Leaving tomorrow; no touring plans yet!

[freshstart19]

Hello. So, the planning I thought I had done in advance got sidetracked by a family medical emergency. Haven't been able to focus on our trip and we leave tomorrow! Still don't even have tickets! I have a 25 page Word document that I cut and pasted in as I found things over the last several months. That is very disorganized. I have 11 and 24 year old girls. The 11 year old HAS to see Ana and Elisa which I know is a problem with the lines. I will try play with TouringPlans tonight or join ridemax. Haven't started packing yet! Does anyone have a plan they are willing to share? I will bypass some of the bigger rides with the 11 year old but the 24 year old and her dad will want to go on them. I'm very nervous about the fast pass strategy for the popular rides in both parks and World of color. I'm still not clear on what to do now that Radiator Springs is connected to the system. We arrive on Sunday night after a couple of days in LA.

OH, how bad is jet lag on the first day? We arrive on Friday night at 7:30pm and plan on going to Universal the next morning first thing and followed by a Mets-Dodgers game at night. I'm thinking we're going to fall asleep at the game! Luckily, I haven't bought tickets for that yet so we may change it to Sunday afternoon and then head to Santa Monica on the way to Anaheim. Too much to do!

Oh, is it really worth it for us to potentially cut our evening short in Santa Monica to rush to Anaheim for Fantasmic? We seen it in Orlando. Wondering if we'll still be suffering from jet lag on Sunday after our arrival on Friday night. If so, we may be too tired to even enjoy Fantasmic! I'm totally stressed out and we haven't left yet....

 

[laughinplace199]

Sorry to hear about your family emergency. I hope all is ok now.

Can your kids do some research and throw a plan together for the trip? I usually assign stuff like this to DD15 when I'm in over my head. There are some stickies at the top of this page with great info (see Hydroguy's stuff). Maybe you could print some info out and/or pick up a DL guidebook and everyone can do some "homework" on the plane.

I think Anna & Elsa will be your biggest "problem" to figure out. Where are you staying? Will you have any early entry mornings? That may help. Thankfully, DD15 isn't into them and my boys couldn't care less so we were able to skip the Frozen stuff.

We stayed at the GC and the CM's there were great with advice. I stopped by the concierge desk and the front desk on occasion to ask about park hours or how to plan a strategy for RSR. They were super helpful.

We were just there last week and jet lag wasn't too bad. I think by the second day we were pretty much on CA time. My DS7 was the only one who had a tough time with it - he fell asleep at the Red Sox/Angels game - his first Red Sox game ever!

 

[tarheelalum]

Just do what you really want to do first and then let everything else just happen. Download the free version of mousewait (don't pay for it) if you have an android phone. Its pretty good at giving you real time line waits. Use that and just go with the flow and most of all enjoy yourself. Have a great time!

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks for the replies. We're staying at Grand Californian. Checking in Sunday early evening or later. Plan is for alternate between the parks starting with CP on Mon. Leaving Thursday afternoon for San Diego. Thinking Thurs am will be our stand in line for the Frozen characters after we've done everything else.

Just reread my original post. I sure was wired! Haven't started packing yet. Needed to go sign up for dance classes for DD11 first. Long night ahead!

 

[MouseEXP]

First thing to do is to take a deep breathe.

If you private message me with the answers to the following questions, I will help you out when you get to Disneyland.

Do you arrive at the Grand California on Sunday evening?
How many days will you be visiting the parks?
Does it matter which park you visit on a particular day?
Do you want to actually meet Elsa and Anna or just see them?
Which attractions do you need to see?

Thanks
Brian

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, go pack those bags! These kinds of long nights are ok because there's fun on the horizon!

We stayed at the GC last week and we also went to San Diego. If I can answer any questions for you, let me know.

Have a great trip!

P.S. Don't worry if you don't have a plan. It sounds like MouseEXP can help you with a plan. Plus, the CM's at the resort were very helpful with park strategy and advice.

Have a great time. I'm already missing it!

 

[kitayama]

This is California... Don't stress out too much about it...
Look at the map and see what looks like fun, and do it. Will you be able to do everything, no. If you planned out everything to the last minute would you be able to do everything, no again.
Jet Lag depends on where you are coming from and how bad the trip is. If you are coming from the East Coast, you will be three hours ahead of us so waking up at 7:00 in the morning will be like waking up at 10:00 your time (but midnight here feels like 3AM there). Let's also say that there are delays at the airport and bad layovers... You will be exhausted for a day after that. It took me 20 hours to go from Florida to California once. I was definitely exhausted the next day.
I was listening to a podcast recently and the podcaster suggested to try doing the parks like a local. I loved this suggestion because I go to Disneyland weekly and have a great time! When I get to the parks I relax a bit, go on a few rides, eat and shop, and close out the park having done quite a lot of stuff. I did the same thing at Disney World, and I had a great time there too (I did need ADR's at Disney World, but they are more easily obtained at Disneyland). If you miss something, it just gives you a reason to come back for another visit.
I understand, this is costing you a LOT of money... I am also sorry to hear about your family emergency... I say this thinking of how I would feel in your situation; I am NOT trying to sound sarcastic or mean spirited... You DESERVE a relaxing vacation right now! Don't stress, just relax, and you will have fun.

