Planning help and when to schedule reservations

[CanuckMama]

I am in the midst of planning our family’s first Disneyland trip (DH and I went as kids, but not since then), and would love some thoughts about the advanced bookings. This is likely to be our only Disney trip, or at least until our kids (DD6 and DS10) are well into their teens.

We will be staying at the Park Vue Inn, arriving in Anaheim the evening of Mon. Nov. 4 (arriving late from a full day at Legoland in San Diego, so won’t do character dining that night), leaving mid-day on Sat. Nov. 9 to get to LAX in time for a 5 pm flight.

We will be getting MaxPass, and probably also Park Hopper tickets, either for 4 or 5 days (it looks like the cost difference is minimal, so probably 5). So we will have one Magic Morning (probably Thursday), but no Extra Magic Hour. We will likely follow some sort of touring plan for at least the first two days, and then will figure out what we want to do again or haven’t yet gotten to. I’m not sure where SWGE will best fit into our schedule, but we’ll get there at some point to check it out and build a droid. It sounds like Tues/Wed are likely to be the least busy, with Thursday OK, Friday busier, and Saturday the busiest day of our trip (going into the Veteran’s Day long weekend).

Reservations:

1. Dining package: Unless I’m mistaken, Fantasmic! and World of Color will probably only be on Fri/Sat/Sun while we’re there, so we’ll likely plan the dining package at Hungry Bear on Friday, possibly staying for fireworks depending on how tired we are. WOC Dessert Party sounds great but not in our budget, plus it’s may be too late for us anyway and would be too much to get over there from F! if it’s only on the weekends. (We might thy to get a FP for it if it’s on earlier in the week.)
2. Character dining: We’ll do Goofy’s Kitchen for dinner; our hotel has free breakfast so a dinner option makes the most sense, otherwise we’d consider the Plaza Inn breakfast.
3. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (cheaper packages for both DD6 and DS10)

Right now I’m thinking the plan will be:
Tues: Disneyland
Wed: DCA
Thurs: Magic Morning at DL, BBB mid-morning, Goofy’s for dinner
Fri: HB dinner, F! and fireworks
Sat: ?

So, questions:

1. Is it even worth planning to visit either park on Saturday, considering we will have seen everything by then and it will probably be much busier than earlier in the week?
2. BBB and Goofy’s Kitchen: I’m thinking that it might be better to plan these for a day that is likely to be a bit busier in the parks than our first two days (i.e. take full advantage of the slowest days to do more rides), but does that make sense? Would it be better to plan these for earlier in the trip? Or is it better to do those on slower days? (I.e. Are they likely to be less busy and therefore get more character interaction? Or is it pretty much the same either way?) And does it make sense to book these on the same day, or would you suggest doing them on different days? (OK, so that's more than one question...)
3. Is there a better time of day to aim for for BBB?
4. Any other advice/considerations?

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

I don't think it's possible to see EVERYTHING by Saturday.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I am in the midst of planning our family’s first Disneyland trip (DH and I went as kids, but not since then), and would love some thoughts about the advanced bookings. This is likely to be our only Disney trip, or at least until our kids (DD6 and DS10) are well into their teens.

We will be staying at the Park Vue Inn, arriving in Anaheim the evening of Mon. Nov. 4 (arriving late from a full day at Legoland in San Diego, so won’t do character dining that night), leaving mid-day on Sat. Nov. 9 to get to LAX in time for a 5 pm flight.

We will be getting MaxPass, and probably also Park Hopper tickets, either for 4 or 5 days (it looks like the cost difference is minimal, so probably 5). So we will have one Magic Morning (probably Thursday), but no Extra Magic Hour. We will likely follow some sort of touring plan for at least the first two days, and then will figure out what we want to do again or haven’t yet gotten to. I’m not sure where SWGE will best fit into our schedule, but we’ll get there at some point to check it out and build a droid. It sounds like Tues/Wed are likely to be the least busy, with Thursday OK, Friday busier, and Saturday the busiest day of our trip (going into the Veteran’s Day long weekend).

