March Check-In Thread!

[Sherry E]

I posted Easter-related info earlier (and there is more Easter-related info in this post, including links to blogs about Easter treats and goodies!).


Now, here are a few St. Patrick's Day-related blogs from previous years. Some of the treats may look a bit different this year, and the specific St. Patrick's Day activities in Downtown Disney could change, but I think you will find the same basic array of St. Patrick's Day fun.

"Charming Treats for St. Patrick’s Day 2014 at Disney Parks" – Disney Parks Blog; posted on March 15th, 2014 by Steven Miller, Merchandise Communications Manager

"Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort Goes St. Patrick’s Day Green This Weekend" – Disney Parks Blog; posted on March 13th, 2014 by John McClintock, Disney Public Relations

"St. Patrick’s Day at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Disneyland Resort" – Disney Food Blog; posted on March 13th, 2012 by Kim.

"Dining in Disneyland: St. Patrick’s Day Treats" – Disney Food Blog; posted on March 12th, 2011 by Heather.

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[wvnative]

We are currently planning to be in DL March 13-15. If everyone goes, we'll have 9 adults and 2 teens. My current reservations are at DI&S but I may be able to get a great discount at another hotel. Just waiting for the go ahead from my friend so everyone can book. I'm going to take a risk (I'm a bit of an overplanner so it kills me not to book as soon as I can) and wait to book my dining reservations until I have a final headcount. I'm sure it'll be fine. There's not anywhere I'm dying to eat this time. lol

 

[zanzibar138]

We've just made plans to include a 3 night stay at DLR as part of our anniversary trip (on the way home from Mexico) Assuming all goes to plan, we will land on 28th Feb and leave on 3rd March (our actual anniversary).

Was really excited when I realised that we will be there for Dapper Day again (had a great time at the Fall event last year), and hoping to be able to take advantage of some of the great Dapper Day rates at the DLH and for DH's tickets! I have an AP, so I'm just excited to get more use out of it before it expires!

At this stage only our last 2 nights are available at the DLH, so we'll have to find somewhere else for our first night.

 

[mum2merida]

FYI if you are thinking of extending from 3 days to 4 days I believe that you can just pay the difference which is usually cheaper than an additional 1 day ticket but I think it has to be done before you use the last day of your ticket. (we did this 4 years ago)---but check with Disney

 

[cbuck85]

I'm not sure they'd let us upgrade the military salute tickets. Even if they did, upgrading and even a day pass is more/barely less than the 3 day hopper ticket itself. We considered buying 2 for each of us for a total of 6 days, but that's probably overkill and would be wasted. We'll see how our 3 days go!

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

Saw this in the February thread:
Who is flying, who is driving?

We are driving in our brand new car. I'm excited about that. We will be driving to Burbank the first night because we are staying with my friend, then heading out to DL bright and early Saturday morning! It's going to be an 11-12 hour drive when you add in stops. I'm praying my son does ok with the drive. We have one of those DVD players for him to watch his movies on.
We drove from here to Sacramento a year ago for my grandpa's funeral and as long as we stopped every couple hours and let him stretch his legs he was fine. My plan is to leave here around 5 AM so hopefully he will sleep through the first 3 or 4 hours.

 

[cbuck85]

We are very nervously driving, also in our new vehicle! Our daughter is 2 and has never been the best traveler, but we recently bought a tablet for the car and she's done really well since then. The drive is about 12.5 hours nonstop, so add in stops and we have a very long trip ahead of us. We're going to stop and stay somewhere halfwayish in hopes it wont burn her out too badly, or turn her brain into mush from that much movie watching!

 

[ColdNeverBotheredMe]

Driving! Making one overnight stop on the way. We did it in one shot one time (almost eighteen hours, leaving at six in the morning and arriving in Anaheim at almost midnight) and decided never again. We're leaving right after school on Friday, the last day before spring break

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

Wow that is a long drive!! When we drove to Sacramento last year it was like the longest drive ever. But I think it was because it was dead of winter, so there wasn't much to look at, and that drive is just more bare. At least going to southern cali we get in to the "warmer" climate, drive by Las Vegas etc.
What kind of car did you get?? We bought a Kia Soul...it's my baby.

 

[zanzibar138]

Well, coming from Australia, you may have guessed that we'll be flying All 14 hour's worth.

We've decided to reduce the Disney component of this trip, since we'll be spending a week there in September. We're now only staying one night - the 4th of March. I'm still just thrilled that I get to use my AP again

 

[ToyStory3]

Will be there for a short solo trip the 6th and 7th. First trip ever. Can't wait!!!

 

[jenjersnap]

Hi all! Just booked a trip for 3/12-3/18 today! This is a make up trip for one that got cancelled last minute last summer due to a health emergency in my family, too bad it is shorter because my oldest can't take any time off school.

I made the plans without looking at refurbs or crowds because this is our only opportunity and, whew, looking rough crowdwise and my DH is about ready to cancel because of the Matterhorn closure, LOL.

Any March vets here who can talk crowd strategies? I feel a little overwhelmed by the details and planning since it is 5 years since our last trip. Need to make our dining plans soon too. Trying to decide about the WOC dining package...

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

We went the end of March in 2011 and it really wasn't that bad. But I have a different opinion since we mostly went in June when I was younger and that was awful...Utilize fast pass is the best thing to do. Have a plan which nights you want to go where!

