PTR: And now for something completely different - a WDW Family does DLR *(new October 9th)*

[PrncessA]

Joining in our your PTR! So excited to see all your plans for San Diego and DL, being a mostly silent but loyal follower of your other TR!

I am heading out to San Diego and DL in about 2 weeks and only book a couple of weeks ago so I am WAY behind on planning. I am so glad I found your report, because it is helping in my planning!!! I have to go back and read everything now...

 

[Dugette]

I know everyone says it, but I can't believe Emma is 1! I know that your ticker kept showing her age (in months) going up, but it feels like she was just a newborn - guess that's what TRs do to our perspective. Hope she had a very happy birthday!

I don't know much about DL ADRs, but I'd sure like to eat at those places!

My only expertise in shirts is how to buy ready-made ones for cheap.

 

[MarbleBob]

Happy birthday to Emma!! Those photos of her eating the cake are precious!!!

You wondered about three ADR's on one day maybe being too much. Personally, I'd say yes, because you have a limited number of days in the parks. I'd rather spend time seeing Disneyland than eating... but our kids are a bit older now and they like to go-go-go. When they were more like your kids age, we did more ADR's as it was a nice way for everyone to slow down and rest between attractions. On our trip last month, we chose to indulge in naps/pool time in the afternoons. This was at the expense of spending more time at table service restaurants. I guess, all boils down to how many attractions you want to hit, and the crowds of course. (It was crazy crowded in June and even with 3 full days we didn't get to experience everything we wanted to see.)

I also second missangelalexis's comment about seeing the Paint the Night parade over Fantastic (if you have to choose.) I've seen Disneyland Fantasimic before, and although the setting is super cool, the show itself was very similar to the Orlando version. Paint the night was over the top amazing and unlike anything you've seen before!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It's such a struggle planning without park hours! I honestly don't know what happens to the Fantasmic schedule once the parties begin. The good thing is, once your ADR window opens, it will only let you book the Fantasmic package for days that they plan on having it. So perhaps in a few weeks you can gauge what days Fantasmic will be once ADR windows open for dates surrounding the party season. I hope that made sense

If you DO have to choose between Fantasmic and Paint the Night, I'd probably opt for Paint the Night just because it's so unique (and new). But you may be able to swing seeing both in one night if you go to an early Fantasmic and a late parade. Your other option would be to see Fantasmic on Thursday if they have it, and purchase party tickets for Wednesday in order to see PTN, even though I know that's not part of the plan or budget! So stressful this Disneyland planning can be!

Funny that you mention the Fantasmic! Schedule as I've gone back to re-scheduling our days and re-looking at calendars and from what I am seeing they may only have Fantasmic! on the weekends ... so for now I am planning on not seeing Fantasmic! and instead ensuring we see Pain the Night and the Firework show ... details to come in the next update - which is coming up soon!

Thanks for all your input!

Joining in our your PTR! So excited to see all your plans for San Diego and DL, being a mostly silent but loyal follower of your other TR!

I am heading out to San Diego and DL in about 2 weeks and only book a couple of weeks ago so I am WAY behind on planning. I am so glad I found your report, because it is helping in my planning!!! I have to go back and read everything now...

thanks for joining ... and for following the other TR! Hope this helps in your planning .... and selfishly hope I can learn from your experience

I know everyone says it, but I can't believe Emma is 1! I know that your ticker kept showing her age (in months) going up, but it feels like she was just a newborn - guess that's what TRs do to our perspective. Hope she had a very happy birthday!

I don't know much about DL ADRs, but I'd sure like to eat at those places!

My only expertise in shirts is how to buy ready-made ones for cheap.

TR's definitely change your perspective on the kids - I keep getting thrown by the more recent pictures of Izzy with lots of hair!

You are an expert on getting cheap Disney T-shirts ... when you plan to before you get to the store or no!

Happy birthday to Emma!! Those photos of her eating the cake are precious!!!

