Questions about ABD California Backstage Magic

[scottmel]

Our dinner in July was not at the ranch place either but inside the park reminded me of crystal palace

 

[Miss SD]

Try Catal in DTD for breakfast. Or for something quicker either Le Bara bakery or Earl of Sandwich. For lunch, it kind of depends on what park you are in.

I think you mean "La Brea" bakery, and you're right, Jeff, their stuff is fantastic!

Our dinner in July was not at the ranch place either but inside the park reminded me of crystal palace

Could it be the Plaza Inn? I know some on the boards may disagree, but I really enjoyed the food at Big Thunder BBQ.

 

[meryll83]

When does it get confirmed which restaurants you'll be eating at?
Do you get something in advance with a more detailed itinerary, or is it all find out when you're there type stuff?

 

[OKW Lover]

When does it get confirmed which restaurants you'll be eating at?

Restaurants can change from trip to trip to reflect operational realities. Your guides will let you know on your first day what the overall plan will be. Each day, they will give you a rundown of the day.

Before your trip, you'll get a package that includes a booklet listing daily activities.

 

[White Rose]

When does it get confirmed which restaurants you'll be eating at?
Do you get something in advance with a more detailed itinerary, or is it all find out when you're there type stuff?

We did not find out anything but the first day's activities when we arrived.

We found out basic things in the morning with more details as we arrived at each thing, but no, you will not know everything till you get to each activity.

Here's an example: on a day we had ice cream, we did not find out we were having ice cream, till about 2 hrs before! The only reason we found out THAT early is because we were going back to the hotel at that point and on our own till ice cream. Here's another example: We found out where we were going for lunch one day when we arrived AT the restaurant. before then we got 'clues'.

Each trip is different. We did not have lunch at a typical lunch spot one day because it was under construction, and instead we had lunch at another location which had different food options (much more healthy options!) and was smaller, but this second location was cool because it was with the imagineers. We did not find out about that till we were on the bus going to that location.

Go with the flow.

 

[White Rose]

Also, still wondering whether anyone has any advice on this?

Thanks again!

We had plans to do this last year, but never got around to booking it. This experience changes every year as well, so its hard to say if it will be the same experience as last year. Since it was ride focused, if I remember correctly, and you received pumpkin flavored treats, we were not in a rush to book it (pumpkin =).

Personally...I'm glad we did not. Even though we stayed the whole weekend after the official trip ended, (the ABD portion ended Friday morning) we still filled up Friday, Saturday and Sunday quite easily. We barely had time to enjoy the pool. We only had one ride of the Matterhorn the whole trip! Scandalous!

<After the weekend, we transferred to Burbank late Sunday night, did the WB studio tour on Monday, transferred to another hotel Monday night, and went home Tuesday. (we did a total of 5 hotels on this trip, counting the ABD hotels! The other hotels were on points!>

IMHO...The point is, the Halloween tour is more focused on rides, and not really a 'tour' more a fun ride experience with a ghostly dressed cast member, and a few pumpkin treats. I believe there is a story element to the experience, maybe helping the ghost host, or doing some task. Some years are more kid focused then others...some yeas it goes into both parks, some years it goes into one park. There were a few reviews of last year's happiest haunts over in the DisBoards Disneyland forum...see what answer you can get there...but I would not focus on booking it - there is a good chance you will be plenty busy riding rides and doing other things. Also it is not offered every night. In years past, you do get a special pin, though.

If it falls within your trip schedule, there is a possibility one of your nights might include a optional Halloween activity....if not, you might want to look into booking that. If the Halloween events schedule is published, look to see what is happening during the evenings while you are there at the GC, and see if disneyland is open - normal hours, or closed for an extra night time event. If Disneyland is closed for a special Halloween separate ticket event, call the vacationistas to see if that event is included with your trip. They probably won't know right away, and will call you back in a week or two with the answer.

Have fun! Try not to plan too much around the ABD activities - We did the Tarpits, Roosevelt hotel and a few other local things before the official start of ABD, and it was a nice leisurely way to begin. The trip is a good pace, and you will wish for downtime if you book too heavily.

 

[meryll83]

Does anyone know when they usually release the dates for Mickey's Halloween Party?

After they do I'll then call and see whether it might be included in our 9th Oct adventure...

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Does anyone know when they usually release the dates for Mickey's Halloween Party?

After they do I'll then call and see whether it might be included in our 9th Oct adventure...

Information for 2016 hasn't been released yet but this is the information for 2015, party dates and when tickets were available. It's from MouseSavers. I would use this as planning tool. It will probably be another month or so before Disneyland releases the official information. They do not release info/dates as early as WDW.

2015 Event Dates:

• September 25, 28, 30, October 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31

2015 Ticket Prices and On-Sale Dates:

• Gate prices are $84 on October 29 & 31; $77 on all other nights.
• Advance prices for general public: $69 on September 25, 28, 30, October 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 25. No advance purchase discount on tickets for October 2, 9, 16, 22, 23, 27, 29 and 31. Tickets went on sale 7/31/15 for the general public.
• Advance prices for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders: $69 on September 25; $63 on September 28, 30, October 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 25. No advance purchase discount on tickets for October 2, 9, 16, 22, 23, 27, 29 and 31. Tickets went on sale 7/22/15 for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders.
• Advance prices for Disney Rewards Visa cardholders have not been posted yet, but are usually the same as the prices for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders. Tickets went on sale 7/22/15 for Disney Rewards Visa cardholders.
• Advance prices for Disney Vacation Club members have not been posted yet, but are usually the same as the prices for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders. Tickets went on sale 7/22/15 for Disney Vacation Club members.

