Just wanted to check in and give a quick rundown of our trip in case it helps anyone else out there...
Myself, my mom, and my 2 kids (DD aged 10 and DS aged 6) just got back from a 3 day trip which we added on to the end of a 2 week cruise. I naively added it without researching - I was convinced it would be a "quiet" time at Disney since Christmas, etc was done. It was only afterwards that I found out that the 3 days we were in the parks were the last 3 days of the "holidays" and the first time APs were allowed back in. I wasn't sure what to expect but went with the attitude that we would do what we could do and not stress or try to kill ourselves....
We pre-booked a shuttle from San Pedro pier to out hotel - Homewood Suites. We used Lansky on the recommendations of this board and it was excellent! The driver texted us while still on the ship to let us know he was 5 minutes outside of the pier and all we needed to do was text him when we were outside. We did this and he arrived within a few minutes. The car was clean, the driver was friendly and professional, and they provided a booster seat at requested!
We stayed at Homewood Suites - last time I went we stayed at Park Vue and I was hoping for something that close again. Unfortunately, the price difference between an "ok" place across the street and a Hilton further away made it more sensible to go with a nicer hotel. The Homewood Suites was excellent - we had the family suite, which was huge. The kids loved the bunkbeds and I loved the kitchen. The free breakfast was a great start to the day and I really liked the free dinner and alcohol from 5-7pm Mon-Thurs! Nice touch! The best part of the hotel was that it was a 5 minute walk to the Toy Story lot so we were able to take the free shuttle back and forth to the parks. The shuttle was great because there is a dedicated security line for people using it so we never had to line up in the HUGE line that formed from the street!
I had pre-purchased tickets via Expedia.ca as when I tried to buy the Canadian resident ones on Disney they site wouldn't work. (Don't even get me started on the hours I spent on the phone trying to buy these tickets)! I would caution anyone thinking of buying through Expedia NOT to do it! Even though I had pre-purchased, I still needed to wait in the ticket booth line to redeem the vouchers. The line was huge - it took an hour and 40 minutes just to reach the window. Then the cast member couldn't pull up my order so needed to get another cast member to help. The other one couldn't do it either so they restarted the software. No joy. They then called over a 3rd cast member. It turned out (or so they said) that Expedia had not loaded the vouchers into the system, so even though I had a confirmation, bar code, and my credit card had been charged, Disney did not have actual tickets for me. By this time we had already been in line over 2 hours and my 6 year old with special needs was literally lying on the floor in the fetal position! Not my idea of fun! A supervisor was called and she did something to override something else and I eventually got our 3 day park hoppers BUT it had taken 2 hours and 15 minutes to do so!
After the long wait to get our tickets, we opted to go to California Adventure as there was no line to get in the park. It was very busy inside but not awful - we took it easy and strolled around, hopping on rides that didn't have crazy lines. We were able to do Monsters Inc, Turtle Talk, everything in Bugs Life/Flick's Funfair, Jumping Jellybeans, Silly Symphony, and Zephyr with very minimal waits. We ate a late lunch at the Wiener place, simply because we were hungry and it was there! Later we grabbed some mac and cheese at Festival of Holidays. We had reservations for WOC dessert party and arrived around 7:45pm. We were 10th in line at that time. They started checking in at 8:15pm and gave us wristbands. We were on a high top at the rail and had a great view. I had been looking forward to the blue alcoholic drink but by the time we had sat down it was getting chilly so we all opted for hot drinks instead (actually, the server only offered hot chocolate, tea, or coffee - no mention of any other drinks). We got the bread basket and out dessert plates (I would have liked more bread as there wasn't enough for the amount of cheese, but none was ever offered). The desserts were excellent and we got a box to pack up the leftovers to take with us. WOC was superb and we were felt we got value for money with the experience. We didn't stay for the fireworks as we had been on the go all day but I heard that they were cancelled half way through.
