Random questions about first(ish) trip in July.

[grzzzlygrrr]

I’ve been lurking, studying, learning on these boards for a few months while the wife and I make plans for our first family trip to Disneyland (Big thanks to everyone for being so helpful to us quiet observers). We’ve both been before, but this will be the first time for our kids (9 and 12), and our first time as the adults in charge of it all. After accepting that it will probably be crowded no matter when we go, we’ve decided on July 8-12. We’ll be staying at the Grand Californian, checking in that Sunday evening, spending Monday-Wednesday in the parks, and heading home Thursday. Our plan is to go with a casual approach, accept the crowds, and just have fun being in that atmosphere together. We’ll go early, break to rest and eat back at the room during the hottest & busiest part of the day, then head out again and stay as late as we can manage. We’ve done way too much research, but still have a few questions for you seasoned Disneyland vets and travel planners.
First off, can anyone see any reasons we might want to consider shifting the dates forward or back a week or two?
Are there any advantages to booking rooms and ordering tickets this far in advance? Potential problems?
Not really related to DLR specifically, but what is a good window for airline shopping?
Any suggestions for a laid-back first night before we hit the parks in the morning?
The kids will be there for the rides. Is Maxpass a must? I’m having a hard time talking myself into paying the price x four of us x three days.
Any suggestions for dining with an extremely picky eater?
Any little tips, secrets, or Disneyland wisdom anyone would like to impart?
Thanks again and in advance. Wish us luck in containing our excitement and keeping this a secret from the kids until it’s time to pack!

 

[poseys]

On our first night, we usually eat at Rainforest Cafe, hang out in Downtown Disney, swim at the hotel, rest from travel. Plenary to do that first evening. Pretty much every restaurant has Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets or something similar for kids. I think you’ll be fine, just check out some menus on the website when deciding. Plus, there’s a ton of counter service places with corn dogs and other simple things.
For US, we are getting MaxPass for the family for 2 out of 5 days and then the other days just doing one person for the PhotoPass.
I think it’s smart to wait on tickets because you never know when you might have to cancel and they are generally non-refundable. We just had to cancel our Disney Cruise 9 days before sailing. Man, it sucked to do that but I was glad I had insurance. Disney World DID refund our one day tickets because of the circumstance (cancelling travel due to pregnancy and Zika) but that is very rare, from what I understand.

 

[figment_jii]

First off, can anyone see any reasons we might want to consider shifting the dates forward or back a week or two?

At this point, there is nothing that really jumps out at me about switching dates. If you move back one week, you could be there for DLR's 63rd Anniversary. However, given that it's not a "big" anniversary, I doubt they'll do much more than a little ceremony and, maybe, offer a button. They have not yet announced a opening date for Pixar Pier, other than summer. There are a few rumors about mid-to-late June floating around, so that might be a reason to stick with July (best possible chance of Pixar Pier being open). The SoCal Select and SoCal AP blockouts have already started by July, so that might help with crowds. All-in-all, I'd probably stick with July.

Are there any advantages to booking rooms and ordering tickets this far in advance? Potential problems?

The only reason I can think of to order tickets at this point is to lock in the price. They haven't been giving people much notice before price increases go into effect recently, so you might not have a chance to buy tickets at the current price.

Any suggestions for a laid-back first night before we hit the parks in the morning?

I'd consider having dinner in DTD; maybe check out Splitsville?

Any suggestions for dining with an extremely picky eater?

I would look at the menus on Disneyland.com, wdwinfo.com, and allears.net to get a sense of what kinds of items are available. Dining reservations open up 60-days in advance (one day at a time) online and via the phone. Reservations aren't terribly difficult to come by, but I still recommend making reservations if you know you want to eat at a specific place and/or time. You can often find pretty prime reservations with only a few weeks to go, but availability does vary. There are also a number of pretty good counter service locations in the parks. That might be the easier option if you have someone that is really picky because you can pick-up something they'd eat and take it with you to the other CS locations that might have more things of interest to the rest of the your family.

