SanDiegans
11-07-2007, 07:59 AM
Just got back last night from 3 days at DL and DCA. We drove up Sunday morning from San Diego - very little traffic and made it in about 1 hr 15 min. Parked at Residence Inn and walked over to DL in time for opening. The walk was definitely doable - about 10-15 mins with 4 kids in tow. I don't know that it would have been any faster with a shuttle given some expected wait time for it.
Crowds were light until about noon on Sunday. We spent a fair amount of time at the Princess Faire watching shows and getting autographs (we were celebrating our daughter's 5th birthday, so the princesses were a priority.) The longest we waited for a ride was probably about 15 mins for Toontown coaster. We took a break at about 4 and went back to the room for a rest, then came back at about 6 for the evening and fireworks. Again, generally light lines. I was surprised how early crowds gathered for the fireworks. I though we were a bit early at 8:45 for the 9:25 fireworks. All the curb spots were taken - we grabbed a spot in the middle if the sidewalk across the road from the Castke the was just fine. The kids were very impressed, except for the one who slept through them.
Monday was focused on DCA. It was a bit cold and overcast, but again lines were light. Most of the more popular rides had maybe a 10 minute wait if at all. Came back that night to go back to DL - finally went on Nemo. The line was 20 minutes, about the same amount of time as the ride itself. We got into line at 7:40 when the park closed at 8.
Tuesday we used our EE pass - obviously lines were light then - walked right on everything that was open except Peter Pan (which was a bit of a surprise). One the park opened things really didn't change much. We were pretty much able to walk on every ride, incuding Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain. After we rode everything in DL, we headed over the DCA for more of the same. The longest we waitind for anything all day was maybe 10 minutes for California Screamin when it was at its busiest around 4:30.
The Residence Inn worked great for the 6 of us. We had what I think was the smaller of the 1 BR suites at $152 per night. Plenty of room for us all, decent pool and basketball court (nice for afternoon unwinding). It had a great selection for breakfast - a hot buffet with scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, and french toast or pancakes. There were also make it yourself waffles (6 waffle irons, so no waiting), oatmeal, cold cereal, toast and english muffins, blueberry muffins, yogurt and fresh friut. Definitely a quick and hearty breakfast - much better than we could have done on the outside with 4 kids.
We came home exhausted last night, but a great trip overall!
Crowds were light until about noon on Sunday. We spent a fair amount of time at the Princess Faire watching shows and getting autographs (we were celebrating our daughter's 5th birthday, so the princesses were a priority.) The longest we waited for a ride was probably about 15 mins for Toontown coaster. We took a break at about 4 and went back to the room for a rest, then came back at about 6 for the evening and fireworks. Again, generally light lines. I was surprised how early crowds gathered for the fireworks. I though we were a bit early at 8:45 for the 9:25 fireworks. All the curb spots were taken - we grabbed a spot in the middle if the sidewalk across the road from the Castke the was just fine. The kids were very impressed, except for the one who slept through them.
Monday was focused on DCA. It was a bit cold and overcast, but again lines were light. Most of the more popular rides had maybe a 10 minute wait if at all. Came back that night to go back to DL - finally went on Nemo. The line was 20 minutes, about the same amount of time as the ride itself. We got into line at 7:40 when the park closed at 8.
Tuesday we used our EE pass - obviously lines were light then - walked right on everything that was open except Peter Pan (which was a bit of a surprise). One the park opened things really didn't change much. We were pretty much able to walk on every ride, incuding Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain. After we rode everything in DL, we headed over the DCA for more of the same. The longest we waitind for anything all day was maybe 10 minutes for California Screamin when it was at its busiest around 4:30.
The Residence Inn worked great for the 6 of us. We had what I think was the smaller of the 1 BR suites at $152 per night. Plenty of room for us all, decent pool and basketball court (nice for afternoon unwinding). It had a great selection for breakfast - a hot buffet with scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, and french toast or pancakes. There were also make it yourself waffles (6 waffle irons, so no waiting), oatmeal, cold cereal, toast and english muffins, blueberry muffins, yogurt and fresh friut. Definitely a quick and hearty breakfast - much better than we could have done on the outside with 4 kids.
We came home exhausted last night, but a great trip overall!