LisaT91403
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2011
- Messages
- 1,539
You were all so helpful in planning our visit to the Happiest Place on Earth that I thought Id share our experience. Maybe someone else will benefit from this in the future!
This was the first visit for our son, who will be turning 3 in a couple of weeks. We were there on 3/9 and 3/10. Mom, Dad, and Grandma were also on the trip. Enjoy
Day 1
It was a beautiful Wednesday morning, and we started out in rush hour traffic on our journey. We arrived at the Grand Californian Hotel at around 10:00AM. We used the valet parking service, and they stored our luggage for later in the day. We checked in at the desk, and they gave us:
- a coloring book and crayons
- autographed picture of Buzz & Woody for DS
- 1st Visit button for DS
- Birthday button for Dad
- Im Celebrating buttons for Grandma and me
They also had a balloon for DS, but we passed since we didnt want to drag it around the park all day. I had planned to make a trip to City Hall to get buttons, so it was nice that the GCH saved us a trip.
When we made our hotel reservation, we had requested rooms with a connecting door. We were granted this request, with one room having a king bed and the other having 2 queens. We were told that we would receive a text message when our rooms were ready. We asked for early check-in, but were told it probably wouldnt be until 3:00. More on this later!
We had already purchased Annual Passes at the Disney Store (and used them to get the sweet 40% off rate at GCH), so we were able to bypass the ticket booths at Disneyland. Mickey and Goofy were out on Main Street when we arrived, and DS was excited to meet both of them.
We stopped at the Annual Pass center to get our pictures taken, as we wanted to get this out of the way.
We then went over to the Buzz Lightyear ride (no wait) in Tomorrowland. DS seemed apprehensive about it, so he went on the Rocket Jets (15 minute wait) instead. I think he was a little scared of the Buzz ride because he didnt know what was going to happen once he went inside the door. While we were in Tomorrowland, we picked up some Space Mountain Fast Passes for later in the day. We also had some Mickey pretzels for a snack, purchased from the Coke Corner.
We walked over to Toontown and rode Gadgets Go Coaster (8 minute wait), which DS just barely met the height requirement for. He said he liked it, but then cried after it was over. We asked why he was crying, and he said because he wanted to ride it again. Im not sure if that was really the case, or if he just got scared. The line for Mickeys house was too long (maybe 15 minutes), so we decided to move on since we had already met Mickey earlier in the day.
Its a Small World (5 minute wait) was next, and it alone was worth the price of admission. Why? DS sang the song and tapped his foot through the entire ride! It was really adorable.
It was lunchtime, so we headed to Carnation Café. We did not have reservations, but were seated immediately. The food was decent, and we thought it was cute that the chef came over to see how our meal was. DS enjoyed watching the Main Street vehicles make their journey up and down the street as we ate our lunch.
After lunch, it was off to Adventureland. We picked up Fast Passes for Indy, and then we all headed to the Jungle Cruise (8 minute wait). DS and Dad played in the Tarzan Treehouse (no wait) while Grandma and I went to Pirates (less than 5 minute wait). Once we were done with that, it was time to use our Indy Fast Pass. Dad and I enjoyed that while DS and Grandma hit the Tiki Room.
After an ice cream break, DS looked pretty tired. We were really hoping he could take a nap, but it was already 3:15 and still no text from the hotel. So, I called them and they said they had tried to text me but the phone number was wrong. This was aggravating, as I had given them the correct number (which they had read back to me) when I checked in. I guess they added an extra digit or something, but in any event, no text. Since the room was ready, we headed to the Grand Californian to get settled in. Rather than walking back to the hotel, we decided to jump onto the Monorail (no wait) and take it to Downtown Disney. The only downside to this was that we had to unpack and fold up the stroller.
The rooms at GCH were plenty big for us, but then again, we had 2 rooms for the 4 of us and were only staying one night. This was DSs first time in a big boy bed, which he happily slept in with inflatable bed rails (really good product!) Everything was very clean, the beds were comfortable, and we liked having a refrigerator in the room. Wi-Fi was free, and we had good connections. The room was a standard view, but for DS, it was the best view in the world one from which he could watch the Monorail zooming by every few minutes! That was really one of the highlights of the trip for our train-obsessed son. DS took a nap for an hour and a half or so, while the rest of us put up our aching feet.
We headed back to Disneyland, again taking the Monorail (5 minute wait) rather than walking. This time, we asked if we could sit up front with the pilot, and were allowed to do so. This was another one of the highlights of the trip. It was really neat to sit in the front, and the pilot announced that DS was her co-pilot. When she made her announcements, she always included DSs name as well. What a great experience!
