Final preperations...what do I need to do.

[scrappinbear78]

OK, so I have made the final payments for our trip to DL during Christmas. We will be leaving our house on Dec. 18 and arriving at DL on Dec. 20..we will stay until Dec 27. Now it comes down to getting all the final things for the trip. I know that I need to make dining reservations, but have no clue where to even begin with that. I know we don't want to go to very many buffets because I am unable to eat and don't want to pay just to sit and enjoy my families company or eat some ice. I don't know how the buffets work or if I could pay a lot less just as a "entertainment fee". How would I go about getting that information. We did go ahead and purchase the 5 day meal vouchers just for the ease of knowing that our food is taken care of. I don't know how they really work, but want to really make sure that we are using the full values of them (even with my vouchers using it for the other family members).

As for the lodging, I ended up booking at Best Western Park Place right across the street from DL. The more and more I thought about it this hotel is about the same distance away from DL as PPH but I saved almost $2000 and that is HUGE for us. Are there any pointers any of you can give in regards to enterance into the park, what time should we be there waiting to get in? Also I know that my Dad and Hubby will be in an ECV, I am going to try my darndest to not use one and try to be really conscious of how I feel so that my kids can enjoy things more and with the crowds at the time we will be going I think it will be a lot harder to move around in an ECV. Is there anything that I need to get in advance to make sure that the three of us who do have disabilities will be able to enjoy our time as well. When you are planning your trip what steps do you take to make sure it is a successful trip? Is there anything in particular that I have to do since we do have disabilities, or is it just like planning the trip as if we didn't have a disability? I just don't want to get down there and then have it be a complete disaster or that we can't actually conquer everything that we want to. I don't think we will ever go back there, so I want to make sure that we see and do everything. I don't have the extra funds to do any type of special tour or anything so I have to be our own personal tour guide with all your guys help.

Finally, with staying at a friendly neighbor hotel do we have any chance on getting a perk upgrade? I know that some people who have stayed on site and booked a standard room have become the "family of the day" and upgraded to a suite....does this happen at all in the neighborhood hotels or could you get upgraded to an onsite location? Also are there any other perks that sometimes get given out to keep our eyes and ears open to? Like free meal, behind the scenes, complimentary tours, complimentary gifts, etc? I want to make this as special as I can for my girls since we don't get to do a whole heck of a lot but also don't want it to seem as though I am looking for a handout. Any information that you guys have to make this a very smooth trip.

 

[Bete]

but I have been there a couple of times; so, I will start off.

To start, do a web search for Disneyland and Disneyland with handicap and start looking and reading. Some websites may be out of date; so, be careful you have good info. Two websites that should help a lot are Disneyland from Disney at disneyland.disney.go.com/ and www.allearsnet. You do have to look for Disneyland links and not go to Disney World links. If you do more searches, there are videos to show you what the rides are like, too.

Many rides are mainstreamed for scooters and wheelchairs. This means you can go through the ride queues to get to the ride with scooter. Eventually, you have to get off your scooter, park it and go onto a ride. There can be some manuevering necessary to get in and out of a ride that may prove to be too difficult for you and your party to do. The Disney staff is not really allowed to assist you in this regard. For one, Disney doesn't want to be sued with someone claiming they were injured by an employee helping them on and off a ride. If you can help each other then it may work in some regards to do some rides. I think you could all manage Soarin' in California Adventure; so, it's not hopeless. In some cases someone may have to sit it out and people watch for a while.

I would concentrate on the entertainment like the parades, fireworks and shows. You all should be okay with these activities.

You can eat at the parks and not do a table service meal. There are quick service eateries where you don't need a reservation. At quick service you can sit and not eat. If you do table service then you can make reservations 60 days in advance. Any Disney character meals or show dinner packages will be full price to all who enter regardless of whether you don't eat, or eat very little or eat a lot. You are getting entertainment by the characters as part of the meal package; so, you pay. I have never heard of paying an entertainment fee only and not eating at a Disney table service restaurant.

You can easily eat outside of Disneyland, too. It will be much cheaper if you do so. There are many chain restaurants in the neighborhood. I'm assuming you will have car transportation, here. There will be some non- Disney restaurants you can probably walk to, as well.

Unfortunately, a neighbor friendly Disney resort doesn't mean much. You can check with your resort for any freebies and see what they say. They are not Disney controlled.

I think from your schedule you will have plenty of time to do all you can do; a week is a lot of time for two parks and Downtown Disney.

Sorry, I wish I had better news for you.