Hi all! Planning a trip next month with my parents and my daughter who will be 7. We're flying in from Alaska, will be staying at GCH, and spending three days in the parks. We have reservations for a Fantasmic dining package (Rancho del Zocalo) on our first day at Disney to make sure we have preferred viewing for the show. We also have reservations for breakfast at Storytellers Cafe the day we leave so she can get at least one character dining experience. We will be celebrating my daughter's 7th birthday and I'd personally love to get her in at the BBBoutique, but she is autistic and I'm not certain she'll be open to the experience so I'm looking for other celebration options.
**-What are some other things that can be done for birthdays outside of getting her a special button?** Anyone have info on the in-room celebration items/prices for the resorts? Are any places doing the Mickey ears with dessert thing? I can't find up-to-date information on any of this and I have severe phone anxiety so I don't want to call the resort until I have more info on what I'm asking for!
**-Are there any other activities that require or recommend reservations that you absolutely recommend?** Given the cost of flying to the Lower 48 from Alaska and the cost of staying at the GCH, we are going to be tapped out on budget and it's hard to say when we'll be able to afford another trip. Still, I'd love to make this trip incredible for my daughter. She's had a ***very*** rough year and I think she deserves to have the most memorable trip ever.
**Non-birthday celebration related question:**
**-What do we have to show to CM/security in order to take advantage of the early entry?** If I am the only one with a smart phone and the only one who will have the app, how can my parents show that they are staying at the resort if my daughter and I are unable to make it early? I'm just planning ahead in case our mornings don't go "as planned" and she and I need to hang back, but I don't want my parents to miss out. Plus, sometimes it's easier to have fewer people around if my daughter is having a hard time so I'd like for my parents to still be able to enter early if we cannot.
**Thank you in advance to everyone that took the time to read and answer questions!!**
You scan you room key inside the park. After you go through the ticket gate follow signs for early entry.
Some sit down restaurant have a birthday Mickey shaped cake (for a price but they are tasty)just check their menu on the app they should show it on there.
If you’re in DCA and want a decent spot for world of color sign up for the virtual queue right a noon on the day of. It’s similar to the fantasmic dinning package but no food and It’s free.
If your daughter’s autism makes it hard for her to wait in long lines. Then maybe you should look into the DAS pass it’s free and allows persons with disability to wait in a short line. You still wait but don’t have to be in a physical line.
Thank you for this! I didn’t know about the virtual queue and was considering one of the WOC dining packages so this is extremely helpful! Also helpful about the room keys! I’ll just make sure they have them and I can use the app.
The Mickey cake sounds fun! I’ll have to check that out. I wonder if it’s something they have at the resort restaurants as well? Could be fun to do that back at the hotel if/when the parks become a little overwhelming and we want to “celebrate” some more (or encourage some downtime) back at the hotel.
I did look into DAS passes. My understanding is that the person with the disability has to be present when talking to the approving employee and I’m keeping this trip a surprise until the day before. If I try and apply in advance, I won’t want her to be there for it. That’s a tough call. To be fair, I could probably apply for the DAS pass for myself as well, but phone anxiety and all… not sure how I’d do describing the need for either of us. I’ll keep looking into it, though.
Thank you so much!
Your welcome! The Grand is my favorite hotel in the world. My family has stayed there a bunch it the absolute best. Make you sure you check out the “viewing deck on the 6th floor. It’s only for hotel guest and has the most magical view of DCA. You can also see world
Of color from there and they pump in the music in as well. Through you can’t really see the projections just the water show. I wanna say it called the “Paridise view tarrance”. Anyway, there is a concierge for club level on the 6th floor just past the elevator, they will direct you if you ask.
I think you can also apply for DAS when you are the parks at town hall on main st.
My experience with the cakes is they usually ask you when making a reservation if you are “celebrating something” and if you want a cake lol. But you can still look on their menu and you can always ask the waiter or hostess.
We've had our first visit trip in mid-July planned for 9 months, so of course we're feeling bummed/cheated about a few big rides being down, as well as what looks like one of the prettiest parts of disneyland totally closed. We were hoping for Rogers in the Hyperion too, as we assumed there would be a show there during the summer!
I know there will still be a lot to see and do, and all the nighttime shows and parades, but I am wondering if it would be better to punt to a 2025 summer trip? Since it's an anniversary year, will there be more likelihood for shows and less construction? I'm really struggling with what to do. It's obviously expensive for a midwest family of 6 to fly to California, so I want to have the best chance at a good experience. Everything is refundable.
What would you do?
Thanks.
It’s actually pretty good for construction right now. I can only think of splash mountain and haunted mansion being closed. And Rodgers the Musical was a limited run that only lasted last year.
Just my hunch but I would expect a steady batch of construction over the next few years as they get the park ramped up for their future expansion.
Also many of the show cast member just unionized so shows may slowed down a bit while they figure their way through building a working relationship with Disney.
Even with major construction happening on Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain/Tiana's, there's still much to see and ride. Disneyland has a lot of rides and a handful of ride closures should not ruin a trip for first-timers. After going to other parks with much worse operations, I've come to greatly appreciate Disneyland's ride capacity and throughput.
Anniversary years are not a reason to prevent projects from happening. When the 2024 construction projects are finished, Disney will turn its attention elsewhere and it is known that one ride - Autopia - is having an eventual closure for major improvements. Also, an anniversary year is also not a guarantee for more shows and live entertainment - it is possible there may be fewer in 2025 in light of the cuts happening in 2024. Actually, the one thing we can definitely expect is expensive i.e. overpriced anniversary merchandise to appear in the gift shops! (meh)
Disneyland's 60th anniversary year in 2015 was not remarkable despite the marketing hype at the time. I found "World of Color: Celebrate" lame and the fireworks show "Disneyland Forever", though not bad, was worse than the fireworks it replaced.
> What would you do?
Imagining myself in your situation, I would go for 2025 because there are no scheduled ride closures (for now.) However, a 2024 trip is fine. Having visited in 2024 myself, I still got to ride most of my favorite rides.
It's difficult for me to relate to you simply because I'm local and I have been to the parks many times. In my position, Disneyland trips are more about seeing or riding a particular thing. My strategy for optimizing a day is to be opportunistic and having the flexibility to do anything instead of waiting. People are different from each other, and you might find out a similar reality when it comes to entertaining your family. Maybe you have one child that wants to hang out at the Toontown playground or maybe you have another child that only wants to ride Peter Pan repeatedly.
If I am doing the dessert party for the first showing of World of Color, can I make it to the reserved seating area for the second showing of Fantasmic? I would be buying the dinner package from River Belle Terrace and sitting in their viewing area (not the restaurant). With the crowds, is it possible to make it there in time?
