Memorial Day Trip for WDW Vets-it's our 1st time *updated 6/4 Day 2 of 5 wedding day*

[Icecoldpenguin]

Hi guys,
My name is Teresa and I am a first timer to Disneyland in just a few days. I am WDW vet and my DH and I met, got engaged and married at WDW. My brother in law is getting married at DL on Friday and this will be my first ever trip there.

Now I know it will be slammed and sure had I had the chance to pick when I went this probably would not have been the time frame I would have chosen. I have written trip reports for my WDW trips before and I thought it would be good to start this as a pre-trip report hopefully get some advice and then change it to a trip report.

This trip we are traveling to the wedding just my Husband and I and most of our DL touring will be just us 2.

So here are our current plans:

Thursday May 23rd: Arrival and Wedding Rehearsal Day

Arrival at airport: 10:50am
Hotel: Sheraton Garden Grove

Rehearsal Events:
2-4pm Welcome Event
6pm Rehearsal
7pm Dinner

Friday May 24th: Wedding Day

Wedding prep and wedding day events will last from early morning until about 5pm

not planning on doing a park this will be a rest for the evening and maybe go to downtown disney day

I am aware this will be the 24 hour day but due to not being able to go until later and fear of park closures we are not investing time in a ticket to go to the parks. This is also a Grad Night so that makes things even more logistically crazy

Saturday May 25th: California Adventure Day

Park Hours: 9am to 10pm

Dinner Dining Reservation at Carthay Circle at 8:10pm for the second World of Color Show

We chose this day because my must ride is radiator springs racers and I wanted a day that did not have any extra magic hours. The plan is to get there early and do the wide right technique mentioned on the boards. I plan to ride the ride and then get a FP once we are done riding. Or should I do that the other way around. I am not even sure I know where the fast pass distribution is for RSR.

I have been trying to make my list of must rides, would like to ride and only ride if time list this is what I have so far.

Must Ride or See:
* Aladdin
*Radiator Springs Racers
*California Scremin'
*Luigi's Flying Tires
*Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
*Silly Symphony Swings (at night)
*Mickey's Fun Wheel
*world of color
*all of cars land including shops
*twilight neon light up show in cars land
*DJ's Dance and Drive in Cars land

Would Like to Ride/See:
*Red Car Trolleys
*Little Mermaid
*Muppet Vision
*Tower of Terror
*Toy Story Midway Mania
*Monsters Inc Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
*Mad t party
*red car news boys
*pixar play parade

If Time Permits:
*Golden Zephyr
*Jumpin Jellyfish
*Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
*Soarin'
*Grizzly River Run
*a bug's land attractions
*minnie's fly girls show
*walt disney imagineering blue sky cellar
*disney animation
*turtle talk with crush
*king triton's carousel
*Character Meet and Greets

Sunday May 26th: Disneyland Day

Park Hours: 8am to 11pm

Dining Reservation: Blue Bayou 2:00pm

This day does have an early morning hour from 7am to 8am (we are staying off property so this will not be accessible to us)

Big Thunder Mountain is also down for rehab during this time

This park does not hold as much draw to us since we are huge WDW fans but we are open minded and want to see the comparisons between rides. We will try to get as much in as possible. Here is the list of Must Rides, Would like to Ride and if time permits.

Must Ride or See:
*Finding Nemo
*Pirates
*Indiana Jones
*Space Mountain
*Haunted Mansion
*Matterhorn
*Splash Mountain
*Jungle Cruise
*Alice in Wonderland
*Roger Rabbits Car toon spin
*Mr Toads Wild Ride
*Monorail
*Dumbo
*Winnie the Pooh
*Mickey and the Magical Map

Would Like to Ride or See:
*Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
*Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
*Storybook land canal boats
*Disneyland Railroad
*Casey Jr. Circus train
*Peter pans flight
*Disneyland Fireworks (will be Magical while we are there)
*Pinocchios Daring Journey
*Snow Whites Scary Adventures
*Mickeys Soundsational parade

