I BOOKED IT!!! Disneyland here I come......Tips, Tricks, Advice????

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

I did it!!!!!!!! I booked our Airfare (Southwest $120) & reserved 1 hotel. There are my husband, myself & 7 year old daughter along with my parents (50's & 60's). We are going to San Diego (12/06 - 12/9) - doing the Zoo & SeaWorld, on 12-09 doing LegoLand on our way up (with a rental car) to Anaheim. Booked Desert Inn & Suites (needed indoor pool for December)for 6 nights. Doing Universal & American Girl on 12/10 (turning back in the rental car), and going to DL for 4 days (Tue 12/11 - Fri 12/14), and flying out of LAX (Southwest for $99) on Sat (12/15)

Plan on getting the Southern California City passes through Costco, just getting 1 day hopper at DL & purchasing LegoLand separately w/coupons or through Costco (whatever is cheaper)

- Still need hotel for San Diego....any suggestions? nothing fancy - outdoor
pool fine, nice & clean...only 3 nights.
- any rental car codes, deals, suggestions, etc? (pick up at SD airport &
dropping off in Anaheim)
- tips for any of the parks
- any "Must Do's" for any of the parks
- anything for a 1st time Disneylander??? (done WDW once)

Thanks a bunch!!!

 

[DangerMouse]

The DEP *should* be running the last night of your stay in DLR (14th). Make plans to see it!! I'm jealous b/c we will miss it this year.

Have an awesome trip!

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Yes, from my research, that will be our only chance!! What else will be only running on that Friday? Anything that you know of?

 

[MATTERHORN]

SOunds like you have a fabulous trip planned and you are doing it just the way I like it, ending with Disney!!! There is so much to do at Christmastime, it's so nice!!

In San Diego we usually just stay somewhere on Hotel Circle, kinda central to both places. Must do's in December are Haunted Mansion Holiday, Small World Holiday, Christamas Parade, ELP, Fireworks, and Santa's Reindeer Roundup to see Santa and the reindeer. You can also decorate cookies back there, it's kinda fun!

Have fun planning!

Oh, upgrading your Citypass DL ticket will be much cheaper than buying a seperate one day hopper!

Andrea

 

[abby]

I booked yesterday for DL December 11-16. We are staying at HOJO's and I can't wait. My dd is also 7. If your daughter likes princesses try lunch or dinner at Ariel's Grotto. You get to sit and eat, (not a buffett) and princess come around and take photo's and sign autograph books. Beats standing in line for princesses.

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

(Oh, upgrading your Citypass DL ticket will be much cheaper than buying a seperate one day hopper!)

Matterhorn.....how do you upgrade your Citypass? Through Costco? Should I call & order rather then online? I didn't know that you could do that....

Abby......maybe we will run into you there... My daughter's name is Abby (as you could probably tell by my username), so if you see someone w/a daughter Abby, thats probably us!

DangerMouse - or Abby : Anything else that only runs on Friday that I have to make sure I see???

Keep the advise coming........

 

[DangerMouse]

DangerMouse - or Abby : Anything else that only runs on Friday that I have to make sure I see???

Keep the advise coming........

Fantasmic *may* only be showing during the weekends during that time. So Friday would be your only chance to see it. They would have a 10:30 pm showing. You should be able to see the DEP, hop back over to DL, catch the train to NOS, and hop off in time to get an awesome spot for F!.

The Christmas parade and fireworks should be showing daily during your visit.

 

[ter-moo]

We just stayed in a vacation rental in SD for Spring Break. We used to live there, and we wanted to be on the beach. It ended up being much cheaper for us than two hotel rooms would've been. Just do a google search for San Diego vacation rentals. We stayed at Capri By the Sea in Pacific Beach--it may be more expensive than what you're looking for. There were several hotels nearby, though, that would be cheaper if you just need one room.

Someone above recommended Hotel Circle. Yeah, it's central, but it's pretty ugly around there. I'd go for Pacific Beach or Mission Beach. In December, rates should be low.

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Just bumping up for more suggestions & advice. I have learned so much here..... please give me more.......

 

[Princess Carrie]

Folks have been giving some good tips... thought I'd share a couple of my must dos/sees with you!

The Aladdin show at CA is fantastic. I think we saw it three times on our last trip.

Mission Tortilla Factory at CA is fun. The movie can get a little boring if you watch it multiple times (like we did), but it's worth it for the yummy tortilla.

Block Party Bash at CA is also a must see. It's so fun!

We really like the animation academy at CA, where you learn how to draw a disney character. Good for all ages!

Indiana Jones and Buzz Light Year are my must do rides at Disneyland. Buzz is so much fun!

As for tips, if you've been to WDW, then you'll recognize the importance of fastpasses. They're just as important at Disneyland. So is getting to the parks early, especially if you want to get on some of the more popular rides in Fantasyland, like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

If you're looking for good, reasonably priced food, try Mimi's, in the Howard Johnson parking lot (not to be confused with Millie's, which I'm sure is also quite nice). My DBF and I have eaten there on all three of our last trips and have been able to share a meal between us! It gets busy, but the waits never seem to be too long.

If you plan to watch the Fireworks and Fantasmic, I've started to notice the increasing importance of staking out your spot early. I haven't been during the time that you'll be there, so I'm not sure what the crowds will be like, but we usually try to arrive at least 30 minutes before the show starts. That's probably not early enough, but I can't seem to get DBF to plan for any earlier.

Okay, there's a few thoughts for you. You probably know most of the info from your research already, but thought I'd share!

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Thank you, thank you......
Even if you think I may have already found the information - give it again... Who knows if I saw it or if I retained it!! (ha-ha)

 

[Princess Carrie]

I could talk about DL forever (even though I should be planning for WDW), so if you have any questions, fire away!

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Princess Carrie - thanks for the goods, and I took you up on your offer....I PMed you w/a list of questions........

Anyone else with more tips, they are really helping w/my schedule.

What about when you enter the park, do you go to the left or to the right? Or do you hit certain rides first because they get really busy later in the day?? Or do you just get fastpasses as you walk by certain rides & go back at the end of the day? Since I don't know the park, I don't want to miss anything by hunting & pecking around the park to only hit some rides & maybe missing others????? Suggestions?

Any restaurants that maybe have very large portions that could easily be shared?

Anything else that I am missing????

Thanks to all - DIS is great!!!

 

[DangerMouse]

Have you read Hydro's rules about Fastpass? These will really help you.

The best tip is to get to the parks 30-45 minutes prior to opening (or EE time if you are using EE) and hit the FL rides in this approx order:

Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Toad
Teacups
Pinocchio
Snow White

The most important rides to tackle early are Peter Pan and Dumbo. These will both have ridiculously long ques 30 minutes after opening time and will remain that way all day.

With four full days in the parks you should have no problem accomplishing everything you want to. Read, memorize and print out a copy of Hydro's FP rules and you should be good to go! If you are a complete OC planner (like me), you might consider purchasing ridemax so you can customize your touring plans.