Spring break trip to Disneyland first timers.

[theluckyrabbit]

If we plan on having two days at each park should then I should stick to one for each day right and not hope in between?..

If the budget allows and your group can manage it mobility-wise, get park hoppers! Hopping is so easy at DLR that it really is more like one big park instead of two separate parks. Regulars hop just for food (DL for a ride, DCA for food, back to DL)! And hopping will help you take full advantage of MP -- you can book a FP for one park while you are still in the other park -- no need to walk to the other park to get your FP. And given your stress about crowds, it makes no sense not to get hoppers -- one advantage with hoppers is that you can escape to the other park if you start feeling too crowded where you're at. Wait for the crowds to thin out (parade over, fireworks over, app shows lines getting shorter, etc.), then hop on back. Without hoppers, you'll just be stuck in the more crowded park.

... So for RSR you say only grab it first if its early. If its later then grab something else and you think it would be available still later in the day? How about incredicoaster? Would you do one first over the other? Could either of these I just walk on right away when the park opens or its best to just get a Max pass as soon as we get in and head to that.

If you have EMH/EE for DCA, go straight to RSR and ride if the standby line is short -- book a MP, too, if you want to ride again later. You can ride the other Cars Land rides after RSR since they don't have FP. Or you could ride RSR first using stand by, use MP for GOTG or IC, ride RSR again using SR, go to your FP ride if the window is open (after booking another FP!), etc. Wash, rinse, repeat. Does this make sense?

 

[NicholeB630]

If the budget allows and your group can manage it mobility-wise, get park hoppers! Hopping is so easy at DLR that it really is more like one big park instead of two separate parks. Regulars hop just for food (DL for a ride, DCA for food, back to DL)! And hopping will help you take full advantage of MP -- you can book a FP for one park while you are still in the other park -- no need to walk to the other park to get your FP. And given your stress about crowds, it makes no sense not to get hoppers -- one advantage with hoppers is that you can escape to the other park if you start feeling too crowded where you're at. Wait for the crowds to thin out (parade over, fireworks over, app shows lines getting shorter, etc.), then hop on back. Without hoppers, you'll just be stuck in the more crowded park.


If you have EMH/EE for DCA, go straight to RSR and ride if the standby line is short -- book a MP, too, if you want to ride again later. You can ride the other Cars Land rides after RSR since they don't have FP. Or you could ride RSR first using stand by, use MP for GOTG or IC, ride RSR again using SR, go to your FP ride if the window is open (after booking another FP!), etc. Wash, rinse, repeat. Does this make sense?

I def like that you can go back and forth with ease!!! We have bought the hoppers Im just debating if we should do another park day and do 4. I wanted to do Universal one day so we'd then have 4 total park days and then three down days to do other things in Cali. If we add a 4th park day for Disney then we'll be taking one down day away. For me Im cool with it lol but I worry my husband may not be as Im trying to sell this trip as a real vacation and not JUST Disney unlike when we go to Orlando and its literally 6 park days because we do MK and EP two days each. I wonder if we got in super early on Saturday bc of time change would it be worth that day being a park day? Like that evening/late afternoon head to DCA maybe? Obviously we'll miss the early morning and there probably won't be as many MP left but would it be worth to try? Are there any rides that you can typically get on with low wait times at any time of day?

As far as a plan how much of one should I have? I know it depends on MP availability to some extent. But should I have a plan of what rides we wanna aim for first? What time to try and get my first MP etc.

