Disneyland 2019 - the 4th 5th bday celebration: PTR

Who:

Party of 10! My family alone counts for 7 of us, plus a few of my DH's family. Here's some details!

Me aka The Planner: 40 yr old mom of 5, recently moved cross-country from inland pacific northwest to the Dallas, TX area; working part-time from home and the family's resident Disney fan (picture from last trip Sept 2016)
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DH: 41 yrs old, recently changing careers to spend more time at home with family and to have more fulfilling work, and to be able to support his wife's Disney habit (last summer hiking; not many pix of him but I caught him while doing a semi-selfie)
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DD #1: age 11.5 - her 5th bday started it off for our family; she’s a bit angsty these days and more into anime and Hamilton than Disney, but she loves Avengers stuff and is looking forward to thrill rides (pink hair has reverted back to natural strawberry blond, but she has plans on repeating it this summer):
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DD #2: age 9 - loves all of it: Mickey & friends, Pooh, princesses, super heroes, Star Wars… She can be the biggest cheerleader and happy camper in our group, until she isn’t. When she gets overtired, or hungry, or hot, or cold, or uncomfortable (I just don’t like the way these shoes feel on my feet), it can be challenging since she is super stubborn. She is generally the peace-maker and truly just wants everyone to have a good time. Shares a bday with DS (exactly 2 years apart), and got a 'bonus' birthday trip in 2016 when she turned 7.
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DS: age 7 - happy go lucky lil guy who freaks out a little sometimes during transitions. Balancing out the sugar intake with protein and setting some expectations ahead of time usually helps. His birthday celebration was our last trip and he was fabulous. He is looking forward to doing more thrill rides this time, but I’m nervous he’ll get scared and freak out :D
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DD #4 - age 5 (at the time of trip); her birthday is the reason for the trip! She lives life at volume 10, and has been looking forward to this trip pretty much since we got home from our last trip 2 years ago. If we make sure she eats at least SOME real food and gets a nap each day, she will be a delight. If we don’t…. Well, I try not to think about that.
Then (age 2.5):
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Now (almost 5 and yes she did the bangs herself):
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DD#5 - age almost 2 (will turn 2 right after our trip). She’s the wild card! She was a very calm and sweet infant, but she’s definitely asserting herself quite a bit as a toddler. Naps have gotten less reliable and she’s showing a stubborn streak and strong personality when it comes to outfits, diaper changes, songs to sing and pretty much everything other than food. She’s pretty easy-going with food.
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BIL #1 - late 30s; DD#4 absolutely loves her uncle and we were thrilled he could come with us! He loves all the kids and is happy to be along for the ride. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the thrill rides but he also seems to enjoy being with the kiddos and watching their excitement for things like meet & greets, and classic rides like Dumbo. He has been trying to cut back on smoking, but it is a pretty strong addiction and one we will need to plan around at least a little bit.
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BIL #2 - mid-20s; we haven’t had a chance to spend much time directly (we were already all adults when my FIL remarried), but he’s a great guy and we like the same football team (Go Pack!) We’re excited to have a chance to get to know him better and share some Disney magic with him and his daughter! No pic yet.

Niece - age 7; BIL #2’s daughter will also be joining us and the kids are over the moon! She was with us on another trip a few years ago when my FIL and MIL joined us, but she was only 2. No pic yet.
 
When, What & Why (the history)

When: Kids' spring break: March 8-17. All 3 of our older kids are in the same school district, and their cousin's school district conveniently has the same spring break.

What: We will be celebrating DD#3s 5th birthday, making it the 4th time we have celebrated a 5th birthday in the park. When I say celebrate birthday, I actually mean in honor of the birthday - first trip was in a June after a May birthday, second trip also June in advance of a September birthday, and only our last trip saw a kiddo turn 5 in the park, and his big sister who has the same birthday got a special treat too!).

Why: A little bit of our Disney experience and history explains why we'd make a trip with so many kids!

