first family trip to DLR - May 4-7

[aijj]

Ok day 1 of our trip so far (Sunday May 4th). We got to our hotel (Howard Johnson) at 930 am. Said room wouldn't be ready till 4pm but they said we could check our luggage in and use the pool and the Castaway Cove... so we did that. While they liked the pool I must say the Castaway Cove is pretty awesome and was perfect for my kids. After playing there we went to lunch at Mimis which was super short walk. Then we got the stroller rental from hotel and headed to DL. We didn't really get into DL till about 2pm (and we ended up leaving at 530, so super short day) but we got to do sooo many things. We met up with friends who are local and who have APs and really knew the ropes and gave us advice on what to ride and helped us get FPs. I took DS on Big Thunder Mountain and Star Tours and DH took DD on the rockets. We all went on Buzz Lightyear and did a round trip on Disneyland train. DD saw Minnie and I got a pic of her hugging Minnie..so cute!

 

[momof4fans]

That sounds like a great first day, even if it was short. I hope your friends are with you for the rest of your trip. There is nothing like park experience to save time. Have fun!

 

[aijj]

Thanks! We won't be meeting our friends the rest of the trip but we have four day park hoppers and plan to stay the entire day for those so hopefully we still see a ton of stuff.

Anyway I just say we are pretty pleased with the HoJo so far...I'm glad we stayed here. We thought the walk to DL was pretty short even after a super long day . and being so close to mcdonalds and Mimi's it is super convenient. Our room has a mini fridge and microwave which is perfect since my kids love to have warm milk first thing in the morning. I was a bit worried earlier about the noise with it being so close to the freeway but we did not have that issue at all..it was super quiet.

I was worried about the weather and crowds given reports from last week but it didn't seem too bad...looks like it will be calling down. Yesterday was very sunny and somewhat hot in the sun but it was at least nice and breezy in the shade. It did not seem horribly crowded..waiting for the buzz light year ride it was only 15 minutes...dh said they waited 25 minutes to go on the rockets. Thetaxi driver said yesterday was OC marathon and the traffic was less than usual so maybe that had something to do with it.

 

[aijj]

Ok so day 2 was quite different... We were in the parks from rope drop to closing, nonstop. the kids did amazingly well, it was a little unbelievable. We had the advantage that the weather was really nice (I couldn't believe how cool it got starting at 530 pm ).

We spent most of the day in DCA. Got in at rope drop...dh ran to get fast passes for RSR and then World of Color. Was able to get RSR with return time around 1pm which was great since we had 11:20 reservation at Ariel's Grotto. We went on those rocket ship ride and I took DS to Goofy Sky School while dh took Dd to the Mickey fun wheel. We then did the lunch at Ariel's which was AMAZING...the food was awesome and DD was beyond excited. After the lunch dh took DS to Ride RSR while I stayed with DD who fell asleep in the stroller. I was able to just sit at a bench and chill while she slept. After RSR we got to take pics with Mater which Ds was super excited about. Then he fell asleep and we just let the kids sleep while we sat on a bench in the shade and chatted...the weather was really nice to allow this! They each napped about 2 hrs in the stroller which was awesome. I seriously cannot recommend a stroller enough.

In the afternoon we went on the king triton carousel (twice, at DD's insistence ) and then did a couple of Bugs life rides (the Heimleich train, ladybug boogie), and then went to ride the monorail from Tomorrowland . DS thought it was SO cool. Then by then it was 6pm so went to that zocala Mexican restaurant in Fronteirland. We sat outside and luckily got a table right next to Big. Thunder Mountain Railroad which my DS was utterly enthralled with. Then after that we headed back to DCA for World of Color. Dh and I thought it was downright amazing, but I think it was loud for the kids and plus some scenes (like the pirates, etc) they found scary.

 

[momof4fans]

Your trip sounds like it is going very well! We love Ariel's Grotto too and my dd5 loves the carousels in DL and CA. She'll tell you those are her favorites and we rode them many, many times.

Can you imagine DLR without a stroller? I will be sad when we are truly too big for a stroller. I have read so many postings of people with young children saying they don't take strollers. I don't see how they survive! My dd's (4 & 6 at the time) were happy to ride in the stroller. And they napped as well. Life Saver!

Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[luulu1999]

So glad you seem to be having an awesome time!! We are going to do Ariel's our July trip because right now DD is all about Ariel!! I am still debating about the Stroller, my kids are DD5 & DD6 I am a little scared not to have one but I am not sure I will need one and they are soo handy to store stuff in!!

 

[momof4fans]

So glad you seem to be having an awesome time!! We are going to do Ariel's our July trip because right now DD is all about Ariel!! I am still debating about the Stroller, my kids are DD5 & DD6 I am a little scared not to have one but I am not sure I will need one and they are soo handy to store stuff in!!

If you don't want to bring one from home, you should look into City Strollers rental. They are awesome! Their stroller was much nicer then mine. We drove so it would take up way to much space in our vehicle anyway. I rented a double baby jogger for a week for $75. Some of the best money I ever spend. And remember, in July the parks are open for long hours. Like 8am to midnight I think. Your kids are still pretty young. Mine were 4 and 6 on our last trip and I never regretted having a stroller once.

 

[aijj]

About strollers..we rented a double city mini stroller from citystrollerrentals.com, and yes totally worth the money. We are already planning to come again nedt year, when they'll be 4 and almost 5.5 yo and im totally bringing one then.

So day 3 (yesterday) started out a little disappointing since breakfast took longer than expected (we went to IHOP right across the street). Despitr having magic morning we didn't really enter parks till 945. We wanted to do Fantasyland and WOW was it already insanely crowded. It felt way more crowded than day before but maybe that is just Fantasyland. Peter pan ride wait was already 50 min by 10am. Dumbos (which DD really want to go on) already was over 30 min..so we skipped those..we discovered the kiddos cannot really wait more than 15-20 minutes. We did carousel (5 min wait) and Casey Jr train (like 15 min wait) which DS (huge train lover) really liked.

After that We ended up getting each kiddo a bubble gun ($12 ea) and they played with those on the way to Toontown. They played for a good while in goofy's playhouse which was perfect and just whay my kids needed.. it is really hard for them to stand in line all day, so this was great for just letting them run around.

More later..

 

[aijj]

Okay so Day 3 continued... around 12:30 my DS was going a little cuckoo (probably hungry and overtired) so we headed to Main Street and ducked into that Steamboat Willie cinema thing. I remembered as a teen our family going in there in the afternoons to rest and get a break from the sun (not that it was hot or anything). And this seemed to work wonders for my DS..he really liked watching the cartoons and he really settled down. I think it being dark and not very loud helps..my DS is very sensitive to sounds and gets overstimulated very easily.

Anyway around 1pm we headed out to Downtown Disney to meet a friend for lunch. DD fell asleep in the stroller but DS stayed awake. We ate at the Mexican place sorta near the House of Blues..the fish tacos were amazing!

After that we did a little bit of shopping at World of Disney. Found the non-talking Olaf plush doll, big Frozen golden book and two Disney sticker books for the kids.

More later....

 

[aijj]

Day 3 (continued)

In the afternoon we went to CA adventure and got to take pics with Lightning McQueen..both kids loved that. Dh took dd on the Luigi tire ride, which she really liked. A CM even took close up pics of them on the ride. As we were waiting Behind the luigi tire ride, DS and I got to see lightning McQueen and Mater drive by, which was cool.

After that we headed to Disneyland..walked all the way to Wînnie the Pooh ride only to find out it was just shut down. So we ended up doing the Tarzan treehouse and then the Enchanted Tiki Room, which the kids got a kick out of. After that it was close to 6pm so we sat down on place on Main Street to watch Mickey's Soundsational parade. We did have to wait an hour but the kids did great (sticker books from that Disney store kept them busy). W ended up getting corn dogs for dinner and just eating them there while we waited for the parade. BTWthe corn dogs there were sooo yummy!

Anyway I should say, the parade was by far, the highlight of the whole day.idont think I had ever seen my kids more excited than when they first saw Mickey coming down the street. They were literally shrieking with excitement. And then this all would repeat after seeing each set of characters (Ariel, Lion King, etc). It was really something else. I am so, so glad we waited to get a good place and watch it...the kids just loved it.

After the parade, before 8pm we just headed home as my DS had not napped at all and I could tell he was getting super tired. If not for that we could have stayed another hour.

 

[luulu1999]

Sounds like you guys are having a great time!!