The vacation of a lifetime!

[smiles33]

We're thinking of a trip in April 2013, so we might see you there!

This sounds like an incredible trip! I know you said you can walk, but in case your stamina isn't what it normally is, you might also consider renting an electric scooter sometime during your trip. You might be fine walking the first 2-3 days, but all that walking adds up. My DH had hip surgery a month after our Sept. 2011 trip so I rented him an electric scooter from Deckert's (they delivered it right to HoJo!). He had to be convinced, but after 4 hours hobbling with his cane in the park the first afternoon we arrived, he was in enough pain to recognize that it made sense.

I actually was wishing I had a scooter for myself by day 3, as I got severe shin splints despite 4 different pairs of good shoes. I was pushing our double stroller while DH was in the scooter and made about 14 trips (?) since I was going back and forth multiple times/day. My girls still napped so I'd push them back in the stroller everyday after lunch, then immediately walk back to DLR to ride solo, walk back to the hotel to pick them up after the nap, etc.

I hope you and your family have a fantastic trip!

 

[limace]

As I mentioned earlier, I could easily and happily spend 15 days at DL, though my husband would think I'm crazy so I definitely support your dream trip!

How old will your boys be? My girls really really loved pin trading in the parks at our last visit, when they were 13 and (barely) 4. I bought a lot of pins on Ebay, which is really cheap, and divided them up and gave them each a lanyard. They chose to keep a couple, but traded most of them with cast members. It was a great way for them to interact with CMs, and they make much better (cheaper, smaller) souvenirs than yet another dozen stuffed animals. They both decided on types of pins to focus on-one likes the ones with the characters as babies, one wanted Tinkerbell-so it was something to look for. I'm not much of a knick-knack person, so I enjoy these for souvenirs myself.

I'm also really a fan of stocking up on food in your room on vacation, both to save money, to avoid having to eat three meals a day out with young children (gahhhhhhh), and to eat a little healthier when possible. I think Trader Joe's is a great source for this kinda thing, and pretty reasonably priced-stuff like string cheese, dried fruit and trail mixes, great cheese and crackers, baby carrots, snack bars, etc. We'll definitely hit 'em on our trip.

 

[Isatricia]

How old will your boys be? My girls really really loved pin trading in the parks at our last visit, when they were 13 and (barely) 4. I bought a lot of pins on Ebay, which is really cheap, and divided them up and gave them each a lanyard. They chose to keep a couple, but traded most of them with cast members. It was a great way for them to interact with CMs, and they make much better (cheaper, smaller) souvenirs than yet another dozen stuffed animals. They both decided on types of pins to focus on-one likes the ones with the characters as babies, one wanted Tinkerbell-so it was something to look for. I'm not much of a knick-knack person, so I enjoy these for souvenirs myself.

I have read that most of the cheap pins on Ebay are counterfeits. I ordered some before I learned this and none of the 25 pins I purchased were real. Some people take pin trading very seriously and are not happy to find counterfeit pins all over. Because of this, I did not take the pins I bought and did not tell my girls about pin trading.

 

[nunzia]

I have read that most of the cheap pins on Ebay are counterfeits. I ordered some before I learned this and none of the 25 pins I purchased were real. Some people take pin trading very seriously and are not happy to find counterfeit pins all over. Because of this, I did not take the pins I bought and did not tell my girls about pin trading.

there are always huge debates raging about this..however..you can always trade pins with Castmembers for fun..that is what we do and the kids have a great time (and my 28 year old son who..anytime he veers off... can be find looking at a CM's lanyard)

 

[Riahsha]

hootey
The boys would love that! They are really into "Thomas the Tank Engine" right now and they call every train they see Thomas. They'll be so excited to ride Thomas as much as they want and we will enjoy the break. Great idea!


smiles33
I have a travel chair (smaller than a wheelchair and has to be pushed), but that is not a good idea for Disneyland. I would feel a bit more independent if I had a scooter. How much did that rental set you back?
Keep in touch and if you go in April maybe our families can meet.


limace
The boys will be celebrating their 5th birthday at DLR. We're going to do the Plaza Inn party. I'm still trying to get the boys to understand they have to share, but they won't understand being given something to give to someone else to get something entirely new=trading.
Pins sound wonderful to me to put on my lanyard. I'm not much of a knick-knack person either.

