Stupid First Timer Questions.

[ajloops]

This will be our VERY FIRST trip to Disneyland in Anaheim(Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park). Will be traveling with a 7yr old AND a 10month old baby. We are visiting family/relatives in California & staying at my parents house for 5 days. My parents have so many agenda planned for us that we only have ONE DAY to explore the park! I know its crazy to try to do all in one day but we really dont plan to. The thing we look forward to & dont wanna miss is the Mickeys Halloween Party, the parade and fireworks!!!

So here are my questions. Please pardon me if they are dumb or silly!

Here goes.........

1/ Do tickets for both the admission and halloween party sell out fast? We are going there Oct 29 - next month- and I havent bought any tickets for the family yet We just bought 4 roundtrip plane tickets and car rentals and so Im waiting for my next paycheck to buy admission & Halloween party tickets. I hope Im not too late???????? Plan to purchase them next wk or so or should I get them now?

2/ So in one day of exploring, where do you recommend we go?? Im thinking of places near or not too far from the halloween event. Also, I heard they close the park an hour b4 the party starts - True?? If this is true, then I guess we can go back to my parents house and relax a bit and then just go back as soon as it opens... Or should we just stay there and be up for the re-opening?

3/ Is it better to bring baby's own stroller (graco travel system)... or an umbrella stroller.... or RENT the stroller they have there? Anyone rented? Whats the quality of the stroller? Is it soft/comfy? Clean? And I read that if u were to rent, ya need $100 deposit!! but they credit it back to you when the stroller is returned. Question is how soon do I get that $100 back??? Is that even worth it?

4/ We are gonna be driving and obviously not staying at any Disney hotels. Whats the situation about parking? Once parked, do we need to ride another tranpso to get to to Adventure Park?

Thanks. Im kinda lost.

 

[letthembelittle]

First, I think going to the park for one day is totally worth it! You (and your family) will have a magical time!!

As for your questions: The tickets to the park are not really for a certain day, I am sure there is chance somedays that the park will reach capacity but there is really no way to know that in advance and as long as you are at the park before that happens (and stay in the park you are good). As for the Halloween party, I assume there is only a somewhat limited number of tickets, the Halloween thread on here could probably help with that question better then me.

I think it is easy enough to do both Disneyland and California Adventure in one day, just plan out what rides and events you must see or do and then fill in the extra time you have with other rides. Everyone's list of must sees will be different, watch the videos of the rides on YouTube to help you or getting a guidebook from the library might help, too.

In my opinion if you are already going to be bringing your stroller and can put it in your vehicle I would bring it, the strollers at the park are fine but don't recline (and dont look very comfy to me personally) so your little one might have a hard time napping.

And yes as for parking there are two different lots I believe both involve taking a bus but there seem to always be lots of them available.

Good luck and have a great trip!! How exciting for you all!!

 

[sonnyjane]

Welcome.

1) It looks like there are still tickets available for the Oct. 29th Halloween Party online, but I would book them soon, since that is the weekend closest to Halloween, and will probably be quite popular. You won't have any trouble buying regular admission tickets.

2) I would absolutely stay at the parks. Dealing with leaving and coming back will take you far longer than an hour, and from what I understand, people with party tickets are allowed to stay in the park.

3) Can't help you with the stroller issue, as I am sans children.

4) Parking at the Disney parking lots is $15 for the day, but you get in an out privileges, so if you do leave and come back, just save your parking pass and you'll be allowed to re-enter. As I suggested above though, I wouldn't leave the parks if you're only going that one day, and it's a party day. From the Disney lot, you will take either a bus or a tram to the parks, depending on which lot you use. Disneyland and California Adventure are literally across from each other, so once you park, there will be no need for additional transportation.

 

[ajloops]

Thank you SO much! very helpful!!!

Sorry another stupid question............Anyone know if a bulky stroller (graco travel system to be exact) will FIT in the tram/bus to get to the parks? I mean is it spacious in the transpo that i can easily "carry" a folded stroller??
Hope that make sense!

Thanks again!!

 

[keahgirl8]

I'm no help with the questions, other than to say you are going to have the best time! You can defintely see enough of Disneyland in a day to get a good taste of it. Also...there are no stupid or silly questions!

 

[ajloops]

aaaaaww keah8girl8 thanks!

 

[keahgirl8]

aaaaaww keah8girl8 thanks!

