flygurl814
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2022
- Messages
- 13
This forum was such a great resouce when planning our trip - thank you! I wanted to share a trip report so others could see how our days went when planning your trips.
We went June 20-23 with me, my 3 kids ages 11, 9 and 7 and my mom. We stayed at the Castle Inn and Suites. It was basic: we really liked the layout (kids room with 2 bed in back with a sink and table, king in the front room. The sheets and towels were low quality, the beds were fine. No breakfast but did have a fridge and microwave, so I brought breakfast sandwiches for breakfast in the morning.
On Tuesday we did Goofy's kitchen. The check in process was a bit chaotic, lots of people waiting and it was hard to hear the check in person. We met Goofy and got a picture with him, then went to our table. I am kind of a food snob and usually don't like buffets, but almost everything I ate was delicious. They did a great job of appealing to both kids and adults with their selections. The ground meat, kale and sweet potato hash, mixed veggies, sirloin and chicken from the carving station, adobo chicken, fried shrimp were all delicious. The turkey pot pie was just ok. My kids loved everything except the macaroni and cheese was cold. The creme brulee for dessert was very good, and the kids loved the ice cream. Decaf coffee was good too. I wasn't sure if my kids would like the character interactions but they ended up enjoying them hesitantly. I would do this again for sure.
Wednesday was our first park day, California Adventure. We got up at 6:15, ate breakfast, and left for the park at 6:40. The line for security looked long when we got there around 6:55, but once they opened we spread out so much that we were first in line to scan in. They started scanning in around 7:15. As soon as I scanned in I booked a LL for Toy Story. We decided to rope drop webslingers, so we walked on to that at 8 am. We then did Incredicoaster (5 min wait) and Toy Story (it was only a 5 min wait so I didn't use my LL but modified it to Guardians of the Galaxy instead). We did Pixar Pal Around, then Goofy's. I booked a second LL for Monster's Inc and modified the Guardians of the Galaxy one for later in the day. Next, Mater's and Luigis. Monster's inc was down so I got a multi pass experience and rebooked for Toy Story. We went to Grizzly river run next. We had brought homemade uncrustables for lunch so we went to Redwood to dry off and eat our lunch.
After lunch I booked our third LL for Soarin while the kids played at Redwood. We did Soarin, booking our next LL for incredicoaster. Then walked through Animation Academy on our way to Guarians for our LL. After Guardians, we had ice cream and bought the LL for Radiator Springs. After Radiator Springs, we did Incredicoaster then Toy Story with our LLs, booking our next LL for Goofys. We did the swings and then Goofys, booking our next LL for Grizzlys. We did the jellyfish and then Grizzlys, booking our next LL for Monsters Inc. We dried off at Redwood again, then had dinner at Smokejumpers (grilled chicken sandwich was really tasty, as were the fries and onion rings). Mobile ordering first said an error had occured, maybe because my mom was on the same account as I was also looking at the menu. I quit and tried again and it went through without issue.
At dinner we decided on our game plan: use our MEP on Incredicoaster and then go to Monster's inc on our way out. After that, my 7 year old and mom were ready to go to bed so they went back to the hotel. My 9 year old really wanted to do Animation Academy so me, her and the 11 year old did that and then walked back to the hotel. This was a great first day!
We woke up a little bit later for our second day. Judging from the security line yesterday, it seemed fine if we didn't get to security until just after 7, so we left the hotel around 6:50, walked through security at 7:05, and were maybe the 3rd family in line to scan in. They scanned us in around 7:20, I grabbed a LL for Indy, and we headed right to the rope for space mountain. At 7:40 I check to make sure it was open for early entry, and it was. We walked right to space mountain after rope drop. Rookie mistake I didn't check to see if Matterhorn was down until we were walking there so we lost about 10 minutes walking by there. We headed to Indiana Jones next and the wait was only 15 minutes so we waited in line and I modified the LL reservation to Matterhorn, hoping to get a multi experience pass. Next we did Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates, both with a 5 minute wait. The Matterhorn LL converted to an MEP and I rebooked it. Next, we decided to wait in line for the Haunted Mansion, which was listed as a 20 minute wait but may have been longer, I think this was our longest wait of the day. Next we did Matterhorn with our LL and booked a LL for Millennium Falcon and bought a paid LL for Rise of the Resistance before Millennium Falcon. We did small world and then the two Galaxies Edge rides, booking our next LL for Space Mountain.
