Things I learned on this trip...

[lntsmom]

1. If you want to see the fireworks, be in front of to the right of the castle. You can't see anything from the leftside of the castle.

2. If you're getting Disney money for your kids, get Disney Dollars, not Disney cards. The non-Disney stores at DTD will take the dollars. They won't take the cards.

3. Don't bother asking CMs for information. We got bad information repeatedly, even from the CM at the info desk at the hub. Your best bet is to talk to the security guards. They were the only CMs who seemed to have even a clue as to what was going on.

4. Don't promise your kids they can play with the boats at the Disneyland Hotel if you're going for breakfast with Goofy. I don't know what time they open, but they were closed when we were there.

5. For those staying at Hojo's...the ART is now on summer schedule, meaning they run all day. That said, you can get to DLR in 15 minutes or so, including the wait. However, getting from DLR to Hojo's is a 45 minute affair. We only used the ART one day...the day we went back midday to swim.

6. There are very few photopass folks around at the DLR. We saw two at Disneyland and three at CA. That's it! Maybe our experience was unusual. If not, I'd think twice about prepaying for a disc. You might not get enough photos to make it worth your while.

7. Disneyland is for free spirits. If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person, you'll have a great time. If you're a planner, it will stress you out...especially if you're used to the way WDW works!

8. Want to ride the subs without waiting? Go first thing on an early entry day. We walked right on!

9. Be prepared, your ticket will probably come up as being invalid on the last day of your visit. It happened to us and to two other families that rode the subs with us. I was lucky to have read about it here prior to our visit. They now require both tickets and handstamps each time you go in an out of a park. I was worried that all our hopping would cause this to happen to us. Luckily, the CM at the gate let us in.

 

[Leofoenget]

I disagree with your #7. If you want to ride the maximum #of rides get ridemax and do a PLAN. Wondering around aimless stresses me out. I'm not saying everything needs to be planned down to the last microsecond but one should read Hydroguys tips and gettng the most out of a summer visit and do some planning to maximize your time. Hmm if I didn't PLAN then I would just wonder around and stand in line forever for the subs.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I disagree with your #7. If you want to ride the maximum #of rides get ridemax and do a PLAN. Wondering around aimless stresses me out. I'm not saying everything needs to be planned down to the last microsecond but one should read Hydroguys tips and gettng the most out of a summer visit and do some planning to maximize your time. Hmm if I didn't PLAN then I would just wonder around and stand in line forever for the subs.

We always go in August and always have a plan. Never have done ride max and we always maximize our FP's. We have ample time to do as much as we want. My DD did IJ 13 times in two days plus covered both parks extensively with the 6 of us. Hydroguy's advice holds true for most instances.

Jack

 

[Desert Dwellers]

That's a bummer about the PhotoPass photographers being scarce. I was really looking forward to using them for fun family photos. I was even thinking Christmas cards.

 

[Belle Ella]

I'm also not really there with your #7. I cannot imagine going to DLR without a plan, just the thought makes me want to hyperventilate. I don't see how you can get the most out of the experience flying by the seat of your pants.

Sorry to hear about the lack of PhotoPass photographers though. We never had that problem, there were plenty of them around for us. But I love all of the Photopass frames so it's always worth it for me.

 

[pixiewings71]

We have the same "issues" with photopass photographers and last trip we looked for them. Because DD's and I had done BBB earlier in the day we had a photopass card for those photos, I looked all over for photopassers because I want to get the CD, now I'm annoyed because we didn't find very many at all and I only have a little more time to get the pics.
We go all during the year, we usually have a plan but we are flexible so we can mess our plan as needed. It's not a set in stone plan, it's more like a "these are the things we want to do plan".
As for your number 9 I never had that problem when using park hoppers. I certainly hope they get that fixed soon!!

 

[vbecky]

i also disagree with #7 i have used ridemax the last 2 years during busy summer season and we have never not rode all the rides in DL by the end of the first day (minus FL rides we do those during MM) I love ridemax wouldnt be with out it!!

 

[teatime]

1. If you want to see the fireworks, be in front of to the right of the castle. You can't see anything from the leftside of the castle.
Thanks for the great tip !!
2. If you're getting Disney money for your kids, get Disney Dollars, not Disney cards. The non-Disney stores at DTD will take the dollars. They won't take the cards.
We will be doing cards and cash, getting disney dollars to !

