Trip report and tips

[OneTrackMind]

We had a wonderful trip, thanks as always to the great help from people here! Here are a few of our experiences and tips in case they help others.

I bought $50 gift cards over many months (years actually, because of the pandemic). They were in Canadian dollars but I had no trouble using them at the hotel (GCH) and any of the park or Downtown Disney stores I tried them at. It was great to have some of the trip paid for ahead of time that way.

I found getting to the park early (especially with early entry and Genie+) worked the best for me. One DS (20) preferred to close the park then sleep in. He still did all of his favourite things but Genie+ wasn’t quite as useful for him.

It took me awhile reading on here to understand acceleration. I’m so glad I took the time! Wow!!! What a difference that was. I won’t go into the details here because it’s explained so well in other threads. Genie+ was worth it for us anyway but on the days we got a gold-tier MEP early, it was absolutely amazing!

We also modified alot. I was able to modify almost every LL selection when I wanted to just by taking 2-3 minutes while standing in a line to press the modify box over and over. It was even better when we were able to combine that with acceleration! It was extra time on the phone but not really that much and made a huge difference in our days. I also made sure to drop any late-day LLs we weren’t going to be able to use so that others would be able to pick them up.

Speaking of phones, a spare battery pack is essential if you plan to take advantage of modifying and accelerating. They have them in the parks for $30 but it’s cheaper and easier to bring one.

Thanks to the people who helped me with my grocery question. I took an Uber to and from Vons and found everything I needed.

It was wonderful to see all the holiday decorations! I could have spent more days there just exploring and absorbing all of the decor.

We got Magic Bands and they worked really well. It was so much faster and easier than scanning the phone each time, especially since I was the only one really using the app and keeping things organized. When they work for the hotel room and for payment, that will be excellent.

Webslingers single rider was quick on the times we tried it. RSR single rider was great the first couple of days. But then we had bad luck - if the ride had been down for any length of time, single rider ended up being long, sometimes as much as 45 minutes! At least that’s what the cast members said and it sure looked long. We didn’t try it when it was 45 minutes though so I can’t verify that it was really that long.

Everyone liked Pym’s, particularly the giant pretzel (perfect for DS24 and DS20 to share) and the Proton Punch. We also enjoyed Blue Bayou, Lamplight Lounge and Oga’s. The Festival food looked good but we didn’t try much (the servings were too small for my sons to be interested and very little worked for my allergies (gluten and dairy - I think there would have been quite a few options for just one or the other of the allergies).

We got inside Trader Sam’s for the first time. It was so much fun to see the effects I’d been reading about for years. There was a couple at another table who took the time to explain some of them to us. They were so friendly!

We enjoyed WOC, even though it had poured most of the day and was still raining for the show. Ponchos made it a lot more comfortable when sitting on a wet chair! A garbage bag or anything else plastic would have worked too.

We loved seeing the Dapper Day outfits and huge smiles! It was also fun to see @WonkaKid on the Buzz leaderboard on that Sunday, although I was disappointed not to see him and say hi in person after reading all the great posts and seeing all the wonderful pictures over the years.

Galaxy’s Edge was brilliantly done, and we made sure to see it during the day and after dark. I was there a day before the rest of my family so I went on RotR before they got there. It was fun to then go on with them and watch their expressions!

I have celiac disease and was a little worried about the food since I’d heard there weren’t as many options as in previous years. I didn’t have problems with any meals (although the gluten and dairy combination left me with fewer options). The gluten-free hamburger buns were excellent and it’s so nice to be able to eat fries! But if you are avoiding gluten and go to WOC, either don’t get the special alcoholic drink or tell them not to put on the decorative rim. The rim isn’t sugar - it’s gingerbread crumble! I realized it just in time!

We lucked into seeing the castle lighting one night because we just happened to be in the right spot. It was beautiful and worth making a special effort to see.

Mater and Luigi singing holiday songs has to be heard to be believed. It was hilarious! The Mater Christmas popcorn bucket was at Cozy Cone 5, if anyone is looking for it. It’s not easy to pack home, but is absolutely adorable!

One son got sick and missed some park time. We ended up buying an extra day pass to make up for that. There were no tickets or reservations available online but I asked at the GCH desk. I was told that they can always override the system for hotel guests. Of course someone else might get a different answer but that’s what we were told.

That’s all I can think of right now. Thanks again for all the great posts and helpful information. I’ll try to answer any questions too if anyone has any.

 

[Porsche4]

Great report, thanks. Do you know where the link is explaining Genie+ acceleration as I don't know what that is.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

.

 

[Aspencreek]

It took me awhile reading on here to understand acceleration. I’m so glad I took the time! Wow!!! What a difference that was. I won’t go into the details here because it’s explained so well in other threads. Genie+ was worth it for us anyway but on the days we got a gold-tier MEP early, it was absolutely amazing!

