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DeeEast
04-27-2009, 10:25 AM
We're going to Disneyland next week and I just started reading this forum. Now I feel so completely unprepared. Do I understand this stuff correctly? If I want to get "vouchers" for a character meal, I can go to AAA and then just use the vouchers the day we go to Disneyland? We still have to call DL and make reservations, right?

I think we're getting e-tickets so we won't have to trade them for real tickets at the gate. I'm calling about the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique this morning to see if we can make reservations. Those have to be for a specific time? What else am I forgetting?

new_mommy25
04-27-2009, 01:41 PM
Yes, you still need to call Disney Dining and get reservations for character dining and a few of their other restaurants like Carnation Cafe, Blue Bayou, etc. The vouchers should save you a few dollars so those are great if you can get them in time. You can make reservations for BBB through Disney Dining as well. :)

I think with the e-tickets you print them out and then at the gate they will exchange them for regular tickets.

Have you been reading the Dis Boards? They are very helpful though a little overwhelming at first. The search function works pretty well if you are looking for something specific. http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Karenn
04-27-2009, 03:15 PM
If you're a guide book type, you might want to pick up a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. I thought it was a great resource. It has much of the same information that the Dis Boards has, but it's better organized and a bit more compact, which might be useful since you're leaving in a week.

My local AAA office didn't have a clue what I was talking about when I asked about "vouchers." Instead, I got our vouchers for Ariel's Grotto from Ares travel. I ordered them on line, printed out a coupon and then picked up our vouchers when we checked into the Disneyland Hotel. There are other places you can pick up your vouchers, but I don't remember where. We got a bit of a discount, but it wasn't big enough to go to a ton of trouble to make it happen. We didn't buy any vouchers for Goofy's Kitchen and it was fine.

avd3875
04-27-2009, 08:45 PM
Thanks for the info about the vouchers. We'll be there next week, too. I'll definitely look into that.

spunkybaby
04-29-2009, 12:10 AM
I think if you're not staying at a Disneyland hotel, you can only exchange your coupon for tickets or meal vouchers at the ticket booth.

We arrived at our hotel Monday night and went to DL on Tuesday. The lines at the ticket booths were *so* long. I really regret not going to the DL ticket booths on Monday night and getting our park tickets and character meal vouchers.

I also bought online from Ares Travel, but it might be worth it to buy directly from Disneyland.com. You won't get the slight discount, but I hear that you can get e-tickets from Disneyland.com that you can use to go straight to the gates (so you can bypass the ticket windows) and enter Disneyland.

bubbaray
04-30-2009, 11:22 PM
You need reservations through Disney Dining for both dining and Bibbity Bobbity at DL. We just got back last night from there. I did a mix of pre-paid vouchers through our travel agent and pay at the park with my AAA card. I think it was actually cheaper to pay at the park for us. Not sure what deals are available for US folks, though.

But, definitely make sure you have reservations first before you worry about the payment part of it.

Also, you get 1 Magic Morning pass for each 3-day or longer park hopper pass. So, if you make Disney Dining reservations for an early breakfast (say with Minnie), you can get into the park an hour early even on days you don't have a Magic Morning pass to use.

Magic Mornings are Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. For Saturday and Sunday, you get in at 7am (park normally opens at 8am those days) and for Tuesday and Thursday, you get in at 9am. If you make a 9am breakfast reservation for a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, you can also get in early. The Minnie & Friends early entry lineup is on the far left side of the exit gates, besides guest services. You MUST have a reservation for the early entry. They check your name off on their list and give you a celebration button. The Minnie breakfast is GREAT.

bubbaray
04-30-2009, 11:25 PM
We arrived at our hotel Monday night and went to DL on Tuesday. The lines at the ticket booths were *so* long. I really regret not going to the DL ticket booths on Monday night and getting our park tickets and character meal vouchers.



DEFINITELY get all your vouchers redeemed for tickets on a non-park day. The lineups are huge (I waited for 45 minutes at dinner time on Saturday and the lineups actually were the shortest then). Don't forget that you also line up for security first (VERY long at normal park opening hours, another reason to do Magic Morning or an early breakfast with Minnie). Then you line up separately for voucher redemption and then a third time to actually enter the park.

I really don't think that getting vouchers for dining is worth it unless you are getting a REALLY great deal. They take your AAA card directly at the dining restaurant. IIRC, the discount was around 10%. Could have been more, I wasn't paying much attention.

bubbaray
04-30-2009, 11:27 PM
We didn't need reservations for dining at the Carnation Cafe, though I wasn't hugely impressed with the food there AT ALL.

We actually thought the best lunch for kids was at the Princess Fantasy Faire conscession stand (can't remember the name, but its right there and they sell awesome popcorn and pretzels too) -- they had a meal that had lowfat yogurt, apple slices, cheese string and whole wheat goldfish. That was actually the healthiest of the kids meals that we found (and we only found it there). The kids meals at the Carnation cafe sucked and my kids wouldn't touch them (at $8 a piece).

Karenn
05-01-2009, 11:02 AM
We actually thought the best lunch for kids was at the Princess Fantasy Faire conscession stand (can't remember the name, but its right there and they sell awesome popcorn and pretzels too) -- they had a meal that had lowfat yogurt, apple slices, cheese string and whole wheat goldfish. That was actually the healthiest of the kids meals that we found (and we only found it there).

We got one like that at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The kids loved them!