**** Official 2014 AUGUST - Disneyland thread ****

[Lorilais_mommie]

Can you elaborate on this...define "Anaheim hot" and "Sacramento hot" please? I'm in Canada and consider anything over 30 degrees "OMG, I'm melting, hot".

We live in MA now..but lived in NV/CA for most my childhood..
DRY heat is MUCH better!

Growing up we went to DL every aug..
Our 1st trip to WDW we pick aug, thinking it would be the same kind of weather...
OMG we were soooo wrong! Talk about melting! Even going inside didn't help.. Everything was so muggy..
At least in DL if you get to hot, pop inside a store for 5 min.. And then walk on..

Comparing it to MA summer .. we prefer the dry heat better.. It doesn't feel has hot..
If you live in an area that gets humid in the summer... You should be fine..

I would say mid-80s in DL will feel like mid-high 70s in a humid area..

 

[wakica]

Hi everyone!
My family, extended family, and I are coming in from aug 2-10.. Dolphins cove

So far meals we want to do are
Ariel's grotto
BTM BBQ
PCH Grill character meal
Story tellers
Plaza inn breakfeast
Golden Horseshoes
Goofy kitchen
Carthy circle

YAY I will add in your information.
That's a lot of meals you have planned but then again you are staying for quite some time. Lucky you! We normally do one or two sit down meals per 4 day period in Disney parks. We are RIDE greedy so we don't like to take time away by eating. ROFL!!!

August 23rd-28th at DI&S

YAY I will add you to the list right away

Thanks for adding my dates to the list. We are staying at BWPPI.

This year I want to do all the rides again. The last 2 years with my husband it is all about the big rides and fast passes. We never even went to Fantasyland last year.
Planning on doing the World of Color Dinner as a special treat. Using my Disney chase card to earn Disney $ to pay for the dinner.

I will add your hotel. I have to admit, we rarely do anything in FantasyLand either. We only head there when we've done everything we want and even then we only go on the rides if there is only a short wait. We are ALL about the thrill rides. AAHHHh! I'm getting excited just thinking of them

I am also looking forward to World of Color! Not the dinner but the show - it looks AMAZING!!!

Can you elaborate on this...define "Anaheim hot" and "Sacramento hot" please?

I'm in Canada and consider anything over 30 degrees "OMG, I'm melting, hot".

LOL - YEP that's exactly how I feel. Although I would say I can handle 30 just not once it hits about 33.

Hello! I have a lot of family in Sask and have spent much time there. My mom is from Preeceville.

WHAT? My father in law was born in Preeceville! ROFL wow, small world! He left when he was 10 though.

Oh, I totally got what DaveNinja was saying...I was just trying to get an idea of what Sacramento hot was...are we talking 80's? 90's? over 100? (allow me to figure out the Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion!)

80 = 26.5
90 = 32
100 = 37.7
110 = 43.3 (Holy heck, can somewhere GET that hot and is my face melting off?)

I honestly cannot imagine 43C!!!!!!!!!! I will completely DIE if they have a heat wave like that. yikes! I better pack the neck coolers in case I guess.

 

[wakica]

Here is a link to D-COT
My dd and I LOVE having Disney music playing - especially when we are in planning mode or just want to remember all the wonderfulness that is Disney!

You have to sign up but it's free. Once you log in click on Juke Box and find all the wonderful music from all the parks and ENJOY!!!

I will also add this link to the first post where I have a link to the park hours.

http://www.d-cot.com/

 

[scrapshappen]

My DH is from the Sacramento Valley and it is miserable hot there in the summer. I grew up in the Bay Area (east bay and inland) and it can get quite hot there too.

And it always makes me laugh when Anaheim is considered dry heat. It's all relative and depends where you are from. Anaheim is more humid than Utah but much less humid than Houston or Florida.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

YAY I will add in your information. That's a lot of meals you have planned but then again you are staying for quite some time. Lucky you! We normally do one or two sit down meals per 4 day period in Disney parks. We are RIDE greedy so we don't like to take time away by eating. ROFL!!! YAY I will add you to the list right away .

Thanks..

We are spoiled by WDW! Believe it or not we cut WAY back.. :-(
When at WDW We normally eat two table meals & one small quick service (ordering 2 meals for 4 people) or snack

We will have to live with one table, one large quick (each person gets a meal), and one snack

My kids are also character crazy! So characters dinning are a must.. This way we only have to wait in a few characters lines..

Mickey has steamboat willie/ possibly another if line is short
Pooh (unless at storytellers or Minnie's)
Possibly woody and Jessie..
Duffy (little one will not be able to walk by him)
Lighting mcqueen and Mater ( had special dresses made for carsland!) will post pics when they get here in a few weeks..

Still debating on frozen or not.. Both my girls really want to see them again..
We saw them at WDW last oct. The 1st week they were out..
The 1hour and 30min We waited doesn't I look so bad compared to the 4 hrs reported at DL right now,

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

60 days in the mark for ADR right?

Can I book upto 7days from my 1st day?
Or do I call every morning?

 

[wakica]

Thanks..

