Exactly 56 days!

[luckyman_apd]

Ok, am I getting a little too excited!!!!

I'm a WDW vet (DVC Owner) but this is our (and my) first trip to the west coast. What else would we do while we our out there but go to Disney of course! Very excited as my 6 year old daughter has NO clue Disney is part of this trip. She just thinks we are going to visit mommy (wife has a work conference in San Diego....the whole reason for the trip).

So my question is about our plan of attack. We are going to leave San Diego sometime in the morning of the 27th of June, so we will have Wednesday after 12 noon, and then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before we head home from LAX with a 2pm flight time. We are staying at the HOJO within walking distance.

I've read many reviews and articles here on DIS boards about WDW vs DLR and we are so excited to see the differences, the uniqueness and everything else. What we don't know is the layouts, the crowds, the pain in the butt times for different attractions, etc........ You know, all the things we know about WDW from our trips there. We know it will be crowded due to Cars Land. I plan to do some running to get fastpasses for things so we can spend our time exploring without a rush and a ton of waiting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated in how to plan which parks on which days, and which times to try and hit some of the most popular stuff. Since Carsland is new and will be croweded, we are planning a to spend one full day in C.A. just to absorb it all and be patient with the crowds, but we would like to try and do it on a day that anyone feels might be the least crowded.

Our kids are 2 and a half, and 6 and half, and we will take down time/nap time at the HOJO. Also our plan is to hit DL on Wednesday since it will be a half day for us and after nap time (after all the Magic Kingdom is our favorite park at WDW) unless someone says the Wednesdays are the least crowded days for C.A. . I know Carsland will be hard to predict until it actually opens, but just a rough estimate would help us a lot.

 

[nannyz]

With young children, I can tell you from experience that any plan you make may go right out the door once your kids walk through the entrance to DL. We usually stop to meet any characters that are right inside the entrance, and have our family picture taken, then head off to Fantasy Land. After that, we let the kids take the lead.
Too much structure is stressful for everybody.
We always get 6-day hoppers so we don't have to rush.

 

[luckyman_apd]

With young children, I can tell you from experience that any plan you make may go right out the door once your kids walk through the entrance to DL. We usually stop to meet any characters that are right inside the entrance, and have our family picture taken, then head off to Fantasy Land. After that, we let the kids take the lead.
Too much structure is stressful for everybody.
We always get 6-day hoppers so we don't have to rush.

I hear you. We are WDW vets, so for example, we know to avoid certain sections of Animal kingdom when the nemo or lion king shows get out as the walkways are rediculously crowded for a good 20 minutes afterwards. Just looking to see if certain parks have areas of congestion at different times, or if certain days have less demand and such. We go with the flow once in the parks.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Here are a couple of threads to get started:

"HydroGuy's Fireworks Rule"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199851

"Magic Morning Super Thread" by DLR29
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

I would recommend using your Magic Morning on Thursday. It's a great way to visit Fantasyland with short lines. The only downside is that Magic Mornings start very early -- 7:00am for your visit.

Thursday (June 28) is the last day that the SoCal Annual Passholders can visit before they're blocked out for the summer. With the expected Cars Land craziness, it's very likely that Cars Land will be very very crowded on that Thursday. So I would recommend visiting Cars Land on Friday. It will still be crowded on Friday, but it should be better than Thursday. Here's a link to the Annual Pass Blockout Calendar:

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

And here's a very good thread:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" by HydroGuy
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Have fun planning!

 

[limace]

I just can't emphasize enough how much easier I find touring with small children at DL vs WDW. It is such a luxury to be able to walk from your hotel, walk from park to park, walk back for a break-I'm sure you've heard this already. It makes the obligatory nap in the middle of the day much, much easier than it is at WDW. I also enjoy the fact that we can be much more flexible about dining than at WDW, which makes things much easier with small children-you aren't having to drag your kids out when they're tired, or away from something they enjoy, just because you have ADRs somewhere.

The Redwook Creek Challenge in DCA is unique and a great place for kids to run some energy off.

