Just Back~Part 3~PARADE OF DREAMS/FIREWORKS/CA/MISC

[Mom2Joce]

PARADE OF DREAMS: This parade was ok! My daughter loved it and we saw it twice once at the head of Main Street and once at the foot. Both were equally enjoyable! When we go back I won’t make it a priority to see but if it’s close to parade time and were “there” I would.

FIREWORKS: On the other hand this show was more than SPECTACULAR!! It’s literally wall to wall people, a sea of people if you will at ANY time but SO worth seeing as close to the castle as you can!
We saw it twice and I wished we could have seen it a million and one more times if given the chance DESPITE the crowds!! We sat next to a local family that comes every week for the show and I don’t blame them one bit!! A must!!

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE: This was fun, I had only been there once before and we did a few things we hadn’t before. For the little ones Disneyland was more fun. When at CA my 4 year old wanted to spend most of her time in Bug’s Land riding all the little rides and getting wet at the splash areas. It was a great break from the heat and crowds and you can practically walk on any ride!
**For those that haven’t been to CA and have little ones bring a change of clothes, a little towel, or swim suit if you plan to visit this area in the summer**
Block Party Bash was totally adorable and loads of fun. We watched it twice in different spots and it was enjoyable both times! If your little one falls asleep but you don’t want to leave the park take a trip over to the Animation Building, it’s out of the sun/heat with AC and there is a place for you to sit and watch some neat clips!! After we did just that we went to Playhouse Disney show and was that ever fun!!! What I didn’t know was that the seating was ON THE FLOOR (although they do have benches around the perimeter! Very cute show! We also chose to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and it was just as good as I remembered. Nice to share a childhood memory of my own with my little one.

MISC:
*Lots of fun shopping EVERYWHERE!
*Ate across the street at the Denny’s (poor place gets so much business and it looks it!)
*Filled up 2 boxes of Potato Head parts and they all work on the Target Potato Heads JUST FINE
*Did the story Princess Story Telling and it was SO CUTE.
*Upgraded my 5 day passes for Annual’s and only paid 30 bucks more.
*Saw the Flag Ceremony and got pics for the gal that requested them. (message me and I’ll send them to you)
*Loved the Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, climb up the Matterhorn.

 

[jmatias]

Thanks for taking the time to write your great reports...really has me excited for our family trip end of July

 

[Mom2Joce]

Not a problem. I received so much info from others that it's the least I can do for those with up coming trips

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

Okay, I just got sick to my stomach when I read that you upgraded your 5 day hopper pass to an annual pass for only $30 more How in the world did I not know that that was possible. OMG, there has to be a way I can still do this. We had 5 5-day hopper passes, oh man.

I know this is a shoot in the dark but does anyone know if this is still a possiblity for us to do? We got back from our trip roughly 3 weeks ago.

EXCELLENT reviews!! In the 3 days that you were there I think you did more and saw more than we did in the 7 days we were there Can we go together the next time! LOL!!

 

[LeftCoaster]

Okay, I just got sick to my stomach when I read that you upgraded your 5 day hopper pass to an annual pass for only $30 more How in the world did I not know that that was possible. OMG, there has to be a way I can still do this. We had 5 5-day hopper passes, oh man.

I know this is a shoot in the dark but does anyone know if this is still a possiblity for us to do? We got back from our trip roughly 3 weeks ago.

EXCELLENT reviews!! In the 3 days that you were there I think you did more and saw more than we did in the 7 days we were there Can we go together the next time! LOL!!

Very doubtful that they will let you do this. A lot of people will upgrade their parkhopper passes on the last day. The reason why is that Disney will give you full credit towards the annual pass. So, by doing it on the last day, you don't have to deal with any potential blockout days. The "catch" is that the annual pass is backdated to the first day the park hopper was used.

 

[Mom2Joce]

I'm so sorry but I think that after the tickets have expired (13 days after the first use) nothing more can be done!

As for how much we accomplished, I grew up in So Cal and visited the park every year while growing up, so I know the park well. In preparation for this 50th trip I just used this forum and Disneyland.com to find out what we as a family might really enjoy doing/seeing. Did we do EVERYTHING? No, we geared this trip towards our 4 year old.

Of course everyday I asked my daughter if there was anything else she'd like to do again and then incorporated that in our day!

Oddly enough the only thing I really planned were the 2 character meals. And then from there we took advantage of the early mornings/EE for longer line rides and also found seats/spots EARLY for parades/shows/fireworks!

I'm sure your trip will always be a memorable one! And the way I look at it is Disneyland isn't going anywhere and will always improve

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

6 days passed the 13 day mark I had a feeling it was a 13 day thing, I thought I'd heard that before.

