night Disneyland hotel
5 night in a 1 bedroom DVC villa at grand Californian (rented through DVCrentalstore)
2 nights LEGOLAND hotel
3 nights Disneyland hotel and then heading home
5 days car hire

all upfront costs including park passes and under $10,500 using lots of Qantas points but think its worth it

looking forward to it.

going first week in September and looking for some advice and discounts for dining and souvenirs

also if anyone has used DVC rentals before let me know, I wanted to find out if we get any other perks as a result???

countdown starts now !!

 

[LivingforDisney]

Sounds great, how many days are you going to go to the parks for?
The only thing I can see is 4 hotels, 12 nights, that wastes a lot of time, packing up, checking in ect.
But everyone is different

 

[Meemoo]

Congrats on your trip, it sounds amazing. I feel your excitement, as I am booked for my first trip with the kids for October. They have done HKDL when they were young but now at 7 & 8 I think the age is perfect for some Disney magic! I am a DVC member, and I don't think you can get the other perks when renting, perhaps parking is the exception but I would check that with the rental company, I believe you may be able to get the free parking at the Grand Cal. The other things you need to present a DVC member card for so for dining etc you wont get the discounts. I have heard rental places like Davids are reliable, and I would use them myself if I needed extra points. Under 5k for the airfares sounds great, did pay for a seat for your 2.5 yr old?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Congrats on your trip. You did great with the flights.

Sounds like you're all set for the flight, accommodation and car hire. Have you worked out dining options?

Enjoy the anticipation and countdown.


ps. Welcome to the Dis!

 

[gstq]

Good tip on the free parking thanks for that and

Congrats on your trip, it sounds amazing. I feel your excitement, as I am booked for my first trip with the kids for October. They have done HKDL when they were young but now at 7 & 8 I think the age is perfect for some Disney magic! I am a DVC member, and I don't think you can get the other perks when renting, perhaps parking is the exception but I would check that with the rental company, I believe you may be able to get the free parking at the Grand Cal. The other things you need to present a DVC member card for so for dining etc you wont get the discounts. I have heard rental places like Davids are reliable, and I would use them myself if I needed extra points. Under 5k for the airfares sounds great, did pay for a seat for your 2.5 yr old?

Thanks for the tip on the parking I will look into that.

Yes we did have to pay for a seat on the flight for the little one

WHat do you think the chances are of an upgrade at the Disneyland hotel because of our anniversary guess I should make sure I put it in the booking

 

[gstq]

Congrats on your trip. You did great with the flights.

Sounds like you're all set for the flight, accommodation and car hire. Have you worked out dining options?

Enjoy the anticipation and countdown.


ps. Welcome to the Dis!

Thanks we told the kids yesterday and they are soooooooo excited
I have been doing some research on dining so any tips would be appreciated

cheers

 

[gstq]

Sounds great, how many days are you going to go to the parks for?
The only thing I can see is 4 hotels, 12 nights, that wastes a lot of time, packing up, checking in ect.
But everyone is different

We are going to be getting a 10 day pass so we can come and go as we please while we are there. I would have preferred to stay in one place but the cost of the DVC villa was prohibitive so we had to work things around that and cheaper flights. Lego land is closed on 15th and 16th and I wanted to be back at the park for our last couple of days before flyinh home so I don't think we will fully unpack, I don't think it will matter that much I think we will all be too excited to care

 

[jacs1234]

Oh that's so exciting. While you're staying at disney hotel you must do goofy's kitchen and when you're at the grand do Story tellers breakfast. They are lots of fun and it;s such a bonus staying at the hotel because you can just pop down to breakfast before going to the parks. I always have breakfast booked before park opening so I don't miss out on park time. Minnies breakfast in the park is a must do too with kids your kids ages. With minnies I book breakfast around 9:30 10 o'clock on a magic morning so we get to the parks before rope drop, zoom around on all the attractions (always peter pan first) then off to minnies when the crowds are getting bigger. I recommend buying the "unofficial guide to disneyland " book. It is so helpful with tips and if you follow their plan it really does work. I think the plan in disneyland is something like "Peter pan, then Dumbo, then Alice, then tea cups, etc etc.

You are going to have so much fun.

 

[lffam]

Sounds like a great trip and your kids will love it! grand Cal is such a great resort i am sure you will love that also.Enjoy!

 

[SnowWhite09]

How exciting - I am sure you are going to have a great time!!!

 

[gstq]

How exciting - I am sure you are going to have a great time!!!