I went as a teenager with a highschool group for a basketball tournament in the mid 90s. DH and I were treated to WDW by his family in 2005 (before kids!) as part of a long Christmas trip to Florida and saw MK, Epcot and what was then MGM, but the REAL history started when I had just had our second daughter, and I was thinking about how to keep things special for our first daughter. I decided we should do a family trip to Disneyland for her 5th birthday and starting some planning and saving in 2010 for a trip in 2012. Well, life threw several curveballs at us during those two years, including DS surprising us in 2011! Nevertheless we made a big trip for then DD5’s birthday, and were joined by most of my family (mom, brother, cousin, sister & SIL). It was one of those magical trips and practically perfect in every way!
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At that point I knew we *had to* go for our now middle child’s birthday, so I immediately started planning & saving for our second trip in 2014. This time around, my DH’s family joined us (FIL, MIL & her 2 yr old granddaughter, SIL & her at the time fiancee now husband) and maybe not so surprisingly our 4th baby. It was a blast - we rented a house versus doing hotel packages this time, which really maximized our ‘together’ experiences. This was especially important to DH, as his family all lived in Texas and we lived in WA State at the time. Both groups drove, and met at the rental. The drive was great - the baby was NOT a great traveller, but we were able to set things up in our minivan so I could sit next to her car seat and nurse her. This trip was fun, but not quite as magical as that first trip. We had some adversity - son apparently caught a tummy bug on the way down, and we had some pretty gross pit stops. Initially thinking it was car sickness, we were not prepared when the bug spread. Toddler cousin, MIL, myself and worst of all the guest of honor (DD #2) all ended up pretty ill by the end of the 2nd day. While the rest of the crew hit the parks on day 3, the 4 of us sick ones spent a day at the house. Little one missed her special princess breakfast (which as it turns out was the last one our family was able to do before the Grotto closed), but she kept her spirits high and said to me at one point, “Mommy it is ok. I’d rather be here with you than anywhere else”.
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Before we even started that trip I was already planning trip #3 (because we couldn’t exclude the only boy - he was already left out of so many things his sisters did), and knew we’d have a 4th trip to go after that (you can’t do it for 75% of your kiddos and just leave one out). Trip 3 for our son’s 5th birthday was magical in its own way. Our first trip without any extended family to help us wrangle kids was a bit intimidating but turned out great. We did a vacation package and stayed in a suite at Camelot Inn. After booking the trip, we discovered that we’d have a stowaway with us (surprise!!! Baby 5 on the way!!), and while it definitely changed things, the trip was great. Our oldest got to do all the thrill rides (minus Matterhorn which just looked too scary to her), and I stayed with the others. We discovered RS for the first time (previous 2 trips there was always an adult with no interest in any given ride the littles couldn’t go on so we never even considered it). This absolutely made the trip for the bigger kids by going on rides back-to-back! DH decided it was the perfect time and place to do announce the pregnancy, and took great delight in picking out matching ears for us to get embroidered, with one saying ‘? 2017’. We had a few minor issues that trip (I fatigued easily and had some pretty significant all-day sickness to contend with, plus DD #3 had a few EPIC meltdowns - unlike her siblings who all had napped peacefully in strollers during our previous trips, she struggled with that, and we failed to move back to hotel quickly enough to soothe her - that girl has LUNGS, and I’m pretty sure everyone in the park knew she was totally DONE as hubby power walked the stroller and shrieking child back to the hotel! But one of my most cherished moments of all time (Disney or otherwise) is an impromptu family dance party on Pacific Wharf our first morning in DCA. Something about that specific moment in time, and the pure joy of the kids jumping around and shaking to the music, plus DH’s happy place of coffee and chocolate will always hold a special place in my heart. We had the area all to ourselves that morning, and I managed to grab a video of the kids. They love watching it now, and sometimes I will admit I use it as bribery for good behavior/distraction from mischief ‘kids do you want to watch the video from Disneyland trip again?’ I can't figure out how to compress it enough to share here, but these stills capture the joy of the moment.
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Love it! This is going to be such a fun trip! And all your hard work and planning will pay off huge. :)
Some random thoughts:
For your BIL: the smoking thing is worth researching. This is a sensitive issue at DLR, especially with so many Make a Wish kids, asthmatics- both adults and kids, and guests smoking other substances. There are designated smoking areas in both parks, but they have been moving around. They disappear, then reappear -- e.g. the Big Thunder Trail smoking area. Make sure to check the maps and ask CMs ahead of time so BIL is not stuck needing a cigarette with nowhere to go. He should try not to smoke outside the designated areas -- it can cause problems because of the health issues for other guests. (I don't know if nicotine gum or patches would help, but if they might help, at least he wouldn't need a designated area for those.)
For your son: our oldest struggled with transitions, too. Would the ride through videos on YouTube help? (Make sure the videos are for DLR, not WDW!) Then, at least, "new" rides won't be totally unfamiliar and stressful. And we would discuss (very seriously!) which aspects of the rides were good or not so good, which things he wanted to see and what he would close his eyes for, etc. It helped him feel that he had some control in the matter.
DD #4: Love the bangs! Seriously -- some of our friends pay good money to have their bangs styled like that! So edgy and cool!

