Just got back from DL, 1st timer report

[kwally]

This board was so helpful before our trip that thought I would post a little about our trip incase it can help any other first timers. There were 5 of us (me, hubbyt, daughter 7, sons 5 & 2 1/2) We left Friday and arrived at LAX at 11:30am, we caught the DL express at noon and it took exactly one hour 15 min. to get to HOJO, we were the last stop. HOJO was very nice, very clean, beds were very comfortable. We didn't make any requests and were in building 2, 3rd floor, facing the pool. We had no problems at all with our room, you could hear the interstate, but we were so exhausted that it was not a problem at all. There was a little pool noise, but nothing bad. The walk to the parks was about 10 minutes. We had no trouble with it. We did bring our own stroller, I bought a use sit-n-stand from a friend and it worked perfect b/c the older kids got tired and could climb in and out easily. We went straight over Fri. around 2:30pm and it was insanely busy! We went straight to Toontown to see Mickey at his house, that is what my kids wanted to see right away. We had to only wait 5 min. We didn't have a plan for the first day since I figured we would be tired, but we ended up being there until 8pm. We did a few rides, hit the parade and took everything in. Saturday we thought if we got up in time we would do MM, and the kids woke up early and we got there at 7:20am, but after we got in, I wished I would have gotten there right at 7am, there were NO lines in FL. And bonus was it was suppose to rain, cloudy all day so no crowds on Saturday. We rode everything with no lines! Left DL at 1pm and walked Downtown to find something to eat, went to ESPN Zone, only 5 min. wait and it was great! We sat for 1 1/2 hours, little one napped, then went to CA. Rode, caught parade, it started to rain during it and the park cleared out! We went and did the shows, Aladdin is a MUST see! We got there late, sat 2nd row of balcony and the seats were GREAT! The kids could see it all! Sun. and Mon we left the parks and went to Sea World and Legoland which we loved! Tuesday we went back to DL. Now...I knew I only had one MM and we used it Saturday, I wish I would have kept it for Tues since the park didn't open until 9am and we were up early, but it was fine, the crowds weren't bad then. We left Wed. morning. So we had 2 1/2 days at the parks and we did every single ride we wanted to. If the weather would have been nicer and bigger crowds, we probably wouldn't have been so lucky. I debated a long time before we went on whether to change our plans, but it worked out well for us. For meals, we ate a big breakfast around 6:30ish, then waited until 1:30pm for a big lunch then snacked in between. If we were hungry at night we would eat something quick, but most times we grabbed a snack and the kids crashed. We ate breakfast at Mimi's and Millie's and both were wonderful, HUGE portions, even the kids meals! At Mimi's if you get the Mickey pancakes, you get two of them, so the second time we went there we shared since they would only eat one. Just ask for an extra plate, was no trouble! At DL we ate at Village Haus in FL, burger and nuggets, it was fine, nothing special, but did the trick. We ate at Taste Pilots in CA and the chicken sandwiches were good! ESPN Zone was wonderful! Churous were the kids fav snack and Burrbank IceCream! We brought in our own snacks too, but rarely ate them, they wanted stuff there. I figured if we were coming all this way, we would enjoy ourselves, I didn't count pennies! For the rides, use the FP, supper easy and you kids will appreciate it! My kids would ask before every ride "does it have a fast ticket?" My son LOVED Buzz so we would use FP for that, and we also loved Soarin for FP. If you do Jedi Training, wear a Star Wars shirt or sign and you will most likely get picked. We watched the show once, then the next day my son wanted to do it. He wore his Star Wars shirt, they picked kids next to him but passed him by, so I quickly picked him up on my shoulder, they saw his shirt and picked him right away. Took daughter to see Princesses at FF, had no idea the wait would be so long, SLOW moving lines, then only 3 princesses to see. I didn't know any of this so was disappointed, but she didn't seem to care, I figure if you have a girl, you have to see them anyway. And I didn't buy an autograph book, but luckily there are some right there at PFF, so you can get one quick. My daughter is 7 1/2 and informed me at her 7 yo b-day she doesn't like princesses any more, but that all changed at DL! Let's see, what else....we never left the parks to go back to the hotel to rest. When my 2 1/2 yo got tired, I would hold him on a bench let him sleep in stroller, it often worked he would sleep as we walked to lunch, would sleep the whole time we ate, still get a good nap in. He ate at odd times, but you have to accept that on vacation. I didn't worry about eating habits, we will get back on track at home! It's vacation after all!!!! We left when everyone was exhausted, around 8:30pm, so we never saw the fireworks, but they didn't care, they were too tired. We will see them next trip. The walk back to hotel was fine, 10 min. The older two would ride and I would carry 2 1/2 and it wasn't bad at all. Very manageable! Now, saying that, HOJO was wonderful, but we weren't there much at all, too cool to use the pools, so next trip if it was not going to be as warm, we might stay closer since we aren't in rooms much. But it was very nice, clean, comfortable, and the gift shop was nice. I liked having fridge, we bought juice and milk in gift shop to have in our room. Well, think that is all I really wanted to share. Hope that helps anyone out there.

 

[ikeymakes3]

thank you for your report! anxious for our visit!

 

[50sjayne]

What an awesome first trip! That's great you took advice here and acted on it!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I'm glad you had fun. When would you like to make your 2nd visit to S CA/DLR?

 

[DizFan13]

Thanks for sharing! It sounds so wonderful, and makes me so anxious to get there!

 

[cepmom]

sounds like you had a great time. How long was the drive from Anaheim to San Diego? We are going this summer for our first visit, first San Diego then Anaheim/LA. Can't wait!

 

[kwally]

We took the Grayline tours to Sea World and Legoland. It was 1 hour 45 min to San Diego Sea World and one hour to Legoland. If you are driving yourself I am sure you can do it faster. Once you could see the ocean, the drive was beautiful, especially driving back as the sun was setting!