Time Permitting:
*Fantasmic
*Enchanted Tiki Room
*Star Tours (only because I have ridden the one in WDW so many times huge star wars fan here)
*Its a Small World
*Buzz Lightyears Astro Blasters
*Mad Tea Party
*Tom Sawyer Island
*Tarzans Treehouse
*Davy Crockett Canoes
*Toontown
*Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk through
*character meet and greets

Monday May 27th: Head Home to Florida

We will be leaving early in the morning so we will not be able to tour anything this day

I plan on getting glow with the show ears so I am excited to wear those. I would love to get pictures and autographs with characters but due to time constraints that may not happen.

We will probably also take breaks but we will have to see.

What do you guys think of our touring plans and the attractions we want to see? Is there anything that should change categories in your opinion. Cant wait to hear what you guys think and then to share what happened on the trip with you.

Teresa

 

[librarygeek]

Joining in! I've never been to DL so I have no advice, but I'm excited to hear about your experiences once you go! I've heard Carthay Circle is great so I'm glad you're getting dinner there. We're hoping to make it out to DL in the next few years and I'm so excited thinking about it!

 

[Princessjenna7]

Hello and welcome to the West Coast Disney fun!
I am fairly new to this DIS boards stuff, but I live right next to Disneyland and go there all the time, so I hope I can help.

First of all Great job having reservations for the restaurants! That is smart thinking! I do not completely remember your list, but I will give you as many tips on what I can remember. It's going to be crazy busy all over the Disney area. If you have early entry to any parks, I suggest you utilize them! If you can get in as soon as it opens, that will be your best bet to get in as many rides as you can! I will give you my personal picks of things you want to get done. For California:
Radiator Springs Racers
California Screamin
Tower of Terror
Toy Story
Silly Symphony Swings
Luigi's Tires

So when you get into California you will go to hub to the areas and will see a very long line to you north west, that will be the Radiator springs fast pass line. If you come as soon as it opens, you can go on that ride first. That will have the worst waits all day. If not maybe do a trade off to wait in the fast pass line. If you do not waste your fast pass on that you can swing by and get a fast pass at either Tower of Terror or California Screamin. Right by California Screamin is the Toy Story ride. So if you get the fast pass there you can go on Toy Story. By that time you'll probably have a 30min wait. Mickey's Fun Wheel and the Silly Symphony will have moderate waits throughout the day. Your crowded rides will be all of Radiator Springs, Tower of Terror, Soarin over California, California Screamin, and if its hot Roaring Rapids. I hope this helps.

For Disneyland:
Indiana Jones
Space Mountain
Star Tour
Nemo
Buzz Lightyear
Splash Mountain

The rides that fill up fast are pretty much all those mention except for Buzz Lightyear. That will get to about a 30min wait later in the day. I would get a fast pass to Indiana Jones and go on Space Mountain. Nemo does not have fast passes, so I advise you to go early on that one. Get a fast pass for Star Tour when possible.a lot of people like the Peter Pan Ride, but that has never been my favorite. If that was one you wanted to go on, do that one ASAP as well.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions on anything, do not hesitate to message me back! We will be braving the crowds on Saturday for a birthday party, so I will feel your pain. Good luck and hope you have an awesome time!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Joining in! I've never been to DL so I have no advice, but I'm excited to hear about your experiences once you go! I've heard Carthay Circle is great so I'm glad you're getting dinner there. We're hoping to make it out to DL in the next few years and I'm so excited thinking about it!

Becky I really cant wait to do a trip report and I think we should do a podcast on it. HAHAHA we need to get on the ball I think June will be a good re-birth for us

Hello and welcome to the West Coast Disney fun!
I am fairly new to this DIS boards stuff, but I live right next to Disneyland and go there all the time, so I hope I can help.

