ThreeMountains
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2019
This trip is quickly approaching and I couldn't be more excited. I don't think I've posted a completed trip report in a while (sorry for any partials that I didn't finish, as the kids keep me busy when I get home after trips), so I'll give a quick recap.
ME
I'm a WDW vet going back to the mid-80s when I was just a baby. I had never visited Disneyland until about five years ago when I began traveling to Anaheim for work and, while planning the work trip, realized DL was right across the street from where I'd be. No way I was going to miss that opportunity, and that began a roughly once per year quick trip to DL tacked on to the end of my work trips.
PREVIOUS DISNEYLAND VISITS
2019 - solo, single day with park hopper. I began the day feeling under the weather and ended it so sick I was nauseous in the Uber on the way back to my hotel. Did a lot in both parks considering, but hard to fully enjoy it feeling like that. Loved both parks, though.
2020 (pre-pandemic) - solo, single day with park hopper. Wasn't sick on this one, so took full advantage of my time there and enjoyed it even more since I had the lay of the land.
2022 - trip with my brother and his wife, their first time, three days with park hopper (four days for them). It was really fun to not only visit these parks with others for the first time, but also see their reactions to everything, being their first time to DL. We also stayed at Disneyland Hotel, which was awesome, as all of my other trips I stayed off property but walking distance.
2023 - solo, two days with park hopper. Really fun and did a lot, but I started to relax a bit and soak in the atmosphere and details now that I didn't feel like I had to experience everything, although there were new things to see, such as the revamped Toontown.
SUMMARY FOR THIS TRIP
As with past trips, I have added extra days to the end of my business trip, so I will be working until late Sunday night and then kicking off the Disney portion early Monday morning. A late night and then early alarm aren't ideal, as I'm not a morning person...unless it's for a Disney vacation! Nothing better than kicking off a Disney trip with rope drop at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom!
Assuming I'm timing it right, my alarm will go off around 5:30am, I'll leave my work hotel by 6:15am or so, Uber to the new hotel down the road, check in, leave bags, and walk the 15 minutes or so to the park in time to clear the gates and be waiting for rope drop. Again, that's an earlier start than I'd normally like, but rope drop on day one is worth it, especially since I'll be solo and able to go at my own pace all three days after that.
DAILY ITINERARY
Monday 1/29 - Disneyland Park to start but will be park hopping
Tuesday 1/30 - California Adventure to start but will be park hopping
Wednesday 1/31 - Disneyland Park to start but will be park hopping
HOTEL
I'm currently booked at La Quinta Inn & Suites on Clementine. I stayed here last year and it's just within my max threshold for walking distance (and my minimum threshold for quality...), nearly a mile to the gates, 15-20 minutes at my pace. I really wanted a shorter walk, but anything significantly closer was quite a bit more expensive, and I'd rather save several hundred dollars I can instead put toward trying various Lunar New Year Celebration foods and beverages, finally purchasing a MagicBand+, souvenirs for the kids, etc. I even considered one or two "extras" this trip, but I'll discuss those later. The good news is that it's basically across the street from the Toy Story parking lot, so if I'm feeling it on days two and three, I can always hop a shuttle to the entrance and back.
GOALS
While I haven't been to DL a lot of total days, this is actually my fifth separate visit, so my anxiety about trying to do everything every time is subsiding a bit. The fact that I have three full park hopping days solo helps a lot, too. This means I can go entirely at my own pace, doing exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. The park hopper allows me to maximize efficiency based on crowds, wait times, and more, and three fulls days feels perfect to me for this type of trip.
We all know "the best laid plans...", but I'm currently trying to get in the mindset of taking it easy and soaking in the atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, there will be a LOT of rides involved, but I also want to take plenty of time to look for theming details, sit on a bench and watch the Disneyland band, and that type of stuff that's harder to get yourself to do when you're only visiting for a day or two.
Another "soak it all in" aspect of this trip is the shopping (or window shopping, as I typically don't buy much). When I go to WDW in April with the family, it's hard to take your time browsing the stores in Disney Springs and the parks because our young, high energy kids make it challenging. On my own for three days? I plan to take my time walking through all of the shop. And it's even better since Main Street USA in DL actually has the separate little shops, such as the Magic Shop.
