Just back from Million Dreama trip!

[krismom]

We just returned from 6 days at Disneyland- and we had an absolute blast! I am no good at trip reports, so I'll give a summary instead....

Highs:
~The Disneyland park!!!! WOW! The quaint atmosphere and the magical feelings are everywhere.
~Fantasmic! When the sailing ship Cloumbia rounded the bend with Peter Pan and Captain Hook dueling- I thought my son would faint!
~The CM's were very kind and went out of their way to please. My twins had their birthday at Goofy's kitchen and the server brought over only one cupcake- when I asked her if we could have 2- she had Alladin bring it personally!
~The Neverland Pool! The slide, the hot tub the drink bar! They would have swam all day if I let them.
~Haunted Mansion Holiday! It took my breath away- we rode it at least 10 times!

Lows:
~(flame suit on) The million dreams promotion. I really wish I wasn't as well informed as I am (thanks Dis!), because, I saw people everywhere with Dream fastpasses, dream Mickey ears,lanyards and dream shopping sprees- I kept thinking, maybe our turn willl come too!, but alas, it never did. Not even a free churro. I know envy is a sin- but it's hard when you keep seeing the prizes all over!
~The Disneyland hotel. Lets just say our wallpaper wasn't glowing in the dark. The room was run down, the walk was FAR at the end of the night (the monorail wasn't running!), there was no "food court" place to get cash and carry items....
~The weather- it was COLDER than I expected! Very chilly mornings and after 4:00pm. The kids always had their sweatshirts on thier waists- this also meant the pool was much colder and they spent most of the pool time in the hot tub.
~No Autopia! This wasn't listed as in rehab on the website during my planning- and was down our entire trip! My sons were VERY dissapointed.

Since I want to end on a positive note all I can say to anyone contemplating a DL trip is to DO IT! We are WDW people and I was worried about it being too small- but it was perfect! Everything is so easily accesible by walking and no dealing with trams, busses, etc, was a relief!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

Yes the weather is a bit strange right now. We went from summer to very cool fall...... It is still warm during the day but gets very cool at night which is not normal for our area.

What a magical way for your kids to celebrate their birthday!

 

[abby]

Thanks for the update, we leave in 10 days and I can't wait. I imagine I will be like you, waiting for the dream folks to give us a prize......

 

[Albort]

Im sorry about your lows. Actually, I already know Autopia was going down, i guess i will post the reburbisement list for everyone to plan.

The Disneyland Monorail is actually being redone. Station is redone and the Finding Nemo is actually taking up the monorails space.

Food court isnt like an atm, there are like 3 Atms in the whole park. If your talking about the food sellers, we dont have registers.... we work out of a pocket, no where to slide your card... too much hassle to. Most resturants do though.

Sorry you didnt get picked

 

[hlbtimes2]

Food court isnt like an atm, there are like 3 Atms in the whole park. If your talking about the food sellers, we dont have registers.... we work out of a pocket, no where to slide your card

I think she meant, there was no quick walk up place in the hotel to eat. From what I understand, many of the WDW hotels have food courts (think along the lines of what you find at the mall), where you can grab something quick to eat. The DL hotels dont have that.

 

[wishonstars]

Oh, I think I hear you on the "Year of a Million Dreams" stuff. I've already convinced myself that we will be getting NOTHING, so if we do get something that I'll be so pleasantly surprised, but then I keep reading about all these cool things on the board, and I know it will be hard to not be envious... lol! I so hear you! I haven't even mentioned it to my mom, dad or kids because I don't want them to be expecting anything. An unexpected treat is always awesome though!

Thanks for your "mini-trip report"!

 

[PattiPB]

Thank you for writing a descriptive and well-balanced review!

I love WDW and DL, and whenever I step into DL, I always have the same thought "Walt walked here every day". It is magical in that sense.

I wholeheartedly agree about no quick-serve type of place at DLH. One time DH walked from DLH to Harbor to grab some sandwiches. He left at lunch and we ate the sandwiches for dinner Ok, I'm exaggerating, but even at WDW the Deluxe hotels have quickie kind of spots.

 

[hlbtimes2]

There is always Crocs at the DLH and White Water snacks at the GC. They both are pretty quick. You can also pick up sandwiches at LaBrea in dtd. Or take out from a number of other places.

 

[mystic_path]

LOL I know what you mean, I just go back myself. I went from October 2-7th, and although the weather was GEORGEOUS and WARM during the day, by the evening, I was FROZEN!!!! When it came to the fireworks on the weekend, I felt so bad for poor tinkerbell who had to fly around the castle in that little adorable outfit

 

[Judy from Boise]

Just a reminder....we have the Rehab list in our planning sections links at the top of the page....