DnA2010
Rope Drop!
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2010
- Messages
- 2,719
My apologies on how late this is, but the last week back at home has been crazy of course.
We visited DL May 20th-24th, with 5 day park hoppers. Our group consisted on my family (DH, DD13, DD20months), my sister's family (her, her DH and their DS20months) and our mom.
Arrival/Transportation
We arrived at LAX around noon on Saturday the 19th- I had booked the DL Express bus, so that we didn't have to bring car seats for the toddlers. I had pre-paid, as I had found a discount code on here. Our plane was in a bit early, so we almost made the 11:45am bus, but were waiting on 1 piece of luggage. This was ok, as it gave us time to find the bathrooms, change the babies etc. The 12:45pm bus arrived at around 12:50, so 5 minutes late or so. The bus was maybe 1/3-1/2 full? It dropped off first at GCH, then DLH, and then us at the Desert Inn and Suites. Traffic wasn't too bad in my opinion.
Hotel: I am copying this from another thread I wrote it up on-
There were 2 reasons for booking this hotel- the fact it was right across the street, and that we could get a suite that had 3 rooms- their largest suites have a large room with 2 queens, a bit smaller room with 2 queens, and a center middle room with tv, table and a pull out couch. This gave us the the ability to put a toddler to bed in each room, and still have somewhere to be. Grandma was happy to stay in once the littles were in bed, and thus the parents could return to the parks till close.
Booking- I changed our booking when a better rate came out for check-ins starting on Sundays, thus I made a 1 night booking for the Saturday night we arrived, and a 5 night booking after that. It was a good thing I called to ask a question a month or so out, as they had our booking on the wrong day, and hadn't got my email right (I should have realized earlier that I hadn't received anything) They also called the day before to sat that my credit card I had given wasn't working. I had received a new one, as the expiration date was in April. I gave this to the front desk person and she insisted that she tried it twice and that it was getting declined. I phoned visa, and they said that it had been tried twice, with the old expiration date. Annoying.
Check-in- we arrived around 2pm I would say. The front desk person said that she was just waiting for the list of rooms, and it would be about 10 minutes. It was def longer than that, but once our two toddlers started getting fussy, she seemed to get the list...
Room- the room was exactly as I expected. Old furnishings etc. The layout of the rooms worked just as we wanted though. We looked carefully at the cleanliness, and I will say, the bathroom especially was quite clean. We didn't find the beds hard at all. One thing I really didn't like was there was quite a gap at the bottom of the main door that lead to the hallway. We didn't hear any noise from people above/below/either side, just people walking by.
Breakfast- For fruit there was apples, bananas, oranges, and it was always replaced, there were the hard boiled eggs, bread for toast, bagels and cream cheese alternated with mini muffins. For cereal there was oatmeal, rice krispies, fruit loops, and corn flakes. Milk, a juice machine with orange and apple, and a coffee machine. It was what we expected and handy to be able to grab something before the parks. We always managed to get tables and we were a group of 8.
Cleaning- when it was done, it was done well, but 2 days we didn't get cleaning- the first one, my sister was in the room a lot of the day, but the cleaners made no attempt to discuss when they could get in to clean, and the other, the two dads had arrived back, just as the cleaners were working on the room next door. they told the cleaners that they would take the toddlers for a walk while the room got done, but when they came back, the room wasn't done and the cleaners were gone.
We did store our bags in the lockers on the last day, and had to put our 2 playpens in the room next door as they wouldn't fit. We ended up being a bit late coming back from DTD, so were a bit tight for time. We found a staff member to let us into the locker room, but the person would not let us in to the storage room to get the playpens as I didn't have the ticket I had filled out, as I had given it to my sister. I offered to show ID, as it was my name on the items, but the person wouldn't answer me, nor would she give an alternative when I asked what the policy was for lost tickets, as they must have something right..I asked to speak to the manager as we were getting really tight for time now, and she wouldn't answer me..thankfully my sister showed up (DH and I had ran ahead to get things going) We made the bus with like 2 minutes to spare...
