Newbie posting...we booked our hotel

[jlparedes]

Hi there. I've been lurking off and on for a year now. We were originally planning to go last Spring but pushed it off. Now we are seriously going this Fall! I just booked 4 nights at the Hojo Anaheim for Oct. 28-Nov. 1.

I guess I can start doing some pre-trip stuff, as I'm super excited. I have not been to Disneyland since I was 7! We're bringing my 9 year old nephew who has never been and my daughter will be 2 1/2 when we go this Fall. I still want to book park hoppers, meal seatings and Mickey's trick or treat. I have some newbie questions though. I would be ecstatic if anyone could assist. I'm looking forward to reading more and posting more! Thanks!
Jenn

questions:
- I was thinking I wanted to be there for Halloween, but do you think going to Mickey's trick or treat would be fine earlier in the week? It is cheaper to go earlier in the week, but I thought paying a bit extra for the room to be there on Halloween would be fun. Anyone go on Halloween before, what are your thoughts?

- I thought I read that Mickey's trick or treat tickets are on sale NOW for Disney Visa rewards members? I am one, but someone else said they weren't on sale until Aug 1. Anyone know the real scoop on this? How can I book those?

- Since I have the Disney Visa I was thinking of using the strollers at the park for DD. Do you think I should bring mine in? Or use theirs? What are pros and cons of both? I was thinking it would be easier to just walkin with a backpack (maybe nothing if DD is potty trained by then hehe) and grab one of their strollers for free?

hmm what else? I'm sure tons of questions will come up haha.

- Ahh yes, is there free parking at Hojo? I forgot to ask while I was on the phone.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

hi and welcome. since you have disney visa id buy the ahlloween treat tickets now excpicaly if your doing it on halloween and dont brang your own if you will be ok useing the parks. we have a dubble stroler and only one kid. its big and heavy and if i had the free stroler perks i wouldnt brang it. but it dose give us storage room.
aug 1st is when ppl with out aps and disney visa can buy. you can now tho.
um if you have any other questions we will all be here to answer. Have fun with the planing part of the trip even if you replan it 10times between now and then lol

 

[the donut]

I have a 2 year old DD as well, and we brought our own stroller when we stayed at the HOJO. Although it really is very close, the walk from the HOJO would have been rather time consuming without it at a 2 year old's pace. I believe the rented stroller cannot be removed from the park, though someone should correct me if I'm wrong.

Parking is indeed free. They have a sizable lot, and we never had any trouble getting a space.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

oh oppes i missed that and forgot about how far hojo is..only reason im not switching from desert inn. but ya brang your own becosue the walk is a bit fearther.
no they dont let you take them out side the park

 

[bumbershoot]

I have a 2 year old DD as well, and we brought our own stroller when we stayed at the HOJO. Although it really is very close, the walk from the HOJO would have been rather time consuming without it at a 2 year old's pace. I believe the rented stroller cannot be removed from the park, though someone should correct me if I'm wrong.

Yep, it's not far at all. In my just finished Trip Report, I took pictures of the walk and included the camera's recorded time of each picture. NOT far at all.

BUT we brought our own stroller, b/c the walk even at a 4 year old's pace is just too stinkin' slow for me. And last December we stayed at the Anabella and did NOT bring our own stroller, and each and every night I had to carry him home (he was 3.5), and I think my hips are still recovering from that.

So even if you get a Visa stroller in the parks, I personally recommend bringing a stroller for the walk to and from. Unless you like to dawdle. I don't.

Though I'll say this, when DS was 2 we took a one-day trip, and I mainly wore him in the Ergo. So if you guys are baby-wearers, it's possible to wear even a 2 year old for parts of the day, and that could be used for the walk back to hojo, if you only rent in the park.


Definitely free parking, even for the whole day you check out.

I personally probably wouldn't pay more and stay longer just to do the Treat on Halloween. They are available for AP holders to buy right now, too, so I imagine they are out for Visa holders.

 

[avalon451]

About the stroller thing: Some people here have recommended (and I think it sounds like a great idea) that you bring your own cheapie umbrella stroller just for getting to/from HoJos to the park. (it folds up light and easy to check on the plane!) Then when you get to the park, get your free rental with your Disney Visa. Those rental strollers are nice! Comfy jogger style with a canopy and a stow bin below, and very maneuverable. You can park your umbrella there by the rental place and if it's a cheapie nobody's likely to take it.

You are going to have an awesome time! Those are great ages for kids to see the parks. Have fun planning!

 

[jlparedes]

Thanks for all the info so far. We have a maclaren volo which is very light weight and folds easily. I guess we'll use that and if it ends up being annoying, we'll try the rental strollers the next day.

As for the Mickey's trick or treat. I emailed someone for a quote at a travel company and she said that the tickets are only available to AP holders now. I'm going to call my Disney rewards card later and verify that and will post the official word then, unless someone already knows the official word.

We're driving down from Sacramento, so we'll be able to bring a lot of our own stuff from home which I'm excited about. I plan to do breakfasts and snacks on our own for the most part and then dinners either around the hotel or in the park.

I want to do a character meal for sure. Any recommendations on this one for a 9yo boy and 2 yo girl?

I'm searching for our passes now. Know of any good deals on 4 day park hoppers? Man this planning is fun haha! Thanks again.

 

[bumbershoot]

It was a Volo that we just used on this trip, and it was terrific. We've used the rental strollers before, and I like the Volo much better.

Is the 9 year old into any particular characters? I would think the 2 year old would like just about anything, so he's really the one to look at for ideas.