Since we landed in Tomorrowland, we rode Autopia (20 minute wait, one of the longest we had). There were no Fast Passes available for this ride at any point during the day, so we had to suck it up and wait in line. DS had a great time driving the car, and wanted to go again but we didnt want to wait in line again. Dad and I stopped at Space Mountain to use our Fast Passes. Im not sure we even needed them, as there didnt seem to be much of a line. We walked all the way down to the boarding area, and only had to wait on the ramp for a minute or two before riding.
DS was pretty tired at this point, and we were all hungry. We headed over to the Plaza Inn for a much-anticipated fried chicken dinner, only to find that the restaurant had already closed for the night. This was at 7:30, which was a half hour before park closing. Argh! We figured most of the other restaurants would be closed too, so we walked to the Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney. There was a 20-minute wait for a table, but the service was pretty fast once we sat down. DS liked the decorations, but didnt like the thunderstorms that happened every 20 minutes or so.
After a quick stop at Marcelines Confectionery, it was back to GCH for much needed rest. They had left some chocolate candy coins (with Disney characters on the wrappers, of course!) on our nightstands, and also had left a birthday gift for Dad. It was good for some sort of discount on Photo Pass products, but I didnt pay much attention to it since there were hardly any photographers on our trip.
Day 2
I called the front desk at 6:30 to request late check out, and was told it was not possible because the hotel was sold out. I told the CM that there were an awful lot of nos on our visit no to early check in, no text message about the room, and now no late check out either. He apologized for the text message problem, and then told me he could allow us one extra hour (noon check out) if that would help. I said it would, and was happy with the extension.
DS ate some breakfast in the room, and then we headed off for our Magic Morning 8:00 entry. We did the best we could to get there early, but didnt get to the gates until about 7:50. There were some pretty good lines at this time. Once they opened the gates, we headed straight for Peter Pan (8 minute wait since we weren't at the front of the Magic Morning line). DS was apprehensive about the ride while we were waiting in line, but ended up really enjoying it once we got started. Dumbo (10 minute wait) was next, and then King Arthurs Carrousel (no wait).
Once we finished those rides, it was just about park opening time. We got in line for the Casey Jr. Circus Train (5 minute wait because it wasnt open yet), and rode that twice. That was a real highlight for train-obsessed DS it really is a great little train ride.
We walked past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and checked to see if Fast Passes were available. There were none (since there was no line), so we walked over to the River Belle Terrace for a quick breakfast. Grandma and I shared a meal while DS and Dad played in Tarzans Treehouse again. After the meal, DS and Grandma rode the Mark Twain Riverboat (no wait, other than the time it took to leave the dock) while Dad and I jumped onto Big Thunder (8 minute wait). We were done before the Mark Twain was back, so we hurried over to the Haunted Mansion (no wait literally just walked right into the elevator) while the others finished their cruise. Grandma and DS met us at the Haunted Mansion exit, and we all walked to Critter Country to ride Winnie the Pooh (3 minute wait). We visited Pooh Corner for a treat, and DS got to meet Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger. There was one line to meet all 3 characters, and it took about 12 minutes to get through it.
We then hustled back to GCH to pack up and check out before our noon deadline. The bellman stored our luggage again, and we went downstairs to Whitewater Snacks for lunch. We then took a very short walk into California Adventure. We took a picture in the Mater/Lightning McQueen area, and then headed to A Bugs Land. It wasnt a very scenic walk, as there is a lot of construction going on in the park. We rode the Heimlich Chew Chew Train (no wait), the ladybug ride (no wait) and Fliks Flyers (no wait). I didnt think these rides were worth the walk to CA, but DS seemed to like them.
DS was pretty beat by this point, but we had promised him one more ride on Its a Small World. We walked to the Main Street train station and took the train to Mickeys Toontown for a short walk to IASW. However, when we got there, they said the ride was broken and had no ETA as to when it would be running again. This was a huge disappointment, as we were hot, exhausted, and had just pushed our aching feet to take us all the way back from CA. While we were talking to the CM about the closure, the music suddenly came on and the ride was open again! It looks like the people getting off the ride were relieved to finally be out of the ride, and they were all getting front-of-the-line passes when they disembarked. After our cruise, we hopped back onto the train (10 minute wait, as we had just missed the previous train). The conductor CM was very friendly while we were waiting, and talked to DS the whole time. She also showed him her pocket watch, which made all kinds of train sounds.
When we got back to Main Street, the Omnibus was waiting right near where our stroller was parked. DS wanted to ride it (of course), so we said okay even though IASW was supposed to be the last ride of the trip. After the Omnibus, we took the yellow horseless carriage back down Main Street. DS got to honk the horn (Ah-ooo-ga!), which he really enjoyed. I had never ridden a Main Street vehicle in my dozens of previous visits to Disneyland, and then I rode two on this trip. Everything changes when you have a child of your own in tow.
