Mom Going it Alone to Disney! Advice please!

[Girlies4]

Hello! Long time lurker here.....posting for the first time! Please be patient with me! This is an amazing board and I've gleaned so many great tips! Thank you!!

Pride myself on being a planner. Love to be efficient and organized. Type A and working on it! I'm looking for some feedback on our upcoming Disneyland trip. Staying at the Tropicana on Harbor, Oct. 9-13.

The players....... myself (the Mom), DD12, DD9, DD4. This will be our third trip, but the first time going it alone, without DH. Have bookmarked many of Hydroguy's tips about arriving early, taking advantage of Fastpass in the am and such. Here is my general outline for the trip.....

Tues. - Arrive at John Wayne at approx. 10am Will hit the parks that day. Where should we start? Disney or CA? Dinner at Rainforest Cafe

Wed. - Disneyland in the am (will try for Nemo this morning- non EE), heading to CA in the early afternoon, makeovers at Libby Lu, dinner at Ariel's Grotto

Thurs. - EE at Disneyland, Mickey's Halloween Treat in the evening

Fri. - Morning in Disney, MTTMM, lunch at the Blue Bayou, visiting favorites in both parks in the pm

Sat. - Fly home!

Think I'll need Ridemax at this time of year? What time should I be at the gates, as I know they typically let people onto Main Street and hold them there until rope drop?

Just one more question! : My little one is 40 inches tall, so she'll be able to go on several of the bigger rides, but not all. Will they let me stand in line with my older two and then wait with my little one while they ride?
Any and all advice/feedback welcome! Thank you!!

 

[squirrel]

I am going a month before you and arriving and leaving on the same days. I am traveling with my DNiece (3, almost 4) who is over 40". We will be staying at the BWPPI.

I was told that the parks are so close that you should not plan on only doing one in a day it is better to park hop and take advantage of the FP's.

I haven't done the parent swap thing so I don't know if they will let you line up with the older two children-I would think most have an exit near the front for last minute exits (scared children). Just make sure you know where the older two will be coming out, I have heard that some are trickey (not where you think).

I will post a trip report when I get back!

 

[DLR29]

If I were you, I'd start at DL because you just have to start at DL. It will be somewhat crowded (because of EE that day), so start over on the left side of the park (Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Frontierland) because those rides are high capacity and many have short lines in the afternoon. Take the monorail from Tomorrowland to DTD. It drops you off right next to Rainforest Cafe.

I don't know when the parks will open, but if you can, try and be there 30-45 minutes ahead of time to be towards the front of the line. Then "run" as fast as you can over to Nemo. Run towards Matterhorn, not main Tomorrowland.

For EE, focus on Fantasyland only because most of the people using EE will use it just to ride Nemo. Fantasyland had zero lines a couple of days ago during EE.

For rides that the youngest one can't ride (Indy, Screamin, Maliboomer, Orange Stinger, Mulholland Madness, GRR), I would just let the older two kids go and be in the line by themselves. Find the exit and meet them there. That way, the younger can do something with you that maybe the other 2 might not want to. But if you really want to wait with your other two kids, I think it would be ok.

Will you need Ridemax? I have never used Ridemax and I average 20+ rides a day my last couple trips. So it's there if you want it and I would probably recommend it to people who want it all organized and also who are unfamiliar with the rides and their line lengths.

 

[Girlies4]

Thanks for your comments! Love the reminder to take the monorail to DTD for dinner, DRL29. That will help to cut down on walking for my DD4, plus it's just a fun thing to do.

Since we're be arriving at the parks right at the busy time, I'll try to pickup some fastpasses over in Tomorrowland and then head over to the left side of the park as you mentioned.

This is just making me even MORE excited for our trip. Can't wait!

 

[ACDSNY]

With that many days just relax and enjoy the magic. You'll have plenty of time to see everything. DL will typically be less crowded on Tues and Wed.

 

[abby]

On they day you do MHT I would go back to the hotel mid afternoon, swim and rest then do MHT. It will make for a funner evening if everyone is rested.

 

[Albort]

For rides that the youngest one can't ride (Indy, Screamin, Maliboomer, Orange Stinger, Mulholland Madness, GRR), I would just let the older two kids go and be in the line by themselves. Find the exit and meet them there. That way, the younger can do something with you that maybe the other 2 might not want to. But if you really want to wait with your other two kids, I think it would be ok.

most rides with long lines have exits before the enterance to the ride...
Indy before you go up the stairs, you head through the exit over there as long as you let the CM know.
Screamin has the same setup...
Mailiboomer rarely gets much people so you dont need to go wait in line...
OrangeStinger.... Never rode it...
Mulhollandmadness launches and deboards on the same platform so you can just head toward the exit...
Grr has a revolving door strategy so once they board, you can just head back up the stairs to outside of the ride... but suggest fastpassing this ride instead...

 

[Girlies4]

Thanks for the ride info., Albort! I think my plan for my two older girls will be to utilize fastpass as much as possible for rides that my youngest daughter can't go on. We'll be able to get 4 fastpasses each time and with 2 of us not riding, that will just give the girls more opportunities to ride some of the biggies, multiple times.

They're very much looking forward to Tower of Terror, as their aunt worked on the video portions of that ride while employeed by Disney Studios. All the pre-ride video, the "ghost family" walking down the hallway......