Wally World or Bust! A Goody Cross Country Adventure (Pre Trip and Trip Report July 2017)

Sounds like a great road trip. We're driving out west for our first DLR experience as well. We'll be at the parks in June, driving from North Carolina, to Vegas (to pick up the kids), then on to DLR. We'll reverse the trip on the way back with a few days in Vegas before we head back. I LOVE the drive along old route 66. It's one of my bucket list items to ride my motorcycle on I40, end to end (from Wilmington, NC to Barstow, CA), then head down to the start of Rt 66 and ride it back east. We've driven I40 from Carolina to AZ now a handful of times (since both kids are out west) and it's beautiful country. You can also lay down some serious miles with a 75 mph speed limit. I always say my favorite state welcome sign is that Texas 75 mph speed limit sign. :)
 
Sounds like a great road trip. We're driving out west for our first DLR experience as well. We'll be at the parks in June, driving from North Carolina, to Vegas (to pick up the kids), then on to DLR. We'll reverse the trip on the way back with a few days in Vegas before we head back. I LOVE the drive along old route 66. It's one of my bucket list items to ride my motorcycle on I40, end to end (from Wilmington, NC to Barstow, CA), then head down to the start of Rt 66 and ride it back east. We've driven I40 from Carolina to AZ now a handful of times (since both kids are out west) and it's beautiful country. You can also lay down some serious miles with a 75 mph speed limit. I always say my favorite state welcome sign is that Texas 75 mph speed limit sign. :)
Thank you! How long are you taking total? We did the drive along Route 66 on our honeymoon too so we know of some good places to stop for lunch and stuff to entertain the kids!
 
Ok first you are more then welcome to do reservations at 60 days out however you don't necessarily need to. Unless it is a super packed time like the holidays you can get ressies at most places literally the week of or even the day before and sometimes even day of. One of the things I LOVE about DL vs DW. If you are worried at all though go ahead and make them 60 days out then you know you will have them. DL however does not put their hours up until literally the last min. 1 to 2 months out tops sometimes less. If it is summer the park should open at 8 every day but possibly 9. I am pretty sure 8 though because of course it being summer and they should stay open till 11 or 12 every night. Summer is their high season and they have long hours. The fireworks "should" be playing every night as well. As will the parades. Again they have changed a lot lately and esp with the construction but that is how it always has been. Summer is a HUGE time for the parks and they usually have all the entertainment going every day. The restaurants you really need to worry about are things like Blue Bayou. I would make one for carnation cafe or cafe orleans and plaza is a good idea but you don't necessarily need it months in advance. That is a character meal did you know that? And don't waste your magic morning on that. Do that on a day you aren't doing mm.

As far as early entries if you get them with your passes use them. If you are not staying onsite the only magic morning you will get is DL. I believe you can do that any day of the week. They did a thing for hotel guests that had early entry to each park but it was on different days. You may need to ask because I am not sure if they are still doing it but with most of the park hoppers you get 1 magic morning and again I am pretty sure you can use it any day. IF they are still doing early entry for hotel guests to DCA you will want to find out which days that is and go on a day that is not ee but then again I have heard that they may get to do it any day so you need to ask someone who has done it recently. We haven't stayed onsite in a few years and I think it has changed.

If you have a magic morning use it. I would head straight to Fantasyland and do Peter Pan first. It is not much different then DW and DW has a much better que. But the line gets horrendous. As soon as you get off of that I would send your dh or whoever to go get the first fast pass that you are interested in. Since you will be near tomorrowland I would recommend Space. Then it will tell you on the FP when you can get your next one. Sometimes it is not till after you use the first one but sometimes it is 2 hours. Depends. But the early morning is THE best time to get the most done.

You can easily get a lot of the big stuff done in the first few hours. We still get FP though as we go to get the ball rolling. So for example we would get one for space and then do more of FL or some of TL like buzz or you can try and go on star tours. Then just keep collecting those fp's as soon as you are able. Some of this may change if they go to max pass by then and if that is the case I am not sure what to tell you since no one really knows how that will affect things but I am sure some of the regulars will do a thread about it.

In the summer Splash gets really long as does Indy, Space and ST. I am not sure if they have one for Nemo. We have only done this a few times cuz it is in the subs. If you don't have a problem with tight spaces it is cool but I do and once or twice was enough for me. It is basically the same scenes though as the one in Epcot.

