I need help! Help me plan a magical trip this time.

[jennaw]

Hi everyone,

I am not a regular poster here. I joined last time we were planning a trip to DL in October 2012. I got some great tips, thank you!

So last time we went (our first trip to Disney as a family), I left feeling kind oh "eh" about our time there.

I ended up writing to Disney letting them know about my experience. It was not a mean or overly negative letter, just kind of saying for what we paid, I didn't feel like we got the magical experience. Well, their response was overwhelming. Autographed princess pictures for my DD's and free 2 day park hopper tickets. I was shocked. I had not expected anything other then a commitment to do better next time or whatever.

So, now we want to plan a trip for summer of 2014 before my youngest DD turns 3. One thing that DH and I agreed would make our trip more fun next time is going with friends or family. Turns out my best friend is also planning on going next summer so we are trying to coordinate.

Sorry this is getting long. I basically want all your best tips to make this trip magical. I want to love DL the way the people here do! Specifically:

1. We are strongly considering staying off site this time. I just didn't feel like the $400+ a night for a basic room at DGC was worth the money. I think the HoJo would be a good fit for our family. I want to be able to still walk to the parks without using a shuttle. Thoughts?
2. There is still this small part of me that wants the magical disney bubble experience. I have read a little bit about renting points from DVC members and being able to get something a little nicer for the same or less money. Thoughts on this?
3. The biggest downside to potentially going with our friends is that their schedule is restricted due to her husband being in medical school. So it will pretty much have to be one of the first weekends in June 2014. I am wondering if the crowds will be so outrageous that the advantage of going with friends would be neutralized? My friend went September of 2012 over labor day weekend and had a very different experience then me. Totally magical, crowds were reasonable. For them the "extra magic hour" was pretty dead, so their kids got to do tons of rides in that time and they felt it was a big advantage. When we went during "extra magic hour" it was so crowded, both for DL and DCA. Did they get lucky or did we get unlucky?

Anything else that would be good to know, I am all ears! Thank you!

 

[luulu1999]

I dont have a lot of answers for you we went our first trip at Christmas and didnt see a lot of stuff so were planning a bigger trip next summer....I actually dont think the crowds are that bad at the beginning of june but I cant help you about the hotel we stayed at the clarion and want somewhere closer next time

 

[MinnieMom13]

1. We are strongly considering staying off site this time. I just didn't feel like the $400+ a night for a basic room at DGC was worth the money. I think the HoJo would be a good fit for our family. I want to be able to still walk to the parks without using a shuttle. Thoughts?

--You can walk to the parks from HoJo's. It's on the outer reaches of the distance I'd be willing to walk. Depending on your pace and stoplights, I'd guess it will take you 10-15 minutes. If a nice pool area is important to you, this hotel is a good choice. Both Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotel are less money than the Grand Californian if you decide to stay onsite.

2. There is still this small part of me that wants the magical disney bubble experience. I have read a little bit about renting points from DVC members and being able to get something a little nicer for the same or less money. Thoughts on this?

--Every time I've looked into renting points for a Villa, they were either full or more expensive than a "regular" onsite room. If you're looking to save money, I'm not sure a Villa is the best solution. It would be a wonderful room, though!

3. The biggest downside to potentially going with our friends is that their schedule is restricted due to her husband being in medical school. So it will pretty much have to be one of the first weekends in June 2014. I am wondering if the crowds will be so outrageous that the advantage of going with friends would be neutralized? My friend went September of 2012 over labor day weekend and had a very different experience then me. Totally magical, crowds were reasonable. For them the "extra magic hour" was pretty dead, so their kids got to do tons of rides in that time and they felt it was a big advantage. When we went during "extra magic hour" it was so crowded, both for DL and DCA. Did they get lucky or did we get unlucky?