In 2015, tickets for Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland went on sale on July 22 for Annual Passholders, Disney Rewards Visa cardholders and Disney Vacation Club members. Tickets went on sale on July 29 for the general public.

 

[White Rose]

Does anyone know when they usually release the dates for Mickey's Halloween Party?

After they do I'll then call and see whether it might be included in our 9th Oct adventure...

The info came out last year n July...

 

[meryll83]

Thank you both!

 

[meryll83]

Did someone mention earlier bottled water is always available whenever you're on a bus?

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't know about "always", but it has been on all 4 ABD's that I've been on.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

We always had access to bottled water.

 

[sayhello]

I've done 6 ABDs and there has always been water and snacks on the bus. Depending on the trip, the Guides have also been known to carry extra water with them on hikes. They usually pass out water as you leave the bus, also. I can't imagine how many cases of bottled water they go through in the course of an ABD!

Sayhello

 

[meryll83]

At mealtimes are you eating from set menus?
How many options do you tend to have?

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

At mealtimes are you eating from set menus?
How many options do you tend to have?

Yes you will be eating off set menus. Usually you will have 2-3 appetizers one of which is a salad. For entrees you will typically have 1 fish, 1 chicken, 1 beef and 1 vegetarian dish on offering. There may be 1 or 2 other options but generally no more than 4 options. There may be 2 options for dessert or not, they may just bring a dessert to your place. Usually you will find a menu already at your seat at the table with the menu for you to choose from and it is not the standard menu. Your options come from the standard menu, but you do not have the full menu to choose from.

 

[meryll83]

Not long until we have to pay off our balance now - it's getting realer!!

 

[meryll83]

I've been reading strategies about mornings in the parks, and where to head first for FPs, which standby lines to go into etc. We have a couple of days on our own post-ABD when this might come in useful, but should we have already gained access to the main draws as part of the adventure?

Attractions we particularly want to make sure we do are: RSR, WoC, Soarin', Cal Screamin'

Indy, Matterhorn, SpaceM, ToT and HM I don't see mentioned in the morning strategies, so I assume the queues for these aren't so bad?

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I've been reading strategies about mornings in the parks, and where to head first for FPs, which standby lines to go into etc. We have a couple of days on our own post-ABD when this might come in useful, but should we have already gained access to the main draws as part of the adventure?

Attractions we particularly want to make sure we do are: RSR, WoC, Soarin', Cal Screamin'

Indy, Matterhorn, SpaceM, ToT and HM I don't see mentioned in the morning strategies, so I assume the queues for these aren't so bad?

You will most likely do the following: RSR, WoC, Indy and possibly HM but no guarantees. Just going off of what we did on our trip.

Fastpasses are few and far between at DL and DCA and they are the old paper system there. Only about 5 or 6 attractions actually have fastpasses in each park and you can only hold 1 at a time, with the exception of the WoC fastpass.

RSR fastpasses are not available at the attraction itself, you pick those up up by Tough to be a Bug in Bug's Land and if you really want one, you'll have to be lined up for it at park opening. Yes, you will have to line up for a fastpass. Alternatively you can hop in the single rider line. When we were there in December we opted to just hop in line. The wait was actually shorter than the posted time. I think we waited at most 45 minutes.

WoC fastpasses are available up with the fastpasses for Grizzly River Run and are on first come first serve basis. If there are 2 showings of WoC then you can tell the CMs which showing you want to see. Alternatively, you can book a World of Color dinner package at 3 different restaurants in the park, each one offering slightly better views, or you can book a World of Color Dessert Party.

Definitely do Soarin' and California Screamin', both are fastpass attractions and both have fastpasses available at their rides. Also, if you hit the park first thing in the morning, then you can ride both relatively easy within the first hour of park opening with little wait.

Tower of Terror does not have fastpass, neither does Toy Story but both lines move relatively quickly.

Matterhorn does not have fastpass, just hop in line. Matterhorn will shut down for parades and fireworks so just be aware. Actually a great time to hop in line is right after the parade because people think it's not running, then when they reopen the line, you'll get on pretty quickly.

Definitely grab a fastpass for Space Mountain, right now, it's still HyperSpace Mountain with the Star Wars overlay so it's pretty popular. Go there first thing and grab your fastpass. If your time is later in the day, you'll be able to grab another fastpass in 2 hours.

Everything else in your list can be fastpassed but is not really necessary. Indy can be done either way.

We were there this past December during the Diamond Celebration when it was busier than normal and it was nowhere near what WDW is even in low season these days. I think our longest wait was for RSR at 45 minutes without a fastpass. Most lines at Disneyland move pretty steadily because they don't have fastpass so don't let long lines deter you, nor a posted wait time that seems really long. We found most posted wait times were not what the actual wait time was. Our 45 minute wait for RSR was posted at 75 minutes. We'd get into a line for Jungle Cruise that said 55 minutes and be through in 40.

 

[meryll83]

Thanks for all the advice, this is really helpful!