When my middle child was a toddler my husband once spent a whole evening (we were there in July) sitting in the Tiki Room watching show after show. They both loved it, and it was an easy place to hang out when the park was otherwise really crowded. My older girl and I ran around and did "big kid" stuff. The Tiki Room in DL is the old version, and infinitely better than the "Under New Management" show.

 

[luckyman_apd]

I just can't emphasize enough how much easier I find touring with small children at DL vs WDW. It is such a luxury to be able to walk from your hotel, walk from park to park, walk back for a break-I'm sure you've heard this already. It makes the obligatory nap in the middle of the day much, much easier than it is at WDW. I also enjoy the fact that we can be much more flexible about dining than at WDW, which makes things much easier with small children-you aren't having to drag your kids out when they're tired, or away from something they enjoy, just because you have ADRs somewhere.

The Redwook Creek Challenge in DCA is unique and a great place for kids to run some energy off.

When my middle child was a toddler my husband once spent a whole evening (we were there in July) sitting in the Tiki Room watching show after show. They both loved it, and it was an easy place to hang out when the park was otherwise really crowded. My older girl and I ran around and did "big kid" stuff. The Tiki Room in DL is the old version, and infinitely better than the "Under New Management" show.

Yeah, we never do a dining plan at WDW anymore, and we try to limit to only 2 or 3 ADR because nothing makes your trip shorter than watching a clock worrying about getting to your ADR on time. We eat where we are when we are hungry and thats it. We are also DVC members at the BLT, so having the monorail to get back to the room from Epcot and the MK are not to bad, but we are looking forward to just an 8 minute walk

S.S. Columbia, I have read Hydro's thread. It was a great help and really got me more excited about DLR. I had always thought of it as a small form of WDW until I read his thread. Now I'm really excited to go. Thanks for the heads up about the AP blackout dates. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Since I arrive very late Monday night and driving to San Diego with the kids to meet up with my wife, we are spending that Tuesday in San Diego (probably the zoo). Wednesday when the wife's conference is over in the morning, we were planning to drive straight to anaheim, but now considering an extra day in San Diego. Not sure if I want to sacrifice a day at DL though.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

welcome to our side of the world luckyman

ok everything you have read is really good things to know but here are a couple things that you REALLY need to know....

I live here in CA and have gone to DL so much I cant even count...I have gone to wdw and in fact went over the holidays this past year...so heres my thoughts

1. food CANNOT be compared at DL with wdw food...wdw is amazing and DL? well um not so much...we dont operate on the same system ie ADR as wdw does...If there was 1 sit down place for character meal I would recommend, it would be Minnie and Friends in the park for breakfast..you can get in early like at Crystal Palace and there has been times I feel like Im the only one there...dont get me wrong, there are other places that are good too but for a first timer, I think you should go here...now even though we dont do ADR's we do dining reservations and if you havent already and you are considering doing ANY sit down then you should call or email straight away...the other sit down place I would recommend is Blue Bayou...the restaurant in Mexico overlooking the ride took their concept from here...its absolutely amazing sitting at a table watching the ride boats from POTC go by...I havent been in a minute but last I knew, once you made a reservation that didnt include if you wanted a water table...you would have to wait till you checked and then proceed to wait longer till one became available but I think its worth the wait..the food can sometimes be less than desirable and it is pricey but the ambiance cant be beat and I feel its something everyone should do at least once...other than that, I would stick with OTC meals..they arent bad oh and we dont have anything like Caseys and the closest thing we have to Pecos Bills hamburger bar is Taste Pilots Grill...being that you are staying at hojo, you have an AWESOME mimi's restaurant right next to you (they are the best mimi's Ive ever eaten at) and just a couple doors down in McDonalds and they stay open LATE...cant beat that