Good for you for documenting all of this in such detail -- these are going to be precious memories!
 
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Love it! This is going to be such a fun trip! And all your hard work and planning will pay off huge. :)
Thanks! Welcome to the thread and hope it is entertaining if nothing else :)

For your BIL: the smoking thing is worth researching. This is a sensitive issue at DLR, especially with so many Make a Wish kids, asthmatics- both adults and kids, and guests smoking other substances. There are designated smoking areas in both parks, but they have been moving around. They disappear, the reappear -- e.g. the Big Thunder Trail smoking area. Make sure to check the maps and ask CMs ahead of time so BIL is not stuck needing a cigarette with nowhere to go. He should try not to smoke outside the designated areas -- it can cause problems because of the health issues for other guests. (I don't know if nicotine gum or patches would help, but if they might help, at least he wouldn't need a designated area for those.)
Yeah - I am going to highly encourage use of gum. He'd mentioned trying something like chantix at some point, but I do not think he has managed it yet. There is zero chance of him smoking outside of the allowed areas as his big brother (and the rest of us) would hound him to death - but he has never liked smoking in front of kids and typically finds secluded but ventilated areas.

For your son: our oldest struggled with transitions, too. Would the ride through videos on YouTube help? (Make sure the videos are for DLR, not WDW!) Then, at least, "new" rides won't be totally unfamiliar and stressful. And we would discuss (very seriously!) which aspects of the rides were good or not so good, which things he wanted to see and what he would close his eyes for, etc. It helped him feel that he had some control in the matter.
Great idea! The kids recently discovered that various Disney shows like Fantasmic! are available on-demand, and DS has enjoyed looking through the Disneyland site with me and seeing the pics of rides, it would totally make sense to watch some YouTubes together! Thanks for the tip!

DD #4: Love the bangs! Seriously -- some of our friends pay good money to have their bangs styled like that! So edgy and cool!

Good for you for documenting all of this in such detail -- these are going to be precious memories!

I am hoping I do a better job of record-keeping this time than the other trips. I always have the intention of doing scrapbooks but I'm 0-3 so far. Now the some of the kids are older though, they can help - if not actually DOING the work, reminding me (haranguing me) to get it done keeps me accountable!
 
Yay! I just realized you got started on this, and I loved reading your Disney history! More similarities between us: DH and I also visited Disney (though DLR) with our families in 2005 shortly before we were married, and on our trip in 2006 I was surprised to find out I would be 8 weeks pregnant during our trip. It was actually a pretty rough trip, as I have all-day sickness in my pregnancies too, but I was able to mostly enjoy at least the first two days. On the last day (Friday) all I wanted was to see the 50th anniversary fireworks, but I was just too sick to make it past like 6 pm that night! Travesty! We have also made a tradition of taking our family trips right before a child turns 3 (and is still free, haha) for the last 3 kids! I'm so sorry some of you got stomach flu on a trip though, the thought of that literally keeps me up nights when we have a trip getting close! I get everyone to go sugar-free for 2-3 weeks before a trip and we take elderberry gummies and stuff to keep the likelihood of sickness at a minimum! I love the dancing memory. If you want to upload it, I usually upload to Youtube and make it unlisted, then put the link here.
 
Yay! I just realized you got started on this, and I loved reading your Disney history!

Welcome to this crazy thread :)

On the last day (Friday) all I wanted was to see the 50th anniversary fireworks, but I was just too sick to make it past like 6 pm that night! Travesty!

I had it pretty easy for morning sickness with my middle 3, but my first and last were so rough. The last once was the doosy - and I also couldn't handle the full day on the last day. We had a partial view from the pool at Camelot Suites and the kids were over the moon. I hadn't realized how much it meant to them until we started planning this trip and both of my middles kept bringing up the awesome fireworks.

