Leaving Soon! How does my plan look?

[4evrdisney]

Hey all you Disneyland experts! We are leaving Sunday and I could use your help with my plan. We will have our 3 year old and 1 year old with us so we'll definitely need daily nap/rest time! If you have any suggestions feel free to post them - I would love the help. We are just using this as a starting point - we want to be flexible with our kids but also know that having a plan to fall back on will give us some direction and hopefully we won't miss anything. Thanks!!

Sunday
Arrive 1:30pm at John Wayne
Check-in GCH
Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen
Fireworks at DL

MONDAY
ToonTown Morning Madness
Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Astro Orbitor
Pirates
Winnie the Pooh
Splash Mountain?
Big Thunder Mountain

Lunch at Pizza Port/Tomorrowland Terrace?
Dinner at Rainforest Cafe

TUESDAY
Early Entry/Magic Morning Day
Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Matterhorn
Teacups
Mr. Toad
Carousel
Pinnochio
Snow White
Casey Junior

Pirates
Winnie the Pooh
Big Thunder
Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer

Lunch at Blue Bayou

WEDNESDAY
California Adventure Day
Toy Story Mania
Bug’s Life
Playhouse Disney
Monster’s Inc
Carousel


Lunch at Pacific Wharf Cafe
Dinner at Hooke's Pointe or Storytellers?

THURSDAY
Early Entry
Nemo
Buzz Lightyear
Space Mtn Fastpass
Pirates!
Jungle Cruise
Tarzan’s Treehouse
Enchanted Tiki Room

Lunch at Golden Horseshoe
Dinner at?

FRIDAY
Goofy's Kitchen Character Breakfast
Check-out GCH
Head to John Wayne

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wow i love they way you have it planed out. it looks grate but remember some times you may not get the rides in right when you say. you may decied to switch things around. i usely have what food or at least one meal a day set. and then where i want to go what part of the park in begging of the day.

I never can keep such a strickt scedual lol i like to rome around
your doing dinner at goofys and brunch? would you want to do storytellers breakfast? that way you get both in there or princess breakfast? do your kids's like them

 

[4evrdisney]

Oh shoot - that was a typo on my part It should have said Storyteller's for breakfast the last day!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

ahh alright then that sounds good. have fun dont forget to take pics

 

[Jenn1116]

Looks good! I'd tweak Monday though:

MONDAY
ToonTown Morning Madness
Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Astro Orbitor
Pirates
Winnie the Pooh
Splash Mountain?
Big Thunder Mountain
Since you're already in ToonTown you mght want to just stay on the left side (Adventureland, etc,) then head to Tomorrowland. This would fit in with your lunch plan. Although if the crowds are light it may not matter


Have fun!

 

[NicksMommy]

OMG! This makes me realize I have no set plan - I start to panic! I have never planned before, not even for Character meals, and have always been just fine and got into everything we wanted. From reading here this year I have made reservations and am thinking I now need to plan our days!!!!!!!

 

[silence]

OMG! This makes me realize I have no set plan - I start to panic! I have never planned before, not even for Character meals, and have always been just fine and got into everything we wanted. From reading here this year I have made reservations and am thinking I now need to plan our days!!!!!!!

The only "planning" we do is typically a few PS for the trip, but no more than 1 a day. I HATE being "tied" to a specific plan. We do have a system per se, in that we do utilize FP to the max, so once we get to the parks, we pick a "land" and then start collecting them while we walk to rides in that area. I refuse to wait in long stand by lines for rides that have FP.

Anyways, I guess my point is, all of it can be done without daily plans. I found the couple of times I made them, I never once stuck to them...especially during off season visits.

 

[NicksMommy]

okay panic is over... I just remembered I am going in off-season... Not going to be as

Thanks!!

