PDA

View Full Version : Need some advice for planning our Disney trip



Jaysrule
09-16-2004, 09:45 AM
My wife and I are going to Disneyland the weekend of Oct. 15 and staying five days at the Grand California Hotel. We have been to Disneyland many times but what makes this year different is we just adopted two young boys, ages 4 and 5 about three months ago. We are really looking forward to this trip since we will be "seeing" Disneyland through their eyes.

Anyway, I wanted to ask your advice on the following

1.What is the best Character Breakfast at the Resort? The boys would really like one that has Mickey Mouse.

2. What is the best time to ride the rides in Fantasyland? Later at Night or first thing in the morning? The lines always seem so long to me.

3. We went to the park last year and rode the monorail just once since the line in Tommorwland always took about 45 mintues to get on. We could walk back to our hotel in that amount of time. Has the monorail gotten any faster?

4. Any other tips and/ or sugestions regarding bring your young childeren to Disneyland Resort would be great

mystycalchyk
09-16-2004, 10:01 AM
My fisrt trip with kids will be in a week, but from what I have noticed in the past...you really want to hit Fantasyland first thing because the lines get huge by 10am. but since you are going during a slower time it may not be too much of an issue

We are doing the Plaza Inn character breakfast and the Ariels Grotto character lunch for our trip. From the advice I got here I determined that goofy's kitchen is too packed for any really good quality character interaction adn that stroytellers, although is better food (thank Goofy's) has limited characters.


Umm Monorail seems to always be the same speed to me. But because of when you are going the wait times may be minimal


I will be doing a full trip report when we return....so maybe I can shed more light at that time



I would suggest going early and leaving by noon or 1 for a nap (or serious downtime) then coming back around 5 or 6 for evening events. We always do that (even without kids) and we get alot more out of the park IMO.


Hope you have a wonderful trip! Im sure you will

Tinker Bell
09-16-2004, 10:22 AM
Mickey only does the Plaza inn Birthday thing. You wont get him at any food things sorry. I always made my trips to DL in oct and have done the goofy kit thing around 10 -11am and sometimes been the only group in there. Lots of pixs with my kids and the characters.Like Mystycalchyk said Fantasyland is best first thing.I have never had a long wait on the monrail. We always did the down time thing mid day.But we did have a much lager crowd of kids 11 - 0 yrs ( 6-8 kids)

sierranevada
09-16-2004, 10:27 AM
1. Our personal favorite is Goofy's Kitchen (at DLH) with Breakfast with Minnie (at PPH) a close second. Don't bother with Chip & Dale's at GC - very few characters other than Chip & Dale.

2. Definitely hit Fantasyland first thing in the morning - best shot at shorter lines.

3. Guests of the DLR hotels have an exlusive entrance for priority boarding the monorail in Tomorrowland. The entrance is by the Autotopia shop. You just show your room key and bypass the long lines. If you have trouble finding the entrance, just askt the CM at the bottom of the regular entrance to the monorail.

4. If you plan on giving them some spending money for the trip, give it to them in Disney Dollars. My son loved it! Take advantage of staying onsite and go back to the hotels mid day for a break. I have never done it but I have heard that there is a "sneak peek" that is not publicized available at no charg to a small group of GC guests, who have the luck or knowledge to show up early at the GC entrance to CA. Ask the concierge at the GC. You are escorted into CA about 20 minutes before it opens for a short informative tour and then get to be the first ones on Soarin'. I am not sure if it is still offered but if the boys like pin trading, The Premier Shop in Tomorrowland offers a "pin talk" for kids and each child receives 2 free pins to start trading with. You would need to ask if it is still offered and what times.

Have a wonderful time - it is soooo much fun the first time through the eyes of children!!!

