WOC strategy for family with a 2 year old.

[Peridot83]

Hi, we'll be visiting Disneyland 8/16-17. We went to DL only for a day in Febuary. We got regular FP for Fantasmic and had a pretty good viewing experience. So this time around I'm more concerned with seeing the parade and fireworks at DL. It'll be our first time at DCA and seeing WOC. My 5 year old daughter has her heart set on the princess lunch at Ariels Grotto, so I'm loathe to spend a ton on a dinning package just a few hours later. How tough is it that time of year to get decent viewing for free? My son is 2, almost 3 so I can't camp out really early without him melting down. I am getting the socal pass that includes 3 days of park hoppers, but we will be driving up from san diego the first day and fly out in the afternoon of the 3rd day. My plan was to do DL afternoon/evening of the first day, full day at DCA, and skip or do just a couple hours early on the third day but we'll probably be too exhausted. Here are some of the ideas I had:

1. Do WOC dinning first evening, and Ariels grotto 2nd morning. Switch to DL after lunch.
2. DL first evening, DCA all 2nd day but go to a late show and hope my 2 year old can sleep in the stroller and we can find space for it.

Critiques please!

 

[figment_jii]

August 16 is the last day of the SoCal and SoCal Select AP blockouts, so there is often an influx of folks coming back into the parks for the first time since June the following week and weekend. School districts are starting to back into session, but some will still be out at that point. It's also the tail end of the D23 convention (Aug 14-16) weekend. My guess is that by mid-August, it's not quite peak summer season anymore, but it is still going to be fairly busy, so you will still need to plan on either doing the dining package or committing a fair amount of time waiting for WoC.

I think either of your plans will be okay. I think the hardest thing with the second plan is getting the FP for the second show. You'll have to time it right at the FP machines because they distribute the first show first, then the second show. So you have to wait until they run out of first show FPs. In terms of timing, I would check out the WoC SuperThread for more information.

 

[calilou]

I would do option #1 for sure and splurge on a WOC dining package (so worth it - especially Carthay Circle IMO) as well as Ariel's Grotto for your daughter the next day. Make it an early lunch (or don't they do a breakfast?) then head over to DL for the rest of the day. The parks are so close that it's totally feasible to split your day between the two. We've done it this way often as well as stay with one park for the day and both options are totally doable.

 

[Peridot83]

Thanks! I think I will go with option 1 and do Carthay Circle. I wasn't really planning on getting a multiday park hopper but I might as well take advantage. We are staying San Diego earlier in the week, and the SoCal pass is just the right combo of parks. Plus I've been getting some great deals on Disney gift cards and I can use those for the passes.

 

[lovebug33]

We forgot we had to get WOC fast passes so we didn't even get them until 10 or 11 in the morning. We were Blue, whatever that means, and we had a decent spot we didn't get until after Cars Land lighting, which was like at 8:15. So it might be an option if you don't want to buy the package.

 

[Tanz]

We forgot we had to get WOC fast passes so we didn't even get them until 10 or 11 in the morning. We were Blue, whatever that means, and we had a decent spot we didn't get until after Cars Land lighting, which was like at 8:15. So it might be an option if you don't want to buy the package.

Lovebug33, was that recently? Was that during weekday? I presume you are talking about blue for 2nd show...

I'm trying to figure out when roughly I should pick up my WOC FP for 2nd show when I am there in just over 2 weeks. My current plan is to check periodically between 9 and noon whenever i'm nearby.

 

[lovebug33]

Lovebug33, was that recently? Was that during weekday? I presume you are talking about blue for 2nd show...

I'm trying to figure out when roughly I should pick up my WOC FP for 2nd show when I am there in just over 2 weeks. My current plan is to check periodically between 9 and noon whenever i'm nearby.

We were there on a grad night and there was only one show. It was a Wednesday last week.

 

[Tanz]

Wow... looks like I may need to wait for much later in the day to get 2nd show FP... thank you!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Just a fair warning. Unless you get a spot against the rails for the WoC, your little one will probably have trouble seeing it. I took my son once when he was 3 and we were mid-way back in our section. He saw nothing. He is 5 now, but he remembers his first trip and is willing to wait until he's older because it was such a tough experience for him. So I'd definitely go with the dining package. You'll spend enough time waiting for PtN and the fireworks at DL the next day to make him do that twice.