Growing up with regular visits to WDW, my brother an I often talked about going to Disneyland one day. For some reason it was hard to get from the talking about stage and actually get there. With my brother turning 40 this year, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to correct that. For his birthday, I took my brother to Disneyland.
We were going for 4 nights and got reservations at the Disneyland Hotel. We landed around noon and used Best Shuttle to pick us up from Long Beach and I found the van to be efficient, but dirty.
As we arrived on property it was an unusual feeling. It was the same but different
We felt the environment strangely familiar and comfortable but it was all very new. As we checked in, we asked if we could get a renovated room. The woman at the counter bent over backwards to make it happen. The room was not ready but seemed worth it. They took our cell # and would text us the room # when it was ready.
Having a long flight from the North East we were obviously hungry and decided we should head out toward Downtown Disney and get a bite to eat while we waited for our room, and we were also meeting up with some friends. ESPN was sitting right there, so the choice was easy. We ate outside we didnt order anything fancy. I had some sort of apple walnut salad and my brother had a burger and we both enjoyed a nice cold beer. Always have found you can get a decent fill at ESPN and this was no different.
Our room was not ready still but our friends had arrived. So we went on to meet them at the Grand Californian in front of the fireplace. Beautiful hotel! Forgive my WDW comparisons, but to me it felt like a cross of the wilderness lodge and the darker colors of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Whether you can appreciate the comparison or not, its a really beautiful hotel. Although the DL hotel was conveniently located, the location here was unbeatable. The path leading to Downtown Disney was so close to the parks, and of course the backside entrance to DCA makes it just perfect.
My brother and I were most excited to see DCA, believe it or not. Our love of roller coasters and the fact WDW doesn't have a similar park were the main reasons. We had them take us there first. Of course when they said what do you want to do were unanimous; Screamin'
Screamin' was an incredible experience! We were amazed at just how well the music was synchronized to the track, or is it vice versa? I swear the music was first and they built the track according to the track! Regardless of who was first the chicken or the egg, Screamin really rocks!
They took us onto TSMM. Yeah we have that in Orlando also but the locals take this very seriously. They have their own personal 3d glasses OK so we got our clocks cleaned on TSMM but it was much fun.
They brought us on a couple more attractions (Soarin, Monsters Inc) and at this time our room is ready. We head back to our hotel to get settled (and change, so much for warm sunny California! ) and will meet them after we settle. The renovated room was a double edged sword. I say that because our view was literally construction complete with an over stuffed dumpster. It was so bad it was actually a little humorous. Hey we asked for this!!! The room was beautiful and the beds were so incredibly comfortable. Above the beds is a long wooden sculpted castle and fireworks scene. A push button in between the beds activates the lights and the music (oh gosh I want to say a dream is a wish your heart makes, sorry if I am already forgetting LOL) . The water pressure was a little low in the shower but everything else was perfect. Very nice and I would recommend it to anyone.
So back to the parks, with the locals help our goals as you could see already were to really try and get as many of the must do's... done. We went to Disneyland. From the moment we got in, where DCA did not live up to expectations, Disneyland exceeded them. It was incredible! Well, I still think someone stole part of the castle and nobody wants to talk about it but other than that absolutely perfect! I dont want to use the Quaint word I hear everywhere. To me it wasnt quaint, it was Finished. Everything seemed so perfect it just looked done. Absolutely beautiful!
I won't chew through a list of attractions, but definitely want to put up some highlights:
Space mountain... I will have trouble riding this in Orlando from now on I guarantee it. WOW. What makes Screamin so special, makes this attraction the ultimate. It was darker, it was smoother, and the soundtrack pluses this attraction above and beyond anything you could possibly expect.
Fantasyland:
Gorgeous! All of fantasyland is mesmerizing, the attractions here are so much closer whereas the attractions in common with WDW are so distant and dont feel as immersive. The facades are so beautifully sculpted. If I were to have one complaint about fantasyland the locals would call for my head!
