How can I make the best Disneyland experience

[scrappymel]

Why I love Disneyland. We're going on Wednesday. Yesterday we decided it would be great to see Fantasmic at the dessert party on Friday the 11th. Called and got a reservation for 5 people no problem. And you can even stay and watch the fireworks after. Try doing that six days out at WDW

ohhhhhh.... this seems so foreign to me! but so exciting. seems I need to change my mindset a little. it's getting very close to 180 days out from our trip and I feel like I'm missing something. in WDW terms, I would already need to have everything planned by now.

 

[luv2sleep]

ohhhhhh.... this seems so foreign to me! but so exciting. seems I need to change my mindset a little. it's getting very close to 180 days out from our trip and I feel like I'm missing something. in WDW terms, I would already need to have everything planned by now.

As a DL vet knowing where you want to eat and at what time 6 mos out drove me crazy. I am only able to schedule one TS meal per trip at WDW. I refuse to be tied down like that. We are headed to DL tomorrow for 4 days. I plan to walk right up to wherever I want to eat at DTD, put my name down, and come back. If one place can't accommodate us there are plenty of others.

Welcome to the California way of living, lol! Way more relaxed and laid back.

 

[luv2sleep]

Btw, I had never hard the term "rope drop" until I planned a trip to WDW in 2011 and I've been going to DL for 35 years. Just different here. You will have a great time. And NO rain unless it's winter.

 

[dsny1mom]

My family and I have always vacationed in WDW. We will be on the west coast in late May. I want to have fun and not be disapointed.

If you go expecting DL to be WDW and you feel WDW is the end all be all you may be disappointed. They are different in many ways.

Don't plan too much. Not only is it unnecessary but the last thing DL needs is the over planning mentality to effect the laid visits it offers. If you are planner by nature work on planning your next WDW visit and go to DL knowing you will not miss a thing if you don't have every second of every day planned from attractions to meals and everything in-between.

Don't stay in a motel off site if you are use to and want the Disney bubble. I have heard way too many WDW people visit DL and complain there is no Disney bubble, when they stayed off site. Yes, some still feel the Disney emersion when they stay off site but there is a difference IMHO. If you stay off site be prepared to not feel as if you are in the Disney bubble, but know the bubble does exist! Oh and if you happen to see a street or building when you are high up on an attraction stop looking at it and enjoy what you are doing, rather than looking for a reason to dislike DL for not being miles from civilization.

Embrace the differences.
Enjoy park hopping within in a few minutes. Enjoy no buses or cars or any other need for transportation from your hotel to the parks.
Don't look at the more compact DL as having too narrow walkways but rather enjoy the close proximity of all the attractions.
Don't be disappointed with the fewer sit down restaurants. The ones DL have are fabulous and their counter service offerings are superior to WDW. And you don't have to decide where you want to eat 4 months out or well before you have any idea what you may want to eat on a given day.
Enjoy FP knowing you can pick what you want to do when you want to do it as opposed to FP+ where you have to decide what you are going to do even if you don't feel like it at that moment.
Don't compare your CM interaction to those that you have at WDW. It is a very different interaction a seasoned park goer has with CM as opposed to a newbee. We had miserable CM experiences each time we have gone to WDW and wonderful CM interactions at DL. Probably because at DL all of our interactions are social and at WDW they are more of a question or direction nature.
DL has a different culture than WDW. Characters can still roam DL without "handlers". They can do this at DL because people are much more laid back. This is partially do the large number of locals that make up the customer base at DL.
Lastly don't walk down Main Street looking at the castle and think, "oh it is so small" but think about how Walt himself walked those same steps and viewed that same castle and knew how majestic it was.

dsny1mom

 

[HydroGuy]

ohhhhhh.... this seems so foreign to me! but so exciting. seems I need to change my mindset a little. it's getting very close to 180 days out from our trip and I feel like I'm missing something. in WDW terms, I would already need to have everything planned by now.

Classic WDW vet response. Just like Pavlov's dogs salivating.

As others have said, enjoy DLR for being much easier to "do" than WDW.

