Lilo&Stitch and Goofy b'fast - Ps's to make....

[mommyof2boys1girl]

and no more procrastinating!!! Shame on me for waiting this long....I think I am just afraid to commit to a "plan" - funny - you wouldn't know it to look at my touring plans I have made for our holiday - dh says the only things that are missing is how fast we have to walk each leg and how many steps it is from one ride/attraction to another. I've even scheduled in "just in case" bathroom breaks! boy am I in trouble....

So my big question is - when is the best time to make ps's for these two b-fasts?

We are an "early to bed, early to rise" family - the kids rarely sleep in past 6am! We will have a time change - Pacific time is an hour earlier than we are, so that means we'll be rising at 5am Cali time!
We are also there for off season - April 29th to May 6, so the park shouldn't be too terribly busy, and the hours are usually 10-8 on weekdays. Our hotel also offers a continental bfast, so we can grab snacks there first if we are booking a later bfast.

a) We would like to do Lilo and Stitch on our last day at the park - kind of a "last hurrah" celebration thing. I am thinking if we book an early seating (around 8 or so??), we'll be done bfast and over to the gates in time to still get in to the park at opening (10am) and get in a full day of park time. Will we miss any special character interactions going at this time? Am I budgeting enough time (2 hrs) to eat, do our character thing, and still get from the PP to the DL gates in time for opening? What's the best way to get from our hotel (Camelot - offsite) to the PP? Monorail, or just hoof it?

B) Our other bfast plan is Goofy's, on our "day off" from the parks - we've booked in a "day of rest" on Saturday - with the assumption that it will be the most busy day at the parks during our whole trip, hence the day we would most want to avoid being at the parks! So I am thinking we could sleep in late (plans are to be out late Fri nite doing F! and fireworks and/or DEP, so sleeping in would be good!), hit Goofy's around 9 or so, then spend some time shopping in DTD or at the hotel pool or just walking around the hotel areas people watching. Again, will we miss anything by booking "late"? I have heard some characters may be 'missing' later in the mornings - ie they are needed in the parks, so they aren't seen at the bfasts anymore? True/false?

Any ideas/suggestions/inputs appreciated! I know i am making this way more difficult than it needs to be - what can I say? It is the way of my people...

 

[bumbershoot]

Monorail is definitely out. You'd have to enter the park, get to Tomorrowland, and take the monorail out to DTD, which only drops you off before DLH, and there's still a hike to get to PP. So no on the monorail.

Camelot is over on Harbor...so just walk down Harbor, go in the same entrance walkway to the parks that you normally take, and once you're through the bag checks, just go out the opposite side into DTD.

From there it's the same story as you've seen us all mention of the best way to get to PP. You have a choice.

1. Just go all the way through DownTown Disney, when you see the DLH and the big sorcerer's hat, turn left, and follow the path to Paradise Pier, then the signs to the restaurant.

2. Go a bit into DTD until you see Haagen Dasz on the right, and Sephora and Libby Lu on the left. Enter the big gate (if open) between Sephora and Libby Lu, following the semi-outdoor pathway to the automatic doors of Grand Californian. Follow the carpeted hallway until you're entering the lobby (in that hallway there are some steps, but there's also a ramp over to the side in case of stroller-walking), then turn right about as soon as you can. Leave the GCH via the big beautiful stained glass automatic doors, and you'll see Paradise Pier across the street and you can figure it out from there.


Since you are an early-rising family, I say just go with that and do the breakfast on the early side. You'll have to call Disney Dining to find out how early that is, though!


I think your day off sounds nice. Just know that to get to DTD you do have to go through the bag check area, and then you're right in the middle with a park on either side of you. Depending on how much your kids are enjoying things, you might have a struggle on your hands, with the kids possibly wanting to go into the parks while you're working on a day off. Just something to be aware of so you can set their expectations.

And, of course, YOU might be having a struggle with yourself as well.

Those are the thoughts I have for now.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Monorail is definitely out. You'd have to enter the park, get to Tomorrowland, and take the monorail out to DTD, which only drops you off before DLH, and there's still a hike to get to PP. So no on the monorail.


