New Ride, New Lunar Year P/TR || Updated 2.24.20

[Amunet]

I just realized there is this section for Disneyland! Yay!
This P/TR is here to not just help me plan and organize my thoughts but also to help out anyone else that may need information for their upcoming trip, particularly for the Lunar New Year Festival.

Brief Introductions

Rich & Kristal

Him: Works as an Automotive Technician. Loves cars, sailing and me
Me: Still working on Master's Degree at the University of Chicago. Loves Disney, travel (and the planning!) and culture.​

We have been together for about 4.5 years and have been on 5 different Disney based vacations since!
I definitely converted him. Our preferred park is Disney World but Rich hasn't been to Disneyland since before California Adventures opened up, he's ridiculously excited to experience Cars Land (and Star Wars!).
Though, our favorite Disney vacation, so far, has been Disney Cruises ...

From our 2018 Westbound Transatlantic cruise​

One more introduction ... we adopted a kitty in March 2019, named her Mochi from the furry baby in Big Hero 6. Her 9th birthday is January 23rd! Sadly we will have to board her during her birthday for this trip BUT we will definitely have a little celebration before.

Mochi

A tad blurry because she was coming to sniff the camera lol
Can you believe she was in the shelter for 2 years?!



INFORMATION​

When: January 22-26th 2020
Where: Tropicana Inn & Suites
Why: To use up flight credits before they expire
Tickets: 3 Day 1 Park Per Day

Yup, we had left over Southwest credits and we hadn't been on a Disney vacation for a year, so hey, why not? We were going to let them expire originally BUT then Southwest had a crazy good deal and we just had to snap it up. The sale was for winter travel and we were wanting to experience the Lunar New Year festival, we figured, "why not check prices for the actual Lunar New Year date?".
Turns out the flights were $65 from MSP (Minneapolis, MN) to LGB (Long Beach, CA) each one way, then about $140 each for the return We just about fainted. I was able to use my air miles for both of us on the outbound flights, then we used the flight credits ($100 each) for the return. We ended up spending about $80 for two round trip flights between Minnesota and California
Best flight deal I've ever had.


Not only will we be visiting for Lunar New Year, but the new ride, Rise of the Resistance, will be opening less then a week before our trip. We had no idea this was happening when booking. We are rope drop people anyways so trying to get on one of the most popular rides in the world would be an interesting challenge.

 

[Amunet]

Navigation

Travel Day 1/22/20

Disneyland Part 1
Disneyland Part 2
California Adventures
Departure Day

​

 

[Amunet]

Tentative Plans ... (feel free to offer any opinions!)

1/22 Wednesday - Travel Day
Plane Arrival around 6:30pm
Dinner at Panera

1/23 Thursday - Disneyland Day
Park Hours: 9am-9pm w/ 8am Magic Morning and Extra Magic Hours

Today is the day to try to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. We figure the Magic Morning will give us an extra advantage to already being in the park to get a boarding group.
This is really our main goal for today.

• Millenium Falcon ride after 6pm
• Explore Star Wars Land after 6pm or after RotR

1/24 Friday - Disneyland Day 2
Park Hours: 8am-12am w/ Fantasmic & Fireworks
Doing what we couldn't do the day before.

• Have Lunch with Rich'/s Aunt & Uncle
• Watch Fireworks show @9:30pm

1/25 Saturday - California Adventure Day * Maxpass
Park Hours: 8am-10pm

ALL THINGS FOR THE LUNAR NEW YEAR! Oh, and Carsland.

• Watch Hurry Home/World of Color @ 9:45pm

1/26 Sunday - Travel Home

• Afternoon Tea at Steakhouse 55 @ 12:10pm
• Head towards airport @ 2pm for 4:30pm departure

 

[Amunet]

Disneyland
Musts:

• Indiana Jones*
• It's a Small World*
• Mickey & the Magic Map show
• Millennium Falcon ride
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Space Mountain*
• Mr. Toad
• Fireworks Show
• Rise of the Resistance
• Star Wars Land in general

Would like to ride/experience:

• Alice in Wonderland
• BTMRR*
• Buzz Astro Blasters*
• The Disney Gallery
• Disneyland Railroad
• Finding Nemo Sub
• Mad Tea Party
• Matterhorn*
• Pinocchio's Journey
• Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough
• Star Tours
• A Storybrook Canal
• Roger Rabbit*
• Winnie the Pooh

California Adventure
Musts:

• Increadicoaster*
• Ferris Wheel
• Radiator Springs*
• Lunar New Year Procession
• Lunar New Year Characters (all)
• Lunar New Year Food Booths
• World of Color*
• Sadness Character Meet

Would like to ride/experience:

• Animation Academy
• Guardians of the Galaxy*
• Little Mermaid
• Luigis Roadsters
• Maters Junkyard
• Sorcerer's Workshop
• Toy Story Mania*
• Blue Sky Cellar

*=fastpass ride

 

[Amunet]

Prepaid for parking at MSP. We won't be getting back until 1am and getting an Uber/lyft takes forever.