We'll be bringing snacks in too, though we will be eating in park quite a bit. More to try things than out of necessity.

 

[smiles33]

smiles33
I have a travel chair (smaller than a wheelchair and has to be pushed), but that is not a good idea for Disneyland. I would feel a bit more independent if I had a scooter. How much did that rental set you back?
Keep in touch and if you go in April maybe our families can meet.

I think it was about $40/day and TOTALLY WORTH IT. With two little boys, you and your DH will need to keep an eye on them so he can't be pushing you in a travel chair. Plus it can be exhausting for the person pushing you. I saw one poor woman (presumably in her 60s) pushing her adult daughter (in her 40s) in a regular wheelchair UPHILL on the stretch at DCA by the Redwood Creek Challenge. She was dripping sweat, with sweat stains on her shirt, and this was a "normal" September day.

Plus, if you're not bringing a stroller for your boys, it may be nice for one of them to rest at the end of a long day on your lap (though technically, you're not supposed to have two people on the scooter). My DD1 (who was 5 at the time) sat on DH's lap while he drove the scooter after WOC because she didn't like sitting in the double stroller with the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds (felt too vulnerable or something?).

If we had stayed longer than 3 days (and I didn't have to push the double stroller myself), I would have rented one for me because my shins hurt so bad!

As for meeting in April, if we go, I'd love to--but I'm guessing it may be hard since my girls love the princess stuff.

 

[Shananana]

Hi! I'm sorry I haven't looked through the entire thread, but I'm wondering if anyone has mentioned In-n-Out. You say you like food, well, the fast food burger joint started here in southern california. (Weird, huh?)
Anyway, there is an In-n-out about 2 miles away from the park on 600 South Brookhurst Street, Anaheim, CA.
It's SO much fresher than mcdonalds or anything else, and CHEAP EATS!!! For the four of you, it might set you back $20.

Edit to add one more thing: shopping! Near Disneyland, there is a place called Disney Character Warehouse, it's up the road a few miles but shouldn't take you more than 20 mins to get there. the address is: Orangefair Marketplace
243 Orangefair Mall
Fullerton, CA 92832
I've been there a few times (call them to get a 10% off coupon!) and have bought old disneyland shirts, coustumes and park memorabilia. My fave was the disneyland 50th anniversary collector plates at $6 a piece. I still haven't taken them out of the box to use, but they are SO goregous. It makes me happy just knowing that we have them.

 

[Riahsha]

Shananana

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[BlueBayou]

If you do decide to rent a scooter - we were very pleased with our from Deckart Surgical
2025 North Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 542-5607
It was just under $40.
The deliver and pick up. I think there we at least 8 delivered one day at PPH.

My mom has extreme mobility issues (uses a walker inside her home) and there was no way we could have pushed her around the parks for 4 days. Mom was very impressed with the type of scooter - much better than the ones she uses at grocery stores.

She does not walk any sort of distance. She even takes it inside restrooms. A funny story from our trip is that the speed control goes from turtle to rabbit. My mom would zoom places on rabbit. We developed a pattern of her going into a restroom stall and I would turn the scooter around so she did not have to back it up. Twice I went zooming toward the wall because she left it on rabbit. So it became "Turn to turtle when in the toilet."

Mom didn't go with us the the halloween party night - and my family made me take the scooter (against my will) since my plantar fasciitis was acting up despite getting a steroid shot prior to the trip. Just being able to use it to get from the PPH to Disneyland was wonderful. We would park in whatever land we were in - and just use it to travel long distances between lands.

