Spassvogel
6'7" 350lbs of Fun
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2009
We just did 5 days at Disneyland with a travel day on each end, for a total of 7 days. As a family we've been doing DIsneyland trips (and a couple WDW) since 2008, so we've learned a lot of lessons and made sure that we did everything right.
Travel: Flew into SNA for the first time on a Disney trip. Was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency and smooth operation there, since we were used to the zoo that is LAX. We found a shuttle service for the four of us that was $75 for up to 5 people. (Which I believe included the tip). Very short journey to the hotel, and the van was waiting for us as we exited the the baggage claim area.
Accommodation: We have stayed at almost every good neighbor hotel, from the relatively distant Motel 6 to almost all of the hotels from the crosswalk outward in both directions. Now that the kids are bigger, (well, both college aged haha) we needed a hotel that had at least 3 beds, and we preferred close to the crosswalk, and with breakfast available. Without breaking the bank, we found the best deal, this time, at the Desert Inn & Suites. The rooms are old, but the A/C works, the bathroom fan was amazing, the showers were hot, the ice machine was close, and best of all, the room was such a relatively short walk from the park, that we could walk our middle aged selves back in the middle of the day, and not feel like we were really wasting our Disney time. I would usually go back, hydrate, put my feet up, and kill an hour or so, and I was ready to rock until the park closed. Proximity to Denny's, the Tropicana's store, and most of all, the crosswalk, was very nice.
Disneyland Tickets: We usually space out our trips enough that we can pay for our park tickets with the rewards from our Chase Disney Visa Card. We have the no annual fee version, but are able to funnel enough things through it that things build up fairly nicely. I'm not going to do the hard sell on the card, but you get discounts on some food purchases, as well as merch purchases. If you're a Disney fan, it's a good thing to have. We made reservations for alternating days between the two parks, 3 at DL and 2 at DCA, but we park hopped on almost all the days. Our trip happened to coincide with grad nights and pride events, so there were early park closures and knots of 18yr olds running around.
Observations: We lucked out and weather was very mild. (60s, low 70s and overcast most days). This kept the crowds a bit lighter than usual, but offset somewhat with people there for the events. Longest we waited in line was 45mins for Tower of Terror. (Yes, I know it's Guardians).
I miss how the old fast pass system put everyone on an equal footing. We did standby lines every day, and thanks to the weather, the standby lines weren't too bad overall, except for Indiana Jones. (we finally broke down and bought Genie+ for our last full day at the park, and literally as I was putting my phone under the lightning line reader, the ride broke again. I made the kids go on Pirates to kill time, and luckily by the time we were back on dry land, Indy was working).
Monster's Inc. had a long line both days we were in DCA. Usually it's super short, I'm not sure what changed, but it was popular compared to the last time I was there. (Maybe the lack of Muppets 3D?)
Indy broke down a LOT. The kids went on it late at night and said the ride broke down twice while they were on it. My one time, everything was smooth. (I swear the ride was rougher than it used to be though).
Star Tours seemed locked in crappy Episode 9 stuff for 7 of the 8 times we went on it. The 8th trip we didn't have Kylo Ren, had Yoda hologram, and ended up on Naboo). All other trips were Kylo/BB8 or Poe/Endor Death Star wreckage. Pretty disappointing! On the bright side, the lines were short!
My dear child who had beaten me on WDW Buzz Blasters was brought back to reality and I smoked him hard at Disneyland. I suspect it's the non-fixed pistols that make it easier for me to aim haha.
Haunted Mansion the hitchhiking ghosts were broken all week we were there.
Pirates: More changes to the auction. It's even more lame now. The parrot from the end was missing. (permanently gone?)
Most ride photos were free the week we were there. You just had to put the code into your Disneyland app and they appeared. This included our Visa Chase photos with Darth Vader. (Also was disappointed that the Star Wars museum stuff was gone or only accessible to Vacation Club members in the lounge).
Food: Each food place had a special meal for the 100th anniversary. The best one that I found was the Pork Belly cheeseburger at Galactic Grill. (I think this has been replaced by a new special now). Actually ate it twice. My other repeat meal was the Beef Bulgogi burrito at Lucky Fortune Cookery at Pacific Wharf. Best food I've had at Disney in years. Also had a turkey leg for the first time in a while, and I don't know if it was fresh from the oven or what, but it was the best one I've had in years.
Mobile Food Ordering: This became essential. We would pre-order our food and time it all out so it was ready when we arrived. (You can say you are there, even if you're not really there). Once we figured out the timing, we rarely had to stand around waiting for our food, and could focus on finding a table.
