Hi all. I've never done any type of trip report before – but here goes! Husband stayed home so just our 6 yo son and me. Sorta long recap, sorry, so I'll break it up. Just still super happy with our trip and wanted to share!
Part 1 – Hotels, Crowds & such
Part 2 – Rides & Shows
Hotel – first 2 nights stayed at the Marriott which never disappoints, it's our go-to when not on-site. Definitely the nicest hotel off-site. We had a balcony and peek view of CA. Lots of kids in the pool playing games with beach balls every day. We usually walk across Harbor and take the Toy Story shuttle to the park, but had free parking this trip so just drove across each day. There's almost nothing we don't like at this hotel and the customer service is amazing (in a genuine, we really are happy to help you kind of way.) Best of all, we got the room for $90/night on Priceline. Yay!
We switched to the Hilton across the street on Thurs because we've been wanting to check it out, the pool looked so good. And it was. Wonderful water play structure for the kids, decent pool, 2 large jacuzzis. The hotel is huge and nice, though not Marriott nice - a little worn. Room was nice, beds comfy, service just the usual. So far so good....but that the rooms do not have a mini-fridge (maybe concierge do, but not standard rooms.) That's a deal breaker for us and we don't even schlep food on trips. But cold drinks are a must. So we schlepped ice from the machine and filled a trash can to chill our drinks. Not a big deal for 2 days but definitely wouldn't want to do this for any longer. Again though, the pool area was really nice for the kid so one-nighters here could remain an option. Price here was $103/night with AAA discount directly through the hotel.
Water play area at Hilton
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Crowds – we were there Tues – Fri, selected specifically because SoCal AP's were blocked after Tues (not bashing AP's – we convert our tix to AP every year.) Plan was perfect. Tues was busiest, though not crushing crowds. Rope drop as always a total success. Many rides were virtual walk-ons the first 1.5 - 2 hours. Crowds built quickly by 11 though and lines were long by noon. We only had loose plans, definitely no schedules, did 12-15 rides each day by noon, then back to the hotel for a pool break. We didn't rush and took lots of detours, especially in the pm, to check out the little stuff that makes DL so special (plus to snack!) We skipped our planned park day Fri in lieu of a pool day and DTD and will be returning for one day on the 30th. We'll see how that goes since it will be the week of July 4th.
15 minutes before regular park opening Tuesday - lines are already in the gates, doesn't mean you don't need to strategize for the next day though!
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Grad Nights – Wed & Thurs - I'm sure people have had poor experiences, but I kinda think they're the random experiences. We went on 2 grad nights last year, 2 this year. Not a single bad or obnoxious experience. Maybe we're just lucky but no bad raps about teenagers these days from us!
WDW Vets – you guys were everywhere! We know who you are because you've got lanyards, about 35 pins on them, lots of matching shirts and even the guys wear Mickey Mouse backpacks. Ok, I mean this in all good fun – because we talked to a bunch of you and you were all AWESOME (ok, except the one cranky dude who said he would never like DL because the castle was so small.) Whatevers. We had fun talking with ya'll. We even made friends with a WDW family in line at Indy and spent the next 3 hours touring together. We had a great time and they tried to buy us lunch because they felt they got so much done without stressing - we declined, we also had fun with them
Yes, the castle is small - but ain't it pretty? And, yes, so is the backpack
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CM's – I think all the tourists made them perkier, I really do. We kinda felt bad every time they asked where we were from and had to say we're just up from San Diego. And they seemed more tuned to making experiences special – like son was asked if he'd like to ride in the front of the omnibus, then again for the horse carriage. Nice!
Meals – we do one TS a day, it's the only way I can get the kid to stop for a long break and proper meal. We're partial to Cafe Orleans. The food's good and sitting outside in NOS is so nice. We ate there twice without reservations. Got seated immediately one day, waited about 10 min the other. We also ate at Carnation Cafe, made a same-day reservation. Son loved his chicken.
Disney Snacks – we're all about the Tigger Tails. Love these!! The m&m and caramel coated pretzel sticks are also a fave and of course the chocolate covered pineapple and strawberries. We had at least one of each during our trip. Plus the regular stuff – mickey bars, popcorn, giant pickles. Good thing for all the walking ya do!
