August 2017 Disneyland Check-In & Chat!

Hey everyone! Mind if I jump on board? Our family will be in Anaheim for the 1st time August 9th - 18th. We have 5 day hoppers and a lot of things planned throughout Santa Monica, LA, and Hollywood. Using Anaheim as a base and renting a car is better economically.

We are staying at Camelot Inn & Suites on Harbor (Already booked). Got a great rate for American Airlines for a straight through flight from Philly.

You're more than welcome to jump on in! Also, our dates at Camelot overlap :)
 
We have Blue Bayou on our list and I was on the fence about the WOC Dessert Party. Definitely worth it?

There's a long thread on it that's been recently updated ... we thought it was worth it. Getting to sit down for WOC was great. My kids said it was their favorite memory of our last trip in spite of the fact that they didn't care for the food (DDs 16 and 12 at the time). Although to be fair they had never seen WOC before (they had seen Fantasmic in the VIP section, seated on the ground). They are begging me to do it again, and we probably will. We did have a hightop in the front.
 
We have Blue Bayou on our list and I was on the fence about the WOC Dessert Party. Definitely worth it?
So worth it!! We did the dessert party last summer and plan to do it again this summer. It was so nice to have a seat to enjoy the show after a long day in the parks.
 


There's a long thread on it that's been recently updated ... we thought it was worth it. Getting to sit down for WOC was great. My kids said it was their favorite memory of our last trip in spite of the fact that they didn't care for the food (DDs 16 and 12 at the time). Although to be fair they had never seen WOC before (they had seen Fantasmic in the VIP section, seated on the ground). They are begging me to do it again, and we probably will. We did have a hightop in the front.

Will definitely talk to teh family about it then!

So worth it!! We did the dessert party last summer and plan to do it again this summer. It was so nice to have a seat to enjoy the show after a long day in the parks.

This was my thought. Not having to scour around for a place to sit!
 
I haven't seen this mentioned so I thought I would point out that the CHOC Walk is now going to be Sunday, August 27 (instead of in October). We were there at the same time as the CHOC Walk one October and it was a zoo in the morning. So plan accordingly if that's one of your dates! The year we were there they actually switched MM and EMH to DL for that Sunday because DCA would have walkers in it until later (I don't know if that's typical or not but I'm sure someone here will know). The lines were such a mess and there was so much confusion that they ended up opening DL to everyone at the same time. But because of the confusion only the MM/EMH parts were open for the first hour and FP wasn't working either. Hopefully it will be better this time. If we had known what to expect we would still have gone but wouldn't have been so thrown off. I suggest going in that morning expecting huge crowds and then whatever happens won't seem so bad! After all, it's still a day at Disneyland!
 


OneTrackMind - thanks for posting/sharing. This was not on my radar at all! I'm a bit bummed as the 27th is our first day in the parks and I've been looking forward to getting there nice and early and having it not be too crazy. On our last trip, our first day was a Sunday as well, and those first 2-3 hours on that day were the best out of the whole trip (the weekdays were pretty nutty!). Sigh. C'est la vie!
 
That move was a big surprise for the CHOC Walkers, too. We had all planned on October. This new date comes only a little over a month after D23 Expo, so this is going to be a busy summer for some of us! For those planning on starting their visits on Sunday, Aug. 27th, try to have your ticket booth needs taken care of the night before, if possible. The esplanade and the booths will be jammed with walkers after the walk because walkers have only that day to take advantage of their special ticket offer. The crowd organization has been getting better each year, so this year should bring some improvement. For those who care to watch the finish line in DTD, there are some truly inspirational moments as CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) kids cross the line or teams walking in memory of CHOC kids finish together. The DJ knows almost all the teams and announces them individually. It is really cool and brings tears every year.
 
We'll be heading to DL August 13th-17th. We are staying at the Homewood Suites-Convention Center. It's part of our 2 week Arizona-California vacation:) We hope to do the WOC Dessert Party & maybe one character breakfast, possibly Minnie's. Looking forward to all of us now being tall enough to ride everything!!
 
theluckyrabbit, I tried searching for this answer but couldn't find it... What time of the day does the walk usually take place?
 
theluckyrabbit, I tried searching for this answer but couldn't find it... What time of the day does the walk usually take place?

The walk starts at dark o'clock! Walkers are on Main Street by 6 am for the opening ceremony and must be out of DCA before park opening. We are out the door of our hotel by 4:30 am and are back to crash (usually) by noon.
 
The walk starts at dark o'clock! Walkers are on Main Street by 6 am for the opening ceremony and must be out of DCA before park opening. We are out the door of our hotel by 4:30 am and are back to crash (usually) by noon.

Thanks! I'm rethinking my strategy for our first day. I was contemplating splurging on a character breakfast (Minnie's) during our trip and was originally trying to figure out what day to 'sacrifice' park time for it. I'm thinking maybe Sunday the 27th might not be a bad idea!
 
Starting to think about what to reserve ahead of time.

Character meals are fun and such a Disney experience. Our hotel has (minimal) breakfast already so am thinking of maybe Goofy's Kitchen for dinner.

Then there's World of Color. People rave about the Dessert party but at $79 a person x 4 of us and then convert to CAD, it's too much (unless we cut out Goofy's). So perhaps dinner package as we'd have dinner anyways. Which restaurant is best for kids..Skipping Ariel as my son wouldn't be happy there.
 
... Then there's World of Color. People rave about the Dessert party but at $79 a person x 4 of us and then convert to CAD, it's too much (unless we cut out Goofy's). So perhaps dinner package as we'd have dinner anyways. Which restaurant is best for kids..Skipping Ariel as my son wouldn't be happy there.

Look at the WOC Prix Fixe menus on allears.net to see what would appeal to your kids. WCT might work. If you time your reservation right and if your visit is at the right time of year, you could ask to sit on the patio and watch the Pixar Play Parade as it goes by while eating dinner.
 
Hey guys, sorry I've been slacking! I'm leaving for WDW tonight but once I come back Friday afternoon I'll update the list with everyone's dates :)
 
We are going August 1 through 5 for 30th wedding anniversary.

Cool and congratulations!! We are headed to DL July 31 through Aug 3 for our 25 wedding anniversary and to renew our vows. We have booked 2 Br suite for those dates at the Grand Californian and have now reserved the venue for the renewal service at the Disney Land Hotel. At present, we will have our kids along (DS-29, DS-23, DS-23 [twins], DD-18) and a few of our friends from the local SoCal area. We love all things Disney with Disney Land being a family favourite vacation spot. I look forward to reading everyone's notes on this thread!
 

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