Just back - what a trip! (long)

[GoofyBaby]

I had the time of my life! My best friend and I spent our Spring Break at the DLR and I already want to go back. We had a dream trip!

Grand Californian - top notch service! Check-in took about 35 minutes (very busy on our arrival day 3/11) but everyone was very friendly. Loved the beds, the flat panel TV and DVD player and I am spoiled by the turndown service! Room service was fast, delicious and served with a smile. I really enjoyed our Downtown Disney view room - we had a room directly across from Naples (room 5143). It was awesome to wake up to the sounds of DTD in the morning and enjoy it while getting ready to hit the parks! I also loved getting to watch the Princess bedtime stories at night!

Disneyland - We spent 3 of our 5 days here and I was never disappointed! The park was very crowded, but due to using Ridemax, we never spent more than 15 minutes in line. Once, during the parade, we were able to ride Pirates twice in a row with no one else on the boat! It was great! I had excellent interaction with Goofy (my favorite, of course) in Toontown. I wish whoever played Goofy that day would play him all the time because he was absolutely wonderful with everyone! Being able to use EE was a big plus - we got in 7-8 rides in Fantasyland every morning EE was offered and hardly any waits at all.

We loved the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy, even though we don't have any kids. It was great to see Darth Vader and Darth Maul fighting the "younglings." Those kids were just in awe! And I loved how realistic the costumes were.

I hadn't ever ridden Space Mountain in DL before and I wasn't disappointed. It was neat to have the Chili Peppers playing while we were blasting through space! And though I love the Matterhorn, I had forgotten how rough it was! I must say that my favorite ride (besides Pirates) was Peter Pan. We rode it first thing every morning and last thing on our last night.

We were lucky to get a last-minute reservation at Blue Bayou for 4:30 p.m. dinner and I have to say I was very impressed. Our watiress, Linda, was amazing. She kept our drinks refilled and rolls replenished at all times and she was incredibly sweet. I had the cajun spiced salmon with bernaise sauce and James had the king crab legs. Wow, were they flavorful! And it was so neat to see the Pirates boats float by as we were eating! I can't wait to go back there again to dine! It's definitely one of my favorites now.

California Adventure was a first for me this trip and again, I wasn't disppointed. Soarin' was amazing and we were able to get front row and center 2 of the 3 times we rode it. Wow, I felt like we were flying and I didn't want to get off the ride! We learned how to draw Tigger in the Animation building and Noel, our Disney Artist, gave me his drawing of Tigger afterwards - I felt so lucky! I only wish my drawing of Tigger had come out as good as his did!

I was so glad I wore a poncho on Grizzly River Run because the two guys next to me got completely drenched from head to toe! What a fun ride! And as soon as we exited the ride, we were happy to give our ponchos to two other riders who I am sure were glad to have them!

I was very impressed by the Aladdin show and I must say that the Genie stole the show! He was hilarious! Don't want to ruin any surprises for anyone who haven't seen it yet, but it was well worth the 45 minute wait to get in. We had orchestra seats, which were great!

If you've never had a corn dog at Corn Dog Castle, I highly recommend them! I couldn't believe how big those suckers were and they were delicious! Just don't ride Mulholland Madness right afterward - I turned green for about 20 minutes after getting off the ride!

We got to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater but I was disappointed in how the CMs just let everyone run up to them with no rhyme or reason. No lines or anything - as soon as they were parked, the CMs said, "okay you can go." Don't even think about getting a picture of just you and McQueen or Mater! UGH...

Pin trading was great! I bought 23 pins from pincastle and traded all but 4 of them (ran out of time). I am totally addicted now! Got a couple of nice cast lanyards and many Tink, Goofy and Captain Hook pins. All in great condition!

We got about 100 Photopass pictures and every one of them turned out great! After adding borders and edits, I ended up with about 250 pictures and I was very pleased with them.

Sorry so long! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask! I'm already planning my next trip!

 

[XTinabell]

Sounds like you had an awesome time. I love reading about people's trips it makes me feel better that my trip is still 7 months away. so what was your secret for having great photopass pictures? Every one we got we either had our eyes closed or the sun was right behind us and you couldn't see our faces or there were giant shadows everywhere.

 

[shyboy72]

Nice trip report... can't wait for my trip...