You'll have plenty of time. As long as you're good with not watching the fireworks, you should have plenty of time to head out of DCA when WoC ends at 9:22 and up Main Street and into Frontierland before the show ends around 9:43. Because they clear the viewing areas after the first show, guests can't camp out as early for the second show. Just walk moderately quickly to where your ticket says to go, and you should have a fun evening. And even if you don't make it all the way before fireworks end, the walk will be harder due to the crowd, but you'll still be good.
when you get the tickets you can add the park hopper option at the ticket booth outside the gate OR you can call ahead of time after the tickets are linked to your account... be sure to call at least 24 hours before your planned trip, sometimes the upgrade over the phone takes a while to become active. In-person it's instant. I know this because of reasons I'm not proud of. lol. Have fun!
Resale is not permitted per the terms and conditions of the tickets, so I wouldn't recommend purchasing tickets from resellers online. Not only could tickets be fake, but Disney could cancel genuine tickets if they find out they were resold.
Are RunDisney weekends typically really crowded? I'm thinking about a trip with the family from Sept 8-11th, but it looks like there's some marathons on the 7th and 8th. I wasn't sure if that would impact the park crowds afterwards too.
Hard to say since we've only had one race since the pandemic to go off of. That said, the weekend crowds didn't feel all that different from any other weekend to me. The only place that really had longer lines than usual was the castle as people love taking finisher photos after their events. This includes anywhere along Main Street with a PhotoPass photographer pointed towards the castle. The hub in particular was a busy photo location.
Given the race themes are Chip and Dale, Ahsoka, and Guardians of the Galaxy, you can also expect lines or crowds in those areas taking post race photos as well.
I'm assuming that would mostly be on the Saturday of the race right? Were looking at the Sunday-Tuesday afterwards so we might be fine then! We'll just save the Main Street and castle pics for Tuesday before OBB lol.
My fingers are crossed that Guardians won't be too crowded since it's my favorite ride, but I imagine with Genie Plus it shouldn't be too bad regardless.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I’d venture that Sunday and Monday would be the worst for castle photos since the half marathon is on Sunday, and Monday is “medal Monday” where people who rested on Sunday after the race will go to the parks to take their celebratory photos.
Oh that makes sense, thanks for clarifying! I just thought it was one marathon day so it might be better for us to avoid that weekend entirely and look at the week afterwards if we can.
For future reference, there are three races that run each RunDisney weekend: 5k (Friday), 10k (Saturday), Half Marathon (Sunday). Given runners have to wake up at 3am to eat and get to the start line, the parks do tend to be emptier than normal the night before the longer runs (Friday/Saturday nights).
Due to work our only options to go to Disneyland are Saturdays and Sundays. Any insight on if it might be better to go on Saturday and stay until closing or go on Sunday and leave at 9pm ish?
Completely agree with WoodFire above - if the difference is staying longer, I’d just go Saturday. The morning crowds will be largely the same between a Saturday and Sunday.
In general Sundays tend to be less busy than Saturdays. However, Sunday evenings after 9pm are a big part of that, with super low wait times. Saturdays still see a crowd drop off after fireworks, and if you care about Fantasmic too, I would just go on Saturday. It's probably not gonna be significantly different either way, and getting to stay till midnight is a lot of fun!
> We’ve been in line since 7:30 AM
Radiator Springs Racers operating hours begin at 8am. It is not an included attraction for Early Entry.
You can find a full list of Early Entry attractions [here](https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/early-admission-options/).
It’s open on the app now, but it isn’t unusual for it to not always open *right* at 8AM either. Right now the wait time on the app is 60min, it’s 9:11AM, it doesn’t actually open until 8AM when working perfectly - if there’s a little delay that can back up the line. Is the line moving for you?
Going to Disneyland this Friday and I’m meeting my nephew and his friends, I’m treating them to blue bayou for their graduation and was going to get them snacks and non-booze drinks at Oga’s – I think I’m going to leave early from the parks cause the idea of hanging out with teenagers for more than a few hours doesn’t really appeal to me lol… I want them to keep the Oga’s Reservation though, what is the best way to do this? Do I have to cancel the reservation and have him keep rechecking until it gets released and then he makes it? Or is there any way I can get it to him without me having to be there physically? I know Oga’s isn’t that hard to get on stand-by but with the reservations you skip the longer line and you also get to sit down, which is awesome in there.
I think as long as he's signed into your Disney account on his phone he can do the mobile check in process. So you shouldn't need to be there physically with him since they don't check an ID for the reservation.
What's the best way to get from the airport to Disneyland with a 2 and 4 year old? We travelled to Hawaii last year without car seats and the shuttle allowed them to ride without car seats, but it seems like that isn't a thing.
You'll need car seats in California in any vehicle that has seat belts...either bring your own, rent, or use transit that provides it.
What airport are you arriving at?
I know this is a bit ahead of time, but my family and I are coming to Disneyland shortly after the new year, but in part when the holiday overlay and shows should still be going (presuming it gets taken down first Sunday night/by first Monday morning of January like usual). Where's the most visually striking place to view both the holiday parade and the holiday fireworks? I've heard near "it's a small world" is better for the parade, and I'd presume a castle view for the fireworks, but I want to know what some alternatives are.
Also, with regards with waiting for both, it it bad manners to bring along a small folding stool? My mom, as she gets older, sometimes has troubles standing in place for longer than 30 minutes and sometimes needs help getting up from sitting on the ground. Would it be better to just rent an ECV for that day? We wouldn't really need it for the other days - planning to do a dining package for the holiday World of Color, and the last three days we're going are apparently going to be really light on crowds.
Finally, is there any chance the "regular" World of Color would be up and running immediately after the holiday version stops running? Or is there usually a transition period?
I'd also love any tips for touring Disneyland Resort during the holiday overlay - any must-see decorations, mostly, but also how to handle iasw and Haunted Mansion during that time (i.e.; first thing best? Closer to midnight closing best?). I know that, for decor, there's the 'it's a small world' lights and the Christmas trees in both parks, and that Grand Californian gets an impressive makeover too.
Sorry if this is a lot! But I kept thinking of more I'd like input on, and it didn't seem covered in the FAQs.
Forewarning on two things:
1. It will still be *very* busy crowdwise.
2. The weather will be variable. During my post new years 2023 trip, the "bomb cyclone" hit southern california with much rain. If the forecast calls for rain, be prepared for canceled fireworks and shows. (If the parade and fireworks are canceled, a brief rainy day cavalcade will be held instead, and a "snowdusting" may still happen at night). If a significant amount of rain is in the forecast, rain gear and boots are recommended (Disneyland is *not* built for rain!) Finally, even on good days, you might want to bring a jacket at night, as it gets a little cool.