I am not sure about FP for the fireworks or Fantasmic. They may have added these but they didn't have them in the past. If you want to see a parade or the fireworks you need to get a spot but they have recently changed it to where you can't sit there for hours which is great. You just have to kind of watch when they start putting up the ropes then you can get a seat. If you do happen to get fantasmic (not sure if it will actually be back by this summer) but if it is then you can usually stay where you are at and see the fireworks. But to get the full experience you need to be on main street to see the projections. Also sometimes tink or dumbo fly through the air. They also have projections on small world.

One thing I recommend is getting fp and doing the big ones EARLY. FP do get used up for things like space and splash. I would do space, star tours, then head over and do splash and indy and possibly thunder mountain. Get FP if there is a line and then do smaller stuff while you are waiting. You can always get more FP for them to use later. You will be glad you didn't wait though cuz after noon sometimes the return times are much later in the evening. Not sure if you are a close the park type person but we aren't. We like to get there early and do as much as possible then leave either after fireworks or if we have seen them sometimes leave earlier.

Same theory applies with DCA. FIRST FP you are going to want to get is Radiator Springs. Then I would get Frozen and then World of Color. Some of those aren't connected. Another one you will want is Soaring. If the new Guardians of the Galaxy is open you will prob want one for that as well. Toy story does not have it so you will have to wait. Also RSR you can do standby early and even single rider. Much quicker. If you like roller coasters Screamin is a must and we also get a fp for that as well. If you can afford it doing a meal and getting WOC seating is a good deal. Also they used to have Fantasmic desert parties. Spendy but well worth it.

It is a whole different animal than dw. Much more on the fly but if you have a good plan you can get a lot done.

Thank you!! This is so helpful!! "On the fly" so isn't me lol!!! But with planning a trip cross country.... by the time I reach California, I think I will be in a much more relaxed mind set and the "on the fly" will probably work out for the best!!
 


World of Color dessert party costs $79/person regardless of age. Guarantees you a seat at a table with 2 drinks (alcoholic ones, if you choose, for the adults) plus a plate of desserts. You have to pay in full when you reserve. There's more info at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/world-of-color-dessert-party/. If you cancel, you have to cancel at least 24 hours in advance.
Thank you - if we were not driving cross country first and just going to Disneyland then the cost wouldn't matter as much - but DL is one of our stops on this road trip so it sounds like we should just line up and try to get a good spot for WOC! One thing I love about DW is that there are so many free options to see the fireworks or shows and avoid the crowds (4th floor from Contemporary - or while having an amazing dinner at California grill... or sitting on the beach at the Poly hotel ... I am surprised Disneyland doesn't have something like that!?
 


During July, Disneyland usually opens at 8am for regular park opening. Magic Morning/Extra Magic Hour at DL is only on Tues, Thurs, and Saturday. So going to DL on a Wed with an 8:00 am park opening and no MM/EMH that day, you will NOT be able to get a breakfast reservation at the Plaza Inn for 7:00 am.

I would actually recommend that you NOT waste valuable ride time in those first 2 hours (8:00 - 10:00 am) eating breakfast. Eat something "grab and go" in your hotel room early that morning. Be in line at the park entrance by 7:30 am. Go on rides from 8-10 am. Then have a late breakfast with Minnie & friends at 10:00 am.

FP are not available for fireworks. During the summer, they do have fireworks every night, but fireworks can often be cancelled because of high winds. So just plan on that possibility.

So I called Disneyland Dining and they said that it doesn't matter if I am staying at the resort. I will be able to get a 7AM reservation for breakfast if it is a EMH Day and the park opens at 7 for EMH and 8 for regular guests. She said to go to the front and their will be a cast member that has a sign for dining reservations and they will let us in for our reservation. If we did this we would eat in advance of the 8AM park opening and then be in the park already! What do you think?
 
So I called Disneyland Dining and they said that it doesn't matter if I am staying at the resort. I will be able to get a 7AM reservation for breakfast if it is a EMH Day and the park opens at 7 for EMH and 8 for regular guests. She said to go to the front and their will be a cast member that has a sign for dining reservations and they will let us in for our reservation. If we did this we would eat in advance of the 8AM park opening and then be in the park already! What do you think?

That will only work if Disneyland has EMH that day. For example, according to the historical park hours on the DIS (click the link here), that particular Wednesday in July last year (2016), Disneyland did not have EMH. Only DCA did. Same thing in 2015. No EMH at Disneyland on a Wednesday...only at DCA.

Your plan will likely only work for a 7am breakfast at the Plaza Inn if it's on a Tuesday, Thursday, or a Saturday.
 
Thank you! How long are you taking total? We did the drive along Route 66 on our honeymoon too so we know of some good places to stop for lunch and stuff to entertain the kids!