 

[onederland]

sounds like a really great trip..I was wondering if you tell me about the princess bedtime stories? also my dd6 loves to draw, do you think a 6 year old would like the animation studio? THANKS

 

[AZMickeyfans]

Sounds like you had an awesome trip! Glad you had so much fun!

 

[lulubelle]

Thanks for the quick recap. Glad you had such a great time. Don't you just love the Grand? We stayed in room #3165 right above the *********** store and it was the best room we have ever had. Sitting on the balcony and enjoying the sights and sounds. Where else did you eat?

 

[CrAzY4DL]

Wow, sounds like an amazing trip!! My next trip is in April and will be my first time using the Photopass thingey. Can you post your photos here?? Thanks for getting me all excited for MY trip now! LOL

 

[TwingleMum]

Great report thanks for sharing!!! I'd also like some photo pass tips. Where did you add the borders?? Did you have to wait for the photo pass photographer alot??

 

[mystic_path]

Wonderful TR! You made me feel so excited to go. I am happy you had a blast. Thats what Disney is supposed to do right? Ha Ha! I guess it worked its magic on you.

 

[PrairyChikk]

Great report, thanks for sharing! We are going in 2 weeks so I am accumulating all of the info & tips I can off of the DIS boards. Since we are going during the busy season, I need all of the help I can get.

 

[momto2nenas]

Great report! I'm also curious about Photopass if you care to share.

 

[poohbearrocks]

this is soooo making me want to go!! so can you tell me what exactly is a photopass??

 

[jnjusoioa]

I had the time of my life! My best friend and I spent our Spring Break at the DLR and I already want to go back. We had a dream trip!

Grand Californian - top notch service! Check-in took about 35 minutes (very busy on our arrival day 3/11) but everyone was very friendly. Loved the beds, the flat panel TV and DVD player and I am spoiled by the turndown service! Room service was fast, delicious and served with a smile. I really enjoyed our Downtown Disney view room - we had a room directly across from Naples (room 5143). It was awesome to wake up to the sounds of DTD in the morning and enjoy it while getting ready to hit the parks! I also loved getting to watch the Princess bedtime stories at night!

Disneyland - We spent 3 of our 5 days here and I was never disappointed! The park was very crowded, but due to using Ridemax, we never spent more than 15 minutes in line. Once, during the parade, we were able to ride Pirates twice in a row with no one else on the boat! It was great! I had excellent interaction with Goofy (my favorite, of course) in Toontown. I wish whoever played Goofy that day would play him all the time because he was absolutely wonderful with everyone! Being able to use EE was a big plus - we got in 7-8 rides in Fantasyland every morning EE was offered and hardly any waits at all.

We loved the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy, even though we don't have any kids. It was great to see Darth Vader and Darth Maul fighting the "younglings." Those kids were just in awe! And I loved how realistic the costumes were.

I hadn't ever ridden Space Mountain in DL before and I wasn't disappointed. It was neat to have the Chili Peppers playing while we were blasting through space! And though I love the Matterhorn, I had forgotten how rough it was! I must say that my favorite ride (besides Pirates) was Peter Pan. We rode it first thing every morning and last thing on our last night.

We were lucky to get a last-minute reservation at Blue Bayou for 4:30 p.m. dinner and I have to say I was very impressed. Our watiress, Linda, was amazing. She kept our drinks refilled and rolls replenished at all times and she was incredibly sweet. I had the cajun spiced salmon with bernaise sauce and James had the king crab legs. Wow, were they flavorful! And it was so neat to see the Pirates boats float by as we were eating! I can't wait to go back there again to dine! It's definitely one of my favorites now.

California Adventure was a first for me this trip and again, I wasn't disppointed. Soarin' was amazing and we were able to get front row and center 2 of the 3 times we rode it. Wow, I felt like we were flying and I didn't want to get off the ride! We learned how to draw Tigger in the Animation building and Noel, our Disney Artist, gave me his drawing of Tigger afterwards - I felt so lucky! I only wish my drawing of Tigger had come out as good as his did!

I was so glad I wore a poncho on Grizzly River Run because the two guys next to me got completely drenched from head to toe! What a fun ride! And as soon as we exited the ride, we were happy to give our ponchos to two other riders who I am sure were glad to have them!