Ultimately, the place served it's purpose, I would only stay there again if I needed the same set up of rooms (ie 3 connecting). Mainly, I didn't meet one person at the hotel in any area or department who seemed to care at all.
Park Thoughts:
Food:
We ate breakfast at our hotel, and then generally had lunch/dinner in the parks- we did do a grocery order from Vons, but didn't get that much food- I wish I had ordered more lunch stuff but such is.
Some of the things we enjoyed:
Rides/MaxPass:
From my research I knew I wanted to use Max Pass- I bought 3 passes daily and we used rider swap. I found the Max Pass easy to use and other than the big guys, it was always possible to get fast passes when we wanted them, often something pretty close to the time. It was super handy and I hope the price isn't jacked up by the time we get back to DL, but I suspect it will be.
Photopass- we tried to use this when we remembered. I will say I wish I had known to keep up with/make note when we did pictures, as I don't think all the photos we took loaded. Our castle pics didn't for example, but I was able to get them loaded at the photo centre as I knew around when they were taken.
Breakdowns- we experienced a LOT of ride breakdowns...like a lot. We were stuck on Indy for almost a hour for example, and then for 20 minutes a second time. We also experienced breakdowns of Space, Whinnie the Poo, Big Thunder, Alice, Buzz, Toy Story and I'm sure more.
Evening Entertainment:
PTN- we had seen PTN when we were at DL last - it's a great parade and we enjoyed it. We viewed it from in front of the theatre close to Guardians. I think DD and DH were there about 45 min ahead to hold a curb spot.
Fireworks- we did view these from the viewing deck at the hotel, but no music makes it not as great of course. My DH and I were the only ones super keen to see the fireworks from a good spot. We lucked out as when we were going across the front of the hub, some people we met in a line were right there near the front and yelled at DH and I to join them! This was maybe 20 minutes before the start! They seemed to know everyone around them and everyone was really nice and welcomed us and the view of course was perfect. Loved the show, being right in front was awesome!
Fantasmic- it was only on once during our time. We didn't do any of the reserved dining as we had no idea how things would go with the littles and all. We did pick up regular FP's. My family had done the BB package on our last trip. We ended up stuck on Indy in the time leading up to F! so ended up getting to the area right as it was starting. As we then had no idea to go, we went left and ended up watching from some stairs on the left side.
Parade- My mom and I sat down on the curb down by the entrance about 45 min ahead of the parade? I am so glad we did make the time for the parade as our little ones loved it!
We really missed WOC.
DL with Toddlers:
Some random thoughts about DL with 2 toddlers (20 months)
it was wayy busier than I was expecting, but with MaxPass and accepting that the parks were busy. We still had a blast.
5 days was still not enough for us of course- I know a lot of people feel that the parks can be done in 2-3 days but well we still didn't see Mickey and the Magic Lamp, Frozen, Disney Junior Dance Party, didnt' ride PP, didn't do Minnie/Mickey's houses etc. I could have easily done a couple more days
We do like to do rides lots of times.
Loved loved loved Guardians! I think I got 3 or was it 4 of the songs! So good!
Anyways, I'm sure there is more I will add, but another awesome trip. Please feel free to ask questions.
We visited DL May 20th-24th, with 5 day park hoppers. Our group consisted on my family (DH, DD13, DD20months), my sister's family (her, her DH and their DS20months) and our mom.
Arrival/Transportation
We arrived at LAX around noon on Saturday the 19th- I had booked the DL Express bus, so that we didn't have to bring car seats for the toddlers. I had pre-paid, as I had found a discount code on here. Our plane was in a bit early, so we almost made the 11:45am bus, but were waiting on 1 piece of luggage. This was ok, as it gave us time to find the bathrooms, change the babies etc. The 12:45pm bus arrived at around 12:50, so 5 minutes late or so. The bus was maybe 1/3-1/2 full? It dropped off first at GCH, then DLH, and then us at the Desert Inn and Suites. Traffic wasn't too bad in my opinion.
