DSNY4ever
I am going to keep hunting
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2008
- Messages
- 3,365
We just got back from a trip to the DLR with our whole family. We had a group of 7 (5 adults, a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old). So here is my report:
We arrived on Friday April 11th and it was HOT! We tried to check into the Desert Inn and Suites (located directly across from the main entrance to the DLR) early at about 1:30, but they would not let anyone check in early so we had to wait till 3:00 pm. So we walked around Downtown Disney and since I have an annual pass I snuck into the parks to buy Mickey ears for my nephews to surprise them with (we decorated the room before they got there as a surprise from Mickey Mouse and we set up a coloring table in the living area for the kids to play at while we got ready in the mornings). The parks were VERY crowded.
The Hotel:
We were able to check in at 3:00, and we had a family suite with two connecting rooms, 4 queen beds and a small living area with a sofa bed (we only used the queen beds). There is a good sized fridge and a microwave in the larger of the two rooms. Both rooms and the living area had a TV. We have stayed at this hotel multiple times and it is nothing special, just a plain hotel room. But everything was clean the entire time and we didn’t have any problems. We could see the fireworks from our back window (not a great view, but it was fun to peek out at while the kids were falling asleep). It was nice to have the couch area and a door in between so that we could all be in the other room while the kids were sleeping or napping. Whenever we returned to the room at night we were so tired we fell asleep right away, but if you are bed picky, these were not particularly comfortable mattresses.
We never ate the continental breakfast because we brought our own snacks and oatmeal to eat in the room. The continental breakfast gets very crowded. They had toast, fruit (bananas, oranges, apples), cereal, pastries, coffee etc.
You should be aware that although parking is free, they only allow one car per reservation, so even if you have the 10 person suite, you can only have one car. The other car has to be parked in an overnight parking garage at the Hilton which costs $17 per day. It is too far to walk to the parking garage so you need to unload both cars and then have one person follow the other to park the car over there.
The hotel is just across the street from the entrance so it was perfect for when we needed to take breaks/naps at the hotel which was great for having the toddlers with us. The prices were right at this hotel and the location was great.
Hotel room pics:
The living area-
One of the rooms-
On Friday night we ate at the Rainforest Cafe and we had a reservation (I highly recommend a reservation because we only waited 10 minutes, while the non-reservation wait was 50 minutes). The kids really liked looking around the gift shop and looking at the fish tanks. The food was just okay, it is overpriced for the quality. But we had fun.
Saturday at the parks:
We got to the park about 15 minutes before opening and got baked goods at the Blue ribbon bakery while they had the rope on Main Street up still and then after the rope drop we headed right to Fantasyland and were quickly able to do most of the rides there then moved over to Tomorrowland to do Autopia and Buzz Lightyear- The 3 1/2 year old was afraid of everything but Autopia and the circus train. Everything else he said he did not like. The 1 1/2 year old loved everything. But it started getting hot at about 10:00 am, and soon it reached a high of about 97!!!
Blue ribbon bakery goods (sorry I took this at night):
We rode the train around the park one time then we ate lunch at the Rancho Del Zocalo restaurant in Frontierland (mexican food), which we liked- but WARNING, the salsa is spicy and they put it on everything but the kid’s meals. It was good though and we were all able to split meals because the portions are big.
We then went back to the hotel for nap time.
We returned and saw the 3:15 Playhouse Disney Live on Stage which was possibly the highlight of the trip for the toddlers in the group, they loved it. I suggest sitting farther back because the closer you are to the stage, the harder it is to see (but as you enter the room they direct you where to sit, so don’t get in line too early or you will be too close). We then did the animations building and Turtle talk with Crush which the 3 1/2 year old really liked.
We watched the Pixar Play parade, and be aware that they do spray water, which we loved because it was so hot, but the toddlers didn’t like it. But everyone like the parade. A few of us saw the Electrical parade at night too which is great for toddlers (or anyone really).
We ate dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria, which was good. We were celebrating a birthday for the grandma in our group so we talked to the waiter when we showed up for our reservation, and he brought out a piece of chocolate mousse cake with happy birthday in chocolate with a candle in it at the end of the meal and everybody sang.
Some of our food:
The park was so crowded that we got fast passes for Soarin’ at 2:30 and we couldn’t return till 7:30. For some reason throughout the weekend the stand by line was usually about 120 minutes and the fast pass line was about 40 minutes to an hour??? Something was wrong with the fast pass for this ride and it wasn’t quite working right. So be aware and ride this first or get a fast pass early (at least when the parks are crowded).
