Pixelmania West - Christmas 2023

i think those of us attending pixelmania west should do a zoom meeting in may after may 4 so anyone flying southwest will know their schedules, this will allow us to coordinate shuttles. and we can kick around dining reservation ideas and genie plus,. i am pretty sure i am going to purchase genie plus, more to use in the late afternoon/evening when we park hop so i can maximize my attraction options, with the exception of the incredicoaster (inversion) and grizzly run( wet) i pretty much will be doing everything, i also want to catch parades, at least 2 times each. we should maybe consider the world of color desert party, just for the seating. fantastic west doesn't look like a dining package is worthwhile, it's not priority stadium seating like florida, and since photos seem to be the same show, it's not going to break my heart if i don't get good photos
 
gary said:
i think those of us attending pixelmania west should do a zoom meeting in may after may 4 so anyone flying southwest will know their schedules, this will allow us to coordinate shuttles. and we can kick around dining reservation ideas and genie plus,. i am pretty sure i am going to purchase genie plus, more to use in the late afternoon/evening when we park hop so i can maximize my attraction options, with the exception of the incredicoaster (inversion) and grizzly run( wet) i pretty much will be doing everything, i also want to catch parades, at least 2 times each. we should maybe consider the world of color desert party, just for the seating. fantastic west doesn't look like a dining package is worthwhile, it's not priority stadium seating like florida, and since photos seem to be the same show, it's not going to break my heart if i don't get good photos
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Sounds good to me.
~Joanie
 
I've seen World of Color three times and did the dessert party each time, simply for the opportunity to sit in a chair during the show. Unlike WDW where there's a buffet of desserts, DCA gives everyone a pre-prepared plate with cheese, fruit and cookies. You also get your choice of beverages with or without alcohol (and they're pretty skimpy on the alcohol).

I've only seen Fantasmic once at Disneyland. The show is performed on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. The viewing area is next to the river in New Orleans Square, so it feels like you're a lot closer to the show. There are different levels of viewing areas, but the highest area is not that much higher than the ones in front of it. I'd say the show is 70-80% identical to WDW. The main differences are the dragon that Mickey fights (different technology), the Sailing Ship Columbia is used for a Pirates of the Caribbean stunt show and the Mark Twain riverboat carries the characters around near the end. I did the dining package so I don't have any experience otherwise. I was able to sit right up front on the river, but I got wet from the water spray, which I didn't like. There are three different dining packages (in descending order of price): Blue Bayou, River Belle Terrace and Hungry Bear. When I was there in September Fantasmic was not shown during the week; I had to see it on Friday before getting up early to fly home on Saturday. Right now it looks like they're showing it twice every night.

I'm leaning towards buying Genie+ as well, for the same reasons that Gary states. As I said earlier, I didn't need it very often in September, but with a group it could have advantages.
 
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and i just changed my flight to sna, american moved the nonstop to a much more reasonable 9 am departure and i now arrive in sna at 12:17. left my return flight the same as i only have 65 minutes plane change in dallas, the return nonstop doesn't leave until 1 pm and arrives ny at 9:30 which with luggage retrieval and catching the train to ronkonkoma at least arriving 7;18 gives a better start on getting home. plus a nonstop out there gives me a better chance at my bags arriving with me
if i can work out shuttle sharing fine, if not i'll just book a solo run, i'd much rather arrive at the candy cane inn and have to kill some time relaxing and reading in the lobby than 3 hours in dallas. plus i can always leave my bags with the desk, strap up a camera and walk to the esplanade and do some shots
 
https://wdwnt.com/2023/03/breaking-...r-lounge-at-disneyland-park-to-open-in-april/

Disney Vacation Club – Star View Station Member Lounge at Disneyland Park to Open in April

The first Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge at Disneyland Resort will open on April 19, 2023.

Inspired by Walt Disney’s Walt Disney’s optimistic vision for the future, the brand-new “space” named “Disney Vacation Club Star View Station – a Member Lounge” is coming to Tomorrowland at Disneyland park. The lounge will also be home to historic Disney items, such as the K7 Space Suit worn by the Tomorrowland Astronauts during the early years of Disneyland, and the Space Station S-1 Model from the “Disneyland” television series.

Inside the lounge, members can find amenities, including a dedicated Disney Vacation Club Member Services team, seating, complimentary Wi-Fi, device-charging stations, and complimentary soft drinks.

The new “space” is available for all eligible* Disney Vacation Club members with valid theme park tickets and reservations to Disneyland park. It’s located in the space on the second floor of the Star Wars: Launch Bay building.

Exclusive Member spaces have been part of what Disney Vacation Club calls “Membership Magic.” From the Top of the World Lounge, which recently reopened with villainous new offerings atop Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, to the Member Lounge perched in the iconic glass pyramid of the Imagination! pavilion at EPCOT.
 
