Went to DL and DCA today!

[Monkey Monkey]

I went with my 2.5yo DS, so I can do both parks in a day because most of the rides with long lines are off-limits for me.

I got there shortly before opening at 9 and was really excited to park on the Daisy level (2) as I'm usually on Mickey or Goofy. But for some reason I always end up at the opposite end of the parking garage from the escalators. Does this happen to anyone else?

Anyhoo, I had a written itinerary based on rides I hadn't experienced yet, and used a revised "Dumbo-do-or-die in a day" touring guide from "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland". I made a few changes during the day but for the most part it worked for us.

We went right to Buzz Lightyear and walked right on, even though it was already around 9:20. Then the plan was to go to Peter Pan, but the line was really long so we went to Snow White and again, practically walked right on.

Then:

• Alice in Wonderland, about a 20-minute wait
• Mickey's house, about a 5-minute wait to meet Mickey
• Gadget's Go Coaster, no more than 10 minutes (it was DS's first time on a roller coaster and he loved it!)
• Took the train to New Orleans Square
• Haunted Mansion, walked right on
• Ate lunch at River Belle Terrace, no wait when they started serving lunch at 11:30 or 12
• Walked over to DCA and walked right on Mike and Sulley to the Rescue (Monsters Inc), then rode it again
• Went to Turtle Talk With Crush
• Rode Heimlich's Chew-Chew Train
• Went back to DL
• Got pics with Minnie Mouse at the "Year of the Mouse" display
• Peter Pan, about a 30-minute wait
• Then we kind of wandered around for a while before coming back to Fantasyland and going on Casey Jr., 5-minute wait
• Back to DCA again
• Got some amazing pics with Snow White and Goofy
• Mike and Sulley to the Rescue for the 3rd time, no wait
• Then back to DL again to ride Buzz Lightyear

When we came out of Buzz, it was raining (it had been cloudy all day but didn't start raining until around 5:30pm) so we decided to call it a day and come home!

The only rides we had been on before were Casey Jr. and Heimlich (like most little boys, my kid loves trains!). DS wasn't afraid of any of the rides, even Haunted Mansion! We both loved Buzz Lightyear and I plan on going on that first when we go back on Tuesday.

Since I hadn't been on Monsters Inc. prior to the refurb, I can't comment on the changes. But I've seen the movie a million times and think the ride is EXCELLENT. I love that the characters' voices are the same in the ride as in the movie, and the attention to detail was great.

The parks felt rather busy for a gloomy day, but it's the end of Presidents' Week, so I am optimistic that next Tuesday will be less crowded (though our waits for rides were more than tolerable).

Thanks for reading!

 

[got2travel]

There was a refurn on Monster's Inc?? I hadn't heard.


Sounds like you had a great day. Good luck on Tuesday.

 

[ScooterL]

I don't know if it was a refurb or a safety-type thing...but it closed in late November and didn't reopen until Feb 7.

 

[peightonmom]

We were there yesterday too!
We had about the same wait on Peter Pan. But DCA was really nice in the evening line wise. We did It's tough to be a Bug and the rest of Flick's fun fair really quickly.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I got there shortly before opening at 9 and was really excited to park on the Daisy level (2) as I'm usually on Mickey or Goofy. But for some reason I always end up at the opposite end of the parking garage from the escalators. Does this happen to anyone else?

Yep, it seems to happen to us alot. Especially when my DM is with us (or so she says! ). Luckily, for us, my Dniece used to work there and one of her friends (former BF) still works there in parking. So...when we arrive we look for him in the parking booths and if he's there, he gives us parking in Pinocchio. It's so cool to be able to park close! But shhh-don't tell anyone, it's just our little secret! However, if he's not there, then yes, we do seem to park the farthest away possible-the northwest corner, most of the time

Glad you had a great day-isn't it nice when it's not crowded! We didn't go to DL yesterday but we did get the rain about 6:15 last night, while DD8 was having softball practice. But the girls were troopers, and played through the drizzle!

 

[tnd]

I found your post really helpful. We'll be traveling to DLR with our 2.5 year old son in 2 weeks, so it's great to see the rides that your son liked.

I do have one question though. How does your son do with a line of 30 min.? Will he wait patiently with you, or does he get antsy? What do you do to entertain him? I am dreading the lines with my son, he is not the most patient child ever.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I found your post really helpful. We'll be traveling to DLR with our 2.5 year old son in 2 weeks, so it's great to see the rides that your son liked.

I do have one question though. How does your son do with a line of 30 min.? Will he wait patiently with you, or does he get antsy? What do you do to entertain him? I am dreading the lines with my son, he is not the most patient child ever.

