First Timer-Give me all your tips

[willis37862]

In 2007 my DH and I will be taking our first trip to California and Disneyland. So I need all the tips you can give me. What are your fave character meals? Whats your fave places at disneyland/cal adventure to eat? How about Downtown Disney? Fave nearby hotel? Any tips you have I would love. Thank you

 

[willis37862]

Also any info about parades and fireworks?

 

[xmelissax]

Ok, I'm gonna try to tell you as many things as I can think of.

-I haven't been to any of the character meals but I heard the one at the Disneyland Hotel, I think it's called Goofy's something is the best.

-My favorite places to eat in the parks in order are: Blue Bayou, Pacific Wharf Cafe,Plaza Inn, Bengal BBQ

-At Downtown Disney I think Rainforest Cafe is fun and I've heard good things about Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen

-Parades and Fireworks: I don't watch the parades and it's very easy to get stuck if one is coming through and you're trying to walk down Main Street or over by It's a Small World. Just be concious of the starting times and try to steer clear unless you want to watch. Also, during Fantasmic is a great time to go on Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Pirates and all the rides in that area, the lines are always shorter. Make sure you're past the area before it ends though or it becomes chaos with all those people getting in the nearby ride lines. As for fireworks I've found the best place to see them is at the end of main street in the little center area with benches etc. You can see them fine and when they're over, if you want to leave you're closer to the exit.

 

[LucyKate]

Hotel tip:
- There are three Disney properties, but only one, the very expensive Grand Californian is "on site" with a direct entrance into Disney California. Many here prefer to stay at a Disney property because they believe it adds to the overall experience, but you will usually ay extra for this.

- Many non-Disney hotels are just as close as the Disney properties. Two of these, which are moderately priced, but get great reviews here and on trip advisor.com are the Howard Johnson and the Candy Cane Inn. Both are about 10 minutes walk from the park gates.

Park tips
- As you enter Main Street, just to the right behind the fruit car, are lockers. Stash all your coast, bags etc therem and return during the day as you need them.

- get a seat along main street near the hub well before the parade, It really is well worth staking out a front row spot at least once.

Ride tips
- USE FASTPASS! The best rides have a system that allows you to beat the queues. Put your tickets in the Fastpass machine and get a ticket with a tim for entry. You cannot use the ticket before the start time, but ignore the finish time, as the fastpass does not expire unti the close of the park. But get them early - on busy days fastpasses for popular rides run out. On most rides you can only get one fastpass at a time (so you can't pile them up). Signs above the fastpass machines tell you what time you can use the fastpasses.

- Unless you enjoy being soaked, wear ponchos on Splash Mountain and especially Grizzly River Run. If you don't, you WILL be soaked.

- Queue early for Peter Pan. It's one of the best rides in the park but has no fastpass. If the kids want to ride Dumbo, make sure you queue for that one quickly as well.

Food tip
- Carts in the park sell turkey legs, which make a great cheap meal for a couple of kids, or even and adult and child.

- Blue Bayou is a great restaurant, but make a booking, especially if you want a waterside seat.

 

[shellncesar]

Here are a few tips that I found are great for saving a little time and money
*bring fruit!! there is fruit in the park but it is about 4x more expensive. apples, oranges and grapes keep well. if you keep them in the fridge they are a great afternoon snack!! refreshes you from all of the junk food in the park.
* try counter service for lunch. there is a great place in tomorrow land near the buzz stage that makes good sandwhiches. also there is the clam chowder in a bread bowl in new orleans and chicken fingers in frontier land by thunder railroad.
* buy little snacks like granoloa bars or peanut butter crackers. they are a great thing to eat in line
* if the room has a microwave, buy some popcorn and cup o noodles for a snack. they sell popcorn in the park so this will satisfy that craving.
*go to the dollor store and buy glow sticks and ponchos. you can buy a ton of the glow sticks and we always make cool bracelets and necklaces that people stare at. the ponchos are good for the water rides. i hate walking around with wet clothing
*get there early. take a break in the middle of the day. check out the pool, it is awesome.
*use the monorail to go back and forth to the hotel. they have a sort of fast pass line for hotel guests and you can usually go right up. BUT go to the gate in the morning so you can get that magical feel.
* if you are going thorugh AAA you have a ticket that can give you multiple fast passes at one time.
*make reservations or perferred seating at the restraunts you want to eat at because the lines get long and it is almost impossible to get in to.
* if you want to see the fireworks, which i highly recommend, get a prime spot in front of the castle early.
* bring sunscreen
* drink lots and lots of water. you can go on longer with lots of water. if you drink it early in the day you will stay hydrated for a while
*bring good walking shoes. bring extra socks so your feet will be refreshed with a change half way through
* bring medicine. asprin, bandaids, aloe vera, and any other perscribed medication you need.