Jan 4th - Thursday - was our magic morning day. The parks opened at 7am but we didn't make it as early as we had planned. After breakfast at the hotel we took the shuttle and got to the park around 7:45am. There were minimal lines so we headed to Disney and straight to Tomorrowland. We grabbed a fastpass for Star Tours with a return time of 10:15-11:15. We then did Nemo, Buzz, and Autopia - each having about a 15 minute wait. By the time we were done with these we were able to use our fastpass for Star Tours. We hoped to get a fastpass for Space Mountain but return time was 1:30pm and we had lunch reservations. We decided to go to Fantasyland - and this was the point that the day took a turn for the worst. It seemed that every person in the state of California decided to go to Fantasyland at that exact moment! There were so many people, and huge lines for everything. 90 minute wait for Small World, 2 hours for Matterhorn, 45 minutes for the carousel. Fastpasses were giving return times for 5pm and later...no thanks! We headed down to Frontier Land and were shocked that Pirates had a 2 hour line up, too. Indiana Jones was 90 minutes. Luckily, the kids were content to do Tarzan's Treehouse and then it was time for our lunch reservation at Rainforest Cafe (kids' choice, not mine!). Lunch was fine - nothing spectacular but pretty much standard for Rainforest Cafe! We checked out the stores in Downtown Disney after lunch and then headed back into Disney around 4pm. By this time it was truly insane in there - to the point where it was unpleasant and a little scary. There were a few times where it was so bottlenecked that we couldn't move forwards or backwards and the little guy got a bit panicked. After trying to battle the crowds and not really getting anywhere fast, we decided to cut our losses and head back to the hotel for the free dinner and drinks offered. It was a frustrating end to the day and we felt that we hadn't really done much in the parks!
Jan 5th - Friday - we set out with a plan today! We made a list of the "must do" rides and planned on buying the max pass as soon as we hit the park. We originally had reservations for Fantasmic premium dining for the evening, but after the crazy lines and crowds the pervious day we decided to cancel as we didn't want to have to deal with that late at night. I was sad that we would miss Fantasmic, but it was definitely the right decision! We got to the park at 8am and headed straight into Disney and purchased the max pass - we grabbed a fastpass for Matterhorn and then rode Pirates that had NO LINE! We then went back and rode Small World, which had a 10 minute wait. After this we used our fast pass to ride matterhorn and immediately booked a pass for Big Thunder Mountain. After redeeming this one we booked for Soaring. We walked around Disney and checked out the stores, stopped at Toontown and rode Roger Rabbit - Gadget coaster was down, then headed to California Adventure. We had a 30 minute wait for Grizzly River but I'm glad we waited as shortly after we rode it was down for a few hours and then backed up until the evening. After Grizzly River we did Soaring and grabbed a fast pass for Goofy's Sky School. We ate lunch at shake place near Soaring - it was painfully slow to get served but we were hungry and it was there! After lunch we used out pass for Goofy's Sky School and felt very happy that we had done every ride we set out to do by 3pm! We shopped a little and had ice cream and then decided to leave on a high note and head back to the hotel as we had a 3am start for home next morning.
Lessons learned:
1. NEVER do Disney during the holidays again! Although it was great to see the decorations, I am not a fan of that number of people and I really didn't like the crowds!
2. Have more faith in what the kids can handle! There must be some magic in the air at Disney as both kids had no issue waiting in lines for rides - any other time they whine and complain at the smallest of waits but at Disney I didn't even hear "How much longer will it be???" I was totally gobsmacked at how well my 6 year old handled the 3 days.. He has DCD and SPD so is unable to stand or sit still for prolonged periods. He is also very sensitive to noise, touch, and stimulation so I was prepared for meltdowns - I even considered going the disability access route so he wouldn't have to stand in line. Surprisingly, he did just fine and not one meltdown or complaint (other than mine!!!!)
3. MAX PASS!!!! This was a lifesaver on the last day. The only reason we didn't get it before then was that the wifi in the park sucked and my phone plan (being from Canada) costs a bucketload in data roaming. Luckily, my mom was able to add on to her plan and get a good price for long distance roaming. Best $40 we spent!
4. Initially I was a little disappointed that we had only really done the rides. We didn't do fireworks, shows, parades, Fantasmic. However, I think if we had pushed ourselves to do these then we would have been miserable/frustrated/tired and not enjoyed the experience anyway. We made the best use of the time that we could handle in the situation and ended up having fun!