--It's hard to know for sure, but it sound like your issue was the park was that it was too crowded. Being with friends won't lessen the crowds, but it will help pass the time while you're in line. From what you've written, you may want to consider going in the "off" season. Our favorite time in the fall is early October, in the winter it's the week after Thanksgiving, in the spring it's in early May before schools let out, and in the summer it's the last week of August. Not only is the park less crowded at these times, but prices drop considerably. Once your kids are in school, you'll have less flexibility to travel during the off season so this is your opportunity!

 

[Stitch35]

HoJo is definitely walking distance to Disney. Takes about 8 minutes to get to the security check point. You might look at the Desert Inn and Suites as well, I read a lot of good things about them and they are quite reasonably priced. They are about 5 minutes from the security check point.
Early June shouldn't be too bad, but weekends are busy. Utilizing fast pass and child swap will be beneficial. Make a plan as to what you want to see and find out what's best to go to first. If Peter Pan is a priority, then go at rope drop on a non magical morning day, etc.
For some "extra magic" ask the CM at the Mark Twain River Boat if he would like help captaining the ship. This is a fantastic experience for everyone! Go to turtle talk with crush, he really talks with the audience. Ask at the Main Street station if you and one child can ride Tinder (only 2 allowed at a time). If you can, get the first seating at Minnie's breakfast. It's not as crowded and the character interaction is fantastic! Remember to slow down a little and enjoy the little details. This gives a better experience then running from attraction to attraction.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I've gone a lot with my boys over the last 5 years, starting on my oldest DS 3rd birthday.

 

[KerBear]

The biggest issue I can see with those dates are grad nights. Mornings are usually ok on those days, but by mid afternoon there are a lot of teenagers and not all of then are well behaved. I also notice quite a few middle school groups doing end of the year trips, but they tend to be a little bit more supervised.
I have never been able to stay on site, but I have stayed at the Howard Johnson and we really liked it, although the walk back after a long day is a little long. Research art shuttles so you can hop on one if you don't feel up to the walk. I know you can pay cash so you don't have to prepay if you aren't sure you'll use it.
I think managing expectations is a big part of having a good trip, if you are stressed about seeing everything and making it perfect it kills a little bit of the magic. My experience as an annual pass holder is always different than my sisters when she brings her kids from another state, and my youngest daughter who has some issues managing her expectations has a great time half of our trips and leaves feeling even more stressed the other half.
That being said, it sounds like you definitely had some issues fur Disney to respond the way they did and I hope your next trip is wonderful and you leave ready to plan the next one asap!

 

[adykate]

Could you explain a little bit more about what made you feel "not so magical" during your first trip? Was it the crowds? Did you feel rushed? Did you feel like you wandered around too much without a plan and wanted on? Long lines? Rides not meet anticipations? Expectations of _______ that did not happen? That might give people a better idea of what kinds of tips/advice they can give to improve your next trip.

 

[BlueBayou]

Hi,

I would not hesitate staying offsite. Staying as Desert Inn and Suites or BWPPI would be just as close as PPH.

We have stayed at HOJOS (2), Camelot (2), Desert Inn and Suites (2), CCI, Tropicana, BWPPI, and Clarion offsite and all three onsite properties. We would love to stay at GCH again (if the price was right) and really liked PPH. Our stay at the DLH was not great (it was during the room remodel - without hot water for hours etc)

I don't miss the Disney Magic Bubble offsite. Unless you are planning on hanging out in the GCH lobby listening to the piano player (which we do when we are there or at PPH) - I don't see what there is to miss. When walking back to your harbor hotel (or catching a shuttle) - you are surrounded by people there for the Disney experience.

One thing important for traveling with friends/extending family is making sure you understand going in that you are not going to make everyone happy. I know that sounds harsh - but it helps me knowing that ahead of time.

I am a total DL know it all. But when we travel with loved ones - I am just there for the ride. We have met my BIL/SIL and their two kids (twice) and my DH's close friends and their two kids at DL for the day. The best thing I did was release control.

