Frequent visitors/AP Holders...

[Monkey Monkey]

What is your "typical" visit like at DL/DCA?

I just got my first AP last month, but have been several times over the past couple of years. DS is only 2.5, and it's usually just the 2 of us or we meet up with friends with toddlers too, so I've never been on any of the really exciting rides!

We usually start off in Fantasyland, with Dumbo, Casey Jr., Small World, the carousel, and always spend a lot of time in ToonTown and go on Winnie the Pooh sooner or later.

At DCA we spend a lot of time in Bug's Land and always ride the carousel.

On my next visit, I'm going to branch out a bit and start in Adventureland! I've never been on the Jungle Cruise and I think DS would really like that.

So if you have a "typical" day, what's it like? What rides/shows do you catch, and who do you go with? Do you spend the whole day there, open to close? Do you always eat at the same places?

 

[rockstargeisha]

My group likes to go in the evenings. We park in the Timon lot, which we find to be much easier than the Mickey and friends lot. We usually start over in DCA and hit up Screamin' and ToT. If we need a snack we hit up the Tortilla factory.

After DCA we head over to Disneyland and usually eat at Cafe Orleans, love those bread bowls! I always have to get a frozen lemonade regardless of the weather. Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones are a must afterward.

 

[Quest4fun]

The wife and I used to hit them up after I was done working for the day which usually meant we'd get there around 6pm during the week. This usually meant California Adventure was closed. We'd make mad dash to Space Mountain first to grab a fast pass since everybody that was being kicked out of CA was coming over. If the line was short we'd grab our fast passes then just hop in standby for a quick ride.
Depending on the crowd for Parade of Dreams or whatever abomination they were marching down Main Street we'd zip over to Adventureland for a ride on Indiana then over to the Haunted Mansion unless there is no line for Pirates then we'd get side tracked. After that it's over to Big Thunder Mountain.
The parade is usually letting out around this time and if Fantasmic is showing that evening a new crowd is starting up in front of New Orleans Square.
I grant my wife a pee break then we hop the train around to Toon Town station. We usually skip Toon Town and head straight for the Matterhorn.
After that our fast pass for Space Mountain is all ready to go. We grab dinner at Pizza Port then do Space Mountain.
The park really starts to die around this time. We hit up Fantasy Land and go on everything except Peter Pan unless the line is short. Then we debate a finisher for the evening. We usually go behind Big Thunder for the scenic and uncrowded walk through Nothingland. After they close the petting zoo nobody goes back there except the people who want to smoke. We don't.
One more time on Big Thunder then swing past Indiana to see if the line is still short. If it is we say hello to fake Harrison Ford.
We end most of our trips with a stop at the Main Street bakery for cookies and coffee then head over to where the piano guy used to be every night and people watch for a little bit.
We hop the Mickey and Friends Tram then head home.

This is a typical slow season trip. When it's a little busier we may only get on Space Mountain once. We occasionally need to skip Indiana but usually near closing we can get on. It's amazing what you can accomplish in just 3 hours.

On the days they're open later we can usually go on just about everything in about 4 or 5 hours. We tend to skip Casey, Storybook Land, The Jungle Cruise, and Small World because those eat up time. The only marathon rides we usually hit are the Haunted Mansion and Pirates.

If it's a warm night we'll do Splash Mountain as well but we sometimes have to skip another E ticket ride.

If we decide to do a day there on a weekend or one of my infrequent days off, we usually get there around 1 or 2pm. We can do both parks and go on just about everything. Sometimes we'll see a show or just plant ourselves to people watch for a few hours. We've been known to skip the fireworks on occasion but they're so darned good we usually have to stop if we exit a ride while they're happening.

Going with kids and the elderly can be a little more difficult.

 

[funnygarcia]

My family and I go typically every Sunday.

Get there right around opening, hit up Fantasyland right away if we are in the mood for it ..

Peter Pan first as we detest the line it generates.
Toad, Teacups, Alice, Matterhorn then we decided if we want to pick up fast passes for Space and hit up Buzz and Star Tours or go the other way and get fast pass for Indy and do Pirates and HM.
If it's warm out, the boys do single rider Splash and we do a sad wave to the Country Bears trapped inside of the Pooh ride.

Somewhere along the way we use our fast passes, hit up BTMRR, maybe see Tiki or Jungle Cruise.