Myself, my mom, and my 2 kids (DD aged 10 and DS aged 6) just got back from a 3 day trip which we added on to the end of a 2 week cruise. I naively added it without researching - I was convinced it would be a "quiet" time at Disney since Christmas, etc was done. It was only afterwards that I found out that the 3 days we were in the parks were the last 3 days of the "holidays" and the first time APs were allowed back in. I wasn't sure what to expect but went with the attitude that we would do what we could do and not stress or try to kill ourselves....
We pre-booked a shuttle from San Pedro pier to out hotel - Homewood Suites. We used Lansky on the recommendations of this board and it was excellent! The driver texted us while still on the ship to let us know he was 5 minutes outside of the pier and all we needed to do was text him when we were outside. We did this and he arrived within a few minutes. The car was clean, the driver was friendly and professional, and they provided a booster seat at requested!
We stayed at Homewood Suites - last time I went we stayed at Park Vue and I was hoping for something that close again. Unfortunately, the price difference between an "ok" place across the street and a Hilton further away made it more sensible to go with a nicer hotel. The Homewood Suites was excellent - we had the family suite, which was huge. The kids loved the bunkbeds and I loved the kitchen. The free breakfast was a great start to the day and I really liked the free dinner and alcohol from 5-7pm Mon-Thurs! Nice touch! The best part of the hotel was that it was a 5 minute walk to the Toy Story lot so we were able to take the free shuttle back and forth to the parks. The shuttle was great because there is a dedicated security line for people using it so we never had to line up in the HUGE line that formed from the street!
I had pre-purchased tickets via Expedia.ca as when I tried to buy the Canadian resident ones on Disney they site wouldn't work. (Don't even get me started on the hours I spent on the phone trying to buy these tickets)! I would caution anyone thinking of buying through Expedia NOT to do it! Even though I had pre-purchased, I still needed to wait in the ticket booth line to redeem the vouchers. The line was huge - it took an hour and 40 minutes just to reach the window. Then the cast member couldn't pull up my order so needed to get another cast member to help. The other one couldn't do it either so they restarted the software. No joy. They then called over a 3rd cast member. It turned out (or so they said) that Expedia had not loaded the vouchers into the system, so even though I had a confirmation, bar code, and my credit card had been charged, Disney did not have actual tickets for me. By this time we had already been in line over 2 hours and my 6 year old with special needs was literally lying on the floor in the fetal position! Not my idea of fun! A supervisor was called and she did something to override something else and I eventually got our 3 day park hoppers BUT it had taken 2 hours and 15 minutes to do so!
After the long wait to get our tickets, we opted to go to California Adventure as there was no line to get in the park. It was very busy inside but not awful - we took it easy and strolled around, hopping on rides that didn't have crazy lines. We were able to do Monsters Inc, Turtle Talk, everything in Bugs Life/Flick's Funfair, Jumping Jellybeans, Silly Symphony, and Zephyr with very minimal waits. We ate a late lunch at the Wiener place, simply because we were hungry and it was there! Later we grabbed some mac and cheese at Festival of Holidays. We had reservations for WOC dessert party and arrived around 7:45pm. We were 10th in line at that time. They started checking in at 8:15pm and gave us wristbands. We were on a high top at the rail and had a great view. I had been looking forward to the blue alcoholic drink but by the time we had sat down it was getting chilly so we all opted for hot drinks instead (actually, the server only offered hot chocolate, tea, or coffee - no mention of any other drinks). We got the bread basket and out dessert plates (I would have liked more bread as there wasn't enough for the amount of cheese, but none was ever offered). The desserts were excellent and we got a box to pack up the leftovers to take with us. WOC was superb and we were felt we got value for money with the experience. We didn't stay for the fireworks as we had been on the go all day but I heard that they were cancelled half way through.