We had lunch sitting on a low garden wall while watching the storm troopers and Kylo Ren walk around interacting with people. My mom went to find her phone (it had fallen out of her pocket at Matterhorn and she just walked there, asked a cast member if they had it, and walked back. Disney is a great place to lose something!).
After lunch we had some time to kill before we could book our next LL so we went to Whinnie the Pooh, bought some Churros, and did Tom Sawyer Island. Our plan was to do Buzz and Star Tours next with LL, but I noticed Small world was down so I booked that LL for 5 minutes later. It was still down and I waited for about 5 -10 minutes, restarting the app, but it never converted to an MEP. I modified it to Buzz but we lost about 15 minutes in this fishing attempt.
While waiting for Buzz we did the Tiki Room. When we got there it was only 3-4 minutes until the next show, so I didn't try to buy dole whips. I really wish I would have as the kids were whinny and didn't really want to do it. It was cute and a nice chance to sit and relax for a bit.
Next we did Buzz and then Star Tours, booking our next LL for Autopia. Our Space Mountain LL was ready so we did that and then Autopia, snagging a LL for Thunder Mountain while in line for Autopia. At Thunder mountain we booked a LL for small world. The person directly behind us in line was my kids music teacher, all the way from Arizona. Crazy!! Next, we headed back to Galaxy's Edge for dinner (I love the atmosphere there and it feels much less crowded than the front of the park). We ate at Docking Bay 7, which I thought was delicious but I wished they had a couple more kids selections (the pasta was too spicy for my daughter, and she usually likes spicy food).
After dinner we did Casey Jr (my daughter performed the song in her musical this year so that was fun) and then Small World. We made it just in time to exit small world, buy desserts, and crowd in for a viewing spot for the parade. It was a great parade! I loved the dancers and music at the beginning and end with the blue purple costumes.
After the parade, Mickey and Minnie's Railway only had a 20 minute wait so we walked there quickly. We waited for maybe 10-15 minutes and at the front were pulled aside to load in the back. They even held our still frozen lemonade for us. It was fun but halfway through the ride it broke down. We waited 10-15 minutes (it was nice we were sitting!), chatted with the people in front of us, and then were led off the ride by a cast member. I talked with my son about how important framing of your situation is as I said "how cool, we get to do a back room tour of this ride!" A cast member was so kind to find our lemonade for us and we got another MEP on our way out.
For our last two rides of the day we used our first MEP on Matterhorn and our second MEP on Space mountain (it had a 120 minute wait so we probably waited about 20 minutes). We stopped by the water ball a few times because for whatever reason my kids love that thing. We started to head towards Jungle Cruise, which only had a 5 minute wait, but my youngest was melting down and tons of people were waiting for fireworks, so we headed towards the exit and found a seat on the stairs to the railway on the way out. After about 20 minutes of waiting the fireworks began, and were spectacular! About 10 minutes into the show, a cast member told us we needed to move off the steps. So we stood at the bottom of the steps til the end of the show. As soon as the finale happened, we walked towards the exit. This was the best option for us to get back to the hotel before my youngest refused to walk anymore.
This was a wonderful day as well, my youngest was kind of a pill all day I think just due to lack of sleep and overstimulation. I was shocked that this was a green day on the thrill data website because it seemed super crowded.
What went well: I had each of my kids carry their own bag (tiny backpacks for my girls and a cross body bag for my son) which had flip flops, a sweatshirt, a poncho, small plastic water bottle, and their snacks for the day. It was so nice that they had access to all that stuff without me having to carry it around and get it out for them.
For Genie plus, the strategy of modifying the early LL times to stack them later in the day when the lines are long worked really well. Fishing for MEPs overall went well as we got one on each day.
For food, bring lunch and snacks was great for our family. Uncrustables on day 1 and tortilla chips and Frito's bean dip on day 2. It saved money, time, and the stress of ordering food. I carried the lunch food in a medium sized backpack and it was nice that my pack got lighter after lunch.
What didn't go well: I was bummed I didn't get an MEP for small world when it was down. I thought about trying to chat with a cast member, but that felt like too much hassle and since I was kind of gaming the system anyway I didn't bother.
My older two kids were troopers and didn't even want to leave at the end of the day on either night, but my youngest was really overstimulated and definitely brought the day down with her behavior. I think it was just too long of a day for her. I think she really needed a break day in between the two days, and just more sleep and down time overall.
