Planning first trip!

[Lenae]

Hello! I've posted here before previously, but wandered away because my trip was far off. Now, it's barreling down on me, and I haven't planned much! On this trip will be myself, my husband, 7yo DS, 5yo DD, and my parents. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was about 15, so it's been a while. My parents are driving their motorhome down (from Oregon) and we are pulling our travel trailer. Reservations have been made at one of the nearby RV parks (can't remember which one off the top of my head). We are spending 3 days at Disney, then doing a day at LEGOLAND. Then we'll be driving into Arizona to spend time with my grandparents.

Anywho, where to start? Good deals on tickets? We want 3 day park hopper tickets for 4 adults and 2 kids. How about PhotoPass+? I remember reading something about it, and it seemed like a good idea, but I'm wondering if it's really worth the money. We definitely want to do a character breakfast, where is the best spot for that? I was reading through current threads and saw something about Frozen fun? What is that? Both of my kids LOVE Frozen, so that is definitely something we want to do.

I've never planned a Disney trip as an adult, and now it's crunch time and I feel like I've dropped the ball. My husband and I took a last minute two week vacation to Germany this month (just got back), and I got so wrapped up in planning that since November, that I really slacked on Disney planning.

Also, do kids dress up a lot in Disneyland? My mom mentioned costumes for the kids, and I'm wondering if that's a regular thing? Where are good places to buy costumes? AHHH! So many questions, lol.

 

[Geemo]

Can you give us the dates you plan to be in the parks?

 

[Lenae]

Sure, of course. That might be helpful, lol. We will be in DL March 17, 18, and 19.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello! I've posted here before previously, but wandered away because my trip was far off. Now, it's barreling down on me, and I haven't planned much! On this trip will be myself, my husband, 7yo DS, 5yo DD, and my parents. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was about 15, so it's been a while. My parents are driving their motorhome down (from Oregon) and we are pulling our travel trailer. Reservations have been made at one of the nearby RV parks (can't remember which one off the top of my head). We are spending 3 days at Disney, then doing a day at LEGOLAND. Then we'll be driving into Arizona to spend time with my grandparents.

Anywho, where to start? Good deals on tickets? We want 3 day park hopper tickets for 4 adults and 2 kids. How about PhotoPass+? I remember reading something about it, and it seemed like a good idea, but I'm wondering if it's really worth the money. We definitely want to do a character breakfast, where is the best spot for that? I was reading through current threads and saw something about Frozen fun? What is that? Both of my kids LOVE Frozen, so that is definitely something we want to do.

I've never planned a Disney trip as an adult, and now it's crunch time and I feel like I've dropped the ball. My husband and I took a last minute two week vacation to Germany this month (just got back), and I got so wrapped up in planning that since November, that I really slacked on Disney planning.

Also, do kids dress up a lot in Disneyland? My mom mentioned costumes for the kids, and I'm wondering if that's a regular thing? Where are good places to buy costumes? AHHH! So many questions, lol.

My advice is see what you can find out on this sticky thread:

* DLR Info/Links - Maps, Hotels, DISer Reviews, Hydroguy's tips, NEWBIE INFO here!

It talks about many of your questions including Photopass.

Then hang around here and read things that sound interesting to you. And ask questions.

Regarding dressing up, that is common for children at DLR. Not sure what to suggest for buying costumes. I would start with a Google search.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

Mousesavers is a great resource for discounts and such.

One of the big things I've learned is that the ticket admission price is really hard to get around. Every now and again you'll see them with $5 off, or a "bonus" day, but the ticket price tends to be the ticket price. Anything offering deep discounts on that is generally a scam. If you want to dine in Downtown Disney, you can get the $100 for $79.99 cards at Costco for some of the restaurants there. Bringing in your own snacks/food is a good option as well, and I've never had a problem with that, though I guess they draw the line at hard sided coolers.

 

[VandVsmama]

My random thoughts about your trip planning in no particular order:

• Anna & Elsa meet & greet is currently at DCA. Everyone in your party who wants to go to the meet & greet has to be in line together with their tickets in Hollywoodland in order to get the A&E reserve tickets. From what I've read, you'll get a 20-minute return window.
• DCA also has a Frozen sing-a-long in what used to be the Muppets theater. Attending this will require a fast pass. Different than the A&E reserve tickets...which are separate from FP, from what I understand.
• Character breakfasts - cheapest is Minnie's at the Plaza Inn. I haven't done this myself, but lots of people have reported having a great time. Surf's Up breakfast at PPH is also quite popular, but that requires leaving the parks. GCH also has a character breakfast, but we've never considered that one because we don't care for the characters that are there.
• I wish that we'd purchase PhotoPass+ on our last trip. It totally would have been worth the $$ because the PP photographers take GREAT pictures at Meet & Greets...much better than the photos that DH & I take! It's a bit less expensive if you purchase ahead of time from home. Allow for at least 2 weeks for shipping to your home.

