Organizing my days in SoCal/DLR

[theluckyrabbit]

...
Re: fireworks -
If seeing the new fireworks are a "must do," then you need to try to see them on your first day there. The reason being is that fireworks are often cancelled because of Santa Ana winds at higher elevations. So if they're cancelled that first night, then you still have 3 other nights to give it a whirl.

Great point. Oh - boy - this is not normally an issue in WDW. I guess I won't get geared up for them, or WOC. Nighttime entertainment is a big deal to me normally...

WOC is usually not a problem -- it is rarely cancelled due to weather. Fireworks are a whole different story since DLR is surrounded closely on all sides by residential and business areas and the debris fall zone is near a major freeway. The fire marshall makes the rules and Disney must abide by them. So if the upper elevation wind speed is too fast or if the wind is blowing debris toward the freeway, the show gets cancelled for safety reasons. This is the reason for trying to see them on your first night or, at least, early on in your trip. Then, if they get cancelled, you get a do-over on another night (or two) or a repeat show at a different location. (The show designers know that guests will view fireworks from different locations -- and they want this to happen -- so the show is designed to be a different experience from IASW, ROA, the Hub, Main Street, etc.) F! can get cancelled due to weather, but usually because of rain.
So, go ahead and get geared up for your nighttime entertainment! Just be prepared, listen for any last minute announcements, and always have a plan B in case something does get cancelled. (That way, while everyone else is still stunned by the cancellation announcement, you'll be off to whatever you wanted to do before the line builds up!)

 

[agamble]

I would suggest you check your dates for Disneyland against Grand Nite dates so you aren't disappointed if the park is closed earlier than you expected.

Fortunately grad nites end before her trip. Disney moved them up a week this year. But I wanted to say that Disneyland no longer closes early for grad parties. DCA closes at 10, but that's pretty typical. The big issue with grads now is the all day access and possible park hoppers that increase daytime crowds.

 

[dina444444]

Fortunately grad nites end before her trip. Disney moved them up a week this year. But I wanted to say that Disneyland no longer closes early for grad parties. DCA closes at 10, but that's pretty typical. The big issue with grads now is the all day access and possible park hoppers that increase daytime crowds.

This year shouldn’t be as bad since they now offer 3 ticket options for grad night and what the school chooses each student had to buy.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

What do you mean stoppage at the border patrol checkpoint? Where is this checkpoint? What is this checkpoint? Thank you.

There is a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in between Orange County and San Diego County. Sometimes they stop cars there to inspect them, which can really back up traffic. This would only happen going north from San Diego. When they are stopping cars it can be a really big delay. The inspections are random so you never know what day or time they will occur.

 

[momof2n2]

We'll be at Disneyland the first week you're there. I just want to say Mickey and the Magic Map is worth seeing. Honestly Tuesday Wednesday and Saturday is probably your best bet for crowds. Friday will be more busy than Saturday.

Also (assuming you are park hopping) you can use your Magic Morning on Tuesday then rope drop Disneyland on Wednesday and then rope drop DCA on Saturday. The thing with MM at DLR is that it doesn't have the all day impact you see at WDW, but it's best to not start your day in the early park unless you have access to the extra hours. And you will want to rope drop DCA at least once.

Fortunately grad nites end before her trip. Disney moved them up a week this year. But I wanted to say that Disneyland no longer closes early for grad parties. DCA closes at 10, but that's pretty typical. The big issue with grads now is the all day access and possible park hoppers that increase daytime crowds.

Thank you for chiming in on this thread a few times. It sounds like not only will be there at the same time, but you have lots of experience. So how about you just plan my trip for me? Please?

Seriously - It sounds like you'd advocate me doing a Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday approach?

At least at this point, it looks like the rides my family will be most interested in are RSR and GOTG. We are re-riders of the first order and these are not once-and-done attractions. So I am guessing we will need to RD DCA at least twice, in order to ride each of these twice (doing RD for one and FP for the other both days). So that will leave me doing DLR RD two days. Would you recommend that be the two Tuesdays?

Thank you for already putting my mind at ease about Grad Nights.

I don't even know where everyone looks so effortlessly for all the things like Blackout Days and Grad Nights, etc. I need to get up to speed here quickly.

 

[momof2n2]

All those things can be done from the Hollywood & Highland shopping center (located, conveniently, at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland). Parking is validated, just ask at any shop. The Walk of Fame is out front, Chinese Theatre is next door, Dolby Theater (home of the Oscar Ceremony) is located there, there is a photo op for the Hollywood Sign on an upper level, Disney's El Capitan Theatre is across the street, etc. You could cover just about everything on your list in 1-2 hours, depending on the crowd level and how long you spend looking at everything. You could go from H&H to the Grove and Farmer's Market (Fairfax and Third, The Original Farmers Market & https://thegrovela.com). There are lots of fun shops and restaurants there. The La Brea Tar Pits aren't far away from the Farmer's Market. Your kids might really enjoy that. Even if you don't go into the Page Museum there, you can still see an outdoor display of mammoths in a tar pit out front. Next door to the Tar Pits is LACMA (L.A. County Museum of Art) with the famous street light installation (seen in "La La Land") -- you might want to take a family photo there.

