Critic my DL/DCA Itinerary

[Shell4624]

Hi all, things are finally coming together! We will be traveling from Denver, CO. We are driving. It will be myself (31), DH (33), DD (8.5), DD(3.5). If you have time please take a look at my plans (I'm a planning maniac, I know) and share you thoughts, if you see areas that could use improvment. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!


Friday March 27th – Leave Denver at 3am/Arrive in Vegas at 1pm – Moms House

Saturday March 28th - In laws House, bowling, family fun

Sunday March 29th
 Leave Vegas for Newport Beach at 9am
 Arrive at hotel (insert hotel name) approx. 1pm, check in
 Head to beach – hang out, lunch at beach, picnic, etc
 Go shopping
 Have dinner approx. 7pm, Rest going to Disneyland next day

Monday March 30th
 Leave Newport Beach, CA hotel no later than 8am arrive at HoJo at 8:45am
 Check in hotel, get parking pass
 Go to Disneyland Park by 9:30am, gather fastpasses, ride rides w/short lines etc.
 Back to hotel 1:30 to unpack car, have lunch at Mimi’s, and rest
 5pm… go back to parks use fast passes for a few rides
 Explore Downtown Disney
 Dinner at approx. 7pm (Rainforest Café, ESPN Zone, Catal, *House of Blues or Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen*)
 Watch Fireworks at 9pm, back to hotel to sleep

Tuesday March 31st
 Light snack in hotel room (juice, apple, danish)
 Head to park 7:15am use Magic Morning pass
 Gather as many fast passes as possible, ride a few rides
 Head over to California Adventure grab a Fast pass
 Character breakfast Ariel’s Gotto10:30am
 After Breakfast – get another fast pass
 DCA park rides
 3-6pm, Back to hotel room, swim, rest and nap, light snack(lunch)
 Dinner 6:30, More rides until closing
 Back to hotel (pack everything back up except what will be used the following day)


Wednesday April 1st
 Light snack in hotel room (juice, apple, Danish, cereal)
 Head over to park at 8:15am
 Gather Fastpasses, ride a few rides
 Back to hotel to check out 11:30am
 Grab lunch noon
 DL/DCA park for few more hours until kids are tired and ready to leave the magic behind
 Walk back get truck, drive to hotel near Universal Studios.
 Check in hotel have dinner somewhere and rest

- Wake up, check out of hotel 9am, head to Universal Studios full day, head back to Vegas at approx. 7pm

 

[DizNee Luver]

I could be totally wrong about this......BUT I don't think Ariel's Grotto (Princess Meal) does breakfast....I believe it's lunch & dinner only.

Make sure to make PS by calling Disney Dining (especially for the character meals) 714-781-3463

Other than that, the itinerary looked pretty good!!!

 

[wannagoback]

I could be totally wrong about this......BUT I don't think Ariel's Grotto (Princess Meal) does breakfast....I believe it's lunch & dinner only.

We did breakfast there last year during spring break time. It was early enough that the park wasn't yet open. It was nice to walk through the empty park. I wouldn't say the food was incredible, but we were there for the princesses anyway.

 

[avalon451]

Hi, Shell, great planning!

Couple of things: Your first DL day, you're a little rushed in the morning, checking out of the hotel at Newport Beach. You might find it better to just go ahead and go straight to HoJo on Sunday, check in, and then drive to Newport Beach. Come back to HoJo and you won't have to rush the next morning. Newport Beach isn't that far; you can just as easily make it a day trip rather than stay there.

That would solve your being rushed the next morning; you can get to the gates before opening and get a jump on your FP collecting, instead of being 1/2 hour or more late and finding the lines already busy.

The other thing is that if you did it your way, you still might not be able to get into your room at HoJo at 1:30. You can check in as early as you want, and they'll hold your luggage for you (or you can keep in in your car) but they don't have to let you in your room till 3 p.m. if it's not ready.

Also that first evening, you might be a bit rushed-- going to the parks at 5 p.m., using your FPs, then getting back out to DTD for a sit-down meal... then getting back into the parks for fireworks... Not that it's not doable, but it's just kind of a lot of running around. How about, if you stay at HoJo Sunday night as well, getting back from Newport Beach and doing your DTD exploring on that night, instead? You'll be tired after your beach day, and you can just head back to the hotel after dinner.

Then on your last day, don't make a trip back to the hotel just to check out at 11:30. Check out in the morning before you head to the gates. Again, they will hold your luggage for you. Then you can just stay in DL until it's time to head back to the car and head out.

Looks great otherwise. You're going to have such a fun time!

 

[Queenbillabong]

I could be totally wrong about this......BUT I don't think Ariel's Grotto (Princess Meal) does breakfast....I believe it's lunch & dinner only.

