How to do Disneyland right?

[suntan]

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I'm reserving the spot for Kert if he wants it. He's the most deserving.

That is very compassionate of you.

[benyl]

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No, I mean a park that feels empty.

I went to something that might fit the bill at WDW. The name changes every year, but it's basically Mickey's Christmas party. They close the park at 6PM to the plebs and from then to 10PM, you and a few less pleby people have access to the park.

The snacks are shit, but there is basically no line for any ride. You litterally walk up to the front and get on. I think we had to wait one or two boats for Splash Mountain. That was the longest line.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en...card-SpendLess

Can't remember what it cost, but it wasn't VIP pricing. I think it was maybe $50 more per person.

[mr2mike]

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They don't call it Anacrime for nothing.

Reminds me of swingers. Haha

[sabad66]

Finally booked a trip for October with the family, super pumped! First timers so anyone care to critique my plan?

Arrive Saturday evening - Chill/do something simple depending on how fussy kids are
Sunday - Park Hopper start at California Adventure
Monday - Park Hopper start at Disneyland?
Tuesday - Park Hopper start at California Adventure
Wednesday - Rent a car in morning and go to Lego Land
Thursday Afternoon - fly home

- will definitely add Genie+ and buy individual Lightning Lanes for the popular ones like Radiator Springs Racers
- 2 kids under 6, 1 boy 1 girl, they aren't very good walkers
- boy loves Cars, girl into typical princess stuff, we like Star Wars
- Sundays and Tuesdays there is a halloween thing, so they kick everyone out of California Adventure at 6ish i believe. So i guess best to Park Hop starting at CA on Sunday/Tuesday?
- Staying off site (10-15 min walk away) as I am not Beyond Baller status

Questions:
Should we do Park Hopper for all 3 days, or just do 1 park a day? And if just 1 park per day, which one should we do for the third day?
Kids are slow walkers / can't walk very far. Do we bring a wagon/stroller? do they rent them there or do i need to check one in luggage?
What's the best strategy for food? Are the options inside decent? Stampede like prices or worse? Or do people usually pack something in?

[killramos]

We did stroller for our 2 year old, bonus points for it being a mobile napping device. Note that that means you have to park it everywhere you go.pretty sure you can’t have wagons at Disney, like they are banned. Slim strollers only.

I would do 2 days Disneyland 1 day California adventure… Disneyland is way bigger and imo the better park.

IMO less is more. You don’t want to be lugging crap around Disneyland. The food is what it is, you can pre order on the app to make that a bit less painful. I didn’t find it offensively priced.

Expect to eat junk food at the park, maybe try and round out some healthier choices for meals for breakfast or lunch outside the park.

Downtown Disney is fun for your day 1, that and pool day ( make sure pools are open, Californians are weenies).

Dress to get wet. It always rains at Disney, and there are wet rides that make that worse. M

[ThePenIsMightier]

I don't recommend Park Hoppers anymore. It's convenient, but there is always a full day worth of entertainment at either park and standing in another line to get in to the second park is a poor use of time.
Strollers are for kids less than 2 in my opinion.
You will now starve if you don't use the dumb apps to pre-order food as they are very poorly set up to handle walk ups. Food is expensive but not totally bananas and the quality & variety are WAY better than 10 years ago. Taking food or a couple snacks in can help save a few bucks or avoid a meltdown, but not required.

Maybe they have changed it this year, but that Halloween thing sounded like a massive ripoff last year. Like $80 per kid to get a bag of candy filled up. LoL!! Plus, stay out of Cali Adventure on those promo days because they will boot you out early.

[Strider]

Just back from doing 3 days at Disney.

Don't park hop. Do Disneyland 2 days and CA on the day it doesn't close early.
You definitely want to be inside the park before rope drop and hit the rides before the lines get long. You can knock off all of the fantasyland rides in a little over an hour if you start there. Take advantage of rider switch and single rider lines for the rides the kids are too small for.

Killy is correct, wagons are banned. You can rent strollers there and tons of people do... but you might want to bring your own for the late walk home with the kids passed out.

Use mobile ordering for food wherever you can, it'll save you tons of time. The food isn't egregiously expensive, but it's not good for the price you pay. The birria toasted cheese was the best thing I ate there.

[mr2mike]

I wouldn't do park hopper with young kids. Maybe for the last day a park hopper but not needed for all 3 days.

Rancho del Zocalo in the park might be the best of the worst food options for sit-down lunches.

Download the app now and study the parks and get familiar with it all.
Genie+ is debatable with young kids but you can add it on the day of if you want.
100% get there before the park opens and get rope drop. I've crushed most of the days rides before 10am. Do the popular ones at that time. There's debate on Rise of Resistance, rush to that first or not. Basically, get 3 rides in or wait it out of Rise or Resistance. Up to you. We chose to wait and do it later in the day. Around lunch, the crowds really pick up.


