hyperminimalism
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 9, 2014
Just got back from our 5 days at the DLR! I'm pretty tired and I literally just got home about an hour ago, but that's ok. I wanted to write up something before my brain goes ker-splat and I forget all the fresh memories.
We stayed at the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn, which was great, clean, so easy to walk to Disneyland to. It took us maybe 5-7 minutes, tops, depending on how fast you walk. I was incredibly thankful for that because my dogs were killin' me and we typically stay almost a mile away from the park so that's rough. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay as it was a nice property with a delicious breakfast. Seriously, they were killing it with their breakfast. I'm just mad at myself for not eating there more than once. It was busy! The only problem, which wasn't the hotels fault, was that there were some noisy neighbors. I called to report this and the hotel handled it swiftly. Very much appreciated. Anything we wanted or didn't want (like not cleaning our room every day) was respected and I appreciate that. I'd say this property gets about an 8/10 for being a no-frills, relatively inexpensive stay right across the street from Disneyland. Oh yeah, I didn't use the pool either, which was tiny, but I never use pools at hotels so that wasn't an aspect I was interested in. People were using it, though, and they seemed to enjoy it.
Now, onto our time at the parks:
Monday - Considering it was a holiday, it was not busy given the fact. We had MaxPass for 4 days and were able to utilize it to get on quite a few rides. The only day we didn't use it was Thursday. I think it was a lot quieter because there wasn't also filming (or as much) going on, so that was a nice breather to come into a relatively uncrowded day for a holiday.
Tuesday - Had some family visit and this day was also pretty uncrowded. We were pulling in 13-16 hours days almost each day except for Thursday, but this day was also pretty uncrowded, which I very much appreciated. It was such a whirlwind of rides and shows that I can't remember how many we got onto or saw, but we did pretty much everything we wanted to do and then some.
Wednesday - My birthday! Got there early and stayed pretty late but not to close. This day we went to Napa Rose and I really enjoyed it. Everyone, even other diners, were super in tuned to what was going on and they made it a very special birthday dinner. Holy smokes, the food was pretty good, but I also don't typically visit fancy joints like that, so I don't have much to compare it to. I wouldn't say it's the absolute best food I've ever had, but most definitely up there. If you haven't been to Napa Rose, the food, while pricey, is worth it but the service we got was stellar and I'm really glad I picked this place to celebrate.
Thursday - This day was a bit more chill because we visited family for half the day and didn't arrive to the parks until the evening. It was ridiculous with the crowds. We couldn't really move around or do anything, didn't have MaxPass that day, so we only stayed about 6 hours and did very little compared to the other days. This was the day when we noticed a lot more crowds pushing in. I know they were filming on Wed/Thurs, and we saw a bit of it, but later on once the lights and the snow happened is when people really made their way into the parks. I wish we could've done more, but honestly we needed a break as we were walking 15-20 miles a day. Oh, and we had dinner at Lamplight, which was my first time there, and while the decor is cool it wasn't anything special to write home about. It was very loud and the chairs we sat in were comfortable but not for eating dinner in. I felt like a toddler sitting at the dinner table--hah. Either way, the food was good, but I'd give this a 7/10 just because the burger I had was pretty solid.
Friday - Soooooo, busy. Got there before the parks opened and left after they officially closed. We wanted to pull in as much time and get as much done with as much shopping as possible, so I think that was about almost a 16-17 hour day. Seriously crowded, though. I understand it was getting closer to the weekend and people want to enjoy the holiday lights, food, and other attractions and shows, but there came a point for a few hours where we just couldn't do much and ended up walking around trying to figure something out. It wasn't until the shows began that we were able to maneuver around and use our FastPasses. This day was a little easier to handle because we were there for so long, so we got to do a lot more, but it was definitely what I'd consider crowded--maybe a 7/10. The park definitely cleared out after the firework show, though, so it was a lot easier to maneuver and get on some rides. Some of the posted wait times for rides were not correct, obviously, because they probably wanted people to filter out and not wait in line so late at night, but we got on about 3-4 more rides before getting our shopping done.