 

[chickapin parterre]

your dates are good, been much discussion about your week and the week of the fourth here on this board. Folks who have been asking about the 4th, I have encouraged them to stay with their plans. The three weeks come down to your choice and what balance of pros and cons you have found about the three weeks.

When was the last time you were in Disneyland?

Crowding will not be an issue...because you have no concept of what that looks like at Disneyland. When you read of crowding here on this board, it is basically from veteran visitors, who have an extensive past history of visiting Disneyland. Your reading has paid off and your daily plan is perfect for touring and don't forget, it is a vacation and not an expedition!!

How do you know that your kids are there for the attractions only....do they not have a Mickey Mouse culture? you may very well be pleasantly surprised how Disneyland stage even turns adult only attractions adults into kids. You may very well putting your previous visit as teens onto your young children. They may very well like to watch Cruella Deville do her thing on main street....or peter pan in Fantasyland.....or glimpses of jack sparrow. .....Maybe even that hug from the Big Fellow!!!!!

What are your choices for airlines.....April seems to be the window for summer travel fares.

and as a word of successful encouragement, you have not over done your planning, for Disneyland is complicated...but easy if you know how....you may very well find yourself sitting on the train next to a family on the train complaining how hard it is to visit Disneyland and you will ask yourself? " Did they visit the same Disneyland I am visiting....because I am not experiencing that now?"

 

[LilyJC]

It sounds like you’re all set to have a fantastic trip. Staying at the GC will enable you to take advantage of EMH which will help you get to the most popular rides if you decide not to use Maxpass. You can really get a lot accomplished in that first hour! The only thing about not having at least one family member with Maxpass each day is missing out on photopass. Ride photos are our favorite, as well as the great photo opportunities throughout both parks!

My kids are the same age, and my youngest is the pickiest eater. We don’t do a lot of TS meals as the CS meal options in the parks and DTD are pretty great. My kids can always find something at Whitewater Snacks which is conveniently located near the DCA entrance from GC.

I’m not sure where you’re coming from, but Southwest is currently having a pretty decent sale. I just checked flights for late July and was pleasantly surprised! YMMV

If you’re looking for one splurge, I’d highly recommend the WOC dessert party.

One more suggestion is to follow Disneyland Daily on Facebook or just keep tabs on her website. She always posts great pictures and park updates!

 

[Geemo]

I’ve been lurking, studying, learning on these boards for a few months while the wife and I make plans for our first family trip to Disneyland (Big thanks to everyone for being so helpful to us quiet observers). We’ve both been before, but this will be the first time for our kids (9 and 12), and our first time as the adults in charge of it all. After accepting that it will probably be crowded no matter when we go, we’ve decided on July 8-12. We’ll be staying at the Grand Californian, checking in that Sunday evening, spending Monday-Wednesday in the parks, and heading home Thursday. Our plan is to go with a casual approach, accept the crowds, and just have fun being in that atmosphere together. We’ll go early, break to rest and eat back at the room during the hottest & busiest part of the day, then head out again and stay as late as we can manage. We’ve done way too much research, but still have a few questions for you seasoned Disneyland vets and travel planners.
First off, can anyone see any reasons we might want to consider shifting the dates forward or back a week or two?
Are there any advantages to booking rooms and ordering tickets this far in advance? Potential problems?
Not really related to DLR specifically, but what is a good window for airline shopping?
Any suggestions for a laid-back first night before we hit the parks in the morning?
The kids will be there for the rides. Is Maxpass a must? I’m having a hard time talking myself into paying the price x four of us x three days.
Any suggestions for dining with an extremely picky eater?
Any little tips, secrets, or Disneyland wisdom anyone would like to impart?
Thanks again and in advance. Wish us luck in containing our excitement and keeping this a secret from the kids until it’s time to pack!