Make sure to make PS by calling Disney Dining (especially for the character meals) 714-781-3463

Other than that, the itinerary looked pretty good!!!

Ariel's does have a breakfast

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Ariel's Grotto does serve breakfast ~ DD & I have a PS for the latest breakfast seating next Thurs. (11:30am)

What do you mean by *Get parking pass* ~ you don't need one at HoJo's (at least I don't think you do) and it's much better to walk to DLR from HoJo's than to drive.

I don't know that you'll need an afternoon break, of course it depends on park hours, but you know your family. We'd only take an afternoon break if the hours were 8am-12am, (or if we were there when it's extremely warm) next week our hours are 10am-8pm. I highly suggest bringing a stroller for your younger DD.

You could check out before you head to the parks on Wed. they'll store your luggage for you or you could tuck it in your truck. Leave your truck at HoJo's stay at the parks till you need/want to leave for US.

 

[Shell4624]

Thank you all for your suggestions.. these are wonderful and provide really good insight. I truly appreciate your feedback

 

[DizNee Luver]

Thank you for the info on Ariel's.....funny that the disneyland.com site doesn't show they do breakfast.....weird!! I may have tried to include that if we had known. Any idea of the price for this breakfast? Menu?

 

[prncssmel]

Also that first evening, you might be a bit rushed-- going to the parks at 5 p.m., using your FPs, then getting back out to DTD for a sit-down meal... then getting back into the parks for fireworks... Not that it's not doable, but it's just kind of a lot of running around. How about, if you stay at HoJo Sunday night as well, getting back from Newport Beach and doing your DTD exploring on that night, instead? You'll be tired after your beach day, and you can just head back to the hotel after dinner.

I agree with this. It is very crowded around Main St. and the DL entrance around Firework time. I would suggest getting food in the park before the fireworks, instead of sit down in DTD.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Another reason you might want to head to HoJo's Sunday night instead of Monday morning is that you might encounter traffic during that time. I don't think Newport to Anaheim is the worst drive you could do during rush hour but if you can avoid driving during those peak driving times it would be better. I'm sure it will be crowded and probably some slow-downs and could take longer than the 45 mintues you have planned.

 

[Sherry E]

I also think you should explore DTD on the night before you go into the parks, rather than devoting any possible time you could be spending in the parks to eating in DTD.

I also don't know if your family tires easily, but I like the idea of mid-day rest breaks for refreshing and getting a second wind - even if you don't go all the way back to your hotel maybe you could find a quiet place to sit and relax in one of the DLR hotels, like the huge and comfy GCH lobby, for example. It's the perfect place to kind of sit quietly with a beverage, enjoy the atmoshphere and collect your thoughts. It can be very tiring at DLR and those mid-day breaks can be lifesavers and instrumental to enjoying the parks.

Does DL officially open at 8:00 a.m. on the day you have the MM? If so, this may seem insignificant, but if I were you I would take FULL advantage of your MM on the morning that your MM begins at 7:00 a.m. - in other words, don't get there at 7:15 a.m. because if you are waiting at the gates to get in at 7:15, it could waste time. I would get to the gates just before 7:00 a.m. so you can go in as soon as the MM begins. You don't realize how valuable an extra 15 or 20 minutes can be in Fantasyland until you have the full MM hour. And you also have to spend time getting to Fantasyland from whichever way you enter the parks, so that MM hour goes by fast. First of all, IASW is usually open during the MM, and since that has new stuff, more people are likely to be riding it. You should get on that or Peter Pan first. Then you have all of the other Fantasyland rides - the lines in Fantasyland get crazy very early on, such as the Storybook Land Boats, and more folks are using their MM's now because the parks get so crazy later in the day so you have more people to beat to the Peter Pan line!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

What do you mean by *Get parking pass* ~ you don't need one at HoJo's (at least I don't think you do) and it's much better to walk to DLR from HoJo's than to drive.

Hojo's gives you a little parking card to put in your vehicle to show you are staying there...that may be what she is referring to.

 

[Shell4624]

Kayla's mom you are correct that is what I was referring too.

 

[fairycat]

Ok besides what others mentioned I am going to warn you about driving to DL from Vegas on Sunday. I would make sure you leave EARLY because all the weekend tourists are also leaving on Sunday, with the two lane road through most of the drive you can hit some very bad traffic spots. We had one of our trips take an additional 3 hours by leaving too late on a Sunday (I think 10am), take advantage of your time difference and maybe leave at 8am.

 

[Misskitty3]

FYI: Fireworks aren't until 9:25pm.

I agree, visit DTD on your non-park day.