You wondered about three ADR's on one day maybe being too much. Personally, I'd say yes, because you have a limited number of days in the parks. I'd rather spend time seeing Disneyland than eating... but our kids are a bit older now and they like to go-go-go. When they were more like your kids age, we did more ADR's as it was a nice way for everyone to slow down and rest between attractions. On our trip last month, we chose to indulge in naps/pool time in the afternoons. This was at the expense of spending more time at table service restaurants. I guess, all boils down to how many attractions you want to hit, and the crowds of course. (It was crazy crowded in June and even with 3 full days we didn't get to experience everything we wanted to see.)

I also second missangelalexis's comment about seeing the Paint the Night parade over Fantastic (if you have to choose.) I've seen Disneyland Fantasimic before, and although the setting is super cool, the show itself was very similar to the Orlando version. Paint the night was over the top amazing and unlike anything you've seen before!!!

Thanks Matt! She really loves to eat (and make a mess of herself) so worked out well.

I think it didn't hit me until I outlined the days that I had 3 table-services in one day. Well, as you will see in the next update I have shuffled the plans around a bit and now only have 2 TS on that Friday and the other days only have 1

You'll also see in the new plan that I am following your thought and dropping Fantasmic! from the plans and making Paint the Night and the fireworks show the priority

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 15 - Totally re-working the Disneyland plans​

Well, I guess that is why we do pre-trip reports, right? So that we are able to visualize things ... and then totally change plans. Ok, "totally change" might be a bit extreme, but as I started to re-work a few things it turned into a fairly significant overhaul.

So what promted this? Well, it basically kicked off when @missangelalexis pointed out that the Halloween party schedule had come out and it looked like a party was scheduled for Wednesday October 14th which I wasn't counting on (last year they had parties on Tuesday and Friday of that week, not Wednesday. So I needed to plan around that, which meant that there would only be Thursday that we would have as an evening in Disneyland Park ... which meant just one shot to see Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever, and Fantasmic - which seemed like a lot ....

... Then I checked calendars again for timing of Fantasmic! and once it got into September this year and then looking at October last year it seemed like there were only Fantasmic's scheduled for the weekend. So given that, and that the priority is definitely to see Pain the Night and Disneyland Forever, I have not taken Fantasmic out of the schedule

Yes, yes - it is true. So that is obviously not great, but it is what it is. Now, we had originally thought to do the Fantasmic package at Blue Bayou but if we are now not doing Fantasmic, no need to do the package, so decided to move Blue Bayou to lunch (and aim for the first slot of the day - to improve chance to sit waterside and was planning earlyish lunch that day anyway).

The other thing I wanted to change was to move one of the table-service meals off of Friday as it hadn't really hit me that I had 3 planned for that day - so this kinda worked out well as now thinking of doing Minnie's Breakfast at the Plaza first thing our first day (will try for an ADR slot prior to full park opening). I like this as now Disneyland Park is our first park and hopefully we will be able to get some pictures before breakfast with a fairly empty main street.

The only downside to this new plan is there are now only 2 afternoons and no mornings dedicated to Disney California Adventure. Not ideal, but I think ok because 1) with how easy park hoping is I figure we can hop over as needed especially as the trip goes on and 2) given that there is no way that Peter will be tall enough to ride RSR as long as Judi, Olivia, and myself get to ride it once I think we will be ok - hopefully with a relatively slow week we will be able to get Fastpasses at least once - but if I am delusional here, please let me know.

So here is the new plan - let me know your thoughts ... figure on most days we can fit in a break/pool time as well as needed



Really appreciating all the input so far!

******************

Couple of bonus items:

I got some fun Disney related things in the mail today: First was a few copies of the special edition of the Orange County register they put out for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary:

2nd was the 40th anniversary Peoplemover shirts!

One last item - We started telling Disney jokes/puns to Olivia and she loved them so I started a thread on the community board here to gather more from people - though some/all of you may be interested in checking it out ... knowing this is a fairly punny group

http://disboards.com/threads/add-your-best-disney-joke-pun.3433189/#post-54124320

TTFN

 

[missangelalexis]

I think your plans look good! Sorry you won't be able to see Fantasmic

 

[annie170]

Hey Phil! I know I started this PTR and then lost touch. Was this initially in the WDW PTRs? Did it get moved? At any rate, glad I found it.

Your plans sound great and good to have everything figured out now.