For those of you who listen to podcasts, I recommend a recent episode of the Be Our Guest podcast. One of the hosts is a travel agent for the company who sponsors the podcast and recently spent several days at Disneyland to learn about the new features for the Disney 100 celebration. It was only his second trip to Disneyland and he's still learning the differences betwen there and WDW. It's a fun episode and you might learn a thing or two to apply to our December trip.
 
Travel update: Southwest has removed May 4 as the date for the next schedule update. Until they decide when they are going to release their schedule for mid-December, it's hard to know when we can buy our tickets. Keep watching the Southwest Travel Tools page for updates.


UPDATE: June 8 is when we can book our flights on Southwest.
 
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i will not be, it's a long travel day for me, even though i am staying saturday night in a hotel near jfk i will still have to be up early to go to the airport, about a 15 minute shuttle ride, and i figure between jetlag, excitement and needing to feed the tapeworm the best i will be good for is an early supper and a full night sleep
 
I’m waiting for the Southwest calendar, but if I fly Delta, I’m getting into SNA around 1030am. I’m going to check American Airlines. So far from my area, Delta has been the est times and $$.
 
The plan is to travel to California on Sunday, use our 5-day park hoppers for park entry on Monday through Friday, then fly home on Saturday. Disneyland does not sell tickets for more than five days, ading a sixth day is relatively expensive (over $100 for a one-day one-park ticket and over $200 for a one-day park hopper with Genie+). Since the check-in time for most hotels is late afternoon, booking a flight that arrives Sunday afternoon or evening sounds like a good idea

Depending on when everyone arrives, we were thinking about having an early dinner in Downtown Disney. We will be able to make better plans after June 8.
 
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ddindy said:
The plan is to travel to California on Sunday, use our 5-day park hoppers for park entry on Monday through Friday, then fly home on Saturday. Disneyland does not sell tickets for more than five days, ading a sixth day is relatively expensive (over $100 for a one-day one-park ticket and over $200 for a one-day park hopper with Genie+). Since the check-in time for most hotels is late afternoon, booking a flight that arrives Sunday afternoon or evening sounds lke a good idea

Depending on when everyone arrives, we were thinking about having an early dinner in Downtown Disney. We will be able to make better plans after June 8.
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What is to stop a person from buying a 2 day ticket followed by a 5 day ticket? Does the ticket user have to be named at the time of purchase? I'm betting that they will only let you hold on to 1 ticket purchase at a time.

This is gumming up the works for my family visit. I'm also wondering how hard it will be to get a Park reservation for the end days of the Pixelmania portion of WDW if I have to use the park ticket days first for the family portion.

Once again Disney fu**s things up for visitors and turns away additional purchases.
 
well joanie it's obvious that annual passes for both parks is the only solution for your dilemma, first world problems
 
I don't think you'll have any problem. If you buy your tickets from Disney, you have to select your dates and make park reservations at time of purchase. All dates must be within two weeks of your first date. Interestingly, I just tried to buy a ticket on the Disneyland site and it didn't ask if I wanted to add Genie+, even when I started the purchase by clicking the "Buy Genie+" link. Have they discontinued that option?

UnderCoverTourist.com is looking like a better option. Disney wants $475 for a 5-day park hopper, plus another $125 for Genie+, $600 plus tax. UCT is asking $544.06 for a 5-day park hopper with Genie+, including tax. The money you save could pay for a nice meal.
 
ddindy said:
I don't think you'll have any problem. If you buy your tickets from Disney, you have to select your dates and make park reservations at time of purchase. All dates must be within two weeks of your first date. Interestingly, I just tried to buy a ticket on the Disneyland site and it didn't ask if I wanted to add Genie+, even when I started the purchase by clicking the "Buy Genie+" link. Have they discontinued that option?

UnderCoverTourist.com is looking like a better option. Disney wants $475 for a 5-day park hopper, plus another $125 for Genie+, $600 plus tax. UCT is asking $544.06 for a 5-day park hopper with Genie+, including tax. The money you save could pay for a nice meal.
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Thanks for the thoughts and info. Disney just dropped a ton of news today about free dining and no park reservations on certain days in 2024, but that was for Walt Disney World.

I haven't really had the chance to catch up and read the articles. I was just reading captions to see that information.

With that in mind I'm wondering if they are also making changes at Disneyland and that's why you couldn't buy genie plus.

We will have to keep an eye out to the news and figure out what is going on.

Aye yi yi! Changes changes!
 
Sorry if this has been asked and answered, do we need the MagicBand+ that will work at both WDW and DL? Looks like 4 of us for Pixelmania West? Any date for a Zoom meeting ?
 
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