...When our tykes were, well, tykes, going to Walt Disney World (WDW) or Disneyland in Anaheim (DL) was all about experiencing the rides, because we thought of these as amusement parks, not total experiences. My first visit to DL was in 1968 and we stayed at a hotel nearby and just walked across Harbor Blvd to the park. Where the California Adventure is now located was a big surface parking lot.
Now, if we were to go, it would be more to soak up the experience as a part of Americana than to go on rides; not that I don't think the rides aren't fun or worthwhile, but I've never really been into amusement park rides that much anyway. And while WDW offers a far greater range of on-site experience than DL, Los Angeles has ridiculously more to offer in general than does Orlando. We wouldn't be booking dinner reservations 60 days in advance when we could hit luv2eat Thai on Sunset! I have to admit that the fare at DL's Rancho del Zocalo is surprisingly tasty, including the pozole.
This is well-deserving of HOF status.
Grandkids yada yada.
None of any of this makes sense. Adult kids are experts, go all the time.
I am not really looking forward to this. Although drinks in the hotel and napping should be good.
Grinch.
No Lightning Lane (yet), not even regular old Fastpass at the moment. Just pick a ride and wait in line.
If you don't have dining reservations, it would be good to try to get something, but not necessary. Downloading the app is also good, but again, not necessary. We did dinner at Tagaroa Terrace at the Disneyland hotel and breakfast and lunch at Craftsman Grille at the Grand Californian as walk up. In the park, mobile order is faster, but at both Jolly Holiday and Smokejumpers, you could order in person and it would only be an extra 10 minutes.
So many memories.
Including being separated from my family when I was around 9 years old while wandering through the caves on Tom Sawyer’s Island.
When I realized I couldn’t find them, I was frantic.
I ran back to Fort Apache and found a U.S. Cavalry soldier. He calmed me down and took me to a Mike Fink raft and said, “You take this back to the Mainland, and I’m sure they’ll be waiting for you.”
And, they were. Right there near the entrance to Autopia.
I never forgot that Cavalryman.
Feeling inspired by Vermin's post, I'll chime in with my preferences to the best upscale, "sitdown" restaurants on Disney World property.
Few notes before I get to the list:
A. Outside of #1, these are not in any particular order. They are all our "go-to" restaurants for Disney meals.
B. I do not include any Quick Service dining in this list as we rarely eat at those locations. Our preference is to do a nice breakfast, a nice dinner, and snack in the parks.
C. Disclaimer -- outside of #1, do not confuse this list for "best dining anywhere" options. There are many good Disney restaurants, but nearly all won't displace even decent restaurants in the US Top-10 Metro areas.
D. If you love wine, Disney is a great place to find good wines at reasonable prices. Disney restaurants do not mark up their wines at the 2x-3x rate you will find in most fine dining establishments, so you will inevitably find some good values.
Now on to the list:
#1 -- Victoria and Albert's -- Located in the Grand Floridian, we consider this not only the best restaurant on Disney property, but one that can hold its own with many Michelin-starred restaurants. It's a must-do for a date night or other major celebration. As a bonus for Chicago-area Disney fans, Executive Chef Scott Hunnel went to school at Joliet Junior College. Unfortunately, it's closed to the pandemic, and there's no information as to when they will reopen.
#2 California Grill -- Located at the top of the Contemporary Resort, this is another excellent date night choice, particularly if you can snag a reservation around 7PM in anticipation of the Magic Kingdown Fireworks.
#3 Yachtsman Steakhouse -- Located at the Yacht Club hotel, we think this is the best steak on Disney property.
#4 Capa -- Technically not on Disney property, this Spanish-inspired steakhouse is located at the top of the nearby Four Seasons resort. Excellent food options and also great fireworks viewing.
#5 Topolino's Terrace -- This one is the newest on our list -- Italian-inspired fine dining at the top of the Rivera resort. Aside from an excellent menu, this is another great fireworks viewing spot. The veal chop is particularly good.
#6 BlueZoo -- breaking up the steak theme, BlueZoo is our second goto seafood restaurant on property, located at the Swalphin. If you are craving oysters, they are the place to go.
#7 Flying Fish -- Our #1 seafood restaurant choice, located at the Boardwalk Resort. They are unfortunately closed, and no word as to when they will reopen. When they do reopen, if you're looking for another date night, their Chef's Counter is an awesome choice due to the open kitchen.
