Relaxed touring plan--folly or not?

[Calivalley1]

Hey folks. My family is headed to Disneyland for 5 days, July 6th-July 11th. First trip for the 3 boys (14, 7, and 5) and first trip for the hubby since his grad night 20 years ago : ) We have 5 day, 1 park-per-day tickets and will be using MaxPass 4 of those days.

I have been diligently reading/researching/planning/going crazy for many months now. I subscribed to TouringPlans and have plans that require a whole lot of running around the parks. I've filled my husband in on rope-drop, and MaxPass strategies, and parade-seating strategies and he commented with a very grim look on his face "It feels like we're going to war." I looked at my plan for our first day in DL and it has us walking-with-intention to the rope drop for Tomorrowland and I'm feeling really conflicted about that--Disneyland is so special and so magical and do I really want to make my kids walk/run down Main Street on their first time there?

So here's my question--is it possible to ride all the rides, and see/experience those little things that make Disneyland so special, in a relaxed way with 5 day tickets? (I figured 3 for DL and 2 for DCA) Without detailed touring plans? Or is it just too busy now to allow for that? Could we scale back our plans to say on one day we're doing Adventureland in the morning and Fantasyland in the evening, with a parade at 6:00? Is that too old-school and unrealistic?

 

[chickapin parterre]

do you have park hoppers

 

[Calivalley1]

No park hoppers

 

[chickapin parterre]

oppps, up in the right corner I see the tickets

Wow, you have a great opportunity here to really immerse the children in a fashion that most of us wish we could return to on our first visit. So yes, snap the photo with Mickey in front of the Parterre, rub the brass plaque, take in another character, listen to the music, grab a vehicle on down to the castle hub. Do not get caught up in the rope drop rush on your first day. Why ? Because you have Max Pass, you have a vision of the outlay of Disneyland, you will have grand time meeting your expectations, so much so.......that you can return back to lodging and swim with the 7 and 5 from 2-5, grab a bite to eat, take a nap, relax and HYDRATE.

It is possible, with maxpass to stay in one land on each morning visit at Disneyland and then upon return, use the maxpass you accumlated around the pool in the other lands.

 

[chickapin parterre]

...so the only strategy that you need is parade and fireworks sitting. 3 days in Disneyland will be great, DCA will be an interesting experiment for you, if the family needs another day to RSR GOGT and Grizzly or if once is enough in DCA. And eating the parks, share your specifics about eating in the parks and someone here can help you with that summer structure.

 

[Calivalley1]

Okay, that right there made me smile. That is really what I want for them (and for us!) Of course we want to do the rides--we all love rides--but taking it a little slower to _savor_ it sounds really good. I'm glad to hear it's still possible : ) Thanks for the response!

 

[Calivalley1]

Hmm...maybe only 1 day for DCA? We went to LEGOLAND last summer where they have a play area similar to the Grizzly one (?) in DCA and we spent 2 hours there. And there was a ride similar to Jumpin Jellyfish that our two youngest boys rode 14 times. Seriously. I am preparing myself to be surprised by what they fall in love with and be prepared to do it many times : )

 

[Winnowill]

DL requires nowhere near the level of planning that a WDW vacation does. You can stop and smell the roses. No need to stress out about being five minutes behind your touring plan. In fact, I scrapped mine the first day and didn't miss it.

 

[NannyBeBe]

We never make major plans. It just seems to take the fun out of it. We do get fast passes but not much more planning than that. While the mobs are running to a ride, I am stopping to watch the ducklings on the water or take pictures of the roses. And I have never felt that I did not do all that I wanted to do, even on super busy days.

 

[limace]

We will rush at least one morning because Peter Pan is one of my very favorites and I don’t want to miss it. Aside from that, with maxpass, no need to rush at all.

 

[Calivalley1]

Oh man, I feel better : ) Thank you for the responses. I am taking a breath and forgetting the TouringPlans stuff.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I mean, if you had two days and a lot you wanted to do, you might need to do some hustling.

Five days? You’re golden. Enjoy and have fun!

 

[DBMC]

No need to hustle with 5 days. I still like to do a general plan though. I like to figure out where I want to eat, and plan what areas I want to do in what order. That way I know what fast passes to collect, and we aren't just wandering around asking what everyone wants to do. You definitely don't need a minute by minute plan though.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Relaxed is the only way to do it. Dont run at rope drop, rumor is they may start stopping people and making ghem wait until the RD crowd disapates. Take your time to enjoy what Walt built, he was a wonderful man

 

[skuttle]

OMG, are you me?!? LOL! We leave in 10 days for our first trip with our three boys, 14, 7 and 5!! We are also doing five days so we can take our time and take it all in.

 

[peterpanandwendy]

I have nothing new to add, but I will join the voices that say no need to rush! We never use touring plans, we always take it easy and relaxed and let the kids pace the day and we never leave feeling like we missed anything. You might race down Main Street on your last day... but take it easy for the first few. Let the kids really savour it.

 

[wildflower329]

We always do 5 days (although we do park hoppers) and we do that so we can be as relaxed as we want. If the kids want to ride something three times in a row... sure! If we want to stop and enjoy an ice cream while sitting on main street.. no problem! You may not see everything that there is to see, but you will definitely get a full experience, should have plenty of time to go on every ride you want to at least once, see multiple shows or parades, etc. I am a planner too, but I look at my planning for Disney as a way to have the knowledge to do things efficiently while still being relaxed (for example, knowing about fast passes and max pass, knowing how to use the app while in line, researching best places to be for WOC, etc.)

Relax, but be prepared with knowledge, and you will have an amazing time!

 

[BrianL]

With 5 days I think you can be as relaxed as you want. You'll have plenty of time, so enjoy yourself! MaxPass will help out for sure as well. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Have fun!

 

[Calivalley1]

OMG, are you me?!? LOL! We leave in 10 days for our first trip with our three boys, 14, 7 and 5!! We are also doing five days so we can take our time and take it all in.

Ha! Fun, right?

 

[Calivalley1]

Thanks again to all who replied. I think I was reading too many blog posts from AP holders/veterans who (understandably) are focused on getting in a lot of rides. We're not there yet : ) I'm hoping I convert my husband into a Disneyland-lover and we can make frequent trips!