Hotel: I am copying this from another thread I wrote it up on-
There were 2 reasons for booking this hotel- the fact it was right across the street, and that we could get a suite that had 3 rooms- their largest suites have a large room with 2 queens, a bit smaller room with 2 queens, and a center middle room with tv, table and a pull out couch. This gave us the the ability to put a toddler to bed in each room, and still have somewhere to be. Grandma was happy to stay in once the littles were in bed, and thus the parents could return to the parks till close.
Booking- I changed our booking when a better rate came out for check-ins starting on Sundays, thus I made a 1 night booking for the Saturday night we arrived, and a 5 night booking after that. It was a good thing I called to ask a question a month or so out, as they had our booking on the wrong day, and hadn't got my email right (I should have realized earlier that I hadn't received anything) They also called the day before to sat that my credit card I had given wasn't working. I had received a new one, as the expiration date was in April. I gave this to the front desk person and she insisted that she tried it twice and that it was getting declined. I phoned visa, and they said that it had been tried twice, with the old expiration date. Annoying.
Check-in- we arrived around 2pm I would say. The front desk person said that she was just waiting for the list of rooms, and it would be about 10 minutes. It was def longer than that, but once our two toddlers started getting fussy, she seemed to get the list...
Room- the room was exactly as I expected. Old furnishings etc. The layout of the rooms worked just as we wanted though. We looked carefully at the cleanliness, and I will say, the bathroom especially was quite clean. We didn't find the beds hard at all. One thing I really didn't like was there was quite a gap at the bottom of the main door that lead to the hallway. We didn't hear any noise from people above/below/either side, just people walking by.
Breakfast- For fruit there was apples, bananas, oranges, and it was always replaced, there were the hard boiled eggs, bread for toast, bagels and cream cheese alternated with mini muffins. For cereal there was oatmeal, rice krispies, fruit loops, and corn flakes. Milk, a juice machine with orange and apple, and a coffee machine. It was what we expected and handy to be able to grab something before the parks. We always managed to get tables and we were a group of 8.
Cleaning- when it was done, it was done well, but 2 days we didn't get cleaning- the first one, my sister was in the room a lot of the day, but the cleaners made no attempt to discuss when they could get in to clean, and the other, the two dads had arrived back, just as the cleaners were working on the room next door. they told the cleaners that they would take the toddlers for a walk while the room got done, but when they came back, the room wasn't done and the cleaners were gone.
We did store our bags in the lockers on the last day, and had to put our 2 playpens in the room next door as they wouldn't fit. We ended up being a bit late coming back from DTD, so were a bit tight for time. We found a staff member to let us into the locker room, but the person would not let us in to the storage room to get the playpens as I didn't have the ticket I had filled out, as I had given it to my sister. I offered to show ID, as it was my name on the items, but the person wouldn't answer me, nor would she give an alternative when I asked what the policy was for lost tickets, as they must have something right..I asked to speak to the manager as we were getting really tight for time now, and she wouldn't answer me..thankfully my sister showed up (DH and I had ran ahead to get things going) We made the bus with like 2 minutes to spare...
Ultimately, the place served it's purpose, I would only stay there again if I needed the same set up of rooms (ie 3 connecting). Mainly, I didn't meet one person at the hotel in any area or department who seemed to care at all.
Park Thoughts:
Food:
We ate breakfast at our hotel, and then generally had lunch/dinner in the parks- we did do a grocery order from Vons, but didn't get that much food- I wish I had ordered more lunch stuff but such is.
Some of the things we enjoyed:
- Plaza Inn- Yum! the chicken dinners were a great as ever and we shared, so this did bring the cost down a bit. We were going to try the special cake, but were too full.
- Soup in breadbowl- we had the broccoli/cheddar in DCA- it was really good! Perfect for my sister and I to share. I was sad to see how many people tossed their bowls...why not just buy the soup alone?
- Rancho del Zocalo- we tried the burrito (Sonora? Red sauce) it was very nice and had a nice amount of meat in it, the nachos, and the taco salad. these 3 meals were too much for my mom, sister and I- 2 meals would have been plenty.
- Stage Door Cafe- we tried the corn dog, chicken wrap, and fish and chips- we were happy with all of these...I enjoyed the chicken wrap, it came with a bunch of fruit and had lots of interesting things in it and had a little bit of a kick if I remember
- Hungry Bear- we actually ate here twice as we liked the picnic salad they had. DD13 also really enjoyed the chili burger.