#8 Morimoto's -- Our first Disney Springs option, Morimoto has very good pan-Asian options. My son and I always order the Peking Duck.
#9 Frontera Cocina -- Another Disney Springs choice, Frontera Cocina is a Rick Bayless restaurant serving the best Mexican food on property. Ask for the habanero salsa.
#10 Monsieur Paul -- located in the Epcot France pavilion, this is another ideal date restaurant once it reopens. Excellent modern French cuisine with great wine pairings.
#11 Via Napoli -- If you're craving pizza, this is your option. Loud and crowded, this restaurant in Epcot Italy has consistently good quality pizza.
#12 Brown Derby -- Located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, we've loved coming here since our honeymoon. Some of it is nostalgia, but they continue to have a very good, reliable menu anchored by the Cobb Salad and Asian Noodle Bowl.
#13 Le Cellier -- I bring up this steakhouse in Epcot Canada only because it had been a disappointment for so many years due to declining food quality before bouncing back during the pandemic. We visited here last Christmas and found it to be very good and benefitting from reduced capacity. I have no idea if it has backslid since then though...so approach with caution.
#14 Sanaa -- This is a must-do if you're at Animal Kingdom or staying at the Animal Kingdom resort. It's African/Indian-inspired with the highlight being the Spicy Durban Chicken. If you love spicy, this is one of the few places on Disney property to find truly spicy food.
Going to end the list here, but will be glad to answer questions or provide additional suggestions if folks are interested.
At all of these.
I really did not know the depth, breadth and enthusiasm for Disney vacations. I don’t mean to make a judgment. And I know that your kids love it, as mine would.
And I am also impressed with your determination to try all the restaurants. I wpuld have found one or 2 and just made those my go to. Hell, on my honeymoon, we went to the same restaurant at least 3 of nights we were in Oia. I thought the place was great amd had a perfect view so that was that.
But this is a level of all-in commitment and dedication. You, vermin, and athleisurewear. I dare say it is a cult or at least a religion. Or a fetish? It is at once impressive and peculiar. You gotta believe in something in this world. And the idea of Disney is joy.
it’s an insult. It most certainly isn’t.
My brother lives in Foothill Ranch. We will be Disneyland people eventually.
Those are the people who need this kind of guidance. It is, in all sincerity, very helpful.
I would just offer an alternative approach. It is not for anyone who wants to get after it at the parks. Rather, it’s a suggestion for those who have already seen it all, or who might have physical limitations, or who simply don’t give too much of a shit and want to decompress a bit on vacation.
1. Book at the best Disney resort you can afford. Pay attention to this, because if you are part of my target audience, it matters. If you are following Vermin’s approach, you may not need a luxury hotel. You may not need much more than covered shelter and a private lavatory. You will be able to sleep no matter where you stay, and your waking hours will not be spent in the room.
I rank the hotels according to the following factors:
A. Proximity to the parks — in my approach, you will spend no more than 2-3 hours a day at a given park, with an exception noted below. No sense enduring a long commute.
B. Proximity to the Epcot World Showcase — you will go there every day, because my approach is heavy on strolling around, passively taking in the scene, and getting drunk.
C. How nice is the hotel. You’ll be on the hotel grounds a lot. Good news is, the rooms are all of fairly similar quality across each class of property.
With that, my favorites:
A. Yacht Club. It is walking distance to two parks. It’s not too hard to get to Magic Kingdom. Note: Magic Kingdom accounts for no more than four hours of time in a six-day trip under my approach.
B. Beach Club. Why is this not Yacht/Beach as one? Yacht Club is a little nicer, less hectic, and I like the rooms there a touch more. But they’re close.
C. Grand Floridian. What the fuck? It’s close to Magic Kingdom, which isn’t supposed to matter in this plan. Yes, but it’s the nicest resort. And you can get to Epcot via monorail. And it’s third overall, not first.
D. Boardwalk. Correct me if they’ve updated the rooms, but the last I knew, they needed it. It’s otherwise great and could be #1 again if it gets some work.
E. Polynesian. This is where you stayed as a kid, if your parents loved you enough. For some reason it feels more fungible now. It used to be one of a kind. It’s still neat, and you can walk to the ticket & transportation center to catch a ride to Epcot. Maybe it just can’t live up to the nostalgia.
That is the end of the list.