First of all Great job having reservations for the restaurants! That is smart thinking! I do not completely remember your list, but I will give you as many tips on what I can remember. It's going to be crazy busy all over the Disney area. If you have early entry to any parks, I suggest you utilize them! If you can get in as soon as it opens, that will be your best bet to get in as many rides as you can! I will give you my personal picks of things you want to get done. For California:
Radiator Springs Racers
California Screamin
Tower of Terror
Toy Story
Silly Symphony Swings
Luigi's Tires

So when you get into California you will go to hub to the areas and will see a very long line to you north west, that will be the Radiator springs fast pass line. If you come as soon as it opens, you can go on that ride first. That will have the worst waits all day. If not maybe do a trade off to wait in the fast pass line. If you do not waste your fast pass on that you can swing by and get a fast pass at either Tower of Terror or California Screamin. Right by California Screamin is the Toy Story ride. So if you get the fast pass there you can go on Toy Story. By that time you'll probably have a 30min wait. Mickey's Fun Wheel and the Silly Symphony will have moderate waits throughout the day. Your crowded rides will be all of Radiator Springs, Tower of Terror, Soarin over California, California Screamin, and if its hot Roaring Rapids. I hope this helps.

For Disneyland:
Indiana Jones
Space Mountain
Star Tour
Nemo
Buzz Lightyear
Splash Mountain

The rides that fill up fast are pretty much all those mention except for Buzz Lightyear. That will get to about a 30min wait later in the day. I would get a fast pass to Indiana Jones and go on Space Mountain. Nemo does not have fast passes, so I advise you to go early on that one. Get a fast pass for Star Tour when possible.a lot of people like the Peter Pan Ride, but that has never been my favorite. If that was one you wanted to go on, do that one ASAP as well.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions on anything, do not hesitate to message me back! We will be braving the crowds on Saturday for a birthday party, so I will feel your pain. Good luck and hope you have an awesome time!

Thank you so much for the tips which park will you be at on Saturday? and why are you doing that to yourself? LOL If I have more questions I will let you know. Actually I do have one. Is it worth it to go get through fantasyland first and then start tackling the bigger rides?

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

I am on the airplane and we have about 50 minutes before we land! This is really exciting. The torture part of it though is having to wait 2 days before I actually get to go into Disneyland.

We have an event we need to be at this afternoon at trader sam's. Does anyone know what this is or where it is? I am sure after I post this I will just google it but your responses would be great.

I had not even thought about getting photopass for this trip and maybe I should have but oh well my trusty DSLR will have to work those photo wonders for us.

Does anyone have suggestions on good quick service/counter service and snack places to eat? I have not done much research on that front.

Also what is there to do in downtown disney that is cool?

Are there good Pin and vinyls shops there?

Ok well hopefully someone will have some answers.

I am getting very excited

Teresa

 

[Princessjenna7]

Most rides in Disneyland aren't worth it. Maybe Dumbo, Tea cups, and Alice and Wonderland. If you like roller coasters and stuff like that you would not want to waste your time too much. My mother whom loves roller coasters does not waste her time with Fastasyland rides. I on the other hand enjoy the Walt type experience, which is a little bit of everything. Like I said before Peter Pan, gets super crowded, but it's never been my favorite. Dumbo and Alice get busier a little quicker than some. For my family we love Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Dumbo, and Buzz Lightyear. It's a fun mix! Have a safe trip! Hope everything goes great!

 

[Princessjenna7]

Downtown disney has music through out the area. ESPN Zone is fun for all ages and they have yummy food! Just do not get their chicken Ceasar salad, its a little bland. You should try their Cookie Sundae! They also have the House of Blues and Naples, which is a pizzeria. We personally enjoy it, but it's a little pricey.

As for inside the park, the restaurant in Tomorrowland is okay. Most of the food is pretty decent. I don't want to direct to to a certain place because we all have different types of preferences. I am a pizza and burger kind of gal, and there are so many things better than that! Lol. You have made reservations to all the good places. Trader Sams is a restaurant on the hotel property. I actually have not had that restaurant, it is fairly new. It seems like it has a nice ambiance.

