Reflections on/lessons learned from our first "briefer" trip as AP holders.

[arcadiandj]

So up until this weekend, our trips had all been yearly and more lengthy. You know, the vacation of the year sort of trip, but this year, we decided to deepen our fandom, and we got some APs. This past weekend we did a three day trip with more of a budget focus/stayed off property and just had an all around "less intense" trip.

My thoughts:

Staying off property and taking a shuttle was great. Before, I thought on property was the end all be all, and that you would lose too much with the time it takes for transportation. Not at all the case. The shuttle really helped us relax and gave us a chance to gear up for and gear down from the day. And we saved a ton of money. We didn't feel our enjoyment was lessoned by staying off property.

This was my first trip to the park outside of the holiday season. It was a different park, and not in a bad way. Without the decorations, there wasn't as much polish, but there also weren't the huge crowds, which was great. There were still crowds, but again, over all, the volume was turned down, and that gave us time and energy to experience the park in a way we hadn't before.

Closures were a disappointment, but again, they led us in new directions that we enjoyed. E.g., the Jungle Cruise was down, but they had a Skipper Skool that we loved! The CMs that led the skool were awesome, and we loved experiencing their energy, their comedy, and the show they led us through. It was very special.

We are getting better at negotiating the crowds. Our FP technique is honed, we went to DTD or to one of the hotels during the peak times, and when the crowds exceeded our comfort levels, we went off the beaten path in the park and did things we didn't normally do-rode the monorail, took a nap on a bench, went shopping, tried to get to know Disney cats better, and the Golden Horseshoe.

Finally, we found a phone game we saw others playing-Heads up. My wife and I LOVED this, and we waited in 3 long lines while playing this game, and the time in the lines FLEW. We laughed a ton and highly recommend the game!

Ok, enough rambling. Perhaps a word or two will help others hone their enjoyment of the parks.

 

[nikkislaght]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. we love the heads up game. and my son and I have been playing it the last couple of weeks.. we have never stayed on site and enjoy the 'down' time getting to and from the parks too. plus love the savings . we will be there in April.. hoping to see the skool and Starwars meet and greets .

 

[bumbershoot]

Finally, we found a phone game we saw others playing-Heads up.

The one where you guess the word/phrase/movie/etc?

Was it us that you saw playing the game? Big black and white haired guy, red-headed 11 year old boy, wife regularly shushing the highly excitable menfolk as they guessed "Wonder Woman", etc.

 

[arcadiandj]

The one where you guess the word/phrase/movie/etc?

Was it us that you saw playing the game? Big black and white haired guy, red-headed 11 year old boy, wife regularly shushing the highly excitable menfolk as they guessed "Wonder Woman", etc.

Yes, that game. I think we did see you! You all were HILARIOUS!

 

[mich311e]

Nice! Glad you had fun!

We usually go every other Thanksgiving-ish. So as a family, the holidays are all we know at DLR! (When DH and I were younger we went any time we could!) This year is our "year of Disney" and we have APs for the first time. We went for 5 days over Thanksgiving and will be going back next weekend. Can't wait! We are looking forward to doing all the stuff we never do because we are too busy or on the go.

 

[tiffjoy]

This has been our first time as APs this past year (expires in March), and we have thoroughly enjoyed all our little short trips. I wondered if our kids would get burned out on the almost 7 hour drive down on Friday night, parks Saturday and Sunday morning, then drive back Sunday afternoon, but they haven't. They have a blast, and we have found it to be really relaxing to do whatever we want with no real agenda. The girls will do their favorite things again and again, and there's just no stress from any of us over missing something because we can do it again next time. We are winding down to expiration now though, so I think the next couple might be a little less go with the flow and try to fit in some scheduling to make sure we do it all one last time.

Enjoy your Year of Disney! I know we have!

 

[tiffjoy]

Oh, also, we do really affordable hotels for our short weekend trips as well. I recommend checking out the Alpine Inn. Definitely budget, but we have been very happy there and it has allowed us to go for more weekend trips since it's so affordable.