2. How to book rides: Buy the genie pass and the lightning lanes as you’re able. Line up a ride or two, at a convenient time, and ride that ride. Or don’t.
3. How much to ride: Not much.
4. How long to wait in line: n/a. I don’t wait in line.
5. What to do all day: get up, have some coffee, stroll around the resort grounds. Shower and make your way to a park, at a pace of your choosing. This will never entail seeing the park open. Upon entering, walk wherever your eyes take you. Stop into shops, grab a drink and watch people scurry past, occasionally take note if you see a hot mom. This won’t happen too often, because even an otherwise attractive person loses some luster when they’re sweaty and wearing a Disney themed family reunion shirt. After riding your prepaid rides, or not, head back. It’s ok if you miss a bus or monorail. There are others. Plus, you’ll generally just walk back under my plan. Epcot has no time limit — feel free to stay all day if you want.
Grab a drink at the pool and hang out. Hurricane Hannah’s at the Yacht/Beach Club pool is good. Supplement with a big cocktail you make in the room and pour into a large insulated chug bottle.
I do like getting dinner a few times. This is the one instance where I’ll mildly inconvenience myself, because the best places are at Disney Springs. Try that a time or two. The newer Mexican place in Epcot is also good. But the takeout places aren’t bad either. People tend to load up on reservations then cancel, so you can sometimes find things if you check often.
If you still feel up to it after a long day of doing very little, and you’re staying nearby, go back to Epcot for a drink. I’d leave before the fireworks, unless you really like fireworks. It gets crowded.
Go back, read a bit, go to bed.
Note: no one in your family will be the least bit happy with you, unless you lay some advance groundwork by complaining a lot. They’ll be relieved you’re doing your own thing.
That’s the basic idea. I have been many times. I’ve ridden maybe 10% of the rides there, and I’ve never seen a show. I don’t have the Disney app.
We’ll see if my wife is up for carting around 3 kids by herself. I tell her it’s Bruno’s idea.
it’s easy. My husband comes for a planned annual trip where we stay at a Disney resort hotel and spend a few days in the parks. He isn’t a Disneyland person, but indulges me and accepts my superfan love of it. Depending on your kids’ ages, if one is old enough to walk all day and not complain about walking, she could being a double stroller and push the younger 2 around. I still bring a stroller and my kids are far too old to be in one. It makes it easier if they don’t feel like walking. I usually park and lock it somewhere for a few hours at a time.
A few times a year. Ditto, if I lived in Orlando or Vero or Ft. Meyers/ Naples.
I doubt I would be the zealot you are but I think it would be a no brainer. If I lived in Denver, I would have annual passes to Aspen/Vail etc.
If I lived in Boston I would move.
would feel comfortable wearing the male version of “athleisurewear” as you would be getting far more exercise. Different strokes for different folks.
Mainly cargo shorts, you want to secure the wallet and phone while on thrill rides.
Fly into fort Meyers, go to Naples for a few days, drive to Orlando, stay off property somewhere else. Spend at most 1-2 days and a total of 5-6 hours on the parks. Enjoy the sun. Oh and grow the fuck up and stop going to kids parks. Sorry not sorry.
It’s very easy to click on “ignore poster” when you see a Disney post. Ignore the author and you won’t have to read stories of how we bring our children endless amounts of joy by taking them to the most “magical” and “happiest” places on earth. Perhaps Bonger abound unlock the Romper Room for you to complain in anytime a Disney post appears in the BR. Joking aside, dude, who cares. We’re a quirky group here and for 99% of the posters, a trip to Disney is a big trip that needs to be planned properly. It shouldn’t be such a fiasco doing so, but it is. Let it go.
...than judging people for how they spend their money.
I actually think it's fascinating. I suspect there is little more revealing about someone than how they spend their excess cash. Yeah, that includes me.
beach in Venice, then five days in Orlando. We will spend a day at Magic Kingdom and a day at the animal park. The rest chilling out at the resort.
There’s a problem, and it’s not my 4 year old.
Come at me.
:)
In about 2 years my streak will come to an end (due to my Princess crazed niece) but I agree single male is creepy. Only face characters I’ve met are Capt Jack, Jack Skellington and some villains at past Halloween parties
Though. And, you’re right about that. Adults who go to Disney solo to do meet and greets with characters are…. Far more bizarre than those of us posting on this board about our trips with tips.
My aunt, uncle, and cousin (an adult) are all cut from the same weird cloth as vermin05. I think it's weird that they go, but not was weird as the line of old men waiting to meet Ariel... That 5% is legit disgust.
carrying a new hat when we were there earlier this week. It’s a pink baseball cap with a famous line that Ariel spoke…. “But Daddy, I love him!” Now if that older dude was wearing that hat to meet Ariel… 😂😂
Lord loves a redhead.
Can I get an “amen” Wooderson?
Anna is 21.
Well, not about the redhead part.
keys...
Link a credit card so you can make a lunch order and all that good stuff. It's much easier to have that stuff setup in advance.
My 7 year old is almost 56 inches. He probably will be by February. My 5 year old is medium tall. Probably 46 inches.
Forget Disney, get him playing basketball every day.
He'll be playing up and dunking on Andy's kids in Brey's basketball camp in no time.
And he turns 8 in 2 weeks. So he is tall but not Ross twins tall
hits 46” with a lot of help. He’s 44.” He’s very fast though. Get your kid into basketball!
some orthotic inserts from Amazon and he’ll be 48.” My kids are small. My almost 8 year old is barely 46” with that added help and my 9 year old is 55ish.” Get your little one to 48” and you are good to go.
If 48 is the minimum for all rides then by next summer he may be there.
I’m going from memory, but 48” will get you on everything.
in mid-January and staying on site. I feel like I've done most of the rides at this point, but we've never stayed for a night show. I'm excited to see Enchantment and Harmonious. We booked our hotel less than 60 days out, so we weren't able to take advantage of the extended restaurant reservation window. The most popular restaurants are already all booked.
as that's when most people drop them if they either don't go or held the reservation just in case. Additionally, go to wherever you want to eat early and ask to get put on a list. Walk-ins can happen, at least they can at Disneyland. With that said, seeing as how Disneyland caters to locals as WDW caters to out of town travelers, I imagine the likelihood of people letter go of their dining reservations the day prior is much less.
Sit at the bar etc?
Is the food and wine on par with high end restaurants at a garden variety luxury resort?
guide just like Vermin05’s WDW one above. Mine will need to be updated whenever they decide to roll out Genie+ and LL, but I’ve been there enough since it re-opened that I could provide a very comprehensive guide for the post-COVID experience, including hotels.
I have a niece at UCLA and a niece at USD. I would probably make it a week and stay half the time in Newport and half at a Disneyland resort hotel.
But I will go to Disneyworld as soon as my younger boy meets all height minimums. I will probably take a more Brunswickian approach and stay half the time in Naples or in John’s Island.
As vermin05 mentioned, if you don't want to do a full week at Disney, you can get more bang for your buck with 3-4 days at Disneyland. It's only an hour extra flight and you would have extra days available to do other things in Orange County or LA.
There is no beating the convenience of the Grand Californian. It has a private entrance to California Adventure and private security to Downtown Disney and Disneyland. Napa Rose Restaurant and its lounge would meet your standard for both. The hotel also has Hearthstone Lounge which is the walk-in lobby bar you were seeking.
Disneyland is 1.5-2 days to cover. California Adventure is 1 day. That leaves time to hang out at the hotel pool or explore other SoCal sites.
Much less planning is required at Disneyland. Really just park reservations and dining. For someplace like Napa Rose or Cathay Circle, you'll want to try to book at the 60 day mark to be safe, but availability is no where near as limited as WDW.
I’ve got no desire to ever go back to WDW, but the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel (I’m a sucker for Trader Sam’s) gets a visit every year or so.
are more “magical” for the kids with the singing/ light up headboards and the far better pool waterslides. That said, aside from our annual trip where we stay in a hotel, we always “take a break” for lunch at the GC in their lobby. No reservations required. Food is far better and it’s just lively to sit and rest on a comfortable couch, listening to the pianist play Disney music on their grand piano and enjoy a cocktail in the air conditioning. It’s very beautiful.
than mine. For us, it doesn’t make sense until our little guy is tall enough for virtually all of the rides to do the WDW trip. He’s almost 8, but barely 46” and that is with him wearing Air Maxes with orthotics inside. He passed for under 3 until he was 5.5 though, so there’s that.
Most of the restaurants I posted in my guide either have bars or attached lounges where you can walk in if there’s room.
I am particularly a fan of the lounge adjacent to the Yachtsman.
Not just wanting to go without kids but also that 60 days out and you can’t get dinner reservations.
