marcar12
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
We just got back yesterday from our family’s first Disneyland trip ever! It was such an amazing vacation and I wanted to share some tips! Our park days were June 21-25, with 4 kids ages 16, 13, 10, and 7.
-Courtyard by Marriot Theme Park Entrance was a great hotel. We walked back for a break in the afternoon and were so glad it was close enough to do that. We were also able to see the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony.
-Genie+ was worth it for sure. According to Touring Plans, the days that we were there had crowds that ranged from a level 3 to a level 7. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference at all between the 3s and 7s because Genie+ made it so that all of our wait times were pretty minimal. The longest line we waited in was probably for Dole Whips, haha! I wish Tropical Hideaway had mobile ordering! (You can get basic Dole Whips at Tiki Juice Bar, but we wanted Strawberry/mango/twists, so we didn’t get them there.)
-Mobile ordering food is simple and awesome. Do it.
-We got to the parks around 8am twice. Both days it was a huge benefit to be there that early. We walked on to Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Millennium Falcon in Disneyland. The other days we slept in and went later in the day. If you have Genie+ and a plan of action this is okay to do too, and those days were great as well. But the earlier mornings definitely had an advantage!
-If you don’t want to wait for hours to see fireworks on Main Street, then watch them from the Rivers of America! We tried to watch the fireworks from Small World on Friday, but they got cancelled that night due to wind. We still watched Wondrous Journeys from that location, but then on Sunday we tried watching from The Rivers of America (where Fantasmic is usually held). We liked that location a lot better! There was plenty of room for viewing when we got there (at 8:50). We went right up to the railing, front and center. I mobile ordered Mickey Beignets from Royal Street Veranda, and picked them up almost immediately while my family saved our spots. Then we ate them while hanging out and being entertained by the ducks on the water while we waited for the show to start. The projections were easier to see on the water screens than on Small World, and there was a cool water show that went along with them. Plus the fireworks actually went off that night, so that was a big plus!
-Over the course of 5 days we got to try all of the treats that I had been hoping to have! We got churros, Dole Whips, popcorn, slushees (aka Frozen Refreshers) from Bing Bongs, ice cream from Cozy Cone, cotton candy, mickey beignets, and raspberry macaroons from Jolly Holiday. They were all SO good, but my most favorite of all was probably the Cozy Cone ice-cream… if you love soft-serve then don’t pass this up!
-The Tangled show at the Royal Theater is super cute. And if you stay in the theater and hang out for a few minutes afterwards, Rapunzel and Flynn come out and meet you! (I think this happens for all except for the last show of the day.)
-Don’t skip the Animation Building in DCA. Turtle Talk with Crush was so much fun, as was the Animation Academy and Beast’s Library. Also, Anna and Elsa do a meet and greet there! We got there around 10:15 on a Saturday and waited 10-15 minutes and got to meet both Anna and Elsa.
-Avengers Campus is so awesome. Just walking through we saw Ant-Man, Spiderman, Shang Chi, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Loki (some of them were on the balcony, so we didn’t get to meet all of them but we got to see them!) We also saw Dr. Strange, Thor, Peter Quill, Mantis, and Black Widow during various shows there. Our Marvel-loving family was in heaven!
-On our last day we had a 6:20 dinner reservation at Carnation Café and they sat us outside. We were able to see the evening parade go by while we were at our table! It wasn’t a perfect view (and we had already seen the parade up close a couple days before that), but it was super fun for my 7-year-old to see it again and have that great entertainment while waiting for our food at dinner.
-World of Color was an amazing show!!! It was the biggest highlight of the trip. And we felt like the Dessert Party was definitely worth it (for the first show). My kids were in awe when we got to sit down at a table. And I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads when they were given their large tray of food and glowing drinks. For the hour before the show started they talked non-stop about how special it was and how grateful they were to be able to do it.
I am so sad our trip is over! It was magical!!! I am happy to answer any questions that anyone has!
-Courtyard by Marriot Theme Park Entrance was a great hotel. We walked back for a break in the afternoon and were so glad it was close enough to do that. We were also able to see the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony.
-Genie+ was worth it for sure. According to Touring Plans, the days that we were there had crowds that ranged from a level 3 to a level 7. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference at all between the 3s and 7s because Genie+ made it so that all of our wait times were pretty minimal. The longest line we waited in was probably for Dole Whips, haha! I wish Tropical Hideaway had mobile ordering! (You can get basic Dole Whips at Tiki Juice Bar, but we wanted Strawberry/mango/twists, so we didn’t get them there.)
-Mobile ordering food is simple and awesome. Do it.
-We got to the parks around 8am twice. Both days it was a huge benefit to be there that early. We walked on to Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Millennium Falcon in Disneyland. The other days we slept in and went later in the day. If you have Genie+ and a plan of action this is okay to do too, and those days were great as well. But the earlier mornings definitely had an advantage!
-If you don’t want to wait for hours to see fireworks on Main Street, then watch them from the Rivers of America! We tried to watch the fireworks from Small World on Friday, but they got cancelled that night due to wind. We still watched Wondrous Journeys from that location, but then on Sunday we tried watching from The Rivers of America (where Fantasmic is usually held). We liked that location a lot better! There was plenty of room for viewing when we got there (at 8:50). We went right up to the railing, front and center. I mobile ordered Mickey Beignets from Royal Street Veranda, and picked them up almost immediately while my family saved our spots. Then we ate them while hanging out and being entertained by the ducks on the water while we waited for the show to start. The projections were easier to see on the water screens than on Small World, and there was a cool water show that went along with them. Plus the fireworks actually went off that night, so that was a big plus!
-Over the course of 5 days we got to try all of the treats that I had been hoping to have! We got churros, Dole Whips, popcorn, slushees (aka Frozen Refreshers) from Bing Bongs, ice cream from Cozy Cone, cotton candy, mickey beignets, and raspberry macaroons from Jolly Holiday. They were all SO good, but my most favorite of all was probably the Cozy Cone ice-cream… if you love soft-serve then don’t pass this up!
-The Tangled show at the Royal Theater is super cute. And if you stay in the theater and hang out for a few minutes afterwards, Rapunzel and Flynn come out and meet you! (I think this happens for all except for the last show of the day.)
-Don’t skip the Animation Building in DCA. Turtle Talk with Crush was so much fun, as was the Animation Academy and Beast’s Library. Also, Anna and Elsa do a meet and greet there! We got there around 10:15 on a Saturday and waited 10-15 minutes and got to meet both Anna and Elsa.
-Avengers Campus is so awesome. Just walking through we saw Ant-Man, Spiderman, Shang Chi, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Loki (some of them were on the balcony, so we didn’t get to meet all of them but we got to see them!) We also saw Dr. Strange, Thor, Peter Quill, Mantis, and Black Widow during various shows there. Our Marvel-loving family was in heaven!
-On our last day we had a 6:20 dinner reservation at Carnation Café and they sat us outside. We were able to see the evening parade go by while we were at our table! It wasn’t a perfect view (and we had already seen the parade up close a couple days before that), but it was super fun for my 7-year-old to see it again and have that great entertainment while waiting for our food at dinner.
-World of Color was an amazing show!!! It was the biggest highlight of the trip. And we felt like the Dessert Party was definitely worth it (for the first show). My kids were in awe when we got to sit down at a table. And I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads when they were given their large tray of food and glowing drinks. For the hour before the show started they talked non-stop about how special it was and how grateful they were to be able to do it.
I am so sad our trip is over! It was magical!!! I am happy to answer any questions that anyone has!