:rofl: Sorry locals but heres the deal. You love the matterhorn because its nostalgic. We thought it was beyond lame (running scared!!!!) I even made a joke to my brother. If I had this place I would knock that sucker down, look at all the real estate it takes up ROFL. You might actually see their castle! OK OK dont hate us, you can keep the matterhorn, and honest we LOVE your park.
Loved the attractions that don't exist at WDW like alice, Pinocchio, and of course our nostalgic ride, Mr toad.
We caught a show at the tiki room, starring Tiki Maynard! What a blast from the past! What a fantastic cast member. He was a lot of fun to listen to. This was another case where its counterpart besides being renovated to new owners, seems so distant. In this theater you were up and personal and felt more a part of the show.
Pirates!!!! AYE! I think we rode for 10 minutes before we even came upon a scene that is covered at the sister park. Really enjoyed this attraction.
How could I forget Indiana Jones! OK if its true this is the same vehicle and track as in AK's Dinosaur, then the folks at AK have some splainin to do! Wow this was incredible. The queue, the scenery, the story line EVERYTHING. LOVED IT!
OK I promised not to chew through a list of attractions so let me sum up our Disneyland impression. PERFECT! This park seems PERFECT! As the night went on and our guides brought us from attraction to attraction we had mentioned how we sometimes watch the fireworks from Big Thunder Mountain and they said they have done that too, so lets go do it! Not only did the cast members pull us aside when we asked if we could wait until the fireworks really started up, but then after the ride was over they told us to sit tight. Reloaded the rest of the ride cars and sent us in for a second run! If you have never done this at either park, its one of those really neat things to do, and if your lucky enough, a cast member might make it even more special like happened to us that very evening.
We did a few more rides, and exited the park, found our way to the pool bar at the DLH and enjoyed a couple of wind down long islands Can you believe this was only day 1? really a half day! Thanks to our friends we really had nailed most of the big stuff which would allow us to really take in what was around us for the rest of the trip.
Think I'll pause here at the end of day 1. Please no hate mail over our Matterhorn comments
I'll try to do the remaining days tonight or tomorrow and just a teaser... cough*club 33*cough* and cough*lily bell*cough*
We were going for 4 nights and got reservations at the Disneyland Hotel. We landed around noon and used Best Shuttle to pick us up from Long Beach and I found the van to be efficient, but dirty.
As we arrived on property it was an unusual feeling. It was the same but different
We felt the environment strangely familiar and comfortable but it was all very new. As we checked in, we asked if we could get a renovated room. The woman at the counter bent over backwards to make it happen. The room was not ready but seemed worth it. They took our cell # and would text us the room # when it was ready.Having a long flight from the North East we were obviously hungry and decided we should head out toward Downtown Disney and get a bite to eat while we waited for our room, and we were also meeting up with some friends. ESPN was sitting right there, so the choice was easy. We ate outside we didnt order anything fancy. I had some sort of apple walnut salad and my brother had a burger and we both enjoyed a nice cold beer. Always have found you can get a decent fill at ESPN and this was no different.
Our room was not ready still but our friends had arrived. So we went on to meet them at the Grand Californian in front of the fireplace. Beautiful hotel! Forgive my WDW comparisons, but to me it felt like a cross of the wilderness lodge and the darker colors of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Whether you can appreciate the comparison or not, its a really beautiful hotel. Although the DL hotel was conveniently located, the location here was unbeatable. The path leading to Downtown Disney was so close to the parks, and of course the backside entrance to DCA makes it just perfect.
My brother and I were most excited to see DCA, believe it or not. Our love of roller coasters and the fact WDW doesn't have a similar park were the main reasons. We had them take us there first. Of course when they said what do you want to do were unanimous; Screamin'
Screamin' was an incredible experience! We were amazed at just how well the music was synchronized to the track, or is it vice versa? I swear the music was first and they built the track according to the track! Regardless of who was first the chicken or the egg, Screamin really rocks!