We live half way across the country from my DH's family - so I had not met them before Disney (we had talked on the phone). Our oldest DD was 6 months at the time and I NEVER would have considered driving to Disneyland with her. Just too young. Well unexpectedly, the April after DCA opened, my BIL had a business trip and decided to bring the family out for a day at Disneyland and a beach trip. So we drove out to meet them. It was a great trip - but for me it was meeting my wonderful SIL for the first time and meeting my niece and nephew and having them meet their only cousin - Disney just happened to be the back drop. (fast forward 6 or so years and our nephew got a scholarship to USC - so the whole family came out again for freshman orientation - our youngest was about 3 at the time).

Our one day trips with family and friends have been in the summer - and we end up doing okay with fastpass and knowing crowd behavior. Our family trips are always early Oct or December - low crowd times. If you are expecting the crowds and know you need to get to the park at opening and manage fast passes- then you should be fine.

 

[Midnightred]

I have a few tips for you too. First of all, do stay at HOJO, but call this week and reserve a Kids Suite. You will love the extra room. We walk some of the time, but also buy shuttle tickets in case the bus is right there and we don't feel like walking. My biggest tip for you is to not try and do everything with the other family. Make a plan to include them in stuff one a day or so, then break off and go your separate ways. For instance, you can say "Let's go to Flo's for dinner tonight at 5:30", and you all can go over there together. You might relay plans on where you will be, and if it is working out, great. Meet for lunch and pool time maybe. You don't have to spend every second together. Plan some big stuff for your family, like devoting one night to Fantasmic or WOC, and consider buying a package like dinner or the dessert pkg.

Midnightred

 

[jennaw]

Since I am a newer member it won't let me post links but here is a copy of my trip report:

Hi, I am Jenna, Mom to two awesome daughters, Caroline (4) and Lucy (1). Also one awesome husband, Jon So I have been lurking since we started planning our first trip to Disneyland a couple of months ago. There was some really great information on this board I wouldn't have found otherwise, so thank you!

We just returned from our first trip to Disneyland (as part of a trip to SoCal) on Saturday. I have to say, while we had plenty of fun, I wasn't feeling the magic.

Here are some Post Pre- Trip Report Details

When we first started planning our trip our plan was to do things on the CHEAP. Stay with family that lives an hour away and have our only expense be the park tickets. The more we thought about this, the more we decided this might be a really miserable and exhausting way to do our first trip so then we (by we I mean I) moved onto plan B: stay in a good neighbor hotel.

DH pretty much outright refused this plan. DH had the good fortune of attending a business conference at the Grand Californian 2 years prior, he was in love and to him, if we are staying in a hotel, we are staying there. Only slight problem was being about $1,000 short in the budget

So DH and I were in a figurative stare down for a few weeks. I happened to mention to my Mom this disagreement DH and I were having about all this and she says, "Well Dad and I would be happy to contribute towards that as a bday gift to the girls." So my parents very generously gave us $1,000 for our trip. The Grand Californian it was! I also softened to the idea after my best friend went over Labor Day weekend and said it was a truly magical time and she thought the GC was worth every penny.

We booked our trip through Costco which was a pleasant experience. I got to work talking to all the people I know that are DL vets and of course reading on here all the time. I also called the GC just to say, we were so excited to be coming, told them about some of the special experiences my best friend had and how awesome it would be if my kids were fortunate enough to have some of the same things happen. We were just so so excited.

So now onto the trip report. We drove down on Saturday, stayed with family that lives in SoCal about 45 minutes from DL. Had a day and a half to refresh, then woke up early Monday morning, on the road by 7:30 headed to DL. I called the GC to ask if Bell Services would hold our groceries in addition to our luggage and they said no problem and they even have cold storage. She also let me know it wouldn't be necessary because our room was already ready! Big thumbs up for this.

We arrive, check in, get our bags in our room, put away groceries and then we are out to Disneyland by 9:30am. DD's first priority is Dumbo. So we wait in line for Dumbo. By the time we are on the ride, my MIL shows up. She has a special connection to Disneyland because her father was friends with Walt Disney and provided the animals for the park, she was there on opening day as a little girl. I love my MIL but I was a little disappointed she joined us on our first day, I really just wanted it to be our family but what can you say? We had a good day, just hopping around the park doing whatever wasn't too long of a wait, it was busier then I expected. I think we did Dumbo, Small World, and King Arthur's Carousel. Then we headed over toon town to check it out. Very fun. We ate our picnic lunch there. After that we took the train that went around the park, then Alice in Wonderland, pirates (just DH and MIL), Winnie the Pooh. Then we headed over to Main Street to stake out a spot for the Soundsational Parade. The parade was awesome, this was a magical experience. Also beforehand our one year was walking up and down our little section of curb waving and saying "hi! hi!" to everyone, very cute. The park closed at 6 that night so after the parade we left, dropped MIL off at the parking lot tram and headed to our room. Took a dip in the pool. Then headed off to DCA to see Carsland at night, strolled around then went to Tortilla's Joe's taqueria for dinner. Then headed back to the hotel (totally exhausted) and crashed. Oh and we got scolded when we went into DCA because we hadn't gotten hand stamps..

I will try to be more concise here...Next day we had early entry into DL, took the monorail in, first stop Finding Nemo. Honestly, I don't feel like early entry got us much of an advantage at all. By the time we got our of Finding Nemo it was already 8:45! So then we just headed over to wait in line for the Princesses, which opened at 9. We got to meet Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. DD was really excited about this leading up to our trip but in the moment her shyness came out and she pretended to be asleep the whole time! LOL. Had breakfast at the Carnation Cafe, very good and reasonable for sit down, would do this again. I hopped over to DCA after breakfast and picked up FP for World of Color and Soarin'. We did more rides, can't even remember what now, kids got tired of it all so we headed back to the hotel. DD had a complete melt down over having her hand stamped, she is very shy and sensitive about being touched by people she does not know. I really wish they would be more lenient on this policy with young kids. Every time we had to get a hand stamp or have the hand stamp checked it was a meltdown. I understand why the policy is in place and rules are rules so we just dealt with it but it made for a not very fun time. Back at the hotel I let DD order room service for lunch, she had been really excited about doing this and she was not disappointed. It was worth the $16 kids meal We went swimming. After that we headed to DCA. This was probably our most fun afternoon. DH and I switched back and forth with the kids to ride rides. I have to tell you, single rider was a huge benefit for us, typically there were no other single riders and we only waited about 5 minutes to get on rides when the stand by lines were an hour wait or longer. We both did Grizzly River (I got soaked!) and Soarin'. I did Screamin' (awesome). We did Little Mermaid as a family which was fun, I think the design of that ride is brilliant with the constantly moving shells, I bet it really cuts down on the wait time. We also did King Triton's Carousel, Mickey's Wheel and the Zephyr. We ate at Pacific Wharf for dinner, and then around 7:00 went to claim a spot for World of Color. All in all I found that the other guests at DL/DCA were really friendly and kind, but I have to say, WOC seating is fierce. If you do not stand in your spot the entire time someone will take it. I had a lady take my spot when I walked to the trash can 5 seconds away! And when I politely informed here I had been standing there (right next to my husband and children who were still there) she didn't seem to care! Although she ultimately decided she would look for a better spot so whatever. WOC was truly amazing, beautiful. After this we headed back to our hotel. Was disappointed to see we hadn't received our turn down service (it was after 9pm.)

