mom25kiddos
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Messages
- 315
Circa 2021, every zoom call I took-someone was circling back to the group-so, given I got such great advice here, I wanted to 'circle back' and let everyone know how it went! We were taking a very quick trip, tagged onto a Palm Springs trip (I was one of the should I drive or not posts). Ours kids are fortunate and have been several times, as well as many times to WDW, so we do not stress about what we do not do, and we do not storm the park by any means. Here is how it all went down:
We arrived early afternoon on a Tuesday, we drove from Palm Springs and it was about 2 hours including a very short stop. We checked in to the JW Marriott concierge level-was an incredibly positive experience. Staff was super attentive, lounge was lovely, had a great view, and the concierge amenities were great. I would say the downside is parking is spendy, I think it was $60 or $65/day. But we did not pay for DL park parking at all (our car didn't leave). Kids and I went to the pool for a bit while my husband had a powernap. After my stress on the drive, it was completely fine, all the posts about the sketchiness and safety of driving I really now don't understand. I mean, it is typical big city highway driving (and I come from western Canada) and typical roadside stops, but the comments about carrying 'protection' and such had me pretty stressed we were driving through some sort of no man's land. We made one stop, and it was completely uneventful.
We decided to take the kids to DCA for the late afternoon/evening and purchased one day tickets (two, one day tickets were cheaper than buying a two day ticket-weird). We got to the park around 4 (I know super late, but that's how we roll, and it was then or skip DCA all together). We did everything we wanted to DCA minus Radiator Springs (which the kids didn't seem bothered by, they love Incredicoaster best). Some of the rides we managed included Spider-man, Guardians, Soarin', Incredicoaster, Toy Story, Kali River Rapids, the swings (can't remember the name) and Ariel. I feel like I am missing a few, but these were the main ones the kids wanted. I can ride most coasters and can say I never need to go on Goofy's Sky School again so we skipped that one! We always do genie plus and it was great, particularly for a shorter trip. We left around 10, walked to IHOP (the one closer to the JW), as it is something we don't have at home, and knew it would be open. It was actually pretty decent, and the younger kids ate free, so was a cheap eat!
The next morning we had breakfast in the concierge lounge, which was fantastic, both hot and cold items, grabbed waters for the day and off we went. We walked to the park, which was maybe 15 minutes. The park opened at 8 and we probably got there around 830, this is likely the earliest we have ever entered a park. We are a family of 7 (only four of the kids were with us, as the oldest was studying abroad for university) so I hate paying ILL, and the longest wait we did was for RotR which was almost an hour (but honestly seemed shorter). Otherwise with using Genie and some good luck we didn't have anything longer than a 30 minute wait (one ride, Star Tours of all things). Hyperspace mountain kept going down, but we did eventually get on it with Genie. While we never typically go to a park as early as 830, it did totally help this day, and we were game as we knew we only had the one day at DL. Some of the rides we managed in our time included Indiana Jones, Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Hyperspace Mountain, Mickey's Railroad, Rise of the Resistance, Smugglers Run, Buzz Lightyear, and Star Tours. Again, I feel like I am missing some, but these were the highlights, my kids were not into Fantasyland this trip, and it was busy so that was fine. We left the park around 5 (after shopping) and went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner (and tradition we started probably 15 years ago and still do out of habit) and headed back to Palm Springs. I was watching the commute to see when we should head out and it dropped by about 40 minutes from when I first began tracking it and we hit the road. The drive back though google took us on more turns and work arounds (avoiding busy spots I imagine) and it was quite busy compared to our leisurely morning drive out. Still manageable, but busy. We made one stop on the way back, and other than the volume of traffic, was an uneventful drive back.
Because we had so little time we didn't do parades or shows, or many characters. We also stuck to quick service foods and snacks such as churros, ice cream, popcorn, macaroni and cheese in a bread bowl (two of my kids had this twice, they loved this idea), hot dogs, chili dogs, corn dogs, and chili in a bread bowl.
Thanks again for all of the advice and response to questions. I always wonder about how trips go when people ask questions, so wanted to ensure I filled you in!
We arrived early afternoon on a Tuesday, we drove from Palm Springs and it was about 2 hours including a very short stop. We checked in to the JW Marriott concierge level-was an incredibly positive experience. Staff was super attentive, lounge was lovely, had a great view, and the concierge amenities were great. I would say the downside is parking is spendy, I think it was $60 or $65/day. But we did not pay for DL park parking at all (our car didn't leave). Kids and I went to the pool for a bit while my husband had a powernap. After my stress on the drive, it was completely fine, all the posts about the sketchiness and safety of driving I really now don't understand. I mean, it is typical big city highway driving (and I come from western Canada) and typical roadside stops, but the comments about carrying 'protection' and such had me pretty stressed we were driving through some sort of no man's land. We made one stop, and it was completely uneventful.
We decided to take the kids to DCA for the late afternoon/evening and purchased one day tickets (two, one day tickets were cheaper than buying a two day ticket-weird). We got to the park around 4 (I know super late, but that's how we roll, and it was then or skip DCA all together). We did everything we wanted to DCA minus Radiator Springs (which the kids didn't seem bothered by, they love Incredicoaster best). Some of the rides we managed included Spider-man, Guardians, Soarin', Incredicoaster, Toy Story, Kali River Rapids, the swings (can't remember the name) and Ariel. I feel like I am missing a few, but these were the main ones the kids wanted. I can ride most coasters and can say I never need to go on Goofy's Sky School again so we skipped that one! We always do genie plus and it was great, particularly for a shorter trip. We left around 10, walked to IHOP (the one closer to the JW), as it is something we don't have at home, and knew it would be open. It was actually pretty decent, and the younger kids ate free, so was a cheap eat!
The next morning we had breakfast in the concierge lounge, which was fantastic, both hot and cold items, grabbed waters for the day and off we went. We walked to the park, which was maybe 15 minutes. The park opened at 8 and we probably got there around 830, this is likely the earliest we have ever entered a park. We are a family of 7 (only four of the kids were with us, as the oldest was studying abroad for university) so I hate paying ILL, and the longest wait we did was for RotR which was almost an hour (but honestly seemed shorter). Otherwise with using Genie and some good luck we didn't have anything longer than a 30 minute wait (one ride, Star Tours of all things). Hyperspace mountain kept going down, but we did eventually get on it with Genie. While we never typically go to a park as early as 830, it did totally help this day, and we were game as we knew we only had the one day at DL. Some of the rides we managed in our time included Indiana Jones, Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Hyperspace Mountain, Mickey's Railroad, Rise of the Resistance, Smugglers Run, Buzz Lightyear, and Star Tours. Again, I feel like I am missing some, but these were the highlights, my kids were not into Fantasyland this trip, and it was busy so that was fine. We left the park around 5 (after shopping) and went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner (and tradition we started probably 15 years ago and still do out of habit) and headed back to Palm Springs. I was watching the commute to see when we should head out and it dropped by about 40 minutes from when I first began tracking it and we hit the road. The drive back though google took us on more turns and work arounds (avoiding busy spots I imagine) and it was quite busy compared to our leisurely morning drive out. Still manageable, but busy. We made one stop on the way back, and other than the volume of traffic, was an uneventful drive back.
Because we had so little time we didn't do parades or shows, or many characters. We also stuck to quick service foods and snacks such as churros, ice cream, popcorn, macaroni and cheese in a bread bowl (two of my kids had this twice, they loved this idea), hot dogs, chili dogs, corn dogs, and chili in a bread bowl.
Thanks again for all of the advice and response to questions. I always wonder about how trips go when people ask questions, so wanted to ensure I filled you in!
