The Wheels Finally Come Off! Trip 3 in JUNE 2014!

[smiles33]

Today, OUT OF THE BLUE, DH randomly said to me, "I was thinking of closing the office in June since students are in finals anyway. What do you think of DD7 missing 2 days of school to do a Disneyland trip then?"

What do I think? pixie dust:

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

So a few initial thoughts to put down here while I'm still processing this whole thing.

1) I need to find out if there are any weeknight Grad Nite celebrations. We're looking at driving down Saturday morning, June 7 and staying until Tuesday, June 10. That helps us avoid the Friday night stuff, but some schools may be graduating around then.

2) We have never gone in the summer before. Will we be prepared for the crowds? The heat?

3) This will be our first trip WITH NO WHEELS! DDs will be 5 and 8 and way too old for a stroller. DH *should* be ok walking by then, especially since he just had a cortisone shot in his hip last week to help with pain that flared up again almost 5 months after his last surgery. Past readers know that he had a second hip surgery last summer (right after our second DLR trip!).

4) I was not as thrilled with HoJo the second time around. Yes, it's nice to have the space of 2 rooms, but it's tiring walking back, the bathroom and carpet didn't seem as sparkling clean, and you do seem to "lose" the magic when you're dodging homeless people on the bench at the bus stop. I am looking into staying on-site this time around!!

5) By the time of the trip, DDs will be 5 and 8. I'm not sure how my younger one will be when it comes to roller coasters, but I know my eldest loves Space and Splash just as much as me. We also had a grand time on RSR and were fortunate to use Child Swap last time to ride it 7 times in 2.5 days!

6) Either way, I think we'll try to catch all the live entertainment this time: parades, shows, WOC, and Fantasmic!

7) I think I also want to try the Storyteller Cafe character breakfast, even though DDs probably won't recognize most of them. Maybe I'll also do Surf's Up. We enjoyed Goofy's last time, so maybe we'll go again.

8) I'm assuming we will want to go right to the park on Saturday, but we arrive too late to take advantage of MM or EMH. Mid-day/afternoons are still so busy and I know we get so much done in the mornings. So part of me thinks we should just have a Character dinner outside the park and use the 1/2 day of park admission instead on Tuesday to take advantage of EMH.

 

[smiles33]

Just found out there is a Grad Night party on Sat 6/7. Since we won't arrive until close to 3 pm, I think we will definitely skip going into the park the first day since students will be swarming both parks by late afternoon.

Instead, I think we will explore Downtown Disney (the kids had a great time at the Lego store last trip) and have a character dinner. Maybe Goofy's since we plan to stay at DLH? That way we can get up early Sunday and take advantage of EMH at DCA. Plus, we can use our MM at DL on Tuesday, our last 1/2 day, and leave after lunch when it gets busy there anyway.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi! Fun to see you are planning another DLR trip! I think DTD is a good idea for Grad Night. I'm sure most of the kids will be in the parks. DH's cousin, 20 had her Grad party at ESPN, but it was a "lock in" type party, so I don't think there would be that many kids running around everywhere, but some of the venues might be closed for Grad parties.

 

[smiles33]

Thanks for visiting again! I always smile when I see your signature photo. I'm thinking, if we get the DLH, that we'll spend some time in the pool and have dinner in DTD (assuming we can get into our room before 4 pm). Or maybe we'll do DTD shopping/browsing and then dinner at Goofy's Kitchen again. I can't decide!

Whoa, I just checked and HoJo's Kids' Suite for the same dates are $244/night?!?!? I still remember when I got that awesome deal that jory29 shared with us where we only paid $99/night for the HoJo Kids' Suite on our first trip in 2011!

 

[smiles33]

Poking around on the Character Dining thread has me thinking we will try Surf's Up at PPH for breakfast since it has such great character interaction. They offer breakfast 7-11 so I think we'll eat a cold breakfast in our room and then do a brunch around 10 am so we can get a lot done first.

As I mentioned above, we've been to Ariel's Grotto (AG) twice (only went the second time because ILs called unexpectedly that day to treat us to it), Goofy's Kitchen (GK) and Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza Inn. AG had limited character interaction and ho-hum food. GK was much better, with great characters and better food. Minnie's had great characters but terrible cafeteria food. Fingers crossed that Surf's Up will match our great Goofy's experience.

