Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20
  1. #1
    ♥ms.pacman♥ is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    the Island of Sodor
    Posts
    11,793

    Default DisneyLAND questions

    wasn't planning on going till later but then my parents said for the kids bdays they want to gift us DL tickets (they are in NorCal and would make the drive down, so we could go together). w00t!

    i have been to DL dozens of times (grew up in Northern CA, we'd drive down, Disney was our go-to family vacation as teen/kid), but have not been in over 10 years..so i have many questions

    1) when is best time to go? soonest we'd go would be April bc i cant even imagine being able to plan everything by/before then. is that a bad time though, bc of spring break? Don't want to go in the summer when it's super hot (i know SoCal summers are nothing compared to TX, but still). I guess ideally APril/May but not sure.

    2) would DL be fun for kids not so into Disney movies and/or princesses? They will be ~3 and 4yo and haven't seen a single Disney movie (not even Cars). I have suggested it, but they have zero interest... they are not really into movies at all (DS only likes 3 movies, which of course all involve trains and DD won't really sit long enough for movies). They do like Mickey, Minnie and Goofy though (and Winnie the Pooh)...is that enough to make it enjoyable?

    3) anybody stayed at a Marriott near Disney? DH has buttloads of Marriott points so if we go we'd like to use that.

    4) Can you get away without a car? (e.g. just using hotel shuttle, etc). My parents would have a car (they'd drive down) if we really needed/wanted to go somewhere. Not having to rent a car would save us so much $$$.

    5) Chuggington is Disney, right? DS wants to know if there would be any Chuggington stuff there (lol).

    it's been so long... i am trying to remember stuff. Do they still have the Star Tours movie/ride? i think My kids would love that.

  2. #2
    sariana is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    6,250

    Default

    I'm not a DL expert, but here goes.

    1) I don't really know. But I you do end up doing summer, July usually is cooler than August, sometimes by a lot. There often is fog in the mornings that takes some time to burn off. That is even more common in June.

    2) I think there is enough visual interest even without knowing who all the characters are. For Mickey and Minnie you will want to visit ToonTown. Winnie the Pooh and friends are in the back beyon Splash Mountain, where Bear Country Jamboree used to be.

    3) I don't know anything about the Marriott. Sorry. I understand about wanting to use points, though.

    4) Since I don't know where the Marriott is, I don't know how practical it is to go carless. If the hotel is close to the resort, you should be okay with airport-to-hotel shuttles.

    5) I haven't been there much since Chuggington came on the air, but I've never seen any Chuggington stuff. There are several trains, though. The DL Railroad, of course, which still takes its journey through the Grand Canyon, present and past. The little circus train from Dumbo in Fantasyland. And a cartoonish train car that is stationary in ToonTown. Oh, yeah, and the monorail!

    Star Tours is still there and better than ever. There are multiple journeys now, with various storylines to go with them.

    I don't know if you're doing California Adventure, too. Most of the Pixar stuff is over there (the exceptions are the Toy Story ride and the Finding Nemo submarines, both in Tomorrowland).

    So much of Disneyland is just good storytelling, whether there's a movie/show connection or not. (How long until they make a movie based on the Jungle Cruise?)

    Have fun!
    DS '04 "Boogaboo"
    DD '08 "Lilybear"

  3. #3
    ♥ms.pacman♥ is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    the Island of Sodor
    Posts
    11,793

    Default

    thanks for the reply! oh yeah i forgot about the DL railroad ..i'm sure DS would love that. and he saw in a picture of the monorail and he wouldn't stop talking about how he wanted to ride it

    i told him there's a "scary" train ride as well (Thunder Mountain) but not sure it would be too scary for him (do they still have it?? seriously that was one of my favorite rides there!).

  4. #4
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    .
    Posts
    47,708

    Default

    Check and see how much the shuttle from the hotel would cost plus it's schedule when deciding on rentals. Then see how much parking is. I remember one time we stayed at an Embassy Suites down a few blocks from DL and the shuttle price was way high. I got totally spoiled by the Candy Cane Inn and no extra charges for anything last year.

    My kids don't really know Disney (they know Pixar) and it totally doesn't matter. Still fun! (Re. movies...I find that my kids almost always say no to movies but if I turn them on and they wander in, they watch and enjoy! Sometimes it's better not to ask!)

  5. #5
    twowhat? is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    14,104

    Default

    We went last year so I can probably give my take on some of these!!

    1) April will be gorgeous! We went in Feb, and even though it was chilly in the mornings it was gorgeous! You'll want to be prepared for the possibility of rain (bring light rain jackets that you can layer underneath if it's chilly) but other than that I think it's a great time to go! Check the spring break schedule in that area and if you can, avoid it. Since your kids aren't in school yet so you are theoretically flexible, I'd try to plan a vacay on a week other than CA's spring break in April. DL is totally a locals park so they will be BUSY on local school holidays.

    2) YES - PLENTY to do and you don't have to know a lick of anything about any of the disney movies! It's an added bonus to be familiar with the characters, but you won't be "missing out" or anything if you don't. Depending on how long you will be there, I would recommend getting parkhopper tiks so you can hit California Adventures as well - some of my girls' favorite rides (and ours too!) were in that park and it has a totally different feel. The whole Bug's Land section is GREAT for toddlers.