Mine gets pretty antsy too. He loves playing with the ropes or chains on the queue, which I hate. I try to avoid lines that don't move, and sometimes bring a snack or a small toy for him to play with while I move him along.

If he's really bored, I try to tell him about the ride and get him excited that we're going to see Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy, etc., and we're going to ride on a flying pirate ship. I also tell him "We're almost there! It's almost our turn!"

There are usually a lot of other little kids in the lines too, so he loves saying hi to everyone around him.

Sometimes it's a lot of work to keep him contained and entertained, but I've never had a serious problem with it (and won't even consider standing in line for Nemo without additional help!).

Good luck and have fun!

 

[tnd]

Thank you! I think we will do all of those things. And we'll bring a couple small books with us. He's usually very content to be read to, so that will help. We'll be avoiding as many lines as possible by going to the parks first thing in the morning, then leaving around lunch time and going back in the evenings. Hopefully that will help too.

 

[Leofoenget]

If you get stuck at the opposite end of the garage, pull out and drive around and look for a better spot. My friends and I did that once. ALLL THE WAY AT THE END OF TIME parking spot. We did not park there drove to the front of the garage and found a spot right at the front. This may not work first thing in the morning but later in the day it sure did.

 

[goofy's friends]

Did Roz say anything to you on Monster's Inc? We were shocked. She got us good!!! I took a picture of her and was putting my camera away and she says" Young Lady, don't put that away, I'm ready for my close up" We about fell out of our seats!!! In all my research, I hadn't heard about her talking specifically to people!!! So funny!!

 

[Yakety76]

Wow!! It sounds like you had a great day. I hope we can be as productive on our trip.
We will also be there on Tuesday. Cannot wait. I am already having trouble sleeping.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Did Roz say anything to you on Monster's Inc? We were shocked. She got us good!!! I took a picture of her and was putting my camera away and she says" Young Lady, don't put that away, I'm ready for my close up" We about fell out of our seats!!! In all my research, I hadn't heard about her talking specifically to people!!! So funny!!

That's my favorite part of the ride too!

 

[Yakety76]

Did Roz say anything to you on Monster's Inc? We were shocked. She got us good!!! I took a picture of her and was putting my camera away and she says" Young Lady, don't put that away, I'm ready for my close up" We about fell out of our seats!!! In all my research, I hadn't heard about her talking specifically to people!!! So funny!!

I have watched the Monsters Inc ride on Youtube to help prepare my DD for the ride. I have noticed that Roz makes different comments to the riders. How fun that she talked to you.

 

[goofy's friends]

I have watched the Monsters Inc ride on Youtube to help prepare my DD for the ride. I have noticed that Roz makes different comments to the riders. How fun that she talked to you.

Does she not do it to everyone?

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Does she not do it to everyone?

She made a comment to my DBF last year. He had just taken off his glasses and she said something to him about putting them back on it will make her look better?? I can't remember exactly what she said but it was a comment made as a direct result of him taking them off.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Wow!! It sounds like you had a great day. I hope we can be as productive on our trip.
We will also be there on Tuesday. Cannot wait. I am already having trouble sleeping.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

How great that you are going for the first time! And you are lucky in that even though we are having rain today, and possible rain through Sunday, Tuesday is looking great, sunny with a high of 76. (low of 41, so be prepared for the cold, night dampness)

Have a great, and magical, time!

 

[februaryprincess]

Thanks for the run down on your great day! We're going in one week and it gave me an idea of what the wait time might be like.

 

[tkitty]

Thanks for the report. We'll be going with a 15 mo old. I hope she enjoys herself. She loves princesses, and has been raised on Disney stuff.
I wasn't planning on doing HM with her. Yours wasn't scared? I thought that the dark "elevator" ride might be too much.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

Did Roz say anything to you on Monster's Inc? We were shocked. She got us good!!! I took a picture of her and was putting my camera away and she says" Young Lady, don't put that away, I'm ready for my close up" We about fell out of our seats!!! In all my research, I hadn't heard about her talking specifically to people!!! So funny!!

She didn't talk to us, but we were in the back row of our car each time, and all 3 times she talked to the front 2 rows. And all 3 times she said something different! I thought that was a great detail of the ride, especially since it's at the very end when you're waiting to unload!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

Thanks for the report. We'll be going with a 15 mo old. I hope she enjoys herself. She loves princesses, and has been raised on Disney stuff.
I wasn't planning on doing HM with her. Yours wasn't scared? I thought that the dark "elevator" ride might be too much.

We went on Nightmare Before Christmas when DS was about 17 months old, and I don't remember him being scared in the elevator then either. We went with 4 other moms and 17-month olds, and the fear, if any, was fleeting. I would just recommend holding your little one during and talking her through it.