Conference koolit::disney

I don't think that a reservation will be necessary.  A friend and I were there 
about that time last year and we got a room right down the street from Disney
for less that $40 per night.  We didn't have reservations.  It was in the 50s 
and raining the whole time we were there.  We got some rain ponchos and didn't 
let the rain bother us at all.

I highly recommend a trip to the Disney owned Queen Mary/Spruce Goose exibit
while you're in the LA area.  Well worth the time and money.

Mark

    THANK YOU MARK!....I THOUGHT IT DIDN'T RAIN IN CALIFORNIA!!!
    

re: .-1
>>    THANK YOU MARK!....I THOUGHT IT DIDN'T RAIN IN CALIFORNIA!!!
    
    It does, but never enough to end the drought (at least according the
    the DWP).
    
    

    Hi,
    
    My family and I are visiting LA - Anaheim on the 20th July for 1
    week. The package include 5 nights accomodation at Holiday Inn
    Anaheim and 5 days car hire. 
    
    We will be picking up the car from the airport, Could someone point
    out how to get to Anaheim from the airport.
    
    We (my wife, inlaws and daughter - 3 yrs old) are planning to spend
    
    1 day at Disneyland
    1 day at Universal Studio
    3 days ? 
    
    Any suggestions on entertainment for the whole family in LA is much
    appreciated.
    
    From down under
    
    Michael
    
     

    Well, I just made all the arrangements for our first ever trip to
    Disneyland in June. Of course, I have a few questions, hopefully
    someone here can help....
    
    1) We are tentatively booked for a MKC Disneyland Hotel 4 night package
    that includes 1 day at a non-Disney attraction. Here's what we have to 
    choose from:   Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World (San Diego), San Diego
    Zoo, Universal Studios Tour, and Tijuana shopping trip. Given that
    we'll have 2 children under 3 in tow, which of these would be the best
    choice?
    
    2) Are there any grocery stores within walking distance of the
    Disneyland Hotel? We are going to need baby food for the smallest
    child, and don't particularly want to bring it with us.
    
    3) What should we expect in terms of crowd conditions? We'll be there
    on a Thursday through the following Monday. Both the Official and
    Unofficial Guides are kinda non-committal as to how crowds are during
    the early part of June (but are emphatic about them being heavy near
    the end of June). 
    
    Jack

    Jack,
    	I took the four day package with my family in January so maybe I
    can help. We also stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. We are from Australia
    so it is not very likely that we will get to do it again hence we
    decided to do it in style and stay at the Disneyland Hotel. I will add
    that if we do ever get to do it again we will not be staying at the
    Disneyland Hotel. Great place, rooms are great, close to Disneyland,
    lots of things to do on the property (Dancing Waters etc.) but its
    pretty much a captive market and I felt that some of the prices they
    charged were a bit expensive to our taste. I felt breakfast for four
    (myself, wife Shirley and two girls 16 & 13) at US$40 (A$55) was a bit
    over the top.
    	We eventually found a pizza place down the road for our evening
    meal and bought some juice etc for breakfast. There is a Convenience
    store on the property but I can't remember if they sold babyfood.
    Thankfully my two are past that stage now. There is a small supermarket
    type of store about a mile walk from the property, however I would
    suggest a phonecall to see what you can find out because I doubt if you
    will be the first person to have this particular need and I'm sure they
    will be able to help you.
    	We arrived from Richmond Va. (stayed with friends for Xmas) on a
    Sunday afternoon and took a mini-bus to Anaheim. Settled in on Sunday
    night and hit the Magic Kingdom on Monday. Crowds were great, our
    longest wait was 15-20 mins on Splash Mountain, so we were able to do
    "everything" in one day - park closed at 6:00pm. On Tuesday we had an
    early bird breakfast - I assume you will have one in your package. This
    was absolutely fantastic. My three kids aged 43,16 and 13 had a great
    time and I have to admit I got caught up in it as well. The best part
    of the Earlybird package is access to the park at 8:30am and use of the
    rides in one of the lands. Our land was Tomorrow land and we had four
    straight rides on Star Tours and three straight rides on Space Mountain
    - magic!! The rest of the day we spent doing all the rides again and
    taking our time to cover all the little things we missed on Monday. My
    only disappointment was that the Matterhorn and the Runaway Train (??)
    were closed for maintenance but a couple more rides on Star Tours,
    Space Mountain and Splash Mountain made up for it.
    	On Wednesday we took the Universal Studios tour which included the
    bus tour of Hollywood etc. We enjoyed the "Earthquake" and "King Kong"
    and "Miami Vice" but overall our impression of Universal Studios was
    one of disappointment but we 'had to do it because we were there'.
    	On Thursday we took a late check-out and went back to Disneyland
    for that last final ride. We spent more time in Main Street taking in
    all the little details that we spent a year reading about in Burnbaum's
    Guide. Back to the hotel at about 3:00pm showered, changed, packed six
    suitcases (five weeks away with three women and cheap clothes shopping
    - relatively speaking - means extra suitcases) and then flew home to
    Australia.
    	What a fabulous time and I am now an avid reader of this notes
    file, as I was before we left, just to keep my "high" going.
    	Can't help with the crowds in June but we found that Burnbaum was
    accurate relative to January.
    	Hope some of this has been of help to you. If you have any specific
    questions just ask.
    