Many people like using getawaytoday.com for both tickets and even pre-paid character meal vouchers. Use the code "podcast" to get $10.

Living so relatively close, I would highly recommend *thinking* about upgrading to APs during your stay, in case you're enjoying yourselves enough that you might be back within a year of your first park day. If you do upgrade, any deal you might have gotten on the initial tickets won't matter, b/c you simply pay the difference between the ticket value and the AP you choose (for you that would be the Deluxe or Premium), but if you do think you'll be back inside the year, you'll be ahead in ticket cost alone. (and you get food discounts, and merchandise discounts if you get the premium)

I'm probably jumping ahead too far for you, but especially living so relatively close, I always urge people to think about getting APs.

Then again, I've been to Disneyland more in just this year, living in Washington state, than I ever went growing up in San Jose. When the flight from WA is shorter than the drive from CA, it's easier to think about!

 

[jlparedes]

Molly- Thanks for the tips. I have the AP thing in the back of my mind I can definitely see us there a lot while my daughter's growing up. I love roller coasters and we always thought DD was just too young for Disneyland, but I think 2 1/2 will be a great age. My nephew is one of those kids who goes with the flow. I sent him some links to Disney stuff so he can start researching things he'll want to do too. I think we'll be ablet o accomodate both lol. We'll definitely bring our volo then, it has a nice basket and I have that additional pouch with drink carriers too that might come in handy. I'm off to check out getawaytoday.com now. Thank goodness I have a slow day at work hehe.

I did find out that I can NOT buy the Mickey's trick or treat until 8/1 even with the Visa card, it's for AP only right now. Oh well... more to come!

 

[dizneekrazee]

Molly- Thanks for the tips. I have the AP thing in the back of my mind I can definitely see us there a lot while my daughter's growing up. I love roller coasters and we always thought DD was just too young for Disneyland, but I think 2 1/2 will be a great age. My nephew is one of those kids who goes with the flow. I sent him some links to Disney stuff so he can start researching things he'll want to do too. I think we'll be ablet o accomodate both lol. We'll definitely bring our volo then, it has a nice basket and I have that additional pouch with drink carriers too that might come in handy. I'm off to check out getawaytoday.com now. Thank goodness I have a slow day at work hehe.

I did find out that I can NOT buy the Mickey's trick or treat until 8/1 even with the Visa card, it's for AP only right now. Oh well... more to come!

Are you sure?!?! There are several people on this board, including myself, that are not APers, but Disney Visa cardholders, and have our tickets. I have ming already for Halloween day!! I called 1.714.781.4043, disney tickets by mail. There is a $10 fee to have them mailed. They are $37/person for 10.31, and a few bucks cheaper for the days prior.
We are planning to be at DL everyyear from now on over Halloween. Not many people around us do anything anymore, nobody answers the door anymore, etc. The malls are just boring to go too, and as of last year, I just dont want to be home on Halloween, to many bad memories.
Call that number I listed, you do have to pay with your Disney Visa.
HTH!!

 

[jlparedes]

Brandy- Wow thanks for that phone number. I will call them today for sure. I thought I read on here that some Disney Reward members had purchased theirs, but when I was in contact with a travel agency getting a quote on our trip she assured me I couldn't purchase them until 8/1 unless I was AP. I will definitely call and get ours ordered.

Currently we are booked to stay 10/28-11/1 and we would go trick or treating on 10/31. But after speaking to DH and stuff we might change it to 10/26-10/30 and we'd go on 10/29 or something like that. Anyone know what park hours are for sun-thurs in October? I checked another website for last years dates and it looked like they closed like 9 or 10 on most nights?

 

[jlparedes]

Ok so I was ablet o move our dates at Hojo. We will be staying in a room facing Disney 10/26-10/30. I was also able to purchase our MTOT tickets (yay, thanks for that phone number!). Next I need to get our park hoppers passes. I have a question on that for all you experts....

So, we'll be getting there Sunday evening and leaving Thursday before Halloween. I had originally planned to by 4-day park hoppers so we'd have 3 full days in the parks, and then on Thursday we could go play half a day before we drive home. But I forgot about the night we get there. Will we be too excited to NOT go to DL? I was thinking we could get situated in our rooms, have a pool night if it's nice out, and have dinner close by and prep for morning #1. What do you think? Should I get a 5-day so we can go the evening we get there? (or even single tix for DL) .Are they opened later on Sundays then on Mon-Thurs? What are your ideas, opinions.

Thanks!

 

[Bloodhound]

Thanks for all the info so far. We have a maclaren volo which is very light weight and folds easily. I guess we'll use that and if it ends up being annoying, we'll try the rental strollers the next day.

As for the Mickey's trick or treat. I emailed someone for a quote at a travel company and she said that the tickets are only available to AP holders now. I'm going to call my Disney rewards card later and verify that and will post the official word then, unless someone already knows the official word.

We're driving down from Sacramento, so we'll be able to bring a lot of our own stuff from home which I'm excited about. I plan to do breakfasts and snacks on our own for the most part and then dinners either around the hotel or in the park.

I want to do a character meal for sure. Any recommendations on this one for a 9yo boy and 2 yo girl?

I'm searching for our passes now. Know of any good deals on 4 day park hoppers? Man this planning is fun haha! Thanks again.

Hi disney visa card holders can definately prepurchase tickets for the days available before the actual Halloween Day...I already have mine in the mail just yesterday for Oct 28th. There is a Mickeys Trick or Treat Thread you may want to check out on the disboards.


Ive heard the MToT Party on the actual Oct.31st is crazy crowded...so you be the judge when to go.