[House] San Francisco Parents of Multiples SFPOM General Discussion forum digest - 7/15/2012

Sun Jul 15 02:16:09 PDT 2012

San Francisco Parents of Multiples SFPOM General Discussion 7/14/2012
9:15 am - 7/15/2012

1. Disneyland (hashagen5)
2. Re: [sfpom_general] Disneyland (petermolly)

1. Disneyland
--------------------------------------------------------
hashagen5 - 7/14/2012 8:56 am

 A friend and I and my 14 year old daughters went to
 Disneyland and California Adventure in mid-June, just a
 few days after Cars Land opened (which was not part of
 our planning). A few suggestions:** Even though you
 might be inclined, I wouldn't take children who are too
 young to appreciate, endure, and enjoy. Probably not
 until at least 5, and more like 7 or 8. ** I'd try
 very hard NOT to go in summer, and would avoid
 weekends. ** The Disney Hotels are expensive, but
 staying in one MADE our trip. We had 2- day Parkhopper
 tickets, and with our hotel stay had early admission to
 each park for one day (7am!!). There are three hotels,
 all overpriced for what they deliver. In order of
 price, high to low -- Grand Californian, Disneyland
 Hotel, and Paradise Pier. The first two have better
 pools. I've stayed in the first two. I hear the Rooms
 at the GC are getting tired. This trip we stayed at
 the DH. it has recently been redone, and while it
 really is a overpriced motel with few amenities, it is
 clean, comfortable, and very convenient. ** We tried
 the RideMax app for mobile devices, and found it nearly
 worthless. I asked for (and received) the promised
 refund. It didn't tell us anything we didn't know, and
 made plans that included multi-hour breaks an hour or
 two after our park arrival time!Despite the crowds, we
 had a good visit. Here's what worked for us. We got
 up at 6 and were at the park gates a bit before 7. 
 Yes, in the morning. We went to a few popular rides in
 our early hour, and then found that until 10 or so,
 things were not too crowded. We used our Fast Passes
 to the max, which meant a TON of walking back and forth
 in the parks (another reason to avoid taking the very
 young). By 1 or 2 the parks were hideously crowded and
 not in the least fun. We went back to the hotel for a
 long break -- nap, pool, dinner. We went back in the
 evening and used our Fast Passes for rides that were
 still taking them, and otherwise rode whatever wasn't
 crowded. We asked park employees for suggestions re
 where to watch the fireworks -- we parked by "Dumbo"
 and had a great view without crowds. I also asked the
 hotel staff for touring suggestions. We only waited in
 one line that was longer than 30 minutes, and really
 only a few that were longer than 15. My daughters
 wanted to ride the Matterhorn, which does not have Fast
 Pass, and they waited 45 minutes for that. Provisos --
 most food offerings are over-priced for what they
 deliver. We brought healthy breakfast options and
 stowed them in the room fridge, which was a real
 half-fridge, not a packed mini-bar. Had a snack lunch
 in the park, ate dinner at the hotel. Our friend took
 us to Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square one night. We
 were all deeply disappointed -- Disneyland should be
 embarrassed -- skip it. I can highly recommend the
 margaritas at the Disneyland Hotel pool, though service
 was poor. If you want to ride the new Cars ride, get
 in the Fast Pass line first thing. I got in line for
 15 minutes at 7:45, it took us another 10 or 15 minutes
 to wait for the ride. Hotel staff told us people had
 been waiting in line SIX hours for that ride the first
 weekend. (it was fun!)Don't forget hats, sunblock and
 water. It can be very hot. And try to travel light in
 the parks, you will be happier for it. Carla H.

Send comment to: 
With subject line: "Ref#70526338 - Disneyland"

Email author: hashagen5 at aol.com
--------------------------------------------------------

 2. petermolly says...
 --------------------------------------------------------
 7/14/2012 9:31 am

 Thank you for all your very informative tips!! I really
 appreciate it! Susan_________________ From: Carla
 Hashagen To: 'San Francisco Parents of Multiples SFPOM
 General Discussion' Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 8:58
 AMSubject: [sfpom_general] Disneyland -
 Ref#70526338Carla Hashagen posted:A friend and I and my
 14 year old daughters went to Disneyland and California
 Adventure in mid-June, just a few days after Cars Land
 opened (which was not part of our planning). A few
 suggestions:** Even though you might be inclined, I
 wouldn't take children who are too young to appreciate,
 endure, and enjoy. Probably not until at least 5, and
 more like 7 or 8. ** I'd try very hard NOT to go in
 summer, and would avoid weekends. ** The Disney
 Hotels are expensive, but staying in one MADE our trip.
 We had 2- day Parkhopper tickets, and with our hotel
 stay had early admission to each park for one day
 (7am!!). There are three hotels, all overpriced for
 what they deliver. In order of price, high to low --
 Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Paradise Pier.
 The first two have better pools. I've stayed in the
 first two. I hear the Rooms at the GC are getting
 tired. This trip we stayed at the DH. it has recently
 been redone, and while it really is a overpriced motel
 with few amenities, it is clean, comfortable, and very
 convenient. ** We tried the RideMax app for mobile
 devices, and found it nearly worthless. I asked for
 (and received) the promised refund. It didn't tell us
 anything we didn't know, and made plans that included
 multi-hour breaks an hour or two after our park arrival
 time!Despite the crowds, we had a good visit. Here's
 what worked for us. We got up at 6 and were at the
 park gates a bit before 7. Yes, in the morning. We
 went to a few popular rides in our early hour, and then
 found that until 10 or so, things were not too crowded.
 We used our Fast Passes to the max, which meant a TON
 of walking back and forth in the parks (another reason
 to avoid taking the very young). By 1 or 2 the parks
 were hideously crowded and not in the least fun. We
 went back to the hotel for a long break -- nap, pool,
 dinner. We went back in the evening and used our Fast
 Passes for rides that were still taking them, and
 otherwise rode whatever wasn't crowded. We asked park
 employees for suggestions re where to watch the
 fireworks -- we parked by "Dumbo" and had a great view
 without crowds. I also asked the hotel staff for
 touring suggestions. We only waited in one line that
 was longer than 30 minutes, and really only a few that
 were longer than 15. My daughters wanted to ride the
 Matterhorn, which does not have Fast Pass, and they
 waited 45 minutes for that. Provisos -- most food
 offerings are over-priced for what they deliver. We
 brought healthy breakfast options and stowed them in
 the room fridge, which was a real half-fridge, not a
 packed mini-bar. Had a snack lunch in the park, ate
 dinner at the hotel. Our friend took us to Blue Bayou
 in New Orleans Square one night. We were all deeply
 disappointed -- Disneyland should be embarrassed --
 skip it. I can highly recommend the margaritas at the
 Disneyland Hotel pool, though service was poor. If you
 want to ride the new Cars ride, get in the Fast Pass
 line first thing. I got in line for 15 minutes at
 7:45, it took us another 10 or 15 minutes to wait for
 the ride. Hotel staff told us people had been waiting
 in line SIX hours for that ride the first weekend. (it
 was fun!)Don't forget hats, sunblock and water. It can
 be very hot. And try to travel light in the parks, you
 will be happier for it. Carla H.Add your comments
 online:

 http://www.bigtent.com/group/forum/message/70526338?md=MTIzODA2NTY=&md=NjA3Nzg0MjI=
 Email author: petermolly at yahoo.com
 --------------------------------------------------------
View forum online at: http://www.bigtent.com/group/forum/12135519?md=NjA3Nzg0MjI=

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