I think your day off sounds nice. Just know that to get to DTD you do have to go through the bag check area, and then you're right in the middle with a park on either side of you. Depending on how much your kids are enjoying things, you might have a struggle on your hands, with the kids possibly wanting to go into the parks while you're working on a day off. Just something to be aware of so you can set their expectations.

And, of course, YOU might be having a struggle with yourself as well.

Those are the thoughts I have for now.

Ok - showing my ignorance on the monorail thing! Thanks for the heads up, Molly!

And thanks also for the warning about our day off - I do intend to discuss with my boys how we are NOT going into the park, but we will get to do some shopping and such (we only have 5 day parkhoppers, so going in on a whim just isn't ok!) But eldest is old enough to figure it out,and middle ds won't kick up too much fuss if his brother doesn't back him up! We'll probably bribe them with the promise of a souvenier of their choice if they don't fuss about going into the parks -hey, I am not above bribery when it suits my purpose!

I am also trying to get a general idea of the layout of things (you mentioned the baggage check, etc...) so I know a bit of what to expect - Google Earth is my friend!!

Anyone know how early the baggage check is open? For example, I have heard the Lilo and Stitch bfast is open as early as 7am, but will the baggage check be open by then if the park doesn't open till 10? If not, are we allowed to go through to the PP, or are we SOL?

Oh, and thanks, Guru!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm so all-knowing...lol.


I have heard stories of people getting into line at the park gates before the security people are there, and then having to get out of line to line up at bag check...thereby losing the place they had gotten for themselves at the gates.

Therefore I must assume that you can go through the esplanade even when the bag check people are not there.

And just to set your expectations...picture a smallish but wide tent, or do Canadians call them marquees like the British do (a huge expense of our wedding-planning was buying British wedding magazines...wow those were expensive, but so much more fun for me than the American mags), over some glorified card tables. It's not something that can be locked up tight, even if they wanted to.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

I'm so all-knowing...lol.


...picture a smallish but wide tent, or do Canadians call them marquees like the British do

Nah - we're a little less formal on this side of Greenwich Mean Time - we call 'em tents too!

 

[bumbershoot]

Nah - we're a little less formal on this side of Greenwich Mean Time - we call 'em tents too!

Aw well, guess ya can't be perfect. Canada seems to be close, though!


Wish I wasn't always the one giving you answers, what if things have changed? Your whole holiday is based on me, it seems, sometimes (in possibly my more egotistical moments, LOL). But hey, I'm here and hubby and son are playing chess (the first Harry Potter movie has caused DS to be incredibly interested in chess, and DH loves playing it) while watching Ratatouille, so why not?

I wish our trips were overlapping!!!

 

[ptlycloudy]

We have done the day off thing like you also. It wasn't too bad to walk through without going to the parks for my girls. They were fine with it when I told them we would be going back the next day. The lure of the Lego store, and Goof'y's and the promise of swimming was enough to keep them happy. On the PP day if it were my family we would take a cab over to breakfast since it will be a park day with lots of walking. This would get us there on time for a reservation and provide a pleasant start to our day. Of course I place I high value on low stress, so a cab is worth the cost. We have actually never done a character breakfast outside the park before going to the park that day. We usually do it on a day off or do one inside the park. I am not much help with the timing.

We have been to character breakfasts late (after 10) and have never found the interaction lacking. My favorite is to do Minnie's breakfast, late morning, after early morning entry and getting a couple of hours of rides in. We have just walked up without reservations and are seated outside, it's great. The characters still come out to see you and you can people watch in between. My girls really like this one, it just has great atmosphere outside watching people walk by, they prefer it to sitting inside.

I am a "planner" also. Just be able to let go if your plans don't quite work. You can cancel reservations if everyone is too tired, and skip some rides if the lines are too long. After many trips my "plans" work best when I just use them as a guide. I found this out when my youngest dd would rather , play in the water at DCA. play with her Mickey balloon and watch parades . When I let go of the plan and followed what my girls wanted to do, we had a memorable time!!

Have fun!!