Disneyland resort honeymoon & first time trip advice needed!

[Casers]

Hi Ya'll,

We've booked our honeymoon and are so excited about going to Disneyland and DCA. My soon to be Hubby has never been and I've gone twice, but as a young child--think 20 years ago! Our trip is 09/11/11 through 09/21/11. We have a three day park hopper pass. We were planning on going to the parks on our first Mon/Tues 7 then our last Tues. But I have questions!

1) Is 3 days enough or should I upgrade at the gates for an extra day?

2) Do I have to go to the parks consecutively or can I spread it out like I'm planning?

3) Does anyone know the dates for which Space Mountain/Haunted Mansion were closed for Halloween decorating last year? I'm hoping to catch them on the 20th possibly????

4) Any good advice for two big kids on their honeymoon to enjoy the parks & is toon town worth it for adults? I've heard it's insanely busy?!

5) Should I take the parks in on a weekend to not miss any must see shows?

THANK you!!!!!!

[alphabassetgrrl]

Three days- maybe. Depends how much time you want to spend at the parks. You can see it all in three days but maybe you want another day to go back and hit your favorites.

Consecutively or not I don't know.

Check the website, see if they list rides closed for refurb. You can look ahead on the calendar and the hallowe'en decorating will be a planned closure so it should be there.

I like Toon Town! You should go and play. Check out the atmosphere, play with the stuff that makes noise, ride Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, get some yogurt or some nibbles, meet Mickey!

Shows? Again, check the calendar on the website to see what's playing when.

You're going to have so much fun! Enjoy your trip!

[Sambo]

1) Is 3 days enough or should I upgrade at the gates for an extra day?

I don't see how anyone who wants to see everything and do everything - including shows - can do that in three days. I have difficulty doing it in five. But then, I don't run between attractions or use a service to plan my trip to optimize my time in the park. A rushed experience is less enjoyable to me. How this applies to you - I don't know how much you want to see/do, so three days may be enough.

2) Do I have to go to the parks consecutively or can I spread it out like I'm planning?

If you have Park Hoppers - you can go back and forth as you wish. Bear in mind how much time it takes to go between parks. Ping pongging several times a day can impinge on your time.

3) Does anyone know the dates for which Space Mountain/Haunted Mansion were closed for Halloween decorating last year? I'm hoping to catch them on the 20th possibly????

Not sure. I know last year they were open by the 29th. It was likely well before then as the Halloween decorations start going up the first week of September.

4) Any good advice for two big kids on their honeymoon to enjoy the parks & is toon town worth it for adults? I've heard it's insanely busy?!

I enjoy Toontown as do my adult kids. It is good for a couple hours at least. Be sure to go into Mickey's House and have your picture take with Mickey. The CM's will even take your pic with your camera. Best times to go are when they first open or dusk to evening (assuming it doesn't close before then - it does close early).

As far as two big kids enjoying the parks - how could you not? Not much there that would lead to unenjoyment IMHO...

5) Should I take the parks in on a weekend to not miss any must see shows?

We like to see Aladdin on Thursday for the first showing - the queue fills later and less time is spent in line. Don't worry about being what seems like a mile back in line, you will still get in and get a good view. The shows and times are online as are the closings and refurb schedules.

Have a GREAT time!!!

[disneylandlover92]

First go to city hall and get a free pin saying your on your honeymoon also look for hidden mickeys that is always fun and get your fastpass very early at dca for world of color u cannot miss that show also see the fireworks and try to stand in front of the castle so u can see

[phi1215]

I thought I read that HM and Space Mountain will be in holiday theme starting Sept. 16th, I'm not 100% certain though.

[foreveradisneykid]

Congratulations! Me and my husband went to Disneyland on our honeymoon last august. I would say go for the extra time if you can. It just gives you more options and time to see everything you want to see. I am pretty sure you can break up the days. I think you just have to use all your days within 7 days of the first use or something like that. Make sure to get the honeymoon buttons. You can get them at city hall or even at the station that has the wait times listed for all the rides(it's at the end of mainstreet on the left hand side). Also where are you staying? If you are staying at a Disney hotel make sure you let them know it's your honeymoon. We stayed at the grand California and they had ballons for us and decorated the room, it was really nice. When you get buttons you can also get your husband a first visit button. I would say you should definitely see the world of color show. If you have time I would see fantasmic as well. When you go around the park stop at all the picture stops. The disney cast members will take a picture with your camera as well. That way you can have a lot of pictures of the two of you and not have to worry about tracking someone down to take a picture for you. Hope you guys have a magical trip!

[John K]

First off CONGRATS! I'm sure you and yours will have a great time at DLR and DCA!

3 days being enough? That is totally a judgement call. If you can extend it to 4, I think it would be worthwhile, there really is A lot to do at the parks.

For the Park hopper 3 day thingy. . . I think you do have to do it consecutively. Best plan would be to expect it, but if not then explore our wonderful So Cal locations!