    3) No idea

    4) Yes, if you stay on a resort property. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel, which was AWESOME, highly recommend - GREAT pool for kids too for those afternoons where you just need to take a break from the parks. We used a cab to/from the airport and that's it! We just stayed on property the whole time. We had Von's deliver a bucketload of food to our hotel room that worked great for breakfasts, snacks, and even some lunches. Just had to limit the amount of refrigerated items since the fridge is small but we got lots of fruit, granola bars, stuff like that. We ordered pizza one night, etc. One thing to think about is walkability - if you're going to shell out for a resort property get one close to the parks

    5) I don't remember anything Chuggington...but it could be that we totally missed it since mine were more interested in the princesses?? There are plenty of other train-related things. The train that goes around the park is really cool, and many of the rides in DL and CA are train-like. And the monorail. Yes on the Star Tours thing but we totally skipped it - the girls were really scared by the whole thing. In fact we skipped a lot of the indoor rides - too scary. Even the ones you don't think are "scary" are total sensory overload for sensitive kids so we avoided those after a couple of bad decisions

    If you don't take a stroller, rent one! We rented a BJCMD-GT and it was AWESOME and the company we used was great (I'll have to go back and look it up). They'll even give you a rain canopy if rain is in the forecast.

    We had a BLAST and we totally want to go back soon. You will LOVE it.

    eta: there are plenty of non-resort properties within easy walking distance to the parks as well. So the Marriott could work well.
    Last edited by twowhat?; 01-28-2014 at 03:03 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    DC Suburbs
    Posts
    21,474

    Default

    1. I think April or May is a great time to go. I'd check to try not to go right in the middle of spring break for LAUSD, SDUSD, or Orange County. I mean it could be spring break for other nearby districts, but those are the biggest ones. I went in mid-April last year. It was slightly drizzly, not super cold, and the weather kept the crowds down. Honestly, the heat in the summer wouldn't keep me away, but the crowds would.

    2. In a word, yes. DDs went to WDW for the first time at age 2. They had seen zero movies of any sort. They loved it. LOVED it. DL has so much to offer that has nothing to do with movies. It's really magical. Even things like Dumbo, yeah there's a movie, but kids don't have to have seen the movie to want to ride in a cute baby elephant dressed like a clown!

    3. The Residence Inn by Marriott is nice. I love Residence Inns, DDs get their own space. There's one really close, I can't remember the name of the street, and there's one further away. Do you remember the old Timon and Pumba parking? It's near there. We were able to walk to the park. If you have a stroller, even better. BTW, they sell DL passes there.
    ETA: This is the one http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...aheim-maingate

    4. You do not need a car. We rented a car in Vegas, drove down, and turned it in the day we checked into the RI.

    5. There is pretty much zero Chuggington stuff. Maybe a few things in the gift shop. It's not one of the "major" Disney Jr. shows. There was much more Doc McStuffins, Sophia, and Jake items. DL doesn't do a lot of Disney Junior stuff, except for the stage show in DCA. Which was great, if your kids watch Disney Jr, definitely go.

    Star Tours is in the Magic Kingdom. They've also brought back Captain Eo!

    HTH!
    Last edited by TwinFoxes; 01-28-2014 at 12:01 PM.
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  7. #7
    sariana is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    6,250

    Default

    I don't know LAUSD's schedule, but Saddleback and Capo, in south Orange County, both go until June 25 (or so) this year. So early to mid-June might be a perfect time to go.

    Be sure to check height restrictions; some have changed. It looks as though your kids are young, so Big Thunder Mountain might not even be an option. Even the Matterhorn has raised its minimum height after the bobsleds were remodeled. And Star Tours has restrictions too because it is a simulator ride.

    I agree with PP about indoor rides--many of them can be scary. To this day I hate Snow White's Scary Adventures. Heck, yeah, they're scary!

    Winnie the Pooh is pretty safe. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters never seems to produce tears either. But everything else has the potential to scare, especially the rides in Fantasyland!

    There is no "Magic Kingdom" at Disneyland Resort; that's a WDW term. DR has Disneyland Park and California Adventure. I mention this only in case you're doing searches or something--not trying to nitpick the PP.
    DS '04 "Boogaboo"
    DD '08 "Lilybear"

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    DC Suburbs
    Posts
    21,474

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sariana View Post
    There is no "Magic Kingdom" at Disneyland Resort; that's a WDW term. DR has Disneyland Park and California Adventure. I mention this only in case you're doing searches or something--not trying to nitpick the PP.
    You are so right! Now that we are on the east coast we've been going to WDW, I guess their terminology is sinking in. But my heart belongs to DL! I'm a former annual pass holder, and have been to DL hundreds of times, starting at age 3!
    Last edited by TwinFoxes; 01-28-2014 at 12:35 PM.
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  9. #9
    ♥ms.pacman♥ is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    the Island of Sodor
    Posts
    11,793

    Default

    thanks everyone! that is cool that they brought captain EO back! wow i remember that from when i was in middle school, and then they didn't have it and was bummed.

    i just checked and the height restriction for thunder mountain, star tours and the cars rides looks like it's 40", so DS would able able to ride for sure (he's pretty tall). matternhorn is 42", so that's probably out but i think my kids would be too scared to ride that one (since it has the monster noises, etc).

  10. #10
    twowhat? is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    14,104

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ♥ms.pacman♥ View Post
    thanks everyone! that is cool that they brought captain EO back! wow i remember that from when i was in middle school, and then they didn't have it and was bummed.

    i just checked and the height restriction for thunder mountain, star tours and the cars rides looks like it's 40", so DS would able able to ride for sure (he's pretty tall). matternhorn is 42", so that's probably out but i think my kids would be too scared to ride that one (since it has the monster noises, etc).
    mine were too scared to ride anything that they weren't tall enough for, so the height restriction ended up not even mattering to us

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •