So many questions, know you experts can help me!

[JHollinsworth]

Hi all,

We live in Atlanta and have only been to Disneyland one time and it was over 10 years ago. Our girls are now 13 and 11 and want to go to California to see the sights in San Fran, LA and a quick trip to Disneyland. Of course, their main concern is selfies of The Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood sign and Mickey to post on their instagrams.

So, we are arriving late Tuesday, April 3rd and staying on property at the Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel so we get to go into the parks early. We are rope drop people and spend ALL day at the parks. Only going to do two parks in two days with no hopper. Wednesday, April 4 and Thursday, April 5. So, can you help with some questions?

-Where do I buy tickets so I'm not waiting in line to get in that day? Just directly through Disneyland and they mail the ticket like WDW does the bracelets?
-Which day to go to which park? Do I go to the park that has the magic morning hours? I'm a little confused about this. I see that those that buy at least three day passes get one magic morning. The verbiage for the hotels sounds like you can get into either park EVERY day- is that true? If that is true, doesn't it make sense for us to go to the park that doesn't have Magic Morning hours posted? How come I can't see the days that have magic morning hours in April? It only shows February.
-What restaurants do you recommend for dinner reservations? Long gone are the days of princess meals thank goodness. We would consider a Mickey buffet type dinner just so we can get some fun pictures but it's not a requirement.
That's it for now. Thank you!

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

OHHH! I am so excited for you. You will just get your tickets when you check in, I believe. Someone else confirm that?

Everyday you are staying on site you get into a park an hour EARLY, it rotates between DCA and DL. So Wed you will want to go to DCA, Thursday will be DL. The early entry to DCA is very exclusive. That one hour you will fly through the major attractions, focus on Cars Land first. Only DL hotel guests get early entry to DCA, all three hotels COMBINED have fewer rooms then Pop. Imagine if Pop got an exclusive early entry to a Disney park! Make it a point to be up, ready and at the gate in plenty of time.

For dinner, consider booking show packages BOTH nights. Wed book for WOC and Thursday for Fantasmic! For WOC you can technically do a lunch option to save money. This will get you better seating and a guarantee Fast Pass so you won't have to worry about pulling one. Each show has a low, mid and high price option, people go back and forth on this endlessly, which is the best value.

A fun character meal is Plaza Inn for the Minnie and Friends Breakfast. I haven't done it but I do eat dinner here. In the morning, it can be a gold mine of characters. Minnie is ALWAYS there and she has anywhere from 5-10(!) friends with her. Mickey is never there, but will Minnie do for your girls?! One of the most common things discussed here is which characters are currently there, from Tigger to Alice to the Fairy Godmother. It comes at a cost of precious time in DL though. The Plaza Inn is a really lovely setting, it's classic Main Street. Maybe do a late breakfast after enjoying the low crowd morning?

And, this is very important, when you buy your tickets, seriously consider PREPAYING for Max Pass. I believe there is a very good chance the price on that will go up. It has been a complete success and the "introductory" price of $10 it's likely coming to it's end.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I would highly recommend getting a parkhopper ticket. With that early hour in DCA you’ll get so much done! But early hour doesn’t get you much in Disneyland-it’s very busy with the people with their parkhopper Magic morning. I’d rather 1/2 day DCA & 1.5 day Disneyland.

I find last minute travel has the best ticket prices. They e-mail you your ticket. You exchange it at the GATE for a paper ticket.

I’d eat at blue bayou in dL.

Good quick/counter service: French market & plaza inn
Snack: bengal bbq

DCA haven’t done Carthay not my taste. Ehh on wct so I wouldn’t book there. Maybe at a hotel?
Good counter: Boardwalk pizza & pasta
Snack: award wieners

 

[chickapin parterre]

If you parkhop on Wednesday to Disneyland, that will give you a chance to absorb Main Street and Sleeping beauty castle, but you will want to return to DCA for the parade, Shaboom and Raditor Springs at night. plus GRR surrounds at night to take in that sierra Nevada texture, don't ride it at night as you will be wet. And if you do WOC, then your night is full. So then where do you eat lunch on Wednesday? And what if you want to ride RSR three times? Or even like to ride GRR when the sun is shining to dry off, then what do you do on park hop?

 

[azdisneylover]

Target has Disneyland gift cards and tickets online. You can use your Target red card and save 5%. There are other places to purchase tickets to save $$$. I would suggest getting park hoppers instead of one day one park. We like Whitewater Snacks in Grand Californian Hotel for a quick bite to eat or to relax away from the crowds. Prices are good and so are the food choices.

 

[az4boys]

I don't think this was answered... you can't see April because Disneyland is very slow at posting details. Usually only 6 weeks out. Check back at the end of February.

Maxpass is worth the cost and having it already on your tickets ready to go would be nice. There are lots of ways to get tickets, just don't get something that requires you to go to the ticket booth.

 

[tzeitel]

Lots of info already shared, so I will just add a couple of dining options.

Blue Bayou is inside the pirates ride, so it is pretty special. For WoC I would do the dessert party - it is a great way to watch the show!

