Yay - booking for May!!!

[mommyof2boys1girl]

After two full years of waiting, nagging, sighing and whining, we are finally going back to DL! Oh, and the kids are excited too!
We're booking in at the Camelot for Friday May 21 to Sunday, May 30 (ds#1 has 4 day weekend off school, so I won't even have much guilt about him missing too much school!), with 6 day PH's.
Hoping crowds will still be low, though we realize our final weekend will coincide with Memorial Day weekend. We typically take our final day of vacation time off from the parks, so we'll do a character meal, bum around DTD, then get packed and ready to fly home the following day. So we'll get 6 days at the parks, a day off mid-week for Legoland, as well as a Saturday to just shop, relax, swim and pack.

So now comes the hard part - what has changed in 2 years? MM's still the same days? (Sun, Tues, Thurs, Sat?) Any new strategies - Nemo subs were a big thing back then, and we spent much of our MM there. Not sure if we'll bother this time - it was worth it to do it, but perhaps not again, and certainly not to use up our MM. We got late night Dream passes and did FL then, so we could use our MM for Nemo without missing out. This time we'll probably just watch Mousewait (lovin my new iphone) and hop on sometime when waits are low. How about DCA - last time it was pretty much dead over there all the time - has crowd distribution changed much with TSMM? Will WOC be open by May? Any strategies for the new parade at DL (we were there for the Parade of Dreams) Any changes to PPP - my kids fav. last time - watched it EVERY day!!

2 years later, my daughter's world revolves around Fairies and Princesses. Any strategies on this? Are the Princesses still held hostage at PFF? Is Tink still at Pixie Hollow?
My boys require that we participate in Jedi Training - do we still make signs?

Sorry - might be dating myself with all these questions...I lived on the boards for a year or so, but then it became too painful when there was no chance we'd be coming back for a long time.... Now I feel so out of touch....


Does anyone know the exact dimensions of the entry gates at DCA? I remember last time our borrowed double side-by-side stroller cleared the DL ones ok, but we had to fold it down to get into DCA (a royal PITA!!!) I have since acquired another side by side stroller, which I may be able to convince (with a great deal of persuasion, wheedling and blackmail on my part) dh to bring with us, but if it won't go through the gate, there really is no point!

I will be back later with many many more questions, I am sure. Thanks in advance for any advice!! I'm still in a bit of shock that we even get to go back....

 

[mef78]

So excited for you! We're going for the first time, too -- probably in late April or May. Any suggestions for which is better?

Have so much fun!

 

[8timesblessed]

We are going at the same time. We are staying at HOJO'S and this will be our kids first time. I went when I was 3, so over 36 years ago so I don't really remember it and I think I'm more excited then my kids because they don't really have a clue what it's all about!

 

[Eeee-va]

Have a great time! The new big thing will most likely be World of Color, a giant water/fountain/etc. show over in the lagoon of DCA. The latest rumor I heard was that it would be opening early May, with Memorial Day weekend (!) as a back-up plan. I think that will probably lead to bigger crowds, but the only thing that is really known for (almost) certain is that the show itself will be super-crowded!

(I still would not COUNT on WoC being open just because of Disney's huge problems with the heavily-promoted Fantasmic dragon that was supposed to appear in June and didn't make it into the show until August. On the other hand, of COURSE Disney is going to make every effort to keep a fiasco like that from happening again.)

There are theories that the Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day will be LESS crowded than usual because most annual passes are blocked out, and at this point the vast majority of people visiting Disneyland use their APs to get in.

Captain EO is "new" too; it should be returning to Disneyland shortly (some posters are already up!) for a "limited run". It is rumored to stay at least until the end of summer, though.

IF you decide Finding Nemo is a high priority, you can do it any morning that MM is not offered and the wait should be pretty low. I hate to "waste" any morning on it myself, when I could be riding Space Mountain. I think you're right to just keep an eye on the wait time and go if/when you can.

The Pixar Play Parade may or may not have the Ratatouille float when you go (I think that's for the summer only)...that's the only change I personally am aware of.

The princesses are mostly still at PFF. Aladdin and Jasmine appear at Aladdin's Oasis (may or may not be listed in the schedule; you could ask a "character handler").

I think it's unclear where Tiana will be--it was said that she would be going to PFF, but now I just read that she'll be having a parade/show in New Orleans Square from February through September. The same story said that Mulan would now be going to DCA (I have seen her there in the past--and we weren't even looking for characters!). In December, DCA's Hollywood Boulevard was just SWARMING with characters as well.

Tink is at Pixie Hollow, and so is Terence!

Everything I've read says to make signs for Jedi Training. I'd just put them on file folders so they don't get confiscated at security.

Have a great time!

 

[Eeee-va]

So excited for you! We're going for the first time, too -- probably in late April or May. Any suggestions for which is better?

Have so much fun!

If you absolutely positively want fewer crowds, late April is PROBABLY the better choice.

But if you want to see World of Color, the latest rumor I've heard, at least, was that it would open anywhere from early May to Memorial Day weekend. Whenever it does open, crowds are going to materialize for sure--I think probably throughout the parks, but CERTAINLY at the show itself. So I think it depends on your priorities. I posted on the topic and almost all the responses here said to DEFINITELY go to see World of Color, regardless of the potential crowds.