    	I have a question of other more experienced readers. I mentioned
    our Earlybird package and the access to the rides minus the crowd. At
    one stage we were the only people in Space Mountain and after finishing
    one ride we asked if we could go straight on again but were refused and
    had to alight and go right around again. There was absolutely no-one
    waiting and no-one even walking down the ramp. Does anyone know the
    reason we were made to go around again - it's not a short walk - and
    when we got back we were still the only ones taking the ride.
    
    
    Regards
    John

    
    There is a 7-11 store that has baby food about ten minutes walk away.
    go out to the street with the monorail entrance, take a right, at
    4way intersection, take a left.  all the way down to the next 4-way
    and its on the right.
    Disneyland hotel is very expensive to eat at.  I suggest two places,
    Godfather's pizza which is out again to the monorail street, turn
    right, 3 minute walk.  Best pizza I've had.
    Also COCO's is down the street same direction 5 minute walk, it
    is very inexpensive and good food.
    
    my favorite other place is Universal Sudio tour.  But your youn'ins
    may not be happy.  Something else to think about is a studio tour
    and maybe take in a TV show being produced.  I went and saw the
    Johnney Carson show [and Johnney was there].  Not a kid event.
    ed

    One place a couple of friends of mine swear by is the Hansa House, a
    family-style buffet on the SE corner of the intersection of Harbor and
    Katella (Disneyland is on the NW corner).  Fairly decent rates for
    all-you-can-eat.
    
    tom

    Hey, I just got word that I may be in Anaheim for most of the second
    week of June (demo duty for the Design Automation Conference).  While
    this is still tentative, if I do get to go, I hope to have some free
    time to head over to Disneyland.
    
    Any advice for a "second-timer"??  I've been to WDW 4 times and to DL
    only once (for a day back in '87).  On my DL day back then, I tried to
    do everything new and different, but clearly missed a lot (though I
    rode Star Tours twice).
    
    Already on my 'must-see/do' list are:  Fantasmic; Splash Mountain;
    videotaping the ELP; riding the DL RR (at least once around; missed the
    diorama last time); Big Thunder Mountain at night; ...
    
    Any other suggestions??
    
    - Skip

    Skip,
    
    I'd videotape Fantasmic if I were you. That way you can make a copy for
    me when I send you a blank tape :^)
    
    Mike

    re: taping Fantasmic
    
    Actually, Mike, what I'd like to do is just watch it once to take it
    all in and then return to tape it, selecting the propr viewing spot, of
    course.
    
    So does anyone know how frequently Fantasmic will run??  Once or twice
    a night??
    
    re: other 'must see' attractions
    
    I guess I should check out "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln" to see what
    the big deal is... :-)
    
    Also, are there any rides that are significantly different from their
    WDW counterparts??  Pirates??  The Haunted Mansion??  Any of those in
    Fantasyland??
    