Next day was our early entry into DCA, we had big plans to get straight to Carsland. We head down to the private entrance and it seems like everyone else saying at the GC had the same idea...And they did, about 2 people went to the World of Color Fast Pass station and then it was this great migration to Carsland. So we get there and they are being very strict about measuring every single kid. I knew it wouldn't go over well with DD but thought it I could just do it quickly we could get through it without too many tears. So I hold DD up to the sign (I already know she is tall enough bc she was 40 inches at her last doctors appointment in the spring and she has grown since then). It is clear that she is tall enough but the CM is insisting she stand still and touch the top of her head. Now again, I get it that rules are rules but ultimately it made it so that we couldn't ride the ride because DD freaked and not wanting to hold up anything I just left with DD and let DH go on single rider. It was very frustrating. I was frustrated with DD for making such a big deal over a little thing, frustrated at the CM for being so inflexible and ambivalent and frustrated with myself for not foreseeing this situation. DH walked right on, said it was fun but DD probably wouldn't have liked it anyway. I was just in a funk. So I rode Screamin' twice Early entry into DCA is much different then DL, Carsland was packed but you pretty much have the rest of the park to yourself. Around 8:45 we headed over to DL, hoping to hustle over to Peter Pan before there was a line, no such luck but we waited in the line anyway, glad we did, this was one of my favorite rides. After this was headed to the hotel to check out, left our bags with Bell Services, then headed over to Goofy's Kitchen for our Character Brunch. Goofy's Kitchen was great, good food and LOTs of characters. Too bad my one year old was absolutely terrified of them, even just seeing them across the room made her freak out. So DH and I took turns hanging with her outside so the other could eat. Sigh. The CM's here were really understanding and gave us red balloons to signal to the characters to not come to our table. After this we headed back to DL, we did Autotopia (2x), Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and Mark Twain River Boat. Ok so this wasn't concise at all.

In summary, here's my lists:

The Good

-The park was so clean, I know everybody talks about this but you just have to see it for yourself. Everything is clean and in excellent condition.
-The shows really are magical, if we go again I plan to look into what else is offered.
-We didn't buy a lot of food but what we did buy was good and for Disney, wasn't crazy expensive.
-Early check in into our room
-The characters were really interactive and sweet with the kids.
-Single Rider line was a lifesaver for us, I think if you are baby swapping anyway this is the way to go

The Disappointing

-I was pretty disappointed overall in the CM's. We had about 3 really positive interactions, the rest were fairly mediocre and about 5 negative/rude interactions. We wore our First time buttons pretty much the whole time and it didn't seem to make a lick of difference.
-Way more crowded then I expected. Almost everything had at least a 30 minute wait. We found the least busy time was about 1:30-3:30 when it was really hot. Early entry felt like a bust.
-I didn't feel like we got our money's worth at the Grand Californian. We didn't receive our turn down service the second night, despite my phone call nobody did anything a little special for my kids, not even a sticker or a coloring page. Our room was nice and clean but I feel like we could have gotten that at a number of hotels for less then $400 a night. The pool area is nice but not the most kid friendly if you have little ones.
-Not Disney's fault but the meltdowns ensuing from hand stamps and measurements made things difficult with my older daughter and certainly made it not very magical.
-Not very many places to let your toddler just run around to stretch their legs, it was so crowded it never felt safe to just let her down. Would be nice if they had a few little play areas.

All in all, we had a fun time, no doubt. And I think we will come back, when the kids are much older. I guess I just got myself so excited for this magical, immersive experience and that just didn't happen. If you read this, thank you! And I am totally open to suggestions that we could do on our part next time to create some more magic because I am totally jealous of all these magical stories I read about.

 

[jennaw]

Wow, that hurts, I had just typed out a long response, only to lose it. ah....anyway...

Thank you so much for all of the responses. It sounds like staying off site, especially at the HoJo would be a great fit for my family. I think the extra space and pool area would be a big hit with the kids! BTW, my kids will be 6 and almost 3 when we go again. Someone mentioned going in the off season, we would love to but we can't because DD starts kindy in a week! Also, last time we did go in the off season, on weekdays and it was really crowded. I thought maybe I just didn't understand what "low season" meant for Disney but nope, I got back and the people on this board who had visited during the same time were commenting on how crowded it was. And oddly, my friend who went over labor day weekend said it wasn't crowded at all! I am curious who had the more atypical expererience?