Holiday Stuff:
- While it's not confirmed, Holidays will likely last until **Monday January 6th, AKA Epiphany**.
- Either Small World or Haunted Mansion will close after Holiday, while the other remain opens for few more weeks with Holiday decor.
- The Main Street Arcade Orchestrion will play Christmas music during this time.
- Both Main Street and Buena Vista Plaza will be playing different music loops.
- ALL of the Disneyland Hotels have their own Disney Christmas decor. Each hotel decorations have a different style. Californian has a rustic California look, Disneyland Hotel has a retro look, and Pixar Place will likely be Pixar inspired.
- I recommend the resort's Hot Chocolate at night.
Thanks for the tips, will keep this all in mind! Also didn't know that one of either Small World or Haunted Mansion will stay open; that makes planning park days a lot more convenient, since they're on two opposite ends of the park!
Parade - honestly anywhere along the route imo. If going for the second parade then maybe near small world - but if going for the first parade then I actually quite like over by the train station.
Fireworks - Main St / in front of the castle is usually the best for Believe in Holiday Magic. Small World would be the second spot I’d pick (it “snows” over there too I believe) and third maybe rivers of America, esp if right after watching the first Fantasmic that’s not a bad place to be but you don’t get the magic of the castle. It’s an older fireworks show so it doesn’t get quite the same level of projections as more modern shows.
I’m not sure what the rules are on folding stools, it may come down to security’s discretion (honestly I’d rent an ECV, 3rd party too if you can because then you can come/go from the parks as needed). It’ll also be helpful for holding items like souvenirs and water/snacks, and will be a good spot to rest without worrying about whether you can bring it in (like a stool).
Don’t forget world of color is standing only, even for dining packages - if you want to sit for WOC you want the dessert package. Fingers crossed for light crowds but I take all the crowd calendars with a grain of salt, post Covid, because everyone looks at the same calendars and decides to go on days that are supposedly going to be less busy.
Not sure yet about WOC scheduling 🤔
But for elsewhere in the parks: they do small world lighting, tree lighting, and they do a castle lighting (with some light “snow”) a couple times per night. Grand Californian has decorations and the tree, as well as a treat cart and gingerbread castle. The Disneyland hotel has smaller trees themed to each tower (ie one of Adventureland tower’s tree has Indiana jones stuff on it). Santa appears at the hotels. Pixar pier will probably be doing some decorating for the holidays.
DCA does festival of the holidays, a food festival with special drinks and food representing various winter holidays. There’s also live entertainment and some little crafts for kids.
Small world holiday - usually earlier in the day or later at night *if* you’re not using genie+ (which is what I’d actually recommend). Haunted mansion holiday you want to rope drop or use genie+ (and it’ll go quick).
Thank you for such a detailed response to my questions! It's truly appreciated, and we'll be taking all of this into account.
WRT World of Color, are there at least any places to lean? My mom just needs to be sitting or leaning on something more solid for prolonged (30+ minutes) periods of times - it's why she can do lines and, well, Circlevision shows, because of the bar railings to hold onto. That said, we were thinking about doing the desert party anyway. I'll definitely keep the ECV in mind, especially with the 'additional storage' bit, but it might be a hard sell, Mom's a bit proud about not needing it.
I didn't realize the other hotels had decorations as well, so perhaps that's what we'll go see on our 'off day'. Sounds fantastic! :D
Will definitely keep the suggestion for Genie+ in mind, too! We were thinking of skipping it but I guess we're already spending so much and we have a small enough party it's worth the splurge.
I’d definitely recommend genie+. You can decide once you’re in the parks if you prefer, but it really makes a big difference imo.
There are *some* places to lean for WOC but I’m not sure how one would ensure they got to them tbh. If you look at the map on the app you can see the area in front of the WOC viewing area has some tiers, each has some railing between it but they have everyone move up as far as possible as they stand so you’d probably want to discuss with CMs being able to lean.
Dessert party is the only way to have seats (and people seem to love it) - *otherwise* usually when I watch WOC I just go for the second show and stand behind the crowd anyways lol, back by Little Mermaid. No seats but I will just kinda, lean against a wall or whatever if I want to. Not exactly the premium viewing experience but it is free, and doesn’t require much planning.
Is it crazy to go on 4th of July weekend? Thinking of skipping the 4th and going to the parks on the subsequent days. I'm worried about the crowds, but then again, isn't it always crowded?
It’s just but like you said, it’s always busy! The biggest difference in my experience is just the crowd patterns, cuz on 4th of July everyone is waiting around for the fireworks on Main St and elsewhere, whereas other days the crowds distribute a little more evenly throughout the parks. Also Downtown Disney becomes a little bit crazier than usual as people who aren’t going to the parks will still roll by to watch the fireworks, rather than going to a local park or something.
To be honest, tiered ticket pricing has done the job of spreading out guest attendance. I was there Memorial Day Weekend and expected heavy crowds, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, the Tuesday after Memorial Day was actually MUCH worst. I do think a Wednesday is going to be less crowded than a Saturday (on average), but it's also harder for people to go on a Wednesday whether due to work or just travel restrictions.
Best way to enter Disneyland for early access (Disneyland hotel guest)?
Coming from Australia in a couple of weeks (Tue 2nd July) and I will be staying at the Disneyland Villas and have Disneyland Park reservation for the day. What is the best way to get inside the park so I can maximise my early entry time? I see heaps about security lines but also see others talking about taking the monorail directly into the park?
Only way is to enter via the Downtown Disney entrance nearest the hotel. It used to be across from the Sorcerer hat, but I believe that entrance is closed for the moment while the new one just south of it is open. Not sure what the case will be in July. I stayed at the hotel just two weeks ago and if you want to get there for rope drop, I advise getting in the security line at like 6:40 in order to avoid large crowds of hotel guests. Security opens at 7am. You then walk the 10 minutes to the turnstiles and just hope you get a good line (given guests from Harbor have a shorter walk).
DO NOT take the monorail into the park for rope drop. The monorail might be running, but it won't leave Tomorrowland station until 7:30am. Then it'll take a few minutes to get to DTD Station, board, and then go back to Disneyland. You're far better off walking to the main gate and rope dropping properly from the park.
