first timers - opinions please! :)

[Beauties n the Beast]

Hi all! We are headed on our first trip to Disneyland in August and I'm feeling ok with the 'less planning' aspect of it, but I need to be prepared!!! It will be me, my 2 daughters (18 and 22) and my 2 year old son. We are arriving on Tuesday and plan on getting settled, relax at the pool, go to Target, and maybe head to DTD and/or sight see the area around the hotel. We are staying off-site near the Toy Story parking lot so I'm hoping we can walk there to hop on/off shuttles to/from DL to cut out a little walking lol.
We have 3 day park hoppers, with Maxpass. Tues, Thurs & Saturday (my BDAY!) are our Disney park days. I've read through many of the other posts and tips and I think we are just going in with no 'set' plan but getting that FP thru MP as soon as we are in the gates on each of our days and watching wait times etc. This is a combo bday/graduation trip so one night at least I'd like to have a nice-ish dinner (within budget lol) - any suggestions there would be great I would LOVE to eat at Blue Bayou but the offerings won't appeal to my picky girls so not worth the $$. I have one daughter who is pescatarian (shrimp though, not fish smh) and the other just doesn't like to try new things. My reservation time is coming up next week so any recommendations would be great
Any tips for getting through a day at the park with a 2 year old would be great. He is really good about napping in the stroller so as long as this holds true in the August sun, we plan on hanging at the parks until we are kicked out.

Friday, maybe DTD and more exploring of the area. Storytellers Cafe is on the list so maybe we will reserve for this day, then explore DTD and back to hotel to relax..

I rented a car for Sunday - Tues and we are doing one day at the beaches, and another day Hollywood/LA area (Mann's theater, Griffith Observatory are on our "wanted" list). Would like to go to hollywood forever cemetary but not sure if that possible for a day trip. Any preference for the drive to these places on Sunday or Monday?

Tuesday afternoon we leave so that is just a last ditch trip to DTD if needed and relaxing!

For park days, I hope we can hop back and forth and get all the rides possible Thanks!

 

[Gaugersaurus]

Make sure you go to city hall or one of the shops to ask for birthday/graduation buttons to wear when you first get there, it won't get you anything super special but most CMs and some guests will wish you happy birthday or say congrats to the grad.

For meals I would have your daughters look at menus and give their top 2-3 restaurant choices then pick whichever they agree on or make an executive decision based on those. Don't leave out options in DTD for a nicer meal.

I'm sure you know but August is hot (like 90-100+) so I would plan for afternoon breaks at the hotel for your son just in case he can't sleep with the heat. Alternatively you could look for indoor places around the resort area to hangout and keep cool while your son naps.

LA is tough because there's really no rule for avoiding traffic there. Monday will probably be the most predictable as far as traffic because there's morning & evening rush hours that you can plan around but the roads will be a mess the closer you get to downtown. You're probably looking at 90-120 mins one way unless you leave early (by 8am) on Sunday.

There's plenty of options for beaches so if you just want to see the ocean Huntington/Newport will be fine if you want the scenery you'll have to go down to laguna which could lead to some traffic coming home.

 

[LaurieRL]

We find LA traffic to be ridiculous so be patient and plan extra time to get anywhere. We just got back from our second California trip and first DL trip. We tried to go to Griffith Observatory on our last night and couldn't get parking. I believe they have a shuttle from the bottom lot. We really enjoyed visiting The Grove, walking Rodeo Drive and driving Mulholland Drive as well. We took our DL day pretty plan free. Starting grabbing those fastpasses immediately and barely stood in any lines. We took a break partway through the day which is much more doable than WDW. We ate in DTD where the food appealed to us more.

