scrappinmom
WDW, DL & DLP - up next ???
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2005
Disneyland 3/2 & 3/3/2008
A little background. My friend was getting married in Houston on leap day. Not just any friend, but one of my closest friends, who has been thru hell and back herself and with me the past almost 10 years. There was no way I wasn’t flying there for her wedding. Another friend who lives in So.Cal was also going to Houston…& she had been invited to Club 33 & got this crazy notion…why don’t I come with her. I still can’t believe I left Houston yesterday to come to California! JUST to go to Disney (& Club 33 of course). I have been to Disney World many times, but had never been west of Vegas before.
My friend and tour guide Chris lives in Southern Cal, and was my gracious host for my 48 hour adventure. She’s a true DL vet and probably knows more about DL than anyone I know (ok not including hydroguy...but, I don't really know him so...)
I was so excited since I had just been to WDW in late September, and would be returning again in just 3 weeks. I was excited to be able to compare & contrast the rides and the parks for myself. I was sad that I didn’t have my girls with me here in California. They are both huge Disney fans and want to see DL as much as I did. I promised them that I would bring them here someday soon.
So we leave Chris’ house bright and early on Sunday morning – 6:15am. The plan is for us to get to DL, check in at the DLH (a special treat!!!!) by which time my friend’s hubby & 2 kiddos should be pulling up. They left a bit after us, as they were going back home Sunday night after Club33 and Chris & I were staying for the night. That was a complete bonus! I never thought I’d be staying onsite as well as getting to go to DL. I owe my friend a big one for that.
We arrived, checked in, checked out the hotel. Now I must say, I really like the DL hotel. I like the theming. I love the bathroom wallpaper and the sconces! The castle etching in the TV cabinet and the beds is so pretty. The pirate pool looked pretty darn cool as well.
We catch up with her family and enter thru the turn styles. I am so excited! We pause and take some pictures in front of the railroad station. Walking under the bridge, it feels all so familiar, kind of like deju vu. But wait, we turn the corner a bit and – “what the heck is that?” was the only thing I could think of. The Sleeping beauty castle is so much smaller in perspective than the WDW one. Main Street almost kind of dwarfs it by comparison. It’s beautiful, and the water around it at night is gorgeous. But you know, when you first look up Main Street in WDW and BAM there it is? That isn’t the same feeling here. We walk down Main Street, and I had fun with all the history that is there. I took so many pictures just to compare the two! When we got to the end on the left is Refreshment Corner…. right where Casey’s is at WDW. So it is soooo similar, just a little different. But it was so fun to see what Walt “intended” main street to look like. Definitely more nostalgia here than at WDW. It just “felt” right. You become totally immersed in the Disney experience and instantly forget you’re in the middle of a big city. Seeing the Matterhorn bigger than the castle was just weird. Imagine Everest being where Ariel’s Grotto is at WDW…. that’s what it looked like to me. We saved the exhibit “The first 50 years” for later, because I really wanted to be able to soak it in.
After pausing at the castle and the partners statue for a while we headed off to Frontierland, grabbed fastpasses for Splash and rode Big Thunder. We literally walked on twice; there was no line at all. Big Thunder, pretty much identical to WDW. I love it at both parks! The que, from the 30 seconds I was in it, seemed more interesting at DL. Then we headed off to Mr. Toad – Omigosh, I miss this ride. The last time I rode it I was just a kid at WDW.
Grabbed a Dole Whip….Then we headed to Tomorrowland. Got in line for Buzz. 5 minute wait maybe. Buzz is very cool in DL, in that the guns come off the ride and you can hold them while you shoot. Well I obviously don’t know “the” targets as well, either that or I was too busy looking for differences, but I only scored 28,000!!! Ha ha. The cool thing is after you get off, you can email yourself your picture! No photopass, no buying, just find yourself & send it on home. Grabbed fastpasses for Space after this.
Next was Haunted Mansion. I like the que at WDW better, although the outside of the Mansion here at DL is great and offers loads of picture opportunities. The ride itself, pretty darn equal I think. Now, the CM’s I experienced weren’t quite as much “in character” as the ones I’ve seen at WDW, but that could have been just that CM just that moment.
Splash Mountain…..I’ve heard so much about the differences I was excited to ride. Well, I got a “real” good look at Splash Mountain! The ride broke down about ¼ of the way through & we had to walk off thru the back…..so far, they seemed about the same. We’ll come back later.