I may even add a dinner at GK again, as I do love character meals and we're definitely staying at DLH now! Last time we did 3 character meals and it was a wonderful way to enhance our park experience (even if 2 of the 3 didn't knock our socks off). I'm debating whether it's worth trying Storyteller, since my girls won't recognize most (if any?) of the characters.

 

[smiles33]

This trip is HAPPENING! I have:

- Booked a Deluxe Pool/Resort view room at the Disneyland Hotel (WOO HOO! Our first on-site stay)
- Purchased 3 day hoppers with a 4th day free from Orbitz (with ebates 10% cash back--hooray again!)
- Purchased character meal vouchers from Orbitz (thank you ebates!) to use at Surf's Up and Goofy's
- Updated my Google documents with confirmation numbers and new "goals" (e.g., do we dare spend the time to wait in line for the Frozen M&G?)


Still waiting to do the following:

- Wait until April to book character meal reservations and either Cafe Orleans or Blue Bayou (will DDs appreciate BB?)
- Wait until April to find out park operating hours and showtimes
- Wait until May if I decide to splurge on Fantasmic dessert seating (still not sure if my sensitive DDs will like it or bury their heads in my shoulder)

 

[smiles33]

I recently posted a thread on the general board re: worthwhile splurges at DLR and someone posted about the cabana rental at DLH. Since we're going during prime season, I'm leaning heavily towards booking one of the 3 next to the Monorail slides. My DDs like water (but it's been a year since they last had swimming lessons) and DD4 (who turns 5 3 days before our trip) can't swim a lap yet. But the DLH operator I spoke to says they do have life jackets.

I also see from threads here that they don't allow parents to "catch" the child at the bottom of the slide or jointly slide down, so I'm still wavering on whether it's worth spending $150 (or so) on 4 hour cabana rental. You can only book 60 days out and there are only 6 total so I think I will still call at the 60 day mark and find out the cancellation policy. In the meantime, as soon as it warms up, I'm taking both girls to our local water park to see how they do! I know my older one, DD7 (who will be 8 by then) will have a blast but unsure about the little one....

 

[luulu1999]

Following along!! We are going in July and it can't get here fast enough!! I am torn about doing F! Dessert package....we are going to watch the show but I don't know about spending that much and my 5&6 year old prob won't even really eat it, so we may just go to the last show and get better seats.

 

[smiles33]

Hi Luulu! Thanks for visiting! I'm so excited about our summer trip.

It's so hard deciding ahead of time what might work given kids' unpredictability. I decided to skip F! since my DDs are sensitive (don't think they'll like the "scary" dragon). I hope to see F! on some future trip when they're older. Hope you have a great time in July!

 

[smiles33]

Here's what I'm thinking will be our proposed schedule:

SATURDAY: arrive in the afternoon and check wait times on Mousewait to see which park is busier. It's a Grad Night, so I suspect grads will be in DLR since they have to be in DCA later in the evening. I normally would have just made this a pool day/DTD/Goofy's Kitchen day, but the Orbitz deal for 4 days in the park for the price of 3 (plus 10% cashback) was too good to resist. So I may just use this afternoon to go see Aladdin, the Disney Jr. show, play in the Animation Building, etc. You know, stuff that teens don't want to do! Then we can call it an early night and have dinner at Goofy's before heading to bed early so we can be up bright and early on Sunday for EMH. Of course, if we eat at 6, then it's possible my 7 year old and I might go back to the park for one last round of thrill rides that my 4 year old can't/doesn't want to go on. I just don't know how crazy it will be with the grads in the parks since those are the same rides THEY want to go on. But if I can get some FP when we first arrive, it may just be worth it!

SUNDAY: EMH at DCA. I don't know if my 4 year old is going to want to go on RSR. So, if she says no, then we go on TSMM and then after that, while DH takes DD4 to the carousel next door, DD7 and I will go on CS as she's finally tall enough). Now, if DD4 is open to trying RSR, we can use the wide right technique to try to walk-on first and then go to TSMM and CS. I'm leaning toward the first strategy, TSMM and CS, then going back to stand in the FP line for RSR so we don't waste our time standing in the standby line for RSR (especially if it breaks down on us while we're waiting!).