We were all exhausted after the trip, but had a wonderful time and think we really accomplished a lot for a 1st visit.
This was the first visit for our son, who will be turning 3 in a couple of weeks. We were there on 3/9 and 3/10. Mom, Dad, and Grandma were also on the trip. Enjoy
Day 1
It was a beautiful Wednesday morning, and we started out in rush hour traffic on our journey. We arrived at the Grand Californian Hotel at around 10:00AM. We used the valet parking service, and they stored our luggage for later in the day. We checked in at the desk, and they gave us:
- a coloring book and crayons
- autographed picture of Buzz & Woody for DS
- 1st Visit button for DS
- Birthday button for Dad
- Im Celebrating buttons for Grandma and me
They also had a balloon for DS, but we passed since we didnt want to drag it around the park all day. I had planned to make a trip to City Hall to get buttons, so it was nice that the GCH saved us a trip.
When we made our hotel reservation, we had requested rooms with a connecting door. We were granted this request, with one room having a king bed and the other having 2 queens. We were told that we would receive a text message when our rooms were ready. We asked for early check-in, but were told it probably wouldnt be until 3:00. More on this later!
We had already purchased Annual Passes at the Disney Store (and used them to get the sweet 40% off rate at GCH), so we were able to bypass the ticket booths at Disneyland. Mickey and Goofy were out on Main Street when we arrived, and DS was excited to meet both of them.
We stopped at the Annual Pass center to get our pictures taken, as we wanted to get this out of the way.
We then went over to the Buzz Lightyear ride (no wait) in Tomorrowland. DS seemed apprehensive about it, so he went on the Rocket Jets (15 minute wait) instead. I think he was a little scared of the Buzz ride because he didnt know what was going to happen once he went inside the door. While we were in Tomorrowland, we picked up some Space Mountain Fast Passes for later in the day. We also had some Mickey pretzels for a snack, purchased from the Coke Corner.
We walked over to Toontown and rode Gadgets Go Coaster (8 minute wait), which DS just barely met the height requirement for. He said he liked it, but then cried after it was over. We asked why he was crying, and he said because he wanted to ride it again. Im not sure if that was really the case, or if he just got scared. The line for Mickeys house was too long (maybe 15 minutes), so we decided to move on since we had already met Mickey earlier in the day.
Its a Small World (5 minute wait) was next, and it alone was worth the price of admission. Why? DS sang the song and tapped his foot through the entire ride! It was really adorable.
It was lunchtime, so we headed to Carnation Café. We did not have reservations, but were seated immediately. The food was decent, and we thought it was cute that the chef came over to see how our meal was. DS enjoyed watching the Main Street vehicles make their journey up and down the street as we ate our lunch.
After lunch, it was off to Adventureland. We picked up Fast Passes for Indy, and then we all headed to the Jungle Cruise (8 minute wait). DS and Dad played in the Tarzan Treehouse (no wait) while Grandma and I went to Pirates (less than 5 minute wait). Once we were done with that, it was time to use our Indy Fast Pass. Dad and I enjoyed that while DS and Grandma hit the Tiki Room.
After an ice cream break, DS looked pretty tired. We were really hoping he could take a nap, but it was already 3:15 and still no text from the hotel. So, I called them and they said they had tried to text me but the phone number was wrong. This was aggravating, as I had given them the correct number (which they had read back to me) when I checked in. I guess they added an extra digit or something, but in any event, no text. Since the room was ready, we headed to the Grand Californian to get settled in. Rather than walking back to the hotel, we decided to jump onto the Monorail (no wait) and take it to Downtown Disney. The only downside to this was that we had to unpack and fold up the stroller.
The rooms at GCH were plenty big for us, but then again, we had 2 rooms for the 4 of us and were only staying one night. This was DSs first time in a big boy bed, which he happily slept in with inflatable bed rails (really good product!) Everything was very clean, the beds were comfortable, and we liked having a refrigerator in the room. Wi-Fi was free, and we had good connections. The room was a standard view, but for DS, it was the best view in the world one from which he could watch the Monorail zooming by every few minutes! That was really one of the highlights of the trip for our train-obsessed son. DS took a nap for an hour and a half or so, while the rest of us put up our aching feet.
We headed back to Disneyland, again taking the Monorail (5 minute wait) rather than walking. This time, we asked if we could sit up front with the pilot, and were allowed to do so. This was another one of the highlights of the trip. It was really neat to sit in the front, and the pilot announced that DS was her co-pilot. When she made her announcements, she always included DSs name as well. What a great experience!