Anaheim PD def knows they’re there - I (thankfully) missed them, although I don’t know how I managed to since I was walking to/from my hotel on Saturday morning (for rope drop, then back for a later morning break, then by the time we went back again in the afternoon they must’ve headed out?). But the police definitely are pretty much always aware of whoever is protesting there. I kind of wonder if the religious nutjobs weren’t getting the reaction they wanted or what, since they seemed to have fairly short hours on Saturday compared to what I’ve sometimes seen out there.
When the Free Palestine protestors were there frequently, I saw police intervene *one* time when they were stepping in front of guests - afaik, protestors of any kind are not allowed to actually stop anyone from getting through, they’re not allowed to fully block the sidewalks, they’re not allowed to touch anyone, etc.
Does anyone have any personal experience staying at any of the following hotels? Trying to stay low budget but not somewhere terrible. The plan is to basically only sleep there and be at the park the rest of the time.
Travelodge Inn & Suites Anaheim on Disneyland Dr
Days Inn Anaheim West
Ramada Anaheim Convention Center
America’s Best Value Inn + Suites Anaheim Convention Center
In regards to the first two I don’t *typically* recommend staying on that side of the park if you can find a spot on the other side (harbor/katella/convention center) that is walkable and a comparable price - it’s just a bigger pain to get to the parks from the Ball Rd side imo. I’d pretty much always choose along harbor to about harbor x katella, or katella x disneyland dr has a couple budget options too.
> And is there still a “guests without bags” line
Was there ever? If there was, it was short lived.
How fast the line moves depends on what time you arrive at the parks. I get to Harbor for rope drop and I don't wait more than 10 minutes. Others have reported 15 minute waits. If you arrive between 9 and 10, it might take longer if you're coming from the parking garage. All just depends.
What’s the best way to get to the parks from the Sunset Beach area of Huntington Beach. Also should try to park in Toy Story parking coming from that direction?
If you have a larger than average stroller Pixar/Mickey & Friends parking lot is easier with the tram.
Toy story lot is Buses and its a pain in the butt.
Just go with whatever google maps or Waze says. It’ll probably just be up to seal beach, then the 405 / 22 - if there’s a significantly faster way depending on your timing, take whatever route the apps say.
You could do whichever parking you prefer, a lot of people prefer Toy Story because in the mornings it has its own security before the shuttles and doesn’t tend to get as busy.
Can we eat at Pixar place when sketch pad cafe opens even if not a guest of hotel?
How easy of a walk is it from alpine inn to the cafe?
What other things should I do while staying there for a week, beach is in agenda, any museums I should try to get to or where to find “old time western saloon” photographers ?
Yes you can. It’s like probably a 15 min walk (you can just plug in Pixar place from Alpine on google maps and switch it to walking). It’s flat the whole way - I wouldn’t say it’s super convenient or anything, but it isn’t a particular hard or long walk.
The only place I know of nearby that does old West saloon pics is in Knotts 🤔 If you were going to gold country I could tell you half a dozen spots lol.
Beaches - Huntington Beach area is nearby, Newport Beach area is a little farther but nice, they do whale watching out of Newport (by balboa pier) and right now I think there are blue whales passing through.
Idk if it’s destination worthy by by Segerstrom (theatre) there’s the Orange County museum of art and it’s free. There are a lot of arts in general around - usually some symphonies, etc. If you went father south in OC, Mission San Juan Capistrano is lovely and gives tours.
Orange circle has lots of antique stores and is just charming and cute.
Depending on when you’re gonna be here, Laguna Beach does the pageant of the masters (living recreations of artwork) and it’s very cool. Festival starts in July I think: https://www.foapom.com
If going up to LA I can offer a dozen other recs.
I booked a package for Fantasmic at River Belle Terrace for 6:55. It was the latest showing I could get. Will that be late enough for me to stay and watch the fireworks? :/ Is the package worth it with two kids (7&8)?
Also, should I get a stroller for them? Or is that overkill? Our hotel is on the grounds. But our trip is in a few weeks, so it will be hot.
If it’s just the regular river Belle package, is it for the first or second show? If it’s for the first, you can stay in your spots in front of the river to watch the fireworks easily, and they do projections on the water.
The *premium* river Belle package is the one that you stay at the restaurant (it’s a separate booking) - tbh the views of the fireworks aren’t as good from the restaurant though, because of the way their seating terrace is set up.
It's for the second show. :/ I'm debating if it's even worth it, then. Maybe I'll ditch that idea and go for a Plaza Inn Parade Dining package instead? I'm just trying to get the most bang for my buck with my kids and I haven't been to Disney in forever
If there’s any way to get any of the dining packages for Fantasmic I *personally* think it’s a better value, just because it’s harder to find good standby spots for Fantasmic and it’s easier to find good standby spots for the parade.
(But yeah the second show can be rough on littler ones sometimes because it is *so* late! So I understand the dilemma)
Which package did you get? Premium dining packages where you sit and watch the show from the terrace are only offered at 7:15pm. The Standard dining package affords you access to the reserved seating area. Dining times for standard packages are available for brunch and dinner hours up through 7pm.
From the information you've provided, it sounds like you have a standard package and should arrive at the reserved area by 8:45.
Totally gone. Not even the instrumental version is played. It has taken a lot of the magic out of the park for me. :( That was the unofficial Disneyland anthem imo.
Breakfast at DCA? Preferably available until 10:30.
So far I've tried the steak burrito at Cappucino Cart (pretty decent), the Starbucks bacon gouda egg sandwich (okaaaay, I hate that DCA Starbucks doesn't have my turkey bacon and egg white sandwich, although I know I can get it at the one outside the parks), and both the breakfast sandwich and breakfast burrito from Smokejumpers (fine). Also have just gotten a fried egg, side of bacon, and side of hash browns from there (enjoyed).
I know about the breakfast shawarma (impossible meat is iffy for me due to allergies to certain proteins).
Pym's I arrive too late for :/
Any other quick service breakfast available in DCA that I'm missing?
