Recent Visit Thoughts and Experiences

[Marshmelo]

Part 1

Just went 10/20-10/26 for the first time with a family of my own. It was DS 11 and DH first time there. My only two prior visits there were on my 9th birthday in June 1985 and then the last time was August 2005. I have been to WDW many more times overall and as a family we have been to WDW two times. We used an uber from LAX and didn't have any problem with doing so. This was right before the change in having to take a shuttle to a different rideshare pickup location though. We stayed at Best Western Plus Park Place Inn & Suites in a 2 queen mini suite. I can't say enough nice things about that place. We found the front desk employee who checked us in to be super nice and helpful. The lobby was decorated with a Nightmare Before Christmas tree and another Jack Skellington display. They had Disney collectible statues on display behind the desk. That gave us the immediate "we're in Disney" feel, as if the "Disneyland Resort" entry sign right across the street isn't enough. All the other guests there are also there for Disney so you see them wearing the Disney shirts and ears, etc. So I didn't feel at all "out of the bubble" by staying off property here. And it was less than half the cost! The room was very spacious with plenty of storage room, was very comfortable and was kept clean by housekeeping throughout our entire stay. It was always cleaned by the time we returned mid afternoon for a break. The pool is small (I didn't go swimming but DS and DH did) but there is also a large hot tub. DS seemed fine with it. It also includes free hot and continental breakfast next door at Captain Kidd's. That saved us a lot. It was nothing wonderful, but did the trick to get us started in the mornings.

We had the 4 day one park per day tickets and I added Maxpass each day, including our Sunday arrival day when we checked into the hotel and then entered DL around 2:30 CA time (5:30 Indiana time, so this was a long day for us after a 4 hour flight that morning and we didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked). We were very hungry after a 4 hour flight with just pretzels, so we went immediately to Jolly Holiday to get some lunch. It was very good. I took some time just to look in the Maxpass app and try to figure out how to use it and come up with a plan. My main priority had been to get FPs for Matterhorn since this was the last day before it went down and our only chance to ride. Well, the earliest time available was 10:50 so I grabbed that just in case. In hindsight I should have kept looking for an earlier time to pop up, but I was just becoming familiar with the system and it didn't occur to me. We never made it to ride We did It's a Small World with a FP because that day was also the last day before it closed down for overlay. I also had gotten FPs for Big Thunder at 8:25 followed by Hyperspace. We didn't make it to any of those because DS fell asleep at the table of Rancho Del Zocalo after we finished eating at 8pm (which was really 11 pm as far as our bodies were concerned because of the 3 hour time difference). Besides IASW we also rode Buzz Lightyear with FPs and we hung out in Toontown for a bit and DS gave Donald Duck a high five. We got to see the Band-tastic Cavalcade parade. We went into Galaxy's Edge and to our Oga's Cantina reservation. It was a neat experience but very loud in there and we were at the bar standing. I don't think I would feel the need to do it again. I did really enjoy my drink though. I got the Blurrgfire. It was delicious. DS got the Carbon Freeze. He said the popping pearls were too sour. DH got some sort of beer and didn't care for it. After leaving Oga's, we looked around a bit and saw a couple stormtroopers up on the bridge talking and saw the ships. Then we headed over to dinner at Rancho del Zocalo. We were all happy with our food there and I highly recommend it. I had picked up a bag of cinnamon tortilla crisps at the register to take back to our room and they are yummy! Like I said, DS fell asleep after he ate, so we barely got him to wake up and walk back to the hotel. None of us were in any shape to ride 3 more rides and we still had 2 more full days in this park planned so we decided to just head back to our room and we would just have to miss Matterhorn this time but we needed to rest up for the next day! Overall, I'm glad we went on our arrival day even though it was a Sunday afternoon and was quite crowded and we didn't accomplish a whole lot. It got us our start to vacation and gave us a chance to get a feel for the lay of the land and gave me a chance to become familiar with the Maxpass process.

 

[Marshmelo]

Part 2

The following day, Monday 10/21, we had reservations for the deluxe LA Tour through Starline Tours (I purchased through LMTC) I had visited Hollywood on my 2005 trip but DS wanted to see it and I wanted DH to see it as well. The tour lasted the whole day around 10-6. They pick you up at your Anaheim area hotel and take you to a lot of the popular places in and around LA and give you time to get out and explore. Overall it was a great way to see the most popular spots.