Happy belated birthday to Miss Emma! What a cutie! She looks like a good combination of Olivia and Peter.

Will Olivia be missing some school or does she have a break at that time? Can you tell I'm a teacher?! Actually, October is my favorite time of year to visit WDW. I get a short Fall Break every October and I usually take one or two extra days off to make a five or six day trip.

 

[Imagineer5]

Your new plans look great, and nice you have time to figure it out now! Spreading out the ADR's looks great and lunch at the Blue Bayou will be perfect. I think you have a good amount of time for both parks!

The newspapers are so so cool! If I wasn't preggo this year a quick DL visit would have definitely been on my agenda.

I'll have to check out the jokes, Aria is starting to get into them too

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think your plans look good! Sorry you won't be able to see Fantasmic

Thanks Alexis - yeah, definitely a bit bummed about that ... was looking forward to seeing the Peter Pan/Pirate Ship part

If we had to miss one though definitely glad it is Fantasmic and not WOC and given the set up and challenges with viewing areas/when to get in line/etc might be best to just do one of those this trip with the 3 kids anyway - though this might just be me talking myself into this scenario being a positive

Hey Phil! I know I started this PTR and then lost touch. Was this initially in the WDW PTRs? Did it get moved? At any rate, glad I found it.

Your plans sound great and good to have everything figured out now.

Happy belated birthday to Miss Emma! What a cutie! She looks like a good combination of Olivia and Peter.

Will Olivia be missing some school or does she have a break at that time? Can you tell I'm a teacher?! Actually, October is my favorite time of year to visit WDW. I get a short Fall Break every October and I usually take one or two extra days off to make a five or six day trip.

Hi Annie!

This PTR was always in the Disneyland section but I had sent around links to it and linked in the old TR so perhaps you got here from there and didn't realize where here was

So Olivia will have at least that Monday off (school calendars aren't out yet), so we anticipate having to pull her out for the rest of the week. We plan to tell her teacher and just be upfront about it. Olivia so far has been a really good student and enjoys doing her somework and stuff so even if she has to do some work while we are gone I think it will be ok. Not planning on doing this forever but figure 1st grade for a good student who likes school, this is ok ... understand everyone has different views on this though

Your new plans look great, and nice you have time to figure it out now! Spreading out the ADR's looks great and lunch at the Blue Bayou will be perfect. I think you have a good amount of time for both parks!

The newspapers are so so cool! If I wasn't preggo this year a quick DL visit would have definitely been on my agenda.

I'll have to check out the jokes, Aria is starting to get into them too

Thanks Lauren, - I think these are close to final, but obviously still time to make changes .... do wish park hours would come out soon so I can finalize things and plan on more exact times for the ADRs

Olivia seemed to really like them so we had fun thinking of new ones. Olivia actually did pretty good answering some, but at least this 6 year old wasn't the best at thinking them up

 

[annie170]

Oh, I was just curious if your area has a Fall Break or not. There are parts of my state (Indiana) that have gone to a modified school year calendar. Two weeks off in October, two weeks off at Christmas and two weeks off in March. Summer break is then about 8 weeks. I'd love this as I would be hitting up Disney every October without having to take any time off. Unfortunately, my corporation in Northwest Indiana isn't budging on this calendar.

I agree that it's not a big deal in first grade for a good student. It's not like she's missing Algebra! I teach high school and generally don't have a problem with kids missing for vacations, but I understand the administrators reasons for frowning on it. I'm always given a hard time when I take a day or two in October for Disney because I don't lie about it. Oh, well...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Oh, I was just curious if your area has a Fall Break or not. There are parts of my state (Indiana) that have gone to a modified school year calendar. Two weeks off in October, two weeks off at Christmas and two weeks off in March. Summer break is then about 8 weeks. I'd love this as I would be hitting up Disney every October without having to take any time off. Unfortunately, my corporation in Northwest Indiana isn't budging on this calendar.

I agree that it's not a big deal in first grade for a good student. It's not like she's missing Algebra! I teach high school and generally don't have a problem with kids missing for vacations, but I understand the administrators reasons for frowning on it. I'm always given a hard time when I take a day or two in October for Disney because I don't lie about it. Oh, well...