3. Don't bother asking CMs for information. We got bad information repeatedly, even from the CM at the info desk at the hub. Your best bet is to talk to the security guards. They were the only CMs who seemed to have even a clue as to what was going on.
I found this to be true in many cases

4. Don't promise your kids they can play with the boats at the Disneyland Hotel if you're going for breakfast with Goofy. I don't know what time they open, but they were closed when we were there.

5. For those staying at Hojo's...the ART is now on summer schedule, meaning they run all day. That said, you can get to DLR in 15 minutes or so, including the wait. However, getting from DLR to Hojo's is a 45 minute affair. We only used the ART one day...the day we went back midday to swim.
45 minutes to the hojo, are you sure? I hear 15 minutes tops
6. There are very few photopass folks around at the DLR. We saw two at Disneyland and three at CA. That's it! Maybe our experience was unusual. If not, I'd think twice about prepaying for a disc. You might not get enough photos to make it worth your while.
I saw that the last time I went, in my opinion photo[pass is not worth it in disneyland.

7. Disneyland is for free spirits. If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person, you'll have a great time. If you're a planner, it will stress you out...especially if you're used to the way WDW works!
yep, I also found this out. the first time I went I was planned down to the ride, but we went in august ( found to be a very busy time) and we were so stressed we just did not have a good time. we were lost, did not know much and our plans went out the window. When we went to WDW we did not plan, we went and did what we wanted and could with out hurrying or planning and had the best time ever !! Im a planner, always ! but now find as long as I get to the park, have one early entry and 7 days Im good to go

8. Want to ride the subs without waiting? Go first thing on an early entry day. We walked right on!
Another great tip, thanks much !!

9. Be prepared, your ticket will probably come up as being invalid on the last day of your visit. It happened to us and to two other families that rode the subs with us. I was lucky to have read about it here prior to our visit. They now require both tickets and handstamps each time you go in an out of a park. I was worried that all our hopping would cause this to happen to us. Luckily, the CM at the gate let us in.

What do we do if this happens?? I would hate for out tickets to come up invalid

 

[Minuet888]

I just came back from Disneyland too!!

1. If you want to see the fireworks, be in front of to the right of the castle. You can't see anything from the leftside of the castle. I completely agree!!
2. If you're getting Disney money for your kids, get Disney Dollars, not Disney cards. The non-Disney stores at DTD will take the dollars. They won't take the cards. DIdn't have to deal with this as my son is three but I didn't even know that DTD stores take Disney Dollars good to know!
3. Don't bother asking CMs for information. We got bad information repeatedly, even from the CM at the info desk at the hub. Your best bet is to talk to the security guards. They were the only CMs who seemed to have even a clue as to what was going on. Definately found this to be true. I was told there was no priority seating for fireworks, then saw a separate section roped off with benches. The castmember standing guard told us it was priority seating. We went to guest services, DLH people, and City Hall all with different answers. Turns out it was a VIP section for Miley Cyrus and her friends one night, and Disney exes for the last night of Fireworks.
4. Don't promise your kids they can play with the boats at the Disneyland Hotel if you're going for breakfast with Goofy. I don't know what time they open, but they were closed when we were there. Ahhh!! I forgot about the boats and didn't notice them when we went sightseeing around the hotel, my son would have loved those!
5. For those staying at Hojo's...the ART is now on summer schedule, meaning they run all day. That said, you can get to DLR in 15 minutes or so, including the wait. However, getting from DLR to Hojo's is a 45 minute affair. We only used the ART one day...the day we went back midday to swim. Didn't have to worry about that

6. There are very few photopass folks around at the DLR. We saw two at Disneyland and three at CA. That's it! Maybe our experience was unusual. If not, I'd think twice about prepaying for a disc. You might not get enough photos to make it worth your while. Sorry but I didn't have this problem. We got 28 different photopass photos taken (we got the CD) but there was plenty to be found!
7. Disneyland is for free spirits. If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person, you'll have a great time. If you're a planner, it will stress you out...especially if you're used to the way WDW works! We didn't have this problem because we knew we had 5 days. We hit every park in 4 days and then used the 5th to repeat the rides we wanted to, and that was with going back to the hotel for afternoon naps and doing evening stuff in DTD and Medevil Times.
8. Want to ride the subs without waiting? Go first thing on an early entry day. We walked right on! WE DID THAT!!! It was great!

9. Be prepared, your ticket will probably come up as being invalid on the last day of your visit. It happened to us and to two other families that rode the subs with us. I was lucky to have read about it here prior to our visit. They now require both tickets and handstamps each time you go in an out of a park. I was worried that all our hopping would cause this to happen to us. Luckily, the CM at the gate let us in.

