Last Minute February trip from NY

[Disney Lvr of Old]

Hi all- it's been awhile! I got an email from the Desert Palms hotel and that made me think about Disneyland. I normally plan 2 years out; save money so we can stay concierge level at Paradise Pier and buy all the extras- World of Color Dessert, Fantasmic! and Eat at Blue Bayou. I'm a major planner; this on the fly thing is so against my nature!

DATES: 2/19-2/24 (flexible depending on airfare) So dates can be anywhere from 2/15 on. In Buffalo the kids have the entire President's Day week off as a midwinter break. Crowd Calendars seem to be somewhat favorable because this is normally low crowd time.

I'm trying to plan on the fly- cheapest flights I can find are $1200 so I have about $1200 for hotel and ground transfer. I plan on buying Salute tickets at the gate ( I am a retired Army Veteran).

The participants are Me and my freshly turned 11 year old DS.

Questions:

I need close walking distance and clean room with free WIFI. Free breakfast would be nice but is not mandatory. I know there are lists of hotels on the DIS but I'd like recommendations please!

Can I add the Max Pass to Salute tickets? Once I activate tickets can I add MP for all 3-4 days of the tickets?

I'm kind of looking forward to no set plans- no rushing but I will miss Early magic hours. And we normally go for 10 days and I'm planned day to day.

Thanks all! I've missed this place!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Welcome back! Check the CCI -- I think they have a veteran's/military discount. Their breakfast is continental, but generous (!). It usually lasts us the whole morning. I believe you can add MP to the Salute tickets once they are activated at the gate. Have a credit card loaded on the app to make things go more quickly. And then you can use the cc for Mobile Ordering, too. You'll add MP one day at a time and can add it for every day of the tickets. If the crowds are lower than you thought, you might not need MP every day, so see how things go.
There are new things to check out since your last visit. Check out the VOID in DTD -- your son may really enjoy that!

ETA: This recent thread has information on buying the Salute tickets at the booths: Buying military ticket at the gate. The last few posts have the most recent information. (In reference to the following post, there should be no tax on theme park tickets in CA.)

 

[matheke]

I just ordered my Salute tickets from Camp Pendeleton. They are a little cheaper than the gate price. There is a $10 Fedex charge but with the lower ticket price it was really only$4 more. If they charge tax at the gate you will actually save a couple of bucks. Ordered them Friday afternoon and had them Monday morning.

Hope you can get a decent flight. Always check alternate airports. Sometimes it is worth the drive to Pittsburgh.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

I almost always plan spur of the moment trips!
I wanted to chime in that it likely will be busy. A lot of schools have that week off and I've been surprised at the crowds that week in the past.

I'd check out CCI, too!

Have fun!

 

[moomy-san]

We're at CCI that week too it never disappoints!

 

[sherilaine]

We just booked a trip for the week before President's Day and we are not expecting low crowds as that is a convenient time for many to go - considering many schools are off- my kids are off part of the week before the long weekend. Also, with shorter park hours and limited entertainment planned for February I can see that making the parks feel more crowded than perhaps they are or at least have an impact on ride wait times. Finally with the deal on tickets for use up until May of this year, that's likely a big incentive for people to get in a trip before Star Wars land opens.

I think in general it's best to expect crowds no matter when you go now as the off season is not what it used to be, which is why we love MaxPass!

 

[Malcon10t]

Candy Cane Inn is my first choice. I've heard Desert Palms is nice too. Do they have a decent rate?

Have you booked your flight already? If not, have you looked at Jet Blue? They fly into Long Beach, and it looks like their rates are a couple hundred dollars cheaper.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

thanks all- it's so nice to see familiar faces! i am expected crowds for sure; but i'm not worried about them because there aren't any- "I must see THIS" - and i am so excited about Max Pass! DS was old enough last time for single rider line so that helped with the crowded lines too.

Thanks for convincing me- i will see you all in February!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If the budget allows, see if you can get a Premium Room at the CCI. Those rooms are larger, come with an amenities basket, bathrobes, DVD player (free rentals at the front desk), small refrigerator, small microwave, and breakfast delivered to the room every morning. (If you want more food, you are welcome to go to the breakfast room, too.) We love the breakfast in the room perk -- really helps us with getting ready in the mornings for the parks. And breakfast is always delivered on time, with the food exactly as requested.

 

[Becca1007]

If you can't get in at CCI, I always like the ParkVue Inn. Free wifi, good breakfast and closest to the crosswalk.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

CCI is sold out but the put me on the wait list for a premier room. I will check out the ParkVue - thanks for the advice!