Part 1 – Hotels, Crowds & such
Part 2 – Rides & Shows
Hotel – first 2 nights stayed at the Marriott which never disappoints, it's our go-to when not on-site. Definitely the nicest hotel off-site. We had a balcony and peek view of CA. Lots of kids in the pool playing games with beach balls every day. We usually walk across Harbor and take the Toy Story shuttle to the park, but had free parking this trip so just drove across each day. There's almost nothing we don't like at this hotel and the customer service is amazing (in a genuine, we really are happy to help you kind of way.) Best of all, we got the room for $90/night on Priceline. Yay!
We switched to the Hilton across the street on Thurs because we've been wanting to check it out, the pool looked so good. And it was. Wonderful water play structure for the kids, decent pool, 2 large jacuzzis. The hotel is huge and nice, though not Marriott nice - a little worn. Room was nice, beds comfy, service just the usual. So far so good....but that the rooms do not have a mini-fridge (maybe concierge do, but not standard rooms.) That's a deal breaker for us and we don't even schlep food on trips. But cold drinks are a must. So we schlepped ice from the machine and filled a trash can to chill our drinks. Not a big deal for 2 days but definitely wouldn't want to do this for any longer. Again though, the pool area was really nice for the kid so one-nighters here could remain an option. Price here was $103/night with AAA discount directly through the hotel.
Water play area at Hilton
Crowds – we were there Tues – Fri, selected specifically because SoCal AP's were blocked after Tues (not bashing AP's – we convert our tix to AP every year.) Plan was perfect. Tues was busiest, though not crushing crowds. Rope drop as always a total success. Many rides were virtual walk-ons the first 1.5 - 2 hours. Crowds built quickly by 11 though and lines were long by noon. We only had loose plans, definitely no schedules, did 12-15 rides each day by noon, then back to the hotel for a pool break. We didn't rush and took lots of detours, especially in the pm, to check out the little stuff that makes DL so special (plus to snack!) We skipped our planned park day Fri in lieu of a pool day and DTD and will be returning for one day on the 30th. We'll see how that goes since it will be the week of July 4th.
15 minutes before regular park opening Tuesday - lines are already in the gates, doesn't mean you don't need to strategize for the next day though!
Grad Nights – Wed & Thurs - I'm sure people have had poor experiences, but I kinda think they're the random experiences. We went on 2 grad nights last year, 2 this year. Not a single bad or obnoxious experience. Maybe we're just lucky but no bad raps about teenagers these days from us!
WDW Vets – you guys were everywhere! We know who you are because you've got lanyards, about 35 pins on them, lots of matching shirts and even the guys wear Mickey Mouse backpacks. Ok, I mean this in all good fun – because we talked to a bunch of you and you were all AWESOME (ok, except the one cranky dude who said he would never like DL because the castle was so small.) Whatevers. We had fun talking with ya'll. We even made friends with a WDW family in line at Indy and spent the next 3 hours touring together. We had a great time and they tried to buy us lunch because they felt they got so much done without stressing - we declined, we also had fun with them
Yes, the castle is small - but ain't it pretty? And, yes, so is the backpack
CM's – I think all the tourists made them perkier, I really do. We kinda felt bad every time they asked where we were from and had to say we're just up from San Diego. And they seemed more tuned to making experiences special – like son was asked if he'd like to ride in the front of the omnibus, then again for the horse carriage. Nice!
Meals – we do one TS a day, it's the only way I can get the kid to stop for a long break and proper meal. We're partial to Cafe Orleans. The food's good and sitting outside in NOS is so nice. We ate there twice without reservations. Got seated immediately one day, waited about 10 min the other. We also ate at Carnation Cafe, made a same-day reservation. Son loved his chicken.
Disney Snacks – we're all about the Tigger Tails. Love these!! The m&m and caramel coated pretzel sticks are also a fave and of course the chocolate covered pineapple and strawberries. We had at least one of each during our trip.
Plus the regular stuff – mickey bars, popcorn, giant pickles. Good thing for all the walking ya do!
