aliceindisneyland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,351
DL trip for 3 days with 4 families--5 kids DD22 mo/DS4 yr/5 yr/11 yr/19 yr plus parents. This was our family's 4th trip this year, and nobody else had been to DL, so I tried to offer info when possible without pushing my ideal itinerary on everybody--hard for this type A! 
Hotel: Best Western Park Place Inn. Location can't be beat--just cross the narrow driveway and you're in front of Captain Kidd's restaurant at the crosswalk to the DL pedestrian entrance. Room/bathroom nicely refurbished and very clean--carpets a little icky, but to be expected at the old Harbor Blvd. motels. Front desk service was poor--had to argue to get placed in a room close to Harbor--clerk tried to put us in the very back room, which would have added a couple minutes to our walk. Was told car would be towed if in the lot after 3pm day of checkout. Both of these issues were frustrating as I chose this hotel specifically for its close location and assurance during in house reservations that we could park all day after checkout. If you stick to your guns, you should be able to get your reservation requests met.
Day 1: Thurs 8/14. Lined up at 7:30 for 8am opening. Not too many people; instant service at stroller line at Main Entrance. Walked onto Star Tours, Buzz Astro Blasters, 15 min wait for Space Mountain and grabbed Fast Passes for another ride on SM later. 15 min wait for Autopia. 5 min wait for Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion. Fast Passes for Indy; watched the Indy show--great for kiddos. Stay in the Adventureland area after the show and keep your eyes open and camera ready! Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mtn Railroad--5 min wait w/FP. Ditto Splash Mtn. We were able to stick together as a group much more than I had anticipated--an adult or 2 would watch the little ones or take them on a slower ride while everybody else went on the biggies. Took little ones to Tiki Room while big people went on Indy; visited Ariel during Matterhorn run, etc. Mr. Toad & Carousel in Fantasyland. Lunch at Golden Horseshoe--get in line at the end of the show and it'll clear out by the time you get your food. No show, but a cool place to sit and eat fried mozz sticks & chili cheese fries. Dinner at Pizza Port--kid's pizza meal is 3" diameter--expected larger pizza like in Daisy's Kitchen @ Toontown (is that still available?). Perfect for my toddler though. Fireworks are fantastic--stood to the right of the castle and could see everything plus a great view of Tink flying down from the Matterhorn w/out the huge crowd pushing in.
Day 2: Fri 8/15. Line up @ 7:30 again for 8am opening. Straight from stroller rental to Nemo--already a 45 min wait, but all the little ones loved it so worth the wait. Breakfast at Tomorrowland Terrace (yummy french toast sticks!) then over to DCA. Walked on to Monsters Inc, Muppet 3D, and Drawn Together show--don't miss this one if your kiddos want to meet characters, but get in line fast after the show as they break off quickly. Over to Bug's Land; walked on to Bug's Life show and all kiddy rides while the big people rode CA Screamin & Tower of Terror. Followed group into CA Screamin area & took little ones on the carousel while big people got on CS w/10 min wait. Saw opening at Toy Story Mania and only had to wait 30 min--get in fast if you see a slack in line--it filled up to 60 min about 5 min into our wait. Lunch from various Wharf area restaurants--couldn't find the little Mickey shaped buns we saw kids with--maybe in the bakery tour? Grizzly River Run w/out FP took over an hour--got great shots of my toddler with waterfall backdrop while we waited. GRR with baby switch pass 5 min wait. Playhouse Disney show--cute! Soarin over CA w/FP 20 min wait. Electrical Parade--just like you remember from when you were a kid! Back to DL; walked onto HM & Dumbo, shopped a bit, then called it a day.
Day 3: Sat, 8/16. Dragging a bit, lined up @ 7:55 for 8am opening, straight into Fantasyland for Peter Pan-20 min wait. The rest of Fantasyland was empty--walked onto Casey Jr Train & Dumbo then over to DCA for 9:30 gates opening. They line you up at Grizzly River Run to walk the line over to Toy Story Mania--didn't understand this, so entered the other way via Wharf--60 min wait. More CA Screamin/ToT rides. Aladdin show--excellent. The rest of our group headed home around 1pm; our family went back to DL. DS 4 passed out in stroller for 90 min so we shopped & ate @ Rancho del Zocalo--rice & beans 1st real food toddler had eaten in 3 days! Went on Mark Twain riverboat--get a scope in Adventureland shop for $3 if your kiddo thinks he's a pirate. Very busy by 3pm. Shopped and wandered for a couple hours, then headed home around 6:30.
Perfect weather--very warm during day, light sweatshirts after dark. Packed way too many snacks--all we really needed were water bottles for the parks and milk for the hotel. Going back in Oct for DD's 2nd birthday--can't wait!