Thanks sooo looking forward to it

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

I often eat at the restaurants on Sth Habor Blvd - they are often a better meal and cheaper too! There is a Denny's, Tony Roma's (I love ribs!), iHop, and many others.

But if you are set on only eating "at Disney", I really like the Mexican restaurant at DTD - can't think of the name at the moment. The Nacho's are GREAT!

 

[gstq]

Oh that's so exciting. While you're staying at disney hotel you must do goofy's kitchen and when you're at the grand do Story tellers breakfast. They are lots of fun and it;s such a bonus staying at the hotel because you can just pop down to breakfast before going to the parks. I always have breakfast booked before park opening so I don't miss out on park time. Minnies breakfast in the park is a must do too with kids your kids ages. With minnies I book breakfast around 9:30 10 o'clock on a magic morning so we get to the parks before rope drop, zoom around on all the attractions (always peter pan first) then off to minnies when the crowds are getting bigger. I recommend buying the "unofficial guide to disneyland " book. It is so helpful with tips and if you follow their plan it really does work. I think the plan in disneyland is something like "Peter pan, then Dumbo, then Alice, then tea cups, etc etc.

You are going to have so much fun.

Hi there,

Thanks for the recommendation, I have read you need to book well in advance for the character breakfasts is that right ? even if you are staying at the resort ?

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

But if you are set on only eating "at Disney", I really like the Mexican restaurant at DTD - can't think of the name at the moment. The Nacho's are GREAT!

Snap! Great restaurant, I can't remember the name either.

Have a great trip!

 

[jacs1234]

It's not as bad as Walt disney world but I would certainly book as soon as the time frame opens. Since you are staying onsite there is a company you can use to book everything for you. It's through disney. It's a free service. I can't remember what they're called but what I do is plan what meals we want and when, I email them the list and they would book it for me as soon as they can. This was before you needed a credit card to book. I'll find the email address and let you know. After they've made all the bookings they send you am itinerary It's great. They even book fantasmic dessert seating for us (they don't have that anymore though).

 

[gstq]

It's not as bad as Walt disney world but I would certainly book as soon as the time frame opens. Since you are staying onsite there is a company you can use to book everything for you. It's through disney. It's a free service. I can't remember what they're called but what I do is plan what meals we want and when, I email them the list and they would book it for me as soon as they can. This was before you needed a credit card to book. I'll find the email address and let you know. After they've made all the bookings they send you am itinerary It's great. They even book fantasmic dessert seating for us (they don't have that anymore though).

Hi There,

Thanks for this wondering if anyone else can help with telling me who the company is ????

Thanks in Advance

 

[jacs1234]

Hi There,

Thanks for this wondering if anyone else can help with telling me who the company is ????

Thanks in Advance

I found it! It's vacationplanning@disneyonline.com or 714 300 7526 (select option #2)

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

It's so easy to book your dining online now, I honestly wouldn't bother with a third party, especially if you have to call them. For September, you won't need to book anything as soon as it opens, especially if you're flexible with days/times. I wouldn't worry too much about the timing for Minnie's breakfast. With so much time onsite, you'll have plenty of early morning entries to take advantage of shorter queues (although with the later opening hours in September, the DL early mornings aren't as quiet - a lot more people are willing to get to the park at 9am as opposed to 7am lol!).

Definitely make a note of your anniversary on all your bookings, and also go and get anniversary buttons from Town Hall when you arrive. You may not get a hotel upgrade (but then again, you may), but over the course of the trip, you will probably get some sort of special treatment. Also get First Visit buttons for the kids.

As far as cheap dining, we really like Denny's. It's ridiculously cheap, especially for breakfast, convenient to the parks, and usually pretty quick service too. There are heaps of other options on Harbor. Downtown Disney is still expensive, but some of the more expensive places have a takeaway section too that is cheaper. If you're in a villa, you can probably take it back to your room to eat. Otherwise Earl of Sandwich is a good one for a quick, inexpensive meal, and we also love LaBrea. The quick service locations at DLR are also quite good. Hungry Bear is our favourite in DL, and Flo's is our favourite in DCA. Also make sure you try to mini churros from the Cozy Cone. Keep in mind that US serving sizes are huge, so you can probably get away with 3 meals between all of you (or even 2 depending on how much you and DH usually eat). Mum and I comfortably shared most of our meals over there.

 

[kbainbridge]

Make sure you have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory one night!! It is off site but it's one of my favourite restaurants!!