- Cozy Cones- Yum! we tried the 3 available (meatball, bacon mac and cheese and chili) and really enjoyed them all.
- Dole whips- such a classic but sooo good! I think they are small though, and of course price is up.
- Pizza planet- we got a whole pepperoni pizza as well as an order of the chicken fusilli - they did not have the family deal running.
Rides/MaxPass:
From my research I knew I wanted to use Max Pass- I bought 3 passes daily and we used rider swap. I found the Max Pass easy to use and other than the big guys, it was always possible to get fast passes when we wanted them, often something pretty close to the time. It was super handy and I hope the price isn't jacked up by the time we get back to DL, but I suspect it will be.
Photopass- we tried to use this when we remembered. I will say I wish I had known to keep up with/make note when we did pictures, as I don't think all the photos we took loaded. Our castle pics didn't for example, but I was able to get them loaded at the photo centre as I knew around when they were taken.
Breakdowns- we experienced a LOT of ride breakdowns...like a lot. We were stuck on Indy for almost a hour for example, and then for 20 minutes a second time. We also experienced breakdowns of Space, Whinnie the Poo, Big Thunder, Alice, Buzz, Toy Story and I'm sure more.
Evening Entertainment:
PTN- we had seen PTN when we were at DL last - it's a great parade and we enjoyed it. We viewed it from in front of the theatre close to Guardians. I think DD and DH were there about 45 min ahead to hold a curb spot.
Fireworks- we did view these from the viewing deck at the hotel, but no music makes it not as great of course. My DH and I were the only ones super keen to see the fireworks from a good spot. We lucked out as when we were going across the front of the hub, some people we met in a line were right there near the front and yelled at DH and I to join them! This was maybe 20 minutes before the start! They seemed to know everyone around them and everyone was really nice and welcomed us and the view of course was perfect. Loved the show, being right in front was awesome!
Fantasmic- it was only on once during our time. We didn't do any of the reserved dining as we had no idea how things would go with the littles and all. We did pick up regular FP's. My family had done the BB package on our last trip. We ended up stuck on Indy in the time leading up to F! so ended up getting to the area right as it was starting. As we then had no idea to go, we went left and ended up watching from some stairs on the left side.
Parade- My mom and I sat down on the curb down by the entrance about 45 min ahead of the parade? I am so glad we did make the time for the parade as our little ones loved it!
We really missed WOC.
DL with Toddlers:
Some random thoughts about DL with 2 toddlers (20 months)
- Rides: Overall we found lots the littles could ride, and for the most part they loved rides. we never made it for actual rope drop but were generally in just after. We would then be able to do Fantasyland pretty easily- our toddlers loved the carousel, Dumbo, the train, mine didn't mind the dark rides, where as my sister's wasn't keen and was scared. Mine loved teacups, and they both liked the canal boats. They both loved small world of course. We combined doing Fantasyland early, with FP/non busy stuff later on to manage not waiting in lines with the toddlers. They loved the Tiki Room, so that was our fallback when it was really busy around. We didn't do Mickey/Minnie houses as they were busy but did the other play areas.
- Characters- ours were ok with characters- they were def better later on in the trip when they got used to seeing them around/waving at them.
- Staying Close: having the hotel so close was perfect - we would take turns taking the littles back to nap, and it was so nice to put one down in each room, then have the centre room to watch tv, play a game etc.
it was wayy busier than I was expecting, but with MaxPass and accepting that the parks were busy. We still had a blast.
5 days was still not enough for us of course- I know a lot of people feel that the parks can be done in 2-3 days but well we still didn't see Mickey and the Magic Lamp, Frozen, Disney Junior Dance Party, didnt' ride PP, didn't do Minnie/Mickey's houses etc. I could have easily done a couple more days
We do like to do rides lots of times.Loved loved loved Guardians! I think I got 3 or was it 4 of the songs! So good!
Anyways, I'm sure there is more I will add, but another awesome trip. Please feel free to ask questions.
Last edited:
