Two Holidays, One Trip: Critique My Plan & Answer RSR Qs

[TigerlilyAJ]

So here is my current plan for myself, DH, and three sons, ages 7, will be 5 at time of travel, and 2, to enjoy both Halloween and Holiday time at DLR.

We are doing a big two-week SoCal trip, with five full days in the parks, plus the MHP on Oct 31. Our Anaheim time will be a split stay with the first week at the Residence Inn, which provides a full breakfast buffet and provides a full kitchen, so some meals will be done there. Our final days will be at Paradise Pier Hotel, concierge, theme-park view. I have not been to DL since the 1990s, so everything DCA, parkhopping, et al are new, foreign concepts.

ETA: I realized I forgot that I can't use our parkhoppers' MM on a Sunday anymore, so I had to rejigger some things. Still, we are entering the park early every single one of our five PH days (but not on Halloween, when we'll have to wait until 3pm).

-Tuesday, Oct 30, Day One of PH: We will use our MM this day with D1 of our PH. We'll go home in the afternoon for the toddler's nap, but return in the late afternoon for dinner at Ariel's Grotto at 5:30pm, and then head to Carsland to see the lighting of the street.

-Wednesday, Oct 31: 3pm UE begins with our tour then party time.

-Thursday, Nov 1: Since we'll be up late at the party and everyone who is not me will need to sleep in, and I do not want to ever spend one of our PH days on a day when we can't be there for rope drop, this won't be a park day. However, I want to keep the magic going by having dinner at Goofy's, 6pm, at DLH.

-Saturday, Nov 3: LA Day! Fight on, Trojans!

-Sunday, Nov 4, D2 of PH: 8:10am reservation at Minnie's for breakfast before park opens for everyone at 10am. (EMH and MM guests can enter DL at 8am.) Big conundrum: When we're done with breakfast, is it reasonable to try to hoof it to DCA and get in line for RSR FPs, or is the distance too great or parkhopping too time-consuming to make it before they run out? I'm assuming we'll be leaving the Plaza Inn around 9:30am. We'll try to catch the weekend-only entertainment like fireworks.

Here we leave the OC and have fun elsewhere, including two days at Legoland and its Aquarium. I want to again thank the Canadian DISer who pointed me to the Legoland tickets for purchase at Airmiles.ca (with dollars, although they have ones you can get with your miles, too). Two adults and two kids got two-day hopper tickets for $230. They're $336 from LL's own site, I think, with some November discounts available if you lock in which date you will go.

-Saturday, Nov 10: Check-in early at PPH, Concierge, Theme-Park View, so we can do our EMH to DL! Then, of course, back to DCA for RSR FPs because CL is 110% of the reason we are doing DLR rather than the closer, cheaper-for-us WDW. When we make our evening return after our break (where I hope the elder boys get to enjoy some PPH amenities like the pool, video games, etc.), I will need to check in for our F! dessert seating for the first show at 9pm. We intend to stay there for the fireworks.

-Sunday, Nov 11, D4 of PH: EMH at DCA! CL! Big Thunder Ranch BBQ for AYCE dinner at 5:30pm.

-Monday, Nov 12, D5 of PH: Holiday time officially begins! Our last day at the parks on the last day our 5-day PH will be valid. We want to do everything we can that is holiday that wasn't available for soft-openings. Reindeer? Santa? Castle lighting? After toddler break, we return for a 3:15pm Holiday Tour. Parade! Fireworks!

-Tuesday, Nov 13: Breakfast at Mickey's Surf's Up at PPH before we return to our room and check out. *sniffle*

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Also wanted to say Thanks to the people who made me aware of the Disney Vacation Planning services available to me and other onsite guests. It has been so EASY this past week to talk to them, put in requests, and get tour bookings, F! tickets, and dining reservations all at one number. I put in requests for F! and the Holiday Tour days before they were available, and then on the day those offferings became available to book, they sent me an email to say that they had done it for me. As someonbe in the Eastern time zone, it was nice to not have to interrupt my work day at 11am to call DLR to book these things! If I decide to let the kids try Pirates League or BBB, I'll call that same number. One number does it all.
In case someone has the same question I did, YES, they let me book dining reservations for days I will NOT be onsite during our split stay as well as for the four days we will be at PPH. Super convenient. I am really starting to feel that this line and EMH will make the splurge for PPH feel worth it in the end.