Hi everyone, I just got back from a great long weekend at DLR and want to chat about what we did and how I can change my itinerary to make next time even better. The traveling party was me, DH, DS (almost 7), DD (4). This Veterans Day weekend trip was a surprise early 7th birthday present for DS. I expect to do a similar trip again around February 2019 (President's Day weekend) for my daughter's 7th birthday.
Our parameters - we didn't want the kids to miss school and didn't want to take off too much time from work either. No rental car. Accommodations should be walking/staggering distance from the parks. And we're unrepentant park commandos.
We flew out of Baltimore Thursday afternoon and arrived in Anaheim late at night. We booked a shuttle to our hotel in advance and that worked flawlessly. Checked in at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites around 11 pm. I booked the hotel about 2 months ago, and it seemed like one of the closest off property options that still had rooms. (I would have preferred to stay on property, but options were limited and I wasn't feeling like spending $700/night.) It worked, but I was so keyed up that I didn't sleep well.
Friday - woke up well before dawn cause we're on east coast time. Showered, dressed and venturing out in search of coffee and sustenance shortly after 7. We walked under the Disneyland arch, went through security, crossed the plaza and went into Downtown Disney. The coffee shops seemed mobbed, so we ended up in the bar/coffee bar area at the Grand Californian. Choked down coffee, juice and bananas. Back through security and into the line for Disneyland. Entered the park before 9 and headed for Adventureland. Rides, rides, rides until a 10:30 am reservation at the Plaza Inn. Mickey waffles, bacon and characters, characters, characters. Rides, rides, rides. Dole whips. More rides. Then a few more. Dang Christmas parade gums everything up at least twice. Dinner reservation for 7:40 at Blue Bayou. (Big mistake - great service, great food, kids fell asleep before their entrees arrived). Staggered back to the hotel. Slept like the dead. Observations - boulevards are narrow, everything is charming, some rides are better than WDW some not, CMs are great, awesome to have so many old school dark rides, everyone is alot more chillaxed.
Thursday - woke up at dawn. Showered, dressed and fed the kids energy bars. Walked under the Disneyland arch, went through security, and lined up for California Adventure by 8:40ish. One ride. 9:30 reservation at Ariel's Grotto. Eggs, fruit and pastries and princesses. Oh the princesses. Rides, rides, rides. Viva Navidad parade - so awesome. More rides. Questionable chimichangas. Another ride or two. At dusk - let's go back to Disneyland and catch a few more rides. (Big mistake - landed in the middle of another freakin' Xmas parade). You can't get anywhere from here (see narrow boulevards above). Eventually catch a couple of rides. Snag a few sandwiches from the Jolly Holiday. And then I began a nearly fruitless search. I am fond of Disney pins. I don't trade them. I just get one or two here and there. Little pieces of memories for me. Quickly found acceptable Disneyland t-shirts. But I wanted a pin that says "Disneyland" or maybe just the castle. This is nearly impossible. Nothing on Main Street. I was heartbroken. DH said "I think I saw a pin trader store in Downtown Disney". Off we went to DTD, and there I found one lonely pin, shaped like a Mickey balloon that said "Disneyland". Not perfect, but it will do. Staggered back to the hotel. Slept like the dead. Observations - California Adventure feels more like WDW, wide streets, room for a quiet moment, charming designs, shade in the right places, cool new rides, I think I love that place.
So, if you bothered to read all that, help me think through how to do this better next time.
1. Is there a better place to stay? I think I read something about the Anaheim Plaza being torn down soon for a luxury resort. At WDW, we always stay in our motorhome at Fort Wilderness. The perks of being on property are great. Do you think trying to book a stay at Paradise Pier would be worth it? I'm a big fan of Extra Magic Hours at WDW.
2. Character meals, should I change my strategy? We tend to have 2 - 3 character dinners when we visit WDW. With the time change, I knew a big protein filled brunch would be important, but the AM character meals suck up a lot of prime ride time. Maybe it would be better to just have dinner at Goofy's kitchen one night - like at 5 during the freakin' parade apocalypse at Disneyland.