GENIE+
I'm still debating this one. I may not need it with all the time I'll have and being able to go at my own pace, but in the end, I imagine I'll probably buy it. I know no one would want the Disney decision makers reading this, but even at $30 a day, spending $90 total over three days will save me a LOT of time and help lower my anxiety levels. Plus, I intend to buy a MagicBand+ and it's one more way I'll get to use it since I'm not staying on property (of course, I will be able to in April at WDW).
TRIP REPORT - LIVE???
This pre-trip report is for planning and building excitement, so when I get there, I intend to start more of a "live trip report" with all of my "free" time. I'm not sure I've ever been able to complete one I started typing up after the trip (at least not for my multi-day trips), so I believe this will work better. It will also probably help me slow myself down and share the fun since no one will be there with me.
DINING
I keep checking for dining reservations that may open up, but I planned this trip too late to get anything desirable. If a Blue Bayou one magically appeared, I'd grab it, and I'll definitely try to ask at the desk if they can squeeze in a single visitor, but I've never had luck with that before. Overall, I'll likely be grabbing quick service options and Lunar New Year booth food, but I do intend to eat once or twice at a sit down place if it works out as a walk up. Not having actual reservations also keeps my schedule flexible, so I'd rather do that and take my chances walking up to ask about sitting down, rather than booking ahead of time and feeling pressured to be in certain areas at certain times.
EXTRA MAGIC ACTIVITIES
Knowing I'm saving on the hotel, I considered a couple different extra magic experiences. One was the World of Color ONE dessert party, but I'm leaning toward no. It just doesn't seem worth the cost, and I never know how I'll be feeling each day by that time of night (plus I don't want to be tempted to over eat just to make it "worth the price").
The one that has my eye, but is perhaps a bit too expensive for me to pull the trigger, is Walt's Main Street Story Tour. This is the most tempting "extra cost experience" for me at any Disney park, but man, it's so much money ($160 plus tax). At anything under $100, I'd be all in, but it's nearly half the cost of my hotel for my entire stay! As a Disney fanatic, though, it's hard to pass up since I never know if I'll be in California again for another visit, and getting to check out Walt's apartment above the fire station is so cool. I think I'll wait a bit longer and see how the finances are closer to the trip. I know I won't regret doing it, but it's really hard to justify that cost. If anyone has done this and has feedback or insights, I'd love to hear them!
That should offer a pretty good summary. As always, I'm open to thoughts or suggestions, and I intend to update this pre-trip report as I make more detailed plans.
ME
I'm a WDW vet going back to the mid-80s when I was just a baby. I had never visited Disneyland until about five years ago when I began traveling to Anaheim for work and, while planning the work trip, realized DL was right across the street from where I'd be. No way I was going to miss that opportunity, and that began a roughly once per year quick trip to DL tacked on to the end of my work trips.
PREVIOUS DISNEYLAND VISITS
2019 - solo, single day with park hopper. I began the day feeling under the weather and ended it so sick I was nauseous in the Uber on the way back to my hotel. Did a lot in both parks considering, but hard to fully enjoy it feeling like that. Loved both parks, though.
2020 (pre-pandemic) - solo, single day with park hopper. Wasn't sick on this one, so took full advantage of my time there and enjoyed it even more since I had the lay of the land.
2022 - trip with my brother and his wife, their first time, three days with park hopper (four days for them). It was really fun to not only visit these parks with others for the first time, but also see their reactions to everything, being their first time to DL. We also stayed at Disneyland Hotel, which was awesome, as all of my other trips I stayed off property but walking distance.
2023 - solo, two days with park hopper. Really fun and did a lot, but I started to relax a bit and soak in the atmosphere and details now that I didn't feel like I had to experience everything, although there were new things to see, such as the revamped Toontown.
SUMMARY FOR THIS TRIP
As with past trips, I have added extra days to the end of my business trip, so I will be working until late Sunday night and then kicking off the Disney portion early Monday morning. A late night and then early alarm aren't ideal, as I'm not a morning person...unless it's for a Disney vacation! Nothing better than kicking off a Disney trip with rope drop at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom!
Assuming I'm timing it right, my alarm will go off around 5:30am, I'll leave my work hotel by 6:15am or so, Uber to the new hotel down the road, check in, leave bags, and walk the 15 minutes or so to the park in time to clear the gates and be waiting for rope drop. Again, that's an earlier start than I'd normally like, but rope drop on day one is worth it, especially since I'll be solo and able to go at my own pace all three days after that.