    - Skip

   > Also, are there any rides that are significantly different from their
   > WDW counterparts??  Pirates??  The Haunted Mansion??  Any of those in
   > Fantasyland??
    
     Pirates is substantially different, and longer, at DL. There are
    several attractions in Fantasyland in DL that do not exist in WDW.
    (Alice in Wonderland, Pinnochio, Casey Jr., Storybook Canal Boats,
    etc.) 
    
    Jack
    (leaving 3 weeks from tomorrow for 6 days in Southern California)

>   > Also, are there any rides that are significantly different from their
>   > WDW counterparts??  Pirates??  The Haunted Mansion??  Any of those in
>   > Fantasyland??
    
>     Pirates is substantially different, and longer, at DL. There are
>    several attractions in Fantasyland in DL that do not exist in WDW.
>    (Alice in Wonderland, Pinnochio, Casey Jr., Storybook Canal Boats,
>    etc.) 
    
    	Pirates has two drops near the beginning, rather than the one in
    the middle (Be sure to check the shadow of the pirate captain on the
    sail of his ship). Space Mountain has only one track which (even though
    they swear it to be faster) seems slower than WDW.  Country Bear is
    still doing the vacation hoedown (yuck).  Rooms slightly different in 
    Haunted Mansion.  And the teacups don't turn quite as easily out here.
    
    tom
    (who hasn't been to DL in two days, and WDW in three months [and is
    going back to WDW in three months and DL in about a week to see
    Fantasmic])
    

    Here are some other questions for a true Disneyland first-timer...
    
    A friend of mine will be out in CA the beginning of June and she plans
    to hit the park (probably only) one day.  She's never been to any of
    the Disney parks so she doesn't want to miss too much.  If I'm out
    there at that time, we may hook up and I'll play tour guide but I'd
    probably only have a few hours.
    
    So I leave it you, Disney noters, help this Disneyholic-in-training
    out!!
    
    Anyways, here are our questions...
    
    What's attendance like at DL in early June??  Should we expect large
    crowds??  Is there a particular day that's lighter in attendance than
    any other day (like in WDW, weekends are lighter than Monday and
    Tuesday)??
    
    Do Star Tours and Splash Mountain still command very long lines??  I
    recall waiting in line for Star Tours for an hour back in '87.  Is this
    still true??
    
    She's not really a roller coaster person but I'd still like her to try
    out Star Tours and probably Big Thunder.  Is it a good idea for her to
    stay clear of the Matterhorn (and certainly Space Mountain)??
    
    We're likely to spend a good deal of time doing the rides in
    Fantasyland, just because we're "big kids".  Does anyone have a good
    strategy for attacking DL's Fantasyland vs. WDW's, or is it pretty much
    the same (stay clear mid-day or earn the wrath of the kiddies)??
    
    Well, that's all I can think of for now.  Any and all answers to the
    above are appreciated.
    
    Thanks,
    - Skip

    Also, what are the opening hours at Disneyland in early June?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Karen
    (DL first timer)

Re the Roller Coasters, we were at DL last March and my wife, who is 
not a 'White Knuckle' fan survived everything but Space Mountain. She 
loved 'Star Tours' as that's a simulator rather than a coaster, coped 
with Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Avalance OK but an end of 
the day ride on SM was just toooooooo much. We had to go back to the 
hotel after that.

Richard Bell

re: Do Star Tours and Splash Mountain still command very long lines??
    
    Splash Mountain is still the hot attraction. If you arrive as they drop
    the rope you can get 2 rides within 20 minutes. Mid-day on a warm
    holiday the lines wrapps around the mountain with the sign claiming 45
    minutes. Star Tours varys from walk-on to 45 minutes. (Go right on ST,
    the left slows down to watch the robot)
    
re: Star Tours and probably Big Thunder.  Is it a good idea for her to
    stay clear of the Matterhorn (and certainly Space Mountain)??
    
    
    If you can do Splash Mountain, ST and BTM then you shul;d be able to do
    do SM and the Matterhorn. 
    
re: Fantasyland, 
    
    Pick a late night and do it while the parade and Fanmastic (sp?) are
    going on. But of course this is a good time to do SM, ST and BTM too.

