Hello~I have done a great deal of searching regarding our upcoming trip to DL. But I have one more question. I am originally from FL and a WDW veteran for sure. I love the pictures from 30 years ago on Main Street. I now live in Texas and am taking my 1.5 and 3.5 y.o. to DL. This is my first time there too. My husband was there a LONG time ago. I know how nice a well planned day can be and I also know how awful a non-planned day can be.

We are deciding between Sunday, Sept 7 and Monday, Sept 8. If I did not have very small kids who will want to see every character and leave before dinner, I’d say no-brainer, Monday would be the best choice for smaller crowds. But factor in my 3 year old who wants to meet all the princesses, I think our best bet might be Sunday. More crowds than normal for a Sunday because of the ABC weekend at DCA, but the parade is at 4:45 and much more achievable with the young ones. But Monday would be much smaller crowds and we are leaving way before 6 no matter what day we go so closing early is not an issue. I am thinking that not all the characters will be there and not all the restaurants will be open on Monday. We would not be able to stay for the parade 7:30. I would never do that to my kids. Plus HM will be closed on Monday, but not Sunday. AHHHH. OK, what day would you go with small kids, Sunday with more crowds and things to see or Monday with less crowds and less to see. We will be driving up from La Jolla, so it will be a long day for all of us. Plus my father/mother in-law will be joining us too.

Thanks so much! I appreciate your help.
Kristin

I am soooo sorry but Splash Mountain closes sept 2nd. On the 8th 4 other ones close too. If you can make it before the 2nd you wont have a problem, but from what you are describing is that you will not be able to.
see as follows

Disneyland Refurbishments

Space Mountain April 10 - November 5, 2005
Splash Mountain September 2 - November 7
Tarzans Treehouse September 8 September 11
Haunted Mansion September 8 - October 3
Sailing Ship Columbia September 8 - September 13
Mark Twain Riverboat September 15 - September 20

California Adventure Refurbishments

Francis' Lady Bug Boogie September 8 September 27
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail September 2 September 27
SuperStar Limo January 10, 2002-October 2, 2004

Ouch Im sorry you picked the worse time to come to our park.
If you see it like this your going to hate it because there will be a lack of e-ticket attractions. Lets put it this way, WDW is heaven right now compared to Disneyland. They are neglecting it in every way possible which im very sad to hear. Peeling paint everywhere and lack of attractions because of Paul Presler. I dont even remember the last time I saw a character walking anywhere! So you probably will be disappointed.

E Ticket Attractions that are no more that have been removed since 98 up to now.

Submarine Voyage-RIP
Rocket Rods
Space Mountain Under huge rehab
Circle Vision
oh and did i mention that they were never replaced!!!!!!

Try www.disneyrefurbs.com

Well we were just there last week and as far as seeing characters, you'll see plenty if you get there early! We had no wait at all to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. They were all hanging out to the left of It's A Small World. Plus later on all of them were on Main Street at maybe 3:30ish but the lines were very long there. As for Princesses we only saw Ariel and Belle. I couldn't believe that. During the parade we saw them all but that was it.

For getting on rides w/your little ones, getting there early is key. We found that out the hard way, LOL! I have a 3 year old and a 19 month old. We got there when the park opened and there was NO line for It's A Small World at all! But it didn't take long to form. Also Dumbo's line was pretty short early in the morning. Waiting at the gates of ToonTown for when they first open is good too b/c you'll get in line first to meet Mickey at his house and ride the attractions there.

As for the bigger attractions it looks like a lot of them will be down while you're visiting. Keep that in mind b/c it will draw crowds to other attractions and shows since there is less for everyone to do.

Crystal

The drive from La Jolla should only take you an hour and a half to two hours, depending on traffic--Monday morning will be dicey. I would echo the recomendation that you arrive at DL at least a half hour before the park is scheduled to open. It's worth getting up early and being organized.

As far as Sunday or Monday--I see the advantages for either day. It partially depends on your interest in seeing DCA--the ABC weekend really pumps up the crowds over there--and I"m guessing there will be spillage over to DL-- Monday would be a far better choice as far as crowds go.

As far as closures--I know the Haunted Mansion is scheduled to be down on monday, but would your kids really be interested in that attraction? My kids at that age were frightened of it. I know it will be disappointing for the grownups, but Space and Splash will be down regardless. Unless you are a BIG Mansion fan, I wouldn't let that be the only deciding factor.

Princesses usually do storytime in the toyshop next to the castle at set times--check the schedule. This is the best way for kids to get quality time with them--just arrive a few minutes early so the kids can get a good spot on the rug.

I always go for the smaller crowds, especially with the kids. Line wait times will be much shorter and you will end up seeing more in the long run. Whatever day you choose--have fun!

Thank you all for the great advice. I am not sure which day we will choose. There are benefits and draw backs to both days. Thank you for the heads-up about story time and the character meetings. We are planning on getting there before it opens. I can use your posts for more encrouagement to get my husband to agree to be there early. He was thinking we could get there at 1 on Monday and stay through the parade at 8 and avoid morning traffic. I think it might just be better to get there before it opens and leave when the kids are ready regardless of the parade. We'll see. I am really looking forward to this trip. Even though DL needs repair, this is my kids first time to any amusement park and will love it! It is sad that it is being ignored so badly though.

