first trip to DLR, spring break 2015

[4talamantes]

My family has done 2 Disney cruises now, but we have not been to any parks. Decided DLR was the best one to start with. Just looking for any input on what I have planned so far - I have been reading this board since last October watching for tips and tricks, and I have learned a ton, so thank you all!

We are arriving Sat, 3/21 around 5:30 and will go directly to our hotel as it will be a long travel day. We are staying at the Hotel Indigo on Katella. (Requested fireworks view there.) Can't cough up the on-site prices, wish I could....

Considering the DisneyLand Express to get to and from LAX, because I don't want to mess with booster seats. I have no interest in renting a car as the entire trip is DLR-focused.

It will be me and my DS, 9 and DD, 7. DD has almost NO interest in Princesses, she doesn't mind Belle, and does like Anna and Elsa, but is NOT a girly girl at all. (She is a Pixar girl if I had to categorize - loves Mater, Buzz, etc.) We have 5-day park hoppers that we will use Sun-Thurs, 3/22 - 3/26. We fly out of LAX Fri, 3/27 around 1:00 PM. So Friday we will essentially pack up and go home, hoping to sleep in a bit after the 5 park days.

I have made some dining reservations:
Sun AM 10:30 - Goofy's Kitchen - breakfast after a couple hours in the park first day
Sun PM - Cafe Orleans
Mon PM WOC dining @ Ariel's Grotto
Tues - nothing this day
Wed PM F! dining @ Blue Bayou
Thurs AM breakfast @ Carnation Cafe
Thurs PM back to Goofy's for last night character dinner

I feel pretty sure that Goofy's Kitchen (yes, 2 times) is the best choice for my kids as far as what characters we will see.
I for sure wanted to do the dining reservations for both WOC and F! after reading here.
Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe were just a couple other choices I wanted to try. I *feel* like that was all the dining I wanted to reserve, so that we were not tied down too much.

I have not planned the days too much beyond the dining, WOC and F!. I have some general ideas on entertainment that I know we don't want to miss:
Mickey Parade
Pixar Parade
Jedi Academy
Mickey's Magical Map
Frozen sing along
Aladdin
fireworks

I have not planned out rides at all yet, have some vague ideas and know a few must-dos, but I need to research that stuff more and learn a bit more about FastPasses.

Oh, I ordered PhotoPass+, and have already bought the park tix.

Any comments/suggestions?

 

[chttyangel]

Hi there. I don't really have any "suggestions" but I did want to tell you to have a great time. My family LOVES DL that time of year and has visited MANY times for spring break. The crowds can get pretty crazy but the Parks are open late and the weather is fantastic so you will love it. We are going ourselves again this year a little later then you; arriving 3/31.

Goofy's Kitchen is allot of fun (thou $$). I haven't had breakfast at Carnation Café but their lunch is AMAZING; I also like lunch at the Plaza Inn across the way. Blue Bayou has a great atmosphere if you can sit along the water.

If I had two pieces of advice to give I would say 1) Give yourself some time mid day to take a break if the crowds get too bad. We will swim/have lunch/nap and come back at dinner time. It allows my kids to be able to make it til midnight and not only does the Park seem more magical after the crowds clear out but you can get TONS more in. 2) Plan the fireworks early on if it is important to you. If the Santa Ana winds pickup; they do cancel them. Last time I left them for my last night and was sadly disappointed.

ENJOY!!

 

[Canuck16]

We will be there from 3/21-3/28 and are looking forward to getting back to DL again.

The fireworks show at DL is the Fantasy in the Sky show which is a much shorter show than the regular fireworks (4-5 minutes I believe) so enjoy Fantasmic and WOC for sure.

I see that you have selected a lot of places to eat which is awesome. If your kids are into Cars then I would suggest having a quick lunch in CarsLand at the Cosy Cone Hotel or Flo's V8 Diner one day. We always go to the Cosy Cone and sit down for lunch and enjoy the awesome theming of Carsland.

I agree with the OP that because during Spring Break the parks are open longer - DL 8-12 and DCA 8-10 - take advantage of those later hours when the parks will be less crowded. We love the parks at night just as much as during the day. When we were at WDW last May the Magic Kingdom was open until 2 am one night and we shut that park down and it was amazing!!

You and your kids will have a great time........have fun!!!