 

[Riahsha]

BlueBayou
Thank you for the information. I'll be keeping it for our vacation.




Everyone interested
I'm sure we're going to be needing all of our 12 day park plan. DH wants to do the Mad T Party and I just read about the new meet and greet with Merida. My boys have seen the previews for Brave and have been asking to go see it. With the coloring and activity area being a part of the meet and greet we will be spending a good chunk of time there. I'm excited to see what the new lands will bring, so I'm sure we'll be quite busy with just the new stuff I've yet to plan.
I'm going to take them in to BBB for the Knight treatment as one of the boys can't wait to meet "Sleeping Beauty" and has to look his best.
He wanted her on his shirt as his favorite. Poor Woody, I guess he's been demoted.
The other twin has Buzz and Tinkerbell, in that order.

Thank you for all your help! I'm set up to get notification if there are any new replies, so if you think of anything else please post it. After all, it's still over 10 months away.

 

[hootey]

Take your time and do it your way. See and do everything at your pace, as you want. A lot of people are letting you know how they like to do things or offering advice. That is one of the nice things about this board. We rode PIC ride one day seven times back to back. Why ? The park was almost empty and our oldest son wanted to ride it seven times, why not? My wife makes a schedule for our trips that is loosely followed. This way we do everything and hopefully don't miss anything. You have plenty of time to figure out a plan. All our best...........

 

[twilightsparkle]

Our favorite thing to eat at Disney are the smoked turkey legs. It's been about 3 years since we have been and my now 12 year old is craving them. He is I excited that on our July trip he won't have to share this time bc he is older. They are so good.

 

[Shananana]

I was at the resorts over this past weekend, and you can get a 15% off coupon to the Disney character warehouse near guest services (where they have the wall of informational sheets.) I also suggest that you at least walk through the resorts. You can go to some of the on-site dining areas and talk to guest services. You can explain how this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for you and you'll never know what little goodies you can get.

(I mentioned that we were celebrating my daughter's birthday and we got free balloons, LOTS of buttons/pins, and a signed picture of Mickey. These are your "magical freebies" just waiting for you.)

 

[mama_pookie]

No, not an advertisement.
We are going to Disneyland for the first time next April (2013). We have a wonderful 15 days to be at DLR.
This will probably be our one and only trip there.
I have researched all over the internet for as much information as I can get. So much to know it's hard to digest and know just what to do with it. I felt it was time to speak with some Disneyland experts.
Right now we think our best bet might be to call the Disney Travel Company and book 15 days in a hotel and 2 6-day park hopper tickets. I would call because you can't book this online.
What do you all think?

There are 4 of us. Myself, DH, and twin DS-5 (who will be celebrating their 5th birthday at the park).
We will be driving in, so need no airline information. Our whole vacation is 23 days...15 at DLR, 3 in San Francisco, 2 in Willow Creek visiting relatives, and 3 driving round-trip from Iowa.

We want every character meal and as much eating in the park as we can as long as the food is at least tasty, if not the best. We're piggies with food. lol
The boys want to meet every character they can. These boys are most excited to meet Buzz and Tinkerbell. We want to see every show, etc.

You have the chance to plan the ultimate Disney vacation. What would you do? Also any tips, lesser known activities, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all in advance!

Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[Riahsha]

hootey
Thank you! Even though it's so far away I wanted to try to plan a day, so I planned our first day in the park. It was fun.
We'll see if I change it between now and then.


twilightsparkle
I never liked those things, but my "men" sure do. I guess too many days doing demos at Renaissance Faires spoiled turkey legs for me. I'll bet they'll want to have some though, thank you! Yes, the boys still have to share. I'll bet your son is thrilled that part is over.


Shananana
Great information! Thank you!
How did the new stuff look? I'm going to have to ask specific questions here later (when our trip is closer) because it's amazing how information gets outdated so fast.


mama_pookie
Thanks for the bump!