Literally walked on Pirates next. WOW no comparison. It’s like we don’t even have the SAME ride in WDW. I started out thinking “hmm, their ride is different, WDW doesn’t have that, or that” & then about ½ way into the DL ride it starts to compare to the WDW ride! So imagine getting twice the ride. I also liked the fact that it didn’t exit into a pirate store…as much as I love the ride, my kids always lose themselves in that dang store at WDW. So without a doubt DL’s version is so much better. I will never ride “my” Pirates again and not think about the DL ride.
We then decided to go on Space Mountain next. No fastpasses needed, the stand by line was only 10 minutes. WOW WOW WOW I truly cannot say enough about the NEW Space, all in all I think we ended up riding it 6 or 7 times throughout the 2 days. I think the sound, the music, the lights, the cars and the entire thing is sooooo much better than “my” wdw Space. Understand this, I love WDW Space Mountain, it has been one of my top fave rides for many many years. The Space at DL is just magnificent. The ride is soooo smooth. I was one of those “please don’t shut down my ride” people….now I say “go ahead, shut it down, I can’t wait!”
Chris & her family went to see “Honey…I Shrunk.” I did a little shopping and sat and people watched. Yep, dumb people come to DL too. I saw at least 3 people dragging, pulling, or screaming at either each other or their kids. I just love the classic “I brought you to DL D***it now you better HAVE FUN.”
Next we decided to ride Pooh & then Indiana Jones. Pooh is pretty similar, although I think the rain scenes are more elaborate at WDW, as well as the heffalumps. The cars are bigger though at DL. Indiana Jones is a great ride! The track may be similar to Dinosaur, but the ride itself is so much better.
We then headed over to Club 33 – THE reason for the trip. We were meeting the member there for our lunch. The coolest thing is that it was like a 4-minute walk! Everything felt so close together, it was no biggie to go from one area of the park to another. I was so excited. We arrived and rang the little bell to announce our party. We waited in the lobby for maybe 5 minutes. Then took the French lift up to the main area. Very cool. We were seated in the trophy room! In fact we were the only folks in there for the afternoon. Eric and Robby were our server and buser. Once they found out what Disney nuts my friend & I were they showered us with information about Club33 and Walt. Most of which I had already learned here on the DIS. This was truly an amazing experience. The food was really good, although I would say you could get an equally good meal at a steak/seafood restaurant. We walked all over the place and took probably 100 pictures here alone. It is an amazing place. You can easily see what the intent of Club 33 was and why it is so exclusive. We had a wonderful lunch. Which included a surprise visit from Mickey and Pluto. They spent oodles of time with us and posed for many pictures. We pretty much bought 2 of every available souvenir here.
We said goodbye to my friend’s hubby and kiddos and decided to bring our stash back to DLH. Got our bags up to the room and headed back over to DL via the monorail. Here I think it’s kinda cool that the monorail is really a ride within the park, not just a means of transportation.
Rode Space Mountain again with no wait – Did I mention this is my new favorite ride? The rode the train – COOL dioramas! Over to Main Street & hopped over to DCA.
My first impression of DCA – Looks like MGM (it will always be MGM to me). The whole atmosphere reminds me of MGM. Walked around a bit and headed over to Paradise Pier. We had just walked up to the Zephyr- they JUST closed due to wind. Oh well, we then went over to California Screamin – SHORT waits! Rode that twice. While some folks knock DCA and the whole pier thing. I think Screamin is a great coaster and a lot of fun.
We then walked around DCA some more, found a nice spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Watched almost all of the parade and then headed back over to DL. I was sooo hoping that the Remember fireworks weren’t going to be cancelled because of the wind….but they were. This was the only disappointment the whole trip. Oh well, not much we could have done about it.
Next up was the Matterhorn – ok everyone, I don’t get it. This had to be about the most boring ride I had ever been on in my life. Is it just me? It was wayyy too jarring for my old back. I was not impressed at all.
We headed back to Fantasyland and rode Alice, Storybook Canal Boats, and Pinnocchio. All great rides! I love dark rides and Alice has to be one of the best. The Canal boats were really cute too & Pinocchio is just a classic story. I wish there were any of these at WDW.
Decided to ride Indy one more time – again a great ride, this time I was able to pay closer attention to the immense details in the cue.
Went to check on Nemo….It was about 11:40pm…& there was NO LINE!!!! We waited only 15 minutes before we were on the sub! This ride was really neat. My kids would have loved it. Great theming, great story. I am glad I didn’t wait an hour for it, but it was definitely worth seeing.