I hope this helps some of you planning your trips!
We went June 20-23 with me, my 3 kids ages 11, 9 and 7 and my mom. We stayed at the Castle Inn and Suites. It was basic: we really liked the layout (kids room with 2 bed in back with a sink and table, king in the front room. The sheets and towels were low quality, the beds were fine. No breakfast but did have a fridge and microwave, so I brought breakfast sandwiches for breakfast in the morning.
On Tuesday we did Goofy's kitchen. The check in process was a bit chaotic, lots of people waiting and it was hard to hear the check in person. We met Goofy and got a picture with him, then went to our table. I am kind of a food snob and usually don't like buffets, but almost everything I ate was delicious. They did a great job of appealing to both kids and adults with their selections. The ground meat, kale and sweet potato hash, mixed veggies, sirloin and chicken from the carving station, adobo chicken, fried shrimp were all delicious. The turkey pot pie was just ok. My kids loved everything except the macaroni and cheese was cold. The creme brulee for dessert was very good, and the kids loved the ice cream. Decaf coffee was good too. I wasn't sure if my kids would like the character interactions but they ended up enjoying them hesitantly. I would do this again for sure.
Wednesday was our first park day, California Adventure. We got up at 6:15, ate breakfast, and left for the park at 6:40. The line for security looked long when we got there around 6:55, but once they opened we spread out so much that we were first in line to scan in. They started scanning in around 7:15. As soon as I scanned in I booked a LL for Toy Story. We decided to rope drop webslingers, so we walked on to that at 8 am. We then did Incredicoaster (5 min wait) and Toy Story (it was only a 5 min wait so I didn't use my LL but modified it to Guardians of the Galaxy instead). We did Pixar Pal Around, then Goofy's. I booked a second LL for Monster's Inc and modified the Guardians of the Galaxy one for later in the day. Next, Mater's and Luigis. Monster's inc was down so I got a multi pass experience and rebooked for Toy Story. We went to Grizzly river run next. We had brought homemade uncrustables for lunch so we went to Redwood to dry off and eat our lunch.
After lunch I booked our third LL for Soarin while the kids played at Redwood. We did Soarin, booking our next LL for incredicoaster. Then walked through Animation Academy on our way to Guarians for our LL. After Guardians, we had ice cream and bought the LL for Radiator Springs. After Radiator Springs, we did Incredicoaster then Toy Story with our LLs, booking our next LL for Goofys. We did the swings and then Goofys, booking our next LL for Grizzlys. We did the jellyfish and then Grizzlys, booking our next LL for Monsters Inc. We dried off at Redwood again, then had dinner at Smokejumpers (grilled chicken sandwich was really tasty, as were the fries and onion rings). Mobile ordering first said an error had occured, maybe because my mom was on the same account as I was also looking at the menu. I quit and tried again and it went through without issue.
At dinner we decided on our game plan: use our MEP on Incredicoaster and then go to Monster's inc on our way out. After that, my 7 year old and mom were ready to go to bed so they went back to the hotel. My 9 year old really wanted to do Animation Academy so me, her and the 11 year old did that and then walked back to the hotel. This was a great first day!
We woke up a little bit later for our second day. Judging from the security line yesterday, it seemed fine if we didn't get to security until just after 7, so we left the hotel around 6:50, walked through security at 7:05, and were maybe the 3rd family in line to scan in. They scanned us in around 7:20, I grabbed a LL for Indy, and we headed right to the rope for space mountain. At 7:40 I check to make sure it was open for early entry, and it was. We walked right to space mountain after rope drop. Rookie mistake I didn't check to see if Matterhorn was down until we were walking there so we lost about 10 minutes walking by there. We headed to Indiana Jones next and the wait was only 15 minutes so we waited in line and I modified the LL reservation to Matterhorn, hoping to get a multi experience pass. Next we did Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates, both with a 5 minute wait. The Matterhorn LL converted to an MEP and I rebooked it. Next, we decided to wait in line for the Haunted Mansion, which was listed as a 20 minute wait but may have been longer, I think this was our longest wait of the day. Next we did Matterhorn with our LL and booked a LL for Millennium Falcon and bought a paid LL for Rise of the Resistance before Millennium Falcon. We did small world and then the two Galaxies Edge rides, booking our next LL for Space Mountain.
