**** Official 2014 AUGUST - Disneyland thread ****

[wakica]

ok I think I have our lists up to date. Please take a look at page 1 and let me know if I've missed anyone or made any mistakes.

Thank you

 

[whoever]

ok I think I have our lists up to date. Please take a look at page 1 and let me know if I've missed anyone or made any mistakes.

Thank you

14th, 15th, 16th. Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites

Solo trip.

 

[wakica]

14th, 15th, 16th. Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites

Solo trip.

gotcha

 

[KeKy4]

I have a list started! Only a quick 2 day trip and trying to simplify how much we take so hopefully won't take much time!

 

[Aladora]

10 days until we leave for Disneyland!!
I can't believe I have kept it a secret from the kids! So excited to surprise them
I don't post on here very often, but I'm enjoying following this thread.

I know, it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard to keep from telling! 26 days until we leave for Seattle and 27 days until we fly to Anaheim. DH and I have gone back and forth about when to tell DS and I think we are going to spill it the day before we head to Seattle. We debated telling him that we were going to Seattle for a few days but he really loves Seattle and I think he might be disappointed if we don't go to the Space Needle!

Because my sister in law is flying in to Anaheim and she lands less than 10 minutes before we do, I think we are going to keep that part as a surprise! I can't wait to see his face when his Aunt just shows up in the airport!

But...I really want to tell him NOW!

 

[BriannaRuth]

Our dates have changed, we're now the 8th through the 14th, still at the GCH.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Our dates have changed, we're now the 8th through the 14th, still at the GCH.

Wave to us We're there the 8th through the 12th.

 

[Ikeifer]

Does anybody have any park strategies yet?

 

[Rubygoose]

I know, it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard to keep from telling! 26 days until we leave for Seattle and 27 days until we fly to Anaheim. DH and I have gone back and forth about when to tell DS and I think we are going to spill it the day before we head to Seattle. We debated telling him that we were going to Seattle for a few days but he really loves Seattle and I think he might be disappointed if we don't go to the Space Needle!

Because my sister in law is flying in to Anaheim and she lands less than 10 minutes before we do, I think we are going to keep that part as a surprise! I can't wait to see his face when his Aunt just shows up in the airport!

But...I really want to tell him NOW!

I think it's a good idea to tell him shortly before you leave for Seattle and don't tell him that you're just going to Seattle if you're not planning on spending time there - the disappointment in the change of plans (to him) will overshadow the surprise. Not everyone handles surprises well, but you know your son best and can anticipate how he will react. I think that'll be fun for his Aunty to join you all.

DH and I have agreed that we won't do a surprise trip because our kids enjoy the anticipation and counting down the days and we like talking about what we're looking forward to. In our family, schedule and predictability really work for us.

 

[Rubygoose]

Does anybody have any park strategies yet?

Oh I have lots of park strategies floating around my head (they're taking the place of the behavioural theories that I should be learning for my course!)

This is our 4th trip, so we're pretty comfortable with how we do the parks, but this will be our first trip where we won't have a stroller (we might end up buying a cheap one if we need it.) So we won't be park hopping as much and we'll likely use the train a bit more. Our main strategy is to get there early, do rides in the morning, have an early lunch/late breakfast at 10:45 or 11:30. Then we take a hotel break to swim or do something low key like watch a show. We'll be staying onsite for the second half of our trip, so we've figured out which days we'll start at which parks. We'll do DL on the day we don't have EE when it's a DCA EE day. We'll start with Peter Pan and Dumbo. Then when it's our EE day at DL we'll brave the Anna and Elsa line. Last year we did wide right and rode RSR 3 times in one day, but I think this time we'll just get a FP and ride it once each day we're there.

 

[Aladora]

I think it's a good idea to tell him shortly before you leave for Seattle and don't tell him that you're just going to Seattle if you're not planning on spending time there - the disappointment in the change of plans (to him) will overshadow the surprise. Not everyone handles surprises well, but you know your son best and can anticipate how he will react. I think that'll be fun for his Aunty to join you all.

DH and I have agreed that we won't do a surprise trip because our kids enjoy the anticipation and counting down the days and we like talking about what we're looking forward to. In our family, schedule and predictability really work for us.

This will be his 6th trip and out of the previous 5, we have surprised him once. It was trip #4 and for us it was a last minute trip, we only planned it 3 weeks in advance...that's about as last minute as we can handle! We stayed over at my mother's place the night before since she lives closer to the airport and we woke him up at 4:30am and asked him if he could go anywhere in the world, where would he want to go. It took him a few minutes to figure out what the heck we were talking about but when he did wake up enough he was super excited!

