to plan or not to plan...

[travelwith4kids]

So I bought our Southern California CityPass tickets yesterday and we are definitely getting more organised for our 5 week road trip in Sept/Oct.
DH bought me 'The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland' and I have had a good read of the plans but to be honest following a plan for our days at Disneyland and California Aventure is starting to sound like hard work.
With 4 young kids (2yrs-11yrs) the extra walking that would be involved with seeing the attractions in the 'right' order might be the difference in making the day just too much for the kids. We will be visiting DL for 4 days, Mon-Thurs, so I think it isnt too busy then.
So do others just wing it? Head into the park and see where it takes you?
If we decide to be free spirited is there some clever advice you think we should really take into account? Like rides that are always best done first, rides that should always have a fast pass?
Or feel free to tell me if you think we wouldnt be making the most of our visit if we arent organised...
Thanks for any advice

 

[McNs]

We largely winged our first trip, but I was amazed at how much we had missed after getting home and reading more about the parks. In saying that, I wouldn't do it differently, one of the joys of that first trip was discovery and seeing things for the first time without prejudice or any preconceptions.

There are probably a couple of things to know and general tips from our experiences:

• Get there early every day, aim to be at the turnstiles 30 minutes before stated park opening. You can get so much done in those early hours (though this is offset a little by not really knowing what you are doing!).
• If you are staying off site, go to the park that doesn't have early opening for hotel guests. This means you go to DL on Monday, DCA Tuesday, DL Wednesday, DCA Thursday. If on site, then obviously go to the park for the extra hour in the morning.
• Must do rides first thing in the morning at DL are Peter Pan followed by anything else in Fantasyland. At DCA it is Radiator Springs Racers and Toy Story Midway Mania.
• Maybe each pick a couple of must do rides, this will give some direction to your day but doesn't necessarily involve having a plan for the day. Maybe something similar with a meal choice each.
• Stop and smell the roses. Sit and watch people. Enjoy some of the fantastic food. SMILE!

Don't try and do everything because you won't. It is a truly amazing place, I could happily spend a whole day there and not do any rides. We got bitten big time by DL and are planning our 3rd trip later this year

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm a complete overplanner and I do tend to go commando-style when touring the parks. I tend to pick my top 5 rides and attractions and then plan my day around ticking them off. And then cramming everything else in at the same time.

Are you planning on using the FP system at DLR? If so, then you and DH should work out who is going to be the FP runner in the family. Once you've got that worked out and picked out the rides that you want to do with FP, you can then plan your day around when to pick up FP and where to pick up FP. After you've gotten the first few, your day will then plan itself.

You also need to work out what you're going to do for rides that your younger kids aren't going to meet the minimum height but your older kids will want to ride.

My standard advise for DCA is:
1. At rope drop, get your FP runner to queue up for RSR Fast Passes.
2. The rest of you should head towards Toy Story Midway Mania. Hopefully, your runner will catch up with you.
3. Depending on your return time for RSR, you could either head towards Soarin' or Little Mermaid. Alternatively, go check out Carsland and see how the queues are for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. With your younger kids, I would probably head towards Little Mermaid or Carsland.
4. If you're planning on doing World of Colour, your FP runner should go get some tix ASAP.
5. Hit RSR when you FP return time opens up. If you haven't done Soarin', this might be a good time to check out the return time. You should be able to pull a FP if the standby time is long; or just jump in line.
6. Do you want to do Grizzly River Run? Hit this when you get warm. If you haven't pulled a Soarin' FP, your FP runner should go get one assuming an afternoon return time.
7. With your young ones, you may want to go to Its a Bugs Life. There are 3 or 4 rides there that would be suitable for them.
8. Do you want to see any shows? Aladdin is well worth catching at DCA. Check the show times and make sure your FP runner is aware of what show you want to catch. You won't want to have a FP return time close to show time. I would recommend that you queue up 20 minutes or so before the show start time (if it is a busy day at DCA).

For DLR:
1. At rope drop, you need to decide if you want to try for an Anna and Elsa Fast Pass (assuming that you're going in the timeframe that they are still doing M&G). These FP go quick and are highly sought after. I also understand that these FP have a 20 minute return window; so you need to really watch your time if you have these.
2. Head towards Peter Pan. There is no FP for this ride and if you want to do it, go early. Your alternative to Peter Pan is to hit the Nemo Subs. That's also another proven ride strategy to hit first thing in the morning.
3. Likewise with Dumbo.
4. Which mountain are your kids likely to want to do? You may want your FP runner to head towards either Space, Big Thunder or Splash to get a FP.
5. There's always Its a Small World. But be very very careful....the soundtrack is stuck in a loop and a little monotonous.
6. There's also Toontown. Your younger kids may probably like to go to this section of the park.


After that, it comes down to what your kids are going to want to do. There are all the classic Disneyland rides; plus the ones in Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland...and...and...and...

I also understand that Fantasmic! has introduced a FP system as well. I haven't read up about it. Having said that....be aware that it is scary music and dark. Your younger kids may be scared by it.
Mickey and the Magical Map is worth seeing at DLR, if you like musicals.


Enjoy deciding how much planning you want to put into your time there. Either way, you'll have a great time!

 

[travelwith4kids]

Thank you for both your replies.
PrincessInOz, I think I held my breath for the entire time I read you reply and now I feel dizzy LOL
I am going to go back and read them again... I can imagine DH's face if I tell him he has to be the 'runner' to get all the fast passes

 

[Aust]

I am also an over-planner - my family stole my spreadsheet and threw it away after 2 days on our last trip - so I don't recommend that! But you definitely should have at least a loose idea of what you want to do each day.

E.g. What are the main rides you want to go on? Do they have Fastpass? What area of the park are they in, and what other rides are nearby?

Definitely take on board the advice above regarding arriving before opening time and which rides to go on first at which park.

Study maps of the parks and familiarise yourself with the layout and where things are, so you're not wasting time doing that when everyone around you is power walking to their rides.

I have the Unofficial Guide but don't use their plans - I find them too much running around, I prefer to focus on sections of the park at one time and prioritise the main rides for us.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Our first time when kids where 8 & 10.
We just decided to do a land a day, then go around looking at other stuff.
We were there 10 days, so had plenty of time.
That was in September, a few years ago, and some days the parks were packed and some not so much. We rode every single ride , some over & over.
I think we went into DCA twice and did that in two parts.
We didn't use a runner for fast passes, just got them as we went.

 

[Kalice]

On our last U.S. trip we did DL without much of a plan, however we did WDW with a complete plan including restaurant reservations and ride plans. We had four children aged 11, 11, 9 and 2. The best tip I can offer is use rider swap, the older kids got to ride twice, once with each parent.

Also, we loved our character breakfast which we did a late seating it was great as most people had left. We always eat breakfast in our room, so it was like early lunch. It was a great way to get character photos without queues and the kids loved it ( so did the adults!!).

However, while we did miss a lot at DL, it was certainly more relaxing than WDW. Enjoy your trip.

 

[zanzibar138]

We are very laid back tourers. I couldn't do it any other way! It is easy, if you just go in with realistic expectations. Realise that if you go at a more relaxed pace, you might not get everything done. But if that's how you prefer to go, then you might have a better time. If you are a more laid back family in general, definitely DON'T try to cram everything in. You will all end up tired and cranky! You are going at a quiet time, so you really shouldn't need to plan too much, and you really shouldn't need to designate a FP runner. There's no reason why you couldn't stick together as a family.

Being only week days in September, you will not have Fantasmic! or the fireworks to worry about. If you want to see WOC, make sure you get a FP for that on one of your days. Maybe try to do it one of your first days so that you have a back up if it gets cancelled for some reason (which does happen from time to time).

I usually go in with a basic plan for my first hour, then wing it from there. We stay offsite, so I try to do rope drop at DCA on a non-EMH day. We went to Toy Story Mania first, then rode Screamin' (which you may not with young kids) before getting our RSR FPs. The FPs for RSR don't go within the first hour anymore - they generally last until lunch time-ish, so you don't need to panic about getting those. Some kid friendly rides in DCA with generally short wait times are the Little Mermaid and Monsters Inc. Grizzly River Run is also fun, and is just across from the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which would be so much fun for kids with a massive climbing fort and things like a flying fox. You can get a challenge card at the entrance and tick stuff off as you do it, plus it tends to be where Dug and Russel from Up do their meet and greets. A Bug's Land would probably be a good stop with little kids too.

If you have 4 day tickets, you'll have a MM available to use in DL. Make sure you use it, get there half an hour before the MM time. Head straight for Peter Pan, then do Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland. The other rides in Fantasyland tend to take longer to build up long lines, and at that time of year, will probably have fairly short lines all day. The Storybook Canal boats could be fun, and your kids might enjoy the Nemo Submarines in Tomorrowland. Be aware that if it's really quiet (which it may be when you're there), they don't necessarily have all the FP machines operating. However, you will probably be able to get on rides like Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain with a 15 minute wait most of the time.

If you want to do character dining, decide on a time that works for you, and book it in any time from 60 days out. You don't need to book it straight away, but there's no reason why you shouldn't if you know you'll want to do it.

