Hey Trip Planners - Need your input! :)

[Kelsie]

How would you plan this trip?

2 Adults, 2 Teen Girls (14)
6 Nights at the Candy Cane
Arriving late July for a Monday-Sunday stay (leaving Sunday)
1 Day will be spent driving through Hollywood (one teen is obsessed with it) then a few hours at the beach.
There will be a ½ day from 12:00 to 12:00 Disneyland (the day we arrive)
4 Additional days in the parks

Here are the players

1st adult – Disabled Male, he can walk some but will mostly be using an ECV. He likes most of the tame rides (Soarin, Pirates, HM, etc.) but he loves Disney so is happy just being there.

2nd Adult – loves everything Disney and Disneyland is her favorite park. Typically rides everything at lease once but this time is going with a shattered shoulder (3 months post surgery and 2 weeks after physical therapy ends). Will still have some pain and mobility issues and needs to remember that and not damage it any further! ;-)

1st teen – been to DL many times and loves all rides and attractions. Wants to open and close the parks every day but will be encouraged to take a swim and heat break mid-day.

2nd teen – Never been to DL, California, the Ocean, etc. She is very excited and wants to see all.

We have a package plus 3 days of dining and 6 day park hoppers.

Adult Must See – Nemo, Fantasmic, ELP, Soarin, TSM, Peter Pan, Fireworks and most parades & shows (I am going to miss my Space Mountain so much this trip)
Teen must see – Anything and Everything!

Adults want to avoid the heat, lines, etc but know that’s impossible in late July so we want to minimize it as much as possible. There is no problem letting the girls go to the parks alone during the day since the Candy Cane has its own shuttle, they are getting older and they both are smart girls with cell phones. But there will be a least one adult with the girls in the morning and evening (until closing, they will not ride back alone at midnight). Adults plan to spend time by the pool and relaxing a bit after a tough winter.

Will use Fast Pass as much as possible; eat breakfast at the hotel (except for one Character Meal), early lunch and late dinners.

I am a compulsive planner and actually do it for a living. I have been dealing with a lot recently so I thought I would bring this to the experts to see what they recommend. ;-) The trip is coming up too soon and to be honest, I’ve done nothing (including dining reservations) ugh.

I've actually postponed the trip twice but this is the latest we can go without interfering with school. I promised this to the girls so I’m going even though I won't be able to ride a lot of the attractions.

So, what are your thoughts? If you have any questions, please ask.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sounds like a really good trip!

One little thing though...noon to midnight is a HALF day?

Just for fun, can I send you a set of recent park maps? I brought some back but we've been moving and I haven't had a chance to make an official post about it. If you want some to jump-start your planning, just PM me with your address and I'll get them to you as soon as I find my envelopes and stamps!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I recommend doing Nemo first thing in the morning on a non-early entry morning. You have plenty of time to see everything and hit the highlights a few times, so to minimize the Nemo wait, do it first thing in the morning. Be as close to the end of Main Street as you can at rope drop and then head straight for Nemo. After Nemo, you'll still have time to hit some other attractions nearby like Space or Matterhorn before the crowds pick up too much.

When did you last go to Disneyland?

 

[Kelsie]

Sounds like a really good trip!

One little thing though...noon to midnight is a HALF day?

Just for fun, can I send you a set of recent park maps? I brought some back but we've been moving and I haven't had a chance to make an official post about it. If you want some to jump-start your planning, just PM me with your address and I'll get them to you as soon as I find my envelopes and stamps!

LOL! OK, so it's a bit more than a 1/2 day We are driving in from Nevada that day so it may be as late as 3:00 before we get checked in and head to the park.

I would love a current map, mine are at least 2 years old! I will PM my address! Thank you!

 

[Kelsie]

When did you last go to Disneyland?