We have also made a tradition of taking our family trips right before a child turns 3 (and is still free, haha) for the last 3 kids!

It really is nice at that sweet spot age where the kiddo is old enough to have some magical moments but still free! We were lucky to have 2 free kids (baby and toddler) for the first 2 trips, and free toddler last trip and this one. I'm a little nervous because we've done Disney with an infant (5-7 months old) and with a big toddler (2.5+), but this trip we will have a little one right at 2. I'm excited to snoop your thread too and see what you are planning!

I'm so sorry some of you got stomach flu on a trip though, the thought of that literally keeps me up nights when we have a trip getting close! I get everyone to go sugar-free for 2-3 weeks before a trip and we take elderberry gummies and stuff to keep the likelihood of sickness at a minimum! I love the dancing memory.

Yup, it was my biggest fear but the nice thing is, we survived, the birthday girl was relatively happy, and we made it back on her 7th birthday. We did miss Ariel's Grotto's last hurrah which definitely bothered me more than my kiddo. I am working on having the kids walk every day, including me pushing stroller with various configurations of kids to work up endurance, but hadn't thought of extra vitamins. Great tip - it is now on the plan! Going to also try to get all my shopping done by the end of February and just avoid all public places in March :laughing: With so many people in the family, the odds are a bit stacked against us for avoiding bugs, but hopefully we'll be better off.

If you want to upload it, I usually upload to Youtube and make it unlisted, then put the link here.
I will try that!
 


Where & How (aka travel plan & more backstory):

The short story: We are driving a 12-seat passenger van from the Dallas, TX area with a daytime stop in El Paso, and then spending 6 nights at a VRBO house within walking distance of DLR, and driving back.


If that plan leaves you wondering the following questions, you are not alone - I get asked quite often: Why is anyone crazy enough to drive a passenger van 21 hours with 6 children? What’s the deal with those VRBOs, are they legit fun? Hopefully this can explain things a big more for anyone interested, otherwise feel free to skip ahead to the next comment!


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The passenger van is actually my primary vehicle these days - I got tired of never being able to take kids’ friends with us, and always having to have multiple cars when we did group outings with friends and family. I really just wanted a minivan with a 4th row of seats, but those don’t exist - and the benefit of tremendous headroom was a bonus. We got the van at the end of October, and I’ve only made one short solo road trip in it (~4 hrs round trip), so I’m sure we’ll find quirks. This trip we plan on driving across Texas, with stops in Austin and El Paso to pickup/visit with various family members on our way to Disneyland, and to drive straight through on the way back, only stopping in Austin to drop off BIL.

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Our previous 3 trips we were living in inland pacific northwest (Spokane, WA - it’s the dry, east side of WA state). We flew twice and drove once, and had been planning to drive this time as well, when life threw some more changes at us and we ended up relocating to the Dallas, TX area! This threw ALL of my planning in the trash - I wasn’t even sure if we’d do Disneyland or if we’d try WDW instead or what, since it is actually a shorter drive to Orlando than Anaheim from here! We got settled into our new house, I figured out the kids’ new school schedule, and FINALLY had some time to start planning again after Thanksgiving. Considering I typically spent close to 2 years prepping for and planning out the previous trips, this one is practically by the seat of my pants!

Right up until January, we still weren’t sure who would be coming - that made it a wee bit hard to figure out lodging. I priced out GCH (it is a wishlist/dream for DH and I to stay there at some point), and we could have made it work with a shorter stay, but not for all 10. By the time I knew who could join us, GCH was out of rooms that would fit us. This is probably for the best, because we can make it a longer trip and add a few more experiences with the cost difference.


In parallel to checking GCH, I also had my eye on Good Neighbor hotels, but holy cow they don’t seem to make it easy to filter out for large parties! I wasn’t really feeling it anyway - we’d had quite a bit of fun in a VRBO in 2014 (2nd trip). Booked with funtierland, which merged with the place we used last time we did a house rental in 2014. This trip our house is Pirates’ Cove, because mommy waited too long to get our first choices (we were still figuring out how many people would be coming and I didn't know if we needed room for 7, 10, 13, or 15 or what!). Would have probably gone with Small World house or Castle House 2 if those had been available, but Pirates’ Cove looks really cute and functional for us! Despite the name there are still some princess touches for my birthday girl:

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The Plan:

Two travel days (Friday, Saturday), a day to settle in and maybe see the beach (Sunday), 4 day park hopper with a beach day/rest day thrown in there (originally 5 day hoppers, but I think this will make more sense), a farewell morning and a marathon drive straight through.

