Well, where do I begin????
Ok, lets get started. Family consists of DW, DS(7), DD(5) and me DD!
Day 1: Surprised kids with a limo to the airport and that was a huge hit!!! Our neighbor travels often and they have always wanted to go in a limo so we splurged a little. Once we arrived a John Wayne airport, the only way to go in my opinion, we got a taxi to the DL hotel. We were able to check in right away in the Marina tower and get a room overlooking the parking lot, but you can also see the fireworks from this view. We went swimming then went to Goofy's kitchen for a kick off dinner. We were able to meet, Goofy, Pluto, Mulin, Alladain, Mini, and Chip. Dinner was ok, but not great. No biggie, I think we were just tired. It was 5:00 there, but 7:00 at home and we are normally winding down by then. We went back to the room at 6:30 and put the kids straight to bed. We had a plan of attack for EE then next day Monday!
Day 2: EE day #1. Kids wake up at 4:00am, 6:00 our time, uuggghhh, but we manage to get them back to sleep for a little while. Anyways wanted to be at the gates at 6:30, but we didn't leave the hotel early enough and they did not let people through the security check point until 6:45, When we got to the gate we were about 20th. We went straight to FL, and managed to ride PP, Dumbo twice, Alice, Mattahorn, tea cups, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Carousel, Buzz three times, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice and had fast passes for Splash, Indy, and Big Thunder all by 10:00am. We walked onto every ride. It was GREAT! My wife just said, tell us where to go. I followed everyone’s advice on here and it worked to PERFECTION
By that time, they were exhausted, I was on a mission, LOL. I know the rest of the day went to Billy Hill and had some lunch, went back to the hotel, swam, then went back for the late parade, its a small world, and used our fast passes. Son was scared on Indy and I could not get him on it again the rest of the trip. Home early for Nemo the next day. Oh by the way, kids LOVED Splash, but daughter got soaked and did not like having wet tennis shoes. Oh well, poor planning.
Day 3: Nemo
Well I knew how important it was to make sure you were at the gate early, so I was there at 6:15. I was first in front of gate 9. Once they let us in, we took off running with everyone else. Well as I have said before, I am VERY pooh sized and wife is not, but does not workout so we were beat by the end of Main Street, LOL. We managed to make it on the second Sub, not a bad wait, but I do not think it would be worth the wait most people are doing. Some cool effects, but ok in my opinion. By the way, the 1st monorail did not arrive until we were just about to board the first sub. I would bet there wait was at least and hour or more, so you really need to go the gate. Following Hounds advice on Jedi Academy, we brought my sons Anakin Skywalker Halloween costume with. We stood on the Nemo side and were there a 1/2 hour early and were standing right up front. Now here's the cool part, a lady and a coupe of guys came up to my son and asked if he was a big Star Wars Fan. Of course he was, look at his costume, well they were filming a commercial to air in the hotels and asked if they could film him and ask him some questions about his experience afterwards, of course we said yes. He got to fight Darth Vader and also use the force on the Storm Troopers. He had a BLAST!!! We have been practicing those moves since he has been back. The rest of the day was swimming and a few various rides at DCA. We were in early tonight since I wore them out the day before.
Day #3, Last day in parks and Fireworks. Started the day at Toontown for early entry to that part and were selected as Family of the day. We got to go up front with the Mayor and all the Characters. Very cool. Then my DW and DD did Princess Fantasy Fair, why my son and I rode a few rides. Meet up with them and went over to DCA. There we meet a GREAT CM named Dan, who was celebrating his 49th birthday again
He made my kids honoree citizens, gave them both two Tinkerbell Pins and told them they could keep or trade one of them and had to just give the other one away to a stranger to someone in the park before we left. He then called over to Aladdin and got us VIP seating and even wished he could take us back stage for his party later, but said Disney would not allow that. He was just a GREAT guy. We did give the two pins away and my son was so proud he made a little girls day when he gave her his. She had just told her mom she was going to get a Tinkerbell pin. Went back to the hotel to swim and take a break, then went back at 7:15 for Fireworks. We ate at the River ?something, at the end of Main Street on the right before Tomorrowland and stayed there for the fireworks. GREAT VIEW!!! It was a little hard to hear the music, but the view was great and the refills were FREE!!!! 
After that my DS and I stayed out a little later since he was 7 years old now you know and rode Jungle cruise, Big Thunder, and Buzz before he was tired and wanted to go. It was about 11:15 when we left and we had just spent three very busy days in the park.
Day 4: Return Home. Nothing big except if you are going to John Wayne Airport give yourself plenty of time. We waited longer in line there than any ride at DL just to get through security.