 

[mich311e]

Oh, also, we do really affordable hotels for our short weekend trips as well. I recommend checking out the Alpine Inn. Definitely budget, but we have been very happy there and it has allowed us to go for more weekend trips since it's so affordable.

I agree about affordable hotels. We stayed at the Quality Inn on Manchester. We have a Choice Privileges reward card and we have free rooms for our next trip! All we have to pay for is gas and food!

 

[arcadiandj]

Nice! Glad you had fun!

We usually go every other Thanksgiving-ish. So as a family, the holidays are all we know at DLR! (When DH and I were younger we went any time we could!) This year is our "year of Disney" and we have APs for the first time. We went for 5 days over Thanksgiving and will be going back next weekend. Can't wait! We are looking forward to doing all the stuff we never do because we are too busy or on the go.

Please do a similar post. It sounds like we are birds of a feather. I would love to read about your experience. Enjoy!

 

[arcadiandj]

This has been our first time as APs this past year (expires in March), and we have thoroughly enjoyed all our little short trips. I wondered if our kids would get burned out on the almost 7 hour drive down on Friday night, parks Saturday and Sunday morning, then drive back Sunday afternoon, but they haven't. They have a blast, and we have found it to be really relaxing to do whatever we want with no real agenda. The girls will do their favorite things again and again, and there's just no stress from any of us over missing something because we can do it again next time. We are winding down to expiration now though, so I think the next couple might be a little less go with the flow and try to fit in some scheduling to make sure we do it all one last time.

Enjoy your Year of Disney! I know we have!

How interesting to read your detail! Another bird of a feather. I wondered if we would get burned out, but didn't have that experience at all-on the contrary. Any advice for us "newbies?"

 

[Bud Ice]

Great show.

People worry too much about being on location to venture out for a hotel.
This is a great example of having a good time. There's not one pace to Disneyland.

Plenty of other details to see and do while at Disneyland. Much overlooked on just one trip.

If the idea is to be in the park all day, paying $500 a night for a hotel room is not always necessary.
Having a place to crash with decent amenities suits just fine.

 

[calilou]

How fun! My girls play Heads Up while waiting in line too. Disneyland is really the only place they play the game!

We embarked on a year of Disney as passholders several years ago and are still going! We love being able to go for short trips several times a year. It is a very stress free and enjoyable way to soak up the Disney Magic. Sometimes we splurge and stay onsite and other trips we stay free with points at neighborhood hotels (my husband travels for work so always has points we get to use). We will be there this weekend and can't do whole days at the parks because my daughter is in a walking cast for a broken foot. We'll be happy just to be there for a couple hours at a time for our favorites.

 

[mabird1980]

We are in the same boat. Our passes expire next month so we are going for our final trip on this upcoming Monday-Wednesday. We've never stayed in the same place twice, and this will be our 6th trip this year 18 days total and we love it. Baby number 4 is on the way and we will be taking a hiatus for a couple years.

 

[MrDisneyFan]

Glad you had a good visit! Short trips can be great and being an AP holder really frees you up to not kill yourself to do EVERYTHING at once! We're 2-3 hours from the park (depending on traffic) and although it makes for a long day, even just a day trip can be great. I took my son for his own special day with me to the park then a few weeks later I woke up my daughter one morning early and surprised her with a trip to Disneyland with dad for a day. It's a tradition I'll keep up for sure!

And I agree with staying off property - don't get me wrong we do love staying at DLR when we want to splurge but have found some really fantastic deals around - last 2 short trips we stayed at the carousel inn and it was super affordable and a 5 minute walk to the park entrance!

 

[arcadiandj]

"A year of Disney!" What a great concept! I particularly like the concept of "still going" for "several years." I would like to start a thread to ask people who live close by what it's like.