I'm calling today just in case

 

[Mom2Joce]

My motto, "it never hurts to ask!!" Sometimes you get the right person on the right day and in the perfect disney mood
Good luck!!

 

[Mom2Joce]

I forgot to mention. We had 2A tickets at 209.00 (the same price of the annual passes) so they did a swap with those! HOWEVER, the 1C 5 day hopper was 179.00 and that's where the 30.00 comes in. ALL ANNUAL PASSES are the same price!!

 

[DLovinFam]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report! Thank you SO much for sharing! I'm so glad that you had a wonderful time even with the few obsticles you had. You had such a great attitude about things which I believe makes all the difference!

 

[Mom2Joce]

It absolutely makes all the difference. My husband was with us 2 of the 4 days and got frustrated with the incompetant workers over at the grill at CA.

To me it's just not worth my time and energy and my stress level. It makes for a more enjoyable trip if you just take things in stride and not let that stuff get to you.
I told my husband, what if it was his first day on the job?

Did I stand in a food line for 40 minutes at Carnation? YES!! Was it fun? NO! Did I ***** and complain about it NO! That was such a small part of the trip an nothing was missed and just went with the teritory for that meal!!

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

I called and the CM said that since we used the passes on the 5th day that we cannot upgrade to the annual pass 3 out of our 5 passes were only stamped for 4 days I told her to just tell me what I would have had to pay and she said $120 because it would be a premium pass. I am SO bummed.

 

[Mom2Joce]

Sorry about that! I am curious to know what the price was on your tickets? Were they 209 for adults? And the CM was going to make you upgrade to the Premium?

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

I have no idea how much we paid for the passes, how bad is that I booked our vacation through the Walt Disney Travel and never paid any attention to how much an individual ticket was? All I told the CM was that I had a 5 day hopper pass, and she said since it was a 5 day hopper then it would have had to be upgraded to a premium annual pass which still means nothing to me?? I haven't read up on the annual passes.

 

[Eeyorecln]

I was wondering how early you had to line up for the parade and fireworks in DL. We're still trying to figure out our schedule for August as far as naps and meals. It would be easier if we could build in the time waiting for the parades and fireworks. Thanks so much for your info. We plan on upgrading our tickets to annual passses as well.

 

[Mom2Joce]

Each was different! The fireworks show there's just not telling. Some are there all day I'm sure! For the Parade of dreams you can get a great seat on the curb about 40 minutes prior, but can also see just fine behind those on the curb 15 minutes before. I always scoped out the areas about an hour before and then kept an eye on the area

The block party bash is better seen front row and I'd recommed getting there at least an hour before it starts if you're going to see it from the sunshine area.

Same goes for the electrical parade. These are very popular!!

On your passes, remember to use your EE before you upgrade and read through the AP info really well before you go so you understand completely. One thing I did was stop by the AP upgrade office and asked all my questions on the first/second day. That way I was TOTALLY clear

 

[marvel]

Ok, so let me get this straight. We are getting either 5 or 6 day hoppers via a package deal. I should use them for a few days, use the EE, and then I can upgrade the passes for a small amount, to an annual pass. Now the annual passes get some discounts for meals etc??

We were going for 6 nights, but were going to get a 5 day pass, so we would be better of sticking with the 5 day pass, using it the first few days and then upgrading and use the annual passes for the remaining days. Since we were going to be one day short with the 5 day pass. Hope this makes sense?


Is this right, because it sounds like a good idea. Also opens up the possibility of returning within a year to use our passes again !!

 

[Mom2Joce]

Yes, you're getting it!! Here are a few links that will help you understand and put you on the right track

EE info: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=831894&highlight=annual+passes

Food Discounts/Black out dates/And lots of AP questions answered:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=831894&highlight=annual+passes

Disneylands AP rules: www.disneyland.com/ap

If you have any other questions I'm here for ya...don't hesitate to ask

 

[BigPigletFan]

Wow, just a plain 5-day park hopper is $159 (adult) without EE or anything. (FYI- it was $129 last year) And the Deluxe AP is $209- same price as what you paid for you 5-day hopper. And they made you pay to upgrade? Couldn't you just swap? I don't get it. The next AP is $329 for the Premium with no blockouts which you probably don't need unless you go back on a lot of Saturdays or during the holidays.

 

[Mom2Joce]

I wanted to let you know that they DID let me swap out the 209 tickets. I had one child hopper ticket at 179.00 and all I paid was 30 bucks to up that one to the annual pass! Hope that is more clear!!