We try to bring our own lunch to save on food costs, which makes this weekly outing very cheap! Or we split two plates of chicken dinner at the Plaza Inn --yummmmmmmmmm.
About once a month we watch Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, soemtimes eating our lunch, sometimes having that ginormous slice of chocolate cake!

Rarely we go to DCA to see Soarin, watch the Toy Story thing, and the boys do Screamin as single rider.

We have left the park as early as noon, typically we leave before 3 pm.

If the boys are out of school for a vacation day, and they are not blocked out on the SoCal APs, we go in the evening and watch the fireworks/ Fantasmic! and I keep tabs on the calendar to see when the 80Z All Stars are playing.. for me that is a MUST GO to DL evening.

 

[DirkLogan]

I try to go every second or third Sunday. Last year I had a Premium AP, but too pricey for my second go around. I got the Socal AP. SO now Saturdays are out for us.

We leave the house around 5:15am, get to the gates around 8am usually. Straight to Fantasyland,

Peter Pan, Alice, Tea cups, sometimes something else that my DD is up to that trip.

Then to IASW (not for a while though now) and then toontown.

We will get a FP for Buzz then shoot over to Tom Sawyers Island and crawl around the caves for a bit.

Sometimes we will try for POTC or maybe see Pooh. A quick stop at Tarzans or Jungle Cruise.

Then we go to DCA and go straight for Soarin' FP's. Then usually go to the redwood Creek Challenge and run around some more. Then I will bribe to leave the challenge for a corn dog or to see High School Musical outside Golden Dreams.

We will usually go into what we call the cartoon room, go draw or sing to Ursula for bit. We will hit Monsters Inc and then Maybe the Aladdin show or 3D Muppets, just depends on the rotation. We will hit Soarin' and then back to DLR. Hit buzz and then go see stitch maybe in innoventions. I like to go see my buddy Darth Vader (Star Wars Nerd too). I finally got DD to go up this time and she got picked, she had almost as much fun as I did.

I also got her on the Bobsleds and Thunder Mtn now, so that will be changing our routine a bit. We have such a wonderful time.

It is really how Walt envisioned it, a great place to bring your kids and have good clean fun with them. We are definitely hooked.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

When my kids were little, like the OP's, we went straight to Fantasyland too. It was almost always just me and the kids, and we went a lot! At first, Dumbo was the first ride (best to hit that one early) but once my younger child was about 2 it was all about Peter Pan. I think I have spent at least 2 days of my life waiting in line for Peter Pan! And it was worth it every time. We'd hear the flute sound in the line, and he'd whisper, "Do you hear it, Mommy? He's here! Peter's here!" We'd do the Fantasyland bit, then go over to Toontown and lunch and play. Catch the train to NOS, hit Pirates and HM. (My kids have never been afraid of the dark rides, since they've been on them all their lives!) Tom Sawyer Island for some playtime, then a snack and the train back over to Tomorrowland. Sometimes, if one of my kids was tired, we'd just ride the train awhile! I loved having passes because we could come when we wanted and I never felt like I had to make my kids stay if it were crowded or hot or they were cranky. We'd just come back again soon. Often we'd go only for 3 or 4 hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Today, they are 8 and 11, and we hit Tomorrowland first. FP for SM, hit Buzz, Star Tours, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, then use the FP for Space! Hit Buzz or ST again, maybe Autopia, then back over to Matterhorn. Work our way through FL, eat at Pinnochio's, then back way to BTMRR. Finally we hit Adventureland, get FP for Indy. We'll go do POTC, HM, Jungle Cruise, by then usually Indy is ready to go.

After that we shop or go back to BTMRR or SM! Sometimes then we park hop over to DCA, depends on how late we want to stay. If we go there we are at Tower of Terror first!! And we never miss Turtle Talk with Crush. Your little guy will like that, and Playhouse Disney if you haven't already done that.

Enjoy this time with your little one! Those early years at LD with my babies are the best memories. Nothing beats the Disney magic in your child's eyes!

 

[actionvaughn]

Most days, I wake up early enough to get to DCA by rope drop, and walk around on my runs trying to get some good stuff.. Couple hours later, meet up with a friend and we end up walking around DLR pin trading. Depending on our mood, we'll go on a ride or explore and eat. We eat mostly at Cafe Orleans but we're trying to branch out. Then by 1:30, it's more pin trading at the Plaza, until about 4. Yup. Two and half hours pin trading. You meet really interesting people!

