Just Back, thoughts

[luulu1999]

We flew for our first time from STL to SNA it wasnt as bad as I was expecting...we took Disneyland Resort Express to and from SNA...there was a bus waiting when we arrived which was great, the trip back to the airport not so great, our flight was 11:15, when I called the day before for our ride the lady said we would be picked up at 8:50 and be at the airport an hr and a half early, well he was late, we got there about 50 mins early and by the time a check in window opened we were ONE min shy of 45 mins which meant our bags were marked as late, in the end they still made it on the plane but very frustrating. We stayed at Stanford Inn and Suites and was very happy with it the kids had their own room with bunk beds and tv just wish it was closer because we had a horrible time with ART and if we go again it will def have to be closer, we got to see WoC and it was amazing, at first we had bad luck with meeting characters everytime we would see them out a person was standing at the end of the line not letting people in but we eventually got lots of pics and autographs I will say the Zootopia characters u have to line up at least 10 mins before they are suppose to be out because pretty much as soon as they come out the CM cuts the line off. Paint the Night, we got to the park at 8:00 and actually got front row seating right across from the train station, it was a great parade but there is a downside..if you arent watching the parade you are pretty much at a standstill its horrible you need to be in the land you plan on being in for the duration by about 745, it also sucks if you want to jast watch fireworks, the day we watched the parade fireworks were cancelled so the day we watched it was horrible trying to find a spot because of so many people already there for the parade and they only let you go certain ways very frustrating!! We also went to see Pirate Dinner and it was GREAT!!!!! We had the purple pirate and he was hilarious we all loved it!! They have this mac and cheese for appetizer time I guess it was deep fried itwas sooo good!!! I liked the mashed potatoes and salad a lot too!! Overall we had a really good trip!

 

[BriannaRuth]

Thanks for the mini TR! What is the Pirate Dinner?

 

[bcla]

Late baggage is typical when you cut it close, and I believe it depends on when it gets into the chute. It's also never guaranteed. There's always the chance of a random TSA inspection, even if you're there well ahead of time, along with you baggage arriving on the next flight out.

 

[Astylla]

Thanks for the mini TR! What is the Pirate Dinner?

http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/

We did this on our Honeymoon during 2010 and it was FANTASTIC !! I highly recommend it !
Funny story : When I went I had a Jack Sparrow shirt that said "Never trust a Pirate" - I had to go find the restroom shortly after things began due to drinking too much alcohol before we were let in the lobby area LOL.
So when I get outside some of the characters are there , and I ask which way and they point me to a door , that led outside. I turned around and they all laughed at me while pointing at my shirt. It was hilarious but it was all in good fun and they helped point me in the right direction

 

[luulu1999]

Thanks for the mini TR! What is the Pirate Dinner?

its in Buena Park you have dinner and they put on a show it was so much fun, its kind of like Medieval Times except with pirates

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

Good to know about the timing before the parade/fireworks. I'm having a tough time picking dinner reservation times - not wanting to be "stuck" coming or going.
Thank you!

 

[Ragtime109]

Sounds like you had a great trip!

 

[Mamato4boys]

Do you mind giving more info on the issues with ART? We are staying at the Stanford in November and bought 5 day passes for the ART (we have 4 kids, including an infant and a 2 year old, so walking is out of the question). I've been anxious about it, but it seems like most reports I've read said it is fine... not ideal, but fairly reliable and easy.

 

[STLstone]

We flew for our first time from STL to SNA it wasnt as bad as I was expecting...we took Disneyland Resort Express to and from SNA...there was a bus waiting when we arrived which was great, the trip back to the airport not so great, our flight was 11:15, when I called the day before for our ride the lady said we would be picked up at 8:50 and be at the airport an hr and a half early, well he was late, we got there about 50 mins early and by the time a check in window opened we were ONE min shy of 45 mins which meant our bags were marked as late, in the end they still made it on the plane but very frustrating. We stayed at Stanford Inn and Suites and was very happy with it the kids had their own room with bunk beds and tv just wish it was closer because we had a horrible time with ART and if we go again it will def have to be closer, we got to see WoC and it was amazing, at first we had bad luck with meeting characters everytime we would see them out a person was standing at the end of the line not letting people in but we eventually got lots of pics and autographs I will say the Zootopia characters u have to line up at least 10 mins before they are suppose to be out because pretty much as soon as they come out the CM cuts the line off. Paint the Night, we got to the park at 8:00 and actually got front row seating right across from the train station, it was a great parade but there is a downside..if you arent watching the parade you are pretty much at a standstill its horrible you need to be in the land you plan on being in for the duration by about 745, it also sucks if you want to jast watch fireworks, the day we watched the parade fireworks were cancelled so the day we watched it was horrible trying to find a spot because of so many people already there for the parade and they only let you go certain ways very frustrating!! We also went to see Pirate Dinner and it was GREAT!!!!! We had the purple pirate and he was hilarious we all loved it!! They have this mac and cheese for appetizer time I guess it was deep fried itwas sooo good!!! I liked the mashed potatoes and salad a lot too!! Overall we had a really good trip!