 

[4talamantes]

We will be there from 3/21-3/28 and are looking forward to getting back to DL again.

The fireworks show at DL is the Fantasy in the Sky show which is a much shorter show than the regular fireworks (4-5 minutes I believe) so enjoy Fantasmic and WOC for sure.

I see that you have selected a lot of places to eat which is awesome. If your kids are into Cars then I would suggest having a quick lunch in CarsLand at the Cosy Cone Hotel or Flo's V8 Diner one day. We always go to the Cosy Cone and sit down for lunch and enjoy the awesome theming of Carsland.

I agree with the OP that because during Spring Break the parks are open longer - DL 8-12 and DCA 8-10 - take advantage of those later hours when the parks will be less crowded. We love the parks at night just as much as during the day. When we were at WDW last May the Magic Kingdom was open until 2 am one night and we shut that park down and it was amazing!!

You and your kids will have a great time........have fun!!!

Thank you very much, Canuck16!!

 

[4talamantes]

Hi there. I don't really have any "suggestions" but I did want to tell you to have a great time. My family LOVES DL that time of year and has visited MANY times for spring break. The crowds can get pretty crazy but the Parks are open late and the weather is fantastic so you will love it. We are going ourselves again this year a little later then you; arriving 3/31.

Goofy's Kitchen is allot of fun (thou $$). I haven't had breakfast at Carnation Café but their lunch is AMAZING; I also like lunch at the Plaza Inn across the way. Blue Bayou has a great atmosphere if you can sit along the water.

If I had two pieces of advice to give I would say 1) Give yourself some time mid day to take a break if the crowds get too bad. We will swim/have lunch/nap and come back at dinner time. It allows my kids to be able to make it til midnight and not only does the Park seem more magical after the crowds clear out but you can get TONS more in. 2) Plan the fireworks early on if it is important to you. If the Santa Ana winds pickup; they do cancel them. Last time I left them for my last night and was sadly disappointed.

ENJOY!!

Thank you, chttyangel!!

 

[chickapin parterre]

your Sunday will be interesting in terms of Disneyland E attraction fastpasses. If you leave the park at 10:00 with a 12;30 fastpass, your next window would be 3:30 or later to secure a fastpass, if any fastpasses are still available to secure. And autopia is the only fast pass that is good on a full stomach. So may be best to take in easy strolling around DCA after the meal, Bugs life, Crush, monsters inc, mermaid. Or a good time to catch Aladdin.

then my first thought is to return to Disneyland when it is dark or watch Radiator springs light up for the dusk. but I see you have a Cafe Orleans reservation. What time do you have for that reservation? After eating a large meal at Goofy's maybe best to decline that reservation and just snack in DCA. if the reservation is late, you are up against fantasmic.
The beauty of returning to Disneyland when it is dark, that you have a perspective that is walking slowing up the street to view of castle lit up.

 

[4talamantes]

your Sunday will be interesting in terms of Disneyland E attraction fastpasses. If you leave the park at 10:00 with a 12;30 fastpass, your next window would be 3:30 or later to secure a fastpass, if any fastpasses are still available to secure. And autopia is the only fast pass that is good on a full stomach. So may be best to take in easy strolling around DCA after the meal, Bugs life, Crush, monsters inc, mermaid. Or a good time to catch Aladdin.

then my first thought is to return to Disneyland when it is dark or watch Radiator springs light up for the dusk. but I see you have a Cafe Orleans reservation. What time do you have for that reservation? After eating a large meal at Goofy's maybe best to decline that reservation and just snack in DCA. if the reservation is late, you are up against fantasmic.
The beauty of returning to Disneyland when it is dark, that you have a perspective that is walking slowing up the street to view of castle lit up.

Thanks, chickapin, hmmm, my other thought would be to do Goofy's Kitchen breakfast as soon as they open, then? How long should I expect it to take?

 

[chickapin parterre]

Your schedule as the way it stands now has one major disadvantage-you are not taking advantage of the early morning entry privilege for one morning you are granted by purchasing a 4 day park hopper.

 

[4talamantes]

Your schedule as the way it stands now has one major disadvantage-you are not taking advantage of the early morning entry privilege for one morning you are granted by purchasing a 4 day park hopper.

I do plan to take advantage of that for sure...was thinking Tues for the Magic Morning.