Ok let me get this straight again .. MM is that really really early morning right like 7am. And I thought it was only for DL? I did see on Calendar that DCA has 7am mornings on some Sundays? Am I able to use that as well? Or can I only do one 7am morning at just one park? EMH is that extra house typically at 8am correct for all resort guest. What is the EE?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I def like that you can go back and forth with ease!!! We have bought the hoppers Im just debating if we should do another park day and do 4... I wonder if we got in super early on Saturday bc of time change would it be worth that day being a park day? Like that evening/late afternoon head to DCA maybe? Obviously we'll miss the early morning and there probably won't be as many MP left but would it be worth to try?..
As far as a plan how much of one should I have? I know it depends on MP availability to some extent. But should I have a plan of what rides we wanna aim for first?..
Ok let me get this straight again .. MM is that really really early morning right like 7am. And I thought it was only for DL? I did see on Calendar that DCA has 7am mornings on some Sundays? Am I able to use that as well? Or can I only do one 7am morning at just one park? EMH is that extra house typically at 8am correct for all resort guest. What is the EE?

I would add the extra day. I saw your other post about switching hotels. If you switch to the GCH, that is even closer to the main gates (like 5 minutes walk) and has an entrance to DCA directly from the hotel. Your arrival day (Saturday) will be worth it -- remember, the lowest 3 APs are blocked that day. Even with Dapper Day, it would be worth doing some park time after you rest a bit. You could easily have your family go through the turnstiles at the GCH-DCA entrance just to activate, go back to your room to rest for a bit, be booking MPs like a bandit all the while, and then go into either park with some FPs stacked and ready to go later in the day. Even if you just entered to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival, see F! (you could have a reservation for a dining package for dinner so that would take care of F! FPs -- great view, minimal wait), see fireworks, do some shopping, etc., it would be worth it. Your husband will be able to go back to the hotel whenever he wants to chill out because the GCH is so close by.
BTW, just a heads up, Universal Studios Hollywood is not like its Orlando counterpart. USH is a working studio -- much smaller and the priority goes to the business end of things. For example, if something is filming that day, you won't have access to that part of the tour. Some people post here that USH was disappointing after USO, but they don't understand that it's not a theme park first, it's a working studio first. So your USH day shouldn't be exhausting -- the worst part might be traffic getting there and back.
As for having a plan, really try to understand that DLR isn't like WDW in this regard. Having a plan doesn't mean having every aspect of every day of your trip scheduled and planned down to every single FP and meal and M&G. It really doesn't. There is much more breathing room here. Yes, have a plan -- which means: know your priorities! For your family, what are the Must Dos, Would Like to Dos, Could Take or Leave, and Don't Wants. Make a plan to hit the Musts and Would Likes. Cover the Take or Leaves. Look over the menus for the on site restaurants (CS and TS) and places in DTD and hotels. See what interests you and ask questions here. Reservations open 60 days in advance. Most places are pretty open, but with Spring Break, I'd make reservations just for peace of mind. You can always cancel them later. Dining packages for shows can really pay off, so consider these. F! is very good at DL -- most people say it's better than the one at WDW. If WOC is back by your trip, book the WOC Dessert Party. So have a general plan for each day -- which park to start, which meals and shows, which rides are musts, etc. But be ready to let it all go if something better comes along -- be flexible and open to letting the magic happen -- that's how things roll at DLR. Don't micromanage the magic right out of your trip!
MM is only at DL and only on days with a T (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays). One hour early entry to FL and TL. Comes with 3 day or longer tickets purchased in advance, not at the booths.
Early Entry (EE)/Early Magic Hour (EMH) is a perk that is given to on site guests. One hour early entry to either DL or DCA, alternating each day. In DL, it matches MM -- so days with a T. DCA gets EE/EMH on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays.