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

CaoilinnsMom are you going to have access to a car to get to the beach and have you figured out yet if the water is going to be warm enough to want to actually go swimming? I would find out about the water temp for that time of year before making the decision. That would be a hard call for me because I love the ocean but I love the parks as well. My dh and I are going to end of April and I am hoping to go to Huntington Beach on our arrival day as our ap's are blocked. I don't have great hopes of it being warm though. Anyways, you would always buy the 5 day park hoppers and then upgrade to the annual pass if you wanted to once there. If you get the ap's will you be able to come back for another trip before they expire?


I think with 5-7 days you will love Disneyland and the flexibility it offers. WDW scares me because of how much planning I hear you have to do. I love that when I am hungry I can eat without reservations, when I am tired I can be back to a hotel in 10-20 minutes and when I want to park hop it only takes a few minutes.

I've read HydroGuys Threads, I have been reading, and reading for months. *I was just looking for additional advice.
we will have a car, and we are going the week after Memorial Day. I think my daughter would be happy to be able to play in the sand ant the beach for a while. Still going to bring her life jacket just in case. I grew up in San Diego, and I remember how cold the water is.
As far as the annual pass goes, I wanted to buy the discounted DVC one if I do buy it. Have to decide before I go though, it is only available until April 30th. Just worried that if I only get the 5 day pass we will want to go in on the other days we are there. It is twice the cost though, and then I will feel obligated to go back…..

 

[56srogers]

I may have been a little quick to state dissapointment. However I am planning a trip for my mom 50th. She always took id to Disney world. So we want to take her to the west coast. It will be 5 adults. I just guess I know WDW better. Which allowed me to plan better. This trip I'm going kind of blind. But yes I am looking for Disney nostalgia. Thank you for the helpful comments.

 

[56srogers]

If you go expecting DL to be WDW and you feel WDW is the end all be all you may be disappointed. They are different in many ways.

Don't plan too much. Not only is it unnecessary but the last thing DL needs is the over planning mentality to effect the laid visits it offers. If you are planner by nature work on planning your next WDW visit and go to DL knowing you will not miss a thing if you don't have every second of every day planned from attractions to meals and everything in-between.

Don't stay in a motel off site if you are use to and want the Disney bubble. I have heard way too many WDW people visit DL and complain there is no Disney bubble, when they stayed off site. Yes, some still feel the Disney emersion when they stay off site but there is a difference IMHO. If you stay off site be prepared to not feel as if you are in the Disney bubble, but know the bubble does exist! Oh and if you happen to see a street or building when you are high up on an attraction stop looking at it and enjoy what you are doing, rather than looking for a reason to dislike DL for not being miles from civilization.

Embrace the differences.
Enjoy park hopping within in a few minutes. Enjoy no buses or cars or any other need for transportation from your hotel to the parks.
Don't look at the more compact DL as having too narrow walkways but rather enjoy the close proximity of all the attractions.
Don't be disappointed with the fewer sit down restaurants. The ones DL have are fabulous and their counter service offerings are superior to WDW. And you don't have to decide where you want to eat 4 months out or well before you have any idea what you may want to eat on a given day.
Enjoy FP knowing you can pick what you want to do when you want to do it as opposed to FP+ where you have to decide what you are going to do even if you don't feel like it at that moment.
Don't compare your CM interaction to those that you have at WDW. It is a very different interaction a seasoned park goer has with CM as opposed to a newbee. We had miserable CM experiences each time we have gone to WDW and wonderful CM interactions at DL. Probably because at DL all of our interactions are social and at WDW they are more of a question or direction nature.
DL has a different culture than WDW. Characters can still roam DL without "handlers". They can do this at DL because people are much more laid back. This is partially do the large number of locals that make up the customer base at DL.
Lastly don't walk down Main Street looking at the castle and think, "oh it is so small" but think about how Walt himself walked those same steps and viewed that same castle and knew how majestic it was.

dsny1mom

I will enjoy it. I am excited to see where it all began thanks!

 

[TexasErin]

If you go expecting DL to be WDW and you feel WDW is the end all be all you may be disappointed. They are different in many ways.

