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.

• Click here for link at https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/04/15/the-wonderful-wiza

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.