We had lunch sitting on a low garden wall while watching the storm troopers and Kylo Ren walk around interacting with people. My mom went to find her phone (it had fallen out of her pocket at Matterhorn and she just walked there, asked a cast member if they had it, and walked back. Disney is a great place to lose something!).
After lunch we had some time to kill before we could book our next LL so we went to Whinnie the Pooh, bought some Churros, and did Tom Sawyer Island. Our plan was to do Buzz and Star Tours next with LL, but I noticed Small world was down so I booked that LL for 5 minutes later. It was still down and I waited for about 5 -10 minutes, restarting the app, but it never converted to an MEP. I modified it to Buzz but we lost about 15 minutes in this fishing attempt.
While waiting for Buzz we did the Tiki Room. When we got there it was only 3-4 minutes until the next show, so I didn't try to buy dole whips. I really wish I would have as the kids were whinny and didn't really want to do it. It was cute and a nice chance to sit and relax for a bit.
Next we did Buzz and then Star Tours, booking our next LL for Autopia. Our Space Mountain LL was ready so we did that and then Autopia, snagging a LL for Thunder Mountain while in line for Autopia. At Thunder mountain we booked a LL for small world. The person directly behind us in line was my kids music teacher, all the way from Arizona. Crazy!! Next, we headed back to Galaxy's Edge for dinner (I love the atmosphere there and it feels much less crowded than the front of the park). We ate at Docking Bay 7, which I thought was delicious but I wished they had a couple more kids selections (the pasta was too spicy for my daughter, and she usually likes spicy food).
After dinner we did Casey Jr (my daughter performed the song in her musical this year so that was fun) and then Small World. We made it just in time to exit small world, buy desserts, and crowd in for a viewing spot for the parade. It was a great parade! I loved the dancers and music at the beginning and end with the blue purple costumes.
After the parade, Mickey and Minnie's Railway only had a 20 minute wait so we walked there quickly. We waited for maybe 10-15 minutes and at the front were pulled aside to load in the back. They even held our still frozen lemonade for us. It was fun but halfway through the ride it broke down. We waited 10-15 minutes (it was nice we were sitting!), chatted with the people in front of us, and then were led off the ride by a cast member. I talked with my son about how important framing of your situation is as I said "how cool, we get to do a back room tour of this ride!" A cast member was so kind to find our lemonade for us and we got another MEP on our way out.
For our last two rides of the day we used our first MEP on Matterhorn and our second MEP on Space mountain (it had a 120 minute wait so we probably waited about 20 minutes). We stopped by the water ball a few times because for whatever reason my kids love that thing. We started to head towards Jungle Cruise, which only had a 5 minute wait, but my youngest was melting down and tons of people were waiting for fireworks, so we headed towards the exit and found a seat on the stairs to the railway on the way out. After about 20 minutes of waiting the fireworks began, and were spectacular! About 10 minutes into the show, a cast member told us we needed to move off the steps. So we stood at the bottom of the steps til the end of the show. As soon as the finale happened, we walked towards the exit. This was the best option for us to get back to the hotel before my youngest refused to walk anymore.
This was a wonderful day as well, my youngest was kind of a pill all day I think just due to lack of sleep and overstimulation. I was shocked that this was a green day on the thrill data website because it seemed super crowded.
What went well: I had each of my kids carry their own bag (tiny backpacks for my girls and a cross body bag for my son) which had flip flops, a sweatshirt, a poncho, small plastic water bottle, and their snacks for the day. It was so nice that they had access to all that stuff without me having to carry it around and get it out for them.
For Genie plus, the strategy of modifying the early LL times to stack them later in the day when the lines are long worked really well. Fishing for MEPs overall went well as we got one on each day.
For food, bring lunch and snacks was great for our family. Uncrustables on day 1 and tortilla chips and Frito's bean dip on day 2. It saved money, time, and the stress of ordering food. I carried the lunch food in a medium sized backpack and it was nice that my pack got lighter after lunch.
What didn't go well: I was bummed I didn't get an MEP for small world when it was down. I thought about trying to chat with a cast member, but that felt like too much hassle and since I was kind of gaming the system anyway I didn't bother.
My older two kids were troopers and didn't even want to leave at the end of the day on either night, but my youngest was really overstimulated and definitely brought the day down with her behavior. I think it was just too long of a day for her. I think she really needed a break day in between the two days, and just more sleep and down time overall.
I hope this helps some of you planning your trips!
