How does this look?

[islandgirl672]

It has been years (18) since I have been to Disneyland and I am looking for advice/suggestions on our plan.

We have 2 young daughters 2 1/2 and 6. We are also bringing along both sets of grandparents.

We have rented a beautiful house very close to Disney and also have a rental car booked. We plan to take a break at the house each afternoon.

We arrive March 19th late and leave on the 26th. We have 5 day park hoppers and are also doing a day at Knotts.

Here is our plan so far (no reservation can be made yet):

Sunday- Knotts

Monday- Disney

Tuesday-Disney (Use our MM and then have breakfast at Minnie's at 10:00am)

Wednesday-Disney (Lunch at Ariel's Grotto in CA at 11:30)

Thursday- CA (picnic lunch and WOC)

Friday- Disney

I am a little worried about the girls being up late to see fireworks, Fantasmic, WOC etc. and then being up so early in the morning, but I know it is important to be there first thing.

We will do breakfast at the house, lunch in the parks, and the supper at the house before heading back to the parks for the evening.

Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[skiingfast]

Are you park hopping?

Your best bet to ride TSM in DCA with a short wait: Try to hit DCA at opening. It's the best ride I've ever been on for any age, toddler to grand parent. At rope drop a lot of people head for TSM because it has no FP and the line remains all day.

If you can hop, you are likely to find that in any given day DL opens first and closes last. Since you are taking a midday break it will be easier to get there earlier and leave later, assuming eveyone gets to sleep when home for the nap. So you can start at DL, go over to DCA for open and close out DCA and then go into DL for it's closing hours. Trying to see shows at night will mess this up a bit but it is a strategy to maximize your visit.

 

[CrazyDuck]

So you plan on going back to the house everyday for naps and dinner? Drive to DL, do DL, drive home, rest, drive back to DL, do DL, drive home... Repeat 5 times.... You crazy!

 

[sissy_ib]

4 days in just Disneyland is too much imho. Walk back and forth between CA and DL as you like. It's been a few years since I was at DL but as I remember there is plenty for little ones at CA.

 

[Bungle]

I think they only do fireworks/fantasmic on weekends during this time so they would only be up late on friday. If you are traveling home on saturday it doesn't seem like it would be too big of an issue. I might be wrong about the schedule though, kind of hard to know since DL only post theirs a month at a time.

 

[chrissiecutie]

It has been years (18) since I have been to Disneyland and I am looking for advice/suggestions on our plan.

We have 2 young daughters 2 1/2 and 6. We are also bringing along both sets of grandparents.

We have rented a beautiful house very close to Disney and also have a rental car booked. We plan to take a break at the house each afternoon.

We arrive March 19th late and leave on the 26th. We have 5 day park hoppers and are also doing a day at Knotts.

Here is our plan so far (no reservation can be made yet):

Sunday- Knotts

Monday- Disney

Tuesday-Disney (Use our MM and then have breakfast at Minnie's at 10:00am)

Wednesday-Disney (Lunch at Ariel's Grotto in CA at 11:30)

Thursday- CA (picnic lunch and WOC)

Friday- Disney

I am a little worried about the girls being up late to see fireworks, Fantasmic, WOC etc. and then being up so early in the morning, but I know it is important to be there first thing.

We will do breakfast at the house, lunch in the parks, and the supper at the house before heading back to the parks for the evening.

Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!

IMO...this is crazy!

I'm a 25+ year veteran and would never attempt to do 4 days in a row on top of leaving the parks mid day, especially with young children.

I don't see a day of rest in here??? This is a vacation after all

Also, have you checked Disney's website for park schedules? I'm not sure if they have mid March up yet, but the 1st week of March is pretty lean. Earlier park closures and NO Fantasmic, WOC, parades, etc. Yikes!

I would most definately suggest using your MM for your first day in the parks. I'm assuming you are heading straight to Fantasyland since you have younger kids, right?

Perhaps instead of leaving mid day, just make your day shorter? So get in at park opening (which is the best time of day for visiting!), have lunch and leave by 2-3pm. Now you wouldn't want to do this everyday but at least 1-2days. That way you can have some much needed downtime, away from the parks. Or come into the parks after naptime, say around 3-4pm and stay until midnight closing, provided Disney will be staying open that late during your visit.

Your children will burn out (if they are anything like my DS) and probably be on overload, so will need some downtime as much as the adults. I'm not sure if your house will have a pool, but this is almost as big a part of our trip as Disney itself. When I ask my almost 6 year old son what his favorite things are, he always lists swimming at the waterpark at the HoJo's as his #1. So I suggest you don't underestimate the value in this!