 

[Princessjenna7]

Yes there is a Vinyl and pin store in DTD. DTD in Disneyland is not at all the size of WDW DTD, so they are pretty easy to find! . I think I finally answered everything. Lol! Have fun!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

We are on our way to the airport to head home to our beloved Florida. I am kind of sad to say bye to Mickey but I'm just going to see him next weekend when I'm back at Walt Disney world so it's not too bad. Can't wait to write things up from a WDW vet's perspective.

We had fun!

 

[Goofy_Mom]

We are on our way to the airport to head home to our beloved Florida. I am kind of sad to say bye to Mickey but I'm just going to see him next weekend when I'm back at Walt Disney world so it's not too bad. Can't wait to write things up from a WDW vet's perspective.

We had fun!

I'm sad I missed this report, I would have explained where Trader Sams was and the vinyl and pin stores in DTD. I can't wait to hear how your trip went, though. It's always nice to hear from 1st timers, especially WDW 1st timers.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Hi Teresa!
We are heading to DL in July so I am looking forward to hearing about your trip!!

~Beth

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

On this lovely early early morning we would be spending 6.5 hours on airplanes. We only got a couple of hours of sleep and then...we OVERSLEPT

For some reason DH woke up and we discovered he had never actually set the alarm. Luckily we did not over sleep THAT much maybe about 20-25 minutes but still we had to drive to Orlando so that 20-25 minutes was time we needed.

We hurried and got everything in the car and once we did that and I had put out enough food and water for my kitties we were off.

We did get to the airport just in time to check our bags (you have to be there 1 hour before for bag check) we got through security and made it on our plane. We decided to wait and eat when we go to Dallas our first layover. The flight was un-eventful and we did sleep a little. We got to Dallas and grabbed a small something to eat and got on another plane. Again the plane ride to California was un-eventful but the important part is we got to our destination safe and sound.

Once we got to Cali we took the Super Shuttle to our hotel the Sheraton Garden Grove. It is a little further away from Disneyland than other hotels but we got a great rate and it had a Disneyland shuttle bus. When we got there the room was not ready so we left our bags and bought our shuttle tickets and headed on over to Disneyland. We were heading that way to grab a bite and then also to attend the Wedding Welcome Event at Trader Sam’s.

As we drove up to Disneyland in the shuttle I was so amazed that the entrance to Disneyland was right next to a really shady buffet restaurant and an IHOP. It just did not seem magical to me at all! As we entered Disneyland walking we got to the Bag Check area and there are so many differences here too.

*No area for those with no bags to walk through
*Just cast members checking bags not security
*Check bags outside of the Esplanade and not before you enter a park so effectively you are being bag checked for Downtown Disney if you want to go there from the direction we came.

Here are some pictures from when we arrived at Disneyland:

As I saw the actual entrances to the parks for the first time I was very underwhelmed by the actual Disneyland park. Maybe in my head I expected it to look like Magic Kingdom and it did not. It is all one level. At Magic Kingdom you sort of walk up a ramp to the entrance and the train station it gives it this grand feel. This one seemed a little small. Little did I know that it would be the same once you got inside but that does not happen for a few days.

Looking at the outside of California Adventure just reminded me of Hollywood Studios since they appear to have used a very similar design. This actually excited me since Hollywood Studios is my favorite park, even though it needs a major overhaul.

