Help Help Help!!!

[Gramma4Disney]

Long time reader...Brand new poster...need some help
I have been reading the DIS boards for a while but never needed to post
I travel to WDW with my family pretty often but we are going to DLR next week and I am soloing with grandkids...need a hand in planning.

I think I'll be alright in DL, but am curious about DCA and am not finding very good info in books about it.

Mainly:
Where is the best place to watch the Electrical Light Parade and the
Block Party Bash? Also, how long are the parades?

What is the best counter service restaurant in DCA? (I like to get food
to go and eat while we wait for parades, ect.)

How physical is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? I have one GD, 8,
that loves Brother Bear...is the show worth the trek?

How long does it take to get from inside of DL to inside DCA?

I thought until recently that my DGK's mother would be with us...now I am going it alone and am trying to throw a plan together. Any help would be wonderful. A big Disney thanks to all of you!

 

[kuusimo]

Long time reader...Brand new poster...need some help
I have been reading the DIS boards for a while but never needed to post
I travel to WDW with my family pretty often but we are going to DLR next week and I am soloing with grandkids...need a hand in planning.

I think I'll be alright in DL, but am curious about DCA and am not finding very good info in books about it.

Mainly:
Where is the best place to watch the Electrical Light Parade and the
Block Party Bash? Also, how long are the parades? Parade are about 30 min. Have not seen one there though so I don't know where to sit. I know it has been here before on the boards if you did a search you could find it.

What is the best counter service restaurant in DCA? (I like to get food
to go and eat while we wait for parades, ect.) Taste Pilots is good as well as the Mexican place over by the tortilla factory.

How physical is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? I have one GD, 8,
that loves Brother Bear...is the show worth the trek? Do not know- have not been there

How long does it take to get from inside of DL to inside DCA? No more than 5-10 minutes

I thought until recently that my DGK's mother would be with us...now I am going it alone and am trying to throw a plan together. Any help would be wonderful. A big Disney thanks to all of you!

Have you tried the "unofficial guide to Disneyland'? They have a lot about DCA. I will answer as many as I know. Hope that helps a little.

 

[Gramma4Disney]

Thank you, kuusimo...I have read the Unofficial, it doesn't say how long parades are...not very specific about where to see the ones in DCA either. I am grateful for your help though.

anyone else have more info?

 

[HydroGuy]

Where is the best place to watch the Electrical Light Parade and the
Block Party Bash? Also, how long are the parades?

Electrical Parade - 19 minutes
BPB - 20 minutes

Obviously, the ending time depends on where you stand. The Electrical Parade finishes in Sunshine Plaza right where you enter DCA. We saw it from Sunshine Plaza because we were headed to Hollywood Picture Backlot (read Tower of Terror) afterward. This was a perfectly fine spot to see it. But the parade ends there, so we did not see the end until after 9:30.

Never got a chance to see BPB.

How physical is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? I have one GD, 8, that loves Brother Bear...is the show worth the trek?

Depends on what they do. Part of it just explores across rope bridges. There are some zip lines. And there is a rock climbing wall that is very low to the ground. My kids did the zip line. All in all RWCC is something we would skip next time. We did not see Brother Bear.

How long does it take to get from inside of DL to inside DCA?

Very fast. The gates are about 100 yards apart, maybe a little further. You can walk it in 1 minute. Getting inside one to the other depends on if there are lines.

 

[Pir8girl]

We watched the Electric Parade from the outside terrace of the Vineyard Room? The parade ran about 20 minutes, maybe 25. DCA is not very crowded and you can find a seat rather easily. As a CM where is the best place to view the parades.
The Block Party has certain stopping points along the route. Your grandkids may have favorite characters. You can ask where the best places are to see individual characters.
We've only eaten at the Vineyard and Ariel's Grotto. I've heard mixed reviews on Pizza Mow Wow and the Strips counter.
The Redwood Creek play area is not very physical, especially if you're a kid. They do however need to wear tennis shoes. They have climbing, and obstacle courses and fun stuff. You can sit on a bench and watch.
It's 10 minutes tops to get from DL to DCA. The only thing that could slow you down would be lines getting into the park.
Have fun!

 

[eduk8r26]

anywhere around the water beyond the California Dreams attraction is a good place for the electric parade. block party bash has colored flags in different areas that help you with where to watch it. redwood challenge is good for kids. she'll enjoy it and the show.

 

[hlbtimes2]

The parks are very close together, less then a football field across from each other. How long it takes to exit one and enter the other deHpends more on crowds and number of gates open then distance.

Here is a map of DCA. The parade route and stops are shown in red, green and blue stars. Not sure that there is really a spot that is better then others. We pretty much just found a spot along the route. Not sure of parade lengths. Maybe 1/2 hour or so?

Food depends on what you like. For an idea of what is available try www.dlresortinfo.com. We really enjoyed the breadbowls with soup or salad at the pacific warf. Burgers from Taste pilots are pretty good too. They have a topping bar with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

Its easy to get to the brother bear show area. You dont have to do any climbing or anything. There is a lot of climbing, sliding, etc in the area, but you dont have to do it to get to the show. My kids loved burning off engery in that area. We didnt stay for the show, so I can't tell you much about it.