3. Is there a go-to place for souvenirs and pins? Like the gigantic tchotchke orgy shop? I have to get a baseball t-shirt and pins. Toys and sweatshirts for the kids, etc. At WDW I have a system - I always stop at MouseGear at Epcot, the Emporium in MK and World of Disney at Disney Springs.
Our parameters - we didn't want the kids to miss school and didn't want to take off too much time from work either. No rental car. Accommodations should be walking/staggering distance from the parks. And we're unrepentant park commandos.
We flew out of Baltimore Thursday afternoon and arrived in Anaheim late at night. We booked a shuttle to our hotel in advance and that worked flawlessly. Checked in at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites around 11 pm. I booked the hotel about 2 months ago, and it seemed like one of the closest off property options that still had rooms. (I would have preferred to stay on property, but options were limited and I wasn't feeling like spending $700/night.) It worked, but I was so keyed up that I didn't sleep well.
Friday - woke up well before dawn cause we're on east coast time. Showered, dressed and venturing out in search of coffee and sustenance shortly after 7. We walked under the Disneyland arch, went through security, crossed the plaza and went into Downtown Disney. The coffee shops seemed mobbed, so we ended up in the bar/coffee bar area at the Grand Californian. Choked down coffee, juice and bananas. Back through security and into the line for Disneyland. Entered the park before 9 and headed for Adventureland. Rides, rides, rides until a 10:30 am reservation at the Plaza Inn. Mickey waffles, bacon and characters, characters, characters. Rides, rides, rides. Dole whips. More rides. Then a few more. Dang Christmas parade gums everything up at least twice. Dinner reservation for 7:40 at Blue Bayou. (Big mistake - great service, great food, kids fell asleep before their entrees arrived). Staggered back to the hotel. Slept like the dead. Observations - boulevards are narrow, everything is charming, some rides are better than WDW some not, CMs are great, awesome to have so many old school dark rides, everyone is alot more chillaxed.
Thursday - woke up at dawn. Showered, dressed and fed the kids energy bars. Walked under the Disneyland arch, went through security, and lined up for California Adventure by 8:40ish. One ride. 9:30 reservation at Ariel's Grotto. Eggs, fruit and pastries and princesses. Oh the princesses. Rides, rides, rides. Viva Navidad parade - so awesome. More rides. Questionable chimichangas. Another ride or two. At dusk - let's go back to Disneyland and catch a few more rides. (Big mistake - landed in the middle of another freakin' Xmas parade). You can't get anywhere from here (see narrow boulevards above). Eventually catch a couple of rides. Snag a few sandwiches from the Jolly Holiday. And then I began a nearly fruitless search. I am fond of Disney pins. I don't trade them. I just get one or two here and there. Little pieces of memories for me. Quickly found acceptable Disneyland t-shirts. But I wanted a pin that says "Disneyland" or maybe just the castle. This is nearly impossible. Nothing on Main Street. I was heartbroken. DH said "I think I saw a pin trader store in Downtown Disney". Off we went to DTD, and there I found one lonely pin, shaped like a Mickey balloon that said "Disneyland". Not perfect, but it will do. Staggered back to the hotel. Slept like the dead. Observations - California Adventure feels more like WDW, wide streets, room for a quiet moment, charming designs, shade in the right places, cool new rides, I think I love that place.
So, if you bothered to read all that, help me think through how to do this better next time.
1. Is there a better place to stay? I think I read something about the Anaheim Plaza being torn down soon for a luxury resort. At WDW, we always stay in our motorhome at Fort Wilderness. The perks of being on property are great. Do you think trying to book a stay at Paradise Pier would be worth it? I'm a big fan of Extra Magic Hours at WDW.
2. Character meals, should I change my strategy? We tend to have 2 - 3 character dinners when we visit WDW. With the time change, I knew a big protein filled brunch would be important, but the AM character meals suck up a lot of prime ride time. Maybe it would be better to just have dinner at Goofy's kitchen one night - like at 5 during the freakin' parade apocalypse at Disneyland.
3. Is there a go-to place for souvenirs and pins? Like the gigantic tchotchke orgy shop? I have to get a baseball t-shirt and pins. Toys and sweatshirts for the kids, etc. At WDW I have a system - I always stop at MouseGear at Epcot, the Emporium in MK and World of Disney at Disney Springs.