We kept walking and we exited through bag check and walked into Downtown Disney. Again I guess I had been expecting something comparable to the DTD in Orlando and it simply was not that. The stuff it has is cool like a Jamba Juice and a Build a Bear but....It had far less restaurants than I thought it would have and it had too much outside commercial in my opinion it felt more like an outdoor mall. The D Street store was amazing though, it had so much Star Wars stuff in it. We ate at this little taco place I do not remember its name and it was ok but nothing to scream about. After that we headed on over to the Disneyland Hotel to meet up with family for the welcome event. On the way we ran into DH’s parents and then we ended up in his brother in law’s hotel room helping our future sister in law take her wedding welcome bags down to the event. I thought the hotel rooms were nice and the bed plays music and lights up on the head board so that is pretty cool. The event was nice we all just sat around and introduced ourselves to people. It was more of a get to know you thing.

We also got little bags that had wedding info in them as well as buttons (We got 1st visit and celebration ones). While sitting someone walked by with cheesecake on a stick and I simply had to have one. DH and I headed back to DTD to find it and we found the cart with them.

It was really good but once it started to thaw out it got really squishy.

At about 3:00pm we headed back to the hotel we had to walk all the way to the other side from the hotel to catch our Shuttle. We had called in advance to make sure our room was ready and they had said it was. When we got back to the hotel they told us the room was not ready and that was at about 3:40pm. I proceeded to tell them that Check in is at 3pm therefore our room should be ready and on top of that we had to get ready for a wedding rehearsal and they needed to get us our room. The girl looked at me like she had never been argued with before and she did get us a room after that we needed our bags. 10 minutes went by and no bags I went back up to her and told her I had to be ready by 5pm and this was not going to cut it. I needed to take a shower, do my hair and makeup and change. She said well they are working on getting your bags and I told her that I wanted them out here in no less than 5 min or I wanted a manager. She said yes ma’am and voila there were our bags. Trust me you do not want to mess with a hispanic female that has been up for over 12 hours straight spent 6.5 hours on a plane and has serious jet lag. (I know this exchange makes me sound crazy but by that point I was so exhausted I could care less)

We got into our room and it was pretty nice the bed was comfy and I really just wanted to sleep but I couldn’t. We got ready to go and then we headed back to the DL hotel only this time by cab since we were in a bit of a rush.

Once we got there we headed out to the Rose Garden and went through the wedding rehearsal. I was not a part of the wedding but my husband was the best man. So I decide to practice my wedding photography and I took pictures during the rehearsal. Here are a few of my favorites.

Once the rehearsal was over we went to DTD to eat at Naples. We were all seated upstairs and they had a lot of food on the menu that was served. It was decent food but I was just not hungry. I think I was so tired that food did not seem appetizing. We ended up skipping out on dessert because I was going to have to be up so early the next morning and we were so tired. So we left the rehearsal early and headed back to the hotel to crash.

Our first day was not that eventful but we at least had a good time.

Coming Up: Wedding Day (I will try to make this shorter with more pictures)

 

[librarygeek]

Becky I really cant wait to do a trip report and I think we should do a podcast on it. HAHAHA we need to get on the ball I think June will be a good re-birth for us

Yes, we should! I definitely miss the podcast!

 

[librarygeek]

Cheesecake on a stick, that sounds awesome! Good for you for sticking it to the hotel people, they should definitely have had your room and luggage ready on time! And both you and Mandi look beautiful for the rehearsal. Can't wait to hear about the wedding!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

Day 2: Wedding Day

I had to wake up super early to head over to the Disneyland Hotel. I was included in the group of girls that would be getting hair and makeup done. It was a very nice set up and the hair and makeup people were very nice.

I ended up helping the bride with some things and that was fun to actually get to be involved a little bit. Once the wedding started I just started taking tons of pictures. The wedding was a success and I think overall it was a really nice day. I think the colors for the wedding were very pretty for May and the decor was perfect. Here are just a few pictures from the wedding day.

Once the wedding was over we headed back to our hotel to rest up it had been a long day. We ended up deciding to go to dinner that evening at Joe’s Crab Shack we were craving some crab legs! It was a good dinner and we enjoyed it. After that we walked back to our hotel and we came up with our game plan for tomorrow, California Adventure!

Coming Up: California Adventure Open to Close