Since it's a Sunday, and I'm guessing it will be very crowded, I want to leave around 10 am for a late breakfast at Surf's Up. Before heading to that character meal, I hope to hop over to DL to get FP for Space or Splash before breakfast (assuming it's a 2 hour return time or later), or even BTMRR if it's open by June (it should be, right?). I haven't ridden BTMRR since 2011, as it was closed during our April 2013 trip. Then when we head back to the parks, it will be straight to DL.

MONDAY: EMH at DCA again. We will see what worked on Sunday. This is the day I want to try to get our M&Gs in since I'm hoping the heavy summer crowds won't be here on a Monday yet since it's still early June. Then again, I know some schools get out in May so it could just be crazy busy our entire trip! I know we will have EMH to do FL rides on Tuesday, so it may be that we use this early morning to get our fill of TSMM, CS, and RSR again.

TUESDAY: EMH at DL. This is our only EMH at DL since we arrive too late on Saturday. I'm hoping we can hit the FL rides we haven't made it to yet. Then again, since it will be our fourth day, it's possible I may go solo to EMH (or DD7 may join me) and we just ride Space Mountain repeatedly. I remember on our first family trip in April 2011, I went to MM alone and the CM let me just stay in the car and ride Space Mountain (I was the only one in my car!).

We have to check out of DLH by 11 so if the whole family makes it up for EMH, then I think we may store our bags at the bellhop and check out before we leave. This way we don't have to rush back to get out by 11. If DH and DD4 stay, then he can check us out and move the bags to the bellhop before joining us around 9 or 10 to do one more round of favorites and/or things we previously missed.

I'm debating whether we should save Surf's Up for this last day, so it's one last character meal to end our trip. We did Goofy's on our last day before and that was a fun way to end the trip. Then again, we've been fortunate to go during "lower-season" times in April and September. This is our first summer trip and I'm bracing myself for big crowds on the weekends AND weekdays. We also need to drive home this day, so I think we want to be on the road by 12 anyway to avoid the LA rush hour traffic (though we'll hit it in our area later that evening).

I may just post this proposed itinerary on the planning forum to get more feedback!

 

[smiles33]

It's now April and less than 60 days to go! I've booked Surf's Up for breakfast, Goofy's for dinner, Cafe Orleans for dinner, and a pool cabana at the DLH. Things are moving forward and fingers crossed, but I think we really will get to tour without any wheels this year. DH's hip seems to be holding up without pain, but who knows whether he can do 5+ miles of walking per day? So I will still keep Deckert's on speed dial in case I need to rent an ECV for him on day 2.

WOO HOO! The trip is nearing but the girls still don't know. DD7 actually said last week, "When are we going to Disneyland again? Last year we had the surprise trip in April!"

I had to suppress a smile. Fortunately, DH answered for me, "Disneyland costs a lot of money so we have to save up to go. We will see."

So the big question is: do we wait to reveal our trip after we're in the car? Do we reveal a week or so in advance so they can both get excited and watch YouTube videos of the rides?

What to do???

 

[smiles33]

One week to go! Latest update: DH was hospitalized earlier in the week for an intestinal infection but is doing better. He likely will still be on his antibiotics during our trip! But it isn't being canceled so I'm THRILLED.

We cancelled DD4's birthday party today as a result of DH's illness, so we opted to tell both girls TODAY we are doing to DLR. Hooray! After watching the YouTube videos, DD4 insists she wants to try RSR, BTMRR, Goofy's Sky School...We will see how brave she is once we are there.

 

[luulu1999]

How exciting!!! We still have 54 days to go!! Can't wait to read your report when you get back!!

 

[smiles33]

We came back last night and are all exhausted. It was a good trip but since it was our 3rd, I didn't feel the same pressure to go, go, go. For instance, we only got about 50 PP+ photos for a 4 day trip (2 were 1/2 days, though, with only 3-4 hours in the park). I didn't make a point to stop at every PP this trip, since we did so many of the shots last year. Instead, I really decided to focus on ride photos (we got 9 ride photos, but should have been 10 but the TOT camera didn't take a photo). We also did 2 character meals so I felt like PP+ was still worthwhile for us.