Cozy Cones is a good option for lunch - you can get chili, green Chile chicken, or mac n cheese in a bread cone. It is in a great photo area

 

[YukonMommy]

I will add that California Screamin and Mickeys Fun Wheel will be under refurb when you are there. I echo those that say get the park hopper. I can spend days at both parks and not get bored, but you have 2 days and in that 2 days you will not get to see and experience everything, with your early entry you would only need to spend .5 days in DCA and spend the rest in DL. Make a list of everyones must do's at each park, make those your goals and the rest is bonus!!

Have a magical time!!

 

[superdeluxe]

I find last minute travel has the best ticket prices. They e-mail you your ticket. You exchange it at the GATE for a paper ticket.

So this is not the regular ticket line correct? Just read the horror story about the guy with the expedia voucher waiting in line for an hour to get his voucher redeemed for a ticket.

 

[figment_jii]

As others have said, DLR doesn't post their hours months in advance like WDW. Dining reservations open up approximately 60-days in advance and the operating calendar is usually posted 45-days in advance. Entertainment offerings are added after the operating calendar is posted (sometimes weeks later - it can vary).

Getting dining reservations is not usually a major issue (unlike trying to get them at WDW). If you go online on the 60-day mark and you can't find something, it's more likely that they haven't yet loaded that date/reservation into the system. Still, I do recommend making dining ADRs if you know you want to eat at a specific place and/or time. What kinds of food do you like? For my family, we like Cafe Orleans, Carnation Cafe, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and RBT. DLR also has a number of pretty good counter service locations (e.g., French Market, Plaza Inn).

DLR has two different early morning perks: Magic Morning (MM) and Extra Magic Hour (EMH). Magic Morning is connected to select three-day or longer tickets and only happens in Disneyland (usually on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays). Extra Magic Hours is available to guests staying at one of the three on-site hotels regardless of the ticket you buy (although, you do need to have a ticket to get into the parks for EMH). It happens in both Disneyland and DCA, usually on alternating days (DL is on T, R, and Sat and DCA is on M, W, Fri, and Sun). MM and EMH happen in Disneyland on the same day. In DL, only FL and TL (and MS) are open for EMH/MM, but it's possible to get quite a lot done in that one hour. I would try to take advantage of EMH/MM if possible.

The only buffet with Mickey is Surf's Up at Paradise Pier Grill (breakfast), I think. I went a while ago, and it was a lot of fun. Otherwise, there is Breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn (DL), Critter Breakfast at Storytellers (GCH), and Goofy's Kitchen (DLH). My friends went to Goofy's Kitchen in late-Fall and said they really enjoyed it.

 

[akmomesq]

I echo what all have said above about the park hoppers. My family of 4 (with kids about your kids' ages) bounce back and forth all day between the two when we go; I would never skip the hoppers.

I don't know if you're a costco member, but costco travel has a good deal if you want to bundle your PP reservation with tickets (I've made direct reservations and then switched them around in this way). Not a savings on hotel or tickets than you'd get at disney direct, but it does include a character meal (which is a great savings.)

 

[Nevada Jen]

If you are ride people you definately want the hopper and max pass. With early entry to dca you can literally ride everything in the first two hours all while booking fastpasses at dl. I highly recommend the dessert party for woc. If this is a one time thing for you guys you want to be able to actually see the show and the dinner packages don't really make that happen for short people. We have been happy with hungry bear grab and go for fantasmic but if you are going to do it anyway blue bayou package is obviously good. I would book the latest breakfast you can at the character breakfast in dl park for the best character interaction unless you can do dinner at goofy kitchen the day of your arrival for dinner. The character meal at paradise pier is great but I'm not sure they still have a dinner and you don't want to waste morning park hours eating! My best advice is to start following this forum. You will end up an expert before you even get there!

 

[tzeitel]

So this is not the regular ticket line correct? Just read the horror story about the guy with the expedia voucher waiting in line for an hour to get his voucher redeemed for a ticket.

I've used LMTC several times now with no issues. We print the tickets, go to the gate, they scan, take our picture and give us a regular ticket.

 

[Winnowill]

We got LMT Club tickets for our two-days two weeks ago. Got printable vouchers that I was able to scan right when we got them, and easily exchanged for the paper tickets (which we used ONLY for FPs for WOC and F! - otherwise, we used our phones for everything). MP is SUPER easy to buy. As soon as they scan your tickets, you can buy MP and have your first FP before you even get to the ropes.

 

[smartlabelprint]

So this is not the regular ticket line correct? Just read the horror story about the guy with the expedia voucher waiting in line for an hour to get his voucher redeemed for a ticket.

Correct. Its your real ticket printed. You like up to go in the park.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I echo what all have said above about the park hoppers. My family of 4 (with kids about your kids' ages) bounce back and forth all day between the two when we go; I would never skip the hoppers.

I don't know if you're a costco member, but costco travel has a good deal if you want to bundle your PP reservation with tickets (I've made direct reservations and then switched them around in this way). Not a savings on hotel or tickets than you'd get at disney direct, but it does include a character meal (which is a great savings.)

You can also use the vouchers for regular restaurants instead. And get multiple meals out of it.

 

[superdeluxe]

Thanks everyone!

 

[JHollinsworth]

In reference to the post above about using the costco vouchers for regular restaurants instead- Where can you use the vouchers? Is there a list of restaurants? Will they work in Downtown Disney restaurants? What about using them toward payment of Fantasmic or World of Color meals?