No Phantasmic: Obviously since the viral video of the Dragon catching fire, Phantasmic was not operating, however we were surprised that they did use the Rivers of America water screens to project on during the nightly fireworks show. It was kinda cool, and at least there was *something* if you didn't get a good fireworks spot.
Galaxy's Edge: I was surprised that it was virtually identical to the WDW version. Same layout, same stands/shops/etc. It was nice because we knew where we were going. I did find the Rise of the Resistance experience was better here, but unlike WDW we didn't have to have the app out at 8am or 1pm and hope to get in the virtual queue. We did Smuggler's Run as a family in the standby line and actually got a decent score. After that my son and I did single rider (which we were happy to learn could be groups of two so we were together every time). Fun fact: I started a mission for the Resistance back at WDW Galaxy's Edge that I actually finished at the DL version of the park. (The Play DIsney app in GE is actually pretty fun and helps kill the time in long lines).
Price Creep: I know Disney is having some tough times, but prices have really crept up. Soft drinks were up to movie theater prices, and bottles of water were $5. We were smarter about bringing our own snacks/water bottles this time, but there are only a couple bottle fillers. (Smuggler's Run exit has the best ones). Food was so much for 4 people that our Visa 10% discount kept kicking in.
Big & Tall: I think for a while this board was calling us "Pooh sized" haha. I'm 6'7" and 350lbs. I'm a big dude. I continue to be unable to ride Space Mountain, but everything else was fine. Rise of the Resistance and Indy I figured out that I just shouldn't be on the ends and it won't hurt. Matterhorn hurt. (I miss the old toboggans). Incredicoaster My harness only clicks once, but I ended up enduring discomfort for a second click. I didn't want to be one click away from doom. I also have to bring something (A disneyland map folded works) to put on the sandpaper grip step on the side of the car or it will grind my skin away). I think those are the only rides that are a bit tough. I did ride the Submarines and luckily a toddler was next to me, so I could half-cheek it on his seat haha.
I think that's about it. We had a good time. 5 days was nice because we didn't feel like we had to rush. Plus the hotel being so close made it easy to go back and rest in the middle of the day. I saw multiple people with shirts talking about how spendy everything is. I really hope Disney isn't selling those "Most Expensive Day Ever" shirts themselves, that would be kinda crass.
Travel: Flew into SNA for the first time on a Disney trip. Was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency and smooth operation there, since we were used to the zoo that is LAX. We found a shuttle service for the four of us that was $75 for up to 5 people. (Which I believe included the tip). Very short journey to the hotel, and the van was waiting for us as we exited the the baggage claim area.
Accommodation: We have stayed at almost every good neighbor hotel, from the relatively distant Motel 6 to almost all of the hotels from the crosswalk outward in both directions. Now that the kids are bigger, (well, both college aged haha) we needed a hotel that had at least 3 beds, and we preferred close to the crosswalk, and with breakfast available. Without breaking the bank, we found the best deal, this time, at the Desert Inn & Suites. The rooms are old, but the A/C works, the bathroom fan was amazing, the showers were hot, the ice machine was close, and best of all, the room was such a relatively short walk from the park, that we could walk our middle aged selves back in the middle of the day, and not feel like we were really wasting our Disney time. I would usually go back, hydrate, put my feet up, and kill an hour or so, and I was ready to rock until the park closed. Proximity to Denny's, the Tropicana's store, and most of all, the crosswalk, was very nice.
Disneyland Tickets: We usually space out our trips enough that we can pay for our park tickets with the rewards from our Chase Disney Visa Card. We have the no annual fee version, but are able to funnel enough things through it that things build up fairly nicely. I'm not going to do the hard sell on the card, but you get discounts on some food purchases, as well as merch purchases. If you're a Disney fan, it's a good thing to have. We made reservations for alternating days between the two parks, 3 at DL and 2 at DCA, but we park hopped on almost all the days. Our trip happened to coincide with grad nights and pride events, so there were early park closures and knots of 18yr olds running around.
Observations: We lucked out and weather was very mild. (60s, low 70s and overcast most days). This kept the crowds a bit lighter than usual, but offset somewhat with people there for the events. Longest we waited in line was 45mins for Tower of Terror. (Yes, I know it's Guardians).