Random thoughts:
Carnation Cafe, Love that place for Breakfast. It also has FREE refills.
Billy Hills, Great Show and the cake I took to the hotel one day was GREAT and ate it over the next two nights before bed, LOL.
Crowds: I thought were pretty heavy. If we didn't have fast passes, I do not think we would have ridden much in the afternoons and early evenings. Most rides were 40 minutes plus.
DL Hotel: Not a bad hotel, but I do not think I would stay there again unless you really want EE everyday it is offered. It really is not much closer than the good neighbor hotels and for the price difference I would chose those next time. The reason I didn't this time was to do Nemo one day and FL the other. That worked out perfect!
Being Pooh Sized: My biggest nightmare did not come true! I was able to ride EVERYTHING I wanted. Some were a tight fit, but no big deal really. I did not ride everything however, if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
Weather: Great. A little warm, but nothing worse than we get in Chicago. Of course we did swim everyday to cool off.
Fast Passes: Got to use them. Remember Grizzle River is not connected which is a HUGE plus. Every time you can get more, get them. Save all fast passes for later in the day when crowds are high. We gave away a ton we were not going to use. It made other happy. It is a nice gesture which cost you nothing.
CM: What Great people. Didn't meet one that was not polite or helpful. I told my wife that would be a great job to have when you are retired but still want to be active. Something to consider down the road.
DTD: A little over rated in my opinion. I do not like to shop and really thought most things were over priced, but again I know we are at DL.
Transportation: We took a Taxi from the airport. It was $42 including the tip on the way home, and $47 on the way there. WE had the driver stop at a grocery store so we could pick up some snacks and drinks. Worth the $5.00 extra.
Photopass: Really did not take advantage of this. My wife got the card at the Princess fair and they took a TON of pictures, but the princess she got to see were not her favorites, Belle, Mulin, and Jasmine.
Shortcut: There is a great little short cut as you are leaving FL going towards Fronterland. As you are headed towards the castle from FL, there is a little passage to your right. Follow that and come out next to a pavilion that leads to another building where their are bathrooms and a Mexican restaurant. Turn left before entering the restaurant and you are their, right next to the Golden Horseshoe.
Kids liked the Jr. Chef and the Dole Whips. Corndog was great.
Can't think about much else. Please feel free to ask any questions and I will be glad to help.
Ok, lets get started. Family consists of DW, DS(7), DD(5) and me DD!Day 1: Surprised kids with a limo to the airport and that was a huge hit!!! Our neighbor travels often and they have always wanted to go in a limo so we splurged a little. Once we arrived a John Wayne airport, the only way to go in my opinion, we got a taxi to the DL hotel. We were able to check in right away in the Marina tower and get a room overlooking the parking lot, but you can also see the fireworks from this view. We went swimming then went to Goofy's kitchen for a kick off dinner. We were able to meet, Goofy, Pluto, Mulin, Alladain, Mini, and Chip. Dinner was ok, but not great. No biggie, I think we were just tired. It was 5:00 there, but 7:00 at home and we are normally winding down by then. We went back to the room at 6:30 and put the kids straight to bed. We had a plan of attack for EE then next day Monday!
Day 2: EE day #1. Kids wake up at 4:00am, 6:00 our time, uuggghhh, but we manage to get them back to sleep for a little while. Anyways wanted to be at the gates at 6:30, but we didn't leave the hotel early enough and they did not let people through the security check point until 6:45, When we got to the gate we were about 20th. We went straight to FL, and managed to ride PP, Dumbo twice, Alice, Mattahorn, tea cups, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Carousel, Buzz three times, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain twice and had fast passes for Splash, Indy, and Big Thunder all by 10:00am. We walked onto every ride. It was GREAT! My wife just said, tell us where to go. I followed everyone’s advice on here and it worked to PERFECTION
By that time, they were exhausted, I was on a mission, LOL. I know the rest of the day went to Billy Hill and had some lunch, went back to the hotel, swam, then went back for the late parade, its a small world, and used our fast passes. Son was scared on Indy and I could not get him on it again the rest of the trip. Home early for Nemo the next day. Oh by the way, kids LOVED Splash, but daughter got soaked and did not like having wet tennis shoes. Oh well, poor planning. Day 3: Nemo
