Help me plan a wonderful surprise trip for DS's 16th birthday!

[Tyr23]

Hi all-

I am super lucky to have a DS who is into Disney as much as I am if not more! We spent 7 wonderful days in the World in June and since both of us need another fix, I thought I'd surprise him with a quick weekend trip to Disneyland in November.

The dates that I'm leaning toward are 11/8-11th, and I have a few questions:

How big are the crowds usually around that time of year? Also, I am leaning toward either the Fairfleld Inn or Candy Cane Inn for lodging so any suggestions/opinions would be awesome!

Any other suggestions to make this an awesome birthday for him would be wonderful as well.

Thanks!

 

[avalon451]

Wow, what a nice mom! That'll be fun!

8th-11th are likely to be busy since that's Veterans' Day. Well, weekends are pretty much always busy, and holiday weekends more so.

Either of those are nice hotels, within walking distance. Fairfield is just a little closer. CCI gets a lot of good reviews on this board; I get the impression it's a little nicer. Also, CCI has a dedicated shuttle, which seems to be a more reliable option that ART, especially for the end of the day when your feet are hurting! It's quite walkable, though.

How about dinner at ESPN Zone in DownTown Disney one night? You're within 60 days, so you can make dining PS's any day now...

I see you're a WDW vet; how familiar are you with DL? Hydroguy's tips are really helpful with the differences between the two, and also with tips for touring on busy days. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483

Hey, you're another Seattle-area south-ender. I was just telling Rszdtrvl, who is from Renton, that I used to live on East Hill in Kent!

Hope that helps. Have fun planning!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Okay - this would rock to a 16 yr old. He finally is old enough to do many of the backstage tours they offer.

How about the early morning Segway excursion around DCA? That would be one heck of a gift for any Disney fan and the Segway tour is before DCA even opens to the public - like having the whole park to yourselves!

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dis...=CruzinDisneysCaliforniaAdventureParkTourPage

There is a 20% AAA or AP discount, making it much more affordable! I would love to do this, if we could ever get over to the park early enough.

 

[SeattleTink]

We just celebrated my DD's 16th b-day in the parks the end of August. It was her best birthday ever!

For sure, get the birthday button at City Hall. We did this the night before, so she would have it when she walked in the gates. I think about 100 people told her "Happy Birthday!" It was really special.

Then, the other super special thing we did was I booked her and her dad the Segway Tour at CA. You have to be 16 for the tour. She absolutely loved it and still talks about how much fun it was.

We now have promised our 12 y.o. DS that when he turns 16 he will get to take this tour.

You will have a blast no matter what you plan. A birthday in Disneylland is the best.

Have fun planning.

 

[SeattleTink]

Double post, sorry.

 

[Tyr23]

Thanks for the suggestions! Looks like lots of us Seattle south-enders hang out on these boards. Avalon- I'm on the East Hill of Kent

A backstage tour might be awesome! I hadn't even realized that with him turning 16 that he would finally be eligible! I think he'd really like it. My DH has a segway at his office that DS rides on all the time so that might not be as appealing as a different tour.

I did make PS's at Blue Bayou, which is one of our favorite restaurants.

We have definitely spent more time at WDW than DLR which is funny considering that DLR is just a quick plane ride away.

Thanks for all of your help!