Planning help

[Miss Red]

Hi folks

What do you plan for your arrival day?

We get into LAX at 8.30 am, so what time would we get to Anaheim roughly? Going to use express bus I think

I have a 10 year old who is going to be excited and with lots of energy, whilst I will be tired and grumpy so I just want to plan something that stops me from sleeping but I don't really want to do Disney on the first day. After 24 hours plus in transit we are going to be out of sorts.

TIA

 

[aussie shaz]

Hi Miss Red. Our flight also gets in at about 8.30am (from Melbourne). We plan on doing exactly what we did last time. Go to DISNEYLAND!!

I cant remember exactly what time we got to Anaheim but we picked up a car, drove to the hotel, tried to check into the hotel (our room wasn't ready) then walked to McDonalds. I assume it was about 12pm by this time.

We loved going into Disneyland on the first day. We were all so excited to be there, we really didnt even feel tired. Our plan was to go with the flow. We rode the train the whole way around, walked slowly through Main St and headed towards Splash Mountain. As we were on our way a lovely family gave us fastpasses to ride Splash! Who said pixie dust isn't real?

We felt that doing Disneyland on our arrival day was the only way we could sanely get through until bedtime.

 

[zanzibar138]

Hi folks

What do you plan for your arrival day?

We get into LAX at 8.30 am, so what time would we get to Anaheim roughly? Going to use express bus I think

I have a 10 year old who is going to be excited and with lots of energy, whilst I will be tired and grumpy so I just want to plan something that stops me from sleeping but I don't really want to do Disney on the first day. After 24 hours plus in transit we are going to be out of sorts.

TIA

Personally I would never count on getting to the parks that first day after an overnight long haul flight. You never know how you're going to feel when you arrive and don't want the pressure of feeling like you're wasting a day, having to make a dining reservation, see a certain show etc. It's easiest to just go with the flow, and Downtown Disney has heaps to see, including movies if that interests you. If your hotel has a nice pool and it's warm enough, swimming could be a good way for the kids to use up some energy without the adults having to do too much. It doesn't mean you can't go to the parks though if everyone feels up to it!

We splurged for a park view room on our first night, with the intention of making ourselves stay up long enough to watch the fireworks from the balcony. I know there are a few hotels in the area which also have fireworks viewing decks.

We actually allowed ourselves a short nap when we first arrived because I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer - I was falling asleep in the shuttle bus on the way to the hotel! Because it was still early in the day and we were lucky enough to be able to check in already, we gave ourselves 2 hours, and made ourselves get up when the alarm went off. We were able to enjoy the afternoon and stay up until a reasonable bed time, but we were still tired enough to sleep well that night.

It all depends on how everyone travels and how you all feel when you get there, but I would advise not putting yourself under pressure to do anything specific that day.

 

[PrincessInOz]

If you're staying in the Anaheim without a car, then enjoy the hotel/resort you're at. You could also go look at the shops in Downtown Disney or take a walk out towards Garden Walk to look at the shops there. I would consider having an early dinner. If you do head to Garden Walk, then there is Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs and Bubba Gumps there to consider.

If your 10 y.o. is a DS, then you might consider taking him to Ridemarkerz, Lego Store or the ESPN. If your 10 y.o. is a DD, then maybe Build A Bear or any of the shops there.

Perhaps you could check out the Disney hotels.

 

[aussietravellers]

We arrive at 6.30am ish, so it about 8-8.30am by the time we get to the hotel so usually go to our room, have a shower and freshen up (as we always get the hotel room from the day before so it's ready for our early arrival).

The last couple of trips we have had annual passes so we have gone straight to the parks, to get our AP's done before the daily queues, have a few rides, have some breakfast, then go back to the hotel and have a little nap late morning (but not always). We find that we crash really early the first night.

I think it's best to be prepared that you are going to be tired and kind of in zombie mode the arrival day. So depending on your park tickets you may not want to waste a day, if you have enough days on your ticket to cover all days of your trip then by all means, arrive at the hotel and head straight into the park, grab some breakfast (or lunch), maybe a relax by the hotel pool, wander around DTD and as Princess in Oz suggested, Garden Walk. They have some really good restaurants there. Also Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney if fun for the kids on arrival day (breakfast, lunch or an early dinner).

You will crash early or need a nap, because as you have flown all day (aussie time), when you arrive in LA, it's the middle of the night at home, so your body is ready to go to bed. We always try to stay awake until their night time so we can adjust ASAP, but it's really hard as it will mean you have been up all night (aussie time). So an hour or two nap in the morning (if your room is ready) or early afternoon can help.

I would be prepared to "play it by ear" on the first day. It will really depend on how you are all feeling on what you do.

 

[viaggiamo]

Hi

we always book the hotel for the night before. We arrive around 930-ish after being picked up from the airport and stopping quickly to buy some snacks on the way.

Then we crash for a little while and are back up again by lunchtime.

