We are taking our first trip to Disneyland in September We’re staying at the Grand Californian and have 5 day park hopper tickets with genie+ (will be lightning lane multipass then). I’m about to start tentative daily plans so I can figure out what 60 day meal reservations to make and looking for any input you can offer.
Who’s going:
DH-loves marvel and star wars, doesn’t love the crowds and long lines but is a good sport about it, has a bad back so will be skipping anything too rough, may go back to the hotel and leave us to it when he has enough
me-a bit of a ride chicken but will power through for DD
DD13-wants to try everything, very fit, will probably still be full of energy after 30k steps
We’re from the east coast of Canada, Atlantic time zone (1 hour before eastern), and are used to getting up early, so rope drop will be easy while park close may be tougher (this is our first time so far out of our time zone). We will be spending some of the afternoon time at the hotel pool.
The tentative plan/park reservations at this point:
Sat Sep 21 - get up at 2 am atlantic time (Fri 10 pm PT) to go to airport. Fly to Toronto, connection to LAX. Probably will get to GC around 3 pm. Will all probably be pretty tired, so likely will just enjoy the hotel, pool, quick service dinner, try to stay up to a reasonable PT bedtime.
Sun Sep 22 - have early entry at DCA (ticket day 1). DCA closes early for OBB. Probably will be our only chance for DL fireworks as I doubt we will be able to see them on the 21st.
Mon Sep 23 - have early entry at DCA (ticket day 2)
Tues Sep 24 - have early entry at DL (ticket day 3). Have tickets to OBB at DCA this evening.
Wed Sep 25 - have early entry at DCA (ticket day 4).
Thurs Sep 26 - have early entry at DL (ticket day 5). DCA closes early for OBB.
Reservations we’re considering:
Trader Sam’s early enough that DD is allowed in (lunch or late afternoon)
Probably a few table service reservations.
Considering a World of Color Dessert Party or a Fantasmic dining package, mainly to avoid the being packed in waiting for a show and watching a show experience as that is DH’s least favorite part of the parks. World of Color food offerings seem very underwhelming though.
I would appreciate any thoughts you have to offer!
Love WOC dessert party! Not necessarily for the food, but the seat to watch a show that I really love. Have not done Fantasmic dining package because you have to sit on the ground & I’m too old for that. Riverbelle Terrace does have a premium package where you stay at your table to watch but I have never been able to get a reservation, too few tables so they go very quickly!
I’ve done the Fantasmic Dining Package at Blue Bayou. My reservation was not for the dining package because it wasn’t available. But my waiter offered it as an option. I got it for the second showing so that I could watch fireworks during Fantasmic’s first showing.
You do have to sit on the ground. Jeff_AZ told me afterwards that the back is better became you can squat or kneel vs having to sit on the ground. Front rows don’t give a good view because the railing is in the way. Compared to the Hungry Bear section, the Blue Bayou section was really empty!
Honestly, I prefer stadium seating at WDW for Fantasmic. But people love DLR’s Fantasmic because you are so close to it.
Considering DH’s preferences for Marvel and Star Wars and your early bird advantage, planning meal reservations early and using Genie+ strategically can help. Trader Sam’s is ideal for an early visit, and dining packages for shows like World of Color or Fantasmic could enhance your experience.
We just did the Rancho del Zocalo F! Dining Package on Saturday night (which ended up being an actual CL4 day), and would recommend it if you like Mexican flavors and are ok with on-the-floor seating. We thought the food was excellent, and had a good view (we chose to sit back in the 2nd/3rd “row” from the railing as did not want to get wet). Our section did not feel overcrowded (we arrived at 8.20 with beignets and hot cocoa, but there was still space until show starting), we brought a picnic tarp and could fully stretch out our legs, as could everyone around us. The food appealed to us most of all of the dining plan options (from what I could tell, they all have a very good and quite similar view), and it also happens to be priced significantly lower, which is always a bonus
For WOC, we made an ADR for Lamplight Lounge at 7.50 and asked for a table outside, which we got. Again, great food and good (not great) view - we appreciated the lounge style/couch seating we had where our kids had tons of space to play quietly and stretch out after a long day, though we did have heads in front of us at the railing seated on bar stools during the show. If you’re ok sitting at bar stools for 1-1.5 hrs, I’d request those for the superior view.
Alternatively, stand (for free) on the bridge leading to Lamplight Lounge. There were still spots there around 10 min before the show started on Sunday, but I just checked and it ended up being a CL2 day, so would not count on that for higher crowd days!
WoC Dessert Party is a splurge, but since you are going first class, I encourage you to do the dessert party. My DH doesn’t like crowds and also has a sensitive back, and I know he’d love the dessert party for the comfort, lack of crowding, and the drinks. I also recommend the Craftsman Bar & Grill in the GCH pool area for one of your meals. It’s a relaxed atmosphere with good service and food. My DH loves it.
Since your DH doesn"t like crowds, I’d either skip Fantasmic or let him go back to the room to enjoy a shoot’em up movie while you girls enjoy the show. My DH can"t stand the crowds around Fantasmic or the fireworks, and the prolonged standing is hard on the back for just about anyone.