 

[Shananana]

Shananana
Great information! Thank you!
How did the new stuff look? I'm going to have to ask specific questions here later (when our trip is closer) because it's amazing how information gets outdated so fast.

I'm not sure what you mean by "new stuff". I've never been to the grand californian before (or any of the other Disney hotels). I've always been close enough to stay with my mom or another hotel down the street.

I've seen WOC 3 times now, and each time it makes me cry. I can't wait to see cars land, and the matterhorn was still blocked off. We did get to ride Mandy the monorail though. If you ask one of the CM, they'll put you in the very front.

 

[Riahsha]

I'm not sure what you mean by "new stuff". I've never been to the grand californian before (or any of the other Disney hotels). I've always been close enough to stay with my mom or another hotel down the street.

I've seen WOC 3 times now, and each time it makes me cry. I can't wait to see cars land, and the matterhorn was still blocked off. We did get to ride Mandy the monorail though. If you ask one of the CM, they'll put you in the very front.

I had heard they already had soft openings for things like Mad T Party.
What is Mandy the monorail?

 

[Shananana]

I had heard they already had soft openings for things like Mad T Party.
What is Mandy the monorail?

They did! AND I got to preview Cars Land yesterday. I'm sure your boys will love it. For the opening, they've put faces on the monorails (Mandy, Mona and Manny.) The talk about cars land and there are pre-recorded voices, etc.
With all the hoopla about Cars, I'm sure they'll have the monorail faces up for quite a while, so I think you should be able to see them.
Mad T Party was fun, but packed. I personally preferred elecTRONica, but I'm an 80's girl. It's like an outdoor club. Keeping that in mind, the flamingos were fun, as well as tweedle dum and dee. But it the dancing area can get very crowded so, my motto is:
Get there early, and leave early (if you have small children).

 

[krispin41]

Our favorite thing to eat at Disney are the smoked turkey legs. It's been about 3 years since we have been and my now 12 year old is craving them. He is I excited that on our July trip he won't have to share this time bc he is older. They are so good.

I always bring a turkey leg home for my Dad (we are in NorCal and fly). He loves them!!

 

[AmericanItGirl]

I'm assuming that you'll be driving across Northern Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming (straight-ish shot west from Iowa) since you'll be in San Francisco at some point? If so, I recommend a pit stop at Fort Bridger (right on the western edge of Wyoming) if the weather is nice. It's a stop on the Oregon Trail and has a large grassy area with a creek running through the middle (space for the boys to run and explore "outdoors" in a confined area). Also, if you can while you're in Willow Creek, head west to Eureka for an hour or two (a little less than an hour away from Willow Creek). It's really quite something.

You could also drop down to Oklahoma City and pick up Route 66 and take that out to Los Angeles, and then take the top route back, if your schedule allows. It might be especially fun if your sons are into Cars (the movie) at that point. http://byways.org/explore/byways/2489

As for your pace at Disneyland, be sure to take it slow. When my mom went back for the first time after having breast cancer twice (5 years after her last radiation treatment), her pace was definitely slower than pre-cancer and she wasn't able to stay up for fireworks. Remember, you can always take a nap in First Aid just off of Main Street if you suddenly don't feel well or you're too tired to go all the way back to your hotel (they also have all sorts of ache relief medicine as well for free). Since you're big eaters, definitely take advantage of the character buffets (great way to meet characters without having to wait in long lines since they come to you at your table). Your sons might like eating at the Blue Bayou at a waterside table (it's inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, they can watch the boats go floating by) but for that, be sure to call/email 60 days in advance for reservations and ask for an 11:30 seating (they only take enough reservations during the first seating for the space at the waterside tables, so you're guaranteed a waterside table by asking for the first available reservation time).

During some down time that is spent taking a nap or splashing around the pool, you might want to drive over to downtown Orange, which is a cute place to walk around and is only a 15 minute or so drive on surface streets southeast of Disneyland (try the s'more waffle sandwich at Bruxie's if you go to Orange...it's to die for).