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

Thought of a few other things. Is RSR still insane all day long and fast passes gone in a blink? DS and I didn’t have a problem with this since we used SR- we rode a few times in a row usually when we were over that way.

Now that I’m delving in there will be quite a few new things - Guardians, Incredicoaster and Pixar Pier.

I’m so happy.

 

[sherilaine]

RSR is a great example of the benefits of MaxPass - you just book it once you are in the park or even if you are in Disneyland you can book a fast pass. We visited last March and were able to ride this ride a couple of times a day using fast pass. The trips prior when you had to physically get a fast pass by a certain time in the day we often opted for single rider as well and sometimes even ended up in the same car together.

Guardians is AWESOME - we are big Marvel fans so my son who would never even consider riding Tower of Terror changed his tune when he realized it was now a ride where Rocket talks you through the plan rather than having some old guy on a tv screen talk about a show that pre-dates his mother. It was our favorite ride our last trip and we must have done it about a dozen times. They rotate the songs which are from the first movies sound track and it makes the ride so much more fun!

This will be our first trip on Incredicoaster - Screamin' was our favorite ride and was under construction our last visit so we are super excited to ride it!

So much fun once you start thinking more about it even when it's last minute.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

Speaking of Guardians- I don’t think I’m going to get my son on it. He was terrified of ToT; not because of the theme but the drops. He screamed the whole time, I felt like mother of the year. Can I ride by myself but have him with me like parent swap?

And I haven’t researched the Parks yet- am I reading you correctly that the Incredicoaster is Screamin’ redone? I really have a lot of reading to do tomorrow!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

With GOTG, your son can go through the line with you to see all the cool stuff (and it is cool!), then exit at the last minute -- just tell the CM that he doesn't want to ride. He might really like to see all the fun props and things at least once. Make sure to ride IC at least once at night -- we think it's a better ride at night, much like RSR.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

good morning! I just realized another something- i turn 50 2 weeks after the trip so i'm thinking i should make this all about ME! I haven't been to Disney around my birthday in 20 years. Anything special i should do for myself?

My kid is a Foodie at a young age so he won't be an obstacle if there is deliciousness involved.

City Hall still the place to go for badges?

Thank you all so much for all your help.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I'm so excited for you and your son! Last minute trips are the best! The next couple weeks are going to fly by for you since you have something FUN to look forward to in Sunny California

On the military salute tickets, I was going to suggest getting them ahead of time at any base that may have an ITT office near you. (They can order them if they only carry DisneyWORLD, being East Coast and all). We have found it's just so much easier to have them purchased and ready to go and loaded into the app even though it's super easy to get them at the ticket booths too (but we like to avoid lines if at all possible).

You are going to love MaxPass!

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I'm so excited for you and your son! Last minute trips are the best! The next couple weeks are going to fly by for you since you have something FUN to look forward to in Sunny California

On the military salute tickets, I was going to suggest getting them ahead of time at any base that may have an ITT office near you. (They can order them if they only carry DisneyWORLD, being East Coast and all). We have found it's just so much easier to have them purchased and ready to go and loaded into the app even though it's super easy to get them at the ticket booths too (but we like to avoid lines if at all possible).

You are going to love MaxPass!

Hi. Thanks- i am super excited and the nextmonth will FLY by! eek. I have no military bases anywhere near me. I saw a note about calling the ITT at Pendelton and having them FEdEx'ed to me. It is a lovely idea to not have to worry about going to the ticket booth on arrival. Thanks for the tip!

And I am SO excited about MP. I always worried DL would end up with the bands. yay!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

good morning! I just realized another something- i turn 50 2 weeks after the trip so i'm thinking i should make this all about ME! I haven't been to Disney around my birthday in 20 years. Anything special i should do for myself?

My kid is a Foodie at a young age so he won't be an obstacle if there is deliciousness involved.

City Hall still the place to go for badges?

Thank you all so much for all your help.

Birthday buttons can be obtained at City Hall, Chamber of Commerce, most shops (ask at the registers), some CMs (look for ones with pockets), on site hotel desks, etc. Wear your button prominently displayed so everyone can see it -- CMs respond to birthday buttons! Don't forget to note your birthday on any TS reservations you make. If you'd like to order yourself a custom cake to be delivered to any TS location, call the Dine Line. There is a cake thread on this forum -- the most recent posts have photos and up to date information. The HM cake is cute!