We are spoiled by WDW! Believe it or not we cut WAY back.. :-(
When at WDW We normally eat two table meals & one small quick service (ordering 2 meals for 4 people) or snack

We will have to live with one table, one large quick (each person gets a meal), and one snack

My kids are also character crazy! So characters dinning are a must.. This way we only have to wait in a few characters lines..

Mickey has steamboat willie/ possibly another if line is short
Pooh (unless at storytellers or Minnie's)
Possibly woody and Jessie..
Duffy (little one will not be able to walk by him)
Lighting mcqueen and Mater ( had special dresses made for carsland!) will post pics when they get here in a few weeks..

Still debating on frozen or not.. Both my girls really want to see them again..
We saw them at WDW last oct. The 1st week they were out..
The 1hour and 30min We waited doesn't I look so bad compared to the 4 hrs reported at DL right now,

we tour totally different from you! We eat breakfast in our room (or continental in hotel), stop for 10 minutes for a snack (usually one we bring in) around 10 and another 10 minute stop around 1 and then actually eat a big dinner at around 4. Our goal is ride ride ride and if we do eat at a restaraunt it's at weird off times so we can get in and out easily.
We don't do parades and we don't do characters. Last trip to WDW DD only wanted to meet with Duffy because he was so new. I'm not sure who is on the schedule this time if anyone.
That's what I love about Disney - it has something for EVERYONE, no matter what their priorities are

60 days in the mark for ADR right?

Can I book upto 7days from my 1st day?
Or do I call every morning?

I'm sorry, I don't know enough about dining at DL to say. I'm sure someone familiar with it will say something.

 

[Aladora]

So far meals we want to do are
Ariel's grotto
BTM BBQ
PCH Grill character meal
Story tellers
Plaza inn breakfeast
Golden Horseshoes
Goofy kitchen
Carthy circle

I'm surprised to see Blue Bayou missing from your list but I personally feel it is a good omission although I think I am in the minority. I don't really like the food and for the quality you get I feel it is overpriced.

We've done all the character meals with the exception of Ariel's, my son is not that big into princesses!

Story Teller's was good food and I loved that you can either do the buffet or order off the menu. The characters there are not the mainstream ones, with the exception of Chip and Dale.

Surf's Up I talked about in a previous post here, it was fine and I think for really outgoing kids who love to dance this would be a great one but not such a hit with our son.

Goofy's had great food and I REALLY loved that they had plates of clementines, bananas and small apples. DS is a big fruit fan and by the time we ate at Goofy's he was pretty sick of a lot of junk. (Disclosure: he took a few extras on his plate that he never ate so I snuck them into my backpack for later. )

Minnie and Friends (Plaza Inn) is our favourite, we have done it three times now. My only word of advice is to make sure you sit inside. The one time we were seated outside we had a hell of a time getting the characters to come over, it seems as though some of the outside tables gets overlooked.

If you like fried chicken, you cannot skip going to the Plaza Inn for lunch!

We have yet to eat at Golden Horseshoe or BTM BBQ but the BBQ is on our to-eat list this trip.

I really enjoyed Carthay Circle, loved the atmosphere and the food was really good. We did the WOC dinner there. We were seated inside on the second floor right near the outdoor patio. When the parade started to come by, our server recommended that we take our drinks and go outside to watch and it was wonderful! Bird's eye view of the parade with no crowds! Definitely on our list to go to again.

I also did not see Wine Country Trattoria on your list and it's one that I really enjoy. We've done the WOC dinner there twice and have enjoyed it both times.

To partly answer your ADR question, yes it is 60 days out for Disneyland but if you are booking the Fantasmic dessert package that one is 30 days. I am not sure about calling each day but to be honest ADRs are not as huge a deal at DL/DCA as I hear they are at WDW. The trip before last I was able to get Carthay Circle reservations the same day by just walking up. Not to say that you should not make ADRs but if you call 58 days out I would not panic!

Hope that helped!

 

[mikamah]

This is great, thank you for starting it up!

I'm going to Disneyland!!! It's myself and DS12. We're in MA, and WDW has been our thing, and we are both so thrilled to be headed to DL!

We'll be there Aug 27-Sept 1 and are staying at PPH. We are doing the DL 10K on Saturday morning, and will have some rest time Saturday afternoon and have tickets for an Angels game Saturday night.

I'm thinking of doing the Greyline Hollywood/LA tour on Friday.

We get in Wed at 11am, so will hit DL/DCA wed and Thursday, and Sunday.

For meals, I've heard so much about Blue Bayou, I thought Sunday would be good for that, since we leave on Monday, and on race morning thought I'd try to get a late breakfast at Surfs up.

My son is a huge corndog fan, so the corndog cart in DL is a must-do.

I'm thinking of doing the photopass+ since it will be just the two of us, and I'd be in more pics, and the price is so much better than WDW. Plus my son loves the ride photos and we usually buy one of those.


Love reading all your plans!!

 

[modegard]

WHAT? My father in law was born in Preeceville! ROFL wow, small world! He left when he was 10 though.

Awesome! He got out before my mom did, she left when she was 18.

 

[fflmaster]

So my family will be coming to Disneyland for our 1st time for a quick visit August 4th-10th.

