What do you think of my schedule for our DL trip?

[seagodess]

We (DH, DS,I) will be going to DL in May. Total time of the trip will be from the 19th- 24th. We have 3 day park hopper tickets. We will be doing the Surf’s Up! Breakfast with Mickey. Rainforest Café is also a must for us, mainly for the Volcano. Want to do WOC, Fantasmic and see fireworks. I know WOC or F! (cant remember which) may only be on the weekend when we are there. We don’t care about special viewing, just as long as we can see. Fireworks aren’t as big of a deal to us since we can see them from anywhere in the park. We also have tickets for Medieval times.

This is what I was thinking as far as our schedule goes.

We are flying in on Sat. 19th, and will arrive in the afternoon I think. I cant remember the exact time but I think around 12ish. We don’t plan on going to the park that day since we would be missing a good chunk of the day. So that first day we plan to check into the hotel. Go to the Target down the street and pick up some food so we can have a few meals in our hotel. We will be going to Medieval Times that night for the 6pm show.

Sun. 20th-Disneyland first thing in the morning. Hotel for lunch and a rest. Head back to the park. WOC/F! depending which one is only on the weekend.

21st- California Adventure first thing in the morning. Hotel for lunch & rest. Back to the park.

22nd – DS’s Birthday! Breakfast with Mickey. Whatever DS wants to do in the parks all day. Rainforest Café for dinner or at least desert. Volcano!!! Lol.

23rd- Sleep in. Relaxing day at the hotel. Swimming. Possible Downtown Disney. Get ready to fly out the next day.

This all sounded great to me until someone pointed out that if we do the breakfast with Mickey and Rainforest Café on the same day, we lose out on valuable park time. That got me thinking if I should move stuff around a bit. However I don’t know how. Also I wanted to do the special stuff ON DS’s actual b-day. We always do something special ON the day of actual b-days, even if we have something bigger or separate planned at a different time.

Do you think this all looks ok? Any suggestions for schedule changes? Other things to do?

 

[DLR29]

Looks like a good plan. I would encourage hopping too just because the parks are so close together that it's really convenient.

WoC will be most likely shown during the week, so you'll want to do Fantasmic and fireworks on that Sunday.

I think that you should switch at least one of the big meals to your last day. You said that there is something special about doing stuff on the actual birthday...I totally agree, which is why I think you should be spending more time in the parks on that day! Maybe try and get the latest breakfast seating at Surfs Up on the 23rd so you can still sleep in a bit.

 

[sonnyjane]

First up, if it's off-season, it will be F! that is weekends only (Fri, Sat, Sun) along with fireworks.

I also wouldn't say that you can see the fireworks from "anywhere in the park". You can see flashes of them and hear them, but if you really want to hear the show, see the special touches, and hear all the music, you'll want to be near the "hub". If that's not as important to you, then I guess you can try to watch them from elsewhere.

You say you have three-day hoppers. Would you be open to upgrading to a 4-day ticket? It might be nice to have the option to have, even if it just meant popping in for a few hours on your fourth day which you currently have dedicated to hotel and pool time.

Also, make sure you familiarize yourself with the WOC viewing process. It's not as simple as just showing up at showtime like it is for F! Here's the superthread if you haven't read it already: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2542717&highlight=woc+superthread

 

[DLtorgo]

I would suggest doing your Rainforest Cafe meal on a day when you are not in the parks. I agree you will be using up valuable park time with two big meals on one day. I second hopping between the parks.

 

[seagodess]

I would suggest doing your Rainforest Cafe meal on a day when you are not in the parks. I agree you will be using up valuable park time with two big meals on one day. I second hopping between the parks.

What is the advantage of going back and forth rather than staying at each a full day? I have only been one time 7 years ago. We did one park each day and then our favorite stuff from both on the last.

I want to find the easiest way to do as much as we can with what time we have.

SonnyJane- We can not afford to add another day just for a few hours. We would also like some relaxing time since this is our first vacation in years and will probably be our last for a few years as well.

 

[Lissame]

I don't know how old your child is, but the difference in price between a 3 day park hopper and a 4 day is only $20 for an adult. IMO I'd skip the Medieval Times dinner and pay the extra $60 and get another day on my PH for the three of you.

That's just my opinion...I'm all about as much time at the parks as humanly possible!

Edited to add: Since it's a Saturday, Disneyland will be open late on your first day, so that extra $20 would buy you 12 hours in the park if you were so inclined.

 

[seagodess]

I don't know how old your child is, but the difference in price between a 3 day park hopper and a 4 day is only $20 for an adult. IMO I'd skip the Medieval Times dinner and pay the extra $60 and get another day on my PH for the three of you.

That's just my opinion...I'm all about as much time at the parks as humanly possible!

Edited to add: Since it's a Saturday, Disneyland will be open late on your first day, so that extra $20 would buy you 12 hours in the park if you were so inclined.

I already bought all the tickets. I will not be adding more. We dont need or want more days in the park. 1 1/2 per park is plenty. We want to go to Medieval Times, we love it. We just want to find the best way to work with what we have.

 

[coaches24]

We (DH, DS,I) will be going to DL in May. Total time of the trip will be from the 19th- 24th. We have 3 day park hopper tickets. We will be doing the Surf’s Up! Breakfast with Mickey. Rainforest Café is also a must for us, mainly for the Volcano. Want to do WOC, Fantasmic and see fireworks. I know WOC or F! (cant remember which) may only be on the weekend when we are there. We don’t care about special viewing, just as long as we can see. Fireworks aren’t as big of a deal to us since we can see them from anywhere in the park. We also have tickets for Medieval times.

This is what I was thinking as far as our schedule goes.

We are flying in on Sat. 19th, and will arrive in the afternoon I think. I cant remember the exact time but I think around 12ish. We don’t plan on going to the park that day since we would be missing a good chunk of the day. So that first day we plan to check into the hotel. Go to the Target down the street and pick up some food so we can have a few meals in our hotel. We will be going to Medieval Times that night for the 6pm show.

Sun. 20th-Disneyland first thing in the morning. Hotel for lunch and a rest. Head back to the park. WOC/F! depending which one is only on the weekend.

21st- California Adventure first thing in the morning. Hotel for lunch & rest. Back to the park.

22nd – DS’s Birthday! Breakfast with Mickey. Whatever DS wants to do in the parks all day. Rainforest Café for dinner or at least desert. Volcano!!! Lol.

23rd- Sleep in. Relaxing day at the hotel. Swimming. Possible Downtown Disney. Get ready to fly out the next day.

This all sounded great to me until someone pointed out that if we do the breakfast with Mickey and Rainforest Café on the same day, we lose out on valuable park time. That got me thinking if I should move stuff around a bit. However I don’t know how. Also I wanted to do the special stuff ON DS’s actual b-day. We always do something special ON the day of actual b-days, even if we have something bigger or separate planned at a different time.

Do you think this all looks ok? Any suggestions for schedule changes? Other things to do?

It's not a bad plan. One thing I would think about is your DCA day. I like to start at DL since it opens earlier than DCA and get some rides in (ones that get busy like SM or Indiana jones). Then we go to DC at opening time and spend a good portion of the day there (we didn't find enough there to keep us there the whole day). Then we might go back to DL again if it's not late when we tire of DCA. That's my only thought. You can get a few good rides in at DL before DCA even opens.