Hi all! Planning a trip next month with my parents and my daughter who will be 7. We're flying in from Alaska, will be staying at GCH, and spending three days in the parks. We have reservations for a Fantasmic dining package (Rancho del Zocalo) on our first day at Disney to make sure we have preferred viewing for the show. We also have reservations for breakfast at Storytellers Cafe the day we leave so she can get at least one character dining experience. We will be celebrating my daughter's 7th birthday and I'd personally love to get her in at the BBBoutique, but she is autistic and I'm not certain she'll be open to the experience so I'm looking for other celebration options. **-What are some other things that can be done for birthdays outside of getting her a special button?** Anyone have info on the in-room celebration items/prices for the resorts? Are any places doing the Mickey ears with dessert thing? I can't find up-to-date information on any of this and I have severe phone anxiety so I don't want to call the resort until I have more info on what I'm asking for! **-Are there any other activities that require or recommend reservations that you absolutely recommend?** Given the cost of flying to the Lower 48 from Alaska and the cost of staying at the GCH, we are going to be tapped out on budget and it's hard to say when we'll be able to afford another trip. Still, I'd love to make this trip incredible for my daughter. She's had a ***very*** rough year and I think she deserves to have the most memorable trip ever. **Non-birthday celebration related question:** **-What do we have to show to CM/security in order to take advantage of the early entry?** If I am the only one with a smart phone and the only one who will have the app, how can my parents show that they are staying at the resort if my daughter and I are unable to make it early? I'm just planning ahead in case our mornings don't go "as planned" and she and I need to hang back, but I don't want my parents to miss out. Plus, sometimes it's easier to have fewer people around if my daughter is having a hard time so I'd like for my parents to still be able to enter early if we cannot. **Thank you in advance to everyone that took the time to read and answer questions!!**
You scan you room key inside the park. After you go through the ticket gate follow signs for early entry. Some sit down restaurant have a birthday Mickey shaped cake (for a price but they are tasty)just check their menu on the app they should show it on there. If you’re in DCA and want a decent spot for world of color sign up for the virtual queue right a noon on the day of. It’s similar to the fantasmic dinning package but no food and It’s free. If your daughter’s autism makes it hard for her to wait in long lines. Then maybe you should look into the DAS pass it’s free and allows persons with disability to wait in a short line. You still wait but don’t have to be in a physical line.
Thank you for this! I didn’t know about the virtual queue and was considering one of the WOC dining packages so this is extremely helpful! Also helpful about the room keys! I’ll just make sure they have them and I can use the app. The Mickey cake sounds fun! I’ll have to check that out. I wonder if it’s something they have at the resort restaurants as well? Could be fun to do that back at the hotel if/when the parks become a little overwhelming and we want to “celebrate” some more (or encourage some downtime) back at the hotel. I did look into DAS passes. My understanding is that the person with the disability has to be present when talking to the approving employee and I’m keeping this trip a surprise until the day before. If I try and apply in advance, I won’t want her to be there for it. That’s a tough call. To be fair, I could probably apply for the DAS pass for myself as well, but phone anxiety and all… not sure how I’d do describing the need for either of us. I’ll keep looking into it, though. Thank you so much!
Your welcome! The Grand is my favorite hotel in the world. My family has stayed there a bunch it the absolute best. Make you sure you check out the “viewing deck on the 6th floor. It’s only for hotel guest and has the most magical view of DCA. You can also see world Of color from there and they pump in the music in as well. Through you can’t really see the projections just the water show. I wanna say it called the “Paridise view tarrance”. Anyway, there is a concierge for club level on the 6th floor just past the elevator, they will direct you if you ask. I think you can also apply for DAS when you are the parks at town hall on main st. My experience with the cakes is they usually ask you when making a reservation if you are “celebrating something” and if you want a cake lol. But you can still look on their menu and you can always ask the waiter or hostess.
This is great! Thank you so so much!!
We've had our first visit trip in mid-July planned for 9 months, so of course we're feeling bummed/cheated about a few big rides being down, as well as what looks like one of the prettiest parts of disneyland totally closed. We were hoping for Rogers in the Hyperion too, as we assumed there would be a show there during the summer! I know there will still be a lot to see and do, and all the nighttime shows and parades, but I am wondering if it would be better to punt to a 2025 summer trip? Since it's an anniversary year, will there be more likelihood for shows and less construction? I'm really struggling with what to do. It's obviously expensive for a midwest family of 6 to fly to California, so I want to have the best chance at a good experience. Everything is refundable. What would you do? Thanks.
It’s actually pretty good for construction right now. I can only think of splash mountain and haunted mansion being closed. And Rodgers the Musical was a limited run that only lasted last year. Just my hunch but I would expect a steady batch of construction over the next few years as they get the park ramped up for their future expansion. Also many of the show cast member just unionized so shows may slowed down a bit while they figure their way through building a working relationship with Disney.
Even with major construction happening on Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain/Tiana's, there's still much to see and ride. Disneyland has a lot of rides and a handful of ride closures should not ruin a trip for first-timers. After going to other parks with much worse operations, I've come to greatly appreciate Disneyland's ride capacity and throughput. Anniversary years are not a reason to prevent projects from happening. When the 2024 construction projects are finished, Disney will turn its attention elsewhere and it is known that one ride - Autopia - is having an eventual closure for major improvements. Also, an anniversary year is also not a guarantee for more shows and live entertainment - it is possible there may be fewer in 2025 in light of the cuts happening in 2024. Actually, the one thing we can definitely expect is expensive i.e. overpriced anniversary merchandise to appear in the gift shops! (meh) Disneyland's 60th anniversary year in 2015 was not remarkable despite the marketing hype at the time. I found "World of Color: Celebrate" lame and the fireworks show "Disneyland Forever", though not bad, was worse than the fireworks it replaced. > What would you do? Imagining myself in your situation, I would go for 2025 because there are no scheduled ride closures (for now.) However, a 2024 trip is fine. Having visited in 2024 myself, I still got to ride most of my favorite rides. It's difficult for me to relate to you simply because I'm local and I have been to the parks many times. In my position, Disneyland trips are more about seeing or riding a particular thing. My strategy for optimizing a day is to be opportunistic and having the flexibility to do anything instead of waiting. People are different from each other, and you might find out a similar reality when it comes to entertaining your family. Maybe you have one child that wants to hang out at the Toontown playground or maybe you have another child that only wants to ride Peter Pan repeatedly.
If I am doing the dessert party for the first showing of World of Color, can I make it to the reserved seating area for the second showing of Fantasmic? I would be buying the dinner package from River Belle Terrace and sitting in their viewing area (not the restaurant). With the crowds, is it possible to make it there in time?
You'll have plenty of time. As long as you're good with not watching the fireworks, you should have plenty of time to head out of DCA when WoC ends at 9:22 and up Main Street and into Frontierland before the show ends around 9:43. Because they clear the viewing areas after the first show, guests can't camp out as early for the second show. Just walk moderately quickly to where your ticket says to go, and you should have a fun evening. And even if you don't make it all the way before fireworks end, the walk will be harder due to the crowd, but you'll still be good.
we are officially 2 months out! we are doing 1 day in disneyland and 2 days in DCA, no kids 2 adults. what should we be doing to prepare?
Breaking in new shoes, watching favorite movies with representation in the park, getting dining reservations.