A few more pics, walked back to the hotel…collapsed into bed at DLH at around 2am
A little background. My friend was getting married in Houston on leap day. Not just any friend, but one of my closest friends, who has been thru hell and back herself and with me the past almost 10 years. There was no way I wasn’t flying there for her wedding. Another friend who lives in So.Cal was also going to Houston…& she had been invited to Club 33 & got this crazy notion…why don’t I come with her. I still can’t believe I left Houston yesterday to come to California! JUST to go to Disney (& Club 33 of course). I have been to Disney World many times, but had never been west of Vegas before.
My friend and tour guide Chris lives in Southern Cal, and was my gracious host for my 48 hour adventure. She’s a true DL vet and probably knows more about DL than anyone I know (ok not including hydroguy...but, I don't really know him so...)
I was so excited since I had just been to WDW in late September, and would be returning again in just 3 weeks. I was excited to be able to compare & contrast the rides and the parks for myself. I was sad that I didn’t have my girls with me here in California. They are both huge Disney fans and want to see DL as much as I did. I promised them that I would bring them here someday soon.
So we leave Chris’ house bright and early on Sunday morning – 6:15am. The plan is for us to get to DL, check in at the DLH (a special treat!!!!) by which time my friend’s hubby & 2 kiddos should be pulling up. They left a bit after us, as they were going back home Sunday night after Club33 and Chris & I were staying for the night. That was a complete bonus! I never thought I’d be staying onsite as well as getting to go to DL. I owe my friend a big one for that.
We arrived, checked in, checked out the hotel. Now I must say, I really like the DL hotel. I like the theming. I love the bathroom wallpaper and the sconces! The castle etching in the TV cabinet and the beds is so pretty. The pirate pool looked pretty darn cool as well.
We catch up with her family and enter thru the turn styles. I am so excited! We pause and take some pictures in front of the railroad station. Walking under the bridge, it feels all so familiar, kind of like deju vu. But wait, we turn the corner a bit and – “what the heck is that?” was the only thing I could think of. The Sleeping beauty castle is so much smaller in perspective than the WDW one. Main Street almost kind of dwarfs it by comparison. It’s beautiful, and the water around it at night is gorgeous. But you know, when you first look up Main Street in WDW and BAM there it is? That isn’t the same feeling here. We walk down Main Street, and I had fun with all the history that is there. I took so many pictures just to compare the two! When we got to the end on the left is Refreshment Corner…. right where Casey’s is at WDW. So it is soooo similar, just a little different. But it was so fun to see what Walt “intended” main street to look like. Definitely more nostalgia here than at WDW. It just “felt” right. You become totally immersed in the Disney experience and instantly forget you’re in the middle of a big city. Seeing the Matterhorn bigger than the castle was just weird. Imagine Everest being where Ariel’s Grotto is at WDW…. that’s what it looked like to me. We saved the exhibit “The first 50 years” for later, because I really wanted to be able to soak it in.
After pausing at the castle and the partners statue for a while we headed off to Frontierland, grabbed fastpasses for Splash and rode Big Thunder. We literally walked on twice; there was no line at all. Big Thunder, pretty much identical to WDW. I love it at both parks! The que, from the 30 seconds I was in it, seemed more interesting at DL. Then we headed off to Mr. Toad – Omigosh, I miss this ride. The last time I rode it I was just a kid at WDW.
Grabbed a Dole Whip….Then we headed to Tomorrowland. Got in line for Buzz. 5 minute wait maybe. Buzz is very cool in DL, in that the guns come off the ride and you can hold them while you shoot. Well I obviously don’t know “the” targets as well, either that or I was too busy looking for differences, but I only scored 28,000!!! Ha ha. The cool thing is after you get off, you can email yourself your picture! No photopass, no buying, just find yourself & send it on home. Grabbed fastpasses for Space after this.
Next was Haunted Mansion. I like the que at WDW better, although the outside of the Mansion here at DL is great and offers loads of picture opportunities. The ride itself, pretty darn equal I think. Now, the CM’s I experienced weren’t quite as much “in character” as the ones I’ve seen at WDW, but that could have been just that CM just that moment.
Splash Mountain…..I’ve heard so much about the differences I was excited to ride. Well, I got a “real” good look at Splash Mountain! The ride broke down about ¼ of the way through & we had to walk off thru the back…..so far, they seemed about the same. We’ll come back later.
