April 2017 check in thread, come in and chat!

[Winnowill]

So we now know where we'll be staying. We're using our Shell Vacation points and staying at the Peacock again. Booked it earlier this week.

 

[Aladora]

Dining reservations: Have a rough list/plan. I still can't decide between Goofy's Kitchen or Plaza Inn for a character meal. I was all set on Plaza Inn on our first day, but now that we're coming in the night before and not going to a park, Goofy's Kitchen for dinner sounds like a good plan. I also can't decide if we need to do Ariel's Grotto (we have 5 year old twin girls).

We've done all the character meals with the exception of Ariel's and if your kids are into meeting characters I would definitely recommend at least one! Goofy vs Minnie is a tough call for me. On one hand, I think the experience is better at Minnie's but on the other hand, going to Goofy's would not only give you something to do the night you arrive but also does not take time away from enjoying the park.

The only characters that Goofy's has are Goofy, Chip & Dale, Pluto and Minnie, if I remember correctly. Minnie and Friends has a much more varied cast of characters. Some recent ones have been: Minnie, Tigger, Winnie, Eeyore, Capt Hook, Peter Pan, Rafiki, Dale. We have also seen Fairy Godmother as well as Mad Hatter and Alice.

If you are only going to do one character meal AND your girls are big princess fans, I would go for Ariel's. Otherwise, I would weigh more varied characters but less park time over just 5 characters and more park time.

 

[Aggiegrl]

We've done all the character meals with the exception of Ariel's and if your kids are into meeting characters I would definitely recommend at least one! Goofy vs Minnie is a tough call for me. On one hand, I think the experience is better at Minnie's but on the other hand, going to Goofy's would not only give you something to do the night you arrive but also does not take time away from enjoying the park.

The only characters that Goofy's has are Goofy, Chip & Dale, Pluto and Minnie, if I remember correctly. Minnie and Friends has a much more varied cast of characters. Some recent ones have been: Minnie, Tigger, Winnie, Eeyore, Capt Hook, Peter Pan, Rafiki, Dale. We have also seen Fairy Godmother as well as Mad Hatter and Alice.

If you are only going to do one character meal AND your girls are big princess fans, I would go for Ariel's. Otherwise, I would weigh more varied characters but less park time over just 5 characters and more park time.

Thanks! Both love princesses and Minnie. Ones really loves Pooh Bear. Their big brother enjoys everything. We aren't set on a certain number of character meals. We usually only do one table service a day though. We have 5 park days, but the grandparents are leaving a day early so we intend on winging it.

I just threw this together quickly. My plan keeps changing...

Monday-Check in, Goofy's dinner
Tuesday-Disneyland EMH, Blue Bayou lunch
Wednesday-CA EMH, Carthay Circle lunch (WOC package, maybe?)
Thursday-CA adventure morning, Ariel's Grotto lunch?
Friday-Plaza Inn breakfast maybe? or something better/non-character?
Saturday-winging it day

Edit-Ugh, that probably won't work. I'm guessing EMH will be 7 am. I doubt we'll be able to do CA EMH at 7 am and last all the way until WOC that night.

 

[Aladora]

Thanks! Both love princesses and Minnie. Ones really loves Pooh Bear. Their big brother enjoys everything. We aren't set on a certain number of character meals. We usually only do one table service a day though. We have 5 park days, but the grandparents are leaving a day early so we intend on winging it.

I just threw this together quickly. My plan keeps changing...

Monday-Check in, Goofy's dinner
Tuesday-Disneyland EMH, Blue Bayou lunch
Wednesday-CA EMH, Carthay Circle lunch (WOC package, maybe?)
Thursday-CA adventure morning, Ariel's Grotto lunch?
Friday-Plaza Inn breakfast maybe? or something better/non-character?
Saturday-winging it day

Edit-Ugh, that probably won't work. I'm guessing EMH will be 7 am. I doubt we'll be able to do CA EMH at 7 am and last all the way until WOC that night.

