Planning Help Needed

[niclodn]

Hey all! WDW veteran here, but DL newbie, who needs some planning advice. My bff and I will be venturing to DL for the first time in January for the Tink Half Having been to WDW many, many times, I figured planning for this would be a snap -- only 2 parks, less space to cover, not as many hotel/dining options -- however, I am finding that NOT to be case. We, of course, want to do and see as much as possible (being from NC, I'm not sure when the next opportunity to visit will come), so please weigh in on scheduling, planning, must-dos, ways to save and any other advice you think will be helpful I'm not quite obsessive enough to plan every minute of my days, but I do like to plan what parks I'm going to be at and where I'm going to eat and have a general idea of what attractions to hit when -- especially when it comes to the more popular ones.

Here's what we have so far:

Flight:
Fri., Jan. 18 - Arrive LAX at 10:48am
Tues., Jan. 22 - Depart LAX at 1:50pm

Hotel:
HoJo at S. Harbor Blvd.

Transportation:
Currently have car reserved at rate of $115.44 total

Park Tickets:
Not yet purchased - Convention tickets are available for $200 (3-day PH)/$230 (4-day PH); however, these do NOT have Magic Morning included (do we really need it?) - I am an AP holder for WDW and have considered upgrading to the Premiere Pass, but it renews in May and I'm pretty sure that would not be cost effective.

We plan to hit the Expo/Packet Pick-up as soon as we arrive and will probably spent a couple of hours browsing the exhibits on Friday afternoon. The half is at 5am on Sun., Jan. 20. Given that we are slow runners, I expect it will be 8:30 before we finish. We plan to be in bed early Saturday night (like by 6pm), but are planning to spend Sunday after the run in the parks.

We would like to do at least 1 or 2 character meals (probably breakfasts), maybe 1 other sit-down meal and the birthday party deal at the Plaza Inn (will be celebrating the big 4-0 while there!). Of course, World of Color and CarsLand are must-dos as well. We aren't really planning to do anything outside of Disney, but might if time allows.

Any suggestions for the best way to schedule our days is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[Carolwoodpr]

One thing you will find at Disneyland is that the Character meals are totally different. At Disneyland the characters may actually spend some time at your table interacting with you. We did not witness this happening at WDW and were horrified at how some of the characters acted for our first Character meal there.

I can recommend Minnie's Breakfast (at Plaza Inn) and Goofy's Kitchen for your breakfasts. Both have buffets and a lot of characters to see.

If you stay at HoJo's you have chosen well. They are a nice motel with about a 10 minute walk - yes, no bus needed, walk to Disneyland.

Yes, you will want to use your magic morning. Those are like gold now days because with Cars Land opening the crowds are remaining high even during historical slow times.

I agree that if you have an AP that expires in May, unless you are planning another trip to WDW you should not upgrade to the Premier Pass. We are actually getting that pass in December and will have 2 trips to Disneyland, 2 trips to WDW on the one pass, so it is worth it for us.

For another sit down meal, you might think about the new premier restaurant Carthay Circle. It is expensive, sometimes service is slow, but I have never heard a complaint about the food. We will be eating our Christmas Dinner there.

 

[jennameowse]

I would highly recommend Breakfast with Minnie and Friends for breakfast. I've had dinner at Goofy's and Ariel's and liked those as well, but have no experience with their breakfasts. If you want to do WoC, Carthay is a great option for a sit down because they have a dining option that gets you FP's for the show with your meal.

 

[niclodn]

Thanks! The Minnie and Friends breakfast and Goofy's were the 2 we were thinking about Will have to decide what to do about tickets. We would only be able to use the MM on Saturday, so I'm still unsure whether that extra hour will be worth the extra cost. Especially since it can only be used at DL and not CA. If it could be used at CA, I would go for it just for Carsland alone. Will also need to check out Carthay's -- WoC FP's would be nice!