Over a year ago but to be honest, after being there on the 4th of July many years ago and losing my little brother in the crowd for 5 hours (he was 13 lol), I've avoided the Summer months. I guess this trip is just to remind me why. We typically go in early December or January-March. Now that my DD is older, it's just too difficult to take her out of school.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I just wanted to make sure you had been since DCA opened. If the reservations are stressing you out, there's always places in DTD where you can eat like House of Blues of Tortilla Jo's(the two I've eaten at). I also recommend Carnation Cafe(right next to the watch shop on Main Street). I walked up there twice this past visit at after 7:00pm and got seated right away. It's only $2-3 more than the counter service places like Redd Rocket's or French Market.

To beat the heat, in the parks, do attractions like the 50th anniversary film, Tiki Room, and in DCA, by all means watch the Aladdin musical. It's nearly an hour long and it's nice and cool inside. Do these in the heat of the afternoon(Aladdin has a 12:10 and 1:50 show on Wednesdays through Sundays). DCA also has a lot in the animation building that's all inside.

 

[Kelsie]

I just wanted to make sure you had been since DCA opened. If the reservations are stressing you out, there's always places in DTD where you can eat like House of Blues of Tortilla Jo's(the two I've eaten at). I also recommend Carnation Cafe(right next to the watch shop on Main Street). I walked up there twice this past visit at after 7:00pm and got seated right away. It's only $2-3 more than the counter service places like Redd Rocket's or French Market.

To beat the heat, in the parks, do attractions like the 50th anniversary film, Tiki Room, and in DCA, by all means watch the Aladdin musical. It's nearly an hour long and it's nice and cool inside. Do these in the heat of the afternoon(Aladdin has a 12:10 and 1:50 show on Wednesdays through Sundays). DCA also has a lot in the animation building that's all inside.

I've been to DL many times and have never eaten at the Carnation Cafe. I may have to try it this time. I agree that Aladdin is a must do but are the priority seating coupons you receive with your package still pretty useless? The last time I tried to use them I discovered they only allow so many guests with these for each show and you need to get there early. I stopped using them awhile back.

 

[bumbershoot]

You do have to check in early, so on a day you want to see Aladdin I'd hang out in the area (stick around Monsters and Tower of Terror, perhaps the Animation building for Crush as the hour of the show approaches). Go talk to the people checking in the Preferred seating people and ask when to line up. Then line up at that time.

When we used ours in early December, other than the difference in where we sat, we found we waited *longer* than the normal line. BUT going in July? I'd make the effort to stick around the area so we could find out when to line up and then line up at or before that time.


I don't know if you will be able to go on it b/c of your shoulder, but be sure your girls get on Grizzly, especially if it gets really hot! I normally recommend a poncho for the ride b/c there's the potential for getting soaked to the bone, but in a hot July day even I might go on it HOPING to get hit by the geysers.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I've never used them(I have an AP), so I just showed up around showtime and found a seat. There's not really a bad seat in the house. I realize that it's different for a solo traveler vs. a group of 4, so that may make a difference.

And by all means try the Carnation. It's outside, but under umbrellas, so there's plenty of shade. In all honesty, I've waited a comparable amount of time at a so called quick service place for my food since the lines were insanely long, but at Carnation, all of that waiting is done while sitting down and enjoying a cold water or soda. I think it's a hidden gem of Disneyland dining. My waitress told me to come back and try the breakfast sometime. I ended up eating there twice because of the price and the lack of crowds.

 

[Califgirl]

Would anyone be interested in see Wicked while you are in Hollywood? If you go to the theater 2 1/2 hours before curtain (11:30 am for matinees) you can get in a lottery drawing for $25 tickets for the front row. However, if you don't win those, you can get in line for 1/2 price isle seats. When I did that with a friend we got to sit together in the balcony and we had GREAT seats for $45. Just a thought - the show is wonderful!

 

[Dobie]

I second the recommendation for Carnation Cafe. It is by far my favorite eatery in Disneyland--right in the middle of the Main Street action, yet cool and comfortable, with healthy, inexpensive meals.