HELP. Must stay calm to plan

[Melb]

We are going up Saturday - staying in a hotel so we can get an early start on Sunday. Switching hotels mid day Sunday and going back on Monday. The kids plan to swim.

Our passes are about to turn into pumpkins and we want to get one last use. I'm scared that everyone else will be there with the same idea.

I want to do one character meal. I want to see the electrical light parade and the fireworks. I dont know if fantasmic will be working or not.

It's me, my 13 year old, my 5 year old and my almost 2 year old.

Do I need ridemax? Do I need a plan? I haven't had time to plan let alone pack.

Can I do it all?

I hate crowds - we usually go during the slower months.

Any tips? Advise? Valium?

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Breathe.....

Okay.
1) Fantasmic is running. So is the Electrical Parade. 8:45pm Plenty of time for naps and changing hotels on Day 1.

2) What hotels are you staying at? That will help us help you plan the best route and timing.

3) if you are simply doing a quick atmosphere trip, look at the entertainment schedule and base your planning off that. That and doing early mornings will keep you out of the biggest ride lines.

4) Don't try to do too much. You'll kill yourself and the kids. And miss out on fun experiences - like Musical chairs with Alice at Coke Corner at 2:30pm.

Hope this helps as a start. I know more folks will chime in, in the morning.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Valium is always a nice choice. ROFL!!! Just teasing.

You don't need to panic. You should plan. Don't over plan. It's a very fine balance.

You know some things you absolutely want to do:
- fireworks
- ELP
- swim time for kids
- fantasmic??? (I am not sure what you mean by "Will it be working?" It is running. There is still no dragon. It is still an amazing show.

There are also things that you know (but may not want to know) are true:
- everyone else who has passes about to turn into pumpkins will have the same idea (yep, they will, at least half of them anyway)
- it's summer
- it's a weekend in summer
- it's going to be crowded

Questions for you:
- Does "going back on Monday" mean going back to the Parks or going back home?
- Are you only at the Parks 1 day (Sunday)?
- You did not mention the Street Party (parade) or Pixar parade. No interest?

Now starting your plan:
- Figure out your "non-changeables" (Ex: If fireworks is a must, you need to be at Disneyland on Main Street no later than 8:30pm, sooner if you can, but you are short on time, so... may have to give up better viewing for more time to do stuff. Again - a balance.)
- What time do you have to leave to change hotels?
- When are the kids going to swim? (Do you really want to take time from DL to do this?)
- How late will everyone last?

Once you have the general outline, you can start to fill in a very general, "Hit Fantasyand," "use FastPasses we have collected" etc....

Also, remember you can make good use of "camping out" time prior to shows. Great times to eat, rest, etc....

Hope this helps to start putting you thoughts together,
Dreams

 

[Eeee-va]

You'll have a great time! I will be there on those days (if I would have thought harder about blockout dates I would have scheduled differently ). I am anticipating very heavy crowds, as I'll bet a ton of people have the same idea as you. But I still plan to have fun.

If your goals are just the parade, the fireworks, and a character meal, of course you can do that. I'm trying to keep my own expectations low myself.

Getting there before opening will be key to rides and attractions...early in the morning, the parks should still be quite reasonable, crowd-wise. You can try using your Fastpasses later than the window, as I've heard even Fastpass lines have been pretty long with the crazy-high summer crowds. Other than the morning and maybe a few Fastpasses, I wouldn't plan on too many rides in DL. DCA should be slightly better (Ridemax gave me some rides with 10-20 minute waits...not great, but doable). As far as DL goes, Ridemax kind of refused to schedule me to do much of anything between 5 and 9:30 PM or so. It might be a nice trip to check out the little things you haven't seen before, like the aforementioned musical chairs.

If you don't mind waiting and don't mind watching the fireworks from the Rivers of America, you can almost certainly "do" all three of the major evening entertainment offerings (only a cancellation would cause a problem). With the age of your children, I personally don't think it's too likely that you will be able to catch fireworks from the hub and then catch the 10:30 Fantasmic, but you can certainly give it a try if fireworks are a higher priority than Fantasmic.

I have also HEARD that they played the fireworks music in the esplanade on Tuesday...if they're going to start doing that regularly, then you could see a good fireworks show (if not as spectacular as from the hub/Main Street), with considerably fewer crowds.

If you are able to stay until close (which I'd doubt due to your kids' age but I thought I'd throw it out there), you can ask at City Hall if there will be a third Fantasmic performance, which would probably be more manageable as far as crowds go.

Good luck! Don't expect to do everything and you'll be fine. Do you have your LGMH?

 

[Melb]

No LGMH - do I need to run to Home Depot during lunch? Srsly - look for the slightly crazed mom with 3 kids running her ragged...

I am going to be at the park on Sunday and Monday. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday and the Hyatt Regency on Sunday.

I've never seen the electrical lights parade - so that's a big reason why we are going up and spending the night.

My daughter has been begging to go stay in a hotel and I think that will be fun.

I just waited too long to plan. I haven't even packed or decided on clothes for the kids LOL

Thanks for listening. I hate not having a plan.