DH wrote his trip report on his alumni site again and beat me to it. I plan to do more of a play-by-play report later, but here's his TR for now:

D3: The Wheels Come Off!

My official TR will start in the next post!

 

[smiles33]

OFFICIAL JUNE 2014 TR STARTS HERE!

This was our third family trip, first ever summer visit, first trip without a stroller for DDs, and first family stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Our prior two trips had been at the Howard Johnson in their Kids' Suites, but I was less enamored with them on my second visit (it was also twice as expensive) so I decided to splurge on an on-site stay. We had hoped not to rent an ECV on this trip, since DH's hip has recovered fairly well from his hip surgery one year ago. However, I have a stress fracture in my left hip from kickboxing class that hasn't fully healed. I just finished 3 months of physical therapy so I decided I would rent an ECV just for the 2 full days we had in the parks (Sunday and Monday) from Dechert's. I assumed DH and I could switch off since we both have bad hips, but mine ached so much he ended up insisting I take the ECV full-time.

I had been planning this trip for months, visiting DISBoards daily to scout out the latest planning tips, figuring out the refurbishments (Space Mountain was announced too late for us to change our dates!) and jumping on special deals (like getting our park hoppers and character meal vouchers via the Orbitz 20% cash back deal).

In the months leading up to our June 7-10 trip, I purchased PP+ voucher, reserved a cabana at the DLH, and made 3 reservations for meals (Goofy's Kitchen dinner on arrival day, Cafe Orleans dinner on Monday, and Surf's Up breakfast/brunch on our departure day). But then in the last month before the trip, we had a number of serious challenges (including DH being hospitalized overnight after 14 hours in the ER). Our DLR trip was put on the back burner and at one point, I thought it was going to have to be postponed.

So when we finally got the green light, it was only a week away! We had to cancel my younger DD's 5th birthday party the weekend before our trip due to DH's hospitalization, so we ended up telling the girls we were going to DLR and would celebrate DD5's birthday there. Thus, the girls were able to pack themselves (with my double-checking) and we all did so somewhat excitedly/frantically. I relied heavily on the same packing list in the PTR from page 1 of this report, but I felt rushed and worried that I was missing items. I usually like to pack 2-3 weeks in advance so I can make sure I have everything I need. Thankfully, I didn't forget anything important. I ended up bringing things we never used (like the glowsticks, since we returned home before it was dark) and we didn't need to use the bandaids, moleskin, etc. in the first aid pack we brought.

On the morning of our departure, once again, I woke up early (around 5 am?) and started preparing to pack our car for the drive south. We were able to get on the road by 7:30 am. Rather than stop at Tita's Pupuseria in Buttonwillow (which took over 90 minutes on our last trip, not justifiable even with cold beer and delicious pupusas), we ate an early lunch at Chipotle right before the Grapevine. They even had beer! Traffic was heavy in some parts (particularly by downtown), but we still pulled into the Disneyland Hotel entrance about 2 pm.

This is a photo of the girls watching cartoons on the TV by the guest registration. DH took it while I stood in line.

Check-in was fine, though I was disappointed that even though I noted on our reservation that we were celebrating our DD's 5th birthday, the CM didn't say a word or even offer me a button. At the end, when she was done telling me that I'd get a text when our room was ready, I realized that I had to ask for a birthday button. Others here on DISBoards have mentioned their children getting signed photos of princesses or Mickey, getting room upgrades, getting balloons, etc. I had secretly hoped we would get a signed photo of Elsa, DD5's favorite Disney character, but I also knew nothing is guaranteed. Still, it would have been nice if the CM had noticed we were celebrating a birthday and OFFERED the free birthday button without my having to ask for it.

Since our room wasn't ready at 2 pm, we left our bags with the bellmen and headed to Downtown Disney, where we took the Monorail to Tomorrowland. DD5 loved it, telling us, "We're flying! We're flying!" as we zoomed into the park. While I made a mad dash for Splash Mountain fast passes (which turned out to have a 5:50-6:50 return time), DH took the girls for ice cream.