 

[zanzibar138]

Any March vets here who can talk crowd strategies? I feel a little overwhelmed by the details and planning since it is 5 years since our last trip. Need to make our dining plans soon too. Trying to decide about the WOC dining package...

I'd hardly call myself a DLR vet, but we've been a couple of times now, and I thought I'd share the strategies we used to deal with the crowds on our last trip. Our last trip coincided with the beginning of Halloween time and Dapper Day, making for some very hot crowded days.

When we're on holidays we like to relax, so we're not rope drop or park closing people generally. Having said that, we did make rope drop at DCA a couple of times, and managed to get quite a lot done before the crowds hit. DL itself seemed to be pretty crazy even at rope drop, and I probably wouldn't bother if Peter Pan is down. Mainly we just got up at our leisure and wandered down mid morning.

We found that we could really only go for a couple of hours at once in the heat and crowds. When we needed a break, we caught a show or got a drink/snack/lunch, mainly at quick service locations. We like the Corner Cafe because you often get characters or a pianist for entertainment, and there's the beautiful backdrop of Main Street and the castle. Plus the frozen beverages were great in the September heat.

We went back to our hotel practically every day for an hour or two in the afternoons, even with the shorter opening hours. We really found that it helped to re-energize us and make the most of those last couple of hours at the parks. We usually left mid-afternoon, and stopped for an early dinner on the way back to the park. Over the weekend, we lingered a bit longer over dinner because we would still have plenty of park time afterwards.

Some general tips that have worked for me when it's crowded. Utilise FP, don't over-schedule, take breaks when you need to, visit the minor attractions for shorter wait times (for example Monsters Inc was a walk-on every single time). Go in with realistic expectations, that there will be lots of waiting in lines, and you probably won't do everything. Just enjoy what you can do. If you have something specific that you want to do, put some time aside in your trip to just stand in line and do it. Don't rush from one attraction to another, you'll just get frustrated with the crowds. Take the time to look at the detail and beauty in the parks.

As for the WOC package, I would only do it if you're planning to eat at one of those restaurants anyway. For example, I wanted to eat at Carthay Circle on our trip, so we chose to do the WOC lunch package. We still got to experience Carthay Circle, and get the best viewing area for the show, but it was much cheaper than a dinner package, and we didn't have to immediately rush over to the WOC area. Be aware that with the packages, you still have to arrive at the viewing area early if you want a good spot. We got there about half an hour early, and the front row was already taken.

Hope that helps!

 

[sophies*mom]

Trying to decide about the WOC dining package...

WOC is supposed be down for a lengthy refurbishment...

 

[ColdNeverBotheredMe]

We went last March the last week I believe, which was our spring break!
As out-of-state AP holders, we tried to spend lots of time in the parks during the dates that the Southern California passes were blocked out. Even so though, I didn't notice a HUGE increase in crowds when they came back. It was pretty crowded the whole time.
We too went back to the hotel every afternoon for naps and a break. We'd usually leave around one and come back about five after an early dinner. It worked great because that way we missed the busiest times and also were much more refreshed and energetic in the evenings. We'd get there at rope drop usually (we slept in one day) and usually stayed until closing.
I don't remember the crowds being TOO bad, although we always go to DL during crowded times (we have to because of our schedules) so maybe I'm just used to really crowded times. But we managed to do everything we wanted, we just utilized fastpasses really well, we never waited for longer than forty minutes or so (and that was for PP).
As for specific strategies we mostly just went with the flow as much as possible. One memorable evening we went all the way around paradise pier and rode every single ride (Sunday evening) in about an hour and a half! We tend to like to do the big rides multiple times so we also made sure we always had fastpasses for SOMETHING at all times.
It's not as scary as it seems to go during peak seasons, at least in my experience, we've always managed to have a great time and get everything in!

 

[zanzibar138]

WOC is supposed be down for a lengthy refurbishment...

Oh that's right. A bit sad for us too. Back in 2011, DH proposed at the 2nd WOC show on 4th March. We got married exactly 365 days later (but it was a leap year, so it was actually 3rd March). We were hoping to go on 4th March again this year to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. I guess we'll have to do find something else special to do

 

[Butte Family]

We'll be driving. Leaving Vancouver at 2 in the afternoon and driving straight through to Sacramento

 

[Ratherbeatdisneyland]

I ended up booking blue bayou last night. we had decided oh we won't do is this time because our son is too little...but I LOVE eating there. It's the one splurge I would like to do. I don't care if we eat at Mcdonald's the rest of the time.
I'm also trying to decide which day to use our magic morning. We are driving up from Burbank saturday morning, so I doubt we will get there early enough to use it then. Although that would be my preferred day just because it's Saturday so naturally its probably going to be the busiest day we have there, and we will probably be chomping at the bit to get to the parks anyway. Monday we have a reservation do the Minnie breakfast around 10 am so I'm not sure it's worth it to use it then either, since we will have to head over there so early. So that leaves Tuesday or Wednesday. I guess we will just play it by ear, but I'm totally the like to have a plan type. So it's hard for me to just "leave" it. LOL

 

[jenjersnap]

WOC is supposed be down for a lengthy refurbishment...

It re-opens March 12. Dining packages currently available.