"Keeping up with Jones" -- Final Thoughts, Tips, etc

Rajah

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 17, 1999
Trip report: "Keeping up with Jones" -- Disneyland January 26, 27, and 28

Cast:
-Rajah/Tammi, Disneyland fanatic, trip photographer, and report writer
-VonDrake/Michael, Rajah's DH, becoming a Disneyland fanatic
-DM or "my mom", Rajah's mom who just wants to do Indy over and over and over...
-DF or "my dad", Rajah's dad who wants to see Indy for the first time.

Trip dates:
January 26, 27, and 28

Stayed at:
Best Western Park Place, right across the street from the walk-in entrance to Disneyland on Harbor

Theme:
Keeping up with Jones -- named because the primary reason for this trip was to introduce my dad and reintroduce Michael to the Indiana Jones Adventure. Michael had been on it once, but only remembered the queue. My dad had heard my mom and me raving about this attraction and so really wanted to see it. So this quick whirlwind trip was specifically for Indy. And whatever we could fit in around Indy ;)

I would prefer to have more than a day and a half to see Disneyland, but you *can* see most of Disneyland in just a day and a half if you know how to do it right. This does not leave any time really for DCA, Downtown Disney, *or* the Disney Hotels though. I'd do another whirlwind weekend trip to Disneyland, though I hope next time we can add on another day or two. :D

If you like to dance and ever wondered what it was like to be in a Disney parade, the Parade of the Stars is a WONDERFUL experience :D Find out ahead of time (earlier in the day) which way the parade will be moving, then go to the *end* of the parade route about an hour before the parade and keep your eyes open for the green Omnibus and for CMs wearing blue overalls with a white cloud pattern on them. Those are the people you need to ask about being in the parade :D Warning, though -- if you're in any group besides the very last, you'll get quite a workout! And you technically can't ask for a specific group, though you can try.

While at WDW I don't like to stay anywhere *except* on-property, off-property at Disneyland is just fine if you can get in a good hotel. Other than the problem with wake up calls and alarms, we had no problems with the Best Western Park Place Inn, and its proximity to the gate was fantastic! We had coupons for a free breakfast each morning (continental or pancake) for the restaurant next door, but we chose not to use them since we specifically wanted River Belle.

When trying to call to make reservations at a Disney hotel, keep in mind that Disneyland's reservations office isn't nearly as large as Disneyworld's, nor apparently as sophisticated. I would actually recommend going with Dreams Unlimited Travel even if you normally like to do your own trip planning for WDW -- they saved us a bunch of hassle and it worked out great.

Traveling with carry-ons only was a real blessing for this trip. We *barely* fit everything into two carry-ons a piece, but for such a short trip it worked. And it saved us a lot of time at the airports since we could go straight from disembarking to the car.

DH and my dad both insist that the x-ray machines do nothing to damage the digital camera, but I'm still not convinced. We've been using the same Nikon Coolpix for several months with no problems, but had the camera hand-checked every time. Only this time we sent it through and had difficulties with it most of the trip. I still say the pictures didn't turn out quite as good as usual, either. Now either the batteries were really bad and did something to the programming, or sending the camera through the x-ray did indeed mess up some of the programming, or it was just one heckuva coincidence, but whatever the case it didn't work as well.

You *do* get a refund on your Fantasmic Dessert Buffet tickets if the show is for some reason canceled, so if you want to do this then try for the tickets even if there's a chance of rain! And I recommend arriving at least an hour before the park opens.

-Rajah
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cdrtrisal@aol.com

(Links will return when I find a new place to host the sites)
 
Thanks so much for the great, detailed report. It's just what I was looking for before my first trip in March. I put several items on my list "of things to do" that I otherwise wouldn't have considered.
 
Could you go over again how to get the Dessert Buffet tix? and how much are they per person? (and you say get there at least one hour before park opening for these tix?) Thanks!

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Minnie -- if you do a search over on the Disneyland board itself, there are several posts specifically on details about how to get the dessert buffet tickets :D If those don't answer your question, drop me an email and I'll go into more detail again once I get back in town :D

-Rajah
tigerbow.gif


mickeymoonsm.jpg


cdrtrisal@aol.com

(Links will return when I find a new place to host the sites)
 
You can even do almost of DL in one day - though it can be a long day. Most of my visits have been during the summer months when the park is open late. Thanks for posting!
 

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