Then since they were in Tomorrowland, he ushered them into line for Buzz. I managed to make it back from Splash in time to hop onto Buzz with them (the line was wrapped around by Pixie Hollow so they hadn't even entered the building yet).

We had a great time and it was a great introduction to "big kid" rides for DD5 (who stuck to tame rides like Dumbo, Little Mermaid, and Bug's Life rides on our previous 2 trips). She enjoyed shooting at the targets and did better than I expected!

After Buzz, we walked over to DCA. I grabbed Soarin' FP (with a 4:20 - 5:20 return) and then we split up. DD8 and I did Screamin' (which had only a 10 minute wait) while DH took DD5 on Ariel a few times. DD8 hadn't been tall enough to ride this on our last trip, so she was super excited but you can't see her in the photo at all because she was leaning forward too much!

Then we met up at Soarin' but since our FP return time hadn't come up yet, we had a quick break at Taste Pilots Grill (sangria for me, beer for DH, and juice boxes for the DDs). D5 LOVED Soarin'. She kept squealing, "Kick them in the head! Kick, kick, kick!" as we "flew" over people. After Soarin', we rushed to DLH for our 5:30 dinner reservation at Goofy's. I'll post about that very disappointing meal tomorrow.

 

[smiles33]

When we showed up at Goofy's, the girls took a photo with Goofy and then we were shown to our table. DH and I declined to join--I was too flushed and disheveled from rushing over.

As we were shown to our table in the circular room on the far left of the restaurant, we saw Snow White making her way around to our table. So we had the girls pose for a photo with her before we left to get food. Her makeup is quite weird--way too pale for her, right?

After maybe 10 minutes, Minnie showed up.

Jasmine had been making her way around the way from the other side of the room so when she saw Minnie at our table, she skipped us and went to the next table. But she never came back! Ugh.

The place was surprisingly busy for an early 5:30 dinner reservation, as I thought going early was our best bet. We were seated by the windowed alcove on the far left (it's like a circular room). We stayed about 1 hour, having finished our food in 30 minutes. The dinner buffet was okay. They had a carving station, several hot entrees and sides, the famous PBJ pizza plus the mac and cheese one (and two standard ones, pepperoni and cheese), etc. I tried a little scoop of many of the items but ultimately decided to just stick to the cold salad bar offerings (a good orzo pasta salad and smoked salmon).

The kids' selection has all standard fare (hot dogs, mac and cheese, spaghetti, pizza), so my DDs loved the mac and cheese and spaghetti with meatballs (turkey? I can't remember and didn't take photos of food). They were more than satisfied.

What was disappointing this trip is how few characters we saw. The girls only saw two (three if you count seeing Goofy at the beginning). There were 4 total (Jasmine and Dale were the two my girls missed).

When Dale came by, it was when the girls went to get food so just waved at me and kissed my hand before moving on. We likely could have stayed longer, as I don't think they kick you out at one hour, but we had Splash Mountain FP that expired at 6:50 so I wanted to use them. We left at 6:35 and it took us 30 minutes to get to Splash due to the heavy crowds. I was so relieved the CM let us in even though we were 5 minutes late. I told him the parade made the crowds on Main Street particularly bad!

While Goofy's is the best food of the 4 character meals we've had (Ariel's, Minnie's Breakfast, Goofy's and Surf's Up), the character interaction this time was really disappointing.

Note that we also ordered a birthday cake at Goofy's as we were celebrating DD5's 5th birthday. For $17 they served a thick slice of dry tasteless cake in a pink plastic treasure box with a princess flag and a foam "hand mirror." That was a disappointment to us, but DD5 loves her pink plastic box.

Then we rushed off to Splash Mountain, which DD8 loved last trip but DD5 was pretty terrified and declined to go again later in the trip. You can't see DD8 in this ride photo either, just her arms, as her head was blocked by the woman in front of her. This was DD8's first time riding Splash while sitting by herself instead of the back seat with me!

After Splash, we headed back to DLH since DD5 is usually in bed by 7:30 and it was already close to 7:30. We put her to bed and DH, DD8, and I stayed up reading a bit, but DD and I sat on the floor by the bathroom so we wouldn't have the overhead light on and keep DD5 awake. This is when I missed having the 2 room suite at HoJo, as we could lounge in comfort on a king-sized bed with all the lights on while DD5 slept in the kids' room had we stayed there again.