• If you are not early morning risers, consider becoming early morning people on the days you'll be at DL/DCA. Getting to the park entrances 30 min before park opening will get you to the front of the lines and you'll be able to get a lot of rides in those first couple of hours (when everyone else is sleeping). The early bird definitely gets the worm in this case. If you won't be returning to the RV park for an afternoon break, then see some shows in the afternoons...something to give everybody some down time and rest while ride lines tend to be longer. That's also a good time to go see Innoventions or go to Tom Sawyer's Island at DL. Or go to Animation Academy or see the Aladdin musical at DCA.
• Kids can dress up at DL/DCA, but masks are not allowed. If your daughter wants to wear a princess dress, buy one at home or online ahead of time and bring it with you. Same thing if your son wants to wear a pirate outfit or something like that. Tons of little girls wear Disney princess dresses to DL. They're all over the place. But it's not a necessity.
• go to your local dollar store ahead of time and buy some glow necklaces & glow sticks. Pack 1 for each kid in your purse/park bag each evening you'll be at DL. When the sun goes down, the vendors bring out the glow sticks & glow wands and the "I want"s begin. You can give your kids a glow stick and you'll only be out $1 a piece instead of several dollars.
• you can bring snacks with you into the parks. No glass bottles, no knives, etc. Sandwiches have to be made ahead of time, so don't bring a loaf of bread, a bag of lettuce, and other fixings to make a sandwich there. But the sandwich in a baggie is totally fine. Cans of soda or bottled juice/water is fine, too. Same thing for juice boxes.

• There are lockers in the esplanade plus lockers inside DCA & DL. From what I can tell, there are different sized lockers and the prices vary based on the locker size (starting at around $7-8, I think). Might be handy in case you do not plan on going back to the RV park for an afternoon break....store your sweatshirts/jackets in the locker instead of hauling them all around the parks all day.
• save your receipts for souvenirs purchased at DL/DCA because if an item breaks, Disney will replace it for free if you still have your receipt.
• pay attention to special notices on receipts...sometimes they'll include a 20% off coupon for a certain store during a 2-3 hour window later in the day.
• Follow Hydroguy's rule about rides - (1) have everybody pick their #1 ride that they REALLY want to go on at DL during the trip; (2) make sure that everybody goes on their #1 favorite ride at least ONCE during the trip...preferably earlier in the trip in case of ride closures/breakdowns (then you still have a day or 2 to go on it)

• read the sticky threads...tons of info about Fast Passes and other stuff.
• if the grandparents who are going with you cannot physically keep up with you, DH, and your 2 kids, don't feel guilty about arranging to meet up with them in an hour or 2 at a certain spot. It'll give Grandma & Grandpa some down time and it'll help prevent people from becoming cranky.
• EXPECT crankiness to happen. DL can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Give yourself an opportunity for down time. So, for example, have your DH take DS on Pirates of the Caribbean...just the 2 of them...while you take DD to meet princesses or Tinkerbell in Fantasyland. Then at some other point in the trip, you swap...you take DS on a ride and DH takes DD on a ride or to a meet & greet. That way, each kid gets some special alone time with each parent and you create a special memory for your family.
• go to Walmart, the Dollar Store, or a cheap outdoorsy store and get those inexpensive $1-2 ponchos and pack them in your park bag/backpack...since you'll be there in March....and yes this is southern CA, but it MIGHT rain. Then you don't have to shell out $8 a piece for ponchos inside DL. And if everybody decides to go on Grizzly River Run or Splash Mountain, you can use them for that and not get soaking wet.

• Don't forget sunscreen. it's not summer time, but you can still get sunburned even if it's overcast all day.
• If anybody in your family is a Star Wars fan, go on Star Tours and see the Jedi Training Academy show. TOTALLY FUN! Star Tours has a Fast Pass.
• Star Trader store in Tomorrowland has a place where you can build your own lightsaber. Really fun for a Star Wars-loving kid (like my DNephew - age 3 - who battled a Stormtrooper in Tomorrowland last year with his lightsaber)
• buy a 3-month subscription to Ridemax. We used this on our last trip and it totally saved us time and made for a much happier family. For 3 month subscription, I think it's something like $14.95. It's a web app. Works best if you select up to 13 rides or attractions that you want to go on at DL or DCA. You plug in what time you'll get there, what time you'll leave, whether or not you'll use FP, and whether or not you'll use a FP runner. Then it'll calculate the order that you go on those rides. It'll also estimate the wait time for each of those rides. My DH balked at first because he thought it was VERY anal-retentive to do that, but about halfway through our first morning at DL, he loved it. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes on a ride all day and we even went on Space Mountain, Star Tours, Autopia, and a lot of other stuff that are very popular attractions...and we went during one of the summer months.
• If you want to see a DL parade, then here's my primo seating spot...about 30 min before the parade is set to begin, find the Alice in Wonderland bathrooms in Fantasyland. They're the bathrooms that have playing cards on the stall doors. Outside those bathrooms (basically the Matterhorn mountain wall) are a long row of benches that curves around with the street. At that spot right near the bathrooms, there is no seating on the other side of the street. Mark your spot and wait there on the bench and when the parade starts, all of the characters will be ignoring the other side of the street and will be waving at your family and everybody else sitting there by the bathrooms. PLUS... if 1 of your kids has to use the facilities 5 min before the parade starts, then the bathroom is right there and they won't miss anything. Get a snack or 2 ahead of time and let everybody munch on something while you wait for the parade to start. Chat about how your day has gone so far, what their favorite rides were so far, where does everybody want to eat dinner, what rides should we go on next, etc.

 

[StellaD]

Wow, awesome posting vandvsmama. So much great and useful information in one place! Thanks!

 

[Lenae]

Wow, thanks VandVsmama! That's a lot of great info. Sounds like I have a lot of reading to do on these sticky threads. Hopefully I'll get caught up.

 

[dxcspilk]

Great tips thanks for sharing!

 

[Imdboss]

Definitely buy the photo pass+. I did for the first time last trip and wondered why it took me so long to do so! It saved DH from lugging around the fancy camera to get good pics, which we usually did a couple of the days. Plus we stopped for a lot more photo ops with the CMs. For impromptu pics we just used our phones. Made for a lot less to carry during the day.