Don't plan too much. Not only is it unnecessary but the last thing DL needs is the over planning mentality to effect the laid visits it offers. If you are planner by nature work on planning your next WDW visit and go to DL knowing you will not miss a thing if you don't have every second of every day planned from attractions to meals and everything in-between.

Don't stay in a motel off site if you are use to and want the Disney bubble. I have heard way too many WDW people visit DL and complain there is no Disney bubble, when they stayed off site. Yes, some still feel the Disney emersion when they stay off site but there is a difference IMHO. If you stay off site be prepared to not feel as if you are in the Disney bubble, but know the bubble does exist! Oh and if you happen to see a street or building when you are high up on an attraction stop looking at it and enjoy what you are doing, rather than looking for a reason to dislike DL for not being miles from civilization.

Embrace the differences.
Enjoy park hopping within in a few minutes. Enjoy no buses or cars or any other need for transportation from your hotel to the parks.
Don't look at the more compact DL as having too narrow walkways but rather enjoy the close proximity of all the attractions.
Don't be disappointed with the fewer sit down restaurants. The ones DL have are fabulous and their counter service offerings are superior to WDW. And you don't have to decide where you want to eat 4 months out or well before you have any idea what you may want to eat on a given day.
Enjoy FP knowing you can pick what you want to do when you want to do it as opposed to FP+ where you have to decide what you are going to do even if you don't feel like it at that moment.
Don't compare your CM interaction to those that you have at WDW. It is a very different interaction a seasoned park goer has with CM as opposed to a newbee. We had miserable CM experiences each time we have gone to WDW and wonderful CM interactions at DL. Probably because at DL all of our interactions are social and at WDW they are more of a question or direction nature.
DL has a different culture than WDW. Characters can still roam DL without "handlers". They can do this at DL because people are much more laid back. This is partially do the large number of locals that make up the customer base at DL.
Lastly don't walk down Main Street looking at the castle and think, "oh it is so small" but think about how Walt himself walked those same steps and viewed that same castle and knew how majestic it was.

dsny1mom

This makes me so excited for our trip. I have been to WDW many times, but never to DL. Since I was a very small child, I have loved Walt----One Man's Dream always brings me to tears. I'm so freakin' excited for our trip to DL in 47 days!!

 

[Viva Las Disney]

This makes me so excited for our trip. I have been to WDW many times, but never to DL. Since I was a very small child, I have loved Walt----One Man's Dream always brings me to tears. I'm so freakin' excited for our trip to DL in 47 days!!

Every time I go to Disneyland I like to stop on the Main Street Station stairs, grab the railing, and look over the park like Walt did. If you are a Walt Disney fan there is something very special about standing where he stood and looking down Main Street, I always wonder if he had any idea the amount of joy and memories he was creating for so many people.

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/d....jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1337930542923

 

[jedijuhl]

Every time I go to Disneyland I like to stop on the Main Street Station stairs, grab the railing, and look over the park like Walt did. If you are a Walt Disney fan there is something very special about standing where he stood and looking down Main Street, I always wonder if he had any idea the amount of joy and memories he was creating for so many people. http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/display/ShowImage?imageUrl=/storage/Imagineering-Disney-THEN-AND-NOW_Walt_3.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1337930542923

Absolutely LOVE that!!! We all get goosebumps....walking where Uncle Walt walked!!! We enjoy both DL and WDW, but with the Walt factor DL is just a little more special for us!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[sirvin12]

Since there are so many WDW vets on this thread I have a question. Is there and awesome WDW for DL vets thread like Hydroguys awesome one? I would love to go to WDW in the next couple of years but I have to say all the planning intimidates the heck out of me!

 

[94bruin]

Since there are so many WDW vets on this thread I have a question. Is there and awesome WDW for DL vets thread like Hydroguys awesome one? I would love to go to WDW in the next couple of years but I have to say all the planning intimidates the heck out of me!

I'd love to know, too. Even the WDW side of disboards intimidates me. I wonder how they treat DL vets over there?

 

[bumbershoot]

Hydroguy made one. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=16541636

The wdw boards.... It's sectioned off into topics, so you don't have a one stop shopping forum like here. Right now the main board is all about fast pass plus, which can feel very negative to newbies. It's wdw lovers simply being saddened by changes that don't seem beneficial.