It sounds terribly obsessive, and boring, but it's life.

 

[jlima]

When we still lived in LA, we would go on Saturday nights; maybe ride 3 - 4 things, browse in a few stores, get ice cream and then come home. Now that we live in Vegas, we come for a weekend; and a typical visit is drive in on Friday; visit park on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I forgot about Playhouse Disney! DS looooooooooves that and dances the whole time!

 

[fairycat]

It all depends on who I go with, most of the time due to traffic, I get to the parks at about noon. If we are hitting DLR first its right over to NOS where depending on lines we hit POTC and HM, walk some of the shops, if the line is short Indi and then on to JC. After we spend a huge hunk of day in NOS we move to BTM, follow the path through Fantasyland were me might hit the short lines especially for Mr Toad. Hit Matterhorn if the line is right, then over to SM and Buzz. Sometimes depending on lines and things we might do Buzz twice. Somewhere in the day we will eat at BB, or go to Jazz Kitchen.

At DCA we hit Wine Tasting #1! Then on to our free tortillas. Then to Soarin. We double back and hit the Animation Building, TOT and then may hit Soarin or something that catches our eye. Ususally before closing we head over to DL to try and miss the crowds. We always eat at Tratoria if we eat at DCA.

We are terrible creatures of habit, but it does change up slightly depending on who I go with. We always try to include at least one new thing we haven't done in a while and its amazing what we still have left we haven't done.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

I'm about to join the ranks of you guys...just got a new roommate who loves Disney as much as I do and we're talking about getting Premiums and going whenever we have free time (maybe every weekend). So much for doing homework.

 

[kellymom]

It depends on who I was with.

With my SIL and niece we would go first to Fantasy Land and go on Peter Pan, Dumbo, Carousel, Tea Cups, Alice and then head over to Small World. After that was usually change the girls, give them a snack and make our way over to Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Pooh. Another stop for lunch. Sometimes if the girls were tired we would hope on the train at that point and go around 2-3 times while the girls took a little nap and we got to talk and rest. Depending on season and crowds after that if it was crowded we would go to C.A. and go into the animation room and let the girls play and watch the movies up above. Then to Bugs Land. Of course character interactions were frequent and whenever we saw them my daughter would run to them as my niece would SCREAM and cry, lol. At that point either our husbands would meet us or we would head home.

If I went with my husband and dd, usually it was around 3, we always went straight to Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Pooh, Small World and then whatever. We usually would have dinner and a treat. If we already had dinner then a treat from the Pooh store after we rode the ride, him the brownie or praline fudge, me the Honey Pot Rice Krispie treat.

When we went on Friday nights with friends it was a whole new ball game, lol. Dads would ride while moms stayed with kids and then we would do the baby swap pass. There was never a plan with them.

Just dd and I, we would do whatever she wanted. Often times we would spend at least an hour with the animals in the back and walk around to whatever she felt inspired to ride.

That is the great thing about having season passes. You can go to do as much or as little as you like. When we were 10 minutes away it was not uncommon for me and dd to be there 3 times a week with various friends/family. Oh how I miss that.

 

[Corpsebride]

Well, The Dh and I have SoCal passes. We live in Hollywood, so we go VERY often. We go almost 3+times a month. To us that is a lot. We are creatures of habbit too. When we get to the park, we go strait to the blue ribbon bakery, get a couple of coffees and those huge chocolate chip cookies. then we to the haunted mansion. After that we tool around New Orleans square, do the POTC, and then Idiana Jones. By then we are hungry, so we either eat at Cafe Del Zocolo, or Cafe Orleans. Last time though we ate at the Plaza inn, but it was way too salty for us. We had the Pot Roast. After that we either go to space mountain or just window shop. It is great to have passes because we dont have to feel rushed to see everything in one shot. We can always come back. We usually finish the night with Winnie the Pooh or something in Fantasy Land. By then all the kiddies are sleeping. We close the park with 2 more coffees from the market on mainstreet and hit the road.
We love Disneyland so much. What a gift to have it so close.
I even love the parades, they always make me cry.
lol.