Oh, and for Anna and Elsa, have one person bite the bullet and wait in line for the 11-year-old. Let the kid and everyone else have fun instead of waiting the entire time in line. I am usually against this, but since she is probably the only one who is going to visit them, I don't think anyone would mind you holding a place in line for her. If someone does mind it, you will never see them again anyways...

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks everyone. I leave in 1 1/2 hours. Plan on reading my info on the plan and come up with a plan. I just printed my universal and disney tickets!

Thanks the offer to pm and help out. I'll try to breathe on the plane and come up with something. Just a bad time for me to go but my 11 year old is pumped. I had made our dining reservations before the medical emergency. It's just the fine tuning that I didn't get a chance to do. Thanks again.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

You'll be fine. Park hopping when you're staying at GCH is so amazingly easy, you won't believe how easy it makes it to follow your nose. Just decide what your day-one DLR priorities are, and don't forget to use the GCH entrance into DCA--and the DL monorail as well!--to help you take breaks and eliminate some of the walking you'll do. Worst-case scenario for RSR is you all use the single rider line--you wouldn't ride together but your wait would be awesomely short. And since this isn't WDW, no lines will be two or three hours long, either. (Not even RSR anymore.) The Mousewait app is also a terrific suggestion from previous posters. You'll see when you get there--and you'll relax

 

[freshstart19]

I'm on the plane and much more relaxed!! What had me frazzled was the order of FPs to get. I had it down until I learned that RSR is now connected. We'll actually be at Universal first thing tomorrow so figuring that out first. Minions here we come! Thanks again for your help. I'll get the mousewait app and we'll do the early morning things. I was thinking of doing Ana and Elssa on our last morning but forgot I have a 8:15 breakfast at the Plaza Inn. Maybe, I'll wait in the Frozen line while my family eats. DD11 is very much into the characters. I think she's a little too old now but she's really psyched which is fun see

 

[surfmontana]

and don't forget to use the GCH entrance into DCA--and the DL monorail as well!--to help you take breaks and eliminate some of the walking you'll do.

When would be a good opportunity to use the monorail?

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

When would be a good opportunity to use the monorail?

I like it for midday lunch/shopping breaks to DtD and back into DL, and you can use it from DL to visit/dine at (or to return to if you're staying at them) the on-property hotels. As a rule, I like to walk into and out of DL via Main Street USA, but if you're really hot/tired and going to DtD or the Disney hotels, it can feel like a lifesaver.

And if it's really hot and you have time to kill, you can always ask to ride up front. It's the only part of the monorail with AC

 

[mickey61607]

I'm on the plane and much more relaxed!! What had me frazzled was the order of FPs to get. I had it down until I learned that RSR is now connected. We'll actually be at Universal first thing tomorrow so figuring that out first. Minions here we come! Thanks again for your help. I'll get the mousewait app and we'll do the early morning things. I was thinking of doing Ana and Elssa on our last morning but forgot I have a 8:15 breakfast at the Plaza Inn. Maybe, I'll wait in the Frozen line while my family eats. DD11 is very much into the characters. I think she's a little too old now but she's really psyched which is fun see

We went in June and our family was first in line to see Anna and Elsa. It worked beautifully. I read tips on here. IF they are still doing the same thing now, here is a link to the post I wrote up when we returned. Several others posted the same strategy and all of us were within the first 5 families in line and didn't wait more than 15 minutes. Only 1 person would need to be there really early. The rest of your party could meet up with you!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3304950

Post #24 even has a picture I posted for what the sign looks like that you would want to watch for.

Good luck! I planned a lot and I felt the same way the night before the trip - I never got around to doing the specific day by day plan. It really wasn't terrible. I would spend time each night before planning for the next day. Your kids are a lot older than mine so you can take advantage of single rider lines for RSR since that is another concern.

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks everyone for the additional replies. So far so good!! I'll post more on a new topic thread to share with a broader audience.

 

[carol-lamb]

We returned last night from a weeks stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We spent seven days in the parks and winged it each day (other than some dining reservations). We had a fantastic time and did every attraction in both parks - except for Dumbo! Don't know why we skipped that one! With that much time we were also able to ride our favorites multiple times (Indiana Jones the most - four times)!