Since we landed in Tomorrowland, we rode Autopia (20 minute wait, one of the longest we had). There were no Fast Passes available for this ride at any point during the day, so we had to suck it up and wait in line. DS had a great time driving the car, and wanted to go again but we didnt want to wait in line again. Dad and I stopped at Space Mountain to use our Fast Passes. Im not sure we even needed them, as there didnt seem to be much of a line. We walked all the way down to the boarding area, and only had to wait on the ramp for a minute or two before riding.
DS was pretty tired at this point, and we were all hungry. We headed over to the Plaza Inn for a much-anticipated fried chicken dinner, only to find that the restaurant had already closed for the night. This was at 7:30, which was a half hour before park closing. Argh! We figured most of the other restaurants would be closed too, so we walked to the Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney. There was a 20-minute wait for a table, but the service was pretty fast once we sat down. DS liked the decorations, but didnt like the thunderstorms that happened every 20 minutes or so.
After a quick stop at Marcelines Confectionery, it was back to GCH for much needed rest. They had left some chocolate candy coins (with Disney characters on the wrappers, of course!) on our nightstands, and also had left a birthday gift for Dad. It was good for some sort of discount on Photo Pass products, but I didnt pay much attention to it since there were hardly any photographers on our trip.
Day 2
I called the front desk at 6:30 to request late check out, and was told it was not possible because the hotel was sold out. I told the CM that there were an awful lot of nos on our visit no to early check in, no text message about the room, and now no late check out either. He apologized for the text message problem, and then told me he could allow us one extra hour (noon check out) if that would help. I said it would, and was happy with the extension.
DS ate some breakfast in the room, and then we headed off for our Magic Morning 8:00 entry. We did the best we could to get there early, but didnt get to the gates until about 7:50. There were some pretty good lines at this time. Once they opened the gates, we headed straight for Peter Pan (8 minute wait since we weren't at the front of the Magic Morning line). DS was apprehensive about the ride while we were waiting in line, but ended up really enjoying it once we got started. Dumbo (10 minute wait) was next, and then King Arthurs Carrousel (no wait).
Once we finished those rides, it was just about park opening time. We got in line for the Casey Jr. Circus Train (5 minute wait because it wasnt open yet), and rode that twice. That was a real highlight for train-obsessed DS it really is a great little train ride.
We walked past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and checked to see if Fast Passes were available. There were none (since there was no line), so we walked over to the River Belle Terrace for a quick breakfast. Grandma and I shared a meal while DS and Dad played in Tarzans Treehouse again. After the meal, DS and Grandma rode the Mark Twain Riverboat (no wait, other than the time it took to leave the dock) while Dad and I jumped onto Big Thunder (8 minute wait). We were done before the Mark Twain was back, so we hurried over to the Haunted Mansion (no wait literally just walked right into the elevator) while the others finished their cruise. Grandma and DS met us at the Haunted Mansion exit, and we all walked to Critter Country to ride Winnie the Pooh (3 minute wait). We visited Pooh Corner for a treat, and DS got to meet Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger. There was one line to meet all 3 characters, and it took about 12 minutes to get through it.
We then hustled back to GCH to pack up and check out before our noon deadline. The bellman stored our luggage again, and we went downstairs to Whitewater Snacks for lunch. We then took a very short walk into California Adventure. We took a picture in the Mater/Lightning McQueen area, and then headed to A Bugs Land. It wasnt a very scenic walk, as there is a lot of construction going on in the park. We rode the Heimlich Chew Chew Train (no wait), the ladybug ride (no wait) and Fliks Flyers (no wait). I didnt think these rides were worth the walk to CA, but DS seemed to like them.
DS was pretty beat by this point, but we had promised him one more ride on Its a Small World. We walked to the Main Street train station and took the train to Mickeys Toontown for a short walk to IASW. However, when we got there, they said the ride was broken and had no ETA as to when it would be running again. This was a huge disappointment, as we were hot, exhausted, and had just pushed our aching feet to take us all the way back from CA. While we were talking to the CM about the closure, the music suddenly came on and the ride was open again! It looks like the people getting off the ride were relieved to finally be out of the ride, and they were all getting front-of-the-line passes when they disembarked. After our cruise, we hopped back onto the train (10 minute wait, as we had just missed the previous train). The conductor CM was very friendly while we were waiting, and talked to DS the whole time. She also showed him her pocket watch, which made all kinds of train sounds.
When we got back to Main Street, the Omnibus was waiting right near where our stroller was parked. DS wanted to ride it (of course), so we said okay even though IASW was supposed to be the last ride of the trip. After the Omnibus, we took the yellow horseless carriage back down Main Street. DS got to honk the horn (Ah-ooo-ga!), which he really enjoyed. I had never ridden a Main Street vehicle in my dozens of previous visits to Disneyland, and then I rode two on this trip. Everything changes when you have a child of your own in tow.
We were all exhausted after the trip, but had a wonderful time and think we really accomplished a lot for a 1st visit.