DAILY ITINERARY
Monday 1/29 - Disneyland Park to start but will be park hopping
Tuesday 1/30 - California Adventure to start but will be park hopping
Wednesday 1/31 - Disneyland Park to start but will be park hopping
HOTEL
I'm currently booked at La Quinta Inn & Suites on Clementine. I stayed here last year and it's just within my max threshold for walking distance (and my minimum threshold for quality...), nearly a mile to the gates, 15-20 minutes at my pace. I really wanted a shorter walk, but anything significantly closer was quite a bit more expensive, and I'd rather save several hundred dollars I can instead put toward trying various Lunar New Year Celebration foods and beverages, finally purchasing a MagicBand+, souvenirs for the kids, etc. I even considered one or two "extras" this trip, but I'll discuss those later. The good news is that it's basically across the street from the Toy Story parking lot, so if I'm feeling it on days two and three, I can always hop a shuttle to the entrance and back.
GOALS
While I haven't been to DL a lot of total days, this is actually my fifth separate visit, so my anxiety about trying to do everything every time is subsiding a bit. The fact that I have three full park hopping days solo helps a lot, too. This means I can go entirely at my own pace, doing exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. The park hopper allows me to maximize efficiency based on crowds, wait times, and more, and three fulls days feels perfect to me for this type of trip.
We all know "the best laid plans...", but I'm currently trying to get in the mindset of taking it easy and soaking in the atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, there will be a LOT of rides involved, but I also want to take plenty of time to look for theming details, sit on a bench and watch the Disneyland band, and that type of stuff that's harder to get yourself to do when you're only visiting for a day or two.
Another "soak it all in" aspect of this trip is the shopping (or window shopping, as I typically don't buy much). When I go to WDW in April with the family, it's hard to take your time browsing the stores in Disney Springs and the parks because our young, high energy kids make it challenging. On my own for three days? I plan to take my time walking through all of the shop. And it's even better since Main Street USA in DL actually has the separate little shops, such as the Magic Shop.
GENIE+
I'm still debating this one. I may not need it with all the time I'll have and being able to go at my own pace, but in the end, I imagine I'll probably buy it. I know no one would want the Disney decision makers reading this, but even at $30 a day, spending $90 total over three days will save me a LOT of time and help lower my anxiety levels. Plus, I intend to buy a MagicBand+ and it's one more way I'll get to use it since I'm not staying on property (of course, I will be able to in April at WDW).
TRIP REPORT - LIVE???
This pre-trip report is for planning and building excitement, so when I get there, I intend to start more of a "live trip report" with all of my "free" time. I'm not sure I've ever been able to complete one I started typing up after the trip (at least not for my multi-day trips), so I believe this will work better. It will also probably help me slow myself down and share the fun since no one will be there with me.
DINING
I keep checking for dining reservations that may open up, but I planned this trip too late to get anything desirable. If a Blue Bayou one magically appeared, I'd grab it, and I'll definitely try to ask at the desk if they can squeeze in a single visitor, but I've never had luck with that before. Overall, I'll likely be grabbing quick service options and Lunar New Year booth food, but I do intend to eat once or twice at a sit down place if it works out as a walk up. Not having actual reservations also keeps my schedule flexible, so I'd rather do that and take my chances walking up to ask about sitting down, rather than booking ahead of time and feeling pressured to be in certain areas at certain times.
EXTRA MAGIC ACTIVITIES
Knowing I'm saving on the hotel, I considered a couple different extra magic experiences. One was the World of Color ONE dessert party, but I'm leaning toward no. It just doesn't seem worth the cost, and I never know how I'll be feeling each day by that time of night (plus I don't want to be tempted to over eat just to make it "worth the price").
The one that has my eye, but is perhaps a bit too expensive for me to pull the trigger, is Walt's Main Street Story Tour. This is the most tempting "extra cost experience" for me at any Disney park, but man, it's so much money ($160 plus tax). At anything under $100, I'd be all in, but it's nearly half the cost of my hotel for my entire stay! As a Disney fanatic, though, it's hard to pass up since I never know if I'll be in California again for another visit, and getting to check out Walt's apartment above the fire station is so cool. I think I'll wait a bit longer and see how the finances are closer to the trip. I know I won't regret doing it, but it's really hard to justify that cost. If anyone has done this and has feedback or insights, I'd love to hear them!
That should offer a pretty good summary. As always, I'm open to thoughts or suggestions, and I intend to update this pre-trip report as I make more detailed plans.