We also modified alot. I was able to modify almost every LL selection when I wanted to just by taking 2-3 minutes while standing in a line to press the modify box over and over. It was even better when we were able to combine that with acceleration! It was extra time on the phone but not really that much and made a huge difference in our days. I also made sure to drop any late-day LLs we weren’t going to be able to use so that others would be able to pick them up.

Great report. Did the acceleration get you more LLs overall do you think? Or just an easy way to move them earlier to whatever time you wanted?

 

[Aspencreek]

Great report, thanks. Do you know where the link is explaining Genie+ acceleration as I don't know what that is.

This thread goes into it pretty well.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...n-ll-attractions.3929451/page-2#post-65078470

 

[OneTrackMind]

Great report. Did the acceleration get you more LLs overall do you think? Or just an easy way to move them earlier to whatever time you wanted?

We definitely used more of the LLs when we could accelerate. If we had an Indy LL for six hours later, we could accelerate it and then book another LL right away instead of waiting two hours. We also used LL for Monsters (a great and under appreciated ride, I think!) because we knew we could use it right away and book another LL. And at the end of our day, we were able to use the MEPs on any of the main rides.

 

[Aspencreek]

Nice, thanks for the reply! Going to DL for 1 day in a couples trip in mid-December and then a 4-day family trip in January so I'm excited to give this a try if we score some MEPs.

 

[disneymum58]

Our best day was when we got a Gold Tier MEP early in the day. There was no need to accelerate or modify. We were able to ride IJ hours before our lightening lane time, simply by using the MEP. We were able to use the MEP over and over again to ride booked LL. It took the LL away but kept the MEP. A big thanks to whoever figured that trick out!!

 

[MonocularVision]

Our best day was when we got a Gold Tier MEP early in the day. There was no need to accelerate or modify. We were able to ride IJ hours before our lightening lane time, simply by using the MEP. We were able to use the MEP over and over again to ride booked LL. It took the LL away but kept the MEP. A big thanks to whoever figured that trick out!!

I think there is some confusion over the term “accelerate”. Some refer to it as what you are describing above: using an MEP to “bring forward” an LL that is in the future. So you “use” the MEP but the LL (that is not good yet) is used instead. It is essentially moving the LL forward

Others use the term “accelerate” to refer to going into the modify screen for an LL and refreshing to get an earlier time due to someone else cancelling their window.

Better for everyone to get a clear definition of these two strategies.

 

[disneymum58]

“Others use the term “accelerate” to refer to going into the modify screen for an LL and refreshing to get an earlier time due to someone else cancelling their window.”
I might be confused but I would call this modifying, which was also useful. Although sometimes I modified till later, not earlier.
Whatever you call it, I hope Disney doesn’t catch on.

 

[kikismom]

Oh can you tell me more about what food you liked best? I'm going next Friday with someone who also is allergic to dairy and gluten. I'd love to have some options all ready for him. He is not picky at all.

 

[MonocularVision]

I might be confused but I would call this modifying, which was also useful. Although sometimes I modified till later, not earlier.
Whatever you call it, I hope Disney doesn’t catch on.

That is the term I would use as well. I was originally responding to your statement “there was no need to accelerate or modify” but then you described accelerating (using an MEP to “bring forward” the LL’s)

 

[OneTrackMind]

Oh can you tell me more about what food you liked best? I'm going next Friday with someone who also is allergic to dairy and gluten. I'd love to have some options all ready for him. He is not picky at all.

It’s always been relatively easy dealing with that at Disneyland! There is obviously lots with gluten and dairy but many things can be modified. The expensive places we went were Blue Bayou and WOC Dessert Party. At BB I had the prime rib, but could also have had steak. I didn’t look into the other options but I think there were some. I didn’t have an appetizer but I think they said the salad was fine. I’m sure I could eat the gumbo other years but this time they said I couldn’t. Dessert was sorbet. The WOC Dessert Party had a special plate with several desserts. I told them ahead of time about the allergies and said that I didn’t want just a plate of fruit. There was just the gingerbread crumble issue on the rim of the drink. That is the closest I’ve come to a problem at DL ever and it was my fault for not specifically asking about the drink.

We also went to Trader Sam’s, Lamplight Lounge and Oga’s. The first two each had at least three things they could prepare GF and DF. I had a chicken rice dish at Trader Sam’s and a salad at LL. LL had DF cheese so I could have had the nachos or potato skins with that. It looks like some things at Tiana’s would have worked but unfortunately we didn’t get there.

I’ve always loved the GF and DF pizza at Pizza Planet. This time it was different and not as good. It wasn’t cooked completely so the crust was a bit gummy and it was greasier (pizza is always a little greasy but not that much). I only went there once this time so I didn’t look for other options.