I really think one major problem I will have will be being around the types of people who have taken at least 10 trips there in the past 3 years and have had it all planned out for 12 months.
It is all, like I posted above, a little strange. And daunting. I don’t have the inclination to invest 50 hours researching the insider tips and options.
The Disney Dining reservations fill up at 60 days because of Facebook groups and bots locking up reservations that are then used as "trade". It's annoying.
You can combat it one of two ways:
A. Use OpenTable for many reservations at either Disney Springs or the hotels. Disney holds back a significant number via OpenTable.
B. Don't sweat early planning and just wait until 48-72 hours before your targeted date. Disney charges a $10/person late cancellation fee if you cancel after the 24 hour mark, so you will see tons of availability open up 2-3 days beforehand.
On a Thursday at 7pm week before last. Disney springs however, was packed. It was quite good.
The issue with dinner reservations is that you can only make dinner reservations a maximum of 60 days in advance. For people not staying on site, it's 60 days in advance of when you want to eat. For people staying on site, it's 60 days in advance of your first day at your hotel, which means onsite guests can book before non-onsite guests, e.g., if you're staying 7 nights you can begin booking restaurants up to 67 days in advance. That extra time allotment is enough for on site guests to get all the best times at the best restaurants.
I have Bend, which is also full of stem cell spas and Californians now.
I think 1-3 days at a time is the best way to do Disney, or Orlando more generally, but obviously that's not necessarily practical for everyone.
Hotel and dining reservations are not linked. You can make a reservation at one of the disney resorts, make your dining reservations, and then cancel the resort. Your dining reservations are separate and will not be canceled. I've done this before when staying off site.
I assume the Four Seasons has a decent bar.
system. Correct me if I am wrong WDW people, but it’s not an official Disney hotel. Also, going to the bar at any Disney hotel doesn’t require reservations.
While not an official Disney hotel, you can book Disney travel packages with it and book dining through the Disney app.
They also take Disney dining discounts.
I recommend booking Capa via OpenTable, though, for all the reasons previously cited.
It is also insanely priced now due to the 50th….we are talking $1,500 per night for their lowest tier room
the room most of the time, $1,500/ ni for a standard room is asinine. My thought is booking the resort with the best pools/ amenities that provide the easiest access to the parks. For a couples trip, Four Seasons makes far more sense…. But even then, $1,500 ni for a standard room in Orlando? Why? Go to Hawaii if you want a couples trip.
Or does it give you access to get a reservation time by securing one in the morning? If it’s just a reservation time - how many reservations can you get in the morning? (We aren’t staying on-site)
I’m probably bringing a 4 year old and 6 year old to magic kingdom in February. The 4 year old is afraid of rides but the 6 year old wants to go on adult roller coasters.
I’m getting Genie+ and LightNing Lane to their fullest extent - but what’s the strategy to maximize it?
Also trying to get breakfast at Cinderella Castle and dinner somewhere else sit down.
If there are rides your 4 year old is not tall enough to ride, then you can basically get a free lightning lane for that ride. You or your wife will wait in the regular line (or LL if you pay for it) with your 6 year old, while the other watches the 4 year old. Then when you're done with the ride, the other parent can do LL with the 6 year old, so your 6 year old gets to go twice and is the big winner. We did this with Rock N Roller coaster. I took my 5 year old to the Cars show, while my wife took my 7 year old on Rock N Roller coaster. Then I got to do Rock N Roller Coaster with the 7 year old using LL.
You can make one at 7am. You can book the next one when you redeem your first one or 2 hours after park opening.
I’m supposed to book 3 rides at 7am - another at noon or after redemption and then just keep booking 1 more again and again?
And I fill the gaps with whatever is convenient and short? That’s not really how children operate.
What do I book first at 7? The per ride LL rides or the first Genie+ ride?
You can book 2 per day. For Genie+ you got the basic idea 2 hours or when you tap whatever is first. Slinky, Navi River, Test Track and Peter Pan sell out first.
Getting Rise, Seven Dwarfs, Right of Passage, and Seven Dwarfs are equally difficult and on busy weeks you have to choose one or the other.
