Suggestions needed for itinerary

[Dustinius]

Only 3 weeks away, and I am as giddy as a schoolboy!! Need some suggestions though, I am attempting to plan out my weeks itinerary. We arrive on the 8th of February and leave on the 16th. I plan on hanging out in downtown dl on the first day and hit the parks on the 9th. We have a 5 day hopper pass and a magic morning. As we are not attending dl on the 8th, that'll give us an additional day in the week where we will go elsewhere, possibly one of the beaches, or Hollywood or Medieval times.
Please give me suggestions on what park to do on what day, and what day you would take a day off and what to do on that day off ( we are renting a car), When to do Carsland, etc.
Based on touring plans dl will be a 9 on Sunday and I believe a 7 on Monday and the rest of the week looks like a 4. My bday is on the 14th as well, what park should I be in for that?
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

[Dustinius]

Check that! We arrive on the 9th and will attend the parks first on the 10th.

[JiminyCricketFan]

It sounds like a great week. I would just do downtown Disney and maybe Grand Californian hotel lobby. It is a sweet place to take in the Disney magic.

As to what park for your birthday. That depends on what you like as to attractions. I would do Disneyland and maybe the Blue Bayou for a birthday. I think that place is special.

[swampymarsh]

You have a Park Hopper so do them in any order and hop as you feel like it. It's going to be slow, so no reason to overplan.

I'd do Magic Morning on Thursday, since the hours are short it's better than waking up early on a Sunday, and maybe Tuesday you will want to sleep in if you didn't get enough Sunday night.

I'd probably do the side trip on Wednesday. Beach and Medevil Times is a great combo. Go in the morning when traffic dies down, come back shower change and enjoy a fun slow dinner. If the weather isn't beach worthy than Hollywood, just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back if you don't leave by mid afternoon. Of course Carpool lanes on I5 help but you want to make sure you make that dinner reservation.

Have you bought your dinner tickets, there are good deals out there. Probably something on LastMinutetickets or Getaway today.

Because Carsland and Radiator Springs in particular will be busy, you may want to grab FPs first thing on all days until you've ridden enough. It's fun and you will want more than one ride.

[Dustinius]

Thanks for the replies! I have not yet purchased my Medieval tickets, I saw a bogo on Anaheim.org but have been waiting for the king court free birthday ticket, which is the equivalent to a bogo. We are bringing my sister, so I figured I would use the birthday bogo on myself and my wife and pay for one of my kids and my sis could use the Anaheim.org bogo on my other kid! Would this work? I know I'm cheap

[DisneyIPresume]

As far as the beaches go, don't make the mistake many tourists do and go to Venice or the other popular LA beaches. You will be wasting a lot of time going to and from there. You should choose either Huntington Beach or Newport Beach. Newport Beach looks farther away on the map but don't let that fool you. Both are roughly the same distance time-wise from the DLR (about 20-25 minutes). I prefer Newport a little more but Huntington is nice too.

[oodelally]

We'll be there the same week you are! I like to take my time and make a clockwise circle through DL, beginning in Adventure Land. After a couple lands, we'll hit a couple more in DCA. Of course, there are attractions that we have to hit each day no matter where we are. This system has always worked great for us. Study the fastpass system, stop by City Hall for your birthday pin (Happy birthday, btw), and dont forget to use the train & Monorail whenever you can. Also, you can get on the mailing list for Medieval Times and receive discounts. Have a blast!

[FreshBakedDisney]

It sounds like a great week. I would just do downtown Disney and maybe Grand Californian hotel lobby. It is a sweet place to take in the Disney magic.

this is a great suggestion. The Grand Californian is beautiful. I've often sat in the lobby in those great big comfy chairs and watched the people, or sat in front of one of the TV's they have there and watched a Disney movie. It's very enjoyable and a great way to get yourself all warmed up to the Disney way.

[FreshBakedDisney]

My suggestions:

Cars Land - Wait for Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racers until at least Monday the 11th if you can. Standby shouldn't be too bad in the early morning then. Sunday though, I would expect stand by to be 30-45 minutes before you've taken your first sip of coffee. Having said that:

DO NOT MISS RADIATOR SPRINGS - I am of the opinion that this is the best ride in either park, or anywhere for that matter.

Beaches - Which beach depends on what kind of experience you want. If you want to actually enjoy the sand and the sea with some degree of normalcy, I might suggest going to Sunset Beach (Right where Warner Ave. meets PCH). It's quiet, but still all the SoCal beach you can ask for. But if you want more touristy type stuff like surf shops and people actually surfing and a pier and a boardwalk and all that stuff, Huntington is the way to go.

Off day - I personally prefer the Pirate dinner show over Medieval Times. The food and whatnot are pretty much the same. I just like the actual Pirate show better than the jousting tournament. I felt more a part of the action at the Pirate show.

[RollerCoasterMouse]

GO TO RADIATOR SPRINGS RACERS FIRST THING MONDAY MORNING! Sorry, my finger was stuck on the Shift key... and then the exclamation point.

[ttrocc7007]

duuuude...me and my daughter are going this morning...tots rad!

[DrFink]

I would suggest doing Newport Beach. Apart from Laguna, which is a little but run down now, it is my favorite beach in the area. It's clean, beautiful, and there are some good restaurants. The pier is a nice walk, too.