As I am sure I have talked about before, our son is ASD so surprises usually do not end well. However, we have been working with him on being flexible so sometimes a random change in plans is a good thing. I agree that telling him we were going to Seattle and then just staying there for the night before going to Anaheim is a bad plan! I was thinking of having DH come home from work early on Monday and just asking DS if he would like to go to DL but I think we are going to tell him the night before so that I have a chance to pack. I don't think I can hide the suitcases from him, he is pretty observant!

The first time we went, we told him well in advance so that he could get his head wrapped around the concept. That worked well, except it lead to 2 months of "Is is time to leave for Disneyland YET???"

 

[Aladora]

ok I think I have our lists up to date. Please take a look at page 1 and let me know if I've missed anyone or made any mistakes.

Thank you

You didn't make a mistake but our hotel has changed twice since I posted originally!

We switched from Del Sol to the Desert Inn and Suites and now that SIL is joining us, I've changed again to the Park Vue Inn.

Also, as of right now we have our anniversary dinner at SH55 planned for Aug 20 and lunch at BTRBBQ on Aug 21. We are debating dinner at Carthay for Aug 22 but have not finalized that yet. Since SIL is joining us and we are helping her pay for the trip, she is going to babysit DS so DH and I can enjoy a private anniversary dinner.

Now that I type that out, I wonder if maybe we should look at going all out and see if we can get a table at Napa Rose?

 

[Aladora]

Now that I type that out, I wonder if maybe we should look at going all out and see if we can get a table at Napa Rose?

Looks like Napa Rose is closed for refurb.

 

[gerilyne]

Our tickets arrived today!!!! it's getting close now!!!!!

 

[zanzibar138]

There are a few reasons why I've already started strategising.

* It's race weekend! I already have issues with my legs. I need to save them as much as possible!
* My parents and I are going back to the park later in our trip to CA, but DH will only have this one weekend
* We have staggered arrival dates
* We have ticket issues

So, here's my plan so far.

Tuesday 26th August
I arrive at approx 1:30pm. It's an international flight, so I imagine it will take me at least an hour to clear LAX, then another hour to get out to Anaheim on SuperShuttle. On arrival I'll check into my hotel (Red Lion I got for a steal on Priceline), then go for a short run to acclimatise and get rid of the cobwebs from the flight.

That night I have a very flexible plan since I will be solo. The only things that are must-dos are to enquire about whether I can extend our PP+ (which will otherwise not cover this week) and upgrade my 10 day hopper to a deluxe AP. I might start off in DCA, then hop to DL once it closes.

Wednesday 27th August
My parents arrive first thing in the morning (6:30am), and will also have to clear international arrivals at LAX, so I won't expect to see them until mid-morning. I'll take the opportunity to have a sleep in after a relatively late night, then probably meet them for breakfast in DTD. We'll spend the day catching up and exploring the DTD area. I plan to watch the fireworks from the viewing deck at DI&S (where my parents will be staying).

Thursday 28th August
This morning I'll change hotels to go and stay with my parents in a suite at DI&S. We'll have a pretty relaxed morning, have a late brekky/early lunch, then hit the Expo at opening (hoping to get my hands on some event merchandise). DH arrives today on the same flight I took, so we'll meet up with him at the hotel mid-afternoon, then go back to the expo to pick up his packet. DH and I will spend the evening in the parks (we'll decide which one at the time), leaving by 8pm so I can have an early night.

Friday 29th August
Wake up at around 3:30am for the 5k, aiming to be at the corrals by about 4:30am. It's only my parents and I doing this run, so DH can have a sleep in. After the run we'll go back to the hotel to shower and change.

DH and I will head to DCA for rope drop, ride TSM, get RSR FPs, and do whatever else we can (probably nothing) before meeting my parents for brekky at LaBrea Cafe at 10am.

We'll return to DCA for our FP return, and do whatever else we can that has a relatively short line or an early FP return. We'll be finishing up by 8pm again as we'll both need another early night.

Saturday 30th August
Wake up at around 3:30am again for the 10k, aiming to be at the corrals by about 4:30am. After the run we'll go back to the hotel to shower and change.