We'll be gone a total of 18 days. Our trip out and back will be long days that we've done in the past. It's just me, my wife and our dogs until Vegas, so we're pretty much in power driving mode until then. The general plan will be to leave home after work on a Wednesday. We'll get a few hours in before we stop between Knoxville and Nashville. From there, we usually make it to Oklahoma. Then the next stop is typically around New Mexico. Then the last leg to Vegas is a pretty short day. We're usually up and on the road by 5am, I'm an early riser and I love the miles you can put on the road before the rest of the world and their shenanigans join us. We typically look to stop around dinner time, grab a sit down dinner, then hit the sack.

We may push things a bit this trip out, just because we want to be into Vegas either late Friday or very early Saturday. We're boarding our dogs in Vegas, while we're in Disney and their reservation runs Saturday to Saturday. We plan to hit the road very early Sunday morning for Anaheim. I've heard traffic is crazy from Vegas to CA on Sunday, so we hope to beat the foolishness by getting out early. I'll drive and the rest will probably sleep. We'll head back from Anaheim at the end of the week on Saturday morning. Then we'll hang out in Vegas (through the 4th), leaving that Thursday to head home. We'll take things a little easier on the way home, but will still likely make it home in 3 days, on Saturday. That way we have a recovery day on Sunday before I head back to work on Monday.
 
So I called Disneyland Dining and they said that it doesn't matter if I am staying at the resort. I will be able to get a 7AM reservation for breakfast if it is a EMH Day and the park opens at 7 for EMH and 8 for regular guests. She said to go to the front and their will be a cast member that has a sign for dining reservations and they will let us in for our reservation. If we did this we would eat in advance of the 8AM park opening and then be in the park already! What do you think?

Not sure what type of tickets you are using either but if you buy regular tickets 3 days or more you only get ONE EMH. Now one thing I am not sure is if you haven't used your EMH yet if they would make you use it for your breakfast but you don't want to do that. IF you use your EMH and then want to make your breakfast for ANOTHRER EMH day and you have already used yours then it would prob work because you wouldn't be able to get in early anyway then for THAT reason you could use that hour to eat and be there. I know it sounds tricky but you def don't want to waste your only EMH on eating.
 
Not sure what type of tickets you are using either but if you buy regular tickets 3 days or more you only get ONE EMH. Now one thing I am not sure is if you haven't used your EMH yet if they would make you use it for your breakfast but you don't want to do that. IF you use your EMH and then want to make your breakfast for ANOTHRER EMH day and you have already used yours then it would prob work because you wouldn't be able to get in early anyway then for THAT reason you could use that hour to eat and be there. I know it sounds tricky but you def don't want to waste your only EMH on eating.
Good point!!! Thank you - that would stink to waste it while we eat for sure!!
 
Good point!!! Thank you - that would stink to waste it while we eat for sure!!

Yea that is a great perk and if you guys are morning people I DEF recommend it. You can get a lot done in that hour. Now remember a lot of stuff is not open and you can't get fp during that time either. FP don't start till park opening BUT you can get all of fantasyland, tomorrowland and I believe some of Frontierland but not positive. I know that Adventureland is not open during EMH. You can perhaps find a post or google what is actually open but I know for sure Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Also even on the days you don't have EMH you want to be there for rope drop. A lot of time they will let you in for rope drop and you can wander around main street. Then you are there and can head straight to where you want to go. We try to do FL during EMH or first thing if not and then on the next day head somewhere else like space or splash. Even on the busiest of days you can usually get quite a bit done in those first few hours.

I agree with the person who said maybe have a snack and save your character meal for a late breakfast almost a brunch. You don't want to be wasting prime park hours on eating and that way you won't be rushed either to be able to spend plenty of time with the characters.
 
Also when you go to DCA same concept. I would figure out which day is NOT MM for the hotel guests and do DCA on one of those days. Head straight to the RSR FP and then you could always head to either WOC or Frozen. Frozen is newer and I would go there first. I am not sure how they are working it now as it has been since last summer when we went but it is very popular. Then after you get those 2 I would get WOC. With WOC you get a section color and I am pretty sure if you get there early doesn't matter which section you can try to get to the front of said section. That's the best strategy with that.

After those then I would get Soaring and then prob Guardians of the Galaxy and then Screamin. They also have it for Goofys sky school which I would get in the afternoon as it is a short ride but has a LONG wait.
 
Just a tip for when you are in Toronto if you park your car somewhere you should be able to use public transit to get around the downtown area. http://www.ttc.ca/ that's a link to the local public transit in Toronto and you can get most of your information from there.
 

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