    Hi -- we're going to be in LA in early July for my brother-in-law's
    wedding, and of course we're going to visit Disneyland.  Can someone
    answer some questions for me, please?

    	1) I've heard that residents can get better prices than
    non-residents for the park (I've heard this about Disneyworld, I
    just assume it's the same for Disneyland).  If this is so, can
    residents get as many tickets as they want?  Can they be gotten
    in advance?  [I imagine we'll be going after the wedding, which
    is July 4th PM, and the newlyweds will probably be off somewhere
    alone]
    
    	2) I've also heard that if you're a Disney stockholder you can
    get some sort of special deals -- anybody know anything about this?
    
	3) Is TuneTown a separate admission?  

    I'm planning on getting a Magic Kingdom card; we did that for
    our honeymoon many years ago and it helped some.  Don't know what
    else is at Disneyland -- in the East we hear more about Disneyworld.
    Will also check with AAA, but not sure what the Mass. AAA will have
    for LA.

    Our kids are 5 and 9; I believe the grandparents will be with us -- 
    they've promised us Disneyworld if we can ever get to Florida, now
    they can take us to Disneyland and then at least the kids'll be
    satisfied for a while, till we can save up for Florida.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
	
    Sandy

    (moderators, please feel free to move this where appropriate)
    
>>    	1) I've heard that residents can get better prices than
>>    non-residents for the park (I've heard this about Disneyworld, I
>>    just assume it's the same for Disneyland).  If this is so, can
>>    residents get as many tickets as they want?  Can they be gotten
>>    in advance?  [I imagine we'll be going after the wedding, which
>>    is July 4th PM, and the newlyweds will probably be off somewhere
>>    alone]
    
    In the past, Disneyland has had discount prices for residents (with a
    Drivers License showing a SoCal zip code), but this is usually in the
    slow months only (mid-Feb to late March).
    
>>    	2) I've also heard that if you're a Disney stockholder you can
>>    get some sort of special deals -- anybody know anything about this?
    
    In the past, if you can attend the stockholders meeting, you (and your
    guests) would be given a one-day pass good for admission to either coast
    (All 3 parks in one day, if you feel so inclined, back east).  Whether
    this is still the case is something I won't know for another couple of
    weeks.
    
    
	3) Is TuneTown a separate admission?  
    
    Finally, a positive answer:  No, Toon Town is part of Disneyland Park
    (just behind Small World), so you can explore that at will.
    
    Hope this helps.
    
    tom

    OK -- hubby and i are in slight disagreement about how long we shouod
    plan on spending at DL.
    
    We're staying in PAsadena -- we'll be there for a wedding july 4
    -- doubt that we'll be able to get to the park by 8AM on july 5.
    Kids are 9.5 and 5.5.
         
    I say we should do 2 days, going home inbetween.  Maybe get there
    between 9 and 10 on Monday, stay till ?.  Then, since we sort of
    prmised the in-laws we'd get them to the Burbank airport for a noon
    flight, then head down to anaheim and stay till after dark.  Does
    that sound plausible?  I know it's one of the busiest times of the
    year, but i can't help that.
    
    Another option is to do one day 7/1 [we arrive mid-afternoon 6/30],
    and then another day or part of day either 7/5 or 7/6, 7/7 is also
    a possibility.  My husband thinks one day is going to be plenty,
    my arguement is that who knows when we'll get back to LA and might
    as well take advantage of it w/o overdoing it.  We will get to WDW
    one of these daze, in-laws spend most of winter down that way.
    
    I'm not keen on "substituting" knotts berry farm for one day of
    DL, either.  And I don't think the kids'll appreciate Universal
    all that much right now.
    
    Thanks.
    
    Sandy [whose daughter is counting the days till we leave... -- Mom's
    not, because there's still SO much to do before even thinking about
    packing!]

    Sandy,
    
    When you are making your choices, keep in mind that the drive from
    Burbank Airport to Disneyland takes about an hour with good traffic.
    