I've also learned to relax a bit and not to overschedule. With a young child, this lesson has been essential for me! I also start the day out with a general goal of what I want to see or do that day and I never have more then one goal. For example, "today we are going to see WOC", or "today we are using our MM for Fantasyland" or "today we are doing our character breakfast". Personally, I've found that more then one goal can lead to extra stress for me and then leave me upset when we don't accomplish all those goals. Can you tell I'm a planner?

I mean, let's say you use your MM, visit Fantasyland but your kids fall in LOVE with Dumbo and want to ride it over and over. Do you really want to say, "sorry kids, we have to leave to make our breakfast reservation at 10am" and thus deal with this upset that comes with that?? This type of thing happened more times then I can count on DS's first trip to Disney. It left me feeling upset that I put in all that time planning only to have plans change, left DS sad that Mommy wouldn't let him ride his favorite rides and all of us a bit tired and cranky.

On our last trip, DS fell in LOVE with Big Thunder and I kid you not, rode it 8 times in a row. Big thanks go to DH for riding with him all those times! This type of thing would not have been possible if I had a busy schedule planned. Maybe someday, when DS is a little older, I can try for more then one goal per day...or maybe we will just continue as we are...but my point is, that you never really know what your kids reactions will be until you get there. It's a vacation for all of you, so make time to relax (if you're like me you have to actually plan relaxation time!) and listen to what each person whats to do and be flexible- you'll have much more fun that way!

I would also consider taking a break in the middle of your schedule, so Tues/Wed and just do nothing. No parks, no trips, nothing...that is if you haven't bought your park tickets yet....

Since it's been 18 yrs since you last visited, I will tell you that Disneyland is much more difficult and time consuming to actually get into when traveling by car. You used to pull into the parking lot, take the little tram to the front gates and viola, you're in! I even remember a time you could walk directly from the parking lot to the front gates....Not so any longer....it will take you a good 30 mins from the time you park to the time you are actually standing on Main St- possibly longer depending on lines. If you leave mid day, you've lost 1 hour+ just in getting from the parking lot to the main gate, not including time it takes you to drive back and forth to your house. And if the parks are only open until 8pm on the days you're visiting, that's precious time lost!

Good luck to you! It's SO exciting taking your kids for the first time, almost like seeing it for the first time yourself....

 

[islandgirl672]

I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to offer such great advice from your experiences. It really has been forever since I was in Disney and so much has changed.

We are definitely open to park hopping, only had Disney to choose from before. I think when we are there Disney will more than likely be open from 8am- midnight based on past years and what we can see of the schedule so far.

We have already bought our tickets, but we will definitely take our cues from the girls as to how much time they are able to spend in the park.

The house does have a pool/hot tub/games room/playhouse etc. and we definitely want to spend time enjoying that too.

Does anyone have any suggestions for when they would schedule the 2 character meals we want to do? I was under the impression that we really should make reservations as soon as we are able to, but got the feeling from one reply that maybe I have not chose very good times.

I was thinking the break in the afternoon was a good thing, but I get the feeling that maybe it isn't. I know early morning is important with how busy it is going to be, so I guess we will just have to see how the kids do and maybe just do shorter days.

I'm curious to see how more people with little ones like mine manage with the long days (go early and just stay until everyone is tired, go later stay later, etc.)?

Thanks again for all your helpful suggestions!

 

[kailuagirl]

We have taken our DD last month at 3 1/2 and summer before last when she was just 2. She is a die hard and wants to ride everything and anything, likes no down time, this time we didn't take afternoon breaks, but DL was only open until 8 every night we were there so we didn't really need to, but by 5 she was showing the need for a nap. We would get to the parks at opening everyday. We went for 5 days, 4 of those were in a row. DH said next time we are going to break it up in the middle somehow. When she was 2, DL was open until 12, due to the time change, we never made it at opening, but was able to stay every night until 12. BUT DD and DH went back to the hotel every afternoon and took a 2-3 hour nap while I shopped.

What we learned from these 2 visits was opening time is the best time. It is essential to get there early before opening. Can't stress this enough. The crowds are way way way less crowded and you get so much more done. After a couple hours boom, lines are long and people everywhere, even during the slower period when we went last month. So somehow plan to get there early.

It's easy to park hop, it also gives you a change of scenery, so make sure to do that.

Your little one is gonna need a nap. So you just gotta try to figure out how to work it all in with what you want to do. I'd plan more of the busy stuff at the beginning when everyone is still fresh and not yet starting to get burned out. I do think it is going to be hard to drive back and forth, but I've never done it so I don't have a clue, but the thought of loading, unloading, loading, unloading, and parking, and riding the tram, might be too much to try to do everyday.

Just follow your kids clues and go from there, you know them best. My DD loved this time Haunted Mansion and Matterhorn and Dumbo, can't tell you how many times we rode those 3 rides, oh and the carosel, sorry can't every spell that word, lucky there is never a long line on that one LOL But it really didn't matter to her what she was riding, as long as she was riding something.

