chezcurrie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2021
Thought I’d post a positive report from the lovely day I had with my youngest DS6 yesterday - this was my second 1:1 Disney date with my 3 boys since we relocated to SoCal (DS13 is up next!)
Crowds were significantly better than the mess that was October (and so so so so *so* much better than the absolute insanity that was WDW in October - truly we DLers should be thankful!) This is likely because of Enchant Keys being blocked (sure glad I upgraded to Believe.) Very glad we escaped the mosh pit influencer insanity of Friday!
**side note for OOT guests: check the blockout dates for Mkey and release dates for new/seasonal stuff, it could impact your Friday-Sun in particular**
We stuck to DL only and my personal rule of 3’s: 3 rides (must do/priorities), 3 treats (usually not all on one day but whatever) and a ~ 3 hr break! We went off of what he felt like doing, even if it meant cancelling a G+ or taking an earlier break than I had anticipated. He also did not want to wait for the parade (original plan) so we went to the shooting gallery instead and I cried happy tears remembering doing the same thing with my late father. Honestly it was perfect.
His 3’s were:
Haunted Mansion Holiday, space mountain (first time!), Pooh
Mickey Waffles, dole whip, corn dog (mobile ordered in the morning along with some jolly holiday combo for me)
We managed 9 rides (could have done more but he called it), several trips on the railroad, plaza inn breakfast (Minnie waffles!), nice mid day break at the GCH lobby (not crowded at all) and most importantly one very happy and Disneyland exhausted kiddo.
Things I would have done differently:
One thing I noticed (at least compared to October crowds and WDW) was the guests seemed more chill. Not sure how to describe it but the “frenzy” of late didn’t seem to be there.
Now the next son’s day is gonna be a doozy… He is all about the e-ticket rides and is used to rider swap so he can re-ride. Gotta manage those expectations somehow! Lol
Crowds were significantly better than the mess that was October (and so so so so *so* much better than the absolute insanity that was WDW in October - truly we DLers should be thankful!) This is likely because of Enchant Keys being blocked (sure glad I upgraded to Believe.) Very glad we escaped the mosh pit influencer insanity of Friday!
**side note for OOT guests: check the blockout dates for Mkey and release dates for new/seasonal stuff, it could impact your Friday-Sun in particular**
We stuck to DL only and my personal rule of 3’s: 3 rides (must do/priorities), 3 treats (usually not all on one day but whatever) and a ~ 3 hr break! We went off of what he felt like doing, even if it meant cancelling a G+ or taking an earlier break than I had anticipated. He also did not want to wait for the parade (original plan) so we went to the shooting gallery instead and I cried happy tears remembering doing the same thing with my late father. Honestly it was perfect.
His 3’s were:
Haunted Mansion Holiday, space mountain (first time!), Pooh
Mickey Waffles, dole whip, corn dog (mobile ordered in the morning along with some jolly holiday combo for me)
We managed 9 rides (could have done more but he called it), several trips on the railroad, plaza inn breakfast (Minnie waffles!), nice mid day break at the GCH lobby (not crowded at all) and most importantly one very happy and Disneyland exhausted kiddo.
Things I would have done differently:
- allowed more time from arrival to gate. It took an hour from getting off the 5 to entering the park.
- booking a later brunch at the GCH. This would have let us take advantage of those shorter ride times in the am before taking our break, plus better food and ambiance. Once 10am hit the return times for G+ were odd and standby was looong. Would have been nice to knock out one more non G+ ride at that time.
- Remembered to take a photo of my parking section. Yup, I was that person hitting her lock button at the end of the night. Lol
One thing I noticed (at least compared to October crowds and WDW) was the guests seemed more chill. Not sure how to describe it but the “frenzy” of late didn’t seem to be there.
Now the next son’s day is gonna be a doozy… He is all about the e-ticket rides and is used to rider swap so he can re-ride. Gotta manage those expectations somehow! Lol