Hotel: Best Western Park Place Inn. Location can't be beat--just cross the narrow driveway and you're in front of Captain Kidd's restaurant at the crosswalk to the DL pedestrian entrance. Room/bathroom nicely refurbished and very clean--carpets a little icky, but to be expected at the old Harbor Blvd. motels. Front desk service was poor--had to argue to get placed in a room close to Harbor--clerk tried to put us in the very back room, which would have added a couple minutes to our walk. Was told car would be towed if in the lot after 3pm day of checkout. Both of these issues were frustrating as I chose this hotel specifically for its close location and assurance during in house reservations that we could park all day after checkout. If you stick to your guns, you should be able to get your reservation requests met.
Day 1: Thurs 8/14. Lined up at 7:30 for 8am opening. Not too many people; instant service at stroller line at Main Entrance. Walked onto Star Tours, Buzz Astro Blasters, 15 min wait for Space Mountain and grabbed Fast Passes for another ride on SM later. 15 min wait for Autopia. 5 min wait for Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion. Fast Passes for Indy; watched the Indy show--great for kiddos. Stay in the Adventureland area after the show and keep your eyes open and camera ready!
Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mtn Railroad--5 min wait w/FP. Ditto Splash Mtn. We were able to stick together as a group much more than I had anticipated--an adult or 2 would watch the little ones or take them on a slower ride while everybody else went on the biggies. Took little ones to Tiki Room while big people went on Indy; visited Ariel during Matterhorn run, etc. Mr. Toad & Carousel in Fantasyland. Lunch at Golden Horseshoe--get in line at the end of the show and it'll clear out by the time you get your food. No show, but a cool place to sit and eat fried mozz sticks & chili cheese fries. Dinner at Pizza Port--kid's pizza meal is 3" diameter--expected larger pizza like in Daisy's Kitchen @ Toontown (is that still available?). Perfect for my toddler though. Fireworks are fantastic--stood to the right of the castle and could see everything plus a great view of Tink flying down from the Matterhorn w/out the huge crowd pushing in.Day 2: Fri 8/15. Line up @ 7:30 again for 8am opening. Straight from stroller rental to Nemo--already a 45 min wait, but all the little ones loved it so worth the wait. Breakfast at Tomorrowland Terrace (yummy french toast sticks!) then over to DCA. Walked on to Monsters Inc, Muppet 3D, and Drawn Together show--don't miss this one if your kiddos want to meet characters, but get in line fast after the show as they break off quickly. Over to Bug's Land; walked on to Bug's Life show and all kiddy rides while the big people rode CA Screamin & Tower of Terror. Followed group into CA Screamin area & took little ones on the carousel while big people got on CS w/10 min wait. Saw opening at Toy Story Mania and only had to wait 30 min--get in fast if you see a slack in line--it filled up to 60 min about 5 min into our wait. Lunch from various Wharf area restaurants--couldn't find the little Mickey shaped buns we saw kids with--maybe in the bakery tour? Grizzly River Run w/out FP took over an hour--got great shots of my toddler with waterfall backdrop while we waited. GRR with baby switch pass 5 min wait. Playhouse Disney show--cute! Soarin over CA w/FP 20 min wait. Electrical Parade--just like you remember from when you were a kid! Back to DL; walked onto HM & Dumbo, shopped a bit, then called it a day.
Day 3: Sat, 8/16. Dragging a bit, lined up @ 7:55 for 8am opening, straight into Fantasyland for Peter Pan-20 min wait. The rest of Fantasyland was empty--walked onto Casey Jr Train & Dumbo then over to DCA for 9:30 gates opening. They line you up at Grizzly River Run to walk the line over to Toy Story Mania--didn't understand this, so entered the other way via Wharf--60 min wait. More CA Screamin/ToT rides. Aladdin show--excellent. The rest of our group headed home around 1pm; our family went back to DL. DS 4 passed out in stroller for 90 min so we shopped & ate @ Rancho del Zocalo--rice & beans 1st real food toddler had eaten in 3 days! Went on Mark Twain riverboat--get a scope in Adventureland shop for $3 if your kiddo thinks he's a pirate.
Very busy by 3pm. Shopped and wandered for a couple hours, then headed home around 6:30.Perfect weather--very warm during day, light sweatshirts after dark. Packed way too many snacks--all we really needed were water bottles for the parks and milk for the hotel. Going back in Oct for DD's 2nd birthday--can't wait!
Thank you!
(my version of green with envy smilie)...thank you for your synopsis of your experiences for this trip...it does help other planners...JC