Well I knew how important it was to make sure you were at the gate early, so I was there at 6:15. I was first in front of gate 9. Once they let us in, we took off running with everyone else. Well as I have said before, I am VERY pooh sized and wife is not, but does not workout so we were beat by the end of Main Street, LOL. We managed to make it on the second Sub, not a bad wait, but I do not think it would be worth the wait most people are doing. Some cool effects, but ok in my opinion. By the way, the 1st monorail did not arrive until we were just about to board the first sub. I would bet there wait was at least and hour or more, so you really need to go the gate. Following Hounds advice on Jedi Academy, we brought my sons Anakin Skywalker Halloween costume with. We stood on the Nemo side and were there a 1/2 hour early and were standing right up front. Now here's the cool part, a lady and a coupe of guys came up to my son and asked if he was a big Star Wars Fan. Of course he was, look at his costume, well they were filming a commercial to air in the hotels and asked if they could film him and ask him some questions about his experience afterwards, of course we said yes. He got to fight Darth Vader and also use the force on the Storm Troopers. He had a BLAST!!! We have been practicing those moves since he has been back. The rest of the day was swimming and a few various rides at DCA. We were in early tonight since I wore them out the day before.Day #3, Last day in parks and Fireworks. Started the day at Toontown for early entry to that part and were selected as Family of the day. We got to go up front with the Mayor and all the Characters. Very cool. Then my DW and DD did Princess Fantasy Fair, why my son and I rode a few rides. Meet up with them and went over to DCA. There we meet a GREAT CM named Dan, who was celebrating his 49th birthday again
He made my kids honoree citizens, gave them both two Tinkerbell Pins and told them they could keep or trade one of them and had to just give the other one away to a stranger to someone in the park before we left. He then called over to Aladdin and got us VIP seating and even wished he could take us back stage for his party later, but said Disney would not allow that. He was just a GREAT guy. We did give the two pins away and my son was so proud he made a little girls day when he gave her his. She had just told her mom she was going to get a Tinkerbell pin. Went back to the hotel to swim and take a break, then went back at 7:15 for Fireworks. We ate at the River ?something, at the end of Main Street on the right before Tomorrowland and stayed there for the fireworks. GREAT VIEW!!! It was a little hard to hear the music, but the view was great and the refills were FREE!!!! After that my DS and I stayed out a little later since he was 7 years old now you know and rode Jungle cruise, Big Thunder, and Buzz before he was tired and wanted to go. It was about 11:15 when we left and we had just spent three very busy days in the park. Day 4: Return Home. Nothing big except if you are going to John Wayne Airport give yourself plenty of time. We waited longer in line there than any ride at DL just to get through security.
Random thoughts:
Carnation Cafe, Love that place for Breakfast. It also has FREE refills.
Billy Hills, Great Show and the cake I took to the hotel one day was GREAT and ate it over the next two nights before bed, LOL.
Crowds: I thought were pretty heavy. If we didn't have fast passes, I do not think we would have ridden much in the afternoons and early evenings. Most rides were 40 minutes plus.
DL Hotel: Not a bad hotel, but I do not think I would stay there again unless you really want EE everyday it is offered. It really is not much closer than the good neighbor hotels and for the price difference I would chose those next time. The reason I didn't this time was to do Nemo one day and FL the other. That worked out perfect!
Being Pooh Sized: My biggest nightmare did not come true! I was able to ride EVERYTHING I wanted. Some were a tight fit, but no big deal really. I did not ride everything however, if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
Weather: Great. A little warm, but nothing worse than we get in Chicago. Of course we did swim everyday to cool off.
Fast Passes: Got to use them. Remember Grizzle River is not connected which is a HUGE plus. Every time you can get more, get them. Save all fast passes for later in the day when crowds are high. We gave away a ton we were not going to use. It made other happy. It is a nice gesture which cost you nothing.
CM: What Great people. Didn't meet one that was not polite or helpful. I told my wife that would be a great job to have when you are retired but still want to be active. Something to consider down the road.
DTD: A little over rated in my opinion. I do not like to shop and really thought most things were over priced, but again I know we are at DL.
Transportation: We took a Taxi from the airport. It was $42 including the tip on the way home, and $47 on the way there. WE had the driver stop at a grocery store so we could pick up some snacks and drinks. Worth the $5.00 extra.
Photopass: Really did not take advantage of this. My wife got the card at the Princess fair and they took a TON of pictures, but the princess she got to see were not her favorites, Belle, Mulin, and Jasmine.
Shortcut: There is a great little short cut as you are leaving FL going towards Fronterland. As you are headed towards the castle from FL, there is a little passage to your right. Follow that and come out next to a pavilion that leads to another building where their are bathrooms and a Mexican restaurant. Turn left before entering the restaurant and you are their, right next to the Golden Horseshoe.
Kids liked the Jr. Chef and the Dole Whips. Corndog was great.
Can't think about much else. Please feel free to ask any questions and I will be glad to help.
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