Crud...the more I plan the more confused I get...

[lntsmom]

Planning a trip to DisneyWorld is very straight-forward compared to trying to go to Disneyland!!!

Here are a variety of questions:

1. Has anyone here used Ayers travel for their Disney tickets? Are they reliable?

2. Would it be worth the $140 difference in price to purchase thru Disney to get early entry? To be honest, I never used EE at DisneyWorld...we just couldn't burn the candle at both ends. If you only had one, when would you use it...Sunday or Tuesday at DL or Monday at CA?

3. Which beach is better for kids: Newport or Redondo?

4. How insane is this plan: We get to John Wayne around 10:30 a.m. their time. I get our luggage, we change into beach clothing, I put everything I can into lockers, get a cab, go spend the day at the beach, then take a cab back to the airport to get our stuff and jump on the Shuttle to the hotel. Has anyone here ever tried anything similarly crazy???? I'm trying to save both time and money...and it seems as if it is a waste of both to go to the hotel first.

5. How great is the Blue Bayou, really? Considering that my older son is going to eat chicken nuggets no matter where we go, is it worth the hassle to make dining plans? The only meal I've booked is Ariel's Grotto for lunch Monday.

6. Since I have to worry about EVERYTHING....should it be very busy and they close the park...are you warned before you leave? Also, if they close it, will it reopen for admission later in the evening...so we could go back at 6 pm or so, or does it stay closed for admissions all day?

7. Pricing at Mimi's Cafe and McDonalds...will it be the same as my local Bob Evans and McDonalds here or do they have special inflated Disney pricing there?

8. Is there anything I need to worry about that I've overlooked, lol??? I may need to join a special Disney counseling board before this is all said and done!

What I need is to take a week's vacation to plan this vacation!!!!

Thank you all for the information you've already provided!

 

[Tink33]

Beth, relax it is a vacation.

I don't think John Wayne airport has lockers available so I am not sure that plan will work. I do prefer Newport Beach with kids. And I think most restaurants around Disneyland have inflated rates.

I will let others answer the rest of your questions.

 

[bclydia]

Hiya!
Don't worry, it will all come together! DL is easy -I've never been to WDW and the thought of it makes my head spin!
Yes, Mimi's and McD's are slightly more expensive than you'd find elsewhere.
The Blue Bayou, I think, is highly overrated. I know that it's popular on these boards but we went in June and found the food to be mediochre and very pricey. The kids (5 and 8) did not appreciate the atmosphere at all. My family is going again to DL in Aug and we all said we'd not bother with BB again. I'd far rather go to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.
Wish I could help you out more but we get our tickets here through the Disney Store or BCAA (AAA). I've never tried the early entry.
Have fun!
PS I was at Ariel's Grotto in December and thought it was great!! The food was good and the kids liked their meals and loved the visits with the characters!!

 

[Disneyland_emily]

1. Has anyone here used Ayers travel for their Disney tickets? Are they reliable? << Never used them before

2. Would it be worth the $140 difference in price to purchase thru Disney to get early entry? To be honest, I never used EE at DisneyWorld...we just couldn't burn the candle at both ends. If you only had one, when would you use it...Sunday or Tuesday at DL or Monday at CA?<< Actually I believe that ANY 3+ day ticket has EE and it depends when you are going if it would be worth it-

3. Which beach is better for kids: Newport or Redondo? <<- prob have to say Newport

4. How insane is this plan: We get to John Wayne around 10:30 a.m. their time. I get our luggage, we change into beach clothing, I put everything I can into lockers, get a cab, go spend the day at the beach, then take a cab back to the airport to get our stuff and jump on the Shuttle to the hotel. Has anyone here ever tried anything similarly crazy???? I'm trying to save both time and money...and it seems as if it is a waste of both to go to the hotel first. << Have you looked into renting a car for the day? We found that it was cheaper to rent a car at SNA and return it the next day to a place on Katella (going to cost us about 20 bucks total) and that would give you flexibility on traveling...

5. How great is the Blue Bayou, really? Considering that my older son is going to eat chicken nuggets no matter where we go, is it worth the hassle to make dining plans? The only meal I've booked is Ariel's Grotto for lunch Monday. >> I dont mind BBayou but its not my fav...

6. Since I have to worry about EVERYTHING....should it be very busy and they close the park...are you warned before you leave? Also, if they close it, will it reopen for admission later in the evening...so we could go back at 6 pm or so, or does it stay closed for admissions all day?<< Depends on when you go- THey usually don't warn because its a very flexible thing and it depends whether it gets reopened (New Years Eve it doesnt tend to reopen but other days it may)



7. Pricing at Mimi's Cafe and McDonalds...will it be the same as my local Bob Evans and McDonalds here or do they have special inflated Disney pricing there?<, MCds is definetly more- I didnt notice Mimis to be that different

8. Is there anything I need to worry about that I've overlooked, lol??? I may need to join a special Disney counseling board before this is all said and done!<< Just breathe...

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Good advice so far.

1. Has anyone here used Ayers travel for their Disney tickets? Are they reliable? Sorry, I don't have an answer to this one.

