Disneyland Trip Discussions

[Mort]

Hey all,

I thought it would be good to start a thread where we can all discuss any Disneyland California trips we are planning or thinking about planning.

Also this can be a place to ask any questions you might have about traveling to Disneyland.

I'll get us started!

I got back from a two day trip last September and I fell in love!

So I'm gonna go back next April as part of my honeymoon. First half of the honeymoon will be in Vegas and the second will be at Disneyland.

So I'm planing to arrive at Disney the last Tuesday of April this is a quietish week in between Spring Break and Grad Nights. Will be staying for 5 nights.

Will arrive in the O.C at around 0930 in the morning then catch a cab to the hotel. Then plan to head down to downtown disney for some shopping and lunch (most likely at rainforrest cafe) then we'll head off to disneyland for the evening. Now I'm not sure at this stage if disney will be open to midnight, I'm waiting for the same time this year to come up on the official park calendar so I can get a better idea but previous years it hasn't been.

Will the spend the next day at Disneyland. Will first head to disneyland hotel to have a character breakfast at goofys kitchen. Will want to have some of the famous Plaza Inn fried chicken for lunch. Will probably head over to California adventure this night to catch some night time rides like Tower of terror and Radiator Springs racers as will do disneyland night rides in the first night. Really looking forward to the refurbished big thunder mountain rail road.

Second full day will be at California Adventure. Will probably go to wine country trattoria for lunch and do a Carthay Circle World Of Colour reservation for dinner.

Third full day will be back over at disney with dinner at the Blue Bayou and will watch the fireworks and fantasmic. Will most likely do fantasmic reservation to get a seat and good view.

Final day will be a bit of everything, will wanna grab some if the awesome fries at cafe New Orleans and a Monte Cristo, might have dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney, they have good pizzas.

Then I'll fly home and get uber depressed about having no more Disney!

[Zanstabar]

Not sure if it's still around, but my best companion for Disneyland as well as Walt Disney World was the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland or Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. I'm not trying to advertise, but the book tells you a section about various restrains around the parks (and outside), a brief description and some vital information for each ride (and whether they will be good with children, teens, adults, etc,), as well as some great tour plans in case you want to go slow, get everything done, or even do two parks in one day.

If thats not around, just prioritise yourself.

• Not to keen on a Parade? Go on a ride instead. The queues are generally quiet during shows and parades, as well as the peak lunch time.
• Fast-pass is your best friend. I recommend checking which rides run out of Fast-passes quickly, and ride them first, or at least get a Fast-pass towards the beginning of your day.
• Take it Easy. Don't being an army general and have your whole day organised down to the minute. Make sure you have time for any spontaneous moments, such as a character meet or another round on the Matterhorn
• Be Prepared! Make sure you bring sunscreen, hats, water bottles, etc. before you get in the park. You won't want to miss out on some magical moments because you are waiting in line for a $6 bottle of water. (I'm exaggerating. Deal with it)

Other than that, I'm done. Hope you'll have a fun time on your honeymoon, and that everyone else can share their wisdom with you!

[El Dub]

There are plenty of free things Disney do to make your trip more enjoyable too.

Make sure to stop off at city hall and let them know you are celebrating a honeymoon. They will provide you with free buttons celebrating the occasion and cast members will comment and congratulate during the day. A favourite of mine is to tell them it's your birthday (it doesn't have to be, they don't check). All cast members will wish you a happy birthday (even from the other side of the street!). I was even lucky enough to be sung happy birthday by Mater.

Also if you fancy a ride on the Mark Twain paddle steamer, ask the cast member politely on entry if you can drive. They will take you to the top and let you ring the bells and whistles. It's on a track so the steering wheel does nothing but it is also a good time to chat with the cast member about all things Disneyland. You will get a pilots licence to mark the occasion.

If you want a map of the jungle cruise, just ask a cast member when exiting the ride and they will get one for you.

Also if you fancy a collection of Cars buttons, brush up on your knowledge of the movie and start asking cast members in the shops and at the rides for buttons of characters. They will either not have any, just give you one or ask you a question about the movie in order to receive one.

One last thing is Radiator Springs Racers gets super busy and fast passes are gone quite early in the day, best to get a ride in first thing. The single rider queue is a riders best friend. You may not be sitting beside anyone you know but you usually end up in the same car anyway. This is the method the cast members use when they want to ride so they've apparently stopped suggesting it to visitors so it doesn't get too crowded.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

So I'm gonna go back next April as part of my honeymoon. First half of the honeymoon will be in Vegas and the second will be at Disneyland.

So I'm planing to arrive at Disney the last Tuesday of April this is a quietish week in between Spring Break and Grad Nights. Will be staying for 5 nights.

Now I'm not sure at this stage if disney will be open to midnight, I'm waiting for the same time this year to come up on the official park calendar so I can get a better idea but previous years it hasn't been.

Then I'll fly home and get uber depressed about having no more Disney!

Last Aprilearly May (2013) was my Honeymoon in Vegas and Disneyland - and it isn't a bad time to go at all!

First thing I will say - something we wish we had of done - switch your journeys - do Disney first and Vegas last. Our original plan for our honeymoon was to finish in Vegas (thereby giving the freedom to blow whatever cash we had left), but accommodation deals convinced us to change it around, and we ended up in Vegas first... we found Jetlag was more severe because Vegas doesn't sleep. Ever. So our first week in the USA was plagued with things like waking up at 1pm, going to sleep at 4am (not partying - just couldn't sleep)... California lets you settle your sleeping pattern a bit better... but just my opinion - we would have done it differently and will do so next time.

As for late-night Disney trading - thursday - sunday was their late night periods, but they did chop & change - our advanced (3 months out) planning suggested the trading hours one way, our guidebook in our hotel said something different, but the posted hours of the park were different again. We had planned out our day, where we'd eat and what big items we'd do on each day and it got totally wrecked by the clash. Don't make your plans concrete (except maybe blue bayou), and allow for it to change around if the trading hours on each particular day doesn't suit.

Did your fiance go with you last time around? or would this be her first time? One mistake I made was to make sure we got through absolutely everything, and it ended up that for the first two days, my wife never got the chance to just sit and watch the world pass by inside the park, and marvel just at the atmosphere. Day 3, we made sure we did, but I almost lost the chance to show her why the park meant so much to me (and you sound the same)

[Mort]

WE will be coming from Fiji so its actually only a 10 Hour flight. We will be flying out of Fiji at night arriving in Vegas around 1400 which will mean as long as we sleep on the flight (and we will) jet lag wont be an issue. I find the Jet lag worse on the way back. Have to do Vegas first because that was the deal with the Mrs.

Yes the Mrs. came with me last time. She really enjoyed it but not as much as me. I'm gonna try make her fall in love this time, thats why were gonna go to alot of restauraunts as she loves to eat out. Yeah plan to smash all the rides out in the first 3 days then spend the last two just apreciating the park.

In terms of Radiator springs racers, I do intend on using the single rider line for the night ride, will use our Early morning acces that comes with the tickets to get into California Adventure early one morning to ride Radiator springs first thing then line up for a Fast pass once the park opens.

I feel a little awkward going to city hall and going "It's our honeymoon!!!!" lol

I spend a bit of time over on the MiceChat forums so i have alot of knowledge if anyone wants to pick my brain.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Don't worry about the awkwardness. Trust me - it ABSOLUTELY MAKES your day.

The thing to remember is - you're in a foreign country. Nobody knows who you are. You're newlyweds... and the recognition you get from the cast members is great (although it's not a given, cast members will go that extra mile to make your day better wherever they can)

......gotta catch 'em all......