Tentative Day Itinerary at Disneyland

Not sure about this one. It should be fine, especially if your mom has the same credit card that was used to place the order. Why can't your mom be with your sister and your dad go with you to pick up the food?
I know that with the BB package, if the reservation is in my name, DH can still check in for the group for me. But that isn't exactly the same thing as what you're wanting to do.
Oh, alright, thanks for letting me know.
 


Going to DL Thursday, I can almost feel it! Our hotel is 30 minutes away from the park, so is setting off between 6am to 6:30am for an 8am opening good? Or will traffic make the drive longer?
6 am. Earlier the better especially during the weekdays. Rush hour is no joke. Long Beach shouldn’t take that long that early in the day. I’d say 20ish minutes
 
6 am. Earlier the better especially during the weekdays. Rush hour is no joke. Long Beach shouldn’t take that long that early in the day. I’d say 20ish minutes
Rush hour is definitely no joke, we’ve gotten +30 minutes of travel time when we drove during rush hour. So i guess I’ll have to force everyone up at 5am! :guilty:
 


We will, thank you!
Good luck Speckled! I am so excited to hear how it goes! A few ideas that might make your early morning a little easier:

—Pack as much as you can tonight. Have the stroller, backpack with snacks, hip bags, etc., either already in the car or by the door ready to go. Lay out anything that can’t be packed tonight, like wallets, phones, sunglasses, and shoes together in an easy to grab location.

—Take your own shower tonight. You will want one tomorrow after the park anyway, and by not needing a shower in the morning, you’ll be available to move things to the car and help with little sister.

—If your parents drink coffee, figure out how the coffee maker works tonight, and brew a pot or a couple of cups first thing when you wake up. I know I am much more likely to get moving if there’s hot coffee already made 😉

—Breathe and take it easy. You’ve planned a great trip, wait times seem low right now, and if you’re fifteen minutes later out the door than you expected, it will be okay. Remember to have fun!!!!
 
Good luck Speckled! I am so excited to hear how it goes! A few ideas that might make your early morning a little easier:

—Pack as much as you can tonight. Have the stroller, backpack with snacks, hip bags, etc., either already in the car or by the door ready to go. Lay out anything that can’t be packed tonight, like wallets, phones, sunglasses, and shoes together in an easy to grab location.

—Take your own shower tonight. You will want one tomorrow after the park anyway, and by not needing a shower in the morning, you’ll be available to move things to the car and help with little sister.

—If your parents drink coffee, figure out how the coffee maker works tonight, and brew a pot or a couple of cups first thing when you wake up. I know I am much more likely to get moving if there’s hot coffee already made 😉

—Breathe and take it easy. You’ve planned a great trip, wait times seem low right now, and if you’re fifteen minutes later out the door than you expected, it will be okay. Remember to have fun!!!!

You are going to pack the car AND have caffeine ready and waiting. Can I adopt you into my family? :rotfl2: Make sure to remember you are so young, you have a lifetime of vacations in front of you so things might not always go accordingly to plan but you can always come back and try again.
 
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—If your parents drink coffee, figure out how the coffee maker works tonight, and brew a pot or a couple of cups first thing when you wake up. I know I am much more likely to get moving if there’s hot coffee already made 😉
For coffee, tea, or snacks: have the Starbucks app loaded and ready to go on your phone. Have your parents' credit card or a Starbucks gift card loaded for your payment option. Choose Starbucks DTD as your location. Then you can use mobile ordering through the Starbucks app while waiting for rope drop. If you order when you board the tram, your drinks and food should be ready to pick by the time you get to Starbucks (which is right across from the tram drop off in DTD). Mobile ordering will not work at the Starbucks on Main Street in DL (aka Market House).
BTW: There are two Starbucks locations in DTD -- Starbucks Downtown Disney (main store next to WOD) and Starbucks Downtown Disney West II (smaller store next to the Lego Store). You can use mobile ordering at both, but for the location nearest the main gates, you want the main store.
 
I will echo what other posters have said. You will want to be at the security line EARLY, it could take you 30 minutes to get through security and another 15 minutes to get through the front gate, depending on when you get there. They will open the maingate early and then pull everyone into main street. Good rule of thumb is to be at security/bag check one hour before park opens, especially if you only have the one day.

And definitely buy MaxPass!!! Must. Have.
 
Thanks for the tips all! I just ran into a wall though - my dad is saying that it’s not worth it to rope drop and I’m scrambling to convince him that it is! Any things that you would say to convince him? If we don’t rope drop is it still possible to get all the rides we want to with the low wait times?
 
Explain it’s the difference between going to the supermarket at 5 am where is empty, you can walk without getting shoved, get your bearings and the layout of the land, walk through an empty checkout line. Vs the supermarket at rush hour the day before thanksgiving where carts are hitting you and you stand in line an hour to pay.

Can you uber there alone and they meet you later?

I can’t think of a better comparison of crushed and empty park. Those first couple of hours are just glorious. I found our on a trip with just my adult sis last December. My kids with sensory processing disorder would do so well. Unfortunately we haven’t gone at a time of year when they can get up early enough. (Daylight savings last few trips. ) 😡 so...we spend 2 hours and go to our hotel for down time.
 
Explain it’s the difference between going to the supermarket at 5 am where is empty, you can walk without getting shoved, get your bearings and the layout of the land, walk through an empty checkout line. Vs the supermarket at rush hour the day before thanksgiving where carts are hitting you and you stand in line an hour to pay.

Can you uber there alone and they meet you later?

I can’t think of a better comparison of crushed and empty park. Those first couple of hours are just glorious. I found our on a trip with just my adult sis last December. My kids with sensory processing disorder would do so well. Unfortunately we haven’t gone at a time of year when they can get up early enough. (Daylight savings last few trips. ) 😡 so...we spend 2 hours and go to our hotel for down time.
Thanks for that comparison, I’ll bring it up before bedtime today and we can discuss it I suppose.
 
...
Can you uber there alone and they meet you later?...
The OP is too young to be in the parks alone. She must be over 14 to do that.
OP, tell your dad that, with all due respect, if he wants to skip RD, then if the day is busy, with long lines and longer wait times throughout the day, it will be on him, so he won't be able to complain. And, it's fine with you if he wants to skip RD -- that just means that he will have to make it up with multi-day, park hopper tickets (and, hopefully, a walking distance hotel) in July!
 
The OP is too young to be in the parks alone. She must be over 14 to do that.
OP, tell your dad that, with all due respect, if he wants to skip RD, then if the day is busy, with long lines and longer wait times throughout the day, it will be on him, so he won't be able to complain. And, it's fine with you if he wants to skip RD -- that just means that he will have to make it up with multi-day, park hopper tickets (and, hopefully, a walking distance hotel) in July!
Haha I’ll try that. He’s firmly against rope drop. :sad2:
 
So what now? How would you edit my current plan? (rope drop fantasyland, check in swge, ride hyperspace and star tours, fit in any other short line rides, swge, lunch, parade, more rides with short lines or fastpass, shows, dinner, a ride or two, fantastic, rides)
 

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