New York is kinda weird with breaks as we don't really have any breaks in the fall (just a day here or there) but then get break around Christmas, then a week in February around President's Day and then a Week around Easter ... then we don't end school until the very end of June (was the 25th this year) and don't go back until after Labor Day

Judi and I did (half)joke that an advantage of home schooling is you can definitely do vacations when traditional schools are in session

 

[khertz]

While it's a bummer to miss Fantasmic, you are absolutely making the right decision. While it's a different show than the WDW version, it's close enough. The priority should definitely be seeing the nighttime shows that are totally DL specific. Hopefully you can get the Blue Bayou time you want to change to.

I don't know if it was the time of year we went or not, but we had looked into doing a pre-opening breakfast in the park and it wasn't available. That was why we ended up doing our only character meal at a hotel. It's a bummer because that is such a fun thing to do at WDW and we would have loved to do it at DL.

As for planning which parks which days, don't stress. We usually have a very general idea, but it totally changes on the fly just because of how easy park hopping is. There were even many times that DH would run over to DCA while Paxton and I stayed in DL and he would get FPs for RSR or something then come back and meet us. It is incredible how much easier it is than at WDW!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

While it's a bummer to miss Fantasmic, you are absolutely making the right decision. While it's a different show than the WDW version, it's close enough. The priority should definitely be seeing the nighttime shows that are totally DL specific. Hopefully you can get the Blue Bayou time you want to change to.

I don't know if it was the time of year we went or not, but we had looked into doing a pre-opening breakfast in the park and it wasn't available. That was why we ended up doing our only character meal at a hotel. It's a bummer because that is such a fun thing to do at WDW and we would have loved to do it at DL.

As for planning which parks which days, don't stress. We usually have a very general idea, but it totally changes on the fly just because of how easy park hopping is. There were even many times that DH would run over to DCA while Paxton and I stayed in DL and he would get FPs for RSR or something then come back and meet us. It is incredible how much easier it is than at WDW!

Thanks for the words and I am feeling better and better about not getting Fantasmic! in ... even if I am just doing it to make myself feel better but couldn't agree more that the unique nighttime shows - particularly the ones that have a 60th anniversary spin to them - are the priority

From what I can find they really don't do pre-park opening ADRs in the sense that WDW does. For the parks that have the magical morning they will start for that extra hour and you can book the time whether you have access to the magical morning or not. Otherwise they seem to allow for ADRs roughly when the gates open but before the rope drop for the individual land - so in general I see times for like 20-30 minutes before the listed opening time. So if the listed opening time is 9am you can book at 8:40 slot. So not the exact same but hopefully it minimizes lost park time and why I am not planning to focus on Fantasyland that morning. But we shall see ... and maybe someone who knows a lot more than me will tell me I am full of it

Yeah, not to stressed about it ... and I figure if after the first day we don't get on RSR then the second day I might try that me running over to see if I can get FP for everyone while the rest stay in DLP or something. I think it will work out

 

[Dugette]

I hope your re-worked plans make for a great trip!

Love your new shirt!

 

[afwdwfan]

Judi made a "smash cake" for Emma to enjoy - and enjoy she did! (at least the icing)

All kids love the icing. She's a cute one! Happy birthday!

Any other suggestions? Do people wear Disney World shirts to Disneyland?

Well, I did. And I'll likely wear my Disneyland shirt next time I go to the World.

Well, I guess that is why we do pre-trip reports, right? So that we are able to visualize things ... and then totally change plans. Ok, "totally change" might be a bit extreme, but as I started to re-work a few things it turned into a fairly significant overhaul.

Yuck... at least you are planning ahead and able to adjust. Sorry things got so jumbled up on you, but it seems like you've got a good handle on things.

 

[KatMark]

I like the new change of plans. And I have to let you know that I am going to be closely following all of this because it looks as if we will be going to DL in February and I will need ALL of the help I can get.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I hope your re-worked plans make for a great trip!

Love your new shirt!

Thanks! I think it should work out and also trying to keep in mind how easy park hoping is there

I got a shirt for Judi too a bit over sized so she can cut off the neck, etc. and use it as a shirt for Zumba

All kids love the icing. She's a cute one! Happy birthday!