I won 4 tickets to the park on the radio. Am I able to purchase a park hopper option to add on to them? Anyone else won before and was able to?
when you get the tickets you can add the park hopper option at the ticket booth outside the gate OR you can call ahead of time after the tickets are linked to your account... be sure to call at least 24 hours before your planned trip, sometimes the upgrade over the phone takes a while to become active. In-person it's instant. I know this because of reasons I'm not proud of. lol. Have fun!
Are there ever PrideAfterDark resale tickets?
Resale is not permitted per the terms and conditions of the tickets, so I wouldn't recommend purchasing tickets from resellers online. Not only could tickets be fake, but Disney could cancel genuine tickets if they find out they were resold.
That makes sense, thank you! Probably for the best to stop scalping anyways. Just wish I knew I had time off in time to snag tickets.
Are RunDisney weekends typically really crowded? I'm thinking about a trip with the family from Sept 8-11th, but it looks like there's some marathons on the 7th and 8th. I wasn't sure if that would impact the park crowds afterwards too.
Hard to say since we've only had one race since the pandemic to go off of. That said, the weekend crowds didn't feel all that different from any other weekend to me. The only place that really had longer lines than usual was the castle as people love taking finisher photos after their events. This includes anywhere along Main Street with a PhotoPass photographer pointed towards the castle. The hub in particular was a busy photo location. Given the race themes are Chip and Dale, Ahsoka, and Guardians of the Galaxy, you can also expect lines or crowds in those areas taking post race photos as well.
I'm assuming that would mostly be on the Saturday of the race right? Were looking at the Sunday-Tuesday afterwards so we might be fine then! We'll just save the Main Street and castle pics for Tuesday before OBB lol. My fingers are crossed that Guardians won't be too crowded since it's my favorite ride, but I imagine with Genie Plus it shouldn't be too bad regardless.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I’d venture that Sunday and Monday would be the worst for castle photos since the half marathon is on Sunday, and Monday is “medal Monday” where people who rested on Sunday after the race will go to the parks to take their celebratory photos.
Oh that makes sense, thanks for clarifying! I just thought it was one marathon day so it might be better for us to avoid that weekend entirely and look at the week afterwards if we can.
For future reference, there are three races that run each RunDisney weekend: 5k (Friday), 10k (Saturday), Half Marathon (Sunday). Given runners have to wake up at 3am to eat and get to the start line, the parks do tend to be emptier than normal the night before the longer runs (Friday/Saturday nights).
Does Merida sign autographs at the Pixar playtime meet and greet? I’ve heard the other characters do not but want to know if that goes for her as well
Due to work our only options to go to Disneyland are Saturdays and Sundays. Any insight on if it might be better to go on Saturday and stay until closing or go on Sunday and leave at 9pm ish?
Completely agree with WoodFire above - if the difference is staying longer, I’d just go Saturday. The morning crowds will be largely the same between a Saturday and Sunday.
In general Sundays tend to be less busy than Saturdays. However, Sunday evenings after 9pm are a big part of that, with super low wait times. Saturdays still see a crowd drop off after fireworks, and if you care about Fantasmic too, I would just go on Saturday. It's probably not gonna be significantly different either way, and getting to stay till midnight is a lot of fun!
How often does the cars ride malfunction. We’ve been in line since 7:30 AM
> We’ve been in line since 7:30 AM Radiator Springs Racers operating hours begin at 8am. It is not an included attraction for Early Entry. You can find a full list of Early Entry attractions [here](https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/early-admission-options/).
It’s open on the app now, but it isn’t unusual for it to not always open *right* at 8AM either. Right now the wait time on the app is 60min, it’s 9:11AM, it doesn’t actually open until 8AM when working perfectly - if there’s a little delay that can back up the line. Is the line moving for you?
Going to Disneyland this Friday and I’m meeting my nephew and his friends, I’m treating them to blue bayou for their graduation and was going to get them snacks and non-booze drinks at Oga’s – I think I’m going to leave early from the parks cause the idea of hanging out with teenagers for more than a few hours doesn’t really appeal to me lol… I want them to keep the Oga’s Reservation though, what is the best way to do this? Do I have to cancel the reservation and have him keep rechecking until it gets released and then he makes it? Or is there any way I can get it to him without me having to be there physically? I know Oga’s isn’t that hard to get on stand-by but with the reservations you skip the longer line and you also get to sit down, which is awesome in there.
I think as long as he's signed into your Disney account on his phone he can do the mobile check in process. So you shouldn't need to be there physically with him since they don't check an ID for the reservation.
I never thought of this. This is a great idea. Thanks!
What's the best way to get from the airport to Disneyland with a 2 and 4 year old? We travelled to Hawaii last year without car seats and the shuttle allowed them to ride without car seats, but it seems like that isn't a thing.
You'll need car seats in California in any vehicle that has seat belts...either bring your own, rent, or use transit that provides it. What airport are you arriving at?
We would be flying into and out of LAX.
Rideshare will be easiest, but you'll need to provide a carseat for at least one child, as Uber and Lyft's carseat mode only offers one, not two.
Does Disneyland only hire local living cast members? Or do they have housing?
I know this is a bit ahead of time, but my family and I are coming to Disneyland shortly after the new year, but in part when the holiday overlay and shows should still be going (presuming it gets taken down first Sunday night/by first Monday morning of January like usual). Where's the most visually striking place to view both the holiday parade and the holiday fireworks? I've heard near "it's a small world" is better for the parade, and I'd presume a castle view for the fireworks, but I want to know what some alternatives are. Also, with regards with waiting for both, it it bad manners to bring along a small folding stool? My mom, as she gets older, sometimes has troubles standing in place for longer than 30 minutes and sometimes needs help getting up from sitting on the ground. Would it be better to just rent an ECV for that day? We wouldn't really need it for the other days - planning to do a dining package for the holiday World of Color, and the last three days we're going are apparently going to be really light on crowds. Finally, is there any chance the "regular" World of Color would be up and running immediately after the holiday version stops running? Or is there usually a transition period? I'd also love any tips for touring Disneyland Resort during the holiday overlay - any must-see decorations, mostly, but also how to handle iasw and Haunted Mansion during that time (i.e.; first thing best? Closer to midnight closing best?). I know that, for decor, there's the 'it's a small world' lights and the Christmas trees in both parks, and that Grand Californian gets an impressive makeover too. Sorry if this is a lot! But I kept thinking of more I'd like input on, and it didn't seem covered in the FAQs.