For your park tickets, if you don't purchase from a third party vendor, you can have them added to your room reservation.
When I book a room only reservation, I have tickets added to the reservation. When we check in our tickets are right there. No need to mess with a ticket booth line.

What airport are you flying out of? The prices for July will be a challenge to find a great deal.

By the way....

to the board!

Geemo

 

[HydroGuy]

Any suggestions for a laid-back first night before we hit the parks in the morning?

You will have early entry privileges to DCA on Monday/Wednesday and DL on Tuesday. That means 7AM. At the gates. Better still, arrive by 6:45AM. If you can do 2 or the 3 days that is better than us. We a re usually lucky to make half of them when we stay onsite. If you happen to be coming west from other time zones then use that to your advantage.

IMO, you first night should be easy and early to bed so you can get out your hotel room door by 6:30-6:35AM.

Rainforest Cafe has always been a typical first evening/rest evening dining stop for us. Should be enough there for any picky eater.

Otherwise use the pool or see a movie or something and relax.

Also, shop at World of Disney. It is right under GCH.

The kids will be there for the rides. Is Maxpass a must? I’m having a hard time talking myself into paying the price x four of us x three days.

IMO MaxPass will be an investment you will not regret.

Any suggestions for dining with an extremely picky eater?

White water Snacks (inside GCH) has burgers and hot dogs and is pretty decent.

In the parks - I have no recommendations for a picky eater at DL that involve sit down dining. Quick dining try Plaza Inn or Jolly Holiday Bakery.

At DCA, probably Wine Country Tratorria for a sit down. Flo's V-8 for quick service.

Any little tips, secrets, or Disneyland wisdom anyone would like to impart?

1. TAKE AFTERNOON BREAKS. See "Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

2. See some shows and parades. Paint the Night parade will be at DCA and it is incredible. Even for those who are mostly into rides. Also World of Color and Fantasmic (I would lean towards WOC if you had to choose but I am usually in the minority around here on that). But you can probably do both. If you do these, do some research ahead of time as WOC and F! are both tricky to see.

 

[disneylover102]

If you book your tickets this far in advance, you won’t risk the ticket prices going up which I believe happens often in February. It always takes me about 3 hours to fall asleep the night before our first day at Disneyland so plan on 10-11 hours of sleep the night before to get at least a full 8. I would buy MaxPass. You get a MP every 90 minutes instead of every 2 hours for FP. Since you are taking naps after entering the park, you could get FP while in the hotel and when you return use a lot of FPs.

 

[poptart90]

I'm going to "second" HydroGuy and say skip something else (if needed) and Get Max Pass. You will not regret it. It's truly worth the money.
I'll give some highlights:

1. You will be able to start reserving Max Pass tickets approx. 30 minutes BEFORE regular park opening.

2. Once you scan your park tickets and enter the FP line of an attraction, you can immediately book another Max Pass. I do this every time as I'm waiting in the FP line, grab the family the next MPs. It's awesome. By doing this, my family was able to book and ride 5 MP in less than two hours starting at regular park opening during January's Holiday Season. Maximizes your ride time, for sure!

3. MP can be booked every 90 minutes, or sooner depending on the attraction. And the return times are always sooner than FP. And during our last trip three weeks ago when the FP's were "out" for the day on an attraction, I was still almost always able to book a MP.

It's an expense. But one that you will not regret. Nor will your feet. As the "former designated family runner for the Fast Pass tickets", can I just say how much I LOVE being able to take my 2 year old on Pooh in Critter Country while booking Radiator Springs Racers (DCA) from my phone??!! Bliss. Total Bliss.

Oh, and I also "second" disneylover102 above: Booking a MP from the pool or in your hotel room while resting is the cherry on top!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can look at DLR menus on allears.net. "Picky" can mean something different for each kid or grown-up, so having a basic idea of menu offerings can be a big help.