What if you do your breakfast at Minnies on a non MM day? That way you don't have to keep watching the clock and can fully enjoy your MM. So maybe if you did it Monday.

Take lots of snacks and water with you. You are gonna have a great trip. Sorry, wow this turned really long

 

[DLtorgo]

I have a DD 2 and DD 6. I just did a big family trip over Christmas with my folks. My Mom can not be up late at night so she just watched the girls in the hotel while Dad and DH and I did the night shows. We let them stay up one night for Fireworks. Maybe you could trade nights of staying with the kids and letting the adults get out on their own for some extra touring time. As other posters have said it can be hard on the kids to go go go! All those days in the row, even us big kids get exhausted!

I also second the moving your breakfast with Minnie to your non magic morning day. During the days we go early and then take them to bed early. DD 2 will sometimes nap in the stroller. I would say play it by ear. Plan for break times. Only you know when your kids need the downtime. Relax and have a blast!

 

[CrazyDuck]

I was thinking the break in the afternoon was a good thing, but I get the feeling that maybe it isn't. I know early morning is important with how busy it is going to be, so I guess we will just have to see how the kids do and maybe just do shorter days.

It usually is a good idea, but that's only for people who are staying within walking distance of the parks. Getting everyone strapped in the car, driving, possible traffic, catching the shuttles to and from the parking garage, navigating that parking lot, etc..., will take up huge amounts of your valuable time. You will find yourself back at the rental home after dinner, debating wether or not it is worth it to try and go back. Sometimes after our naps we dont even make it back to the parks... and we always stay at the GCH. Often times we are so exhausted that we just go down to the pool and order room service.

I would suggest that once you are there... stay there... If you are doing some late shows like Fantasmic, WOC, fireworks, let them sleep in that morning, and eat a late breakfast at the house. If they need to let them nap in the strollers, then you can do your shows and shutdown the park. If you have something early planned like a MM, it is ok to leave DL before dinner and head back to the house to relax in the jacuzzi!

 

[islandgirl672]

What we learned from these 2 visits was opening time is the best time. It is essential to get there early before opening. Can't stress this enough.

It's easy to park hop, it also gives you a change of scenery, so make sure to do that.

What if you do your breakfast at Minnies on a non MM day? That way you don't have to keep watching the clock and can fully enjoy your MM. So maybe if you did it Monday.

Take lots of snacks and water with you. You are gonna have a great trip. Sorry, wow this turned really long

Thanks so much for the reply and fantastic advice!

We aren't morning people, but I know that we need to be there early for the best lines...hopefully we will adjust lol.

I had thought about Minnie's the first day in the park, but I was worried the girls might not want to stop to go to breakfast. But I imagine that will be a pretty exciting time too.

We're all getting so excited!

 

[islandgirl672]

Maybe you could trade nights of staying with the kids and letting the adults get out on their own for some extra touring time. As other posters have said it can be hard on the kids to go go go! All those days in the row, even us big kids get exhausted!

I also second the moving your breakfast with Minnie to your non magic morning day. During the days we go early and then take them to bed early. DD 2 will sometimes nap in the stroller.

I know DH and I would really enjoy that. Maybe with both sets of grandparents with us that might work out one night

I think I will talk to the others about moving our breakfast with Minnie. Thanks for the advice!

Right now DD2 doesn't nap anymore, but I bet she will fall asleep in the stroller there which would be good.

 

[islandgirl672]

I would suggest that once you are there... stay there... If you are doing some late shows like Fantasmic, WOC, fireworks, let them sleep in that morning, and eat a late breakfast at the house. If they need to let them nap in the strollers, then you can do your shows and shutdown the park. If you have something early planned like a MM, it is ok to leave DL before dinner and head back to the house to relax in the jacuzzi!

Great advice, thanks so much!

 

[chrissiecutie]

Totally agree!! Morning is THE best time to visit and with your MM it's like a whole new, uncrowded world!

I suggest maybe doing a character meal on the last day, save something g special for last...

I also agree that taking breaks in the middle of the day isn't always practical. As much as I LOVE Disney, even I don't always have the motivation to go back. And when DS is just as happy playing in the pool...the general thinking is "why bother" we are tired and DS is happy swimming so let's just go back tomorrow...

Personally, we always plan our MM for our 1st day at the parks. It usually falls mid week so the park closes earlier. Our general rule is if we start the day early then we finish the day early. If we start mid day then we stay in the parks until closing time. So a MM morning will be 7 or 8 am to about 4 or 5 pm at the latest. Then the following day we will sleep in, take DS swimming, have lunch, rest and get the parks by 3-4 pm and stay until midnght.