Sunday at the parks: It was again pretty crowded and VERY hot. We brought a lot of water with us everyday, but we had to take lots of breaks in the shade and eat ice cream just to get us through the day. The morning was again nice and not too crowded and we were able to do Adventureland, Pirates and the Winnie the Pooh ride, but when we left the parks to have an early lunch at La Brea Bakery at Downtown Disney it was starting to get very crowded again.
La Brea Bakery was good, but I wasn’t blown away, it is expensive (as is everything in Downtown Disney). The vegetable omelette seemed to be the favorite of the group. We were seated right away and the service was good and we were able to eat outside under shaded umbrellas.
Some of our food:
The toddlers headed back to the hotel for naps and some of us stayed and got in some of the bigger rides while they were gone, but it was sooo hot that we eventually had to just rest in the shade.
When the group returned we saw the Aladdin show which is EXCELENT, but it does last 45 minutes and you have to get in line very early for good seats at crowded times of year and there are no bathrooms when you get inside so plan ahead. The 1 1/2 year old skipped the show and stayed outside with Dad since it was a little too long for him to sit through.
We ate dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney (the pizza place). It is VERY expensive and although the pizza’s look really large when they come, they are paper thin, so you have to eat two slices to equal one normal slice. But it tasted good. The service was really slow.
A few of us went back into the park at night to see the fireworks and do some more rides, and the fireworks were the best I have ever seen at Disneyland- I highly suggest watching them on Mainstreet near the castle (we stood right at the end of Mainstreet before the circle and we had an excellent view), if you stand farther back you won’t get the same effect. They were amazing! The only time we were able to get on Nemo was at 11:30 pm- we had about a 10 minute wait which was perfect, but the average wait throughout the weekend was about 45 minutes to an hour or sometimes longer.
On Monday morning we got up early to drive home.
I hope this helps anyone who is planning a trip! We had a good time, but it was way too crowded and way too hot. My husband and I decided that we will stick to visiting the parks in November when it is less crowded and the weather is nice and cool (this would be better for little kids too, because they had a hard time in the heat). And two days were just not enough time to see anything in the parks with the toddlers. I really suggest 3-4 days with little kids because after nap time there was only a little time before bed time and meals took twice as long, so we were not able to see as much as we hoped, and had to skip things such as the Bug’s Land in California Adventure that we knew the kids would love, but we just didn’t have time to visit. The 3 1/2 year old was afraid of pretty much everything he was even afraid to enter buildings that were not even rides, so it was a lot of time talking to him and convincing him that things were not scary.
Have fun an feel free to PM me if you have any questions about where we ate or stayed. Good luck with your planning!
We arrived on Friday April 11th and it was HOT! We tried to check into the Desert Inn and Suites (located directly across from the main entrance to the DLR) early at about 1:30, but they would not let anyone check in early so we had to wait till 3:00 pm. So we walked around Downtown Disney and since I have an annual pass I snuck into the parks to buy Mickey ears for my nephews to surprise them with (we decorated the room before they got there as a surprise from Mickey Mouse and we set up a coloring table in the living area for the kids to play at while we got ready in the mornings). The parks were VERY crowded.
The Hotel:
We were able to check in at 3:00, and we had a family suite with two connecting rooms, 4 queen beds and a small living area with a sofa bed (we only used the queen beds). There is a good sized fridge and a microwave in the larger of the two rooms. Both rooms and the living area had a TV. We have stayed at this hotel multiple times and it is nothing special, just a plain hotel room. But everything was clean the entire time and we didn’t have any problems. We could see the fireworks from our back window (not a great view, but it was fun to peek out at while the kids were falling asleep). It was nice to have the couch area and a door in between so that we could all be in the other room while the kids were sleeping or napping. Whenever we returned to the room at night we were so tired we fell asleep right away, but if you are bed picky, these were not particularly comfortable mattresses.
We never ate the continental breakfast because we brought our own snacks and oatmeal to eat in the room. The continental breakfast gets very crowded. They had toast, fruit (bananas, oranges, apples), cereal, pastries, coffee etc.
You should be aware that although parking is free, they only allow one car per reservation, so even if you have the 10 person suite, you can only have one car. The other car has to be parked in an overnight parking garage at the Hilton which costs $17 per day. It is too far to walk to the parking garage so you need to unload both cars and then have one person follow the other to park the car over there.
The hotel is just across the street from the entrance so it was perfect for when we needed to take breaks/naps at the hotel which was great for having the toddlers with us. The prices were right at this hotel and the location was great.
Hotel room pics:
The living area-
One of the rooms-
On Friday night we ate at the Rainforest Cafe and we had a reservation (I highly recommend a reservation because we only waited 10 minutes, while the non-reservation wait was 50 minutes). The kids really liked looking around the gift shop and looking at the fish tanks. The food was just okay, it is overpriced for the quality. But we had fun.