What about doing Carthay Circle WOC dinner and going back to the hotel after lunch for a mandatory rest period so the kids can last until WOC that night? Another idea instead of doing a WOC dining package is to do the WOC dessert party and have a light dinner. We have done the WOC dining package 3 times and the dessert party once and all of us preferred the dessert party. Not only do you get a plate of desserts and cheese but you get a table and chairs plus the adults get 2 drinks and our son got a WOC Made with Magic Sipper. I'm not 100% sure if they still have the cups for the kids but it can't hurt to ask a CM when you book it.

Other than that, if you are character meal'd out then instead of Plaza Inn on Friday you could always get a reservation at Carnation Cafe and have breakfast there. You might even be able to meet Oscar and wish him a happy 60 years with Disneyland!

For Tuesday's Blue Bayou lunch, I would recommend making a reservation at 11:30 or whatever the first reservation time is, get to BB around 20 or so minutes before your reservation and ask for a waterside table.

 

[Aggiegrl]

What about doing Carthay Circle WOC dinner and going back to the hotel after lunch for a mandatory rest period so the kids can last until WOC that night? Another idea instead of doing a WOC dining package is to do the WOC dessert party and have a light dinner. We have done the WOC dining package 3 times and the dessert party once and all of us preferred the dessert party. Not only do you get a plate of desserts and cheese but you get a table and chairs plus the adults get 2 drinks and our son got a WOC Made with Magic Sipper. I'm not 100% sure if they still have the cups for the kids but it can't hurt to ask a CM when you book it.

Other than that, if you are character meal'd out then instead of Plaza Inn on Friday you could always get a reservation at Carnation Cafe and have breakfast there. You might even be able to meet Oscar and wish him a happy 60 years with Disneyland!

For Tuesday's Blue Bayou lunch, I would recommend making a reservation at 11:30 or whatever the first reservation time is, get to BB around 20 or so minutes before your reservation and ask for a waterside table.

I've tossed around the dessert party idea a lot. We've done our share of dessert parties at WDW, and after the last one, I vowed no more. I keep telling myself this is Disneyland, so it might be different. Only 3 of the 7 drink, and there are some dietary issues (and pickiness) with the desserts. It's hard for me to fork over $500+ (there are 7 of us) for bread, cheese, and fruit. Actually, the reason I booked the extra night at the DL Hotel was because I decided against the party. I told myself it was a better use of that money.

I'm going to have to think hard about how hard we want to push the kids. They are Disney pros, but we're also dealing with a big time change coming from the East Coast AND they are early risers (5:45 AM this morning! Ugh!). 7 am EMH is probably not going to be a problem for us, but nighttime entertainment might need lots of planning.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Hmm.....

Flights, booked and paid for. We actually fly into Seattle on 30 March and are driving down. Disney for 4 nights, airport hotel and home.
Hotel, booked, I did change my original booking but I havent cancelled yet!

Tickets, going to buy through LMT club after next pay. Price rises seem to be end of feb lately so fingers crossed their deal is still on in 2 weeks!

Dining, we're still umming and aahing. Carnatioj Cafe, Cafe Orleans and the trattoria are up there though. Thinking about Plaza for late breakfast on our last day as that will be MM and 1030 booking could work quite well. And gives us more than 24hrs to cancel if DD3 is still freaked out by characters.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Besides our reservations for BB and Minnie's we're done.

We do Minnie's on a magic morning day and get the earliest reservation. We'll be using our actual magic morning on one of our previous days so it won't accidentally waste it but that way we're not using actual park time on it. We did it this way last year and it was great. We finished and hadn't lost any park time!

 

[lorijohnhill]

My flights are paid for. We have reservations at Camelot Inn, but I keep hoping I can get a deal at one of the Disney hotels. Fat chance, I know, but a girl can dream.

I still need to get a ticket for my husband. Our daughter and I have APs, so just need hoppers for him. I am probably going to go through LMT club, and like PP keeping fingers crossed that the price increase doesn't beat me to it.