Still trying to figure out an efficient plan of attack for fastpasses. I know our first day will be focused on Rise of the Resistance but it is hard to determine any other plan cause we aren't sure how the crowds will be. Gotta wait until this weekend and that is agonizing

We have been doing a Disney movie every night since Wednesday, just finished Star Wars up until episode 7, picking up 8 tomorrow. I think we won't be able to see 9 before it is removed from theaters.

Starting to sort through all of our Disney clothes because, it is a mutual goal of wearing Disney during our WHOLE Disney vacation

 

[natebenma]

Reading along! Mochi is adorable.

Sounds like a solid itinerary. Wishing you well on getting a boarding group for RotR. It will be interesting to hear how it goes this weekend and next.

My DH and I will be there a few days after you, 2 1/2 days at the parks. Like you, we haven't been for several years (2014). We didn't discover until recently that the Lunar New Year celebration is going on while we are visiting so that is an added bonus for us.

Wishing you an amazing trip!

Dee

 

[Amunet]

Reading along! Mochi is adorable.

Sounds like a solid itinerary. Wishing you well on getting a boarding group for RotR. It will be interesting to hear how it goes this weekend and next.

My DH and I will be there a few days after you, 2 1/2 days at the parks. Like you, we haven't been for several years (2014). We didn't discover until recently that the Lunar New Year celebration is going on while we are visiting so that is an added bonus for us.

Wishing you an amazing trip!

Dee

Thank you very much I'm hoping to fine tune that itinerary so we can get the most out of our time there.
Haha, that's funny, did you book so you can experience the new ride?

 

[natebenma]

Thank you very much I'm hoping to fine tune that itinerary so we can get the most out of our time there.
Haha, that's funny, did you book so you can experience the new ride?

No, we decided on the trip about a year ago. We are going to Maui when we leave DL, which we are using as a stopping point to break up the long journey from the east coast.

Having the RotR open for our trip is just a bonus!

 

[Amunet]

No, we decided on the trip about a year ago. We are going to Maui when we leave DL, which we are using as a stopping point to break up the long journey from the east coast.

Having the RotR open for our trip is just a bonus!

Oh that's fantastic! Are you going to visit/stay at Aulani too?

 

[Amunet]

Put our mail on hold today, it's annoying to have to sign in to usps.com to use it now.

It's cold in Minnesota and I forget what 70F feels like. My body has a low tolerance for heat so I've been driving myself crazy with if I should have tank tops or not. Well, we are just packing some anyways lol. Finally able to do laundry for the trip.

That's it. Pretty slow prep day.

 

[natebenma]

Oh that's fantastic! Are you going to visit/stay at Aulani too?

No we won't be going to Aulani. Staying on Maui for snorkeling and sightseeing.

 

[natebenma]

Put our mail on hold today, it's annoying to have to sign in to usps.com to use it now.

It's cold in Minnesota and I forget what 70F feels like. My body has a low tolerance for heat so I've been driving myself crazy with if I should have tank tops or not. Well, we are just packing some anyways lol. Finally able to do laundry for the trip.

That's it. Pretty slow prep day.

Even the small things, like stopping mail, get me excited about an upcoming trip.

For me, doing things like arranging to have the driveway plowed while we are away helps make the trip seem real.


❄

 

[Amunet]

I FINALLY FINISHED THE EARRINGS!!
I've been working on these earrings for the past few days. I did the prototype last week. Finally DONE.

I don't really own anything red but I want to be festive for the Lunar New Year party, so I made these
Ear shape is made from card stock and cut from my Cricut, with 7 layers, 4 of them with holes to put the earring in. The metal part that actually goes in the ear were old earring posts, so I had to nestle them into that card stock. Anyways ...
The red is fabric stretched & glued and then a layer of gold shimmer nail polish. The tassels were made with thread.

We only have about 3 days left (since today is pretty much over now) and have been kind of slow getting things together. We've been cleaning a few things and slowly packing.

Trying to figure out the most efficient way to do rides is kind of driving me up the wall. If anyone reading this has ideas on how best to utilize the physical fastpass system for Disneyland (not DCA), I would really appreciate it.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Trying to figure out the most efficient way to do rides is kind of driving me up the wall. If anyone reading this has ideas on how best to utilize the physical fastpass system for Disneyland (not DCA), I would really appreciate it.

Hi - enjoy Disneyland! Our trip overlaps yours, will be there starting the 23d with lots of family from out of town though not in the parks until the 24th as they do not have passes.

Re the FP system - my suggestion is to use the app to monitor wait times and FP return times and get FP according according to both of those times. You can get another FP at 2 hours or after the start time for your current one.