You're welcome! I can't wait to hear about your trip! Now I'm getting excited for you! I was 4 when I went the first time, so I don't really remember mine!

 

[JH87]

Thank you SO much! very helpful!!!

Sorry another stupid question............Anyone know if a bulky stroller (graco travel system to be exact) will FIT in the tram/bus to get to the parks? I mean is it spacious in the transpo that i can easily "carry" a folded stroller??
Hope that make sense!

Thanks again!!

I am not sure what that particular stroller looks like, but i have seen HUGE strollers at the parks and on the buses, so I am sure you will be fine!
Have fun!

 

[ScottJayhawk]

1/ Do tickets for both the admission and halloween party sell out fast? We are going there Oct 29 - next month- and I havent bought any tickets for the family yet We just bought 4 roundtrip plane tickets and car rentals and so Im waiting for my next paycheck to buy admission & Halloween party tickets. I hope Im not too late???????? Plan to purchase them next wk or so or should I get them now?

2/ So in one day of exploring, where do you recommend we go?? Im thinking of places near or not too far from the halloween event. Also, I heard they close the park an hour b4 the party starts - True?? If this is true, then I guess we can go back to my parents house and relax a bit and then just go back as soon as it opens... Or should we just stay there and be up for the re-opening?

3/ Is it better to bring baby's own stroller (graco travel system)... or an umbrella stroller.... or RENT the stroller they have there? Anyone rented? Whats the quality of the stroller? Is it soft/comfy? Clean? And I read that if u were to rent, ya need $100 deposit!! but they credit it back to you when the stroller is returned. Question is how soon do I get that $100 back??? Is that even worth it?

4/ We are gonna be driving and obviously not staying at any Disney hotels. Whats the situation about parking? Once parked, do we need to ride another tranpso to get to to Adventure Park?

My 2 cents

1 - Regular admission to the park won't be a problem, it's highly unlikely the park will reach capacity (the only reason you can't get in) this time of year. The Halloween party on the other hand, especially that close the Halloween may sell out - get them as soon as you can so you can not worry about it.

2 - The Halloween party is the entire park so no need to worry about being "near" the party - it's everywhere
They don't close before the party. But after official closing time for the day you MUST have tickets to the Halloween and a wrist band to show you have a ticket to be there for the Halloween party (I think they still do wristbands at DL).

3 - Bring your own - Disney can handle strollers of any size, they've seen them all!

4 - Park and take the tram to the entrance, DCA and DL are across from each other - no need to go back to the parking lot until you're ready to leave, access back and forth is very easy.

HAVE A GREAT TIME!
Only 1 day is a double edge sword - 1 day is WAY BETTER THAN 0 DAYS, but it will leave you wanting MORE!!!
That's a long day for a 10 month old (for any kid - and parents actually), I hope in stroller naps in any environment are not a problem.

 

[Cagirl767]

I have a 5 y.o. boy and 3 year old daughter. Is your 7 y.o. a boy or girl? Adventurous or more timid for the rollercoasters? Into which characters/Disney movies? Princesses? Then we can better direct you as to what activities he/she might like.

Definitely bring your own stroller. People bring huge double strollers. You'll be glad you brought your own. The 10 month old can nap much easier in your own reclining stroller. Bring blankets to drape if you think the sunshade is needed for napping. Bring sunscreen, hats, sunglasses for everyone. Maybe bring a Bjorn for the baby when he/she might like to get out of the stroller. You can take the 10 month old on a good majority of the rides except the height requirements ones of course which is the rollercoasters. Baby can go on Pirates of the Caribbean. I used to take mine on in the Bjorn.

We used to go just for the day when my kids were younger. We've now graduated to 2 or 3 days at a time. 1 day is definitely enough esp. with a 10 month old.

 

[dismom73]

I think most of your questions have been pretty much answered, I just wanted to add...since you only have one day I would suggest going online and looking at the map and get yourself familiar with the "lands" and maybe check out the rides and have each family member pick out one or two "must do's". Also, try to get to the parking lot about an hour before opening, that will give you plenty of time to park and get on the bus and get to the gates to line up for opening, which will give you a very "productive" morning. It's amazing how many rides you can get on in the first two hours of opening. And most of all, HAVE FUN! It will only be yur first time once.

 

[keahgirl8]

And most of all, HAVE FUN! It will only be yur first time once.

Definitely. Which reminds me...don't try so hard to be a park commando and see EVERYTHING. Take time to stop and smell the roses. Take it all in. Stand at the end of Main Street for a minute and just...look. It's a moment you'll never forget.

 

[BecomingObsessed]

I would bring my own stroller too. We had to rent one last year when our stroller broke and it was just "eh". I was missing our comfy stroller and my 6 month old HATED it.

If you do end up renting one, there is no deposit required. They don't let you take rented strollers outside the plaza that seperates DLR from DCA. This also means that you can't take a rented rig into DTD which is another GREAT reason to bring your own!

 

[ajloops]

omg....... thank you... such sweet replies. I am already 30 and this is my 1st time. I can't wait to see my kids reactions. Thank you for all the help.

My 7yr old is a boy! He sooooo cant wait to meet Captain Hook, which happens to be one of the featured Villains at the halloween event! LoL Besides Peter Pan, hes also a fan of Toy Story, JungleBook, dinosaurs and fireworks!!!

 

[ajloops]

I would bring my own stroller too. We had to rent one last year when our stroller broke and it was just "eh". I was missing our comfy stroller and my 6 month old HATED it.

If you do end up renting one, there is no deposit required. They don't let you take rented strollers outside the plaza that seperates DLR from DCA. This also means that you can't take a rented rig into DTD which is another GREAT reason to bring your own!

Ahh thank you! Nice tip!!

 

[Cagirl767]

My 5.5 year old son loves the Buzz Lightyear ride. Dad will like it too, and admittedly, I do too.

The Rockets - he loves this ride, one of his top 3 rides. This is one to do during Magic Mornings too since it gets quite crowded in the afternoons.

Peter Pan - this ride is always crowded. If you have a Magic Mornings entry one day, try this ride then.

Autopia - my son loves this also. You can get a Fast Pass for this ride, ask the CM at the entrance to point you to where you get a Fast Pass for later. The baby can't go on it, maybe a good time to go on it for your DH and son would be when the baby is napping/feeding.

Nemo - My son sort of likes this one.

Pirates of the Caribbean - This is a must do.

Tom Sawyer's Island - You may never get your son off the island if you go here.

My kids are happpy with pretty much everything in Disneyland. They like just riding around on the train (a good ride when baby is napping/feeding and you need a sitting break, you usually can go around as many times as you'd like and it's a good way to see an overview of the Disneyland's perimeter) and the Monorail, Mark Twain, and Main Street Cars.

Remember, Disneyland has a baby center on Main Street for forgotten items, air conditioned nursing areas, warming bottles.

 

[ajloops]

Wow thank you! Will definitely look at those rides and plan for our 1 day trip Appreciate it a lot!

Is there FastPass to all rides or just selected popular ones? Is Fastpass free? Can I order that online too? LOL

 

[keahgirl8]

Wow thank you! Will definitely look at those rides and plan for our 1 day trip Appreciate it a lot!

Is there FastPass to all rides or just selected popular ones? Is Fastpass free? Can I order that online too? LOL

It is only for selected rides. It is free, and you have to go to a kiosk outside of the ride, insert your ticket, and you'll get a FastPass.

 

[Teki]

From what I understand guests who purchase Halloween party only tickets are allowed in the park something like 2 hours before the party starts, so I imagine if you are purchaseing both you should be allowed to remain in the park. Although Ive never been to the party before so Im not exactly positive how it works. With kids as young as yours you should definatily do fantasyland if nothing else Critter country and toon town would also be fun for your little ones. Im not sure about your stroller situation, the last time I had a stroller in the park I was 12 and my nana had it the whole time however it was a large umbrealla stroller. I think that any stroller would probably be fine, but you probably dont want something two expesive as it will be left unattended why you and your family enjoy the attractions togther. hope that helps enjoy your first trip to DLR

 

[Porturican]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents about fast passes....

There is usually a 2 hr window on your fast pass and you cannot get another fast pass until the time comes up on your fast pass, for example you got a Fast Pass for Indiana Jones and it says you can use it between 10:03am -12:03pm. As soon as it is 10:04am you can get another fast pass but not before.

Another thing is that you can get a fast pass in Disneyland and then go to Ca Adv and get another even if your time isnt up because the 2 parks Fast Pass systems are not connected.

Also dont despair if your fast pass time has passed you can use your fast pass anytime through the day as long as it is after the time indicated. I have gotten them in the morning then returned in the evening to use them. It is really a great thing to use!

I hope this makes sense!