I was very impressed by the Aladdin show and I must say that the Genie stole the show! He was hilarious! Don't want to ruin any surprises for anyone who haven't seen it yet, but it was well worth the 45 minute wait to get in. We had orchestra seats, which were great!

If you've never had a corn dog at Corn Dog Castle, I highly recommend them! I couldn't believe how big those suckers were and they were delicious! Just don't ride Mulholland Madness right afterward - I turned green for about 20 minutes after getting off the ride!

We got to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater but I was disappointed in how the CMs just let everyone run up to them with no rhyme or reason. No lines or anything - as soon as they were parked, the CMs said, "okay you can go." Don't even think about getting a picture of just you and McQueen or Mater! UGH...

Pin trading was great! I bought 23 pins from pincastle and traded all but 4 of them (ran out of time). I am totally addicted now! Got a couple of nice cast lanyards and many Tink, Goofy and Captain Hook pins. All in great condition!

We got about 100 Photopass pictures and every one of them turned out great! After adding borders and edits, I ended up with about 250 pictures and I was very pleased with them.

Sorry so long! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask! I'm already planning my next trip!

Awesome trip report Carol, glad to hear Disneyland has photopass too, I wasn't sure, so that is super cool. If you don't mind, PM the link to your photopass photos, I would love to see them.

 

[godalejunior]

We got addicted to the pin trading while we were there too. It is a lot of fun.

 

[tracer]

Sounds like you had a great time. I looked for lime green Mickey heads - but didn't see you. Maybe next time! We also had a blast. The time flew way too fast.

 

[tracer]

Do you get EE with an AP holder? We had 3 day hoppers and on our last day upgraded to AP's. We had on EE with our hopper so do I get any EE with an AP?? Thanks!

 

[hlbtimes2]

If you are staying onsite you get EE each day it is offered. If you are not staying at a Disney hotel you do not get EE with an AP.

 

[GoofyBaby]

Sounds like you had an awesome time. I love reading about people's trips it makes me feel better that my trip is still 7 months away. so what was your secret for having great photopass pictures? Every one we got we either had our eyes closed or the sun was right behind us and you couldn't see our faces or there were giant shadows everywhere.

You know, I think we just got lucky with the Photopass photographers! We went to every single one we saw and had them take several photos. We also had them take pictures with our camera, to which they happily obliged. I also made sure we weren't facing the sun and if we were, I made sure to put my sunglasses on so my eyes wouldn't look squnity!

 

[GoofyBaby]

sounds like a really great trip..I was wondering if you tell me about the princess bedtime stories? also my dd6 loves to draw, do you think a 6 year old would like the animation studio? THANKS

The Princess Bedtime stories are on channel 44 (I think) of the Disney resort hotels. They come on from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. and each story is a different princess. Each princess comes out and tells her life story - i.e. Cinderella tells how she went from being a servant girl to her stepmother and stepsisters to being married to Prince Charming and living happily ever after. While she is telling her story, a man off to the side of her puts on different costumes that relate to the story (for example, he'll be the fairy godmother or Prince Charming whenever Cinderella comes to that part of her story). Hope that makes sense! They were really sweet and I think your DD would really enjoy them.

We had a blast at the animation studio and I really do think your DD would enjoy this too! The Disney Artist that teaches you how to draw is a hoot and the studio is decorated with all kinds of Disneyana. We laughed so hard at his antics and there were many children in the studio with us - all had a great time!

 

[GoofyBaby]

Thanks for the quick recap. Glad you had such a great time. Don't you just love the Grand? We stayed in room #3165 right above the *********** store and it was the best room we have ever had. Sitting on the balcony and enjoying the sights and sounds. Where else did you eat?

I LOVE the Grand! I am spoiled for life now! I really did love waking up and opening the sliding door so we could hear the sounds of DTD in the morning. Then coming back at night and leaving the door open to hear the live music at night. We ate at Goofy's Kitchen (breakfast) and had teriffic character interaction, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, Naples, Tortilla Joe's, La Brea Bakery, Redd Rockett's Pizza Port, Cafe Orleans, Blue Bayou, Grand Californian room service, Corn Dog Castle & Award Weiners (both at DCA). We didn't have a bad meal anywhere!