2. whatever your thoughts of crowds at wdw are you need to squash because DL on a average day can get horrible crowded....Anaheim and the parks in general are much smaller than wdw properties...I was overwhelmed to see how big wdw was ...the good part about our parks is that they are easy access and you wont have to take a bus/boat/monorail that takes you half the day to park hop...they are just across the esplanade from each other...but because it is small, it tends to get congested very easily especially on Main St and Adventureland...seeing as you are going to be here during the summer it will be all the more crowded...let me recommend that you handle Adventureland before noon and then dont go through it to save your life after that...you seriously will get in jams where you cant even move...also, the crowds will be bigger due to Carsland opening on the 15th of June...lots of people I know, including myself are going for that one...

dont forget to go visit downtown disney (granted its much smaller than wdw's) but its nice...and go see the hotels ie Disneyland Hotel and the Grand...the grand reminds me alot of the wildnerness lodge but its themed after Yosemite...i think the same architects designed both

3 Our Fantasmic KICKS WDW"S FANTASMIC IN THE BUTT so DONT forget to go see it

4. Our Space Mountain and Splash Mountain is very different from wdw...for one the ride cars...wdw Space cars are single rider and ours our double and I just like the whole ride better...our splash are one seater logs vs wdw 2...both good rides...dont get disappointed but wdw BTMR is way better than ours

you will really like the quaintness of DL and the fact that Walt walked this park and you definitely see his influences...so I hope some of what I said helps and I hope you have a fabulous time

 

[kailuagirl]

You are going to have a great time!! I'm sure you already know this, but make sure you get to the parks before opening for rope drop. It really makes a difference in crowd levels to get there early. And it's really easy to park hop back and forth between DL and CAP, we sometimes do it several times throughout a day depending on the crowds at one or the other.

Have fun!!

 

[CrazyDuck]

I'm a WDW vet (DVC Owner)

We are staying at the HOJO within walking distance.

This does not make any sense!

 

[luckyman_apd]

This does not make any sense!

why does this not make sense? I don't own at the Grand california. I own in WDW at the BLT. Unfortunately points usage for GCV is really high, and it's very difficult to get a reservation there if you don't own there. The HOJO is close enough and affordable for a trip to a place we've never been before.

Just an fyi, I can get 2 nights or more using my DVC points in WDW for the amount of points required to stay at the Grand Californian in DLR.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... Any advice would be greatly appreciated in how to plan which parks on which days, and which times to try and hit some of the most popular stuff. ...

Here's a tip for going to Mickey's ToonTown.

When you visit in late June, I would recommend going to ToonTown on Thursday morning.

On a Thursday in late June, Magic Morning starts at 7:00am, DL opens at 8:00am, and ToonTown opens at 9:00am. This is just an option. You can enter Fantasyland at 7:00ish. Just before 8:00am you can walk to any FP Machine of your choice and get a FP at 8:00am. At 8:00ish you're already inside the park (way ahead of most guests) and you have a nice chance to ride Casey Jr., Storybookland, and IASW. (IASW will likely be a walk on at that time, but you will have been on every ride in Fantasyland. ) Around 8:45ish you will likely have another chance to get a FP. A few minutes before 9:00am, you can line up near the entrance to ToonTown. At 9:00am you could get a FP for Roger Rabbit, and go straight to Gadget's Go Coaster (it's a real slow-loader like Goofy's Barnstormer), then you can go to Mickey's House, etc., and then see the rest of the toons.

IMO it's a very good way to visit Fantasyland and Toontown.

Ideas!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... I know Carsland will be hard to predict until it actually opens, but just a rough estimate would help us a lot.

One thing we've heard about Cars Land: The FP machines for Radiator Springs Racers (RSR) will be located by It's Tough To Be A Bug (ITTBB), and it looks like Luigi's Flying Tires (LFT) will be a slow loader.

Al Lutz wrote about CarsLand in the following article: (you can avoid the spoilers)

Tired
http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al042412a.htm

HTH

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Ok, am I getting a little too excited!!!!

I'm a WDW vet (DVC Owner) but this is our (and my) first trip to the west coast. What else would we do while we our out there but go to Disney of course! Very excited as my 6 year old daughter has NO clue Disney is part of this trip. She just thinks we are going to visit mommy (wife has a work conference in San Diego....the whole reason for the trip).