Re: HM and SM referbs. I think you'll be okay. . . that is seeing both the HM and SM in the normal state, not the Holiday redo, but I think you'll have fun regardless.

Are you staying at one of the park hotels? that would also open your trip to Magic Morning hours which would be great!

For advice, I would say definitely see Fantasmic, and World of Color, try and see the Aladdin show at DCA. I think fireworks at DLR is best on Main Street followed by along the rivers. Buy dinner plans at Goofy's Diner, or Wine Country Tratoria (for a romantic evening). Remember it will be busy but I honestly think you'll have a great time!

Have a great visit!

[sbk1234]

Also, if you are staying at a Disney-owned hotel, let them know when you book that it is your honeymoon. Sometimes they throw in a couple little extras that may be nice. My wife and I honeymooned at WDW in Florida, and were upgraded to a nicer room. You never know.

Also, you may want to make reservations for a nice dinner or lunch (cheaper) at the Blue Bayou.

[NSObject]

Congrats on getting hitched! My wife and I had our honeymoon at Disneyland in November and we had a great time. I don’t think three days is enough to see everything, so I agree with the others who say you should go for the extra day. (We spent six days there and that felt about right to us. As others have said, this is a judgment call though. ) You should broadcast loudly that you are on a honeymoon. We stayed at the Grand Californian and they had the “just married” buttons waiting for us when we checked in. Several cast members and characters congratulated us during our stay, but the best part was when a cast member gave us a pass to cut in line because of our buttons. We also got upgraded to a room with a crazy view of World of Color that was actually better than the view from the park. If you stay in a resort hotel, you can have flowers, rose petals, balloons, Champaign, etc, waiting for you in the room, but this all costs extra and you need to contact hotel relations ahead of time to get this arranged. (You can also get a personalized congratulations photo of Mickey and Minnie.) I spent about a hundred dollars extra to have stuff waiting. One word of advice: don’t bother calling the “Magic Honeymoons” line from the Disney site. Even though it does not say this on the site, Disneyland does not have a “magic honeymoons” program, so if you call the number, they will just forward you to the hotel. If you don’t stay at the resort, then they probably apologize and hang up. My wife and I have fond memories of our trip and I hope you guys do too!

[NSObject]

One more thing, the resort is a LOT bigger than it was 20 years ago and there are a TON of things targeted at adults now. In fact, I think the resort is a lot more fun for adults than for kids. Downtown Disney is basically a huge mall with restaurants, live-music, and a movie theater. Also, there is a LOT to do in the California Adventure, even though a lot of people like to make fun of it. DCA has a decent Italian restaurant, wine tasting, a microbrew beer stand, electronica, and perhaps the best roller-coaster on the west coast. My wife and I always plan to see other things in SoCal, but we always just end up spending our entire time at the resort.
As far as toon town goes, my wife and I probably spent less than an hour there because it is so heavily targeted at kids.
I would go on a Fri or Sat to see Fantasmic and electronica.

[Casers]

Thank you so much everyone!

[mickdaddy]

I would say upgrade to the 4 day that way you won't feel rushed or run the risk of missing anything you wanted to do.

With a hopper pass you do not need to go on consecutive days but they do need to be used within 2 weeks of first entrance to the park. I believe it says that on the ticket itself but you can always ask a CM for clarification to be safe.

I myself honeymooned in Disneyworld. It is really a great place to spend your honeymoon as there is a lot of time to enjoy each other and build awesome memories.

Stop by City hall and pick up just married buttons to wear around the park it will add a little more to the trip since the CM's will recognize that and you may even recieve a little special treatment along the way!

Have a blast

[gauchogirl]

Congratulations! As for "must-see/do," my boyfriend and I love to go to:
DCA
Turtle talk
Toy Story Midway Mania
the Cove Bar, part of Ariel's Grotto
Disneyland
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise

There's a lot to do, though, and I recommend doing as much of it as you can! Upgrading for one more day might just be worth it, especially if it's your first trip, so I'm assuming you don't live too close. Ooooh, and see if you can ride in the cabin of the monorail; I always think that's fun.

You're sure to have a good time! Enjoy

[pinkertonfloyd]

20 Years... a lot has changed.

First of all, pick up a copy of this book, by the guys over at touringplans.com.

Amazon.com: The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2011 (Unofficial Guides) (9780470615324): Bob Sehlinger: Books

They have great advice and overall guides to how to get the most bang out of the park without waiting much in the lines. Having a plan... any plan is my #1 rule. So many people lose hours staring at a map each day. Having the plan (and the book has some great ones already done) leads to a ton of extra time you can spend "enjoying" the parks.

September is a slower month (not that's it's dead per say, but school is back in so things are better than August). So crowds should be fairly low... say 2-4 out of a 10 (10 being park is FULL).

Purchase a World of Color Dining Package (I like the food at Ariel's better). That insures a top spot ticket, without waiting in line). (For the food is quite good, and overall the pricing is quite a deal for Disney).