Honorable mentions:
1. SW:GE - I enjoyed my time there, but I did not spend as much time inside as I'm sure Disney wanted me to. We did Smuggler's Run twice and I could see myself doing it again a few more times, but waiting in that line sucks. Other than that, I did not shop in Batuu nor did I eat there. Maybe I wasn't ready to spend money on stuff since the land does feel rather incomplete. I'm sure once RotR opens it'll be a lot better, but they definitely do need to add some sort of show. We didn't even see Kylo Ren! Only Chewy, Rey, and some Storm Troopers.
2. Tropical Hideaway - I wanted to eat there because last year when we were there it hadn't opened until a week after we left. I had the beef and chicken Bao, which were good, but that was it. I wanted to try more but didn't find myself going back there. Wanted to try the lumpia but just didn't get to it. I wish I could've experienced it more, but maybe next time. I really did enjoy the theming, though, and I think it's a home run the way they transformed that place. It fits in the land perfectly, like it's been there for ages!
3. No real issues with any CMs. Most of them were very kind and respectful, but a little chatty standing around with their co-workers (this is not something I care about, just took notice). I never experienced any kind of rude interaction, but rather saw a lot of people taking their jobs seriously and efficiently. There were also a lot of CMs having fun, too!
Overall, it was a whirlwind of a trip. I got a lot of gifts for others and for myself. I did some things I hadn't done before and enjoyed it. The Christmas time at DLR is very fun and special and I enjoy how much effort they put into making it feel like the holidays there. It's just kind of weird being in southern California again (I'm from there) and having it be 80 degrees with a huge Christmas tree and all the lights and garland and whatnot. I live up north now so we have much colder temperatures and sometimes snow (lots of rain most of the time). While it's nice to be back home, I am so, so glad I got to take this chance to visit the DLR. I'm already feeling the hurt not being there as I would've loved to spend another week if I could, but it's time to get back to real life, get back to the swing of things and dream of a time I can go back.
We stayed at the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn, which was great, clean, so easy to walk to Disneyland to. It took us maybe 5-7 minutes, tops, depending on how fast you walk. I was incredibly thankful for that because my dogs were killin' me and we typically stay almost a mile away from the park so that's rough. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay as it was a nice property with a delicious breakfast. Seriously, they were killing it with their breakfast. I'm just mad at myself for not eating there more than once. It was busy! The only problem, which wasn't the hotels fault, was that there were some noisy neighbors. I called to report this and the hotel handled it swiftly. Very much appreciated. Anything we wanted or didn't want (like not cleaning our room every day) was respected and I appreciate that. I'd say this property gets about an 8/10 for being a no-frills, relatively inexpensive stay right across the street from Disneyland. Oh yeah, I didn't use the pool either, which was tiny, but I never use pools at hotels so that wasn't an aspect I was interested in. People were using it, though, and they seemed to enjoy it.
Now, onto our time at the parks:
Monday - Considering it was a holiday, it was not busy given the fact. We had MaxPass for 4 days and were able to utilize it to get on quite a few rides. The only day we didn't use it was Thursday. I think it was a lot quieter because there wasn't also filming (or as much) going on, so that was a nice breather to come into a relatively uncrowded day for a holiday.
Tuesday - Had some family visit and this day was also pretty uncrowded. We were pulling in 13-16 hours days almost each day except for Thursday, but this day was also pretty uncrowded, which I very much appreciated. It was such a whirlwind of rides and shows that I can't remember how many we got onto or saw, but we did pretty much everything we wanted to do and then some.
Wednesday - My birthday! Got there early and stayed pretty late but not to close. This day we went to Napa Rose and I really enjoyed it. Everyone, even other diners, were super in tuned to what was going on and they made it a very special birthday dinner. Holy smokes, the food was pretty good, but I also don't typically visit fancy joints like that, so I don't have much to compare it to. I wouldn't say it's the absolute best food I've ever had, but most definitely up there. If you haven't been to Napa Rose, the food, while pricey, is worth it but the service we got was stellar and I'm really glad I picked this place to celebrate.