I was so worried about this happening as I heard about it happening on here and we had the 5 day hopper pass. Luckily we didn't have this problem.

All in all though we had a great time. The look on my sons face during the time we spent there was priceless. We had the place to ourselves for a while at Lilo and Stitch's breakfast and Minnie Mouse and my son played peek-a-boo for a while it was SO precious! Seeing my son, who is autisitc, slowly open up to the characters and become a little daredevil on the rides was awesome for us. It's the memories like that, that keeps the little bad things on the trip away. I have given up thinking that a "perfect" trip is possible.

 

[Leofoenget]

I know I have never had an issue with parkhoppers coming up as "invalid" she said it would PROBABLY HAPPEN?? I have heard of it happening but I wouldn't go so far as to say it PROBABLY WILL happen.

 

[pixiewings71]

Teatime, I think the 45 min. to the HoJo was riding ART, it's much faster to walk it but taking ART the HoJo is the last stop on the trip. So yes, it might take that long.

 

[Stacerita]

That's a bummer about the PhotoPass photographers being scarce. I was really looking forward to using them for fun family photos. I was even thinking Christmas cards.

I always seem to find tons of photopass photographers all over the place.

 

[VallCopen]

We always go in August and always have a plan. Never have done ride max and we always maximize our FP's. We have ample time to do as much as we want. My DD did IJ 13 times in two days plus covered both parks extensively with the 6 of us. Hydroguy's advice holds true for most instances.

Jack

Blackjackdelta what is August really like? We are going on the 21st of August and are use to smaller crowds? Whats your take?

 

[Disney Dreams]

Definately found this [cast members being uninformed] to be true. I was told there was no priority seating for fireworks, then saw a separate section roped off with benches. The castmember standing guard told us it was priority seating. We went to guest services, DLH people, and City Hall all with different answers. Turns out it was a VIP section for Miley Cyrus and her friends one night, and Disney exes for the last night of Fireworks.

You encountered a simple case of semantics The roped off area that you are referring to during the fireworks area is not called "Priority Seating" by Disneyland. There is no priority seating for fireworks, as you were correctly told.

The cast member "standing guard" who told you it was simply used the wrong term when telling you it is priority seating. Your observation that it was for "Miley Cyrus and her friends one night, and Disney exes for the last night" starts to get closer to the reality of that area. Many night you will see there are "regular" guests in that area. People sit there for a variety of reasons.

A Cast Member explained it to me as follows: As stadium, theatre, ballpark you can think of has some seats that are set aside for management to utilize as needed. Those benches you saw are there only seats in the entire park that Disney management sets aside for their use, which can vary from night to night. Some nights it may be for celebrities, other nights maybe Park sponsors, other nghts it may be guests selected at random, or... or... or.... In short, it is 20-odd seats that Disney mgmt can utilize for their needs (as very small number when you consider the number of people in the park on any given night).

Many Cast Members just say its reserved or preferred seating as an abbreviated way of explaining the above.

- Dreams

 

[grumpy's fan]

1. 5. For those staying at Hojo's...the ART is now on summer schedule, meaning they run all day. That said, you can get to DLR in 15 minutes or so, including the wait. However, getting from DLR to Hojo's is a 45 minute affair. We only used the ART one day...the day we went back midday to swim.

6. There are very few photopass folks around at the DLR. We saw two at Disneyland and three at CA. That's it! Maybe our experience was unusual. If not, I'd think twice about prepaying for a disc. You might not get enough photos to make it worth your while.

7. Disneyland is for free spirits. If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person, you'll have a great time. If you're a planner, it will stress you out...especially if you're used to the way WDW works!

8. Want to ride the subs without waiting? Go first thing on an early entry day. We walked right on!

9. Be prepared, your ticket will probably come up as being invalid on the last day of your visit. It happened to us and to two other families that rode the subs with us. I was lucky to have read about it here prior to our visit. They now require both tickets and handstamps each time you go in an out of a park. I was worried that all our hopping would cause this to happen to us. Luckily, the CM at the gate let us in.

We also saw very few photopass photographers around DL and DCA..not sure why but we had to hunt them down and then usually wait in line to get one.

Good tip about Nemo - that is exactly what we did is ride Nemo first thing one morning and got right on (it was a NON EE morning though)

My friend and her family ran into the Ticket Invalid issue the last day....turnstile CM told her ticket was not valid and used all days....my friend explained that they had one day left and CM let her through and told her they were having this problem. To be sure to get her handstamped if she leaves to ensure that she can hop and return. She did have some problems with getting FP that day but the CM's were always helpful.