My parents and I have bought 1 day single park tickets through Get Travel to cover our park entry today (deluxe AP is blocked out on this day). We have an 11:30am booking at BB. I plan to pick up FPs for Indy on the way through (although it might not be such a good idea riding it directly after a big lunch ). We're expecting the park to be VERY busy this afternoon, so we'll just do what we can that has a relatively short line or FPs. Tomorrow we can sleep in, so we'll just stay at the park as long as we can, and hopefully be able to catch F!

Sunday 31st August
Get up and ready at our leisure, pick up our hire car, and start our road trip around SoCal.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

That's a good plan! I have struggled with how to strategize our park days given crowd levels, entertainment schedules, and early race mornings. My kids are 5 and 7, I'm the only one running, and we are leaving on the 31st to get back to work and school after Labour Day. We have 5-day hoppers.

So this is what I was thinking:

Arrive 2pm at SNA on the 25th. Get car and be at Hojo by 3-4ish. We are coming from the East coast, so this will be dinner time for us and we'll probably stop to eat on the way. Check-in and relax, spend some time at the pool.

I think we will probably try to hit the parks on Monday night, if only to see Aladdin or get our bearings. This depends on the kids getting some rest during our travels, but I think it will work out.

26th - MM at DL. Blue Bayou for lunch. Catch the 7pm Soundsational parade.

27th - 9am non-EE open at DL. We'll try to get to the A&E line to avoid waits or just give up on it. We saw them at WDW in February when we were there for PHM with no wait thanks to an early Akershus ADR. We have an Ariel's Grotto lunch ADR too, so this will be Princess Day. Would also like to see the Pixar Parade, if possible.

28th - Legoland day! My son is absolutely thrilled about this.

29th - 9am non-EE open at DCA. My son is actually excited about seeing the Hard Day's Night Beatles tribute?! A 7 year old whose favourite song is Eleanor Rigby... We will hopefully get F! Dessert tickets for the 9pm show and stay to see the fireworks. This is not a super early night, unfortunately.

30th - Wake up at 3:30am for the 10K. Come back, pack up and check out to move into a regular room (Kids Suite was not available for the last night of our stay). Spend the day and have dinner at Huntington Beach. If we end up not making it to the parks on Monday, we will have the option to go Saturday night instead. But given the race Sunday morning, I'm not sure about that...

31st - Wake up at 3:30am for the 1/2 marathon. Minnie and Friends breakfast at 10:30am. Parks until mid-afternoon, when we will leave to go to SNA and fly home (on the red-eye, changing back to EST, and having to get the kids out of vacation mode and back to school mode in one day).

But I think it will be worth it!

 

[zanzibar138]

That's a good plan!

Thanks I've got it pretty easy really because there are no kids involved and since my parents and I will be going back for another week at DLR, we only have to fit attractions in to the weekend that DH wants to do. I think as long as we do RSR he'll be happy

Arrive 2pm at SNA on the 25th. Get car and be at Hojo by 3-4ish. We are coming from the East coast, so this will be dinner time for us and we'll probably stop to eat on the way.

This made me try to work out what time it will be for me when I arrive. Now my brain hurts I think, when I arrive at the hotel at about 3:30pm on Tuesday 26th August, for me it will actually be about 9:30am on Wednesday 27th August I will be tired after a 4 hour flight followed by a 10 hour overnight flight crossing the international date line.

Honestly, it works much better if I don't even think about it and just get into the new time zone as soon as possible.

29th - 9am non-EE open at DCA. My son is actually excited about seeing the Hard Day's Night Beatles tribute?! A 7 year old whose favourite song is Eleanor Rigby...

I haven't heard about this! DH is a Beatles fan too. Where can I find out more information?

Parks until mid-afternoon, when we will leave to go to SNA and fly home (on the red-eye, changing back to EST, and having to get the kids out of vacation mode and back to school mode in one day).

Good luck with that

 

[nervous1sttimer]

We saw it on the entertainment schedule before they changed the format. It's some sort of Tomorrowland feature? The next night is Scot Bruce, an Elvis tribute artist. The show is at 7pm, that's about all I know!

 

[8lovesmickey]

Going a little nutty here - lists are made, plans are set, reservations are handled, and now it's just the WAIT. I'm trying to avoid buying all sorts of things that I don't need before we go...

Any coping strategies??!?!?

 

[Aladora]

Going a little nutty here - lists are made, plans are set, reservations are handled, and now it's just the WAIT. I'm trying to avoid buying all sorts of things that I don't need before we go... Any coping strategies??!?!?

I read these boards....a lot.