2. Would it be worth the $140 difference in price to purchase thru Disney to get early entry? To be honest, I never used EE at DisneyWorld...we just couldn't burn the candle at both ends. If you only had one, when would you use it...Sunday or Tuesday at DL or Monday at CA? Why would it be that much more? If you can get hopper tix & save that much money, then I would say skip early entry and use the money for a nice meal or two, or a souvenir you'd really like. Early entry is only one hour, and depending on the crowds may or may not work for you.

3. Which beach is better for kids: Newport or Redondo? I live near Redondo Beach (15 mins). Since you are coming in at the Orange County/John Wayne airport, I would have to recommend Newport Beach. Redondo Beach is a distance away, plus there are no freeways near it, so you'd have to go up the side streets. Newport Beach is a nice option.

4. How insane is this plan: We get to John Wayne around 10:30 a.m. their time. I get our luggage, we change into beach clothing, I put everything I can into lockers, get a cab, go spend the day at the beach, then take a cab back to the airport to get our stuff and jump on the Shuttle to the hotel. Has anyone here ever tried anything similarly crazy???? I'm trying to save both time and money...and it seems as if it is a waste of both to go to the hotel first. I think the suggestion that you rent a car for a day & drop it off in Anaheim is an excellent one. You can leave your luggage in the trunk of the car, and you'll have so much more freedom to do what you want. (That's a big de-stresser to me)

5. How great is the Blue Bayou, really? Considering that my older son is going to eat chicken nuggets no matter where we go, is it worth the hassle to make dining plans? The only meal I've booked is Ariel's Grotto for lunch Monday. The only time I eat at the Blue Bayou is when I meet up with fellow DISers. My kids tend to like Plaza Inn, Hungry Bear (which is only burgers, but near the river), Zocalo Restaurant, Pizza Port. I happen to like French Market.

6. Since I have to worry about EVERYTHING....should it be very busy and they close the park...are you warned before you leave? Also, if they close it, will it reopen for admission later in the evening...so we could go back at 6 pm or so, or does it stay closed for admissions all day? I wouldn't worry about the park closing, except for May 5th & July 17th.

7. Pricing at Mimi's Cafe and McDonalds...will it be the same as my local Bob Evans and McDonalds here or do they have special inflated Disney pricing there? You got good advice already on this one. Mimi's is a good restaurant, a cut or two above Denny's & you pay for that. I really like it, though.

8. Is there anything I need to worry about that I've overlooked, lol??? I may need to join a special Disney counseling board before this is all said and done! I agree with the others to relax. I tend to make a lot of plans before we go, and then only use them as a guideline. As long as everyone is having fun - that is the main goal, so don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[disneychrista]

Also unless it has changed EE is only available at Disneyland, not DCA.

 

[lntsmom]

I am glad for the input on the Blue Bayou. We're not the type of family who eats out for entertainment...I figured the Hungry Bear would be wonderful for lunch but didn't want to miss out if there was some big attraction with BB that I couldn't figure out!

As for renting a car, believe it or not, I don't do credit cards Credit baaaad, lol! I have a debit card. So far the only major hitch has been that I had to pay $20 more per plane fare to get paper tickets from a travel agent. I don't know of any car rental company that will rent to you if all you have is a Mastercard Debit. So far I'm not having much luck...I may just end up shelling out the $40 each way in cab fare. However, a friend from a May Mom's board tells me her brother is a bus driver...and his route stops at John Wayne Airport . You never know where these things will take you...if her SIL is a SAHM, I may just offer her some money if she'd like to spend the day at the beach with us, lol!!! I'm flexible, if nothing else!

To be honest, I am stressing because when we did WDW I planned everything down to the last second...and we had a fantasy vacation. I know we'll probably never have a Disney visit like that again. In the 5 days we were there the only time we stood in line was for Dumbo!!!! In addition, the Disney folks bent over backward to make it a dream come true. They gave us a room that opened into Andy's bedroom (we went the month after Movies opened) and even had a personalized autographed photo of Buzz and Woody and a bouquet of balloons waiting for my son when we checked in...all because I wrote a letter explaining what a big Toy Story fan he is and asking to be in that section of the hotel!!! Then, at Crystal Pavillion a chef saw me talking to him- he was in tears because except for bread there was nothing on the menu he would eat (yes, he's that picky). She came out and asked what he liked to eat...and specially made him chicken nuggets and french fries!!!! I can't afford these types of vacations often- obviously since it's been 6 years since our last Disney trip- and the people there were so wonderful that they made it an experience beyond our wildest dreams.

I'm a world-class griper, and I can honestly say that from the time we arrived at Mears travel gate to the time we got on their bus to come home, there was not one thing that went wrong!

Kind of gives this trip a lot to live up to, doesn't it?

Thank you all for helping me sort through my Disney-based anxieties!!! I figure the more I worry about now, the less I'll have to deal with then!

BTW...I've already got two Mr. Potato Heads in my suitcase in response to the earlier posts about it, lol!!! I take this planning thing to heart!

 

[Karalea]

I am planning our first trip also so I can only answer your first question:

I ordered our park hoppers from Ares travel and found them to be very reliable. They did send me the wrong tickets in my second order but one phone call cleared up the mistake. They even reimbursed me the cost of shipping the incorrect tickets backs. Other than that, no problem.