 

[NicholeB630]

I would add the extra day. I saw your other post about switching hotels. If you switch to the GCH, that is even closer to the main gates (like 5 minutes walk) and has an entrance to DCA directly from the hotel. Your arrival day (Saturday) will be worth it -- remember, the lowest 3 APs are blocked that day. Even with Dapper Day, it would be worth doing some park time after you rest a bit. You could easily have your family go through the turnstiles at the GCH-DCA entrance just to activate, go back to your room to rest for a bit, be booking MPs like a bandit all the while, and then go into either park with some FPs stacked and ready to go later in the day. Even if you just entered to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival, see F! (you could have a reservation for a dining package for dinner so that would take care of F! FPs -- great view, minimal wait), see fireworks, do some shopping, etc., it would be worth it. Your husband will be able to go back to the hotel whenever he wants to chill out because the GCH is so close by.
BTW, just a heads up, Universal Studios Hollywood is not like its Orlando counterpart. USH is a working studio -- much smaller and the priority goes to the business end of things. For example, if something is filming that day, you won't have access to that part of the tour. Some people post here that USH was disappointing after USO, but they don't understand that it's not a theme park first, it's a working studio first. So your USH day shouldn't be exhausting -- the worst part might be traffic getting there and back.
As for having a plan, really try to understand that DLR isn't like WDW in this regard. Having a plan doesn't mean having every aspect of every day of your trip scheduled and planned down to every single FP and meal and M&G. It really doesn't. There is much more breathing room here. Yes, have a plan -- which means: know your priorities! For your family, what are the Must Dos, Would Like to Dos, Could Take or Leave, and Don't Wants. Make a plan to hit the Musts and Would Likes. Cover the Take or Leaves. Look over the menus for the on site restaurants (CS and TS) and places in DTD and hotels. See what interests you and ask questions here. Reservations open 60 days in advance. Most places are pretty open, but with Spring Break, I'd make reservations just for peace of mind. You can always cancel them later. Dining packages for shows can really pay off, so consider these. F! is very good at DL -- most people say it's better than the one at WDW. If WOC is back by your trip, book the WOC Dessert Party. So have a general plan for each day -- which park to start, which meals and shows, which rides are musts, etc. But be ready to let it all go if something better comes along -- be flexible and open to letting the magic happen -- that's how things roll at DLR. Don't micromanage the magic right out of your trip!
MM is only at DL and only on days with a T (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays). One hour early entry to FL and TL. Comes with 3 day or longer tickets purchased in advance, not at the booths.
Early Entry (EE)/Early Magic Hour (EMH) is a perk that is given to on site guests. One hour early entry to either DL or DCA, alternating each day. In DL, it matches MM -- so days with a T. DCA gets EE/EMH on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays.

That is great advice!!!! I think we will aim for an early flight Saturday and get in and use that day as a park day When were tired we go back. I do LOVE the idea of literally walking 5 minutes back to our hotel. How fabulous!!! Yes if my no fun Disney husband needs a break he can leave HAHA. My daughter is 10 so she can def ride stuff alone while I ride with the 6 year old. I'll work on our must does and have a general plan and we'll def make dining reservations. What time is the first F? I like the idea of doing it that night with a dinner reservation but I worry about it being too late. As we'll be going on three hours later. So if its 9pm in Ca its 12am for us and our bodies and then Sunday I'll wanna get up and do DCA I think. But we could always just do dinner at DL and do some rides and be done early.

So I saw the 7am at DCA on calendar. Is this something new or thats how early the EE is there for certain days? Thought I saw that .. Ill double check though. I was thinking only DL had as early as 7am. Good to know one the lands though in the am.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

First F! show is usually 9:00 pm. If you can stay awake for it at least one night of your trip, do it! Great show! Your kids will love it. You'll be invited to stay in your reserved viewing area to watch the fireworks show from the Rivers of America. So two birds, one stone! And the current fireworks/projections show is Mickey's Mix Magic -- projections are a little different from each viewing area (Main Street, castle, ROA, It's a Small World). You could view from other areas on other nights to compare views.

 

[NicholeB630]

First F! show is usually 9:00 pm. If you can stay awake for it at least one night of your trip, do it! Great show! Your kids will love it. You'll be invited to stay in your reserved viewing area to watch the fireworks show from the Rivers of America. So two birds, one stone! And the current fireworks/projections show is Mickey's Mix Magic -- projections are a little different from each viewing area (Main Street, castle, ROA, It's a Small World). You could view from other areas on other nights to compare views.