It sounds like it just gives you 2-3 rides for $15 if you’re a family
paid an extra $125 per person per year for our annual passes in years past. With that, the longest wait time between booking a FastPass was 90 minutes when you booked a top tier ride. At Disneyland, whenever they roll this out, it will be $20 per person per day. It also won’t include the most in demand ride at either Disneyland or California Adventure. That will be a separate cost per person per ride. That shit adds up when you go as often as we do. For a week long family’s vacation, it just becomes a sunk cost that is rolled onto the trip. When you go multiple times each month, it’s just annoying AF. Well, it will be… whenever they roll it out.
It’s an extra 13-ish% each day
So if it was good - why wouldn’t everyone do it? (When these things first came out it was like a cut-line on all eligible rides whenever you showed up)
In reality its 2-3 rides a day where you can wait 30 minutes instead of 1.5 hours and you have to use the app to schedule your slots.
It’s relatively cheap to what I would expect for something that had the value of what “fast-pass” used to be. And it turns out the reason is because it’s also relatively useless.
Still going to do it because I will pay almost anything to spend less time in lines with my children.
And your third ride will be something like small world, it’s tough to be a bug, journey into imagination or Frozen Sing a Long (aka a ride you don’t need G+ for.)
How long does it take to do a Lightning Lane reservation ride?
I haven’t tried it yet.
As someone who has an inside expertise of Disney resort hotels, I agree with everything you’ve written.
And in my personal opinion, families going to Orlando should pick the savannah-view rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge - the ability to watch giraffes and other amazing wildlife grazing during your non-park hours is endlessly enjoyable for the kids.
would love that!!
out at Disneyland yet, I imagine that they will operate the same and I like reading about how it has been going at WDW. I agree 100% about not wanting to pay for LL individual rides. When we make the trek to WDW, that would be a different story, but at DLR, no. Additionally, the Wilderness Lodge is extremely similar to the Grand Californian here. When we go, we’re debating between that and the Grand Floridian. It’s a tough choice because the appeal of having the GF on the monorail line is strong. Before we book our WDW trip, I’m planning to run ideas by you.
I’ve done a number of one-off Disneyland posts, but I need to do one of these for Disneyland.
Lightning Lane or Learned League...
As a DL regular you might want to check out Crescent Lake resorts too. You’ll be drawn to AK and Epcot the most as they are very different then what you have. DHS will be a minor draw as it too has a lot of unique attractions. Most west coasters don’t need much time in MK.
Include at least the Riviera.
For 8 and 9 year olds (or honestly 10-70 year olds) the pool at Yacht and Beach cant be beat.
I also agree that as DL regulars, you wont spend as much time at MK as you think. maybe 2 out of 7 days, but I would spend at least the same at Epcot, and 1-2 days at AK. Nothing is close to AK, but you can get close to Epcot (and Hollywood Studios, but again, pretty similar to DCA except for MMRR and Toy Story Land.)
If you want to do Monorail Line, I would rank GF last. It is a bucket list hotel, but lacks the convenience of the Contemporary and the ambience of the Poly. It's like Trader Sams, but everywhere. Like the Grand out here, it felt to me like your were paying for the lobby, which anyone can enjoy (except for the the holidays, which is why I'm staying there now and just had a cookie shot).
I liked the Wilderness Lodge and thought the water taxis were as good as the monorail (which break down way too often), but the theming is very close to the Grand, so if you stay here a bunch, it wont be as special.
We stayed there for first time in October. It's a 10 minute Skyway ride to Epcot and a 10 minute Skyway ride to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
You can't beat the convenience, assuming you stay at Boardwalk or Y&B and plan to walk to DHS in addition to Epcot.
Rivera also has, in our opinion, the best quick service restaurant on hotel property and now one of the top 10 fine dining restaurants.
Big bathroom, good enough for 2 people to roam around. Probably not good for kids but it worked.
still a huge draw. Epcot was always my favorite as a kid. Our little guy is small for his age. We’re waiting until he can ride virtually all of the rides. But yeah, will need your input!
Fantasyland, Space Mtn, Indy or Star Wars land?
I’m a Fantasyland (first flight to Neverland on Peter Pans Flight) kind of DL rope dropper.
close day at Disneyland/ California Adventure… 8a-midnight. It was just my 7 & 9 year olds and me. We pulled into our driveway at 1:45 am the next morning. Definitely not the sleep in kind over here. It was the first time that we had ever done such a long open to close. One for the books and kids loved almost every second of it.
