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View Full Version : Question about trip planning, tour, etc?



kkmickey
01-30-2006, 07:54 PM
Hello - I am planning a trip for March 1-4, reservations, travel plans have already been made. However, my two friends and I (who have all been to Disneyland many times) are having a hard time deciding what special activities to plan. Especially Friday (see below)

Here is our itinerary so far:

Wed, Mar 1 - fly into Long Beach at 10:45am, be at the park collecting fastpasses no later than 12:30 (we have fastpass bonus), lunch at Blue Bayou at 2pm.

Thurs, Mar 2 - Early entry (resort guests)
* I am thinking maybe a late breakfast at Carnation cafe (the croissant benedict is GREAT!)
8 pm - SPECIAL birthday dinner for my two friends

Fri Mar 3 -
*** Here is the dilemna - We have never taken a tour, and thought it would be really fun, but is it really worth taking 3 1/2 hours of our time, especially if we are all pretty familiar with Disneyland? We are thinking of taking the special 50th tour. *** According to guest services, there are two tours being offered that day - one at 4:30 with priority seating for the parade, and one at 6pm with priority seating for fireworks. None of us have seen the 50th parade OR the fireworks (fireworks were cancelled due to wind when I was there in November).

Second, we would also like to watch Fantasmic! from the balcony like we did for my birthday a couple of years ago. (I've also done waterfront seating, was not impressed).

We would like to do both the tour (one of them) and Fantasmic! Do you think we will be taking up too much of our time at the park?
especially because we leave the next afternoon.

Sat, Mar 4. - Early entry again, catch a cab by 2:30pm. Fly out of Long Beach at 5:30. Back home :crying:

I would appreciate any opinions on the subject :) = and quickly, because I have to reserve the tour and Fantasmic! in a couple of days (they told me Feb 3, even thought Feb 1 will be 30 days.)

Kristin

nvmom
01-31-2006, 08:06 AM
Hmm, well if you've been to DL many times, I think the 50th tour would be great fun! As for opting for the preferred seating for the Parade or the Fireworks, I don't know? I'm still a DLR newbie... but based on what people are saying about staking out a spot for the fireworks hours in advance, maybe the fireworks seating would be best?

nvmom

PrincessLeia
01-31-2006, 09:56 AM
I'm doing the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour this Friday...I had the same thought about the 3.5 hours but I have heard great things about the tours and I have been to DL many times so I thought it would be fun. Ask about AP and AAA discounts if you sign up for a tour! Personally, I don't think reserved seats for FW or F! are worth it, I've never had trouble finding a decent spot to watch from. But, if it comes w/ the tour, why not!

yellowrosedtxn
01-31-2006, 10:18 AM
From what I have read if you do the fireworks (priority seating) you sit back in the train station. That means you miss a lot of the castle stuff. I think I would opt for the parade priority seating. I'm not sure though, I have never done the tour.

MsYumiBr
01-31-2006, 10:53 AM
I would get the 6:00 tour for the "From Imagination to Celebration" (aka 50th Celebration tour). I took the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour years ago and was actually bored, but it may have been because I was pushing a wheelchair and had a baby to fuss with. At least with the Celebration tour, you can ride some rides and watch the fireworks. It's a special tour just for the 50th so you might consider it. That's just my opinion.

Oh, and by the way, they keep moving the fireworks viewing. They told me they now sit at the Carnation Plaza next to the castle for viewing.

blackjackdelta
01-31-2006, 11:14 AM
Has anyone taken the tour and observed the fireworks seating area.? Where is the location?

Jack

Eighty8Keys
01-31-2006, 11:46 AM
Has anyone taken the tour and observed the fireworks seating area.? Where is the location?

Jack

When we took the tour in December the fireworks seating area was near the Carnation Plaza area. Originally, the seating area was at the train station but was moved during the holidays because the Christmas tree blocked the view of the castle. Now that the tree is gone, I don't know if the seating area has moved back to the train station. I hope not because our view of the castle and Matterhorn was absolutely perfect. We were served a box snack and the Cast Members did a great job of keeping people moving so that our view was unobstructed during the entire show.

The tour itself was fun. In spite of visiting Disneyland many times, I still learned a few new bits of trivia. After riding our three scheduled attractions, we were a little ahead of schedule so our Tour Guide added a fourth attraction at the end. It was great to walk on without any wait in line. We felt the tour was one of the highlights of our trip.

kkmickey
02-01-2006, 01:10 PM
Has anyone taken the 50th tour in January? I am really curious as to where the seating for fireworks is located. Thanks.

findin mickeys
02-01-2006, 02:50 PM
What were the scheduled attractions? Does the tour take you "behind the scenes" at all?

Mermaid
02-06-2006, 04:29 PM
oops duplicate post

Mermaid
02-06-2006, 04:30 PM
The tour does not take you behind the scenes at all. I took the Fireworks tour in Sept and was dissapointed. I seem to be the only one, so it may have been a fluke. We sat at the train station which was okay. We had a great view of the fireworks, but not really of Tink and the projections. The guide let a family of four in at the last minute (they were waiting for her okay) so we had 18 people in our group, 4 kids under 9ish (2 behaved, 2 not so much), Mom of the last minute family in a wheelchair and two people who didn't speak English. The whole time, the guide kept saying "We have a really big group so we have to keep moving." She didn't talk to us as we moved from attraction to attraction even though we had the "ears." I LOVED the Holiday tour that I took last year. The guide was great and kept us entertained the whole time. That may have been SO good that I had high expectations for this one, although my family felt similar and they had never taken a tour before. The attractions are Storybook, Splash, Buzz, Pirates and Big Thunder. I heard a guest picks three out of a hat, but she just told us ours b/c it was crowded and we had a big group. We went on Buzz, Pirates and BTMRR.

PrincessLeia
02-07-2006, 04:28 PM
The WIWF tour last Friday turned out great. the $39 price was very reasonable, considering it included an entree (Walt's favorite Chili/cornbread yum! and other choices) dessert, a drink and a commemorative pin. I will say that because we only had 4 people in our group, it was really intimate and fun, and we could ask all sorts of questions. If the tour was full, or had more than 5 or 6 people, I would probably think twice about doing it. I knew a lot of the trivia, but did learn some new cool stuff about Walt and the park. No ride on Lillibelle (and I was told it wasn't being added to the WIWF tour) and no 33 peek due to refurb. But, still great fun!