That was the end of Day 1!

 

[smiles33]

THOUGHTS ON DLH

So I think this deserves its own post. Staying on-site is expensive at DLR, especially when you consider how close the off-site motels are. On our past 2 family trips to DLR, we stayed in a Kids' Suite at the Howard Johnson. I loved it our first trip: 2 rooms (1 with a comfortable king bed and 1 with bunk beds), 2 bathrooms, a microwave, and a mini-fridge all for only $99/night (thanks again to jory29 for giving us her reservation at that amazing special rate).

On our second trip, it was about $180/night, which was still a great deal for 2 rooms just 8 minutes from the Esplanade. I looked into it for our third trip but it was $244/night. That price really surprised me. On our last trip, the carpet looked dingier, the ambient hotel noise from other guests seemed louder, and I realized that the bloom was off the rose. I really didn't think it was worth that much. Plus, it made the difference between HoJo Kids' Suite and on-site rates that much lower. So I decided to splurge on DLH. Plus, the pool and waterslides looked amazing at DLH.

Here's my breakdown comparing the two.

Pros for DLH:
* Early Magic Hour access, however CS and TSMM were both down on both of our EMH mornings in DCA so we spent the time in RSR stand-by, which I would prefer to do via FP. So it wasn't as helpful as I had hoped it to be.
* Amazing water slides for kids (though my girls never played at the HoJo's water area because they took naps)
* Ability to order cocktails while sitting poolside (though it took HUGE efforts to flag down wait staff every time we wanted to order when we rented a cabana, so I was quite annoyed about that)
* Ability to order room service (which we never do so it's not a huge pro for us)
* Disney theming (Mickey ear faucet handles, lamp bases, etc.)

Neutral/Push comparing DLH and HoJo:
* Service. I thought DLH service would be amazing, but it wasn't any better than HoJo. I had to actually ask for a birthday button for my 5 year old, even though I made sure it was noted on the reservation when I booked the room. No special Disney magic at all for us. We also didn't get any towel animals, which I thought folks here mentioned DLH staff made for them.
* Location. I hated pushing through the crowds in DTD walking to the Esplanade, compared to walking from HoJo when you cross right at Manchester and have the sidewalk to yourself. But there aren't homeless people in DTD so I think it's a push between the two. The monorail was not as advantageous as I had hoped, as it only went to Tomorrowland and sometimes had a long line.

Cons for DLH:
* Very expensive
* Heightened expectations which weren't met, for us (I expected higher level service, special little touches, etc.)
* Lower value. Room had 2 queen beds, 1 sink, 1 toilet, 1 bathtub, 1 mini-fridge (without the freezer compartment) and no coffeemaker (at least none that I could find!) compared to HoJo's King bed, bunk beds, sofa bed, 2 sinks, 2 toilets, 2 bathtubs, Keurig, microwave and mini-fridge.


Thus, I don't think we'll be staying on-site again anytime soon. I'd rather stay at HoJo in a Kids' Suite with more space. If we can ever get a deal on a villa at GC, that might be worth splurging on but I don't want to do a family trip in a standard hotel room again.

 

[smiles33]

Oops, it looks like I never came back to finish the TR! We left DL with a deeply disappointed feeling given the lackluster stay at DLH. It also didn't seem as "magical" for our DDs, so I figured we wouldn't be back for a while (if ever).

Yet DH surprised me a few weeks ago and decided to do a surprise weekend getaway THIS upcoming weekend, Feb. 5-7! He said he realized DD6 is growing up fast and at this age, DL IS still magical. So he wanted to do a trip before she, too, starts to realize that the characters are "just" actors.

We will focus on Tomorrowland with the Star Wars overlay (I KNOW it will still be crazy), as well as drop by the Lunar New Year celebration as Mulan is my favorite character. This year we plan to fly down, instead of driving, so that will be a treat, too, as the girls love flights!

I'll try to make sure to actually do a TR and perhaps even finish the old TR if I can find my old notes/photos!