    Tom
    (Who lives near the Burbank Airport, and drives past it to go to
    Disneyland as often as he can)

    Yes, I know it's going to take an hour, but since it's not going
    to cost us anything (short of sour sanity!) to stay in Pasadena...
    We're also flying into LAX because no one told us about Burbank
    until we'd confirmed and finalized our reservations -- 2 weeks before
    the prices went down...and they were non-refundable...which is why
    we're going to stay in Pasadena as long as possible!
        
    On the issue of cost:  can someone tell me what the current rates
    are for Disneyland, and how much the Magic Kingdom card [from employee
    services] will save us?  Would it be better to use the AAA card?

    Thanks.
    
    Sandy    

    A couple of things...

    As .21 stated, the drive is *about and hour with good traffic*.  You
    will be there during *July 4th weekend*, so you can forget about getting
    from Burbank/Pasadena/Glendale area to Anaheim in an hour flat; period.
    Having said that (and assuming no one takes me to task for it), your
    plan to leave Disneyland and zip up to Burbank by noon to drop some
    people off, then zip back down to the park is not possible.  You would
    have to hang around Pasadena/Burbank *until* noon, do the airport, then
    catch Disneyland well after 1:00 PM (or so).  With extended summer hours,
    this *is* do-able, although the crowds/temperatures/etc. will have
    peaked by then.

    As for cost, I was in Disneyland in January and adult prices were
    $28.75 (if memory serves) per day (children would be a couple of bucks
    cheaper) and I did not use any type of discount card (which typically
    saves you $3 or so per ticket).  Your mileage may vary.  Normally,
    Disneyland is open from 8:00 AM to 1:00 AM during this time of the
    year; something which increases your flexibility in deciding when to go
    and how long (as well as how many days) to stay.


    Best of luck.  I'm crossing my fingers and toes for your successful
    excursion into "The Happiest Place On Earth".
    David.

    Disneyland has new prices. $30.00 for Adults, $24.00 for ages 3-11 and
    $24.00 for Seniors (over 60).
    
    The hours are 8am-1am all days except Tuesday 6/29, 8am-10pm.
    The hours on July 4th will be 8am - 2pm.
    
    For more information, Disneylands phone number is (714) 999-4565.
    

    bummer on price increase!
    
    another quick question [we leave tomorrow!]:
    
    	 if you buy a 2-day pass to disneyland, but only use one day,
    can you give the pass to someone else to use?  my B-I-L says his
    pass from WDW had to be signed and therefore wasn't transferrable
    -- does this hold true at DL as well?  Used to be that if you didn't
    use up all of your tickets you could pass them on to someone else,
    but i don't remember if these were extras attached to the main
    admission card or what.
    
    oh yes, would it be smart for us to carry our own drinks?  or are there
    water fountains conveniently placed around? I have one child who
    doesn't drink soda and claims to dislike lemonade-y type drinks
    as well <sigh...where did i go wrong?> yet needs lots of liquids when
    it gets hot. 

            thanks.
    
    sandy

    well , we've made it to CA... doesn't look like we'll get to Disneyland
    until TUE or WED.  The heat is real "fun".

    Hi.  We have an 8 year old daughter and 5 year old son.  We will be in
    the Anaheim, California area  around Sept 11-16 (Mon - Sat).  The kids 
    desperately want to do DisneyLand (never been to DisneyAnything before).
    Might want to do SeaWorld, Universal, etc.
    
    Any suggestions from the west coast  to make our vacation a winner?
    Thanks in advance,
    Rick

    There are lots of nice motels that are well within walking distance of
    the park.  Of course there are the hiltons, marriotes, HJs, but the
    small places look ok too, and at a fraction of the cost.  Even if you
    stay off property, you can get the monorail into the park and enjoy
    most of the external conforts at the Disneyland hotel which seems to be
    drastically overpriced.  There's
    an excellent family place to eat on the outside on one of the cornors
    called COCO's.  Also within walking distance is Godfather's pizza.
    The speggi factory is a short drive away.
    What can I say about Disneyland?  It's been my favority over the MK in
    WDW.  Maybe becasue I've been there first?
    Universal is great.  And the Zoo in San diago
    [sp]