 

[MickeysFan]

Electrical Parade - 19 minutes
BPB - 20 minutes

Obviously, the ending time depends on where you stand. The Electrical Parade finishes in Sunshine Plaza right where you enter DCA. We saw it from Sunshine Plaza because we were headed to Hollywood Picture Backlot (read Tower of Terror) afterward. This was a perfectly fine spot to see it. But the parade ends there, so we did not see the end until after 9:30.

Never got a chance to see BPB.

I am wondering...if you see the ELP at the beginning, is it easy to exit the park or is the way blocked by other watchers? Is there a good place to watch that makes it easy to exit?

 

[Gramma4Disney]

anywhere around the water beyond the California Dreams attraction is a good place for the electric parade. QUOTE]
Okay, thank you for this info...how long would it take do you think to get to the park entrance from this area after the parade passes?

 

[Gramma4Disney]

The Block Party has certain stopping points along the route. Your grandkids may have favorite characters. You can ask where the best places are to see individual characters.

Do I just ask a CM that day? They are Monsters, INC fans...maybe we should see that part of the parade?

You can sit on a bench and watch.

Thank goodness for small favors!! LOL

 

[mAlien13]

LOL...you are echoing the questions I have been asking lately, Gramma4Disney! There is a thread about all of us going the last week of April, if you haven't already seen it.

We haven't done it yet, but have recieved a lot of advice to watch the BPB at Bug's Land.

I didn't see if anyone really answered whether or not the Brother Bear show is good or not? I am also curious about this.

Have fun! We may run into each other...

 

[Gramma4Disney]

anywhere around the water beyond the California Dreams attraction is a good place for the electric parade.

Okay, thank you for this info...how long would it take do you think to get to the park entrance from this area after the parade passes?

I can't find California Dreams on the map?

 

[Gramma4Disney]

duplicate post

 

[eduk8r26]

I think that's the name of it--california dreams--it's a movie about the history of california. very good, as far as i'm concerned. oops, just looked it up. it's golden dreams.

 

[iceskatejen]

If you see BPB in the Sunshine Plaza area right in the area between the information booth and the Greetings store (maybe closer to the booth than the store) you'll be ijn a great spot for the Monsters float for it's show stop.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I am wondering...if you see the ELP at the beginning, is it easy to exit the park or is the way blocked by other watchers? Is there a good place to watch that makes it easy to exit?

If you are just wanting to exit you should be fine. If you are wanting to exit so you can run to DL and watch fireworks you probably will not make it. Its not the exiting thats hard, its the entering the other park that will slow you down.

 

[CalGal]

Long time reader...Brand new poster...need some help
I have been reading the DIS boards for a while but never needed to post
I travel to WDW with my family pretty often but we are going to DLR next week and I am soloing with grandkids...need a hand in planning.

I think I'll be alright in DL, but am curious about DCA and am not finding very good info in books about it.

Mainly:
Where is the best place to watch the Electrical Light Parade and the
Block Party Bash? Also, how long are the parades?

What is the best counter service restaurant in DCA? (I like to get food
to go and eat while we wait for parades, ect.)

How physical is the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail? I have one GD, 8,
that loves Brother Bear...is the show worth the trek?

How long does it take to get from inside of DL to inside DCA?

I thought until recently that my DGK's mother would be with us...now I am going it alone and am trying to throw a plan together. Any help would be wonderful. A big Disney thanks to all of you!

I like to watch the ELP from near Wine Country Trattoria. It's not as crowded as right around Sunshine Plaza, and you can usually get a good spot without a long wait. There are also benches if you are willing to wait longer. Most spots along the parade route are probably pretty good. I've only seen BPB once and am no expert; I think it's pretty easy to get a good spot to see it; where depends a little on your timing.

We've tended to pick something up from Taste Pilots grill before ELP .

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail has lvarious ways you can go. Most are not challenging, and its quite possible to stroll through while the kids tackle the playful areas.

If there are no lines, you can exit DCA and be inside of DL (or visa versa) in around a minute or two. With average lines, it takes a couple of minutes, but can be longer at times.

 

[mAlien13]

Food depends on what you like. For an idea of what is available try www.dlresortinfo.com. We really enjoyed the breadbowls with soup or salad at the pacific warf. Burgers from Taste pilots are pretty good too. They have a topping bar with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

I know you have posted this link before, hbltimes, and I have used it, but for some reason it won't work for me now. What is the website where the menus are listed so I can pull them up?

 

[HydroGuy]

DLR purposely set the time and direction of the Electrical Parade to dissaude people from hopping after to DL to see Remember. Originally the DEP went the opposite direction I believe, and people scrambled out of DCA to get to DL creating a nightmare. So now, if you want to see it near the DCA exit - that is, see it in Sunshine Plaza, it will not finish until after 9:30 making it impossible to get to DL to see the start of Remember at 9:25.

Bottom line - plan DEP and Remember for different nights.

What we did was see the Parade of Dreams at DL, went and did a couple DL rides and then went over to DCA at 8:30-8:45 to see the DEP at 9PM from Sunshine Plaza.

One cool thing about this was as the DEP ending passed us, we jumped out on the street behind the parade and followed it over to HPB and had a clear walk way all the way to ToT which we rode at about 9:45PM.