 

[avalon451]

So you’re going to be there Tuesday- Tuesday? It sounded from your post that your arrival day was not going to be a park day, but then you said your park days are Tues, Thurs, Sat. If you are arriving Tuesday I’d suggest making that one of you non park days, since you only have 3- day hoppers- you will want to make full use of them, and get to the gate at opening. I guess with that much time I’d opt for more park days, so you’re not rushing to get everything in with your toddler- but it might be fine.
I have not used them myself, but I understand there are nice baby care stations, which might be a resource for a break with your two year old. I’ve also heard good things about finding a quiet corner of the large carpeted foyer of Animation Academy in CA- air conditioning and usually not too chaotic, for stroller naps.
What day will you use your Magic Morning? Usually best earlier in the trip, before everybody is wiped out from several days of touring.
I like the PP’s suggestion of looking at all the menus and asking your daughters what they’d like to try.
Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[TinkSassy]

We did BB this last trip and the food was ok at best - atmosphere is the draw here. Cafe Orleans is always a hit and we liked Lamplight Lounge at DCA. Truthfully I would do your nice meal at the beach - as the counter service restaurants at DL are very good - and IMHO have food as good or better than the sit down locations. Huntington is within 30 minutes and Dukes there is a great meal (don't miss the Hula Pie- perfect Bday dessert). I would do LA on Sunday (if everything you want to see is open) and Beaches on the weekday. Lots around Huntington/Newport - if you are up for it I would drive to San Diego and have lunch in Old Town and then drive the PCH back enjoying the day - then dinner at Huntington watching the surfers.

We did something similar in April - we did beaches one day, LA another and DL for 3 days. We did a bus tour of LA and I would highly recommend that - it is a long drive and a lot of traffic to fight. We used a company called A Day in LA and they picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off - Hollywood Blvd, Griffith, Rodeo, Venice, Santa Monica and more. We would never have seen that much on our own.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

One option is to do a character dinner at Goofy's Kitchen in the DLH on your arrival night. That is a fun way to kick off the magic and get some great photos with characters before starting your park days.

 

[Beauties n the Beast]

So you’re going to be there Tuesday- Tuesday? It sounded from your post that your arrival day was not going to be a park day, but then you said your park days are Tues, Thurs, Sat. If you are arriving Tuesday I’d suggest making that one of you non park days, since you only have 3- day hoppers- you will want to make full use of them, and get to the gate at opening. I guess with that much time I’d opt for more park days, so you’re not rushing to get everything in with your toddler- but it might be fine.
I have not used them myself, but I understand there are nice baby care stations, which might be a resource for a break with your two year old. I’ve also heard good things about finding a quiet corner of the large carpeted foyer of Animation Academy in CA- air conditioning and usually not too chaotic, for stroller naps.
What day will you use your Magic Morning? Usually best earlier in the trip, before everybody is wiped out from several days of touring.
I like the PP’s suggestion of looking at all the menus and asking your daughters what they’d like to try.
Sounds like a fun trip!

Sorry yes, Tuesday to Tuesday and I meant park days were Wed, Thurs & Sat.... too many thoughts going thru my head! lol
I've used the baby care stations in WDW and those were nice for a break and changing diapers etc. Will have to look for those here too.
I guess since we are offsite, we would need to do Thurs or Saturday for MM? Still undecided on that, leaning towards Thurs with your suggestion though. It makes sense to do the earlier days earlier in the week!

 

[Beauties n the Beast]

thanks everyone!!! Great suggestions

My only issue with the day tour things is the amount of time at each stop. and lugging a stroller on/off a bus? In my head I thought having a car would give us more freedom on the time we spend at each area. I'm a little anxious about traffic but I drive on 95 here on the east coast which can be a real hell! so I have a taste lol But I gues swill consult with the grown kids, see if they want to do a bus (and pay for their tickets??!)

Lamplight Lounge is definitely on the list!! For the drinks and the scenery ... and food

Which character meal has Stitch? He is one that my toddler loves, and I thought I read he is only available in Dland at one of the character meals. But, apparently I didn't write that one down! ugh.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Stitch can be found at Donald's character breakfast at the PPH.