Lani
09-16-2004, 10:34 AM
4. Any other tips and/ or sugestions regarding bring your young childeren to Disneyland Resort would be great
Hey, you've come to the right spot! Make yourself at home in our Parenting in the Parks forum here on MousePad, for starters. And make sure to read up on the various articles in Adrienne Krock's Parenting in the Parks (http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock) column here at MousePlanet's main site, too!

tlovesdis
09-16-2004, 10:41 AM
#1 = The last two times we have been to Goofy's we were highly disappointed. We like the Plaza Inn breakfast with the Pooh characters. The interaction is fantastic and you are right inside Disneyland. You can enter Disneyland 1/2 hour before it opens and get to the Plaza Inn through the shops on Main Street. You can purchase your tickets for that at the front desk of the GCH.

#2 = We enter Disneyland 1/2 hour before opening and see characters on Main Street. As soon as the rope is dropped we head to Fantasyland and do all of the rides there. FL gets very busy in the afternoons!

#3 = If you are staying at the GCH you will not need the Monorail. But if you decide to use it you can get on ahead of others by showing your room key for the Grand. The Monorail would be good for you if you want to go to ESPN Zone or Rainforest Cafe. Other than that it is easier to just walk out the front gate to the hotel.

#4 = Definately leave in the afternoon and swim, nap, shop, etc... With little ones, don't miss Aladdin at DCA! It's a great show! GCH has story time every night, that would be fun for your kids!

Have fun!

CoasterChickie
09-16-2004, 10:48 AM
You've already received some good tips so I have to agree with several of them. It's a good idea to do Fantasyland either first thing in the morning or late at night because that's when it's the least crowded. But if you're going to go at night, be sure that your boys take a nap/quiet time in the afternoon so they'll be rested. I love the Plaza Inn for breakfast and my favorite thing on our last trip was probably Ariel's Grotto. We were there almost 2 hours because we were having such a good time with all the characters as well as the waitress and busboys!! Be sure to use the Monorail entrance for the DLR hotel guests. Then you won't have to wait in line in Tomorrowland. There is usually no wait at the DTD entrance in the morning, but sometimes it's more fun to walk through the main entrance first thing in the morning so you can see all the characters. Tomorrowland isn't as "welcoming."

nursemelis374
09-16-2004, 11:49 AM
First off, Congratulations on the additions to your family! I have been to DL a million times and recently took my 7 year old niece there for her first time and it was probably the best time I ever had! I think everybody else has pretty much covered you other questions. I would say to definitely try the Monrail Station in DTD. Even throughout the summer we have gotten on there with a 5-10 minute wait max!

Susan L
09-16-2004, 11:57 AM
1. Our personal favorite is Goofy's Kitchen (at DLH) with Breakfast with Minnie (at PPH) a close second. Don't bother with Chip & Dale's at GC - very few characters other than Chip & Dale.

2. Definitely hit Fantasyland first thing in the morning - best shot at shorter lines.

3. Guests of the DLR hotels have an exlusive entrance for priority boarding the monorail in Tomorrowland. The entrance is by the Autotopia shop. You just show your room key and bypass the long lines. If you have trouble finding the entrance, just askt the CM at the bottom of the regular entrance to the monorail.

4. If you plan on giving them some spending money for the trip, give it to them in Disney Dollars. My son loved it! Take advantage of staying onsite and go back to the hotels mid day for a break. I have never done it but I have heard that there is a "sneak peek" that is not publicized available at no charg to a small group of GC guests, who have the luck or knowledge to show up early at the GC entrance to CA. Ask the concierge at the GC. You are escorted into CA about 20 minutes before it opens for a short informative tour and then get to be the first ones on Soarin'. I am not sure if it is still offered but if the boys like pin trading, The Premier Shop in Tomorrowland offers a "pin talk" for kids and each child receives 2 free pins to start trading with. You would need to ask if it is still offered and what times.

Have a wonderful time - it is soooo much fun the first time through the eyes of children!!!

I could not agree more with all of the above.

Here's some more suggestion,

Don't let the rehabs get you down, you can always plan another trip for another time.

Check the board at the end of Main Street for info on ride waits, show and parade times.

Also parade times are also a good time to go on rides in Fantasyland.

Use the train to get around the park, it saves the feet.