As for lodging and dinner:
* Goofy's kitchen has the best character dining. it has goofy, chip and dale and other ones.
* there are several locations across the street that run about $100 a night. they are really close within walking distance. i think it is worth it to stay there. try the tropicana inn or best western inn and mini suites.
* if you want to save money, the red roof inn is a little further away and has a shuttle.
* my favorite quick service dining are the pizza port, river belle terrace and pretty much anything in new orleans square.

thats all the tickets i have for now... have fun

 

[winjos]

Here are a few of our favorite things:

The Carnation restaurant on Main Street is a nice sit down restaurant that costs just a little bit more that the counter service combos. It has shade, the CM's have been there a long time, you get a view of main street and if you book around parade time, you get a nice comfortable seat!

Fast Passes are a must!

Check out the board at the end of Main street to see the wait times on all the popular rides!

The Tiki Room is air-conditioned and not usually crowded.

The Baby station is the best place for Parents!!!

The Matterhorn rocks -- the left side of the mountain is wilder than the right side (when looking straight on)

The Indiana Jones ride is very popular!! Get a fast pass. That is a not to miss ride

People start waiting for the first showing of Fantasmic EARLY. Get to the area at the very end of the first showing and as they let the people out, you go in and get a seat. The wait between shows is not very long.

Touch the apple at the entrance of Snow White's Adventure. Watch for the Queen to appear through the curtains in the turret.

Enjoy!

 

[willis37862]

Thank you Thank you Thank you. I appreciate very much all the tips. Does anyone know anything about the food and wine festival? Thank you again

 

[willis37862]

Any other tips for Disneyland/California Adventure? How lond do you spend at each one? Whats your favorite rides? I love Disney World and am looking forward to seeing the original magical place. How is Downtown Disney? Any little things that are hidden that I should look for? Where to find the characters? I appreciate all your help. Thank you

 

[goofy370]

We spent 4 days at the 2 parks total. We got to go on everything once, favorites 2-3 times. We were there 11/2-11/11/05. We had a blast. Downtown disney was great. Totally set up better than WDW. It is easy to navigate through. It is set up like a road, with shops on either side. The rides were all great. We spent 1 day at Universal, 1 day at Six Flags, and 1 in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the beach. If you go to Hollywood, go to the disney ice cream fountain and studio store. The ice cream was fantastic. It is across from the Kodak theater. The beach was a ride, but worth it to say I have dipped my feet in 2 oceans. Hope you have a great time, we did!!!

 

[diznynut]

We enjoyed several good places to eat:

Goofy's Kitchen (breakfast) lots of characters
Lilo And Stitche's Character breakfast
Carnation Cafe
Plaza Restaraunt
PCH Grill at PPH

Counter Service

Taste Pilots Grill
Buzz Cafe
Pacific Wharf Cafe

I hope you have a great time.

 

[willis37862]

We spent 4 days at the 2 parks total. We got to go on everything once, favorites 2-3 times. We were there 11/2-11/11/05. We had a blast. Downtown disney was great. Totally set up better than WDW. It is easy to navigate through. It is set up like a road, with shops on either side. The rides were all great. We spent 1 day at Universal, 1 day at Six Flags, and 1 in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the beach. If you go to Hollywood, go to the disney ice cream fountain and studio store. The ice cream was fantastic. It is across from the Kodak theater. The beach was a ride, but worth it to say I have dipped my feet in 2 oceans. Hope you have a great time, we did!!!

Which Six flags did you go to? I know there is a marine world one and another. Is it worth checking out? Also how did you enjoy Universal Studios? I have been to the one in Orlando and like it. Thanks for the info.

