First trip to disneyland..booked!

[PrincessKel]

Hello!
After doing lots of research from this wonderful site I have booked our first trip to disneyland! There will be my husband and I and our 3 children.. boys aged 10 and 6 and our little princess aged 3. We are going on the 4th Sept for 6 nights and staying in Davy Crockett Ranch. Getting so excited now as we have kept it a secret from the kids and are planning on not telling them until the day. Any ideas how we could tell them?

Would love some advice on Dining, I am considering the half board option as would prefer to have it paid for before and not have to carry cash around with us but not sure if its good value? We don't want to eat anywhere posh due to having 3 little monsters! We fancy Annettes, cafe Mickey etc.

The 4th of sept is the last day of high summer season, will there be things going on this day that will not be on for the rest of the holiday? Want to make the most of seeing as much as poss. We also would like to visit Paris but no idea the best way to do it with 3 little ones, not sure about going it alone but think the coach trip might be way too boring for them? Anyone done it with young kids? They are not great at sitting still!

Thank you!
Kelly xx

 

[Ware Bears]

Congratulations on booking and for going for 6 nights - longer trips are definitely the best!

As the 4th is the last day of the summer season then that will also be the last day for seeing fireworks and Fantillusion (the electrical night-time parade). If your younger two are OK with late nights (the fireworks are normally around 11:15pm) these are so worth doing if possible ..... but if not, it gives you a good excuse to return another year!!

I don't think buying the food vouchers are necessarily good value as you are restricted to a set menu but you can always use them at face value and choose something else off the menu. Some people buy them purely because they like the fact that their meals are then budgeted for in advance.

We've not done the coach trip so not sure how boring it is for young children but it is very easy to take the train into Paris on your own - if you decide to take this option you'll get lots of advice on here how to do it.

 

[catkin]

Dining - we used the half board vouchers last time, they are very convenient, I'm still never sure how much they save but you do at least get a drink included. Personally we've tended to go for the buffet restaurants, there tends to be a wide selection to keep everybody happy, there are no problems with anyone not liking the meal they've ordered and they can eat as much as they want!

Paris - we've done the trip into Paris by train on both our visits, it's very straightforward and more flexible than the coach. The first time our 3 DS were 2.5, 5 & 7.5 and apart from DH leaving DS2's waterproof on the train there were no problems at all.

If you start from Arc de Triomphe, head towards Eiffel Tower then hop on a boat tour/batobus you can pretty much see all the major sights in an easy circuit (above plus Champs Elysee, Notre Dame etc) without a horrendous amount of walking for little legs.
Last time we extended it to take in Sacre Coeur and went up ET and A de T, this year we'll probably do a museum as well. When they are little it's usually enough for them to just see the places.

Definitely worth trying to keep them up to see the Fantillusion parade and the fireworks. The programmes for both seasons should be up just before you go so you can compare them to make sure there are no other shows etc that are being changed. Also there is a character dance at 4pm in the Disneyland Hotel which I think is on from Thursday/Friday through to Sunday which might be worth checking in case you need to do that on the Sunday.

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Yayy you'll have a fab time!

We are also keeping our big family trip a secret from our boys until the night before we go. We plan on making a dvd that starts with all 11 of us as a group chanting 'guess where we're going!?!', it will then go into the 'chante, c'est noel!' song (as we're going during the Christmas season) along with pictures and footage from our previous trips, we're showing them the night before as we will all be together to celebrate DH's 30th birthday. We're also having personalized story books made for each of them with the story of the little boys who went to Disneyland for Daddys birthday with special friends and family Using pictures of our boys and family/friends etc. I just hope it all comes together!

Maybe you could use the book idea?

I hope all goes well and you have a wonderful time

 

[PrincessKel]

Thank you for all the great advice! Will definitely try to see the fireworks. Am going to think about the vouchers a bit more as still not sure about them. The advice about Paris is great thank you. Book idea sounds like fun, will look into it!
Kelly x

 

[jothp]

You could make invitations for you kids from mickey mouse to give them on the day you are going.

 

[nl's mummy]

you will love DCR!! been there 3 times now and it is fab especially with little ones!

just a thought re dining but you will have cooking facilities in cabin and there is a huge Auchan at val d'europe.

we tend to save some of breakfast (its huge! you pick it up from hut at end of your road) and we get cold meat, cheese etc from auchan and make up sandwiches.

we also ate in one night and i did dinner in the cabin.

we do cafe mickey too which is fantastic! and the buffet at DCR is great too!

you will have a ball! we have been twice at end of september and weather been great too and not too busy at all.

 

[markpsych]

We're going to the DC for 6 nights in July. 6 nights is perfect

September is also a great time to go, as much less crowded.

As nl's mummy said, the Auchan is a great place to do some shopping. In fact, we use the Disney restaurants much less now as you can get a real feast from the Auchan for a fraction of the price.

I would recommend the DC Tavern for a meal though, as you can stroll up there during the evening, and have a leisurely meal (and drink ) without having to worry about driving home afterwards. The food is excellent!

Have you booked a premium cabin?

If not, it would be worth considering if you can afford it, as they are very nice, and closer to the pool, etc.

Saying that, the traditional 2 bed cabins are great for small kids, as there is a double bed settee in the main living area that they can pile into together.