Have an excellent time.

disneyperson
09-16-2004, 12:20 PM
Go to toontown first thing in the morning on at least one day. It's often practically deserted and you can get great one on one time with the characters. On Aug 29, we had Goofy, Minnie, Chip and Dale and Pluto all actually vieing for our attention. It was a lot of fun, and we didn't even have any little kids with us!

Disneyfamily3
09-17-2004, 10:20 AM
We have done Goofy & Plaza Inn breakfast and would suggest the Plaza becuase like everyone said it is not as busy as Goofy and you get really good time with the Characters-our 3 yr old loved it. Plus as said above you get into the park early and we shot right out from breakfast and headed to FL and waited no more then 10 minutes for any of the rides then we jetted right over to Toontown and had no wait there either,so definitely hit it in the morning.

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
09-17-2004, 12:12 PM
My wife and I are going to Disneyland the weekend of Oct. 15 and staying five days at the Grand California Hotel. We have been to Disneyland many times but what makes this year different is we just adopted two young boys, ages 4 and 5 about three months ago. We are really looking forward to this trip since we will be "seeing" Disneyland through their eyes.

Anyway, I wanted to ask your advice on the following

1.What is the best Character Breakfast at the Resort? The boys would really like one that has Mickey Mouse.

2. What is the best time to ride the rides in Fantasyland? Later at Night or first thing in the morning? The lines always seem so long to me.

3. We went to the park last year and rode the monorail just once since the line in Tommorwland always took about 45 mintues to get on. We could walk back to our hotel in that amount of time. Has the monorail gotten any faster?

4. Any other tips and/ or sugestions regarding bring your young childeren to Disneyland Resort would be great

First congratulations on the adoption and also seeing the park through a child's eyes for the first time. There is even more magic, if that ever seemed possible, going to DL with your children, than just going alone. I am sure you will see things you have never seen before in taking them.

1. I don't have much experience with this topic, but I have heard good things about both Ariel's and Goofy's.

2. My experience is in the evenings. Although we had good luck with it in the morning too. Honestly I think the time of year you are going should be great for not being too crowded and you shouldn't have to wait to long at any time.

3. I think that this also depends on the time of year. You are going during a not so busy time of year and you shouldn't have to wait to long for the monorail. I remember our trip in October, in 2002 and the only time we had a long wait for the monorail, missed the first one and had to wait on the second, was at park closing.

4. Take things slow. That is my biggest suggestion. Sounds like you have plenty of time left. We have decided to always do our trips a week at a time so that we are not rushed with the kids. Take time to go back to the room and rest, even if they don't sleep, just a bit of down time will help. Notice the little things. Things that might not seem like much to you are going to be huge to them. I was so surprised at how fascinated my son, who was 2 1/2 at our last trip, was with Storybook Land. He kept talking about going in to the whale's mouth ALL week long. It was funny to see him so excited about something that seems so simple.

ENJOY yourself! Take lots of pictures and video!

got2travel
09-17-2004, 02:10 PM
Congratulations on your new family!!!

It seems that you've got votes going both ways for all the character meals. I'll add my thoughts too, not that they're much different than what others have said. My favorite is Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. I make the latest breakfast reservation I can, usually about 10:30. Its not overly crowded then, and you can turn it into a brunch. Also it allows you to get a little early morning park time which is extremely important for hitting all the Fantasyland rides. The food was great at Goofy's Kitchen and so was the service. I recieved very poor service at Ariel's Grotto and the characters didn't interact as much. We often had to go to them instead of them coming to us. I haven't done Plaza Inn yet, so can't weigh in on that one. Oh, and be sure to tell your server about the adoption. They'll get all the characters together to sing Happy Adoption To You for the boys.

You're best bet for Mickey is Toontown first thing in the morning.

A must do is to take a nap/break in the middle of the day to keep everyone from getting too cranky. With my son, just getting out of the park for while really lets him calm down.

Also, I give him his own fanny pak to carry his autograph book, pen, snacks, disposable camera, and a business card size of paper with my his name, my name, and 'my mommy knows to check for me at the lost kids center on main street'

I hope you have a wonderful trip. We'll be there right behind you, arriving on Oct 21.