Yeah we'll def stay up one night to watch it. Just probably not the first night haha. But maybe we'll get dinner and ride some rides and then have a somewhat early night, with the time change we'll all be exhausted. But getting in those few extra park hours will be awesome and knocking out a TS that we want to do. Any recommendations? I think I wanna eat at the Lamp Light lounge and I wanna do at least one character meal, I know there isn't nearly as many as DW ... Whichever has the most variety in characters.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Yeah we'll def stay up one night to watch it. Just probably not the first night haha. But maybe we'll get dinner and ride some rides and then have a somewhat early night, with the time change we'll all be exhausted. But getting in those few extra park hours will be awesome and knocking out a TS that we want to do. Any recommendations? I think I wanna eat at the Lamp Light lounge and I wanna do at least one character meal, I know there isn't nearly as many as DW ... Whichever has the most variety in characters.

What kind of food does your family like for TS? Give us some ideas and we'll give you lots of suggestions! For Lamplight Lounge (one of our favorites!), check the kids menu -- the menu there is more limited than at other TS locations, and some people have posted that their kids had trouble finding things they liked or that the portions weren't enough. Character meal with "the most variety in characters" = Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn in DL. However... if you want to meet Stitch (!), he's only found at Donald's breakfast at the PPH. You can post a thread asking questions about Minnie's if you want to know specifics. You can meet up to 11 characters (the most I've seen reported); most guests report meeting around 8 or 9 characters. And M&Gs at DLR are WAY more relaxed than they are at WDW. No FPs needed. Some characters roam without handlers -- they meet you! Great example of this is Peter Pan in the mornings. Alice and the Mad Hatter play musical chairs with the kids in the afternoon at Refreshment Corner (around 1 or 2 pm, but ask the ragtime pianist for the specific time each day). Look on the app to see who's out and about each day and what time they'll be meeting. Make sure to have battery back up for your phone/camera! Photos and videos can happen with characters any time, anywhere at DLR.

 

[NicholeB630]

What kind of food does your family like for TS? Give us some ideas and we'll give you lots of suggestions! For Lamplight Lounge (one of our favorites!), check the kids menu -- the menu there is more limited than at other TS locations, and some people have posted that their kids had trouble finding things they liked or that the portions weren't enough. Character meal with "the most variety in characters" = Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn in DL. However... if you want to meet Stitch (!), he's only found at Donald's breakfast at the PPH. You can post a thread asking questions about Minnie's if you want to know specifics. You can meet up to 11 characters (the most I've seen reported); most guests report meeting around 8 or 9 characters. And M&Gs at DLR are WAY more relaxed than they are at WDW. No FPs needed. Some characters roam without handlers -- they meet you! Great example of this is Peter Pan in the mornings. Alice and the Mad Hatter play musical chairs with the kids in the afternoon at Refreshment Corner (around 1 or 2 pm, but ask the ragtime pianist for the specific time each day). Look on the app to see who's out and about each day and what time they'll be meeting. Make sure to have battery back up for your phone/camera! Photos and videos can happen with characters any time, anywhere at DLR.

Ive heard that about characters which is great because they can really eat up your time at Disney World. But honestly my kids aren't as into them as they used to be. Especially my son, he'd rather ride rides as much as he can so I think thats why Id like to do at least one character meal to at least knock some out. Because well I like seeing them HAHA. The plaza sounds good. What would be a good time to do that so were not wasting precious low crowd ride times. Its breakfast right? I had researched if there was a benefit in doing early morning dining but I think I read it doesn't really help you much as far as trying to book before the park opens because of Early mornings anyways?

