Originally Posted By dlport By way of review, my family and I went to the Resort from December 9-13th. The 10th was a Monday, and was an early entry day into DL. DL opened at 9, but an hour early for Hotel guests. Tip- You have to bring both your regular ticket, and proof of hotel guest status. Some folks were allowed to use their room keys as proof, but it is obvious this could be problematic and people could just keep their old room keys, so most CM's were asking for the hotel signature cards used for charging items to your room. You MUST have confirmation of staying in a Resort hotel, so do not forget this. We did not actually get over to DL until around 8:30. Much of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland is open for early entry, which is nice. There were even a few characters out on Main Street for photos, which is a benefit not seen in years past. My daugher loved Astro Blasters last year, so we headed there first, and although we were sidetracked for a run on the Astro-Orbiters, we next went to Buzz. We again had an issue with sound (see my previous post), as the queue is LOUD. My daughter bailed on the ride due to noise. We headed to Alice and that she loves. Good visuals, not too loud! Next we went to Adventureland. My daughter really likes Tarzan's Treehouse, but mainly because she likes to climb stairs. Me? Not so much. Then over to the new TSI. The new Pirate's Lair stuff is nice, particularly the Grotto cave which has some amazing effects. Even if you are not into the Island, go there just to see the Grotto cave. Captain Jack was at the back end of the Island at a photo location, but my daughter was a little leery of him. He was spot-on being in character! Overall, she (being 3.5) loved the Island. I am a little surprised there are not more railings on it, but I am fairly protective and my daughter is still pretty young. The new spots are safe, but the older sections have uneven ground, standing water, and some drop-offs. So keep an eye on your kids. After leaving the Island, my wife went to Main St to do some shopping, while my daughter and I went to Critter Country for back to back rides on Winnie the Pooh. The CM let us ride twice without exiting, which was nice. I really do love the beginning of that ride, with the great outdoor entry and scenery, and the opening 3 scenes (Blustery Day, Rainy Day, and Tigger). The thing loses its steam with the Heffalumps and Woozles (too bright, which loses any sense of dimension.) After exiting we saw the Pooh characters were out. I really like how they do this now. You enter into ONE line, which goes to Pooh first, then Eeyore, then Tigger, then exit. So you only stand in a single line, and get 3 meets. The only downside is that they don't cut the line off when they estimate the break-times for the characters, so you may be 2-3 people away, and THEN they warn you Pooh is going on break shortly. Thankfully we had a great CM who saw that people were line-holding (what appeared as one person grew to 4-5 when they got up front), so they let us go as the last party, even after announcing the character-break. Whew! I almost had an upset little girl. Pooh and Eeyore had a PhotoPass photog stationed with them, who both took a Disney pic, and would also use your camera. Tigger just had a regular "handler" to use your camera. On the way out of Disneyland, after the Pooh meet, we saw Mary Poppins and Burt dancing at Coke Corner! Great show! We also ran into Mickey signing autographs in front of the Firehouse, Pluto outside of City Hall, Donald in front of the Mad Hatter, and Goofy in front of Great Moments. TIP- Characters often come out for unannounced meet and greets at these spots, particularly in front of the Mad Hatter and Great Moments. If you have a kid, and you see a small crowd at these spots, head over for autographs/pics! We ran into the aforementioned characters, as well as Minnie and Chip & Dale, NUMEROUS times at these spots. Back to the Hotel for a nap! Our daughter is past the point of regular naps, but we forced it on this trip, and it was the right choice. 2 hours of sleep kept her mood good, and enabled her to stay up later (remember, two hour time loss for us Texans.) We asked her what she wanted to do after waking up, and her two choices were: Meet more friends (characters), and Flik's Fun Fair. So back to DCA we went. Two places that are great to meet characters are the Sunshine Plaza, where you will often see Goofy and Pluto, and Hollywood. There is almost always someone either outside of the Animation Pavillion, and at the end of that same street. We often ran into Snow White (due to the cottage background there now), Goofy, and Mr. Incredible. Also spotted at times were Sulley, Sorcerer Mickey, and Woody. While my kiddo took pics, with my wife, I hopped aboard a haunted elevator. TOT is just so darn great. Then to Flik's Fun Fair. Love the Buggies (note the dual pedals, to allow mom/dad to control speed), and the comedy of Heimlich's. We exited and walked to DL after DCA closed. We rode Alice again, and walked through Adventureland and NOS for fun, just wandering. We were going to watch the Parade, but it was both COLD and LOUD, so we went on Autopia. My daughter's new favorite ride! Anything that allows autonomy, she loves, so Autopia and Tuck & Roll are the top of her list. Dinner was at Tomorrowland Terrace, for some mediocre burgers. They did have a cool Buzz straw that you could buy for an extra 2.99, that had two straw parts (one in each hand), so it looked like the liquid was flowing through Buzz. After dinner we headed out. We caught the Castle lighting ceremony. It was nice, if contrived. As you walk up, the Castle is lit normally. Then some music starts up, which basically sounds like unused cuts from the old "Shine" song from Luminaria (no complaints, I loved that show at DCA.), then the Castle lights pop on, do some twinkling, loud music, and a little bit of "snow" falls. It is a nice little show, and the Castle is gorgeous. On the way out, I stopped at Disneyana while my wife and daughter continued to the Hotel. They have a new Big Fig of Main Street. It is hard to explain, but it is a square-shaped piece which each side showing shops, and a center street. There are little people, cars, and some light-up pieces. I liked it, and it was fairly reasonable in price- $249 or $299. But the scale just looked a little odd for me to commit to it at that price. Little did I know, my family ran into Minnie and Goofy at the aforementioned places on Main Street, which made my daughter's night. Thus ended Day 2! You may be asking yourself, "Two days, and no POTC, no HM, no Splash, Indy, Screamin', Space Mountain, or Nemo?" Yep. You put your kids first, and you do what THEY want, and you know what? It is totally worth it.
Originally Posted By TinkerbellPatten Great trip report. I love your comment about letting the kids choose. We did this on our most recent trip (each person "owned" one day) and it was amazing how different each kid's day was. I agree 100 percent... it IS totally worth it. Glad to hear you had such a great time and looking forward to more trip reports!
Originally Posted By MouseBear Salutations dlport, It was great when our kids were really into the characters. We had fun looking for them, taking pictures with them, and getting autographs. Unfortunately the interest in characters is something they grow out of, so enjoy this time.
