Disneyland trip

[janiejoey]

We are planning a trip to Disneyland! Any suggestions to do when we get there? We'll be spending nights at the campgrounds nearby

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible

www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey

 

[judegirl]

Umm...see Disneyland!

Seriously though, I'm kind of a serious Disney fan. My biggest advice to you as far as seeing the parks and having fun and not letting them sap your will to live, would be two things: arrive before the park opens, if at all possible, and take a 3-4 hour break in the middle of the day, returning at night. The first and last hour or two that the park is open have by far the least amount of crowds, and getting through lines for attractions will be much quicker and less of a hassle. Nobody really wants to wait an hour and a half for Space Mountain, right?

Also, use FastPass. Most of the most popular attractions have "FastPass" machines outside their line areas, and it doesn't cost anything. All you have to do is put your park pass in the machine and it gives you a ticket to come back at a later time, when you can go through a separate line to get on, avoiding having to wait in those miserable lines. It'll say on your FastPass when you're eligible to pick up your next one, so it's very possible for you to have several of these out at a time. Also, you can use them after your allotted time window, just not before (most people don't know this).

One fun program that I had a blast messing with pre-trip was RideMax. You can find it at www.ridemax.com. It costs $15, but for me was well worth it! You input all of the attractions you'd like to see, the hours you plan on being there, any breaks you want to take for parades and such, and it gives you a schedule that'll enable to you wait in line the least amount of time. It sounds restrictive, but it's actually very helpful, and we just used it as more of a guideline.

Also: the fudge at the candy shop on Main Street is amazing! :9

 

[earlyexerciser]

Go to www.disneyland.com They have schedules for the days that you will be there. You can look up parades and other stuff like if any rides will be down or openings of new rides.

The Finding Nemo ride just opened a few weeks ago. I just got back from DisneyLand at the end of June. EVERYONE rushed to the Nemo ride first thing in the morning. We took advantage and went the other direction and rode several rides with no line at all!!

One of our days, we did go on Nemo, but first thing. On the days we were there people waited FOUR hours to see this ride!!! (No FASTPASS available).

We did not care for California Adventure. It is more amusement parkish (IMO). Lots of rollercoasters and such...not for our crowd with small children.

We stayed nearby and were able to get to the park walking an about 5 minutes. The advice about taking a break is good!

You will not want to miss Fantasmic! It is a water show at night. People start staking out seats well beforehand. You will want to bring a blanket to sit on. Right in front of the water in FrontierLand (I think) is where you want to go. I put a blanket and my husband down about 2 hours before the show and we had great seats after our ice cream trip!

There is a restaurant that you can make reservations (for an extra cost...%0 bucks, I think!) and they have really good seats for Fantasmic, but you don't really need to do this.

There are great parades and plenty to do! I found really good food choices (fruit and veggie stands, etc.) We also brought a fair amount of healthy snacks in our backpack.

You might want to check out www.mousesavers.com and maybe a DisneyLand book from the library (like Froder's).

Be prepared for crowds and a busy park, but it is a wonderful place! I have more, but I'll stop for now. Just let me know what you would like to know!

Jenn

 

[janiejoey]

Thank you so much for your inputs. I'll be having fun very soon. We are planning our trip there in Oct. Can hardly wait.

Thanks again,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible

www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey

 

[jacqued]

Hi Janie,

October is the perfect time to go to Disneyland. You don't have the crowds like you do in the summer. My DH and I go there almost every October ourselves. We're big Disney fanatics and go there several times a year. We usually stay on property so I don't know much about the campgrounds, etc.

I, personally, like California Adventures park. It has three of the best rides; Tower of Terror, Soaring Over California, and California Screaming. Also, the Aladdin show is a must see.

In the Disneyland part I agree that Fantasmic is not to be missed. Since you're going in the off-season they may only have it on the weekend.

Blue Bayou is a great restaurant. It is located in New Orleans Square and is actually located in part of the Pirates of the Carribean ride. They've also newly updated this ride to tie into the movies more. You see Davy Jones and Captain Jack Sparrow.

If you think of any questions don't hesitate to ask.

HTH
Jacque