Perfect 2 days for a mom and her 10 yr old

[dr&momto2boys]

I need a little help planning the perfect 2 days to spend at DLR with my oldest son (almost 10 yrs old and a WDW and DLR veteran.) The touble is it's been two years since we've been and we've never gone without the whole family including little ones, so this trip is quite different. We feel so free!

We're arriving late afternoon on Tuesday Oct. 7th and are staying at a nearby hotel (although we're still on a waitlist for a studio at VGC and really hoping we get it and can use EMH; we're not holding our breath.) We were thinking of checking out Trader Sam's that night and walking around DTD.

We have two days to spend at DLR... Wed the 8th and Thu the 9th. DL has their halloween party on Wed, so their hours are 8am-6pm and we don't want to spend the extra money for hoppers or the party (done it before.) So we have to do DCA that day, right? Even though they have EMH and the regular hours are 8am-8pm. Right? Willing to hear alternate plans.

Thursday DL has EMH and the regular hours are 9am-11pm. DCA hours are 9am-8pm.

I'm sure I've lost half of you already, but I have many more questions. Will ask them below...

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Is there a cheaper place to get our two day tickets than the gate?

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I need a general game plan for each park.

DL: Peter Pan, (skip Dumbo- he's too old), Alice in Wonderland, Matterhorn, then head to Tomorrowland. Ride Space Mountain, ride Star Tours and draw a FP for second ride later. Ride Buzz. Also want to go on Haunted Mansion, Pirates, BTMR, Splash Mountain and get FP for any of those we can for second rides. We'll probably go on Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise too but they are not musts for us. Is this about right? Any more details or tips you can provide. As long as we know we can get on all these, we'll fit in other rides and shows along the way.

Don't forget to tell me about food or special snacks (especially Halloween snacks) as this is part of our fun. We are planning to do just counter service so we can maximize our two days of fun.

DCA: Ride RSR and other rides in that area and get FP for RSR for later (although we aren't opposed to go single rider line on anything that significantly cuts our wait but it's more fun together.) Ride TSMM as many times as we can before wait builds, ride Screamin', FunWheel, and Goofy's Sky School. Ride ToT. I plan to get FP for Soarin' sometime. We'll probably see WOC but we don't really need a FP for certain section, do we? Is it still not connected anyway? Anything else not connected?

FP times are enforced now, right? Thanks for the help!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Oh, yes, and the one show I do want to see is Aladdin (again.) Any new parades or anything else I should consider? We'll probably see the fireworks at DL and then head to our new hotel (for my conference the next day) and not stay up too terribly late.

 

[rentayenta]

Love that you're doing a trip just you and DS. Here are my thoughts....

Have you thought about using points for the DLH? It's not the optimum use of points but if you book a night there and just one night at the GCV comes through you could split stay. That's what we did. We did our Disneyland day on our day at the DLH and our DCA day on our GCV day. It may sound hectic but Disney makes me so easy to split stay. It added a really fun element to our stay. We didn't. Park hop either. We're not into hopping so much anymore.

As far as the earlier closing hours, I find that allows us for DTD and resort time.

Indy and Dumbo are both musts for us and all mine are teenagers. Nostalgia.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Have you thought about using points for the DLH?

Indy and Dumbo are both musts for us and all mine are teenagers. Nostalgia.

I don't think DLH was available on points those days, but I'll check again. I was really hoping our waitlist would come through because we LOVE VGC and have never stayed anywhere else. Good idea! We've always been able to take advantage of EMH and it will be weird not to. I don't know how or if that should change our touring strategy.

We may end up doing Dumbo too. We've never skipped it yet, but DS is SO into strategic planning to minimize wait times on his favorites (mostly coasters) that he would skip it. He actually would love to do everything including every show and parade. He's a Disney fanatic and claims he WILL be CEO of Disney someday! That would be awesome!!! He has a journal he draws and describes his ideas for new rides and restaurants in. He promises us another park in FL and CA too if he can find the land.

 

[mousecrazy]

I think you will treasure your time alone at DL with your 10 year old. I've been doing this for years (each year with a different child) and I look forward to it probably more than they do!

Since your son is a planner, why not put him in charge? Provide him with a park map and some basic info and let him do the work! I'm sure he will embrace the opportunity to be in charge and be an only child in charge! ha

And finally, my advice to you would be to let your 10 year old set the tone for the day and then go with it. In other words, if he wants to deviate from his researched plan, let him...within reason, of course. He will feel empowered, and a little spoiled.

Good luck and have a sweet trip!

 

[rentayenta]

I don't think DLH was available on points those days, but I'll check again. I was really hoping our waitlist would come through because we LOVE VGC and have never stayed anywhere else. Good idea! We've always been able to take advantage of EMH and it will be weird not to. I don't know how or if that should change our touring strategy.

We may end up doing Dumbo too. We've never skipped it yet, but DS is SO into strategic planning to minimize wait times on his favorites (mostly coasters) that he would skip it. He actually would love to do everything including every show and parade. He's a Disney fanatic and claims he WILL be CEO of Disney someday! That would be awesome!!! He has a journal he draws and describes his ideas for new rides and restaurants in. He promises us another park in FL and CA too if he can find the land.

I know, the GCV are wonderful! The DLH really is great too in its own way. The musical light up headboards are so cute and the furnishings are fun! The rooms are spacious as well and you get the same Disney service. Nothing beats the Grand though, I agree.

Your DS sounds like my middle DD, too fun! I like the idea of maybe getting him some maps pre-trip and he can plan from there. My kids love to do that still and they're 17, almost 16, and 13.

Two days doesn't seem like a lot, I know, we've done two 2 day trips but you'll be surprised how much time you have when you don't hop. I'm a convert to not hopping on short trips. At first the kids balked but admittedly thought it was really cool. It kept us in the moment so to speak, not thinking about Indy and BTMRR.

Try to hit Caesland at dusk. It's pure magic. You won't be disappointed.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Hmmm, I can use points to book one night at the hotel part of Grand Californian and 2 nights at Paradise Pier for 112 points when it would be 60 points for a studio at VGC, so I just can't justify using that many points. We could spend $350/night for Paradise Pier versus the $200 for Fairfield where we're booked. Not a good option for just the two of us.