First time going to Disneyland!! Need help/advice

[Mamas07]

I am not even sure if this is the right place to post. I am surprising my kids with a trip to Disneyland. It'll be the first time my kids and I have gone! My hubby has been, but it's been years... I have no idea where to start!!

I have purchased my tickets 5 day park hoppers so we don't have to rush everyday and the simple fact we've never been and I want to go for as long as I can!

I feel like I got a pretty decent deal on tickets for a family of four. I did the $200 statement credit with the Disney chase card. We are splitting the hotel costs with other family members so we will be roughly under 2k for our tickets and hotel across the street. I have Disney GCs for each of us to spend on souvenirs ($125)
Don't know if that's enough??

I've been told we can bring food and drinks into the park. I don't know whether we should buy them there or bring them.

I also want to do character dining but not sure how to reserve that without doing a package deal through Disney... but I was also told you can meet the characters at various restaurants??

I don't know what to budget for food and whatever else im forgetting! I still have time to figure it out. Our trip isnt until feb/march 2017.

Can someone point me in the right direction? There are sooo many threads I don't know where to start!

Thank you in advance

 

[theluckyrabbit]

How exciting that you're planning your first trip to DLR! Post this in the Disneyland (California) forum. You'll get so much good help there! 5 day hoppers are a good start. You're right to want to take full advantage of 5 days to see the parks at a more relaxed pace. Your hoppers should come with a Magic Morning. Other DISers can help you plan to get the most out of the extra hour in DL. Gift cards for souvenirs are a great idea. They really help the kids to think about what they want to buy. We tell our kids that once the card is at zero, that's the end of the souvenirs. This stops any whining and impulse buying. The kids really enjoy thinking carefully and choosing what they want. We make them use the gift cards for snacks, too, so that cuts down on impulse snacking. I don't know how far you'll be driving/flying. If you'll have a car. there are grocery stores and a Target near the parks. Otherwise, Vons.com and Amazon will deliver groceries to your hotel. Check with your hotel on their delivery policy. Character dining reservations can be made up to 60 days ahead. Call the dine line (714-781-DINE) or go online to the DLR website to make those reservations. Different character meals have different characters. Mickey Mouse only appears at Surf's Up at the PPH. Goofy's Kitchen at the DLH has breakfast and dinner. Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn probably has the most characters. Storyteller's Cafe has the woodland characters. Ariel's Grotto has princesses. You can search many threads on this board for info on the different character meals. There are also lots of threads about budgeting for food. Check out some of these threads and then come back here to ask any questions. Planning your trip is part of the fun and we are here to help!

 

[Mamas07]

How exciting that you're planning your first trip to DLR! Post this in the Disneyland (California) forum. You'll get so much good help there! 5 day hoppers are a good start. You're right to want to take full advantage of 5 days to see the parks at a more relaxed pace. Your hoppers should come with a Magic Morning. Other DISers can help you plan to get the most out of the extra hour in DL. Gift cards for souvenirs are a great idea. They really help the kids to think about what they want to buy. We tell our kids that once the card is at zero, that's the end of the souvenirs. This stops any whining and impulse buying. The kids really enjoy thinking carefully and choosing what they want. We make them use the gift cards for snacks, too, so that cuts down on impulse snacking. I don't know how far you'll be driving/flying. If you'll have a car. there are grocery stores and a Target near the parks. Otherwise, Vons.com and Amazon will deliver groceries to your hotel. Check with your hotel on their delivery policy. Character dining reservations can be made up to 60 days ahead. Call the dine line (714-781-DINE) or go online to the DLR website to make those reservations. Different character meals have different characters. Mickey Mouse only appears at Surf's Up at the PPH. Goofy's Kitchen at the DLH has breakfast and dinner. Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn probably has the most characters. Storyteller's Cafe has the woodland characters. Ariel's Grotto has princesses. You can search many threads on this board for info on the different character meals. There are also lots of threads about budgeting for food. Check out some of these threads and then come back here to ask any questions. Planning your trip is part of the fun and we are here to help!

Thank you! Guess I'm not seeing where I need to post this. I first posted in a wdw forum and they sent me a link to post here. Sorry for the confusion... you reply has given me some good information!! Thank yiu

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This is the Disneyland Community Board. Click on the button right next to this one labeled "Disneyland (California)" (the button is in the banner up at the top and at the bottom of the page, too) -- that will help more DISers to see your post. As you work through your trip planning, keep coming back to ask more questions!

ETA: Just saw your post in the other forum. Now the good advice should start rolling in!