The mrs has a bad back and I am a drinking lightweight these days. One hard outing and we're slow to get started. I'm not sure how we survived 3 open to close days of land/ca.
rope drop straight to Galaxy's Edge was when Smugglers Run opened. We were there for Day 1 of that. We also rode ROTR on Day 1, as well as multiple times since. When we last went on Monday, it was the first day of ROTR becoming standby only. Since we've ridden it so many times, we didn't bother to wait.
Prior to our most recent 3 visits over the past 2 weeks, we always headed straight to Tomorrowland and hit Space Mtn and Matterhorn a few times before we would make our way to Haunted Mansion (if it was during the decorated Nightmare Before Christmas overlay). These past 3 times, my almost 8 year old son was FINALLY tall enough to ride Indiana Jones, so we went straight there and rode those a couple times before making the short trek over to the holiday Haunted Mansion. We've never been the type to hit Fantasyland first. The only ride with a decent line is Peter Pan and it seems as those with very little kids tend to hit those rides first. There is a sweet spot around 12:30 pm, during lunch, when parents tend to take their small kids back to the hotel to nap/ walk them around while napping in the stroller, and before park hoppers can park hop starting at 1:00 pm when Peter Pan has maybe a 15 minute wait... and I'll caveat this by saying this is during the busiest part of the year - holiday season. After park hopping is available, Peter Pan's line really never shortens until about 45 minutes before the park closes... if the park closes at 10:00 pm or later.
At DCA, our rope drop plan is go to directly to Radiator Springs Racers. If that's unavailable due to it being temporarily closed, we hit Guardians of the Galaxy and ride that multiple times in a row. For whatever reason, despite it having one of the longest wait times throughout the day, it's always dead during the first hour. Radiator Spring Racers, on the other hand, instantly hits 45 minutes right at rope drop and never gets shorter unless it's temporarily closed for a long enough period that people get out of line. If this happens, we walk over and see how the repairs are going. CMs never tell us anything, but it's easy to see if the cars are being tested. Also, once you see CMs riding during testing, it's a safe bet that the ride will imminently open.
If Radiator Springs Racers and Guardians aren't open at rope drop for whatever reason, we hit Soarin.' We always wait for the front row in the center of the 3 sections. There are no feet dangling above us and the view isn't skewed due to our location and the wraparound display.
If Spiderman hits a wait time of under 45 minutes, we'll wait for that. We've ridden it a few times and they removed it's virtual queue months ago. It's not worth waiting a ridiculous amount of time for. Additionally, the queue was designed very poorly. It's entirely outdoors with almost zero shade. When it's hot, it makes the long wait brutal. While the ride is cool, I think they should have made it longer with more than just 4 screens. I would be happier with it if it had the same number of screens as Toy Story Mania.
None of this applies if it's a day when the kids pick everything. Rope drop for Autopia? Eyeroll, but totally fine. My oldest, who is 9, is much better with making smart rope drop time management decisions, but my little guy isn't. Frankly, if Tom Sawyer's Island opened at rope drop, they both would choose to go straight there and play hide and go seek until they got hungry or thirsty.
You non-Locals people do not do Disneyland right at all.
I haven't tried to rush the Wizard of Bras porch yet, but I've thought about it.
Though we were APs before she started working for the Mouse.
Royal HS. I know that there is a poster or two who are familiar with one of my other fellow Royal coaches, but I don’t recall whoever it was being you.
in Long Canyon Estates in Wood Ranch from ‘12-‘16 before moving to the community literally across the street, the Vineyards. Our old next door neighbor, who is still there, is K. Karklin.
Polish off the fantasyland, hit toon town, space, Thunder, Mansion, Splash, Pirates, Rise, Tiki Room, lunch. DCA, ride Guardians, Soarin and Grizzly River Run. Return to my room at the Grand, shower, nap, open Napa Rose. Mermaid, Incridicoaster, Radiator Springs, fireworks, Big Thunder, Fantasmic, Pirates, Indy, Mansion, Splash, just make the sweeper train at NO Square.
That’s my perfect summer day at DLR.
at Disneyland when it first opened. Now, it's empty and is the only storefront that has a raised porch, which makes it prime non VIP seating for parades or simply for people watching. I routinely see people plop down at park opening and sit there for hours on end.
the before times, people and parade watching.
I did actually get a seat there once in the summer for the parade, problem is the afternoon sun beat down on me, never again. Carniation Cafe outdoor table is the best place to watch the afternoon parade.