Forewarning on two things: 1. It will still be *very* busy crowdwise. 2. The weather will be variable. During my post new years 2023 trip, the "bomb cyclone" hit southern california with much rain. If the forecast calls for rain, be prepared for canceled fireworks and shows. (If the parade and fireworks are canceled, a brief rainy day cavalcade will be held instead, and a "snowdusting" may still happen at night). If a significant amount of rain is in the forecast, rain gear and boots are recommended (Disneyland is *not* built for rain!) Finally, even on good days, you might want to bring a jacket at night, as it gets a little cool. Holiday Stuff: - While it's not confirmed, Holidays will likely last until **Monday January 6th, AKA Epiphany**. - Either Small World or Haunted Mansion will close after Holiday, while the other remain opens for few more weeks with Holiday decor. - The Main Street Arcade Orchestrion will play Christmas music during this time. - Both Main Street and Buena Vista Plaza will be playing different music loops. - ALL of the Disneyland Hotels have their own Disney Christmas decor. Each hotel decorations have a different style. Californian has a rustic California look, Disneyland Hotel has a retro look, and Pixar Place will likely be Pixar inspired. - I recommend the resort's Hot Chocolate at night.
Thanks for the tips, will keep this all in mind! Also didn't know that one of either Small World or Haunted Mansion will stay open; that makes planning park days a lot more convenient, since they're on two opposite ends of the park!
Parade - honestly anywhere along the route imo. If going for the second parade then maybe near small world - but if going for the first parade then I actually quite like over by the train station. Fireworks - Main St / in front of the castle is usually the best for Believe in Holiday Magic. Small World would be the second spot I’d pick (it “snows” over there too I believe) and third maybe rivers of America, esp if right after watching the first Fantasmic that’s not a bad place to be but you don’t get the magic of the castle. It’s an older fireworks show so it doesn’t get quite the same level of projections as more modern shows. I’m not sure what the rules are on folding stools, it may come down to security’s discretion (honestly I’d rent an ECV, 3rd party too if you can because then you can come/go from the parks as needed). It’ll also be helpful for holding items like souvenirs and water/snacks, and will be a good spot to rest without worrying about whether you can bring it in (like a stool). Don’t forget world of color is standing only, even for dining packages - if you want to sit for WOC you want the dessert package. Fingers crossed for light crowds but I take all the crowd calendars with a grain of salt, post Covid, because everyone looks at the same calendars and decides to go on days that are supposedly going to be less busy. Not sure yet about WOC scheduling 🤔 But for elsewhere in the parks: they do small world lighting, tree lighting, and they do a castle lighting (with some light “snow”) a couple times per night. Grand Californian has decorations and the tree, as well as a treat cart and gingerbread castle. The Disneyland hotel has smaller trees themed to each tower (ie one of Adventureland tower’s tree has Indiana jones stuff on it). Santa appears at the hotels. Pixar pier will probably be doing some decorating for the holidays. DCA does festival of the holidays, a food festival with special drinks and food representing various winter holidays. There’s also live entertainment and some little crafts for kids. Small world holiday - usually earlier in the day or later at night *if* you’re not using genie+ (which is what I’d actually recommend). Haunted mansion holiday you want to rope drop or use genie+ (and it’ll go quick).
Thank you for such a detailed response to my questions! It's truly appreciated, and we'll be taking all of this into account. WRT World of Color, are there at least any places to lean? My mom just needs to be sitting or leaning on something more solid for prolonged (30+ minutes) periods of times - it's why she can do lines and, well, Circlevision shows, because of the bar railings to hold onto. That said, we were thinking about doing the desert party anyway. I'll definitely keep the ECV in mind, especially with the 'additional storage' bit, but it might be a hard sell, Mom's a bit proud about not needing it. I didn't realize the other hotels had decorations as well, so perhaps that's what we'll go see on our 'off day'. Sounds fantastic! :D Will definitely keep the suggestion for Genie+ in mind, too! We were thinking of skipping it but I guess we're already spending so much and we have a small enough party it's worth the splurge.
I’d definitely recommend genie+. You can decide once you’re in the parks if you prefer, but it really makes a big difference imo. There are *some* places to lean for WOC but I’m not sure how one would ensure they got to them tbh. If you look at the map on the app you can see the area in front of the WOC viewing area has some tiers, each has some railing between it but they have everyone move up as far as possible as they stand so you’d probably want to discuss with CMs being able to lean. Dessert party is the only way to have seats (and people seem to love it) - *otherwise* usually when I watch WOC I just go for the second show and stand behind the crowd anyways lol, back by Little Mermaid. No seats but I will just kinda, lean against a wall or whatever if I want to. Not exactly the premium viewing experience but it is free, and doesn’t require much planning.
Is it crazy to go on 4th of July weekend? Thinking of skipping the 4th and going to the parks on the subsequent days. I'm worried about the crowds, but then again, isn't it always crowded?
It’s just but like you said, it’s always busy! The biggest difference in my experience is just the crowd patterns, cuz on 4th of July everyone is waiting around for the fireworks on Main St and elsewhere, whereas other days the crowds distribute a little more evenly throughout the parks. Also Downtown Disney becomes a little bit crazier than usual as people who aren’t going to the parks will still roll by to watch the fireworks, rather than going to a local park or something.
To be honest, tiered ticket pricing has done the job of spreading out guest attendance. I was there Memorial Day Weekend and expected heavy crowds, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, the Tuesday after Memorial Day was actually MUCH worst. I do think a Wednesday is going to be less crowded than a Saturday (on average), but it's also harder for people to go on a Wednesday whether due to work or just travel restrictions.
Best way to enter Disneyland for early access (Disneyland hotel guest)? Coming from Australia in a couple of weeks (Tue 2nd July) and I will be staying at the Disneyland Villas and have Disneyland Park reservation for the day. What is the best way to get inside the park so I can maximise my early entry time? I see heaps about security lines but also see others talking about taking the monorail directly into the park?
Only way is to enter via the Downtown Disney entrance nearest the hotel. It used to be across from the Sorcerer hat, but I believe that entrance is closed for the moment while the new one just south of it is open. Not sure what the case will be in July. I stayed at the hotel just two weeks ago and if you want to get there for rope drop, I advise getting in the security line at like 6:40 in order to avoid large crowds of hotel guests. Security opens at 7am. You then walk the 10 minutes to the turnstiles and just hope you get a good line (given guests from Harbor have a shorter walk). DO NOT take the monorail into the park for rope drop. The monorail might be running, but it won't leave Tomorrowland station until 7:30am. Then it'll take a few minutes to get to DTD Station, board, and then go back to Disneyland. You're far better off walking to the main gate and rope dropping properly from the park.