Well, I did. And I'll likely wear my Disneyland shirt next time I go to the World.

Yuck... at least you are planning ahead and able to adjust. Sorry things got so jumbled up on you, but it seems like you've got a good handle on things.

Thanks for the input - good to know I have at least a few things to wear ready to go!

Definitely glad this came up now and not at the time I went to make the ADRs - and clearly I am not very glad to have done this PTR!

I like the new change of plans. And I have to let you know that I am going to be closely following all of this because it looks as if we will be going to DL in February and I will need ALL of the help I can get.

Thanks Kathy ... I hear you with wanting some help with planning for Disneyland. Hope this PTR and the eventual TR will be of a help to you. That is great that you are likely to go there - I hope by next February they still have a lot of the 60th anniversary events going

 

[Leshaface]

We had another celebration yesterday as Emma officially turned 1

Happy Belated Birthday Emma! So cute and can't believe she's 1 already! And walking

Also, and suggestions on times I should look to book these at? Especially the dinners, is there a good time to book them for when they are part of the package? Also, do you suggest just booking on the website or is calling better?

I've only ever called. Never tried the website as i've heard it wasn't as good as WDW's. But they are fairly quick on the phone

Other idea was a series of "Thank You Walt" shirts that would have a picture of Walt on them and then what each person said they were thankful for.

Love this idea, yes!

Any other suggestions? Do people wear Disney World shirts to Disneyland?

Totally! And vice versa. It's all Disney related anyway. Especially if they're sweaters, too expensive not to wear!

Then I checked calendars again for timing of Fantasmic! and once it got into September this year and then looking at October last year it seemed like there were only Fantasmic's scheduled for the weekend. So given that, and that the priority is definitely to see Pain the Night and Disneyland Forever, I have not taken Fantasmic out of the schedule

I wonder because of the celebration if they'll be thinking much more crowds compared to last October and add more F! showings?? Just a thought. Is there a huge scheduling difference between this Sept shows and last Sept shows?

The other thing I wanted to change was to move one of the table-service meals off of Friday as it hadn't really hit me that I had 3 planned for that day - so this kinda worked out well as now thinking of doing Minnie's Breakfast at the Plaza first thing our first day (will try for an ADR slot prior to full park opening). I like this as now Disneyland Park is our first park and hopefully we will be able to get some pictures before breakfast with a fairly empty main street.

Quoted your comment about possibly moving the Plaza Breakfast and erased it once I saw this. Good idea!

Liking the schedule. Thought i'd let you know here, originally DH's week off in October usually is the first full week in October and that's when we do stuff for DS's birthday. They took a different approach this year and had people vote so now it's been changed to the 2nd week in October (12-16) so now we'll be moving up DS's celebration to that week, meaning we may just run into you at Disneyland! DH's parent's, brother, his family of 4, and his sister and BF will be up there that Saturday the 17th so we're trying to figure out what will be best as far as tickets go. Thinking about AP's and if that's the case, the AP's are blocked for that Saturday so thinking about not purchasing the AP's until that Saturday when we'd technically be allowed in. If that happens, we'll be hanging around DTD that Friday and doing no parks. Still haven't figured out everything yet, but will let you know. Even if we could meet up for a few minutes in the Esplanade on your way out of Disneyland going into DCA would be fine with me too!

How'd you get this!?! I want one!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Happy Belated Birthday Emma! So cute and can't believe she's 1 already! And walking

I know - she's like this real little person now and definitely talking more recently. Judi's not happy that she definitely says "Da-da" all the time and never "ma-ma"

I've only ever called. Never tried the website as i've heard it wasn't as good as WDW's. But they are fairly quick on the phone
Love this idea, yes!

Totally! And vice versa. It's all Disney related anyway. Especially if they're sweaters, too expensive not to wear!

I wonder because of the celebration if they'll be thinking much more crowds compared to last October and add more F! showings?? Just a thought. Is there a huge scheduling difference between this Sept shows and last Sept shows?