Which hotel are you at? Walking distance?
We could see fireworks really good from the Fairfield by Marriott balcony.
The parade is fun for kids.

Also surprised that Mickey's railroad adventure ride is pretty good. It's in toontown.
I'd save toontown till later because it'll be difficult to get your kids outta there. But it does close at I think 7pm for fireworks until they're done and then it reopens.

Tiki room is a great way to sit down and rest, close your eyes. Let the kids be entertained. Lol sit at the very back to lean your head back against the wall.

[FishPoo]

Also recently came back with two young kids under 6 and 3 days at disney.

We did two days disneyland and one day california adventures and I think it was a good mix. No park hopper plenty to do on each day.

If you want any of the disney specialty restaurants. Book early!! They fill up fast. Not sure how busy October is. We did Goofys kitchen which is pretty cool for younger kids. It's expensive but the characters come to your table for pictures and to sign their autograph book.

Wagona are banned but you can bring in larger strollers within their requirements. We rented a double (side by side) stroller at local kids rental shop. there's a bunch that fit disney requirements and it wasn't too bad to wheel around. October might not be so bad but in August it got hot and both would pass out so super handy to throw both kids in for a nap or if they are having a meltdown. You can also rent at disney but I heard they are not so comfy and you can't use it to get back to your hotel.

The i5 from disney to legoland can be very backed up so check the traffic for time you're planning to leave and come back in case you have other plans. We barely made our dinner reso because it was a solid six lane wall.

Food options are decent better than what i thought it would be, use the app it is so fast. Lineups to order are brutal. For sit down make sure you have reservations otherwise the walkin time can be ridiculous or impossible depending on the restaurant. You can book these quite far in advance 60 days so get on it. Also there is sometimes cancellations so we were able to get a reservation if we jumped on it right away

Genie plus I think is worth it, there's not as many rides for the younger kids that can take advantage but for the ones that do I think it's great. Also with rider switch if your youngest doesn't want to go. We just book it for all 4 of us, then I will go with my oldest and then my spouse will take him right after so he gets two rides in super quick!

[rage2]

My only comment, lego land is not worth it.

[R-Audi]

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My only comment, lego land is not worth it.

Granted we did it when my boys were young and REALLY into lego, but we all quite enjoyed it. Stayed at the hotel and it was decent too. I could see going there after Disney may be a let down though... take that time to relax on a beach etc. Legoland water park isnt a bad bet either.

[Xtrema]

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My only comment, lego land is not worth it.

This.

Especially Nintendo World is now open at Universal Hollywood.

https://www.universalstudioshollywoo...nintendo-world

Friend just brought his 9 year old there and he won't leave Nintendo World to check out the rest of Universal.

[max_boost]

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This.

Especially Nintendo World is now open at Universal Hollywood.

https://www.universalstudioshollywoo...nintendo-world

Friend just brought his 9 year old there and he won't leave Nintendo World to check out the rest of Universal.

oh wow now that's cool

[rage2]

We missed out on Nintendo world by a couple of weeks. I heard it's a shit show since opening, and can't pay to skip lines. Fuck that.

[ThePenIsMightier]

It's also worth noting that Universal Hollywood is not in Anaheim and a shitty-shitty-BumBum drive away.

[phreezee]

Nintendo World in Japan was scheduled access so none of the lines were that long, although only 2 rides, it was very reasonable. Don't know if they follow the same system in the USA.

[max_boost]

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Nintendo World in Japan was scheduled access so none of the lines were that long, although only 2 rides, it was very reasonable. Don't know if they follow the same system in the USA.

ya i was gonna ask
are the theme parks less busy in other parts of the world
seems like a lot of work and over crowded in cali

[killramos]

Well I think Disney world is just as bad if not worse.

I didn’t feel like it was that crowded when I went in Jan.

I’m shocked they can’t justify a third American park. Maybe in Atlanta or something.

[Strider]

Super Nintendo World wasn't bad for getting into. We paid for the $20 early access because of all the stories of long waits or it getting full and people missing out. Didn't need it though, we walked right in again at lunch.
It's very immersive and fun/nostalgic to look around in, but the ride kind of sucks and it gets old pretty quick.

[Strider]

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There's debate on Rise of Resistance, rush to that first or not. Basically, get 3 rides in or wait it out of Rise or Resistance.

We rushed for Rise on our second Disneyland day but it broke down before we even got to Galaxy's Edge. By the time it was up and running again an hour later the wait time stayed over 60 minutes for the rest of the day. And I'm not enough of a Star Wars fan to pay $25 for one ride, so we missed that one.

I'd recommend rope dropping that one if it's on your must do list.