One more question...do they still sell frozen bananas like WDW did? Those were my FAVORITES!!

Thanks again for all your help!

Kristin

Originally posted by Kris
I think it might just be better to get there before it opens and leave when the kids are ready regardless of the parade. That's definitely the wiser move. You'll be able to see a lot more and do a lot more in the first few hours immediately following opening than you can in the later afternoon.

Yes Disneyland sells all the ice cream you can get at WDW, and they do have frozen bananas everywhere on the carts. Also they have many other things too. Also if I gave an impression that the kids wouldnt have a good time I didnt mean that. I meant that probably you wont have as good of a time as you should have. But if you stay late enough you can see fantasmic, although what makes ours unique is the mark twain and the colombia ships. But they are going to be on refurb during your visit. I saw a video of WDWs fantasmic and there were good points and bad points. I liked how they improvised with the john smith parts and the better dragon scene. But the ship that was suppost to be like mark twain totally didnt look good compared to ours. I would also like to inform you that Disneyland is going to give ride gifts to WDW on Disneylands birthday.:rolleyes:
WDW is getting 4 new rides and attractions from us according to the Disney management. Oh also did I mention that we are getting squat except for a new firework show and refurbished space mountain and a new parade which is actually used; its from WDWs walts 100th birthday parade.:mad:

Disneyfreak~Glad to hear about the bananas! It really is the small things isn't it :fez:

Thank you for the thorough, yet jaded ;), viewpoint. I can tell you are very disappointed in DL and the 'care takers' (can we call them that since they don't really take care of it?) of this once beautifully magical place. I have read most of the posts about the work that needs to be done and rides that need to be replaced. I did not think you meant the kids would not have fun. I took your posts as something coming from the heart, from sadness and frustration. It is not fair that so much is going into WDW and nothing to DL. What a joke about giving someone a gift for your birthday. Those people have a screw loose to think that is acceptable. I was shocked that DL did not celebrate Walts 100th. That is insane. I wonder if WDW would be here if it weren't for DL. And what is up with the paint? Heck, give me a brush while I am there and I will spend an hour and fix those stairs to the monorail. How tough is that? I know, there is probably an underlying problem that they need to fix before it is painted, but come on. Paint it until you have time to really fix it up! What happened to the pride? Have they written DL off already? I'd rather pay a few extra dollars for my admission to have a clean, upkept park.

If they are giving the extra funding to WDW because they get more tourists, then this will only continue to get worse. If I were chosing which Disney to go to on a week vacation, hands down, WDW would be my choice. But since we are going to La Jolla, I am just happy to go to DL for the day. I hope things turn around soon. My daughter owns 100 shares of Disney stock, I think we will try to throw out weight around and get some things done while we are there! lol...

We are going to go and have a blast...and many bananas too.

Kristin

The princesses are often found on the walkways just to the right and left of the the drawbridge to the Castle. This trip I saw Sleeping Beauty there every day. Arielle also has a visiting station just to the right of the Castle. I would recommend visiting Fantasyland first thing in the morning and then heading back to Toontown as soon as it opens. Early in the morning there are always several characters about in Toontown with short waits. This trip we saw Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Pluto on the street there. Minnie and Mickey were available in their houses with longer waits. Another thing you might consider would be a character meal. You can take a nice break, get a meal and visit with characters without waiting.

I'll be quick so as not to derail the thread. On Walt's actual 100th birthday, DL handed out pins and if you shared the day with Walt you got to have free birthday cake at the Plaza Inn.

Thanks Elly~I did not realize that toon town did not open at the same time as the rest of the park. Our plan of attack is Fantasyland first then to toon town. Now if we can just decide on a day. My father-in-law will be in an electric wheelchair thing. So I need to plan ahead for slow traffic. Sunday 9/7 or Monday 9/8...we'll see. Maybe the weather will make our decision for us.

Walt'sbirthdaygirl~Well, at least they did something to celebrate his birthday :rolleyes: So lame though in comparison to WDW. It is not fair. The real kicker will be when they announce WDW will help celebrate DL's 50th!

Thanks so much for all the help!

Kristin

It sounds like the deciding factor between your two days are: HM and the parade.

Lisap already mentioned HM as not being a great ride for the kids and I back that one up. If it's one of your best die-hard favorites, our elevators actually go DOWN, they don't just pretend to like WDW's ;)

The parade- eh. My kids aren't big parade watchers so I can't even remember if we've ever stopped to watch it.

I would vote for don't worry so much about the parade and go on Monday. I think you'll still see plenty of characters. In recent years, DL has really upped the number of character interactions available, in my general experience.

Adrienne

Thanks adriennek! I am not much of a parade person. Bad childhood memories for me. But that is another thread... I thought that the parade would allow a last ditch effort to see all the characters even if they can't meet them.

I like HM and would like to ride on the original one that goes down, but probably not worth choosing Sunday over Monday. I guess we will roll the dice and go Monday with hopes to see the characters. I just hope rush hour traffic up the coast is not too bad...

Thanks again!
Kristin