Good to know about calling - can probably try both - check the website while calling to see what is better

So based on the calendars I see not much of September 2015 is out yet - only September 1-3 which is a Tues-Thurs and there are no Fantamics scheduled. In some ways just as well if they don't have any as makes my planning easier

Quoted your comment about possibly moving the Plaza Breakfast and erased it once I saw this. Good idea!

Definitely think it worked out kinda well and the TS meals are spread out more and I think it will be fun to start out with that Character meal - really get into the Disney vibe early.

Liking the schedule. Thought i'd let you know here, originally DH's week off in October usually is the first full week in October and that's when we do stuff for DS's birthday. They took a different approach this year and had people vote so now it's been changed to the 2nd week in October (12-16) so now we'll be moving up DS's celebration to that week, meaning we may just run into you at Disneyland! DH's parent's, brother, his family of 4, and his sister and BF will be up there that Saturday the 17th so we're trying to figure out what will be best as far as tickets go. Thinking about AP's and if that's the case, the AP's are blocked for that Saturday so thinking about not purchasing the AP's until that Saturday when we'd technically be allowed in. If that happens, we'll be hanging around DTD that Friday and doing no parks. Still haven't figured out everything yet, but will let you know. Even if we could meet up for a few minutes in the Esplanade on your way out of Disneyland going into DCA would be fine with me too!

Actually have been meaning to PM you about potential meet-up plans. If you are able to be in the area that would be so great. Was thinking if you were in the area earlier that week we could meet up at DTD on Tuesday evening, but yeah, even for a few minutes on Friday would be great!

How'd you get this!?! I want one!

I saw a link to order them after the celebration and I ordered 3. One I plan to use in a Disneyland 60th anniversary basket for next years Hershey meet, one I want to keep - but that does mean I have 1 extra

 

[MarbleBob]

I'm a little late in responding, but I like the revised plan!

You probably already know this, but on your arrival day, make sure that you reserve some time to explore the Disneyland Hotel lobbies. The main lobby has a cool display (sort of tucked back in the left (if you are entering from the pool side.)) The display has lots of cool memorabilia and collectibles. There are lots of old photos in the lobby area too. (Of course, you could save this for your Steakhouse 55 breakfast too. And make sure to get a photo of the kids in the Autopia car in the lobby area just outside of Steakhouse 55.) When we stayed at DLH in 2013, they had characters out in front of the pool (main lobby exit) fairly frequently. Keep your eyes open when you arrive, as it would be a nice way to kick of the festivities for your kids! And make sure you go inside the lobby of the Frontier Tower, as it has a cool model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This shouldn't be missed!!!

Maybe others responded about FP for Radiator Springs Racers, but it seemed like they were running out of them around 11am when we were there in June. And even then, you might be getting one for very late in the evening, which could work great with your first night plan's to see the lights come on at Cars Land. Or it might conflict with your WoC plans, if you save it for the last night. You might do some research to see what time you could safely wait to get them. Otherwise, you might run over early and get FP's while the others are finishing breakfast on that first day, seeing Mickey and the Magical Map (on the last day), or something... (I did that once on our 2013 trip, where I left my family in Disneyland to grab FP's at CA and then I came back. It might have cost me 20 or 30 minutes total (and a bit of sweat), but not too big of a deal.)

You HAVE to ride the Matterhorn. As you know, they don't have FP's so you should probably get in line for it fairly early in the morning, as the line gets long pretty quickly. Noting that you might have Plan A and Plan B. On our last trip, we started at DL on two different mornings. On the first day, we planned to hit the Matterhorn first. It had technical difficulties and took about 1.5 hours until it was running again. And on the second day, we made a mad dash (with extra magic hour) to hit Space Mountain first and it was down for about 45 minutes. Luckily, it was easy enough to come up with plan B's and it wasn't a big deal... other than being annoying.

Also, make sure you don't miss out on the Storybook Canal boats. It's a slow loader, so you might consider that for fairly early in the morning too.

I could go on and on... But your current revision looks pretty darn good!!!! Hopefully, the crowds will be in your favor and you'll be able to mostly follow that plan. It was super busy when we were there in June and there is no way that we'd have been able to get everything in as you have it. I think your agenda would have worked pretty well for our October 2013 trip...