You will have a fabulous time staying at the GCH, due to the ambience there and the proximity to the parks. It’s a great choice since your hubby can easily retreat there when he gets crowd weary, and still quickly meet up with you when he"s ready to get back in it. It sounds like a wonderful family vacation.
Also, regarding Fantasmic dining packages: I’ve never done one, but was so glad I didn"t when I watched a hoard of people being escorted to their viewing location. They stood in a tight huddle for a long time before being packed like sardines on the ground for the show. Maybe that was just the cheapest option, I don’t know, but I thought about how grumpy my hubs would have been to be placed in that situation. I’m sure they had a better view than I did, but at least I was free to move around and even leave.
Thanks for the input, everyone. At Disney World we’ve generally chosen the off-center, less crowded views, so glad to get the information on what your experiences have been with being crowded and your experiences with different packages.
I’d really like to see Fantasmic, but I may have to hope for a River Belle premium package to have table seating and not be crowded. Given how hard those are to get, is there anywhere off to the side or in the back where you can show up a little later and stand to watch and still get something of a view? Standing for a long time and sitting on the ground are probably going to be a no-go for my DH, but I hate for him to miss out as we’ve never managed to see it in Disney World.
This trip started out being a budget trip in August when rates were lower. Then we decided since the DL hotel had a discounted rate, we could splurge a little to stay there. Then we had to change our dates as DH needed to be at work, and for our new week DL hotel standard rooms were sold out and the GC standard room discount was the same as the lowest available DL hotel room, so it made more sense to stay at the GC, and, really, Disney World deluxe hotels are still more expensive so it wasn’t that much of a splurge… And then the other day DH asked whether there was any kind of a fireworks dessert party we could do…
I saw people waiting in line to be let in for the first showing of Fantasmic in the dining package area. Perhaps like at WDW, the second showing just has less people? I had reservations for the second showing. There was no line to get into the viewing area and there were hardly any people in my Blue Bayou area.
There were definitely hoards of people inching up to the river while hoards of people were leaving the first showing of Fantasmic and headed to Main Street. But Disney does a good job with traffic. Guests were directed down to Main Street through Frontierland and guests headed towards the river were directed up through Adventureland. Nevertheless, there was wall to wall of people.
DL is so much smaller than MK. During different times of day, walls of people are common.
We did this once because DD forgot to book the VQ! It was too crowded for the first showing but we hung around near the bridge. When people left after the first showing, we parked ourselves in front of the railing.
Our favorite table service meals in DLR are Lamplight Lounge in DCA & Carnation Cafe in DL. The ambiance, service & food have been our favorite to repeat over and over and over. We did also enjoy Blue Bayou with the Fantasmic dining package earlier this summer but it was splurge we definitely won’t repeat again for a long while and it requires sniper level skills and a bit of luck still to get a reservation. Carthay Circle has also been a fantastic restaurant the two times we’ve tried it out.
The food at World of Color definitely leaves a lot to be desired but there are a few decent treats and it’s really the seat with a view that you’re paying for and if it will help you enjoy the show, that’s definitely worth the majority of the cost you’re paying for. Plus you can get up to 2 alcoholic drinks per 21+ and endless drinks on soda, coffee, hot chocolate. So we’ve also enjoyed it the two times we’ve splurged for it for a couple of special occasions.
As for Fantasmic, my DH is relatively ok with crowds, doesn’t love them but isn’t averse, and we do watch fireworks on Main St many a time. However, when it comes to Fantasmic, he absolutely hates navigating the traffic along the Rivers of America and will only agree to it with a dining package or camping out at a Stage Door Cafe table (but that is a considerable 2 hr at least time commitment). In our experience, standby requires a lot of camping out first waiting to be let into the standby sections and then waiting it out in standby for an hour or so before the show. And if it’s a high demand night for the show, they are crammed full like sardines.
So my recommendation is to watch the later show standby or to get a dining package, the Rancho del Zocalo is a great deal for the price and the Blue Bayou is a very nice splurge and worth it for a once in a lifetime/special occasion trip. With a dining package we show up 30-45 min before the show, and sit down to the middle/back of the section and have never been crammed in like sardines like the standby viewing sections are.
For your DH’s back, I would recommend bringing something like a blanket or small foam cushion for him to sit on since the ground at Fantasmic is all uneven cobblestones and sitting on it is not comfortable. He can also stand until 10-15 min before showtime if that’s easier for his back. And I’ve seen it before where those who have a hard time sitting may be able to stand in the very back of the dining section, but not sure if that’s something that can still be done.
Also, if you can score a River Belle Terrace Premium dining package, those are seated at a table during the show after finishing up dinner. They are harder to score and I personally prefer the up close view and larger scale of the show from the Rivers of America, but if your DH will have a markedly improved experience not having to be shuffling in the crowds or having to stand or sit on the ground for the show, it could be a perfection option.
We’re staying at the Grand Californian and have 5 day park hopper tickets with genie+ (will be lightning lane multipass then). I’m about to start tentative daily plans so I can figure out what 60 day meal reservations to make and looking for any input you can offer.
Hoping we can find a balance of doing most of the things and not rushing too much