 

[chickapin parterre]

oh, i thought nothing meant no park activity, so if being in the park tuesday, then sure MM will work

 

[4talamantes]

oh, i thought nothing meant no park activity, so if being in the park tuesday, then sure MM will work

Sun-Thurs are all park days, just nothing "scheduled" for Tues as far as reservations.

How long would you allow for breakfast @ Goofy's - would you move it to either the earliest (7AM) or latest (11:30, I think?)

 

[chickapin parterre]

So after breakfast, if it is the first activity of the day as a first time visitor, you will be feeling your way into Disneyland as opposed to a veteran who knows the layout and how the fast pass are being distributed for hours into the day. DCA not so hard as a first timer, especially with the young age of your children.

On the other hand, after breakfast, it could be an exploration day of Disneyland, taking in the details and exploring the surrounds , coming back to an attraction that you have secured a fast pass . Ride, acquire another fastpass, explore the land. Then your Tuesday morning will be more profitable as you know whether to explore Fatnasyland or tomorrowland

 

[figment_jii]

As a first time visitor, I would be actually tempted to not schedule a mid-morning breakfast on the first day. I am a veteran so my perspective is a little different, but I went recently with a family that was going for only their third time (first time that the youngest is old enough to remember - he was 9 months the first time). The kids were so excited the first morning in the parks. They were still taking in everything and wanting to do everything in the parks. We would have been hard-pressed to get them to leave the parks after only two hours. We had breakfast before entering the parks and then ended up having a quick service lunch (around noon), which was a good point for a break and some "down time." We did do a character breakfast, but it was on the second morning. Given that you don't have a breakfast scheduled for Monday, I would consider having Goofy's Kitchen then.

In terms of timing, I would allow between 60 and 90 minutes for the meal itself (including time to be seated and time that you might have to wait for all of the characters to get to your table). My guess is that it'll take about two hours from the time you leave DL/DCA to when you get get back. My family had breakfast at Surf's Up and it took us about 90 minutes to eat and see all of the characters. Then you have to allow time to walk back to the parks or to take the monorail (which is fun, but can be time consuming if you have to wait for multiple monorails).

If your DD7 is very much into Mater (or McQueen or Red) be sure to check out Carsland. Mater and McQueen alternate at the meet and greet in Carsland by the Cozy Cones. Red (the fire engine) also meets guests.

You mentioned Photopass Plus...be sure to ask about Magic Shots. Those can be pretty cute. The photographer will ask you to pose a certain way and then something will be superimposed in the photo. Not all PP photographers can do Magic Shots, but it's worth asking any photographer that is not using a tripod. We got photographs with Pascal in someone's hands, someone holding Mickey balloons, Stitch popping up from the ground, Olaf and his flurry next to us, and a few others. In general, they can only do Magic Shots in the daytime (not always, but mostly it seems), so it's best to ask during the day. Also, if you don't redeem your voucher when you first get to DL or DCA (whichever park you opt to start at on Sunday) be sure to take your PP+ voucher with you to Goofy's Kitchen (if you do dine there on Sunday) because you can redeem your voucher three and the photo package is included in the price of the PP+ (digital and print).

In terms of FP, I would recommend taking a look at the Fastpass Encyclopedia thread as a starting point.

I agree that using your Magic Morning on Tuesday (first available day) is a good choice. I know that by the end of the trip, it was getting harder and harder to get up super early in the morning (adults mostly, the kids seems pretty energetic), so it's best to do MM early in the trip when everyone is still energetic. At DL, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during MM/EMH. They do not distribute FPs during MM/EMH. I advise getting to the ticket gates well ahead of the opening because the lines can be quite long (when I was there, the lines were stretched half way across the Esplanade by the time the MM/EMH started). You might as well get in as much of the MM/EMH as possible!

 

[4talamantes]

As a first time visitor, I would be actually tempted to not schedule a mid-morning breakfast on the first day. I am a veteran so my perspective is a little different, but I went recently with a family that was going for only their third time (first time that the youngest is old enough to remember - he was 9 months the first time). The kids were so excited the first morning in the parks. They were still taking in everything and wanting to do everything in the parks. We would have been hard-pressed to get them to leave the parks after only two hours. We had breakfast before entering the parks and then ended up having a quick service lunch (around noon), which was a good point for a break and some "down time." We did do a character breakfast, but it was on the second morning. Given that you don't have a breakfast scheduled for Monday, I would consider having Goofy's Kitchen then.