Regarding expectations. I think last time my expectations in terms of rides, how much we could get done, amount of time spend "wandering" were all completely reasonable and I wasn't disappointed by these things except the wait times but even that didn't kill the magic for me, it's DL, I knew the possibility for long lines was likely. Our biggest disappointments had to do with the Grand Californian Hotel and CM interaction. The lobby of the hotel was blocked off with large black curtains during our stay, our room view was terrible, we didn't recieve our turn down service the second night and my husband had a really negative interaction with a CM at the pool while trying to give me a nice little surprise (a drink by the pool.) Also not a sticker, coloring page, anything upon check in for my kids when it was their first trip to Disney and I had called and asked them to make a note of it on our reservation in advance. Any one of things as a singular incident is not a big deal but combined together, we just felt like it wasn't worth the price tag. And the CM's within the park were kind of unfriendly, some downright rude. So yes, this time I need to adjust my expectations. I think between reading on here and hearing about my friends incredible magical trip to Disneyland just about a month prior really had me thinking everyone was going to be super friendly and out to make it wonderful for my children.

g2g, more later.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

The PPs have all given some good advice!

I'm so sorry that you encountered some of the disappointing situations which cropped up--that stinks!

I think a very important point to remember, is that no visit will be 100% perfect(close maybe, might even be up to 99%, but not usually--in our experience).

Also, staying in an expensive hotel will not make the trip a great one(proved by your last venture), and neither will staying at an off property hotel, ensure that this up-coming trip will be better.

We think, however, that a great trip begins with securing the kind of hotel that will meet our needs, and expectations! Try to do as much research on that point as you can, and go with your gut instinct.

Now that you've been to the Parks, maybe you can adjust your expectations a bit, because you now have experience to help you do that properly!

Going with friends, brings its own set of problems, but I'll let others expound on that, because it's something we avoid, if possible. I do know, that if you go with realistic rules/expectations set up beforehand, that traveling in a group can be a positive experience.

One thing to consider, is maybe trying an on property hotel which is cheaper, say, the Paradise Pier Hotel? We have only ever gotten top-notch customer service and CM interaction there. It's cheaper than the other Disney hotels, and the rooms are large and bright(plus you could give the Extra Magic Hour another try, to see if there is an improvement over the last time).

If you want to stick with trying something other than that, there are certainly good neighbor hotels which are nice as well. Check out the Candy Cane Inn--close enough to walk--but a free dedicated shuttle if you'd rather ride, a continental breakfast, and its clean and comfortable(the rooms are a bit on the small side, if that would bug you).

I think, after reading your report, that you simply had the type of experience, where numerous little things(not to discredit any of them) added up enough to overshadow the good, and overwhelm you with disappointment. I totally understand this, as it has happened to us a couple of times.

The good thing is, you have the opportunity to go back and make new and better memories--a clean slate!

Make sure you go in with a general plan, a good attitude(sometimes easier said than done), and a determination to overlook those things that just tend to happen through no-one's fault--they're just life.

I'm really hoping your next trip will erase the less happy memories of your last one--it definitely is possible--Good Luck!

 

[sammons70]

The big downside with June is Grad Nights. The parks close earlier than usual in the summer for senior field trips. I believe they close at 9.
In terms of off site lodging it is the way to go.
EMH is most effective with a planned itinerary, I.E, go straight to Peter Pan, then Dumbo, teacups, etc.

 

[KeKy4]

My tips:
Try to stay in a hotel on Harbor, most are quick walking distance. Staying off site and with only 2 day passes you probably won't have an early entry day.
Subscribe to TouringPlans.Com to check the crowd levels for when you're going to be there. June is going to be pretty crowded and hot/humid. You can also create a schedule that will help you avoid longer lines and make the most of your time.

I think the more you go, the more magical it gets. You know what you do/don't like, how the crowds/lines are, etc.