 

[sharona]

So up until this weekend, our trips had all been yearly and more lengthy. You know, the vacation of the year sort of trip, but this year, we decided to deepen our fandom, and we got some APs. This past weekend we did a three day trip with more of a budget focus/stayed off property and just had an all around "less intense" trip.

My thoughts:

Staying off property and taking a shuttle was great. Before, I thought on property was the end all be all, and that you would lose too much with the time it takes for transportation. Not at all the case. The shuttle really helped us relax and gave us a chance to gear up for and gear down from the day. And we saved a ton of money. We didn't feel our enjoyment was lessoned by staying off property.

This was my first trip to the park outside of the holiday season. It was a different park, and not in a bad way. Without the decorations, there wasn't as much polish, but there also weren't the huge crowds, which was great. There were still crowds, but again, over all, the volume was turned down, and that gave us time and energy to experience the park in a way we hadn't before.

Closures were a disappointment, but again, they led us in new directions that we enjoyed. E.g., the Jungle Cruise was down, but they had a Skipper Skool that we loved! The CMs that led the skool were awesome, and we loved experiencing their energy, their comedy, and the show they led us through. It was very special.

We are getting better at negotiating the crowds. Our FP technique is honed, we went to DTD or to one of the hotels during the peak times, and when the crowds exceeded our comfort levels, we went off the beaten path in the park and did things we didn't normally do-rode the monorail, took a nap on a bench, went shopping, tried to get to know Disney cats better, and the Golden Horseshoe.

Finally, we found a phone game we saw others playing-Heads up. My wife and I LOVED this, and we waited in 3 long lines while playing this game, and the time in the lines FLEW. We laughed a ton and highly recommend the game!

Ok, enough rambling. Perhaps a word or two will help others hone their enjoyment of the parks.

Would love to hear more about the shuttle as we will be staying offsite on our trip in April. Where did you stay? Was it the ART or a private hotel shuttle? Cost?

DD and I always play Heads Up while waiting in lines or waiting for our table to be ready for dinner. Another great game to pass the time is Trivia Crack. You can play against each other or against strangers.

 

[Michael623]

I agree with most of what you say including staying off site but I really don't consider anywhere that isn't on South Harbor. Taking a shuttle just isn't for me. I think it builds tension rather than alleviating it. We are not typical (if there is such a thing) DL AP holders since we are a 6-hour flight away (MA). We would come for a week and do 6 days at DL and then an LA day bit we now come for a week and may do parts of a few days in the park but we tend to explore a little more outside of the park. We're working on a June trip which will include a side trip to San Simeon. We also have a 10-day trip planned for August which includes side trips to Joshua Tree and possibly Puerto Vallarta. I still love the time we spend in the parks but we don't feel like we need need to do everything any more. We had WDW APs for about 10 years and I did feel a bit of a burnout after making probably 40 tips over those 10 years. We've had DL APs sporadically (maybe 4 of the last 6 years) and we make at least 3 trips a year when we've had the APs and didn't feel any burnout like I did with the WDW passes.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes, that game. I think we did see you! You all were HILARIOUS!

OH gosh I hope we were hilarious in a good way. We had a better trip than usual, but the last couple days I hurt my neck (I think it was the dude in the MMA shirt smashing into my shoulder while walking between me and DH in a big hurry) and I was cranky and might have had two moments over two days that weren't cute. (it's hard when you hurt)

 

[SMD]

The one where you guess the word/phrase/movie/etc?

Was it us that you saw playing the game? Big black and white haired guy, red-headed 11 year old boy, wife regularly shushing the highly excitable menfolk as they guessed "Wonder Woman", etc.

Kind of OT, but I think I was standing next to your husband and son in the 5K corral. Was your son wearing a Boba Fett hoodie? I recognized his name on his bib but didn't want to go full internet creeper and say anything.

 

[mich311e]

I agree with most of what you say including staying off site but I really don't consider anywhere that isn't on South Harbor. Taking a shuttle just isn't for me. I think it builds tension rather than alleviating it.

I agree. Walking distance only for us!