WDW Vet Goes to LAND for Six Days for the First Time!!

Well, I guess this is just what I was assuming....SOMEone had to fill up that huge line before we got there at 7:50 so I assume it was the early entry folks as there were cast members all over with early entry signs admitting those who were official EE guests. We had to wait a few minutes before getting in line or getting anywhere else. So it must have been the EE guests in that line, correct?

Do they wait until official opening time to give out FPs? You can't get FPs during EE can you?

You are correct, they don 't distribute FP during EE. It seems like waiting some time in the FP line is a necessary evil, but if hotel guests are using that whole EE hour to wait in line, what a waste for them!
 
I really wanted a late FP return so we could ride it at night, but we didn't want to take any chances with them running out. It would be hard to know just how to time it as to when to join the line.

Ah. Another "insider" tip that you could have gotten from this board and used to your advantage. While WDW enforces the return time window, DLR still does not. Or rather, they enforce the start time (you must return later than the start of the FP window), but you can then use it any later time that same day, all the way to closing.

Thanks for the great review!

-Bob
 
Oh no, I do know that DL doesn't enforce the return time, and we used that to our advantage several times and will have a hard time with it when we return to WDW, but I admit we were scared to try it with RSR.....we thought perhaps with THAT ride, they WOULD enforce it, and then we'd miss out entirely as FPs would be gone by 10:00 easily, and we'd be unable to get another. So just for RSR we adhered to the return time. We just didn't want to waste 25 minutes in line for FP only to be turned away 'just in case'.
 
Im glad to hear that you and your family had a great time. I have never been to WDW so its always interesting to hear the comparrisons. Thanks for taking the time to post all of it!:thumbsup2
 


We also made our first trip to Disneyland from Aug 15-20 after trips to WDW the past couple of years. We loved it!

Space Mountain is a million times better at DL than WDW. We found pretty much everything at DL the same or better than WDW (except for Splash...it is terrible at DL.)

I went on RSR eight times (my lucky son went on it 16 times due to rider swap) and it was really fun. It wouldn't be as much fun if you had to wait 2 hours to go on it but that's the choice you make!

Overall, I was amazed how short all of the lines were...especially Toy Story Mania and Soarin which are usually around 90 mins at EPCOT. They were usually 15-25 minutes at DL. Little Mermaid ride is really cute...it will make a great addition to MK.
 
The thing about the Disneyland Express shuttle, Fly Girl, is that they tell you to wait under the green signs. Well. What they don't tell you is that there are ten thousand green signs!! And ALL of them apply, apparently! We stood under one that security told us to, but there were other green signs all up and down around us. I think they say fly bus or something like that...I expected them to say Disneyland Express and be a specific bus stop. Nope! ALL kinds of buses pull up to these signs and there is really no room for so many buses to be doing so. You have to keep your eyes peeled for the solid white bus with the tiny Disneyland Express sign in the front window. Then try and wave or make eye contact with the driver so he knows you want on. Then confirm with him that this IS the DE bus. You'll get on and then go to all the other million green signs. In our case hardly anyone else got on at these signs. All those other people were waiting for other buses or taxis which is part of what makes it so confusing. A designated DE stop would be nice. We then went to Disneyland Hotel where someone boarded the bus and took our tickets, vouchers, printed emails proving we had paid, whatever, or they paid at that point. I didn't know we were supposed to print the email TWICE--once for the first part of the trip, and once for the return trip. Because I only had the one email he had to keep that and he gave me this itty bitty piece of paper that was a return voucher. It wasn't even cardstock or anything, it was thin and looked completely fake. He didn't fill in the date part or our names or anything, just wrote 3/1 which I think was three adults, one child, and something like 'BPT'. At any rate, when we went back to the airport we called a day ahead because we were Candy Cane Inn and they are not on their regular route, and we were picked up on time BUT in a Toy Story bus! The guy said he was taking us to Disneyland Hotel where we would then get put on the white bus. This meant tipping twice, unfortunately. Once at the hotel the guy boarded to take tickets and he took my wimpy voucher with no hesitation. We were dropped at Air Tran and Southwest and that was that! It really was fine, just busy and not organized like ME.