Jan 4th - Thursday - was our magic morning day. The parks opened at 7am but we didn't make it as early as we had planned. After breakfast at the hotel we took the shuttle and got to the park around 7:45am. There were minimal lines so we headed to Disney and straight to Tomorrowland. We grabbed a fastpass for Star Tours with a return time of 10:15-11:15. We then did Nemo, Buzz, and Autopia - each having about a 15 minute wait. By the time we were done with these we were able to use our fastpass for Star Tours. We hoped to get a fastpass for Space Mountain but return time was 1:30pm and we had lunch reservations. We decided to go to Fantasyland - and this was the point that the day took a turn for the worst. It seemed that every person in the state of California decided to go to Fantasyland at that exact moment! There were so many people, and huge lines for everything. 90 minute wait for Small World, 2 hours for Matterhorn, 45 minutes for the carousel. Fastpasses were giving return times for 5pm and later...no thanks! We headed down to Frontier Land and were shocked that Pirates had a 2 hour line up, too. Indiana Jones was 90 minutes. Luckily, the kids were content to do Tarzan's Treehouse and then it was time for our lunch reservation at Rainforest Cafe (kids' choice, not mine!). Lunch was fine - nothing spectacular but pretty much standard for Rainforest Cafe! We checked out the stores in Downtown Disney after lunch and then headed back into Disney around 4pm. By this time it was truly insane in there - to the point where it was unpleasant and a little scary. There were a few times where it was so bottlenecked that we couldn't move forwards or backwards and the little guy got a bit panicked. After trying to battle the crowds and not really getting anywhere fast, we decided to cut our losses and head back to the hotel for the free dinner and drinks offered. It was a frustrating end to the day and we felt that we hadn't really done much in the parks!
Jan 5th - Friday - we set out with a plan today! We made a list of the "must do" rides and planned on buying the max pass as soon as we hit the park. We originally had reservations for Fantasmic premium dining for the evening, but after the crazy lines and crowds the pervious day we decided to cancel as we didn't want to have to deal with that late at night. I was sad that we would miss Fantasmic, but it was definitely the right decision! We got to the park at 8am and headed straight into Disney and purchased the max pass - we grabbed a fastpass for Matterhorn and then rode Pirates that had NO LINE! We then went back and rode Small World, which had a 10 minute wait. After this we used our fast pass to ride matterhorn and immediately booked a pass for Big Thunder Mountain. After redeeming this one we booked for Soaring. We walked around Disney and checked out the stores, stopped at Toontown and rode Roger Rabbit - Gadget coaster was down, then headed to California Adventure. We had a 30 minute wait for Grizzly River but I'm glad we waited as shortly after we rode it was down for a few hours and then backed up until the evening. After Grizzly River we did Soaring and grabbed a fast pass for Goofy's Sky School. We ate lunch at shake place near Soaring - it was painfully slow to get served but we were hungry and it was there! After lunch we used out pass for Goofy's Sky School and felt very happy that we had done every ride we set out to do by 3pm! We shopped a little and had ice cream and then decided to leave on a high note and head back to the hotel as we had a 3am start for home next morning.
Lessons learned:
1. NEVER do Disney during the holidays again! Although it was great to see the decorations, I am not a fan of that number of people and I really didn't like the crowds!
2. Have more faith in what the kids can handle! There must be some magic in the air at Disney as both kids had no issue waiting in lines for rides - any other time they whine and complain at the smallest of waits but at Disney I didn't even hear "How much longer will it be???" I was totally gobsmacked at how well my 6 year old handled the 3 days.. He has DCD and SPD so is unable to stand or sit still for prolonged periods. He is also very sensitive to noise, touch, and stimulation so I was prepared for meltdowns - I even considered going the disability access route so he wouldn't have to stand in line. Surprisingly, he did just fine and not one meltdown or complaint (other than mine!!!!)
3. MAX PASS!!!! This was a lifesaver on the last day. The only reason we didn't get it before then was that the wifi in the park sucked and my phone plan (being from Canada) costs a bucketload in data roaming. Luckily, my mom was able to add on to her plan and get a good price for long distance roaming. Best $40 we spent!
4. Initially I was a little disappointed that we had only really done the rides. We didn't do fireworks, shows, parades, Fantasmic. However, I think if we had pushed ourselves to do these then we would have been miserable/frustrated/tired and not enjoyed the experience anyway. We made the best use of the time that we could handle in the situation and ended up having fun!