While I have paid for the rental, I haven’t bought our tickets yet. I keep waffling - 4-day hoppers w/ MP? 5-day single park w/ MP? 5-day hoppers w/o MP? So many options!!! We have never done more than 3.5 days in park, but we have always done hoppers, so I am pretty sure we will end up with 4 day hoppers w/ MP. I’ll feel better knowing I have all the options, and hubby will feel better having a rest day.
***UPDATE: I bought the tickets 2/6 (night before DD #3's actual birthday... it seemed fitting). 4-day hoppers w/ MP. Decision made. I shall sleep well tonight (once the adrenaline/excitement dissipates).

I have the following reservations:
  • Minnie Mouse & Friends @ Plaza Inn
  • BBB hairstyles for all 5 kids who are old enough
  • UPDATE: Wine Country Trattoria WoC package - not sure this one will stick
  • Mickey & Minnie High Tea
  • Fantasmic! Grab & Go @ Hungry Bear
  • Donald’s Surf’s Up Breakfast
Thinking about adding one for Splitsville and for the VR thingie (I keep forgetting the name). Also thinking about Carnation Cafe or River Belle Terrace as we have never been to either, and considering something in DCA. So many incredible options in DCA, but it’ll be Food & Wine time too, and I’m thinking instead of another TS ressie we will be happier doing a sip & savor. I’ve never been to Carthay, we’ve never done Napa Rose, and haven’t been to DLR since Ariel’s Grotto became Lamplight, so a TON of options there. This trip is all about the kiddos though, so we will probably skip all 3 and end up eating hotdogs and pretzels!

One of the key components of my plan are all the DIY things I’m trying ahead of time, and pre-shopping. For our 2014 trip I was SO savvy - I got a new Disney outfit for each kiddo months early on sale! And then forgot to pack them. Oops. So this time, I’m experimenting with DIY vacation journals, autograph books, matching shirts (I am tempted to order them vs make them, we’ll see - I’m starting to run out of time), decorate the van, stockpile enough current year pennies for all the penny press stands (I don’t even know how many that is) and buy stuff. Disney jammies, outfits to go with their BBB makeovers, maybe even an instant camera or sticker picture printer for the kids so they can get immediate souvenirs, rain boots or covers (maybe it’ll still be wet season when we are there), slickers, sunglasses (maybe it will be sunny instead….), and activity books for the drive. My ambition always surpasses my ability though, so I will be content if I get at least 3 of those things done.


Next up is the tentative itinerary!
 
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I've heard that the food at Splitsville is VERY expensive, so just something to consider given your large family! We did the VR thing at Disney Springs out at WDW this past summer...it was the Star Wars one (not Wreck it Ralph). It was AMAZING! Totally worth the $30/person. Seriously. so awesome.
 
I've heard that the food at Splitsville is VERY expensive, so just something to consider given your large family!

Good to know! Maybe we'll just do Earl of Sandwich and/or hit a grocery store and grill that first night. We almost always hit Rain Forest Cafe during previous trips on our non-ticket days, so just trying to figure out options to keep the kids on good behavior while I get some shopping done.

We did the VR thing at Disney Springs out at WDW this past summer...it was the Star Wars one (not Wreck it Ralph). It was AMAZING! Totally worth the $30/person. Seriously. so awesome.

I wonder how far in advance I need to reserve it or if they have walkins for VR. Might end up doing that for BILs too but won't knoe if they are interested until much closer to travel time.

Thanks for jumping on here :) I need all the help and positive thoughts possible to make this plan work :)
 
It sounds like you have all kinds of awesome stuff planned! Yes, finding hotel rooms for bigger families gets quite complicated! On our recent stay at the Grand Canyon, one night DH and I each had to stay in a room with kids because they didn't have any with connecting doors... I had never even heard of Funtierland, but the kids and I had fun looked at all the cool decorations in the different houses! Definitely an interesting option for the future, though maybe still a little far for us to walk. Maybe not as the kids get bigger! Will you walk, take the ART, or drive and park?
 