Food wise my kids are pretty good about eating. My son who's 6 is surprisingly the more open eater and likes more variety the 10 year old girl will be happy with Mac and cheese LOL Ill look at menus. Someone told me to that food is better at DL and to do more QS. Id think we'd a TS like for one meal a day. I'll def want to do the Dinner package for F! and like you said the dessert party for the other show if its opened then. Also thoughts on Parade viewing, do they offer a meal for parade VIP. I hate waiting an hour prior to them starting to get a decent seat. We did a meal at DW last time and had VIP area for the parade and it was great. Ill do a post on the Plaza

 

[NicholeB630]

What kind of food does your family like for TS? Give us some ideas and we'll give you lots of suggestions! For Lamplight Lounge (one of our favorites!), check the kids menu -- the menu there is more limited than at other TS locations, and some people have posted that their kids had trouble finding things they liked or that the portions weren't enough. Character meal with "the most variety in characters" = Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn in DL. However... if you want to meet Stitch (!), he's only found at Donald's breakfast at the PPH. You can post a thread asking questions about Minnie's if you want to know specifics. You can meet up to 11 characters (the most I've seen reported); most guests report meeting around 8 or 9 characters. And M&Gs at DLR are WAY more relaxed than they are at WDW. No FPs needed. Some characters roam without handlers -- they meet you! Great example of this is Peter Pan in the mornings. Alice and the Mad Hatter play musical chairs with the kids in the afternoon at Refreshment Corner (around 1 or 2 pm, but ask the ragtime pianist for the specific time each day). Look on the app to see who's out and about each day and what time they'll be meeting. Make sure to have battery back up for your phone/camera! Photos and videos can happen with characters any time, anywhere at DLR.

Oh let me add to the last post I just replied to from you .. I also don't eat meat. I cut out pork and beef a year ago and recently cut out poultry. I do though eat seafood. Is there any places that would be good for me to try or have more options? Im assuming most places have at least once choice of non land animals meat?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Oh let me add to the last post I just replied to from you .. I also don't eat meat. I cut out pork and beef a year ago and recently cut out poultry. I do though eat seafood. Is there any places that would be good for me to try or have more options? Im assuming most places have at least once choice of non land animals meat?

This very recent thread can be a good place to start: Vegetarian options at Disneyland. Carthay Circle Restaurant and Napa Rose are more upscale, but might have more choices for you -- try looking over their menus. Both places are TS and have seasonal menus that change several times a year. I know NR has at least two fish entrees on the menu, as well as a scallop appetizer. Blue Bayou has seafood on the menu -- and they do a F! dining package (our favorite!). BB is located inside POTC -- so that might be fun for your family. The salmon PLT at Lamplight Lounge might be fun for you if you ask them to remove the prosciutto.

 

[NicholeB630]

This very recent thread can be a good place to start: Vegetarian options at Disneyland. Carthay Circle Restaurant and Napa Rose are more upscale, but might have more choices for you -- try looking over their menus. Both places are TS and have seasonal menus that change several times a year. I know NR has at least two fish entrees on the menu, as well as a scallop appetizer. Blue Bayou has seafood on the menu -- and they do a F! dining package (our favorite!). BB is located inside POTC -- so that might be fun for your family. The salmon PLT at Lamplight Lounge might be fun for you if you ask them to remove the prosciutto.

Ok thanks Ill check all that out. Im not to picky I have no problem just getting a salad and no protein either. Ill be filling up on yummy snacks all day so

 

[Malcon10t]

Quick Question ... While we are staying at the DL Resort Hotel should we get on the monorail and take that in and be placed further in park? Or go through the main entrance? If the park opens at 7am is that even open yet? For an 8am day we'd try and be there an hour early. I think I'd try and be there at least 30 minutes early for 7am.

Be aware, if you are staying at GCH, walking BACKWARDS to the Monorail will not save you any time (actually will take more time.)

 

[NicholeB630]

Be aware, if you are staying at GCH, walking BACKWARDS to the Monorail will not save you any time (actually will take more time.)

Yeah we won't take the Monorail We will walk everywhere. That was just a thought when we were staying at the DLH .. But obviously it makes no sense to walk back that way