Literally walked on Pirates next. WOW no comparison. It’s like we don’t even have the SAME ride in WDW. I started out thinking “hmm, their ride is different, WDW doesn’t have that, or that” & then about ½ way into the DL ride it starts to compare to the WDW ride! So imagine getting twice the ride. I also liked the fact that it didn’t exit into a pirate store…as much as I love the ride, my kids always lose themselves in that dang store at WDW. So without a doubt DL’s version is so much better. I will never ride “my” Pirates again and not think about the DL ride.
We then decided to go on Space Mountain next. No fastpasses needed, the stand by line was only 10 minutes. WOW WOW WOW I truly cannot say enough about the NEW Space, all in all I think we ended up riding it 6 or 7 times throughout the 2 days. I think the sound, the music, the lights, the cars and the entire thing is sooooo much better than “my” wdw Space. Understand this, I love WDW Space Mountain, it has been one of my top fave rides for many many years. The Space at DL is just magnificent. The ride is soooo smooth. I was one of those “please don’t shut down my ride” people….now I say “go ahead, shut it down, I can’t wait!”
Chris & her family went to see “Honey…I Shrunk.” I did a little shopping and sat and people watched. Yep, dumb people come to DL too. I saw at least 3 people dragging, pulling, or screaming at either each other or their kids. I just love the classic “I brought you to DL D***it now you better HAVE FUN.”
Next we decided to ride Pooh & then Indiana Jones. Pooh is pretty similar, although I think the rain scenes are more elaborate at WDW, as well as the heffalumps. The cars are bigger though at DL. Indiana Jones is a great ride! The track may be similar to Dinosaur, but the ride itself is so much better.
We then headed over to Club 33 – THE reason for the trip. We were meeting the member there for our lunch. The coolest thing is that it was like a 4-minute walk! Everything felt so close together, it was no biggie to go from one area of the park to another. I was so excited. We arrived and rang the little bell to announce our party. We waited in the lobby for maybe 5 minutes. Then took the French lift up to the main area. Very cool. We were seated in the trophy room! In fact we were the only folks in there for the afternoon. Eric and Robby were our server and buser. Once they found out what Disney nuts my friend & I were they showered us with information about Club33 and Walt. Most of which I had already learned here on the DIS. This was truly an amazing experience. The food was really good, although I would say you could get an equally good meal at a steak/seafood restaurant. We walked all over the place and took probably 100 pictures here alone. It is an amazing place. You can easily see what the intent of Club 33 was and why it is so exclusive. We had a wonderful lunch. Which included a surprise visit from Mickey and Pluto. They spent oodles of time with us and posed for many pictures. We pretty much bought 2 of every available souvenir here.
We said goodbye to my friend’s hubby and kiddos and decided to bring our stash back to DLH. Got our bags up to the room and headed back over to DL via the monorail. Here I think it’s kinda cool that the monorail is really a ride within the park, not just a means of transportation.
Rode Space Mountain again with no wait – Did I mention this is my new favorite ride? The rode the train – COOL dioramas! Over to Main Street & hopped over to DCA.
My first impression of DCA – Looks like MGM (it will always be MGM to me). The whole atmosphere reminds me of MGM. Walked around a bit and headed over to Paradise Pier. We had just walked up to the Zephyr- they JUST closed due to wind. Oh well, we then went over to California Screamin – SHORT waits! Rode that twice. While some folks knock DCA and the whole pier thing. I think Screamin is a great coaster and a lot of fun.
We then walked around DCA some more, found a nice spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Watched almost all of the parade and then headed back over to DL. I was sooo hoping that the Remember fireworks weren’t going to be cancelled because of the wind….but they were. This was the only disappointment the whole trip. Oh well, not much we could have done about it.
Next up was the Matterhorn – ok everyone, I don’t get it. This had to be about the most boring ride I had ever been on in my life. Is it just me? It was wayyy too jarring for my old back. I was not impressed at all.
We headed back to Fantasyland and rode Alice, Storybook Canal Boats, and Pinnocchio. All great rides! I love dark rides and Alice has to be one of the best. The Canal boats were really cute too & Pinocchio is just a classic story. I wish there were any of these at WDW.
Decided to ride Indy one more time – again a great ride, this time I was able to pay closer attention to the immense details in the cue.
Went to check on Nemo….It was about 11:40pm…& there was NO LINE!!!! We waited only 15 minutes before we were on the sub! This ride was really neat. My kids would have loved it. Great theming, great story. I am glad I didn’t wait an hour for it, but it was definitely worth seeing.
A few more pics, walked back to the hotel…collapsed into bed at DLH at around 2am