In terms of timing, I would allow between 60 and 90 minutes for the meal itself (including time to be seated and time that you might have to wait for all of the characters to get to your table). My guess is that it'll take about two hours from the time you leave DL/DCA to when you get get back. My family had breakfast at Surf's Up and it took us about 90 minutes to eat and see all of the characters. Then you have to allow time to walk back to the parks or to take the monorail (which is fun, but can be time consuming if you have to wait for multiple monorails).

If your DD7 is very much into Mater (or McQueen or Red) be sure to check out Carsland. Mater and McQueen alternate at the meet and greet in Carsland by the Cozy Cones. Red (the fire engine) also meets guests.

You mentioned Photopass Plus...be sure to ask about Magic Shots. Those can be pretty cute. The photographer will ask you to pose a certain way and then something will be superimposed in the photo. Not all PP photographers can do Magic Shots, but it's worth asking any photographer that is not using a tripod. We got photographs with Pascal in someone's hands, someone holding Mickey balloons, Stitch popping up from the ground, Olaf and his flurry next to us, and a few others. In general, they can only do Magic Shots in the daytime (not always, but mostly it seems), so it's best to ask during the day. Also, if you don't redeem your voucher when you first get to DL or DCA (whichever park you opt to start at on Sunday) be sure to take your PP+ voucher with you to Goofy's Kitchen (if you do dine there on Sunday) because you can redeem your voucher three and the photo package is included in the price of the PP+ (digital and print).

In terms of FP, I would recommend taking a look at the Fastpass Encyclopedia thread as a starting point.

I agree that using your Magic Morning on Tuesday (first available day) is a good choice. I know that by the end of the trip, it was getting harder and harder to get up super early in the morning (adults mostly, the kids seems pretty energetic), so it's best to do MM early in the trip when everyone is still energetic. At DL, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during MM/EMH. They do not distribute FPs during MM/EMH. I advise getting to the ticket gates well ahead of the opening because the lines can be quite long (when I was there, the lines were stretched half way across the Esplanade by the time the MM/EMH started). You might as well get in as much of the MM/EMH as possible!

THANK YOU figment jii, I think I will move our Goofy's Kitchen breakfast to Monday after reading your thoughts. Thinking of doing it late as kind of a mid-day break. Leaving Sunday open is probably smarter for our first day, they will surely be wide-eyed and having a great time. As fun as Goofy's will be, they will probably be happier taking everything in the first day without a long meal in the morning. And plenty of time at Carsland is planned for sure.

Also, LOVE the Fastpass Encyclopedia thread, thanks, I had not seen that before!

Have not seen the Magic Shot with Olaf's flurry but we for sure need that. I am getting SO excited, we will be on our way to the airport 4 weeks from right now!

 

[DisneyMommy77]

I agree that the Goofy's Kitchen meal after only a couple hours in the park may want to be changed. I don't think the kids will want to leave the park at that time.

I would make that day a more casual exploration day. Wait until the kids are hungry and then find something that looks good.

May I also suggest lunch or dinner at the BBQ place by Thunder Mountain. We always have a good time and the food is pretty good!

And don't forget a Dole Whip by the Tiki Room.

Have a wonderful trip and make sure to get the kids a churro!

 

[4talamantes]

I agree that the Goofy's Kitchen meal after only a couple hours in the park may want to be changed. I don't think the kids will want to leave the park at that time.

I would make that day a more casual exploration day. Wait until the kids are hungry and then find something that looks good.

May I also suggest lunch or dinner at the BBQ place by Thunder Mountain. We always have a good time and the food is pretty good!

And don't forget a Dole Whip by the Tiki Room.

Have a wonderful trip and make sure to get the kids a churro!

Thanks, DisneyMommy77 - I moved Goofy's Kitchen to late morning of second day after your info and other posts above. First day we will be pretty much free. I *feel* that with 5 days in the park we should be able to do about everything that we want, especially since there are a decent amount of things that will be in refurbishment. The park hours are also relatively long.

The BBQ place sounds good, but none of us are super big eaters and I know it's an all-you-can-eat type deal so not sure if it will be worth it, will look at it again. Yeah, I know we are going to Goofy's Kitchen and that is AYCE also, but the draw there is Goofy, LOL.