Katems, thank you so much for that "heads up" about the green signs! :thumbsup2 I will definitely have my eyes peeled :eek: for the white bus.

LAX is hectic to begin with, I am surprised DLRE doesn't have a designated stop. Oh well, it is what it is. At least I will be prepared. ;)
 
Ah. Another "insider" tip that you could have gotten from this board and used to your advantage. While WDW enforces the return time window, DLR still does not. Or rather, they enforce the start time (you must return later than the start of the FP window), but you can then use it any later time that same day, all the way to closing.


Sweet! :cool1: Although my family adjusted to the FP change at WDW rather smoothly, we still miss having the option to go back whenever we feel like it! That is especially great since park hopping seems to be a no-brainer at the LAND. Just meander over whenever we're ready. :goodvibes
 


We did not have EE as we didn't stay on site and we didn't buy our tickets in advance. So we arrived at 8:00 when it officially opened and joined the very long line for FP, but all those ahead of us had gotten in line at 7:00 when they came for EE.

We only waited 25 minutes in the line when we arrived at 8:00 (that's still a long time for us, but we took turns waiting in the line while the other parent and kids went off and had fun). I'm just saying if I had had EE I would have used that first hour to enjoy the attractions with little wait, and then gotten in the FP line just before the regular guests showed up at 8:00.

Thank you. We are going in Nov. and I am trying to keep up on how people are doing Carsland. I wondered if going straight to CL first on EE day and getting a FP after would work.
 
Just read your review as I'm debating going the last week of August 2013 - I really enjoyed it! We love WDW and have been going back and forth for a year now about a DLR trip next year.
 
I agree with everything you said except a couple things:

Tower is way better in Land, the suspense of when you're going to drop is totally ruined at Disneyworld when your car has to move tracks through that darkroom thing.

Also, RSR is so much more fun than Test Track! But that might be because I just don't get test track. I think it's kind of boring.

Also the Tiki room is amazing :)

You are TOTALLY right about the park hopping and transportation - when going to the World I HATE HATE HATE that everything is so spread out and it takes forever to get places.
 
Tower is way better in Land, the suspense of when you're going to drop is totally ruined at Disneyworld when your car has to move tracks through that darkroom thing.

I personally like the added feature at DHS where your elevator car goes through the extra mirrored room. I presume they would have added that at DLR if they had the space, but they likely couldn't make the ride larger. And I like the randomness of the drops at DHS. Is DLR still the same drop sequence each time you ride?
 
First of all...great review katems! You were very detailed and gave great highlights.

We were wdw vets who visited the land back in 2007 and now cosnider dl to be our home park too.

What did you think of the Aladdin stage show?

I have to respectfully disagree about two things. One the fantasyland rides in DL are awesome but I love the nostalgia of it all. Those dark rides are a thing of beauty and history. I hope they never go away.

Second RSR blows away test track. They are similar in the fact that you have an indoor start and then an outdoor speed around the track but the indoor portion blows away Test Track and the outdoor portion when you actually race against another car adds another dimension. So much fun! Especially at night!

In the summetime at downtown disney live bands will play all over which is another cool factor. Also for first timers you have to get over to DLH to see the old time photographs of celebrities and Walt Disney.

Did you get to ride the Lilly Belle or do any tours?

Again, great review!
 
Great review.
Glad you enjoyed the Land. We love it because of everything being so close and the park hopper option is not to be dismissed. We went to the World last year and enjoyed it but found it to be a lot more planning in regards to meals and where you want to be at certain times. We did find the World gave us more time to take breaks and relax at the hotel. More of a Resort feel then the Land. We are planning a trip back to the World to explore more and look forward to booking during the Free Dining like we did last time.
Glad we are able to spend time at both our favourite destinations :) :)
 
Thanks for the great review! We'll probably try WDW once we have kids so I always like to read the comparison reviews. Thanks again for taking the time to write! :)
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top