Since it sounds like you won’t have MaxPass for the Disneyland days, get your next FP before you get in the line to use your current one...otherwise by the time you get off your FP ride the return Times will be that much later and you’ll have to wait that much longer for your next FP. DL has a smaller footprint than WDW MK so it is pretty easy to cross the park as needed to the FP machines. Those in lines with MP Will get another right when their window opens and you don’t want to be too far behind them by waiting until you get off.

Since you’ll be at the park in a relatively slow time, you’ll likely not need a FP for Small World so I’d skip getting one there. Better to get one (or another one) for Matterhorn or Space Mountain where the lines can be longer.

Also, I’d suggest monitoring the app on Tuesday, day before you leave, to get an idea of how the traffic in the park will be with your target rides and the wait/FP times during the day, especially the first couple of hours when wait times for rides can be lowest. That can help you determine a possible order for attractions - which to ride standby first vs FP first & which FP to get when to maximize your time in the park. You could start this Sunday or Monday but the weekend crowds will be different than the weekdays. Depending on your flight times, you could even monitor a bit on Wednesday morning.

Lastly, good luck with ROTR - hope you are successful with getting a BG!

 

[Mathmagicland]

One more thought - with MaxPass, I think you cannot get another FP until you scan in to the ride with the current FP, ( or the FP window expires) at least you can’t for the same ride. I don’t know if the FP machines passes work the same - it used to not matter before MP. So you may want to try that out early when FP return times are shorter as that will help your strategy for the rest of your day.

 

[Amunet]

Lastly, good luck with ROTR - hope you are successful with getting a BG!

Thank you very much I hope so too!
Yeah, I have been looking up times periodically but I can't in the mornings since Rich is the only one with a smartphone.
I've pretty much resigned to Thursday is Star Wars day and will just have to wing it. I hate winging things when you spend a lot of money.
I really appreciate your input!! I will be sure not to waste a FP on IASM.
Think we should head straight to Space Mountain during MM?

 

[Amunet]

STAR WARS MARATHON COMPLETE!!
We have been watching Star Wars movies for the past 2 weeks (library rentals!) and finally finished today by seeing the last movie in theaters. We did this in preparation to ride Rise of the Resistance (and I haven't seen all the movies).
I drank so much blue icee, my lips are still blue-ish.
My favorite character is this little guy ...

Raaawwwr!!!

Lol, Kay, so I'm not a big fan, but Rich is, so stressing over getting a boarding group is still in the plans.

We picked up some things at the dollar store and packed some more. We are just dragging so hard with packing. It just doesn't feel like we are going anywhere.

Tomorrow will definitely be more productive.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thank you very much I hope so too!
Yeah, I have been looking up times periodically but I can't in the mornings since Rich is the only one with a smartphone.
I've pretty much resigned to Thursday is Star Wars day and will just have to wing it. I hate winging things when you spend a lot of money.
I really appreciate your input!! I will be sure not to waste a FP on IASM.
Think we should head straight to Space Mountain during MM?

I think space mountain should be OK but watch the wait times, if you get in for MM at the start you should be OK, what you woukd not want to happen is be in line or on the ride at 9am when boarding groups open as then you have no chance to try to get one for RotR.

 

[Amunet]

Up early (for me) to check into our flights this morning. I am so not a wake yet lol.
Yesterday was more packing, more laundry, running around doing errands for last minute things, and celebrating Mochi's birthday early.
I also painted my nails ... that was interesting. Rich ultimately ended up having to help me with my dominant hand.

That's really about it. No photos of the above right now, but most definitley have some for the trip report.

Now, the tricky part; Staying Awake All Day.

 

[Amunet]

Whooh! Got the tail end of A boarding for Southwest!
MSP-OAK = A49 & A49
OAK-LGB = A40 & A41

For those who may be lurking and not know about Southwest boarding; they do not have assigned seats but boarding groups, A, B, and C. Each boarding group goes up to 50, so A1, B12, C49. In order to make sure you have a decent seat and room for overhead storage, having an earlier group is good (particularly if a flight is packed). You can get earlier boarding in two ways (not including family/disabled boarding): Purchase 'Early Bird Check-In', where the system checks in for you but the prices start at $15 per way, OR check in yourself at exactly 24 hours before your flight. Well, you know I need to practice getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance, so I had to try my hand at getting a good boarding group for Southwest, right?? That and I didn't want to pay
I'm rather pleased with the boarding we got.

I still have quite a bit to do today:
- Trim Mochi's Nails
- Clean Bathroom Floor
- Clean Kitchen (both of us still need to do this)
- Pre-package Oatmeal (for breakfasts)
- Spray Purse (protective coating)
- Write down notes for foods to eat, rides to ride, etc
- Finish packing
- Deposit Money for Hotel/Uber (Rich's task)
- Vaccuum
- Wash out kitchen garbage can (Rich's task)

I'm making sure to pack a notebook so I can write everything down. If anyone reading this has specific things they want me to report back, please let me know now