Did you fly on Southwest? that's the same route We'll be going.

Thanks for the info on the Zootopia characters. That will be a must-meet for my two kids.

 

[luulu1999]

Did you fly on Southwest? that's the same route We'll be going.

Thanks for the info on the Zootopia characters. That will be a must-meet for my two kids.

Yep we went thru southwest!! we got tonthe characters at like 9:09 and the line was closed off when they had just came out at 9 and he said they would be back around 10 so we went into meet ana and elsa with no wait and went to turtle talk with crush it was prob 9:50 when we came out and the line was already long and right after they came out it was closed off..and they only do pics no autographs...def use the disneyland app it helped so much with meeting characters and ride times!!!

 

[luulu1999]

Do you mind giving more info on the issues with ART? We are staying at the Stanford in November and bought 5 day passes for the ART (we have 4 kids, including an infant and a 2 year old, so walking is out of the question). I've been anxious about it, but it seems like most reports I've read said it is fine... not ideal, but fairly reliable and easy.

there are 2 lines that service Stanford, 1&2 they are suppose to come every 15mins but it is usually 30+mins and it seemed like there was only one bus running both routes or something cuz I would think if there were more it would only be a 15 min wait, at night when you are trying to leave the parks there are a ton of ppl lined up at the #1 spot and a ton lined up at the #2 spot, they hv one bus tht says 1&2 on it and it usually stops at the #2 spot so then all the people at the number 1 spot dont get on because they hv to get behind the number 2 ppl, most the time i waited in one line and my bf in the other cuz we never knew which stop it would go to....I will say if you see you just missed the bus you can walk to the toy story lot its maybe 2 blocks down and there are buses there constantly, we also did this one night leaving the parks because a bus had just left and we didnt think we would make it on the next one either and the line for the toy story bus was actually wrapped all the way around to where the 1 stop was and we were still on a toy story bus before another one came to the stops

 

[Mamato4boys]

there are 2 lines that service Stanford, 1&2 they are suppose to come every 15mins but it is usually 30+mins and it seemed like there was only one bus running both routes or something cuz I would think if there were more it would only be a 15 min wait, at night when you are trying to leave the parks there are a ton of ppl lined up at the #1 spot and a ton lined up at the #2 spot, they hv one bus tht says 1&2 on it and it usually stops at the #2 spot so then all the people at the number 1 spot dont get on because they hv to get behind the number 2 ppl, most the time i waited in one line and my bf in the other cuz we never knew which stop it would go to....I will say if you see you just missed the bus you can walk to the toy story lot its maybe 2 blocks down and there are buses there constantly, we also did this one night leaving the parks because a bus had just left and we didnt think we would make it on the next one either and the line for the toy story bus was actually wrapped all the way around to where the 1 stop was and we were still on a toy story bus before another one came to the stops

Thanks for the details and the tips!! Hopefully when we go, things are running a bit more smoothly, and if not, we will definitely look into walking to and from the Toy Story lot and catching a bus.

 

[Chrisfilm]

Yeah, the parade/fireworks crowds were a disaster. I have to assume it was a result of 1) not having a day parade, 2) the closure of the path between Fantasyland and Frontierland, and 3) DCA closing at 9 instead of 10. On one night we were trying to get out of the park at fireworks time when they cancelled them and it was a mess trying to get out. Another night we were trying to get our kids who were with their aunt and uncle and literally could not get from Frontierland to Tomorrowland until the parade was over and then it was a mess of a crowd trying to get out.

I also had really wanted to walk down main street at night like in trips in the past, but that was not possible with parade/fireworks/parade taking up the entire evening (since park closed at 11 instead of 12)

 

[luulu1999]

Yeah, the parade/fireworks crowds were a disaster. I have to assume it was a result of 1) not having a day parade, 2) the closure of the path between Fantasyland and Frontierland, and 3) DCA closing at 9 instead of 10. On one night we were trying to get out of the park at fireworks time when they cancelled them and it was a mess trying to get out. Another night we were trying to get our kids who were with their aunt and uncle and literally could not get from Frontierland to Tomorrowland until the parade was over and then it was a mess of a crowd trying to get out.

I also had really wanted to walk down main street at night like in trips in the past, but that was not possible with parade/fireworks/parade taking up the entire evening (since park closed at 11 instead of 12)

Yes!!! we were trying to go from tomorrowland to adventureland it it was just horrible and they dictate what way you can go