Thursday - This day was a bit more chill because we visited family for half the day and didn't arrive to the parks until the evening. It was ridiculous with the crowds. We couldn't really move around or do anything, didn't have MaxPass that day, so we only stayed about 6 hours and did very little compared to the other days. This was the day when we noticed a lot more crowds pushing in. I know they were filming on Wed/Thurs, and we saw a bit of it, but later on once the lights and the snow happened is when people really made their way into the parks. I wish we could've done more, but honestly we needed a break as we were walking 15-20 miles a day. Oh, and we had dinner at Lamplight, which was my first time there, and while the decor is cool it wasn't anything special to write home about. It was very loud and the chairs we sat in were comfortable but not for eating dinner in. I felt like a toddler sitting at the dinner table--hah. Either way, the food was good, but I'd give this a 7/10 just because the burger I had was pretty solid.
Friday - Soooooo, busy. Got there before the parks opened and left after they officially closed. We wanted to pull in as much time and get as much done with as much shopping as possible, so I think that was about almost a 16-17 hour day. Seriously crowded, though. I understand it was getting closer to the weekend and people want to enjoy the holiday lights, food, and other attractions and shows, but there came a point for a few hours where we just couldn't do much and ended up walking around trying to figure something out. It wasn't until the shows began that we were able to maneuver around and use our FastPasses. This day was a little easier to handle because we were there for so long, so we got to do a lot more, but it was definitely what I'd consider crowded--maybe a 7/10. The park definitely cleared out after the firework show, though, so it was a lot easier to maneuver and get on some rides. Some of the posted wait times for rides were not correct, obviously, because they probably wanted people to filter out and not wait in line so late at night, but we got on about 3-4 more rides before getting our shopping done.
Honorable mentions:
1. SW:GE - I enjoyed my time there, but I did not spend as much time inside as I'm sure Disney wanted me to. We did Smuggler's Run twice and I could see myself doing it again a few more times, but waiting in that line sucks. Other than that, I did not shop in Batuu nor did I eat there. Maybe I wasn't ready to spend money on stuff since the land does feel rather incomplete. I'm sure once RotR opens it'll be a lot better, but they definitely do need to add some sort of show. We didn't even see Kylo Ren! Only Chewy, Rey, and some Storm Troopers.
2. Tropical Hideaway - I wanted to eat there because last year when we were there it hadn't opened until a week after we left. I had the beef and chicken Bao, which were good, but that was it. I wanted to try more but didn't find myself going back there. Wanted to try the lumpia but just didn't get to it. I wish I could've experienced it more, but maybe next time. I really did enjoy the theming, though, and I think it's a home run the way they transformed that place. It fits in the land perfectly, like it's been there for ages!
3. No real issues with any CMs. Most of them were very kind and respectful, but a little chatty standing around with their co-workers (this is not something I care about, just took notice). I never experienced any kind of rude interaction, but rather saw a lot of people taking their jobs seriously and efficiently. There were also a lot of CMs having fun, too!
Overall, it was a whirlwind of a trip. I got a lot of gifts for others and for myself. I did some things I hadn't done before and enjoyed it. The Christmas time at DLR is very fun and special and I enjoy how much effort they put into making it feel like the holidays there. It's just kind of weird being in southern California again (I'm from there) and having it be 80 degrees with a huge Christmas tree and all the lights and garland and whatnot. I live up north now so we have much colder temperatures and sometimes snow (lots of rain most of the time). While it's nice to be back home, I am so, so glad I got to take this chance to visit the DLR. I'm already feeling the hurt not being there as I would've loved to spend another week if I could, but it's time to get back to real life, get back to the swing of things and dream of a time I can go back.
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