Reservations:

1. Dining package: Unless I’m mistaken, Fantasmic! and World of Color will probably only be on Fri/Sat/Sun while we’re there, so we’ll likely plan the dining package at Hungry Bear on Friday, possibly staying for fireworks depending on how tired we are. WOC Dessert Party sounds great but not in our budget, plus it’s may be too late for us anyway and would be too much to get over there from F! if it’s only on the weekends. (We might thy to get a FP for it if it’s on earlier in the week.)
2. Character dining: We’ll do Goofy’s Kitchen for dinner; our hotel has free breakfast so a dinner option makes the most sense, otherwise we’d consider the Plaza Inn breakfast.
3. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (cheaper packages for both DD6 and DS10)

Right now I’m thinking the plan will be:
Tues: Disneyland
Wed: DCA
Thurs: Magic Morning at DL, BBB mid-morning, Goofy’s for dinner
Fri: HB dinner, F! and fireworks
Sat: ?

So, questions:

1. Is it even worth planning to visit either park on Saturday, considering we will have seen everything by then and it will probably be much busier than earlier in the week?
2. BBB and Goofy’s Kitchen: I’m thinking that it might be better to plan these for a day that is likely to be a bit busier in the parks than our first two days (i.e. take full advantage of the slowest days to do more rides), but does that make sense? Would it be better to plan these for earlier in the trip? Or is it better to do those on slower days? (I.e. Are they likely to be less busy and therefore get more character interaction? Or is it pretty much the same either way?) And does it make sense to book these on the same day, or would you suggest doing them on different days? (OK, so that's more than one question...)
3. Is there a better time of day to aim for for BBB?
4. Any other advice/considerations?

1. Sure! Even if you just go for a few hours, it’ll be nice to have time to hit a few favorites, maybe catch a show or two... for the price difference between a 4 or 5 day ticket, may as well.
2. I’d do them later just because you’ll probably have less walking stamina as the days go on.
3. Do BBB around 10 or 11 - early enough to enjoy for a large part of the day, but late enough not to waste valuable low-crowd ride time on. Do it a day you’re not going to take a pool break.

 

[DisTXMom]

The Plaza character breakfast is the best character meal at DLR IMO- you should check it out and decide for yourself. Agree with your thought to do longer character meals on busier park days (we do rides at rope drop and a later breakfast). WOC dessert party isn’t worth it, but the dining package is- we enjoyed Wine Country Trattoria very much and liked having reserved standing area.

 

[CanuckMama]

2. I’d do them later just because you’ll probably have less walking stamina as the days go on.

Excellent point, thanks!

 

[PHXscuba]

World of Color runs pretty consistently almost every night of the year, even during less-busy season. You could probably see it on Wednesday. Even if you're not certain you'll stay all the way through, get a MaxPass/FastPass in the morning as they can run out early since everyone can now get them on their phone! They aren't connected to the rest of the system so you can keep getting FastPasses.

PHXscuba

 

[CanuckMama]

World of Color runs pretty consistently almost every night of the year, even during less-busy season. You could probably see it on Wednesday. Even if you're not certain you'll stay all the way through, get a MaxPass/FastPass in the morning as they can run out early since everyone can now get them on their phone! They aren't connected to the rest of the system so you can keep getting FastPasses.

PHXscuba

Thanks, I couldn't seem to figure that one out. We will definitely watch for the schedule and aim to get a FP for it.

 

[kyrkea333]

So, questions:

1. Is it even worth planning to visit either park on Saturday, considering we will have seen everything by then and it will probably be much busier than earlier in the week?
2. BBB and Goofy’s Kitchen: I’m thinking that it might be better to plan these for a day that is likely to be a bit busier in the parks than our first two days (i.e. take full advantage of the slowest days to do more rides), but does that make sense? Would it be better to plan these for earlier in the trip? Or is it better to do those on slower days? (I.e. Are they likely to be less busy and therefore get more character interaction? Or is it pretty much the same either way?) And does it make sense to book these on the same day, or would you suggest doing them on different days? (OK, so that's more than one question...)

Often our favourite day is the last day of the 5 day hopper (which I totally recommend for the minimal price difference). We have pretty much no agenda, so it doesn't matter how busy the park is, we go at a slower pace and soak in the ambiance and maybe go on a ride when it works for us. It's a lot of fun to step down from our usual faster pace in the park.
I think doing BBB & Goofy's Kitchen on a busier day is a perfect idea. A bit of a respite from the crowds and a rest will keep you fresh!
Have a wonderful time!