I miss how the old fast pass system put everyone on an equal footing. We did standby lines every day, and thanks to the weather, the standby lines weren't too bad overall, except for Indiana Jones. (we finally broke down and bought Genie+ for our last full day at the park, and literally as I was putting my phone under the lightning line reader, the ride broke again. I made the kids go on Pirates to kill time, and luckily by the time we were back on dry land, Indy was working).
Monster's Inc. had a long line both days we were in DCA. Usually it's super short, I'm not sure what changed, but it was popular compared to the last time I was there. (Maybe the lack of Muppets 3D?)
Indy broke down a LOT. The kids went on it late at night and said the ride broke down twice while they were on it. My one time, everything was smooth. (I swear the ride was rougher than it used to be though).
Star Tours seemed locked in crappy Episode 9 stuff for 7 of the 8 times we went on it. The 8th trip we didn't have Kylo Ren, had Yoda hologram, and ended up on Naboo). All other trips were Kylo/BB8 or Poe/Endor Death Star wreckage. Pretty disappointing! On the bright side, the lines were short!
My dear child who had beaten me on WDW Buzz Blasters was brought back to reality and I smoked him hard at Disneyland. I suspect it's the non-fixed pistols that make it easier for me to aim haha.
Haunted Mansion the hitchhiking ghosts were broken all week we were there.
Pirates: More changes to the auction. It's even more lame now. The parrot from the end was missing. (permanently gone?)
Most ride photos were free the week we were there. You just had to put the code into your Disneyland app and they appeared. This included our Visa Chase photos with Darth Vader. (Also was disappointed that the Star Wars museum stuff was gone or only accessible to Vacation Club members in the lounge).
Food: Each food place had a special meal for the 100th anniversary. The best one that I found was the Pork Belly cheeseburger at Galactic Grill. (I think this has been replaced by a new special now). Actually ate it twice. My other repeat meal was the Beef Bulgogi burrito at Lucky Fortune Cookery at Pacific Wharf. Best food I've had at Disney in years. Also had a turkey leg for the first time in a while, and I don't know if it was fresh from the oven or what, but it was the best one I've had in years.
Mobile Food Ordering: This became essential. We would pre-order our food and time it all out so it was ready when we arrived. (You can say you are there, even if you're not really there). Once we figured out the timing, we rarely had to stand around waiting for our food, and could focus on finding a table.
No Phantasmic: Obviously since the viral video of the Dragon catching fire, Phantasmic was not operating, however we were surprised that they did use the Rivers of America water screens to project on during the nightly fireworks show. It was kinda cool, and at least there was *something* if you didn't get a good fireworks spot.
Galaxy's Edge: I was surprised that it was virtually identical to the WDW version. Same layout, same stands/shops/etc. It was nice because we knew where we were going. I did find the Rise of the Resistance experience was better here, but unlike WDW we didn't have to have the app out at 8am or 1pm and hope to get in the virtual queue. We did Smuggler's Run as a family in the standby line and actually got a decent score. After that my son and I did single rider (which we were happy to learn could be groups of two so we were together every time). Fun fact: I started a mission for the Resistance back at WDW Galaxy's Edge that I actually finished at the DL version of the park. (The Play DIsney app in GE is actually pretty fun and helps kill the time in long lines).
Price Creep: I know Disney is having some tough times, but prices have really crept up. Soft drinks were up to movie theater prices, and bottles of water were $5. We were smarter about bringing our own snacks/water bottles this time, but there are only a couple bottle fillers. (Smuggler's Run exit has the best ones). Food was so much for 4 people that our Visa 10% discount kept kicking in.
Big & Tall: I think for a while this board was calling us "Pooh sized" haha. I'm 6'7" and 350lbs. I'm a big dude. I continue to be unable to ride Space Mountain, but everything else was fine. Rise of the Resistance and Indy I figured out that I just shouldn't be on the ends and it won't hurt. Matterhorn hurt. (I miss the old toboggans). Incredicoaster My harness only clicks once, but I ended up enduring discomfort for a second click. I didn't want to be one click away from doom. I also have to bring something (A disneyland map folded works) to put on the sandpaper grip step on the side of the car or it will grind my skin away). I think those are the only rides that are a bit tough. I did ride the Submarines and luckily a toddler was next to me, so I could half-cheek it on his seat haha.
I think that's about it. We had a good time. 5 days was nice because we didn't feel like we had to rush. Plus the hotel being so close made it easy to go back and rest in the middle of the day. I saw multiple people with shirts talking about how spendy everything is. I really hope Disney isn't selling those "Most Expensive Day Ever" shirts themselves, that would be kinda crass.