They took us onto TSMM. Yeah we have that in Orlando also but the locals take this very seriously. They have their own personal 3d glasses
OK so we got our clocks cleaned on TSMM but it was much fun.They brought us on a couple more attractions (Soarin, Monsters Inc) and at this time our room is ready. We head back to our hotel to get settled (and change, so much for warm sunny California!
) and will meet them after we settle. The renovated room was a double edged sword. I say that because our view was literally construction complete with an over stuffed dumpster. It was so bad it was actually a little humorous. Hey we asked for this!!! The room was beautiful and the beds were so incredibly comfortable. Above the beds is a long wooden sculpted castle and fireworks scene. A push button in between the beds activates the lights and the music (oh gosh I want to say a dream is a wish your heart makes, sorry if I am already forgetting LOL) . The water pressure was a little low in the shower but everything else was perfect. Very nice and I would recommend it to anyone.So back to the parks, with the locals help our goals as you could see already were to really try and get as many of the must do's... done. We went to Disneyland. From the moment we got in, where DCA did not live up to expectations, Disneyland exceeded them. It was incredible! Well, I still think someone stole part of the castle and nobody wants to talk about it
but other than that absolutely perfect! I dont want to use the Quaint word I hear everywhere. To me it wasnt quaint, it was Finished. Everything seemed so perfect it just looked done. Absolutely beautiful!I won't chew through a list of attractions, but definitely want to put up some highlights:
Space mountain... I will have trouble riding this in Orlando from now on I guarantee it. WOW. What makes Screamin so special, makes this attraction the ultimate. It was darker, it was smoother, and the soundtrack pluses this attraction above and beyond anything you could possibly expect.
Fantasyland:
Gorgeous! All of fantasyland is mesmerizing, the attractions here are so much closer whereas the attractions in common with WDW are so distant and dont feel as immersive. The facades are so beautifully sculpted. If I were to have one complaint about fantasyland the locals would call for my head!
:rofl: Sorry locals but heres the deal. You love the matterhorn because its nostalgic. We thought it was beyond lame (running scared!!!!) I even made a joke to my brother. If I had this place I would knock that sucker down, look at all the real estate it takes up ROFL. You might actually see their castle!
OK OK dont hate us, you can keep the matterhorn, and honest we LOVE your park.Loved the attractions that don't exist at WDW like alice, Pinocchio, and of course our nostalgic ride, Mr toad.
We caught a show at the tiki room, starring Tiki Maynard! What a blast from the past! What a fantastic cast member. He was a lot of fun to listen to. This was another case where its counterpart besides being renovated to new owners, seems so distant. In this theater you were up and personal and felt more a part of the show.
Pirates!!!! AYE! I think we rode for 10 minutes before we even came upon a scene that is covered at the sister park. Really enjoyed this attraction.
How could I forget Indiana Jones! OK if its true this is the same vehicle and track as in AK's Dinosaur, then the folks at AK have some splainin to do! Wow this was incredible. The queue, the scenery, the story line EVERYTHING. LOVED IT!
OK I promised not to chew through a list of attractions so let me sum up our Disneyland impression. PERFECT! This park seems PERFECT! As the night went on and our guides brought us from attraction to attraction we had mentioned how we sometimes watch the fireworks from Big Thunder Mountain and they said they have done that too, so lets go do it! Not only did the cast members pull us aside when we asked if we could wait until the fireworks really started up, but then after the ride was over they told us to sit tight. Reloaded the rest of the ride cars and sent us in for a second run! If you have never done this at either park, its one of those really neat things to do, and if your lucky enough, a cast member might make it even more special like happened to us that very evening.
We did a few more rides, and exited the park, found our way to the pool bar at the DLH and enjoyed a couple of wind down long islands
Can you believe this was only day 1? really a half day! Thanks to our friends we really had nailed most of the big stuff which would allow us to really take in what was around us for the rest of the trip.Think I'll pause here at the end of day 1. Please no hate mail over our Matterhorn comments
I'll try to do the remaining days tonight or tomorrow and just a teaser... cough*club 33*cough* and cough*lily bell*cough*
)