We find this works for us and the little extra we spend on the night before is soooo worth it when we arrive with our young children.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Our flight doesn't arrive until early afternoon. So by the time we get to Anaheim ( or in the case of the next trip Buena Park) it will be mid afternoon. We plan to have a swim in the hotel pool, then a quiet meal, reasonable time to bed, and then be ready to go early the next morning

 

[Franrose]

When you guys book the night before, do you find any of the hotels worry when you don't turn up till the next morning? Or do you just let them know by email?

 

[Franrose]

Hi folks

What do you plan for your arrival day?

We get into LAX at 8.30 am, so what time would we get to Anaheim roughly? Going to use express bus I think

I have a 10 year old who is going to be excited and with lots of energy, whilst I will be tired and grumpy so I just want to plan something that stops me from sleeping but I don't really want to do Disney on the first day. After 24 hours plus in transit we are going to be out of sorts.

TIA

For us, we had a tour booked (with a group) - just a real easy one through LA to help while away the day as check in was 3pmish. We arrived to our hotel after the tour around lunchtime and spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney (Lego store etc!).

 

[zanzibar138]

When you guys book the night before, do you find any of the hotels worry when you don't turn up till the next morning? Or do you just let them know by email?

I always send the hotel an email just letting them know if I won't be checking in until very late at night or the next morning. The chances of them giving your room away to someone else are pretty low, but I think it's worth sending a 2 minute email for peace of mind Ask for them to send a response too, just to confirm that they've received it.

 

[aussietravellers]

When you guys book the night before, do you find any of the hotels worry when you don't turn up till the next morning? Or do you just let them know by email?

I always just add a note at the time of booking. I have done it all over the world, whenever there is an early morning flight (UK, Europe, US, DL and WDW). It's never been a problem.

I always book a night at the end too if it's a late night flight. Like this trip coming up, it's an 11.30pm flight home so I have booked to check out a day later so we can stay in the room and shower and relax all day and early evening. Then just check out on our way out the door.

 

[Melbourne5]

I have always been reluctant to go to parks and possibly waste a day of our tickets but on our last trip in 2012 I buckled and we went (albeit universal studios where we had 2/1 tickets). We all flaked by 3pm and fortunately staying at Hilton universal so just a 5 walk away. We all survived and had a snooze for a few hrs then a swim and room service dinner to ease in. ( I snuck off to see Neil diamond at Greek theatre and that shook off my jet lag ). Other trips we have gone to baseball,swimming,downtown Disney etc) to try and acclimatise ( keeping in mind we have 3 kids)

 

[Aust]

We've always gone to the park the first day,mainly to keep the kids ( and ourselves) awake as long as possible. We only manage to stay awake until about 7pm but it's enough that we wake at a normal time the next day and adjust quicker. But we've always had the 14 day passes and have had enough spare days to do this - if I didn't have this we'd probably spend the time in Downtown Disney, plenty to do there.

 

[Miss Red]

Thanks everyone


I think we wills settle into hotel if they let us into room early, explore hotel, have a swim and head to downtown Disney to have a wander around.

From what you have all said, might be an early night about 7-8pm but will be ready to go properly on day 2

 

[Busy Busy]

Melbourne5 - sneaking off to see Neil Diamond sounds amazing - now that's the way to kick off a holiday!!

 

[alicia1506]

our last trip, we went straight to the hotel, dumped our luggage then went to the parks. some food and beverages later, and we were fine, but aroun 2-3pm we were really starting to just drag!! having said that, none of us slept the night before our flight and none of us slept on the flight, so we'd been awake for close to 40-48hours by that stage by the time we checked into our hotel room, ordered some takeaway from a local chinese place, and had showers and went to bed, i think it was approx 8pm. and we slept for a pretty solid 11 hours

this time, we're doing what aussietravellers does... we have booked the night before. i sent an email to the hotel prior to booking to make sure it was ok, and i put a note on the booking as well stating that although we will book & pay for the night of the 17th oct, we aren't checking in until early morning on 18th oct, and to ensure that our room is ready... our hotel manager seems to be totally fine with this, so i am looking forward to being able to have a nap mid-day if we need it, or to just shower & refresh we found that even though we were a little laggy on the first day, having slept so long and so deeply on the first night, we were fine, jet lag wise, for the rest of the trip.

good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[Melbourne5]

Melbourne5 - sneaking off to see Neil Diamond sounds amazing - now that's the way to kick off a holiday!!

It was a hot August night! really was...

He played 5 40th anniversary shows at the Greek. I went the first night and my wife a few nights later ( someone had to look after the kids). Not the easiest place to get home from....! It was sensational though, particularly being open air and a big 30 piece orchestra that played with his regular band too. I would post a pic but I don't know how..

 

[Busy Busy]

An actual hot August night with Neil Diamond - what a great story! We have our own 8 year old "sweet Caroline" and she is just as fabulous as the song!!