 

[TexasErin]

Every time I go to Disneyland I like to stop on the Main Street Station stairs, grab the railing, and look over the park like Walt did. If you are a Walt Disney fan there is something very special about standing where he stood and looking down Main Street, I always wonder if he had any idea the amount of joy and memories he was creating for so many people.

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/d....jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1337930542923

This makes me smile.

 

[luv2sleep]

WDW is annoying from a planning and touring perspective DL is just SO much easier. I was so happy at DL last week. Such a breeze. How in the heck did WDW touring and planning get to be the frenzy it is?

 

[kitayama]

They have been fine to me over there in the Disney World side. I openly state that I have never been to Disney World and I am planning a trip this Summer. I once asked if I could do what I do here, and they quickly responded no. Because of all of the advice, I made more dining reservations and have tested out the fastpass+ system with my Premier annual pass. The reservations for Fastpasses and dining can easily be canceled if I change my mind. I am starting to like making reservations in advance, but I am trying to leave a lot of time to wander and do nothing like I do at times in Disneyland.

By the way, I hope they bring the Fastpass+ system here. I don't use fastpasses here, but if I could make a couple of reservations before I leave work to go to Disneyland I would probably do it. (I am one of those Friday after work people a prior poster mentioned.)

 

[dsny1mom]

WDW is annoying from a planning and touring perspective DL is just SO much easier. I was so happy at DL last week. Such a breeze. How in the heck did WDW touring and planning get to be the frenzy it is?

I feel it started with supply and demand for a handful of restaurants that were hard to book. It morphed into the dinning planning overload as people booked early for everything, not just the few hard to get reservations. The WDW park goer set the precedence. They showed their desire to book early by making reservations as soon as they opened. As time went on WDW made reservations available earlier and earlier and the planners on steroids grabbed them up as soon as they opened.

Now they are what, 180 days out? Don't recall how far out we had to book dine ressies on our last extended trip to WDW (that was over 15 years ago). But I do recall thinking this is so stupid trying to make ressies to eat and having to plan our days and parks around them. Sad reality is, then as it is now, if you want to eat at the sit downs at WDW you have no choice but to do this. Hated it to the degree we just don't bother with WDW any longer.

So Disney looked at the, shall we say, eagerness people had to book early for dinning and knew one of the biggest complaints park goers had was waiting in lines. This F+ system is designed for less waits, however to make it work they had to have guests that like to plan it all out in advance and want to book things far in advance and their dine reservations showed them they had that guest in spades already. I feel if Disney didn't already know they had a huge customer base that would buy into the whole advance attraction reservations F+ may never have come into being, or at least not in it's current form.

For DL I intentionally wait to book dinning reservations, until a week or two before. The only exception I make is for F! reservations as that has very limited seating and it is contained under special events and not deemed to be like booking a dinning reservation. I book my DL hotel a few months in advance and not a year in advance, to do my part to keep the need to do this as close to arrival as possible, as well.

When I go to any Disney Park I want to enjoy it and have spontaneity. I am not interested in picking what I want to eat 6 months out or what I want to ride and when 3 months out. I don't want to nor do I have the time to devote months and months of detailed planning for my vacation. To me that is work and I work hard enough making the money to finance my trips. I don't want to have to work even harder just to make sure I can eat and do what I want when I want when at DLR.

I remember taking a survey I received from Disney a number of years back. Part of the content of the survey was fishing to see what someone that visits DLR on a regular basis would think about making ride reservations months in advance. Needless to say I gave the notion a big thumbs down, and my best guess is I was in the majority of DLR guests being surveyed. Now we have to make sure the WDW regulars that are defecting to DLR due to their displeasure with WDW understand how much easier and more enjoyable DLR is without the planning frenzy, in hopes the WDW planning mentality doesn't begin to alter our beloved Disneyland Resort.

dsny1mom

 

[BriannaRuth]

I'm sure it's been said before -- but my biggest thing would be have lunch at Blue Bayou and ride POTC to your heart's content. POTC is much better at DL and Blue Bayou is just too cool.