As I mentioned before, I have really learned to relax and slow things down. Seeing and doing EVERYTHING at Disney is no longer the goal. Though in my "pre-kid" years it certainly was! Relaxing and having fun is!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Will you all drive over in 1 car? I'd suggest most everybody get dropped off up front on Harbor *they're might be a place at the back of the resort *back by PPH. That way just one or 2 people has to deal with parking the car and tramming in ~ everybody else can wait in line and hopefully the parker(s) would be able to meet up with you prior to you entering the park - make sure they have their PH with them though just in case they can't make it in time! Here's the schedule for last March ~ http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=3&year=2010

Will you be bringing a stroller for your 6 year old - it may be have years since she's strolled at home but believe me you will walk miles at DLR - my DD *7* used her stroller *Mac Volo* on our most recent trip *Thanksgiving weekend 2010* she'd start the day without it but use it when we returned to the parks in the late afternoon *we took midday breaks ~ we were within walking distance though... She was/is 48" *I know this cause she was finally tall enough for CA Screamin' and weighs 45 lbs. *if that*

We love Minnie's for brunch ~ we like to tie it in with our MM - we ride rides for a couple hours, collect a FP or 2 and then stop by for a fun meal between 10:30am-11am

 

[islandgirl672]

Will you all drive over in 1 car? I'd suggest most everybody get dropped off up front on Harbor *they're might be a place at the back of the resort *back by PPH.

What a great suggestion, we will all be in the same vehicle.

Will you be bringing a stroller for your 6 year old

The house we are renting has a stroller available to use or I was going to rent a stroller at disney. I hadn't really thought of a stroller for DD6. I wonder if she is too big for the Disney ones? She is 49" and 49 pounds. I really don't want to bring strollers with us from home.

We love Minnie's for brunch ~ we like to tie it in with our MM - we ride rides for a couple hours, collect a FP or 2 and then stop by for a fun meal between 10:30am-11am

We had planned doing it on our MM, but most replies are suggesting we do it a different day. So many decisions lol

Thanks so much for the advice!

 

[DahliaRW]

I agree that going back to the house every afternoon is a huge time sink. My recommendation, if you need some "down" time but don't want to leave, is to do a show or something low key during that time. So go see Aladdin, or Billy Hill at the Golden Horseshoe, etc. That gives you a non-sleeping rest. You can also go relax in the lobby of the GCH.

 

[chrissiecutie]

What a great suggestion, we will all be in the same vehicle.




The house we are renting has a stroller available to use or I was going to rent a stroller at disney. I hadn't really thought of a stroller for DD6. I wonder if she is too big for the Disney ones? She is 49" and 49 pounds. I really don't want to bring strollers with us from home.



We had planned doing it on our MM, but most replies are suggesting we do it a different day. So many decisions lol

Thanks so much for the advice!

There was a post on here awhile ago with pictures of the Disney strollers. They are very small, outdated joggers. I'm not sure what the height/weight limits are or even the brand names...sorry! But I do know that on our first visit, I considered renting one (since at that time Disney VISA card holders got them free!) but my then 3 yr old DS wouldn't have fit in it! Or at least it didn't look like he would be comfortable while sitting it in...He is tall for his age at 6 yrs, he's 52 inches and 50 pounds but I'm still bringing our stroller from home! We have an awesome "supersized" jogger that's bigger then the Bob's and we just love it! A stroller is a must for us, especially at the end of a long day!

Maybe someone can point you in the direction of those Disney stroller photos??

 

[AlexJanessa]

I would suggest that once you are there... stay there... If you are doing some late shows like Fantasmic, WOC, fireworks, let them sleep in that morning, and eat a late breakfast at the house. If they need to let them nap in the strollers, then you can do your shows and shutdown the park. If you have something early planned like a MM, it is ok to leave DL before dinner and head back to the house to relax in the jacuzzi!

This is what we're planning on doing. We're going over Presidents Day weekend (not intentionally!) and we have a 3.5 year old and an 8 year old. We've booked a character breaky at Minnie's for 8am the first day we are there (Friday) and will head back to the hotel when our youngest starts crashing (shortly after dinner-ish). The next day, we'll do MM (7:00am) and again, head back shortly after dinner. Our next 2 days, we're planning on doing WOC the first night and Fantasmic the second so we'll sleep in those days and go later on.

I think you can only plan so much with little ones. You never know what they are going to be like. They might be just fine going all day, crashing hard at night and ready to go the next morning or they may only take little bursts of all the excitement before they need a break. I think you just have to work with them and not worry too much about it. It will make your vacation more enjoyable for everyone, especially less stressful for you. You have lots of time at the parks to cover everything.

We plan to go back in a few years when the girls are older too and then we can stay up late and enjoy all the shows but for now, we're content to do as much as they are capable of handling... and we'll all have a great time!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I am curious why you rented a house rather than a walking distance hotel? I think walking distance is the key to happiness when you are staying multiple days at Disneyland. There are so many hotels with great prices in that time frame you are going, too. Have you thought of switching?