1nfrequent
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
Just wanted to give my impressions from a trip I made to DL last month, if only to give something back to the Boards because I've taken an awful lot from here. 
I stayed in the Paradise Pier Hotel, which I thought was great. My room was 1331 on the 13th floor, so it's a good job I'm not superstitious. Room was very comfortable and although my view was over the pool rather than the park, I actually preferred the quiet. The only downside of the hotel is the lift (elevator) situation - there only seemed to be 3 lifts in the building serving 15 floors, meaning that there was one hell of a wait in the mornings. This was made worse when one of the lifts broke down (although it was back up and running the next day). Staff were great - very friendly and on check in I was asked if this was my first visit (I explained that I'd last been to DL as a teenager in the 1980s) and given some buttons and maps showing me how to walk to the parks and Downtown Disney.
I arrived at the hotel at 4pm and went straight to MK because I knew it was the last day Haunted Mansion was open and was determined to ride it. The queue was only 5 minutes and the ride itself was a lot longer than I remember and (to me) it seemed to be longer than the DW equivalent. I actually rode it 3 or 4 times (basically doing a circuit) so the CMs probably thought I was a bit nuts.
After Haunted Mansion I did Indiana Jones, which hadn't existed the last time I went to DL. I was really enjoying it right up until it broke down in the final segment, although it was pretty interesting to have the lights come up and show how the magic was done. I understand it's going to be refurbished soon and I think it's much needed because the ride was going down at least twice a day while I was there and there didn't seem to be much of a synch between the sound effects and the visual effects.
On my first night I also managed to do the Matterhorn bobsleds (which I really didn't enjoy - I felt every bump of those tracks and I'm tiny so goodness knows how bigger people cope), Space Mountain (awesome and so much better than DW), Star Tours (loved it every time - even the one with flipping Jar Jar Binks) and the Buzz Lightyear ride.
I did CA on the second day. No strategy because the advantage of being single is the single rider line. I managed to do Carsland first, which was fun but it didn't blow me away. Mater's tractors was actually my favourite because I loved the whole sliding feeling. Luigi's Tyres is one of those rides that you don't get a lot from if you're on your own and Cars was cute but if you're not a fan of the movie, there's not a lot for you. My big tip would be to do it in the early morning or late evening if possible because the rides don't have a lot of shade and in summer it gets really hot so keep hydrated and keep slapping on the sunscreen.
After Carsland, I did Tower of Terror which I think was the biggest disappointment. Sorry DLers but it's not a patch on the DW ride because it splits the drop into two mini drops. It was fun but if you've done DW then it's just not the same. However California Screamin' really made up for it - such good fun. I must have ridden it over a dozen times and when it broke down while I was on it, I got a free pass to any other ride except Carsland, which I used on the Toy Story ride.
Toy Story ride is a lot better than the Buzz Lightyear ride in MK because there are different games and you don't need to worry about achieving some totally unobtainable score at the end. I did Soarin' and the Muppets 3D (which I love - gotta adore the Muppets) as well.
I found food and drink a lot more expensive than I'd anticipated. Water was $3 a bottle and soft drinks weren't a lot cheaper. Hot dogs with chips (crisps to the Brits) were about $5/6. I treated myself to lunch at the Vineyard in CA on one day - good meal and excellent service - the main and a starter with a glass of wine came to about $40 including tip.
If you're trying to be a bit more calorie conscious (and I know that diets should take a holiday at DW), then my recommendation would be to eat a large meal in the late morning because the chances are you'll walk most of it off in the afternoon and then you can have something a bit naughtier in the evening. I stuck to water mainly but I did give myself treats of soda or something a little stronger provided I paced it out. I gave everything a try including the infamous beignets, which were lovely but a bit too sugary for me.
Spent the last two days alternating between CA and MK. Had lunch at Blue Bayou on one day and really enjoyed the shrimp and wine. Again, service was excellent and it came in at about $35. I really enjoyed eating while watching the boats disappear on PotC and it's got a definite atmosphere.
General comments are that if you go in late August as a singleton then the queues really aren't going to be a worry. Longest I waited was 45 minutes on the single rider line at Carsland. Almost everything else was between 5 and 20 minutes (even Space Mountain and California Screamin'). I'd actually argue that the single rider lines are better than FPs in many cases - certainly the waiting times as a single rider for me were generally shorter than on a FP (but I could have been lucky).
Hope that some of this is useful. Like I said, I had a great time but you know, I've had to go and book myself a winter trip to DW just so I can *really* get a comparison of the two Parks. It's not for me. It's for science. Ahem.
