Throwback Thursday - how did you plan your DL trip BEFORE the internet?

[DLfan4]

We all use the internet to plan our trip to DLR. The amount of info we get from the DISers is so helpful, but what did people do BEFORE the internet and the Dis ?

My first DL trip was in 1992. all i used for planning was the Disneyland Travel book i received as a gift. The book was good. it explained rides and shows in detail, and then gave a few touring plans. The Tip I used from that book was to tour Disneyland clockwise, starting in Adventureland.

My 2nd trip was in 2000. My cousin has been to DL many times, so my planning just included having my cousin be my tour guide.


My 3rd trip was in 2012. yeah internet!! my planning included checking the Disneyland.go website, and checking out utube videos of rides, and also relying on my cousin again!

But now i found the Dis Unplugged to help with all my planning. yeah !!

how did you plan your DL trip before the internet?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We recently went for our first family trip out west. The internet was such a huge tool in planning. I was talking to my inlaws before we went asking them about when they took their 4 kids to DL back in the mid-80s. They lived up near San Francisco for a few years and made it a point to go places all around them on the weekends. I asked my inlaws how they planned it. They said they just put the kids in the car and went. They knew from friends about what to expect for admission. They were most unsure about food. Dad said he remembers being most concerned they wouldn't have enough money because they were told food was so crazy expensive. It all worked out, nobody went hungry. But I find it kinda funny...astonishing in a way...that people would or could go with so little info readily handy. Made me realize how much the internet has revolutionized travel, really.

 

[zanzibar138]

I know someone who took a trip to Disneyland from Australia in 1992. They, like most people back in the day, used a travel agent.

 

[BensWife]

We used a travel agent then.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

A LONG time ago, we used to send for brochures!

Then we stopped doing that, and borrowed a AAA California Tour book.

Finally, we bought our first Birnbaum's Disneyland Guide Book.

We used to always call to put everything in place, and usually still do, after pricing everything out and gathering info. on the internet.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Yep, brochures.

First trip, 1985 as a teen, second trip 1988 grad night, first trip with DD (4 at the time), 1999, internet still in its infancy, not sure there was even a Disneyland website at that time. Trip after that was when our Son was a year old, so 2002, I might have done some browsing on the web at that time, but I doubt it.

 

[daannzzz]

First trip was in 1965. I was 9 and I am not sure Mom and dad really planned much. They made calls to relatives and we stayed with them and went to the parks. Same for the following trips though we did get to stay at a motel in 1970 which was cool. We knew the parks were closed on Monday and Tuesday sometimes. In the 70's - 90's we just booked a motel and went down. I don't think we checked hours or anything like that. I remember getting the AAA hotel guides to look at all the motels available. We could not afford anything expensive but back then the Tropicana and Mecca were not bad. We stayed at the Magic Carpet a lot too.

 

[nannyz]

My first visit to DL was in about 1959; don't remember much about it.

After I got married, we started taking our children to DL in 1984. The only planning we did was to get a TripTik from AAA.

We have gone to DL about 15 times since then and have never done any real planning, even after the internet. We will be going soon, and all I have done is make dinner reservations and buy our tickets online.

We just walk into DL and do whatever appeals to us. It has always worked for us.

 

[GatorChris]

My one and only Disney trip that had no internet planning was my first trip to WDW for my honeymoon. We used a travel agent who had been there before, so we naturally trusted her. She highly suggested the quiet Alligator Bayou at Port Orleans Riverside. MISTAKE! We walked through the resort admiring all those graceful mansions, only to end up in the buildings that look like apartment housing in South Birmingham.

After that trip, it was all about getting as much information as possible. I can say that every trip we've taken since then, WDW and DL, are infinitely better because we chose what we wanted and not what somebody else "pushed" us into.

