Woo Hoo! Just booked DLH for Christmas surprise!

[DisneyDotty]

Am so excited! Just booked a 5-night stay at DLH for the week before Christmas. I'm a DL newbie, so please give me your ideas for must-do's--including attractions and restaurants/character breakfasts. We won't have a car and bought a 5-day park hopper, so we'll be staying in Disneyland area the length of our trip. (I admit I'm a little nervous--I feel like I KNOW WDW, but DL is a complete mystery to me, so I'll appreciate any tidbits of info you experts would like to share!)

Best part--we're not telling the kids til we get there! (Should make for a long but interesting flight from Chicago!)

 

[ibouncetoo]

Congratulations!

You will have a wonderful time staying on site...and five days is great for a first time visit. You'll have plenty of time and can do it all at a relaxing pace.

Suggest you just keep reading/reading/reading here and post lots of specific questions. I always find reading trip reports helpful and over the years have discovered lots of things in them that "I never knew, I never knew"

Some of my favorites:

Breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian
Breakfast at Carnation Cafe on Main Street in DL
Goofy's kitchen (at your hotel) for a character meal

The Neverland Pool (at your hotel)

INDIANA JONES (favorite ride-DL)
Californian Screaming & Soaring (favorite rides-DCA)

Just sitting on a park bench, eating a hot dog from Casey's and watching all the people.

Just sitting in the lobby of the Grand Californian listening to the piano player

Aladin at the Hyperion Theater in DCA

How old are your children? Would they enjoy a tour? I've done Walk in Walt's Footsteps and plan on doing Imagination to Celebration when I go in FOUR WEEKS.

It's going to be a wonderful surprise for your kids.

 

[quartz7]

Congrats!!

We love Disneyland, especially at christmas time.

1st thing is to relax!! With 5 days, you won't have to rush to get to the next ride.

2nd is to listen to the Dapper Dans sing christmas carols. Awesome. They are usally on Mainstreet.

3rd have lunch or dinner at Blue Bayou, ask for a table by the water. Great ambience.

4th stop and smell the oranges next to tomorrowland. It blew me away. Fresh oranges in December.

We are going from Dec 6 to Dec 10 and we too are staying at the DLH.

Janelle

 

[DisneyDotty]

Congratulations!

How old are your children? Would they enjoy a tour? I've done Walk in Walt's Footsteps and plan on doing Imagination to Celebration when I go in FOUR WEEKS.

It's going to be a wonderful surprise for your kids.

Thanks for the info!
My dd is 11, and my ds is 7. I have thought about the Walt tour--can you tell me a little more about it? Thanks!

 

[ibouncetoo]

I took the WIWF tour several years ago, and had to bail about a half hour before it was over for some reason I can't even remember now. But the gist of it is:

It's a walking tour through the park with lots of information about the concept and building of Disneyland. You hear some delightful 'insider' stories about Walt and the Imagineers (for example, the 'shops' on Main Street and the second floor 'business' all have some significance in their names). You also go up the 'back' staircase to the art Gallery, which was built as a apartment overlooking New Orleans Square (Mrs. Disney's favorite part of the park). I think it was about 3 hours long (including potty breaks!) If you think you might be interested, why don't you post a thread asking for info from people who have done it more recently (with better memories).

 

[karylrocks]

Just a thought...you might want to tell the kids a couple of days ahead of time. I think a trip is more enjoyable if you have some time to anticipate.

 

[DisneyDotty]

Just a thought...you might want to tell the kids a couple of days ahead of time. I think a trip is more enjoyable if you have some time to anticipate.

Good point. I know I can hardly stand waiting now--I'm starting to giggle for no reason.
Thanks!