Please don't panic about having a plan. The reason why I love DLR so much (over WDW) is that you don't *have* to have so much of a plan. My favourite thing to do is just wander, take in all the details and atmosphere, and feel the magic

 

[travelwith4kids]

Thank you so much zanzibar! you have really reassured me
To be honest I have started to feel a little apprehension toward our Disneyland days (which were actually the original reason for our US trip) and that it would be real hard work to plan it all out and I would take the Disney sparkle off of it all (for myself)...
So my plan now is to have not much of a plan!! I will note down the rides it is best to prioritise, choose a day for DCA when there is no EMH and head early into DL for our MM. The rest of the days we will know what interests us and then go with the flow, which with 4 young kids who will want to do what they see when they see it will, I think, definitely work better for us!
I am not sure on doing a character meal, I was always going to but I cant choose lol
If we do Minnie's breakfast can it ever be arranged to be started before the parks open or only after? I dont really want to take up park time but if we did maybe book last sitting and it can be 'lunch'...
I also thought maybe Goofy's for dinner on the night we arrive into Anaheim to kick start our Disney experience...
Or Surf's up, and get the earliest sitting, and then high tail it over to the park to try not be late for opening...
Or Ariels Grotto as our 2 year old is princess OBSESSED and it would just blow her mind to see the princesses! and forgo some park time...
Or not do any, save our $ and park time, and visit the princesses in Fantasy Faire.
Any thoughts? If the above even makes sense

 

[aussie shaz]

So, I'll go the other way and say we loved having a plan! We bought Ridemax and used it for the first 2 days of our 5 day trip. We got onto all the rides when the lines were short. We actually felt like everyone else was following us. We'd walk on to a ride, and then when we got off, the line was huge. There's no way we would do it without Ridemax. We also used it for a couple of days on our next, longer, trip.
It often told us to go in an unusual direction (or not follow what most people say). For example, one of our days in DCA, it didn't suggest going straight to RSR. That day we went to line up for Screaming and saw some people we knew (just happened to be visiting from Melbourne the same day as us). They were on their second ride of the day (they had been on RSR first) and we were doing our 5th. From then on, we never went straight to RSR or the RSR fastpass line. We usually picked up a fastpass an hour after opening, and didn't have to wait at all to get it.
Totally up to you, but we would not have seen half as much had we just winged it, and I would hate to have to stand in long lines, when there's often no need.

 

[zanzibar138]

Regarding character meals, I would be tempted by 2 of those options.

Doing Goofy's for dinner on your first night would be a wonderful introduction to Disneyland, and perhaps help to get your quieter kids out of their shell a bit (I didn't really get into characters on our first trip until after I'd done a character meal). The down side to this is that on that first day, you might find you're all too tired to enjoy it properly. I can't remember if you've done a big overseas trip before and how you all might cope with the long flight and jet lag?

On the other hand, we had a great experience at Minnie's, and I think it is extra magical being actually in the park. When MM starts at 8am, the first sitting is at 7:40am. They also allow you into the park for the breakfast without using your MM. So do your MM on another day to take advantage of all the rides etc, then book Minnie's for the first sitting on another MM day. By the time the park actually opens at 9am, you will be almost finished with your breakfast and ready to hit the park 'at opening'.

 

[Franrose]

Being inside the park before opening is very magical, unlike anything else you can do at Disney. But Goofy's Kitchen is pretty awesome too! Tough choices

In terms of planning - for the Disneyland Resort, I like to use the Mousewait app. We look at what the lines are like on rides near us, and make our decisions from that. Can't look too far past a 5 minute wait ha ha!

 

[travelwith4kids]

Thanks
We wouldnt be jetlagged (i hope ) by our first night in Anaheim as we stay in LA for 3 nights after landing at LAX so we head to Anaheim on day 4 of our trip. Our kids havent been overseas before nor travelled on a long flight so not sure how they will travel!
I do like the idea of a 'night before parks' meal... but Minnies was our first choice as with 4 girls we think they will love to see Minnie Mouse. If they were cheaper we would do both but that is unfortunately out of our budget.
Is it 60 or 90 days out that you can booked for the meals? And do you pay in advance?

 

[zanzibar138]

I'd go with Minnie's if you think it's one your kids would enjoy more. It doesn't have to eat into your park time too much, and with 4 days, losing an hour of park time won't be too much of an issue.

You can book 60 days out. Don't feel like you have to be online ready to book as soon as it opens though. It's pretty laid back at DLR. You enter your credit card details when you book, but it doesn't get charged unless you don't show up (I think it's a $10 cancellation fee or something).

 

[travelwith4kids]

Thanks zanzibar, I will see how early I can book Minnie's and then if we only miss a little park time it will be fine.
I appreciate all the experienced knowledge!