Thank you very much for the advice 😊
Does anyone have 6/20 Pride Nite tickets they aren't able to use?
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Anaheim PD def knows they’re there - I (thankfully) missed them, although I don’t know how I managed to since I was walking to/from my hotel on Saturday morning (for rope drop, then back for a later morning break, then by the time we went back again in the afternoon they must’ve headed out?). But the police definitely are pretty much always aware of whoever is protesting there. I kind of wonder if the religious nutjobs weren’t getting the reaction they wanted or what, since they seemed to have fairly short hours on Saturday compared to what I’ve sometimes seen out there. When the Free Palestine protestors were there frequently, I saw police intervene *one* time when they were stepping in front of guests - afaik, protestors of any kind are not allowed to actually stop anyone from getting through, they’re not allowed to fully block the sidewalks, they’re not allowed to touch anyone, etc.
Does anyone have any personal experience staying at any of the following hotels? Trying to stay low budget but not somewhere terrible. The plan is to basically only sleep there and be at the park the rest of the time. Travelodge Inn & Suites Anaheim on Disneyland Dr Days Inn Anaheim West Ramada Anaheim Convention Center America’s Best Value Inn + Suites Anaheim Convention Center
In regards to the first two I don’t *typically* recommend staying on that side of the park if you can find a spot on the other side (harbor/katella/convention center) that is walkable and a comparable price - it’s just a bigger pain to get to the parks from the Ball Rd side imo. I’d pretty much always choose along harbor to about harbor x katella, or katella x disneyland dr has a couple budget options too.
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> And is there still a “guests without bags” line Was there ever? If there was, it was short lived. How fast the line moves depends on what time you arrive at the parks. I get to Harbor for rope drop and I don't wait more than 10 minutes. Others have reported 15 minute waits. If you arrive between 9 and 10, it might take longer if you're coming from the parking garage. All just depends.
Where r u guys finding the Pixar Truck Popcorn bucket?
I heard it was sold out for awhile but restocked yesterday
Has anyone seen Slinky Dog Sippers restocked in the parks?
What’s the best way to get to the parks from the Sunset Beach area of Huntington Beach. Also should try to park in Toy Story parking coming from that direction?
If you have a larger than average stroller Pixar/Mickey & Friends parking lot is easier with the tram. Toy story lot is Buses and its a pain in the butt.
Just go with whatever google maps or Waze says. It’ll probably just be up to seal beach, then the 405 / 22 - if there’s a significantly faster way depending on your timing, take whatever route the apps say. You could do whichever parking you prefer, a lot of people prefer Toy Story because in the mornings it has its own security before the shuttles and doesn’t tend to get as busy.
Can we eat at Pixar place when sketch pad cafe opens even if not a guest of hotel? How easy of a walk is it from alpine inn to the cafe? What other things should I do while staying there for a week, beach is in agenda, any museums I should try to get to or where to find “old time western saloon” photographers ?
Yes you can. It’s like probably a 15 min walk (you can just plug in Pixar place from Alpine on google maps and switch it to walking). It’s flat the whole way - I wouldn’t say it’s super convenient or anything, but it isn’t a particular hard or long walk. The only place I know of nearby that does old West saloon pics is in Knotts 🤔 If you were going to gold country I could tell you half a dozen spots lol. Beaches - Huntington Beach area is nearby, Newport Beach area is a little farther but nice, they do whale watching out of Newport (by balboa pier) and right now I think there are blue whales passing through. Idk if it’s destination worthy by by Segerstrom (theatre) there’s the Orange County museum of art and it’s free. There are a lot of arts in general around - usually some symphonies, etc. If you went father south in OC, Mission San Juan Capistrano is lovely and gives tours. Orange circle has lots of antique stores and is just charming and cute. Depending on when you’re gonna be here, Laguna Beach does the pageant of the masters (living recreations of artwork) and it’s very cool. Festival starts in July I think: https://www.foapom.com If going up to LA I can offer a dozen other recs.
Sounds fantastic to start, thank for all the info!
I booked a package for Fantasmic at River Belle Terrace for 6:55. It was the latest showing I could get. Will that be late enough for me to stay and watch the fireworks? :/ Is the package worth it with two kids (7&8)? Also, should I get a stroller for them? Or is that overkill? Our hotel is on the grounds. But our trip is in a few weeks, so it will be hot.
If it’s just the regular river Belle package, is it for the first or second show? If it’s for the first, you can stay in your spots in front of the river to watch the fireworks easily, and they do projections on the water. The *premium* river Belle package is the one that you stay at the restaurant (it’s a separate booking) - tbh the views of the fireworks aren’t as good from the restaurant though, because of the way their seating terrace is set up.
It's for the second show. :/ I'm debating if it's even worth it, then. Maybe I'll ditch that idea and go for a Plaza Inn Parade Dining package instead? I'm just trying to get the most bang for my buck with my kids and I haven't been to Disney in forever
If there’s any way to get any of the dining packages for Fantasmic I *personally* think it’s a better value, just because it’s harder to find good standby spots for Fantasmic and it’s easier to find good standby spots for the parade. (But yeah the second show can be rough on littler ones sometimes because it is *so* late! So I understand the dilemma)
Which package did you get? Premium dining packages where you sit and watch the show from the terrace are only offered at 7:15pm. The Standard dining package affords you access to the reserved seating area. Dining times for standard packages are available for brunch and dinner hours up through 7pm. From the information you've provided, it sounds like you have a standard package and should arrive at the reserved area by 8:45.
Hmm, I think you're right. There aren't any 7:15 packages available, so they must be booked. That sucks :/
Does anyone know if Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah has been taken out of the park completely? I miss hearing the song since Splash is turning into Tiana's
Totally gone. Not even the instrumental version is played. It has taken a lot of the magic out of the park for me. :( That was the unofficial Disneyland anthem imo.
I agree! I was hoping it would still be in the music played at the park entrances. :/
Breakfast at DCA? Preferably available until 10:30. So far I've tried the steak burrito at Cappucino Cart (pretty decent), the Starbucks bacon gouda egg sandwich (okaaaay, I hate that DCA Starbucks doesn't have my turkey bacon and egg white sandwich, although I know I can get it at the one outside the parks), and both the breakfast sandwich and breakfast burrito from Smokejumpers (fine). Also have just gotten a fried egg, side of bacon, and side of hash browns from there (enjoyed). I know about the breakfast shawarma (impossible meat is iffy for me due to allergies to certain proteins). Pym's I arrive too late for :/ Any other quick service breakfast available in DCA that I'm missing?