This is SOOOO helpful. I just made a bunch of notes. Thank you.
How early is too early to enjoy this? If we did this on a Friday morning?

 

[momof2n2]

There is a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in between Orange County and San Diego County. Sometimes they stop cars there to inspect them, which can really back up traffic. This would only happen going north from San Diego. When they are stopping cars it can be a really big delay. The inspections are random so you never know what day or time they will occur.

I learn THE most fascinating things on the DIS. If I had time to look for a mind-blown emoticon, I'd insert it here. Border check points INSIDE a STATE. Live and learn. Unbelievable. Thank you.

 

[LilyJC]

I could spend 24/7 at the beaches. I've noted your other suggestions. Thank you.
I hope we don't get any "June Gloom" however. I'm from NY. We have gloom for 9 months a year.

My sis lives in NY, so I frequently check up on her to make sure she’s ok during the crazy winter months. Our June gloom is a much more pleasant gloom; especially if it coordinates with your DLR dates. The day starts off slightly overcast but then clears up typically by late morning. It’s a perfect time to accomplish a lot before it’s blazing.

Border check points INSIDE a STATE. Live and learn. Unbelievable.

California is a pretty “special” state!

 

[agamble]

Thank you for chiming in on this thread a few times. It sounds like not only will be there at the same time, but you have lots of experience. So how about you just plan my trip for me? Please?

Seriously - It sounds like you'd advocate me doing a Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday approach?

At least at this point, it looks like the rides my family will be most interested in are RSR and GOTG. We are re-riders of the first order and these are not once-and-done attractions. So I am guessing we will need to RD DCA at least twice, in order to ride each of these twice (doing RD for one and FP for the other both days). So that will leave me doing DLR RD two days. Would you recommend that be the two Tuesdays?

Thank you for already putting my mind at ease about Grad Nights.

I don't even know where everyone looks so effortlessly for all the things like Blackout Days and Grad Nights, etc. I need to get up to speed here quickly.

So I would recommend you RD Disneyland on your first Tuesday with your Magic Morning, probably at 7AM. And then RD Disneyland again on Wednesday. Then RD DCA on Saturday and Tuesday. This is because DCA has EMH for hotel guests every day either at DL or DCA, kind of like at WDW but with less hotel guests. So your best bet is to RD the park that doesn't have EMH except on the day you are using your Magic Morning. The other option would be to save your Magic Morning for either Saturday or your second Tuesday, but doing it later in the trip you may be more worn down to get there for a 7AM opening.

The reason I recommend Saturday over Friday is because Saturday is more exclusive. We cannot go the parks on Saturday because the Deluxe APs are blocked. Saturdays during blockout season had already become less busy than Sundays, and now with the peak pricing they appear to be less busy than Fridays too. Crowd calendars won't show that, but frequent visitors attest to this. Whatever you choose, don't go on a Sunday. Those are the busiest days!

Riding RSR and GOTG repeatedly is not as difficult as it sounds. If you have park hoppers you can ride both rides daily, and sometimes multiple times. GOTG is popular, but still doesn't run out of FP as quickly as RSR. I think this is partially because it has a higher capacity and partially because it isn't a "family friendly" ride in the way that RSR is. GOTG is AWESOME though! Lets say you want to ride RSR on your first day because you've never ridden it before. You can still spend your first two hours (likely 7AM to 9AM) getting a ton of stuff done in Disneyland at either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland (hello Matterhorn and Space Mtn) and then either your whole family can hop over to DCA and check it out, or you could send a runner to pull FP for RSR. You are WDW pros, and I imagine you are still familiar with old FP system. So long as you use FP daily you can ride all the headliners as much as you like. The one thing to remember about FP at DLR is that many rides do not use FP, unlike WDW where most rides have FP. If you don't like the idea of hopping all over the place, because you want to experience the parks and not just rush, using a runner is a nice way to get FP at the other park to use later in the day. Keep in mind that even if you don't have Max Pass (super expensive for a group your size) you can still view the return times on your phone app. This is very handy with RSR as many people prefer to ride at night. So you could hang out at DL for several hours in the morning and just keep an eye on the return times for RSR and then send your runner to grab FP as the times get into the night. The downside is that ties up your ability to use FP in the morning, however, there are plenty of other rides that will have shorter waits in the morning like Pirates and HM.

Have a great trip!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...How early is too early to enjoy this? If we did this on a Friday morning?

http://hollywoodandhighland.com
H&H's website says the center opens every day at 10am. So I would guess that everything around the shopping center would also be open by that time. You could look at the Walk of Fame earlier than that, since it is a public sidewalk.

 

[momof2n2]

http://hollywoodandhighland.com
H&H's website says the center opens every day at 10am. So I would guess that everything around the shopping center would also be open by that time. You could look at the Walk of Fame earlier than that, since it is a public sidewalk.

Ok. Thank you.
So we can dial it back from there. Like if we make that our last thing we could start in the area at 8AM.

Now I just need to figure out what to pair with that for our LA day.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry I'm late to the party! Honestly, I'm not that great at planning a SoCal experience. We typically just fly in with a limited amount of time and do Disney start to stop. Not many choices to be made without the blessing of extra days.

You're getting some great advice from the locals. I definitely agree with seeing fireworks your first night. It's a completely different issue at DLR in terms of being canceled. Nobody knows yet how good the show is, or how crazy the crowds will be, but I assume it will be a fun show worth seeing. I heard a rumor the UP balloon will make an appearance, similar perhaps to the way Dumbo flew around the castle? Your kids would love that. But it's definitely a pain getting a good spot to watch.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... But it's definitely a pain getting a good spot to watch.

Thus the suggestion to give yourself a break and plan to see the show from more than one spot on more than one night, if possible. Yes, in front of the castle or on Main Street will be a prime view for sure. But there are other good views that provide a different experience -- deliberately planned by the show's designers. Being further back on Main Street (try being right around the arcade to be immersed in the projections on the buildings), on the ROA if the water screens are being used, by IASW (most of the fireworks launch from behind TT, so the explosions are huge from that spot and the IASW facade can be used for projections), etc. Even watching from the esplanade, from DTD, or from BVS in DCA are all fun experiences (although not recommended as your "best" view of the show since these are all quite far away -- but still fun). Just don't beat yourself up over getting "THE BEST VIEW" of the fireworks. Your family will have fun and make great memories no matter what happens, especially since you have a multi-day trip. (Believe it or not, some of our best fireworks memories are from nights when the show got cancelled! LOL!) Magic will happen, so don't worry!

 

[mom2rtk]

Thus the suggestion to give yourself a break and plan to see the show from more than one spot on more than one night, if possible. Yes, in front of the castle or on Main Street will be a prime view for sure. But there are other good views that provide a different experience -- deliberately planned by the show's designers. Being further back on Main Street (try being right around the arcade to be immersed in the projections on the buildings), on the ROA if the water screens are being used, by IASW (most of the fireworks launch from behind TT, so the explosions are huge from that spot and the IASW facade can be used for projections), etc. Even watching from the esplanade, from DTD, or from BVS in DCA are all fun experiences (although not recommended as your "best" view of the show since these are all quite far away -- but still fun). Just don't beat yourself up over getting "THE BEST VIEW" of the fireworks. Your family will have fun and make great memories no matter what happens, especially since you have a multi-day trip. (Believe it or not, some of our best fireworks memories are from nights when the show got cancelled! LOL!) Magic will happen, so don't worry!

I have admit I come at this with a different perspective because I'm usually trying to photograph the show. So a good view of the castle is always a big piece of it for me. And I'm thinking the projections will play a big role in the show like they did in Disneyland Forever. That said, with a large group and limited days in the park, it's always a tough choice trying to balance whether it's worth it trying to get a closer spot. I'm sure it will be easier to offer specific suggestions after the show premiers next month. I have to admit we've had great luck with show cancellations. We still always go the first night though knowing what a risk it is.

 

[momof2n2]

Monday 6/11 - Kingman, AZ to Garden Grove, CA. AirBnB house. Groceries

Tuesday 6/12 - DL - use our MM
Wednesday 6/13 - DL - Rope Drop
Thursday 6/14 - San Diego - U.S.S. Midway and ?
Friday 6/15 - Hollywood region - maybe DTD in late afternoon/evening
Saturday 6/16 - DCA - Rope Drop --- but make sure to see Magic Map at DL
Sunday 6/17 - FATHER'S DAY - San Diego - Saddleback Church/Silver Strand Beach State Park
Monday 6/18 - ?
Tuesday 6/19 - DCA - Rope Drop
Wednesday 6/20 -Leave as early as possible – Drive to Utah

Thank you, everyone. I feel like my plan is starting to take on some shape.
It sounds like I need for the calendar for June to be released in April to start putting more shape into my planning.

I still need to sort out all these evening shows. And shows/parades in general. But there is so much good information here. I appreaciate it.

 

[momof2n2]

Sorry I'm late to the party! Honestly, I'm not that great at planning a SoCal experience. We typically just fly in with a limited amount of time and do Disney start to stop. Not many choices to be made without the blessing of extra days.

You're getting some great advice from the locals. I definitely agree with seeing fireworks your first night. It's a completely different issue at DLR in terms of being canceled. Nobody knows yet how good the show is, or how crazy the crowds will be, but I assume it will be a fun show worth seeing. I heard a rumor the UP balloon will make an appearance, similar perhaps to the way Dumbo flew around the castle? Your kids would love that. But it's definitely a pain getting a good spot to watch.

I wondered where you were, mom...

 

[mom2rtk]

I wondered where you were, mom...

Sorry! It's been a crazy week!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I have admit I come at this with a different perspective because I'm usually trying to photograph the show. So a good view of the castle is always a big piece of it for me...

Photography, especially from a serious perspective like yours is different, indeed, with a different set of requirements. But for the average family or average guest looking at it from a purely entertainment standpoint, the level of stress placed on finding "THE ONE, PERFECT VIEWING SPOT" is enough to ruin a trip for some people. And that stress can lead to aggressive, rude, hostile behavior that can negatively affect other guests. Not to mention, the time you think you've found a really, really good spot, waited to hold it for hours, and at the last moment, some idiot leaps in front of you and lifts up a dreaded shoulder kid? Yeah, been there, know the frustration. So I just think it's important for people to know that there are lots of places in the park to view fireworks that have great/good/fun views, especially for people who have multiple nights to view the show. I know someone who worked with the team who designed and produced DL Forever! He told me that they worked very hard to create a show that could be viewed well from multiple locations and vantage points. The same thing is being done for this new show. I'm excited to see what they've come up with.
That said, as long as everyone has a plan in case of cancellations, I hope the stress levels can be kept to a minimum.

 

[momof2n2]

Photography, especially from a serious perspective like yours is different, indeed, with a different set of requirements. But for the average family or average guest looking at it from a purely entertainment standpoint, the level of stress placed on finding "THE ONE, PERFECT VIEWING SPOT" is enough to ruin a trip for some people. And that stress can lead to aggressive, rude, hostile behavior that can negatively affect other guests. Not to mention, the time you think you've found a really, really good spot, and at the last moment, some idiot leaps in front of you and lifts up a dreaded shoulder kid? Yeah, been there, know the frustration. So I just think it's important for people to know that there are lots of places in the park to view fireworks that have great/good/fun views, especially for people who have multiple nights to view the show. That said, as long as everyone has a plan in case of cancellations, I hope the stress levels can be kept to a minimum.

My mom is all of 4'11" tall and almost 70. In May, 2016, I saw an entirely different version of my mom when moments before the nighttime entertainment at MK a man and his child tried to sit in front of us after we had been sitting for over an hour. While we hadn't labeled our spot as the one, perfect viewing spot, it was the spot we'd been squatting at for 90 minutes. She politely, but firmly, gave the guy the what-for and marched her self over to a CM and he made the guy move.

I don't so much need a perfect spot for these things, but I am concerned enough about a good spot for WOC. My youngest is only 5, and solidly built. And I also have a somewhat short 8 year old... we can't lift them for the show. I will probably need a trick or two for that.

Maybe @mom2rtk will let me use some of her shots in my trip photobook....

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...I don't so much need a perfect spot for these things, but I am concerned enough about a good spot for WOC. My youngest is only 5, and solidly built. And I also have a somewhat short 8 year old... we can't lift them for the show. I will probably need a trick or two for that...

Have you read this: World of Color Superthread? The first post is very informative and helpful. I totally hear you on being petite and needing a decent, but not absolutely perfect, view of the shows. Are you planning on booking any dining packages for WOC or on going with free FPs? That choice will make a huge difference in how much wait time you'll need to invest to get a great/good view of the show. We've gone with all three options (Dessert Party, Dining Package, Free FP) -- and I'm seriously height challenged -- and had really good to great views almost every time, thanks to info and tips gleaned from that Superthread and due to investing whatever time was needed to wait for the spots we knew we wanted. WOC viewing is tricky, but very doable. My mom is 4'10" (on a good day!), and we've done the Dessert Party and the CCR Dining Package for her. She preferred the Dessert Party view (high table, front row). If your mom can stand for the whole show (almost half an hour), then part of your group can save spots right at a railing (the rest of your party can join later -- and you can take turns switching out for restroom breaks and such), which should provide very good viewing for everyone in your group. If no one minds getting misted (possibly heavily), being up front at the rail in the wet zone can be great viewing, too.