We haven't finalized dining decisions yet. What is really cool is that my husband is getting excited for this trip. He is not a big Disney fan (yeah, I don't understand that either ) but he just started watching Disney you tube videos and has been making notes of all the foods he wants to try. It makes me smile.

 

[Aladora]

My flights are paid for. We have reservations at Camelot Inn, but I keep hoping I can get a deal at one of the Disney hotels. Fat chance, I know, but a girl can dream.

I still need to get a ticket for my husband. Our daughter and I have APs, so just need hoppers for him. I am probably going to go through LMT club, and like PP keeping fingers crossed that the price increase doesn't beat me to it.

We haven't finalized dining decisions yet. What is really cool is that my husband is getting excited for this trip. He is not a big Disney fan (yeah, I don't understand that either ) but he just started watching Disney you tube videos and has been making notes of all the foods he wants to try. It makes me smile.

Has he checked out Fresh Baked Disney? His secrets and history videos are really fun!

 

[Congo Queen]

I'm throwing my hat in the ring for an April visit, 21st-23rd. We've not been in spring time in about 10 years, but my sister is celebrating her 50th birthday that weekend so I am taking her to Dland so we can go crazy half-century style. As always, I am looking forward to being back at The Land.

 

[Aladora]

I'm throwing my hat in the ring for an April visit, 21st-23rd. We've not been in spring time in about 10 years, but my sister is celebrating her 50th birthday that weekend so I am taking her to Dland so we can go crazy half-century style. As always, I am looking forward to being back at The Land.

Sounds like a ton of fun! Have you booked a hotel yet? If not, you should look at the Dapper Day site, they have the GCH for $289 and DLH for $249 for your dates! We've never made it to a Dapper Day event yet and can't wait for this one!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Not boding well for meeting characters, major flip out at Costco just then where the Michelin Man was handing out balloons...

 

[lorijohnhill]

Has he checked out Fresh Baked Disney? His secrets and history videos are really fun!

Yes, that's one he's been watching.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Not boding well for meeting characters, major flip out at Costco just then where the Michelin Man was handing out balloons...

That dude IS kinda freaky.

 

[Aladora]

Not boding well for meeting characters, major flip out at Costco just then where the Michelin Man was handing out balloons...

How old is your little one?

Edited because I read back and she is 3. She might do better with face characters like the Princesses

 

[Aurora_Australis]

3.5.

She was a bit over 2 last time and we did not get a single pic with ANY characters, not even Elsa! She at least got a wave from across the room. Ariel's lunch was not fun! Only went because our friend's dad was celebrating his 60th.

 

[Aladora]

3.5.

She was a bit over 2 last time and we did not get a single pic with ANY characters, not even Elsa! She at least got a wave from across the room. Ariel's lunch was not fun! Only went because our friend's dad was celebrating his 60th.

It is so hard at that age. If you are concerned I might be tempted to make a reservation for a character meal near the end of your trip and cancel it the day before if she is just not ready for it. Let her meet some of the face characters and even some of the non face ones around the park at the start of your trip and see how she does.

DS was 6 when we took him to Disneyland the first time and he was not that interested in characters and to be honest he never was but that is likely related to his autism. Social interaction is not his strong point.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

^^ Plan was Minnie's on our last day for a late, late brunch. Then I can always cancel too.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I just booked my flights on Monday for my Easter trip. I am a little bummed still that the Matterhorn will be down while I'm there, but I'm so happy that the Food and Wine will be going on while I'm there. I love food and wine at Epcot so I'm glad that I will be able to experience coast to coast this year! I'll be going solo to DL over Easter, but I think I will be doing Carthay Circle I just keep dreaming about those biscuits!

 

[ginger ninja]

Ok guys who are all organised and planned out, I am sooo behind where I would normally be for a WDW trip. Our flights are booked but still have a final balanceto pay, our hotels all sorted, but have no tickets for any part of our trip!! I am beginning to panic now, I have to get Disney, Universal, Warner bros, San Diego stuff and anything else we want to do!! Also was thinking of a baseball game at some point in the 2 week trip??? So is WOC only on F/S/S? I am such an amatuer when it comes to the West coast!!