Thanks Diznynut for dining info. The food is one of my fave parts of a trip!

 

[iceskatejen]

It would have been Magic Mountain. Marine World is in Vallejo--near San Fransisco--not exactly a day trip.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Keep in mind that I haven't been to all of the places as the first week of April was my first trip to DL, but these were our favorites:

Loved Riverbelle Terrace, ate there twice. We saved the mickey plates to bring home and also saved the fruit snacks with the kids meals for them to eat as a snack later. Also like Pizza Port (I think it's called, in Tomorrowland), if you eat there and have kids I would plan on cutting a slice of pizza in half to share, they're huge. They have good salads there, too.

On our DTD day we ate a big breakfast at IHOP (which was our most expensive meal of our entire trip, including the Disney meals) and skipped lunch, instead had a big afternoon snack at Wetzel's Pretzels. Oh, be sure to watch the bakers in the windows of the Confectionary, too.

I thought that since our parkdays were weekdays we were going to miss the fireworks and figured "oh, well, we'll watch them from our hotel on Friday." Well, they ended up having them all week because of spring break and I am so glad I saw them in front of the castle. You really don't get the full affect unless you can see the castle and the matterhorn and hear the music. They're breathtaking. Definitely get a seat early. We brought a "Neat Sheet" to sit on, they fold up smaller than a blanket so they're easy to carry along.

 

[darph nader]

The best tip I give everyone is "stay out of dark alleys at night",and BE SAFE,HAVE FUN!

 

[willis37862]

The best tip I give everyone is "stay out of dark alleys at night",and BE SAFE,HAVE FUN!

I think that is timeless advice . I will be sure to follow it.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Fav hotel: Candy cane inn! Cant say enough good things about it- well cared for, nicely decorated, great breakfast, close enough to walk in 10 minutes, but also has a free shuttle.

Fav places to eat: DL- Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. The kids meal is great! Carnation cafe on main street is a good place for breakfast (non- character breakfast). Chili in a bread bowl at coke corner. Corn dog from the red cart at the end of mainstreet (huge for $6). BBQ at Riverbell terrace- combo plate is big enough to share. Since blue bayou will be open again by that time I also recomend it.

DCA- must admit we havent eat in DCA very much. Taste pilots grill is pretty good. The soup or salad in a bread bowl at the warf is pretty good.

Whitewater snacks is at the GC hotel. Its easy to get to from DCA. Their food is good, and the prices are pretty reasonable. I ordered a kids cheeseburger on the last trip. I think it was about $6 including a drink.

Fav. Character meal: Minnies at the plaza on main street. Lots of great character interaction, no need to waste time leaving the park, and lots of good fresh breakfast foods.

Fav. Airport to fly into: Long Beach! Its small, close and quick to get in and out of. But, I'm guessing it would be hard for you to get a flight into from TN- so I would go with SNA (Orange county/ John Wayne). Its also close and not HUGE.

 

[willis37862]

Thanks hlbtimes2. Especially the info about the airports, we haven't got our tickets yet so thanks. Everyone has been very helpful.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Oh, I forgot DCA, they have a hotdog place, something Weiners, and it has the best hot dogs I've ever had!

 

[mclopezzz]

Willis truly the most magical restaurant in DLR is the Blue Bayou. You truly have to experience it on the water to see how special it is. You will feel like you are outdoors and you can see the smiles of the folks in the boats as they start out on the Pirates ride. It is truly unique and something you will not forget.

 

[SeansMom]

The first time we visited DCA it was so different from Disneyland that I was a little shocked. But we really enjoyed it! You really only need a day, but if you have parkhopper tickets you can go back and forth.

Our favorites: Soarin', TOT, and of course, Grizzly River Run. Personally, I don't do upside down, but if you do you'll love the coaster.

I'd get a fast pass for Soarin' early in the morning. They tended to run out by noon or one!

Don't miss Aladdin. We almost didn't go and it was as good as a broadway show. Another great thing for a hot day.

Go to Turtle Talk when it get hot out...same with It's a Bug's Life.

I love the carousel there. IF you like them, take a peek at this one. It's all sea creatures!

PM me if you have specific questions. I'm sure there is more, my mind just can't conjure up the details right now! Have fun planning!