There are walking distance hotels that can fit large families -- next trip (and there will be one, right?!), post a thread asking about this. I know lots of people like the Desert Palms parlor suite. The new Residence Inn Convention Center might work. The Clementine (used to be the old Residence Inn) had a large suite that could fit 8 (?). And with more suite hotels opening, the options keep growing. Connecting rooms help, too. If you don't need a full kitchen, you can create a "suite" to fit your needs by connecting rooms. (We've done this at certain properties -- worked great and the extra bathrooms were a blessing!)
Your trip plans are rolling right along! :)
 
Love, love, love the pictures for your kids dancing!

Will be following Sara and your TR.
 
It sounds like you have all kinds of awesome stuff planned! Yes, finding hotel rooms for bigger families gets quite complicated! On our recent stay at the Grand Canyon, one night DH and I each had to stay in a room with kids because they didn't have any with connecting doors... I had never even heard of Funtierland, but the kids and I had fun looked at all the cool decorations in the different houses! Definitely an interesting option for the future, though maybe still a little far for us to walk. Maybe not as the kids get bigger! Will you walk, take the ART, or drive and park?

We will be walking - at least the first day! I do NOT want to deal with parking - the van requires at least 9'4" of clearance and I freak out at anything under 10 feet. Plus parking eats up so much time! Our first stay at the Small World was about the same walk as staying at Camelot, just from the opposite side. That was in 2014 and I believe we walked through DTD but maybe we had done the shortcut through CGH and it would be longer now. I'm just not sure. The houses come stocked with all kinds of stuff including double strollers, so we don't have to worry about renting another one. We have one sit & stand which is fine for normal stuff, but I want a second double stroller in case the 7 yr olds get tired too.

There are walking distance hotels that can fit large families -- next trip (and there will be one, right?!), post a thread asking about this. I know lots of people like the Desert Palms parlor suite. The new Residence Inn Convention Center might work. The Clementine (used to be the old Residence Inn) had a large suite that could fit 8 (?). And with more suite hotels opening, the options keep growing. Connecting rooms help, too. If you don't need a full kitchen, you can create a "suite" to fit your needs by connecting rooms. (We've done this at certain properties -- worked great and the extra bathrooms were a blessing!)
Your trip plans are rolling right along! :)

Thanks! Next trip (and of COURSE there will be a next!) is targeted for March 2022 for our last 5th birthday celebration. It'll be interesting to see a) which extended family members if any can joins us and b) what large group options are available. Who knows - maybe the economy will be fantastic for us and we'll get a big suite at GCH
and have a dream vacation! Of course honestly any vacation we take to Disneyland is a dream vacation for me.

Love, love, love the pictures for your kids dancing!

Will be following Sara and your TR.

Welcome to the thread! I'm really hoping my oldest can capture some of that joy and fearlessness she had during that dance - she's so much moodier these days. Keep fingers crossed for us that the pixie dust is plentiful!
 
Quick update - I bought tickets tonight, went with 4-day hopper with MP added! The savings of getting MP at $10/day vs $15/day was the clincher for me. Even if it only saves me a single FP run each day, it'll be worth it!
 
We will be walking - at least the first day! I do NOT want to deal with parking - the van requires at least 9'4" of clearance and I freak out at anything under 10 feet. Plus parking eats up so much time! Our first stay at the Small World was about the same walk as staying at Camelot, just from the opposite side. That was in 2014 and I believe we walked through DTD but maybe we had done the shortcut through CGH and it would be longer now. I'm just not sure...

Just make sure you're up to date on where bag check/security checkpoints are now (for DTD and DLH -- those will be the closest for you) and how to get there from your location. You're right that you won't be able to cut through the GCH to get to DTD on your way to the parks. But you will be able to cut through the GCH on your way back to your rental house -- so that could shave off a little time and distance. And your group will get to see the lobby of the GCH!
 
Yay for buying tickets!!! And I definitely recommend cutting through the GCH on your way out, too. That lobby is our favorite!
 
Looks like it'll be close to Cerritos & Bayless. Google maps has it right about .9 mile one-way walking, going up Walnut to Magic Way, and then to DLH driveway. That's pushing the bounds for us, but still I think worth it versus driving and parking. But I can't quite get the zoomed in google maps to line up with my memory of DTD, so I could be off.
 

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