 

[Angrose]

I've been going to DLR since 1977, my first trip was when I was 6y.o., and back in the day, we didn't plan! We just showed up! Maybe someone called to confirm opening times, but DL is open 365 days/yr and we were not a rope drop kind of family, so no one worried about it. My first rope drop EVER was just this last March during my solo trip. Now I'm an obsessive planner and the internet just fuels my obsession! Of course, I do remember being a teenager and reading the California AAA guide cover to cover...

 

[rootbeer]

1987. DW and I went for the first time after we were married. We used a travel agent. She took our info, then called us in a couple days. We went to her office and received a large envelope with airline tickets, two day park tickets, bus transfer from LAX, and our hotel info (The Cosmic Age, remember that one?). Can't recall the exact cost at the time, but it was somewhere between $500-600. She also recommended the Birnbaum guide which we bought and devoured. It was very helpful at the time. We had a great time, and look back fondly on that trip as it was kinda all new to us.

 

[bcla]

Whatever happened to just "winging it"?

We used to semi-regularly visit relatives living in Southern California. There would typically be a single day at Disneyland. No additional planning. Just drive, park, and decide what to do on the spot. There was something quite liberating about not having to worry about it and just letting things happen.

 

[23bw]

Whatever happened to just "winging it"?

After X number of times to DLR, that's exactly what we do now! Only reservations I make ahead of time is the hotel. Everything else we just "wing it"! This way there is zero stress if things don't go as planned.

 

[tstidm1]

The first time I went to DL was back in 1993 and it was only for half a day because I was at the FBLA conference. Mom and I just winged it and waited in the lines. It was also July 4th, so it was pretty crowded that day. It was still a nice trip. I don't think we even read Birnbaum's guide for that trip.

This time it kind of seems like that sort of trip because I have virtually no control of the major planning on the trip. I'm doing the ABD Backstage Magic. I actually like to tour WDW between at 8 AM and Noon and then come back about 5 PM or so. Not taking a break is going to be difficult when I may get four hours of a break before the Fireworks or evening event. This is way out of my comfort zone.

 

[mickeymom629]

We have only really been to WDW before the internet (if you don't count when I was a kid) and I couldn't wait to buy Birnbaum's book on WDW every year! I read it over and over! My kids and I loved to watch the Disneyland Fun singalong video, even though our trip was to WDW - it just got us all excited!

 

[Butterfly123]

Remember walking up to the front gates to check the sign to see what attractions were closed that day? Somehow it all worked out. But nowadays it seems that DL is so busy that a little more planning really does help.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

I've been going to Disneyland as an adult since 1985. The only planning I do is book a room, look at hours, buy tickets and make dining reservations. The ADR's are thanks to WDW. But I don't ever plan out my days at DLR.

 

[bcla]

I guess one of the deals these days is the sheer number of attractions and the high price of the tickets. Quite a few people are trying to extract maximum "value" out of those high-priced tickets. I still prefer to let everything just happen. A detailed plan would just make me feel stressed if I can't keep to it.

 

[myty5]

Did not travel before the internet. I think the internet made a huge influence on many of our Family Vacation Travels. Many of which was a Disney Vacation.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[crystal1313]

I've been going to Disneyland since 1983, and as an adult since 1998. I'm not sure how my parents planned when I was little. Pretty sure my mom called to find out hours, etc.

I don't necessarily plan every little detail of our trips either. I like to find out information on the boards I wouldn't have known otherwise. Like to ask to drive the Mark Twain, or to ride in the Lilly Belle (when they were still allowing it). Those are things I would have never known about before the internet. We kind of go with the flow on our trips and let our kids decide what we do. Sometimes we guide them a bit (like when they want to go across the park when a parade is happening, lol) but we just go with things. I occasionally make a reservation, for instance for BB. Or if we are going to an event like MHP or the 24 hour event. But we are pretty flexible about that too. We know what the kids like and what we like and pick from that. I just like being well-informed and reading all the stuff I didn't know about so we can choose to do those things if we want.