Tuesday 10/22 was our DL early entry day. We arrived before the gates were open and I found line 13 which has been said is the quickest moving line. I found that to be accurate since it actually feeds into 2 open lines to scan in. We did all the main rides we wanted to, except for Fantasyland. We would save that for another day. Arriving early is definitely key to having a good day. As the time passes, the park gets more and more crowded. We were able to get so much done in the first few hours that we were usually done by mid afternoon when the masses had all arrived and it seemed to be getting crazy. We had lunch at Blue Bayou that day. I had made an 11:30 reservation. We arrived just after 11 to check in and they seated us by the water about 10 minutes later. The three of us split 2 monte cristos and it was still too much! But it was delicious! We all got completely soaked on Splash Mountain. I had tucked my feet as far out to the edges as possible based on a tip from a thread on here and it did keep my feet dry. My pants were completely soaked though. DH was sitting in front and was drenched from head to toe. I had brought a 5 gallon extra large Ziploc bag to just put our whole backpack in to keep it dry and that worked pretty well. We tried to stand in the sun and dry a bit in front of the Pooh store. DS saw the sweets case and wanted a big cookie. I had planned on trying the tigger tail but saw the chocolate pineapple spear and had to have that. Delicious! I had also gotten the pumpkin popcorn bucket this day. Is it me or does the popcorn at DL not taste as good as at WDW? Maybe I just had a bad batch. It was still good just not as great as I seemed to remember it being last year at WDW. And while I'm thinking of snacks, have they reduced the size of the Mickey premium bars?? They are definitely smaller than they were in WDW last year! Or maybe they're just smaller in DL? We had also tried a churro which I didn't find anything special. But then I've had fresh hot authentic churros in Mexico that were amazing. Now the corn dog was good. It would have been better with a beef hot dog, but that breading! Mmmm This evening we finally rode MFSR with a 45 minute wait. Too long in my opinion. DH is a huge Star Wars fan and he said he didn't think it was worth that long of a wait. It was a one and done for us. DS and DH were gunners and I was an engineer. For dinner we went to Black Tap. The food was pretty good... maybe not worth the cost though. DS and I shared a cake shake to go with our burgers. It's also REALLY noisy in there. They were playing a good mix of music but it was too loud and especially paired with the talking it wasn't an ideal environment for us.

Wednesday 10/23 I had planned to be our DCA day since there was a party on Thursday and it would close early. However, We were all pretty worn out and felt like we needed a rest day that day, so we decided that's what we would do. I encourage everyone to be flexible with your plans! If your body and other family members say they're tired and need a rest day, listen! We ended up going to DD at lunch time and went to Earl of Sandwich. It was pretty good but nothing I would rave about. I did some shopping and DH and DS got some ice cream from Salt & Straw. I got a Mickey Bar from Marceline's Confectionery and some Toffee to take back to the room for later...OMG! Everyone is right about that being delicious! We also were able to get a dinner reservation for later at Tortilla Jo's. We also walked through the Grand Californian lobby and shops. We looked at the Oogie Boogie display. After a few hours at DD we headed back to the room and DS and DH went to the pool while I relaxed. For dinner, I thought the food at Tortilla Jo's was good. The chips and salsa were excellent! The best I've had probably. The service was pretty bad though. After dinner we stopped into Jazz Kitchen to pick up some Beignets to have back in the room. I never did get around to trying the Mickey shaped ones from DL, but these were SO yummy! I can't imagine that the ones from DL were better. They were rolling the dough and frying them fresh right there in front of you. Yummm It was the perfect end to a low key day.

 

[Marshmelo]

Part 3

Thursday 10/24 was now our DCA day. I had hoped that we would be able to get through everything we wanted by 3 when the party guests for the night would start to arrive and it would be crowded. We did find it to be very low crowds up until then! We arrived to the entrance about 45 minutes before opening because I had heard they usually open the gates 30 minutes early and that often if you go straight to Soarin' they won't check to see your onsite guest room key. They opened about 20 minutes early and we headed to Soarin' but it wasn't even running yet so we were among the first in line and we waited. We got to board in the first group of the day and were top front and center. From there we did everything else we wanted with FPs or very minimal waits. The only thing we didn't get to that we wanted was Luigi's ride. But I was ok with that. DS chickened out of riding Incredicoaster so he sat and had a Jack Jack Num Num while DH and I rode. I thought it was fun though a bit rough. DH said it was really rough for him with the G forces. I didn't have a desire to do it again. Once was enough for me. We also talked to Mr. Potato Head on the way to TSMM and he was hilarious. I recommend taking the time to talk to him. We loved Cars Land! Such great theming there. I could have spent more time there just soaking it in, but DS was getting impatient and we were trying to finish our priorities by 3. We had lunch at Award Weiners and thought it was very good. I got the Minnie Witch shake from Schmoozie's which wasn't as good as I was hoping. It seemed too "watery" and not flavorful enough. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream so I had high expectations. Other attractions we did here were Toy Story Midway Mania with FP, Radiator Springs Racers with FP, Guardians of the Galaxy with FP, Mater's Jamboree, Monster's Inc, Grizzly River Rapids with FP, Mickey's Philharmagic and a second ride on Soarin' with a FP I got while refreshing. We saved River Rapids for last since I figured we might get wet and we used the free lockers and changed into slide on shoes. This ended up being DS's favorite ride at this park. We met our goal and were out of the park before 3.