Saturday at the parks:
We got to the park about 15 minutes before opening and got baked goods at the Blue ribbon bakery while they had the rope on Main Street up still and then after the rope drop we headed right to Fantasyland and were quickly able to do most of the rides there then moved over to Tomorrowland to do Autopia and Buzz Lightyear- The 3 1/2 year old was afraid of everything but Autopia and the circus train. Everything else he said he did not like. The 1 1/2 year old loved everything. But it started getting hot at about 10:00 am, and soon it reached a high of about 97!!!
Blue ribbon bakery goods (sorry I took this at night):
We rode the train around the park one time then we ate lunch at the Rancho Del Zocalo restaurant in Frontierland (mexican food), which we liked- but WARNING, the salsa is spicy and they put it on everything but the kid’s meals. It was good though and we were all able to split meals because the portions are big.
We then went back to the hotel for nap time.
We returned and saw the 3:15 Playhouse Disney Live on Stage which was possibly the highlight of the trip for the toddlers in the group, they loved it. I suggest sitting farther back because the closer you are to the stage, the harder it is to see (but as you enter the room they direct you where to sit, so don’t get in line too early or you will be too close). We then did the animations building and Turtle talk with Crush which the 3 1/2 year old really liked.
We watched the Pixar Play parade, and be aware that they do spray water, which we loved because it was so hot, but the toddlers didn’t like it. But everyone like the parade. A few of us saw the Electrical parade at night too which is great for toddlers (or anyone really).
We ate dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria, which was good. We were celebrating a birthday for the grandma in our group so we talked to the waiter when we showed up for our reservation, and he brought out a piece of chocolate mousse cake with happy birthday in chocolate with a candle in it at the end of the meal and everybody sang.
Some of our food:
The park was so crowded that we got fast passes for Soarin’ at 2:30 and we couldn’t return till 7:30. For some reason throughout the weekend the stand by line was usually about 120 minutes and the fast pass line was about 40 minutes to an hour??? Something was wrong with the fast pass for this ride and it wasn’t quite working right. So be aware and ride this first or get a fast pass early (at least when the parks are crowded).
Sunday at the parks: It was again pretty crowded and VERY hot. We brought a lot of water with us everyday, but we had to take lots of breaks in the shade and eat ice cream just to get us through the day. The morning was again nice and not too crowded and we were able to do Adventureland, Pirates and the Winnie the Pooh ride, but when we left the parks to have an early lunch at La Brea Bakery at Downtown Disney it was starting to get very crowded again.
La Brea Bakery was good, but I wasn’t blown away, it is expensive (as is everything in Downtown Disney). The vegetable omelette seemed to be the favorite of the group. We were seated right away and the service was good and we were able to eat outside under shaded umbrellas.
Some of our food:
The toddlers headed back to the hotel for naps and some of us stayed and got in some of the bigger rides while they were gone, but it was sooo hot that we eventually had to just rest in the shade.
When the group returned we saw the Aladdin show which is EXCELENT, but it does last 45 minutes and you have to get in line very early for good seats at crowded times of year and there are no bathrooms when you get inside so plan ahead. The 1 1/2 year old skipped the show and stayed outside with Dad since it was a little too long for him to sit through.
We ate dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney (the pizza place). It is VERY expensive and although the pizza’s look really large when they come, they are paper thin, so you have to eat two slices to equal one normal slice. But it tasted good. The service was really slow.
A few of us went back into the park at night to see the fireworks and do some more rides, and the fireworks were the best I have ever seen at Disneyland- I highly suggest watching them on Mainstreet near the castle (we stood right at the end of Mainstreet before the circle and we had an excellent view), if you stand farther back you won’t get the same effect. They were amazing! The only time we were able to get on Nemo was at 11:30 pm- we had about a 10 minute wait which was perfect, but the average wait throughout the weekend was about 45 minutes to an hour or sometimes longer.
On Monday morning we got up early to drive home.
I hope this helps anyone who is planning a trip! We had a good time, but it was way too crowded and way too hot. My husband and I decided that we will stick to visiting the parks in November when it is less crowded and the weather is nice and cool (this would be better for little kids too, because they had a hard time in the heat). And two days were just not enough time to see anything in the parks with the toddlers. I really suggest 3-4 days with little kids because after nap time there was only a little time before bed time and meals took twice as long, so we were not able to see as much as we hoped, and had to skip things such as the Bug’s Land in California Adventure that we knew the kids would love, but we just didn’t have time to visit. The 3 1/2 year old was afraid of pretty much everything he was even afraid to enter buildings that were not even rides, so it was a lot of time talking to him and convincing him that things were not scary.
Have fun an feel free to PM me if you have any questions about where we ate or stayed. Good luck with your planning!