 

[Rubygoose]

We've been 3 times now, and I think the 3rd time was most enjoyable because I knew the lay of the land, knew which rides we lived and which to skip, and my kids were just that little bit older. My DS seems similar to your oldest DD. he can have a meltdown over something that I couldn't anticipate being a problem. But now you know that she doesn't like hand stamps or being measured - 2 things that can't be avoided. So, before your trip, practice both of these at home. Get some stamps and play "turnstile" with her. Get her to stamp your hand and shine a flashlight on it. They take photos now with an iphone so you may want to practice that if it could set her off. I practiced measuring DS before our trip by holding a block at the 40 inch mark on his height chart and practiced having him bump his head on it. I'm glad we practiced, because it sure is a different way of measuring. (And since he was 41 inches, he was checked at every 40 inch ride.) The first time he was measured was at Star Tours and he wasn't sure where to stand or what he was supposed to do, and was a bit nervous. But by the 2nd or 3rd time being measured, he was so proud of himself, and told CM's "I'm so big! I drink all my milk and eat healthy food!"

As for early entry, you can get a lot done if you don't ride Nemo! And I agree with you that EE is much better in DCA, but that's probably because it's only for hotel guests.

I know you're leaning towards staying offsite, but you may want to look into DLH. We stayed there on our 3rd trip and loved it. Great service, great theming, and never had to leave the Disney Bubble. My kids loved the water slides.

 

[Rubygoose]

Oh, and Early Entry during October was probably so busy for you because it was likely at 9am for a 10am opening. When we went in July, EE was 7am with an 8am general opening. So, way fewer people were up and atem by 7am compared to 9am. On our Sept 2012 trip, we noticed that 8am opening on a Sunday was much quieter than 9am Magic Morning on Tuesday.

 

[jennaw]

I think, after reading your report, that you simply had the type of experience, where numerous little things(not to discredit any of them) added up enough to overshadow the good, and overwhelm you with disappointment. I totally understand this, as it has happened to us a couple of times.

Yes, this is totally what happened. And honestly, like I said, we still had lots of fun! Just a little frustrating to see advertisements plastered all over the place telling you how magical it is all going to be ect.

Love your advice, thanks!

 

[jennaw]

We've been 3 times now, and I think the 3rd time was most enjoyable because I knew the lay of the land, knew which rides we lived and which to skip, and my kids were just that little bit older. My DS seems similar to your oldest DD. he can have a meltdown over something that I couldn't anticipate being a problem. But now you know that she doesn't like hand stamps or being measured - 2 things that can't be avoided. So, before your trip, practice both of these at home. Get some stamps and play "turnstile" with her. Get her to stamp your hand and shine a flashlight on it. They take photos now with an iphone so you may want to practice that if it could set her off. I practiced measuring DS before our trip by holding a block at the 40 inch mark on his height chart and practiced having him bump his head on it. I'm glad we practiced, because it sure is a different way of measuring. (And since he was 41 inches, he was checked at every 40 inch ride.) The first time he was measured was at Star Tours and he wasn't sure where to stand or what he was supposed to do, and was a bit nervous. But by the 2nd or 3rd time being measured, he was so proud of himself, and told CM's "I'm so big! I drink all my milk and eat healthy food!"

As for early entry, you can get a lot done if you don't ride Nemo! And I agree with you that EE is much better in DCA, but that's probably because it's only for hotel guests.

I know you're leaning towards staying offsite, but you may want to look into DLH. We stayed there on our 3rd trip and loved it. Great service, great theming, and never had to leave the Disney Bubble. My kids loved the water slides.

Great advice, thanks. Time has helped these things but it never hurts to practice!

 

[jennaw]

Oh and regarding traveling with friends...I am with y'all, normally I wouldn't "risk" my vacation by traveling with friends but we have traveled with these friends many times before and we are all good about setting limits with no hard feelings. Honestly I think the benefit would be more the kids having playmates while hanging by the pool, couples trading off here and there so adults can enjoy the parks kid free for 1-2 hours or a dinner out, ect..