 

[ballarinamom]

On you way to Toontown Morning Madness, pick up a FP for Buzz or Autotopia. It can save alot of time but sonetimes it's not needed. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[ballarinamom]

Like jen116 said, be aware that on the TTMM day you are crossing from TT to Tomorrowland to Adventureland and then back to Tomrrowland for lunch. I would rethink that a bit. Try not to cross the park so much with little one. Review the map on the Disney website to get an idea of what can be combined without criss crossing

 

[RaeRae's Mommy]

Ok Just got back. We stayed at GCH and the park was very light the lines were great. Here's some tips. Do Nemo on MM right when you get there. We where on the 3rd Sub that morning. If you are going to rent strollers from the park. The first day prepay the every day of your stay the line at the stroller rental are long and If you prepay you go right to the CM handing them out. You do not stand in the line. I was using my Disney VISA so I had to stand in line. But on MM days I just went back later. The best thing that worked for us was picking a land and doing everything in that land and then going to the next land.
We did Goofy's Kitchen on tuesday night and it was great. The food was pretty good for a kids buffet.

 

[cheshiregirl]

On you way to Toontown Morning Madness, pick up a FP for Buzz or Autotopia. It can save alot of time but sonetimes it's not needed. Better to be safe than sorry!

Having just done MTTMM this past Monday, I would highly recommend getting there as soon as possible. Be at the front of the pack at rope drop and then book it back to TT. We got to do photo ops with almost every character BEFORE the ceremony started at 10:20. Those who got there a few minutes later ended up either missing out completely on meeting the characters or had to wait in line afterwards while we were happily exploring the rides and houses with no crowds whatsoever.

Also, right now neither Buzz or Autopia have FP, so don't waste your time. IF you do choose to send a FP runner, make it for Space or Indy and have them meet you inside TT.

 

[4evrdisney]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!

I'm going to rearrange things so we do everything in one land at a time.

For those of you who just did TTMM - was it worth it? Was it fun?

Also, any suggestions for first rides for our 3 year old? We want to ease him into rides so he isn't totally scared. The main reason I thought I'd do Buzz Lightyear after TTMM is because he is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear and the other Toy Story characters. I'm open to suggestions though!

 

[Brady's Mom]

When we went the first time with our then 2 and 4 year old DS's they absolutely loved Buzz. We have to ride it several times a visit now because they like it so much. You could always try Dumbo, that always seems to be a winner for little kids.

 

[BlueBayou]

MONDAY
ToonTown Morning Madness
Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Astro Orbitor
Pirates
Winnie the Pooh
Splash Mountain?
Big Thunder Mountain

Lunch at Pizza Port/Tomorrowland Terrace?
Dinner at Rainforest Cafe

Looks like you have a great plan. Going mid-week you are probably going to get more done than on your agenda.

I would recommend the Pizza Port over Tomorrrowland Terrace. The couple of Terrace meals I have had have just been okay.

I would also recommend Bengal BBQ in adventureland for quick counter service.

 

[BlueBayou]

Also, any suggestions for first rides for our 3 year old? We want to ease him into rides so he isn't totally scared. The main reason I thought I'd do Buzz Lightyear after TTMM is because he is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear and the other Toy Story characters. I'm open to suggestions though!

You might try youtube ride video... so he is familiar with the sights and sounds of the rides/shows.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Your plan looks good, overall, but it is VERY specific. Don't force yourself to stick exactly to your list is the spirit moves you and your family to want to do "that" ride instead of the next one on your list. That's part of what makes a visit to Disney so fun.

Also, don't forget that you will come across characters (hopefully) that you / your kids may want to stop and visit with, watch, etc.... Any plan to watch a parade? How about any shows? And shopping? You might want to make sure you leave time for things other than rides. There's lots to do at Disneyland besides ride.

I agree whole-heartedly with the "do one land at a time" concept. It just makes sense time-management wise.

I personally like Tomorrowland Terrace (and they have fruit plattters that I love!) so I have to be the counter-argument to that restaurant and say, "Enjoy it!"

The line for Nemo last Wednesday at about 7pm was 20 minutes. I wouldn't fret it too much. The crowds are VERY gone.

My only other note is that I noticed you have Blue Bayou on your list. Do you have reservations? If not, you might want to book one.

Enjoy your trip!
- Dreams

P.S.

OMG! This makes me realize I have no set plan - I start to panic! I have never planned before, not even for Character meals, and have always been just fine and got into everything we wanted. From reading here this year I have made reservations and am thinking I now need to plan our days!!!!!!!

Breathe. I personally would not suggest planning so specifically. Figure out if you want to do any of the really popular meals (character breakfast or Blue Bayou), make sure you plan for fireworks and parades since they are set times, and then just have a general "which land next" plan and you will be fine.