We don't use ART from HoJos as its usually faster to just walk to/from the resort.

While we don't utilize Ridemax or any such system, we always have a play for the day. We use FP and know the general wait times for the rides and plan accordingly. I can't imagine going to DL without some type of plan - that would frustrate me too much!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Blackjackdelta what is August really like? We are going on the 21st of August and are use to smaller crowds? Whats your take?

Since we always do August do to schedules we are prepared for the crowds and the heat. Midday the place is backed, even DCA is pretty busy so we retreat to the hotel. It can get pretty warm so everyones needs to stay hydrated. Where we live it gets over 100+ at this time of the year so we are conditioned.
We walk about 8-10 miles a day for two month's leading up to the trip just so our bodies are use to the pounding they get since we will be in the park for 5 days. If you are only there one day, the best thing to do is go early and stay as late as you can tolerate.
Any specifics, please PM me I will be glad to answer. Have fun.

Jack

 

[HydroGuy]

Since we always do August do to schedules we are prepared for the crowds and the heat. Midday the place is backed, even DCA is pretty busy so we retreat to the hotel. It can get pretty warm so everyones needs to stay hydrated. Where we live it gets over 100+ at this time of the year so we are conditioned.
We walk about 8-10 miles a day for two month's leading up to the trip just so our bodies are use to the pounding they get since we will be in the park for 5 days. If you are only there one day, the best thing to do is go early and stay as late as you can tolerate.
Any specifics, please PM me I will be glad to answer. Have fun.

Jack

We go in August too sometimes and FWIW Jack and I have discussed August before. I agree with everything he said here. Except for the 8-10 miles a day thing beforehand!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I, unpopularily, agree with number 7. My inlaws who went with their ridemax software were SO IRRITABLE and rarely saw the rest of us.

Those of us who were fly by the seat of our pants had the best time ever. I hate sticking to a schedule in Disneyland (which is unlike me..I plan to plan to plan..I love organization!). It's probably the one place where you really CAN just go and have fun and whatever happens happens. I'd hate to have a set plan telling me to ride *this ride* and walk past another that had no line and still continue to the first ride! Heck no! I'm riding the WALK ON ride!!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

I, unpopularily, agree with number 7. My inlaws who went with their ridemax software were SO IRRITABLE and rarely saw the rest of us.

Those of us who were fly by the seat of our pants had the best time ever. I hate sticking to a schedule in Disneyland (which is unlike me..I plan to plan to plan..I love organization!). It's probably the one place where you really CAN just go and have fun and whatever happens happens. I'd hate to have a set plan telling me to ride *this ride* and walk past another that had no line and still continue to the first ride! Heck no! I'm riding the WALK ON ride!!!

I do not think ride max is necessary for DLR but think having plan is a good idea. Walking past a ride with virtually no wait and continueing on just to follow a plan does not make sense. You can still have a game that is not set in stone and vary from it. I think researching when to do activities cuts down on some of the frustrations that do arise when it is a very busy time of the year.

Jack

 

[bumbershoot]

The boats at DLH are definitely not open in the earlier morning. I mentioned it in my trip report, even, that we had to come back later before we caught our bus, rather than playing there in the morning. They seem to have an attendant, and it seems the attendant might only be there when the bar there is open.

I can't follow a plan just b/c I forget about it...but on this last trip on the 3rd day I got my guys to listen to my basic ideas, and we did MUCH better after that! So I need some sort of plan.

I'm not sure that ALL DTD places that won't take giftcards will take ddollars. I know it's true for the Lego store, but I odn' tknow about others. But the reason why they would is b/c DDollars are, basically, money. Money that can be taken to Disney and exchanged back for cash. IMO, if you're going to spend ddollars, just spend cash. Not as cute as the ddollars, but one less step and just as irreplaceable. (i like the giftcards)

FWIW when we were there, the roped off sections were for normal humans. It's just a way of keeping viewers inside a "safe" section, and keeping walkers away from those sitting down (until the fireworks start when you stand), and keeping those walkways moving and more clear. Of course they can also be used to separate the fancies from the mortals.

And showing that it's all in who you ask and who you find...the security guys that we encountered were lovely people, but utterly CLUELESS when it came to the real deal.


Did you have the 5-for-3 tickets? I've heard they had problems witht hose. For anyone who has a problem that is fixed, but then they have problems getting FPs, stop in City Hall and get a "fastpass ticket", which is another slip of paper that you use in the machines, rather than having to find a CM at every FP machine. And that goes for APs that go awry too.