My favourite meal on a DL trip is a burger and fries, just because they do the GF and DF version so well. So we went to Smokejumpers a couple of times for that. Hungry Bear has always had the same thing but we didn’t go there this time.

The easiest and best place for me was Cocina Cucamonga. They have wonderful GF and DF tacos, and they are all GF!

I also had the Pork Belly dish at one of the Festival booths. It was pretty good but a very small portion (which I expected because I’d seen that on one of the threads here). I talked with cast members and Festival chefs about other Festival food I was interested in and that was the only one I could have. Some of the drinks would have been fine but I didn’t try those.

One last general comment, most of the sit-down and counter-service places have allergy menus, either on the app or that they will show you at the location. I started by looking for items that were under both gluten-free and dairy-free. There usually wasn’t much. Those are just the items that are GF or DF without modification. If you have a consult with the chef (or sometimes the cashiers or servers, but the chef is safest), there are many other options, such as GF bread or DF cheese or leaving certain ingredients out. It’s usually good to take the time to have a consult with the chef if it’s your first time at a location. For example, the cashier at Pym’s said the sandwich would be fine but she didn’t seem sure. I asked for a chef consult and she said there was dairy in the particular GF bread they were using at that time, even though it was usually DF.

And I almost forgot about my favourite snack - frozen lemonade (the super-frozen one from the carts, not the slushy one - I think the slushy one is also GF and DF, but I prefer the other one)!

 

[kikismom]

It’s always been relatively easy dealing with that at Disneyland! There is obviously lots with gluten and dairy but many things can be modified. The expensive places we went were Blue Bayou and WOC Dessert Party. At BB I had the prime rib, but could also have had steak. I didn’t look into the other options but I think there were some. I didn’t have an appetizer but I think they said the salad was fine. I’m sure I could eat the gumbo other years but this time they said I couldn’t. Dessert was sorbet. The WOC Dessert Party had a special plate with several desserts. I told them ahead of time about the allergies and said that I didn’t want just a plate of fruit. There was just the gingerbread crumble issue on the rim of the drink. That is the closest I’ve come to a problem at DL ever and it was my fault for not specifically asking about the drink.

We also went to Trader Sam’s, Lamplight Lounge and Oga’s. The first two each had at least three things they could prepare GF and DF. I had a chicken rice dish at Trader Sam’s and a salad at LL. LL had DF cheese so I could have had the nachos or potato skins with that. It looks like some things at Tiana’s would have worked but unfortunately we didn’t get there.

I’ve always loved the GF and DF pizza at Pizza Planet. This time it was different and not as good. It wasn’t cooked completely so the crust was a bit gummy and it was greasier (pizza is always a little greasy but not that much). I only went there once this time so I didn’t look for other options.

My favourite meal on a DL trip is a burger and fries, just because they do the GF and DF version so well. So we went to Smokejumpers a couple of times for that. Hungry Bear has always had the same thing but we didn’t go there this time.

The easiest and best place for me was Cocina Cucamonga. They have wonderful GF and DF tacos, and they are all GF!

I also had the Pork Belly dish at one of the Festival booths. It was pretty good but a very small portion (which I expected because I’d seen that on one of the threads here). I talked with cast members and Festival chefs about other Festival food I was interested in and that was the only one I could have. Some of the drinks would have been fine but I didn’t try those.

One last general comment, most of the sit-down and counter-service places have allergy menus, either on the app or that they will show you at the location. I started by looking for items that were under both gluten-free and dairy-free. There usually wasn’t much. Those are just the items that are GF or DF without modification. If you have a consult with the chef (or sometimes the cashiers or servers, but the chef is safest), there are many other options, such as GF bread or DF cheese or leaving certain ingredients out. It’s usually good to take the time to have a consult with the chef if it’s your first time at a location. For example, the cashier at Pym’s said the sandwich would be fine but she didn’t seem sure. I asked for a chef consult and she said there was dairy in the particular GF bread they were using at that time, even though it was usually DF.

And I almost forgot about my favourite snack - frozen lemonade (the super-frozen one from the carts, not the slushy one - I think the slushy one is also GF and DF, but I prefer the other one)!

Thank you so much! I was wondering about the burgers at Smokejumpers and Hungry Bear. We'll do one of those for a quick mean this trip.

I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Pluto468]

Thanks for the great report! I'm sorry your son was sick one day. I hope he's feeling better now.

I buy Disney cards over the months, too. It's a great way to save up!

How did you like the Grand?

 

[OneTrackMind]

Thanks for the great report! I'm sorry your son was sick one day. I hope he's feeling better now.

I buy Disney cards over the months, too. It's a great way to save up!

How did you like the Grand?

Thanks! He improved a lot and was able to enjoy the rest of the vacation. The GCH was great - so nice and close! We used a bunch of the gift cards there too. They were still decorating so we saw people working on the gingerbread house and even decorating the light fixtures. That was interesting.