Help plan Disneyland Itinerary?

[SweetTooth]

Hello,
Our family is planning a visit to Anaheim for Tues 5/28 to Sun 6/2 with Disneyland being the focus of our trip. We'd like to go to Disneyland for 4-5 days and have 1-2 days of rest. Anyone have suggestions of which days to go/not go? We figure we'll go a couple of weekdays to avoid the crowds but that we should go at least one Fri/Sat/Sun for the shows that might be offered on weekends only. We'll be staying at an off-site hotel that has a shuttle.

Our list of to-do's include:
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Ariel's Grotto (after the boutique I assume?)
Minnie & Friends breakfast
Goofy's Kitchen (any meal)
Carsland
Star Wars Jedi training

Looks like with 4 & 5-day park hoppers we get one Magic Morning. Any suggestions on the best way to use that? Also, how to best use the Minnie & Friends breakfast to get into the park early?

DS2 still naps so we will likely be going back to our hotel mid-day to rest. I'm thinking we'll have a non-park day right in the middle of the trip. Any suggestions for a beach or park we can visit with a short car ride?

I welcome any DL tips in general! Thank you in advance for any input!

[lalasmama]

Our family is planning a visit to Anaheim for Tues 5/28 to Sun 6/2 with Disneyland being the focus of our trip. We'd like to go to Disneyland for 4-5 days and have 1-2 days of rest. Anyone have suggestions of which days to go/not go? We figure we'll go a couple of weekdays to avoid the crowds but that we should go at least one Fri/Sat/Sun for the shows that might be offered on weekends only. We'll be staying at an off-site hotel that has a shuttle.

During high-season (which May DEFINITELY is), which means shows and such should be going every day. I'd consider doing Tues, Wed, Thurs, and then I would look at blackout days for the Annual Passes to decide what other day(s). It will likely be busy, but not packed. I'd recommend starting early in the day, as crowds are always lower. Be sure to check your hotel's shuttle schedule--some run every 30 minutes, some every hour, and some will only do shuttles certain hours, which will affect the hours you get to go to DL!

Our list of to-do's include:
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Ariel's Grotto (after the boutique I assume?)
Minnie & Friends breakfast
Goofy's Kitchen (any meal)
Carsland
Star Wars Jedi training

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is in DL, and Ariel's is in Dis Cali Adventure (DCA). Just want to point out that it would mean going to Disneyland, through Main Street to Fantasyland, having a 45-minute (give or take) experience, and then going back through Main Street, through the gates (get hand stamps!), through the gates at DCA, down the Blvd, and over to Paradise Pier to wait for your reservation. My DD would have had an issue trying to get to Ariel's Grotto on a time schedule, because she's a stop-n-look-at-everything kid. I've heard that the BBB hairstyles will stay in for 2-3 days, depending on the child, so you could do Ariel's the second day, and still have her all dressed up! Expect to hit Carsland FIRST THING one morning, otherwise, the wait for Radiator Springs Racers will be about 2 hours. We had a 40-minute wait, and we were there at rope drop! Minnie and Friends breakfast was great, but be ready for some "different" characters--DD had NO idea who Rafiki or Captain Hook were! And it takes her f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to eat at any character meal. I wasn't expecting that! She would take a bite, then some character would be there to meet & great, and then she would settle down, eat a bite, and some other character would be there. For Jedi training, dress your kids in something bright, and let them sit right up front. Small signs will also help them get picked.
Looks like with 4 & 5-day park hoppers we get one Magic Morning. Any suggestions on the best way to use that? Also, how to best use the Minnie & Friends breakfast to get into the park early?

Magic Morning is a great time to get through Fantasyland MUCH quicker! I was able to hit all of Fantasyland, and a fair amount of Tomorrowland without a problem! My understanding is that you can make a reservation for the earliest spot, and tell the person at the gate about the reservation to get in early, and then eat quickly, and then head out for rope drop. I haven't tried this personally!

DS2 still naps so we will likely be going back to our hotel mid-day to rest. I'm thinking we'll have a non-park day right in the middle of the trip. Any suggestions for a beach or park we can visit with a short car ride?

I haven't ever left the immediate area to go to the beach. Sorry! As far as naps mid-day go, make sure to check on the shuttle--nothing worse than having to wait 30 minutes with a tired kid for the shuttle! Any chance you would be willing to head to closer hotel? It would make naps/quiet-time away from the Parks MUCH easier!

I welcome any DL tips in general! Thank you in advance for any input!

Have a great time!

[SnuggleBuggles]

For a trip of that length, you can buy tickets at Costco for a discount and some extra stuff. Just an FYI. :). Eta- and take advantage of ride/ kid swap. It'll save you a lot of time and let you ride the big rides little ones can't do.

[MMMommy]

If Carsland is on your "must" list, I recommend using your Magic Morning for that and heading straight for Radiator Springs Racers. Otherwise, the wait will be heinous for that one ride. We used our annual passholder early entry (offered just last summer) for that specifically and pretty much walked onto Radiator Springs Racers right when we entered the park. Otherwise, the wait was always 2 hours plus. Carsland is cute, but I wasn't impressed by any of the other rides there. Cute photo ops. The one big ticket ride really is just the Radiator Springs Racers. Toy Story Mania and Soarin are good rides to target after Radiator Springs Racers. If Carlands isn't a "must" for you, then I would use the Magic Morning for Disneyland. Peter Pan and Dumbo have the longer waits in Fantasyland, so those are two good ones to target if you head to Fantasyland. For older kids rides, head to Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, etc.

Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian had the best quality character breakfast buffet compared to the ones in the park. The food quality at the character breakfast at Mickey's Plaza was not good quality. But definitely convenient because it is in Disneyland and it had the more popular characters. The fried chicken plate at Mickey's Plaza (character buffet breakfast converts to regular restaurant for lunch and dinner) is good. The corn dog at the Red Wagon Cart outside of Mickey's Plaza is very good and hand dipped. I believe the corn dog at the corn dog place in California Adventures is also good like the Red Wagon Cart in Disneyland.

[BayGirl2]

If Carsland is on your "must" list, I recommend using your Magic Morning for that and heading straight for Radiator Springs Racers. Otherwise, the wait will be heinous for that one ride. We used our annual passholder early entry (offered just last summer) for that specifically and pretty much walked onto Radiator Springs Racers right when we entered the park. Otherwise, the wait was always 2 hours plus. Carsland is cute, but I wasn't impressed by any of the other rides there. Cute photo ops. The one big ticket ride really is just the Radiator Springs Racers. Toy Story Mania and Soarin are good rides to target after Radiator Springs Racers. If Carlands isn't a "must" for you, then I would use the Magic Morning for Disneyland. Peter Pan and Dumbo have the longer waits in Fantasyland, so those are two good ones to target if you head to Fantasyland. For older kids rides, head to Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, etc.

Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian had the best quality character breakfast buffet compared to the ones in the park. The food quality at the character breakfast at Mickey's Plaza was not good quality. But definitely convenient because it is in Disneyland and it had the more popular characters. The fried chicken plate at Mickey's Plaza (character buffet breakfast converts to regular restaurant for lunch and dinner) is good. The corn dog at the Red Wagon Cart outside of Mickey's Plaza is very good and hand dipped. I believe the corn dog at the corn dog place in California Adventures is also good like the Red Wagon Cart in Disneyland.

The magic morning that comes with a 3day+ pass is only good for DL, not CA. You'll need to stay in site to get EE to CA and Carsland. That made staying at the DL hotel worth it for us. Not sure if you can get in early to DCA by going to Ariel's, IIRC they only do lunch and dinner. We park hopped a lot and going from BBB to Ariels would not have been a big deal. (We did the reverse, started at Toy Story and hopped to Minnie's for a late breakfast. A stroller helps). MM is best used for Fantasyland. I'd maybe do MM in Fland, BBB then go over to Ariel's for a late lunch.

We really liked Goofys Kitchen for breakfast and the food was not bad. Minnie's bfast in the park was good character interaction but only if if you time it to not miss rope drop, so late morning or before park opening. Othe fav restaurants were the Jazz Kitchen and Blue Bayou.

We loved Carsland. I recommend doing a morning there to ride racers, then going back just before dusk for dinner at Flo's to watch the neon come on. My DS loved both other rides there.

I like TouringPlans for choosing which park, my DL subscription just ran out I think but maybe someone else here can check for you.

[MMMommy]

Good to know, BayGirl. We used early entry for California Adventures last August, but it was a special early entry for annual passholders during those few summer months last year. You had to pick the one, exact day in advance online and go on that specific day. So it sounds like Magic Morning won't happen for California Adventures unless you stay on-site.

Oops. I accidentally called Plaza Inn "Mickey's Plaza" by mistake. It was the Minnie & Friends breakfast buffet that had the buffet quality we didn't like. Storyteller's Cafe seemed to have a better quality breakfast buffet, but the characters were Chip and Dale, bears, etc. Not the regular Minnie & Mickey characters. Plaza Inn has the good fried chicken plate after the Minnie & Friends breakfast is over and Plaza Inn switches to lunch.

[BayGirl2]

Good to know, BayGirl. We used early entry for California Adventures last August, but it was a special early entry for annual passholders during those few summer months last year. You had to pick the one, exact day in advance online and go on that specific day. So it sounds like Magic Morning won't happen for California Adventures unless you stay on-site.

Oops. I accidentally called Plaza Inn "Mickey's Plaza" by mistake. It was the Minnie & Friends breakfast buffet that had the buffet quality we didn't like. Storyteller's Cafe seemed to have a better quality breakfast buffet, but the characters were Chip and Dale, bears, etc. Not the regular Minnie & Mickey characters. Plaza Inn has the good fried chicken plate after the Minnie & Friends breakfast is over and Plaza Inn switches to lunch.

Yep, you are correct. Last summer there were 3 types of early entry: The AP special deal (1 time for each park), Magic Mornings for 3+ day Park Hoppers (1 morning at DL, specific days) and EE for onsite guests (every day, either park). I watched as people in front of us in line with MM got turned away from DCA so I know they enforced it. Pretty sure MM and onsite EE have not changed, but OP should confirm before the trip because things do change all the time.

Minnie and Friends was the only meal with Minnie, Mickey is only at Paradise Piere. Goofy's had a lot of "usual" characters too and we saw Cinderella there, along with some random ones like Rafiki and Chip n Dale.

[SweetTooth]

Thank you each for your replies and helpful suggestions. Good tips to look out for AP blackout dates and that the Magic Morning is for DL only and not for DCA. Staying onsite would be ideal, but I don't know if that will be an option. I'm booking character meals now. We're excited to surprise the kids and I appreciate the help!

[Tondi G]

Just go into DCA immediately when they open and head straight to Radiator Springs Racers OR attempt to get fast passes for radiator springs racers to come back. The fast pass line is usually around 30 minutes or so.... but that beats the 120 to 180 minute standby line!

[kellij]

We'll be there at the same time! Do you know where you're staying yet? I'm so overwhelmed by all of the choices.