 

[mattbaker]

Wow! It looks like you have had a lot of amazing memories and fun! Wish I could be there at your place

 

[Marshmelo]

Part 4

Friday 10/25 was our last day and we planned to go back to DL. We once again arrived before opening. Our first plan was to get a picture in front of the castle since we had yet to do this. After that we were headed to Fantasyland since we hadn't done those rides yet. I am a larger person, so I was worried about the small turnstiles in the dark rides here. Based on recommendations from other guests, I decided to go to the accessible entrances (at the exits) of the rides with the turnstiles. Since the park had just opened, the lines for these rides (except PP) were pretty nonexistent, so we were able to get right on and it was no problem at all. The CMs were very nice about it and didn't blink an eye. For PP they scanned our tickets and gave us a return window of an hour about 30 minutes from then. So we did all the dark rides this way and then returned to PP. It was great to be able to do the rides that they don't have in WDW. DH loved Mr. Toad's and said he would have liked to have done it again. I think it scared DS a little though he would never admit it. I love Alice in Wonderland and wish they had that at WDW. We found the Photopass photographer was at the stationary teacup so we did pictures there and then DS and DH rode the teacups while I took pictures of them. The only thing we didn't get to do that we wanted in Fantasyland was Dumbo because it was a 30 minute wait, seemingly all day. It's too bad they don't have the space there to have 2 of them and the paging system like at WDW. This day was just spend revisiting some favorites after we finished Fantasyland. We did Big Thunder again and DH and DS did Hyperspace again. I liked it and had already rode it twice the Tuesday we went, but this day I had come down with something and wasn't feeling the greatest so I sat in the nice shaded area by the Alice bathrooms and waited on them. We also finally did Roger Rabbit which is just ok in my opinion, but we're not fans of the movie. I don't think DS has ever even seen it. I thought he might like the spinning, but it was kind of hard to spin. DS and DH also spent some time at the shooting arcaade. They found it to be a lot of fun, so take some time to do that. Before leaving, we had a late-ish lunch at Carnation Cafe. DH and I got the chicken fried chicken and a shake and DS got a burger and rootbeer float. We were seated outside right along the railing so it was nice to people watch and we saw the Cavalcade go by again. The food was pretty good. DH and DS enjoyed playing the "games" next door. The video viewers, grip tester, Esmerelda, etc. I pressed some quarters with Walt quotes, and we all got a sweet from the case to take back for later that evening.

 

[Kimpossible1]

Great trip report!!! Thanks for taking the time to write it

 

[Marshmelo]

Part 5, Final (random) Thoughts

As far as comparison between WDW and DLR go, both have their advantages and disadvantages. I don't think one is "better" than the other. For us, WDW is just a 2 hour flight and no time difference while DL is just over 4 hours flight and a 3 hour time difference. Therefore, it's an easier trip for us to go to WDW. I love that you don't have to rely on transportation to the parks at DL and can just walk right in and it's more convenient to take an afternoon break back in your room. The size of the park is kind of a catch 22. It's not as much walking, but it feels more packed with people. The weather in CA definitely wins! I handled the mid-high 90s it was there that week MUCH better than I ever can at WDW with the humidity! It makes such a huge difference. The food in DL is better. I like the Maxpass in DL better than FP at WDW. There aren't nearly as many photographers at DL which is a bummer for me because I love pictures. The STAIRS in DL! WHY so many stairs?! My bad feet and legs were hating them! At least they aren't too steep though, which helps. As for CM friendliness, I found that if I smiled and was nice to them, they were also nice. I didn't encounter any rudeness. I do have to say it's strange seeing them walk across the street with us in CM attire going to or from work. It was also strange seeing the back of IASW along the road in the uber to our hotel, as well as hearing the street noise and sirens while in the park. It's so different from the secludedness of MK in WDW. It did seem that other guests in the parks in DL were more friendly and considerate than in WDW for some reason. Like I said, I never felt "out of the bubble" by not staying on property because we stayed so close. IASW and Pirates are definitely better at DL. I love the Hyperspace Mountain overlay. I'm not a real big fan of A Nightmare Before Christmas, so I was pretty sad about that version of HM while we were there. I want the original Splash Mountain at WDW is better. It's actually my favorite ride there. At DL I didn't even want to do it a second time. You just get too wet, it's not as long or cute and I don't like the single file seating arrangement. I miss the Tower of Terror theme. I prefer that over Guardians. The bag check line coming in from Harbor isn't bad. We never waited too long and the CMs who went through our bags were always friendly and funny. This is all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else later, I will add on. Please feel free to ask me any questions!

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report!

 

[bapcap]

Enjoyable report, glad you had fun. Living here in California, Disneyland is our “go to” fun trip and WDW is our “big trip” every few years or so.

 

[Newbie500]

Thank you for your awesome report! It looks like you had a wonderful time! We will be in DLR and DCA for Christmas and New Years. We're staying at the BWPPI and we will try to go on as many rides as possible as many times as possible (flying in from CT with DS 17 and DD 15) so your report is extremely relevant to our trip. I took some notes from your report but you covered so much that I reserve my right to read it in more detail later and ask questions!

 

[TomServo27]

I am currently at Disneyland arrived Saturday also staying at best Western mini suites. Really like it so convenient and the room is great. Had a fast pass at big thunder yesterday that had to get to by 4:00 left the room at 3:30 and even with getting delayed by the parade made it with ten minutes spare.