The Unofficial Guide to SDC

[PastorDon]

A few years ago while planning a trip to Disneyland I came across a little book called The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland.  It was a fascinating blend of behind-the-scenes information, crowd sizes by days of the week and times of the year, tips and tricks for making the most of your visit and--most helpful of all—actual “touring plans” which told the reader the order in which to see the various attractions so as to minimize your time in line. 

I think it would be interesting to use this thread to do the same thing for SDC.  Please post your personal tips and tricks, observations about the best times and days to experience the City, money saving strategies, and so on. 

One of the tips I especially remember from the Unofficial Disney book was how to keep your rented stroller from turning up missing.  I don’t know if this is a problem at SDC--because our kids have been well beyond the stroller years since we’ve been going to the City--, but apparently when you leave a stroller parked outside an attraction or show at Disneyland you might find it missing when you come back out.  The strategy for marking and securing your stroller involved leaving some personal possession on the stroller to mark it as yours.  Of course this needs to be something that’s not particularly valuable, so they suggested putting a cloth diaper in a baggie, pouring a little bit of cola on it and hanging it from the handle of the stroller.  For some reason if you do that the chances of it being swiped are far less!

[saloongal]

One thing that I appreciate now that we have more mouths to feed is that SDC will let you bring in your own food and drink.  They don't have many choices in the "kid snack" dept so we always throw in a couple lunchables.  And we all have our own mug, but often these are filled with juice, soda, or water that we have brought in.
The SDC strollers are very nice.  IF you have kids that would normally be too old for a stroller, but may not be able to handle a day of walking the hills the strollers will accomodate older kids.
Also we have never had anything go missing from our strollers outside of rides (even when we left the camera bag right on the handle).
We have found that with our little ones, it behooves us to start the park going down the hill to FItH first, because if you go the direction of GE first it can be half a day before you have a chance to do anything else.
If you are first-timers, try to see an opening ceremony at least once. It really shows the spirit of the park. 

[rubedugans]

I did at one time hear of a version of this that would be coming out. I have the unofficial guide to Branson, and Missouri Day Trips which include SDC

[Junior]

Back in my day (78-84) I never heard of missing strollers or anyone ever taking anything from a stroller. There were a lot of people who, running to catch the next ride at the diving bell, would grab their kid, abandon their stroller, and say, "Junior, we'll be back shortly, can you watch this stroller for us?" Of course, all of us replied "yes!" then soon as they rounded the corner, we forgot about it. It really was a non-issue. Too bad things aren't like that everywhere today!

[History Buff]

^My answer to that type of question is always, "I'll give you half of what I sell it for."

Weren't the SDC strollers supposed to be replaced this year?

The online things we found for Disney included looking for hidden Mickeys and other cool features that were easily missed by the novice visitor.  In that area, I'd suggest a hunt for the New Madrid Earthquake water fountain, the Talking Railroad Bucket, the Wheel of Fortune, the Ozarks Water Tree, etc.  There are also the details in the ride queues that make for a more pleasant experience:  the backstory information for each ride, etc.  Of course, my favorite would be the little attention to historic details that are embedded throughout the park - Who was Phoebe Snapp?  What were those bald knobbers doing?  How do you make lye soap?  Who was Alfie Bolen?

[Joy]

Now you're makin' me want to take a couple days to just comb the park and get pics/vids of every tiny little thing one can find in the park.

[Swoosh]

^No need.  We have a photog on here that has already doen that and more (tinmann620).  Shoot he was braggin' how many photos he took opening day.  

[tinmann620]

I wasn't braggin' just explaining why it would take time to upload all of them...well maybe a little...and I took another 500, today!  Pay close attention on your visits, this year, I'm still finding new, repainted, or missing items on each visit.

[PastorDon]

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this thread.  You've given some really good input.  To add to what Saloongal had to say...When we travel we usually hold ourselves to one big "sit down" meal per day, and the rest of our eating is usually just snacks and whatever the motel offers for continental breakfast.  Since the food at SDC is so much superior to most theme parks that we usually eat at least one big meal there.  I especially like the breakfast buffet at Molly's Mill, which usually fills me up until well into the afternoon hours.  Then one of the skillet plates or some other snack will usually keep me going until evening. 

When we took our kids to Disneyland when they were much younger we packed a bag with jerky, granola bars, water bottles and other healthy snacks so that we wouldn't be tempted to spend as much money on food in the park.  However, I have to say that often the aroma of the churro stand was just too much to resist! 

Since this discussion seems to have gone dormant in the last few days, let's see if I can get it started up again by asking you to submit your responses to this question:

In your experience what are the busiest and slowest days of the week at SDC during the summer when the park is open seven days a week?  To answer, simply list the days of the week starting with the busiest and ending with the slowest.  I'll be breathlessly awaiting your answers!

[saloongal]

I have no idea!  But my guess is:

Saturday
Friday
Sunday
Monday
Thursday
Wednesday
Tuesday

[History Buff]

I'll be breathlessly awaiting your answers!

You may breathe now.

[PastorDon]

^ Thanks HB.  (Whew!)  I could have said, "I'll be waiting with bated breath", but then you probably would have said something about me having a worm on my tongue!"

[Junior]

Although I'm sure things may have changed since my employment years there, you might try this if you are looking for slow days. Try going during the weekdays in early spring or in the last half of August, or the months of September or October. I remember weekdays when the employees outnumbered guest on park. As an employee, it was a payoff for those summer days or festival days when 15,000 to 20,000 would be on park. But, honestly, we got kind of bored, too.

[saloongal]

I remember one fall (I was maybe 5 or so which would have been 1987) we were camping there for 3-4 days.  There were only a handful of other campers in the SDC campground and the park was pretty sparse.  I swear by the end of the second day, everyone from the ticket takers to the FITH operators to the street characters knew my sister and I by name.  It was wonderful at that age.  Still one of my favorite trips.  We would Ride FITH over and over and over again.