Can someone post a few things for us newbies:

1. When are ADRs start dates available?

2. What restaurants are the most recommended?

3. Any other best tips would be great. Shows? Best Times? Etc.

 

[Aladora]

So my family will be coming to Disneyland for our 1st time for a quick visit August 4th-10th. Can someone post a few things for us newbies: 1. When are ADRs start dates available? 2. What restaurants are the most recommended? 3. Any other best tips would be great. Shows? Best Times? Etc.

1. 60 days prior.

2. There are as many answers to this question as there are restaurants! My personal favourites are Carthay Circle and Wine Country Trattoria for higher end dining. Plaza Inn for lunch, I just love their fried chicken! French Market is a good place for lunch as well. Corn Dogs are a must as well! I do not like Blue Bayou and the absolute worst meal I have had in 6 DL trips was at Cafe Orleans, it was totally inedible.

3. Aladdin, Mickey and the Magical Map and WoC are must sees in my book. Fantasmic was good and the dessert seating was great to have but I don't think it was worth both the cost and the time I had to sit and wait to get the seats I wanted.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

This is great, thank you for starting it up! I'm going to Disneyland!!! It's myself and DS12. We're in MA, and WDW has been our thing, and we are both so thrilled to be headed to DL! We'll be there Aug 27-Sept 1 and are staying at PPH...

We are also from MA..
I'm starting to think everyone in MA the same idea! ;-) you are now the 5th family from MA if heard of skipping WDW for DL..
After this winter WDW is going to be sooooo crowed this spring/summer
So we opted for DL..

 

[mikamah]

We are also from MA..
I'm starting to think everyone in MA the same idea! ;-) you are now the 5th family from MA if heard of skipping WDW for DL..
After this winter WDW is going to be sooooo crowed this spring/summer
So we opted for DL..

Wow, that's so cool. Summer can't come quick enough. lol. I went back and forth since in August you can usually get a good deal at WDW, but we really want to see the only park Walt got to see!

Has anyone eaten at Carnation Café for lunch? The menu looks good and it would be fun to see where Walt Disney himself used to eat.

 

[cdntink79]

We surprised our DDs with a trip in April 2013, and we had the flight attendant deliver a special letter from Mickey to my girls (they were 1 and 3 at the time) telling them were were going to DLR. It was so much fun! She even announced it over the intercom, and everyone clapped. I loved the surprised look of disbelief on DD4's (3 at the time) face.

That is awesome!!

Surprises are SO much fun! We surprised DS last September but waking him up at 4:00am and asking him "if you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to go?" He was so not awake that it took him until we got to the airport to really believe that we were going back to Disneyland!

That's great! I think my kids will be in disbelief for a while too!

YAY I will add your info in by this evening! Good Luck with the surprise! How much fun is that!!! I could never keep a big surprise LOL

I'm finding it difficult to keep the secret! Lol I have never surprised them with something like this before. We have gone to WDW a few times and every time the kids were fully involved in the planning process.
We are from Canada, and since it's much cheaper (1/3 the cost) to fly out of an American city to LA, we will be driving to Minneapolis and flying to LA from there. So far, the plan is to tell them we are going on a road trip to Minneapolis. Once we get there we will reveal the real plans for the week!

 

[rizzle64]

We're in for August!

Will be in DLR 8/6 - 8/9. ADR's will be made for Ariel's Grotto on 8/7 and BTR BBQ on 8/8. Staying at HI on Walnut.

Can't wait!!

 

[navyblue8]

Oooh, thanks! DH and I are going to be in CA the 20th-26th with plans to do a whale watch at the beginning and Universal at the end. DL will be in the middle and we have 4 day hoppers.

The only definite plans I have right now are to do our MM on Sat and to eat at Minnie's trying for an opening reservation.

 

[RnbwSktles]

I will be there from Aug 28-Sept 1 for the Disneyland Half-Marathon. I might add on some more days at the beginning of the week, but unsure at this point. I am staying at the Desert Inn & Suites

This will be my 2nd time to DL. The first was ~15 years ago and I only remember bits and pieces, so it will be like my first time!

 

[tiffjoy]

Those of you who normally go to WDW in the summer will be pleasantly surprised by the weather in DLR in the summer (I hope!!!). It's so much nicer. I cannot imagine doing WDW in the summer. I'd rather brave the Spring Break or Christmas crowds than go in August. I do NOT do humidity well.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

We're in for August! Will be in DLR 8/6 - 8/9. ADR's will be made for Ariel's Grotto on 8/7 and BTR BBQ on 8/8. Staying at HI on Walnut. Can't wait!!

8/8 was the same date we were looking at for BTM BBQ too! We have never done this, and the food looks soooo good!

So of the old pics show Jessie and woody there, but I guess that has stop..
Is there any other kind of entrainment that happens?


Ps. A few years ago we took our oldest during the 1st week of sept. This area was turned into a harvest festival! With game and characters in their Halloween costumes..
There was no one back there and my DD Got goofy, Donald, and Pluto all to herself for over 30min! It's was priceless..

If your going later in the month maybe check to see if they have switch it over..