So my question is about our plan of attack. We are going to leave San Diego sometime in the morning of the 27th of June, so we will have Wednesday after 12 noon, and then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before we head home from LAX with a 2pm flight time. We are staying at the HOJO within walking distance.

I've read many reviews and articles here on DIS boards about WDW vs DLR and we are so excited to see the differences, the uniqueness and everything else. What we don't know is the layouts, the crowds, the pain in the butt times for different attractions, etc........ You know, all the things we know about WDW from our trips there. We know it will be crowded due to Cars Land. I plan to do some running to get fastpasses for things so we can spend our time exploring without a rush and a ton of waiting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated in how to plan which parks on which days, and which times to try and hit some of the most popular stuff. Since Carsland is new and will be croweded, we are planning a to spend one full day in C.A. just to absorb it all and be patient with the crowds, but we would like to try and do it on a day that anyone feels might be the least crowded.

Our kids are 2 and a half, and 6 and half, and we will take down time/nap time at the HOJO. Also our plan is to hit DL on Wednesday since it will be a half day for us and after nap time (after all the Magic Kingdom is our favorite park at WDW) unless someone says the Wednesdays are the least crowded days for C.A. . I know Carsland will be hard to predict until it actually opens, but just a rough estimate would help us a lot.

I don't have anything to add right now, but...

Here's a very good thread about DL.

"All About Disneyland" by stopher1
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2718241

HTH

 

[SeattleRedBear]

A few minutes before 9:00am, you can line up near the entrance to ToonTown. At 9:00am you could get a FP for Roger Rabbit, and go straight to Gadget's Go Coaster (it's a real slow-loader like Goofy's Barnstormer), then you can go to Mickey's House, etc., and then see the rest of the toons.

I second this. We were down for the week after Easter...hit TT late morning and ended up inside Mickey's House for nearly an HOUR! We made the mistake of doing all the walk-through stuff first, then Go-Coaster, then Mickey.

Also, since you'll be coming from the East Coast, you might consider trying to keep the family on East Coast time. Will make it easier for you to get to rope drop and do magic mornings. I'm a morning person but discovered last year that the grandsons are not...you can't force anyone to be something they're not but might make it easier if you can keep them on East Coast time.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Ok, am I getting a little too excited!!!!

I'm a WDW vet (DVC Owner) but this is our (and my) first trip to the west coast. What else would we do while we our out there but go to Disney of course! Very excited as my 6 year old daughter has NO clue Disney is part of this trip. She just thinks we are going to visit mommy (wife has a work conference in San Diego....the whole reason for the trip).

So my question is about our plan of attack. We are going to leave San Diego sometime in the morning of the 27th of June, so we will have Wednesday after 12 noon, and then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before we head home from LAX with a 2pm flight time. We are staying at the HOJO within walking distance.

I've read many reviews and articles here on DIS boards about WDW vs DLR and we are so excited to see the differences, the uniqueness and everything else. What we don't know is the layouts, the crowds, the pain in the butt times for different attractions, etc........ You know, all the things we know about WDW from our trips there. We know it will be crowded due to Cars Land. I plan to do some running to get fastpasses for things so we can spend our time exploring without a rush and a ton of waiting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated in how to plan which parks on which days, and which times to try and hit some of the most popular stuff. Since Carsland is new and will be croweded, we are planning a to spend one full day in C.A. just to absorb it all and be patient with the crowds, but we would like to try and do it on a day that anyone feels might be the least crowded.

Our kids are 2 and a half, and 6 and half, and we will take down time/nap time at the HOJO. Also our plan is to hit DL on Wednesday since it will be a half day for us and after nap time (after all the Magic Kingdom is our favorite park at WDW) unless someone says the Wednesdays are the least crowded days for C.A. . I know Carsland will be hard to predict until it actually opens, but just a rough estimate would help us a lot.

Getting closer...

The 'park hours & calendar' is now updated to June 30.

June 30: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendar/#/default/2012/06/27-