1F
I stayed in the Paradise Pier Hotel, which I thought was great. My room was 1331 on the 13th floor, so it's a good job I'm not superstitious. Room was very comfortable and although my view was over the pool rather than the park, I actually preferred the quiet. The only downside of the hotel is the lift (elevator) situation - there only seemed to be 3 lifts in the building serving 15 floors, meaning that there was one hell of a wait in the mornings. This was made worse when one of the lifts broke down (although it was back up and running the next day). Staff were great - very friendly and on check in I was asked if this was my first visit (I explained that I'd last been to DL as a teenager in the 1980s) and given some buttons and maps showing me how to walk to the parks and Downtown Disney.
I arrived at the hotel at 4pm and went straight to MK because I knew it was the last day Haunted Mansion was open and was determined to ride it. The queue was only 5 minutes and the ride itself was a lot longer than I remember and (to me) it seemed to be longer than the DW equivalent. I actually rode it 3 or 4 times (basically doing a circuit) so the CMs probably thought I was a bit nuts.
After Haunted Mansion I did Indiana Jones, which hadn't existed the last time I went to DL. I was really enjoying it right up until it broke down in the final segment, although it was pretty interesting to have the lights come up and show how the magic was done.
I understand it's going to be refurbished soon and I think it's much needed because the ride was going down at least twice a day while I was there and there didn't seem to be much of a synch between the sound effects and the visual effects.On my first night I also managed to do the Matterhorn bobsleds (which I really didn't enjoy - I felt every bump of those tracks and I'm tiny so goodness knows how bigger people cope), Space Mountain (awesome and so much better than DW), Star Tours (loved it every time - even the one with flipping Jar Jar Binks) and the Buzz Lightyear ride.
I did CA on the second day. No strategy because the advantage of being single is the single rider line. I managed to do Carsland first, which was fun but it didn't blow me away. Mater's tractors was actually my favourite because I loved the whole sliding feeling. Luigi's Tyres is one of those rides that you don't get a lot from if you're on your own and Cars was cute but if you're not a fan of the movie, there's not a lot for you. My big tip would be to do it in the early morning or late evening if possible because the rides don't have a lot of shade and in summer it gets really hot so keep hydrated and keep slapping on the sunscreen.
After Carsland, I did Tower of Terror which I think was the biggest disappointment. Sorry DLers but it's not a patch on the DW ride because it splits the drop into two mini drops. It was fun but if you've done DW then it's just not the same. However California Screamin' really made up for it - such good fun. I must have ridden it over a dozen times and when it broke down while I was on it, I got a free pass to any other ride except Carsland, which I used on the Toy Story ride.
Toy Story ride is a lot better than the Buzz Lightyear ride in MK because there are different games and you don't need to worry about achieving some totally unobtainable score at the end. I did Soarin' and the Muppets 3D (which I love - gotta adore the Muppets) as well.
I found food and drink a lot more expensive than I'd anticipated. Water was $3 a bottle and soft drinks weren't a lot cheaper. Hot dogs with chips (crisps to the Brits) were about $5/6. I treated myself to lunch at the Vineyard in CA on one day - good meal and excellent service - the main and a starter with a glass of wine came to about $40 including tip.
If you're trying to be a bit more calorie conscious (and I know that diets should take a holiday at DW), then my recommendation would be to eat a large meal in the late morning because the chances are you'll walk most of it off in the afternoon and then you can have something a bit naughtier in the evening. I stuck to water mainly but I did give myself treats of soda or something a little stronger provided I paced it out. I gave everything a try including the infamous beignets, which were lovely but a bit too sugary for me.
Spent the last two days alternating between CA and MK. Had lunch at Blue Bayou on one day and really enjoyed the shrimp and wine. Again, service was excellent and it came in at about $35. I really enjoyed eating while watching the boats disappear on PotC and it's got a definite atmosphere.
General comments are that if you go in late August as a singleton then the queues really aren't going to be a worry. Longest I waited was 45 minutes on the single rider line at Carsland. Almost everything else was between 5 and 20 minutes (even Space Mountain and California Screamin'). I'd actually argue that the single rider lines are better than FPs in many cases - certainly the waiting times as a single rider for me were generally shorter than on a FP (but I could have been lucky).
Hope that some of this is useful. Like I said, I had a great time but you know, I've had to go and book myself a winter trip to DW just so I can *really* get a comparison of the two Parks. It's not for me. It's for science. Ahem.
1F
...ours just sits there
...in general, FL is cheaper than here
