Just back from out 1st visit to California and thought I'd share a little!! We've been to WDW & DLP several times, so we couldn't resist comparing a little!!
We enjoyed the parks enourmously, very nice seeing a new one (well 2!!).
Thought the castle was very sweet, much smaller than the others we've seen but in keeping with the retro vibe of the park.
The parade was great and just loved WOC, thought it was beautiful
Found that even with the FP scheme, we needed to arrive an hour early to secure a good spot so we could see the show.
This I would say is the worst part about DL/DCA. WOC/fireworks/Fantasmic all seemed to require a very long wait up front to secure any kind of position from which to view. In WDW, you can show up 15 mins before F and get reasonable seats. For F at DL, we went straight from the fireworks to the second showing and couldnt even get in the viewing area. Tried to find a spot outside, checked with a CM if we could stand somewhere, she agreed it was fine. 5 mins later, another CM moved us on and wouldnt even listen to us telling him what the other CM had said which was a little frustrating!!
Similar issue with fireworks - very limited viewing area in the main hub and CMs jamming people in where there wasnt any room half way through the display, leading to a 12/14 year old lad kicking me in the side whilst trying to climb on his brothers sholders. Was not very happy!!
Whilst I appreciate there is just limited seating for F - maybe a FP scheme similar to WOC would help?!
And with the fireworks, maybe a similar operation to WDW where the whole hub is open for viewing and all the lights are off? Trying to keep the paths open meant CMs were constantly shouting and waving there lit batons around which detracted from the show a little.
We did the Happiest Haunts tour which we enjoyed a great deal. Sadly the keys are no longer offered as souvenirs but instead pins (which werent ready!! Apparently they are going to post them to us!!).
We were supposed to get 6 rides but only managed 5 as BTM had broken down. We were offered a FP to compensate but unfortunately we didnt have time to use it!
Had the silouettes done on main street - thought this was brilliant.
Stayed 2 nights at Best Western Stovalls Inn during the week, perfectly functional but a little dark, we needed the lights on even during the day! We came back on the weekend to do HHT, F & the fireworks and had 1 night at the DL hotel. The room wasnt ready on time, which was a pain as we wanted to shower & change for the tour but on the plus side - they gave us a free upgrade to the adventure tower.
Upside - they did us a beautiful turn down for our anniversary with rose petals, a long stem rose & chocs. Room was beautiful, esp the headboard but the nice blue cushion shown in the pics wasnt there. Not sure if these were getting taken or were just for special rooms?!
Downside - the balloons they had done said "happy birthday"!! And we were woken by the building work the next morning (and Im a very heavy sleeper).
The customised gift baskets I ordered was very nice, only problem was the wrong sized tee which I swopped in the morning.
Ate at Steakhouse 55 and thought this was lovely, really good food & service. Only downside would be 2 crying babies (seperate tables), whilst I appreciate that kids are generally welcome everywhere at Disney, I was under the impression that most people would avoid taking them to the more upscale restaurants particularly as it was past 9pm. Still - no biggy, babies will cry and that cant be helped! And there were a group eating there and the men were wearing vests (I belive tank tops in the US?!). Again not a big deal, we're pretty casual, but just a tee would have smartened up the "arm pits at the dinner table issue"!!
We went to the Carnation Cafe following lots of positive reviews and had a dismal experience. Waited 20 mins for a table, which was to be expected at breakfast. But then the 4 tables who were seated after us had there food first. When we asked about the hold up, our waiter (Lonnie) said the kitchen was "backed up" which would be fine, except only our food was held up!!
Finally my husbands food was bought out but was stone cold. This was sent back and finally mine came out - also cold. Then they bought the replacement - also (you guessed it) cold. At this point we gave up!!!
I know these things happen, but Lonnie literally couldnt give a damn. No apology, empathy - nothing. Real shame, as everyone elses food looked yum
Rides wise: Thought the Haunted Mansion Holiday was amazing, really something to see. Ghost Galaxy Space Mountain - the best SM we've ridden. More exciting than WDW and less painful the DLP (agony - lots of head banging!!). Unfortunatley we couldnt ride POC which was a shame.
Loved Buzz and ST, was great to see the new version.
Soarin - ended up in row 3 which is always a bummer *** you see peoples feet hanging. One day I'll make it to row 1 haha.
BTM & SM are always favourites!!
Bit of a pain of Storybook, as 3 women just chatted all the way round meaning we missed the commentary.
Generally speaking, I thought it was a great visit - much more comparable in size to DLP rather than WDW and easy to get round in 2 days. Though we may have missed a few bits, so 3 might be better.
It was lovely to see the original park, something we had wanted to do for a long time.
We enjoyed the parks enourmously, very nice seeing a new one (well 2!!).
Thought the castle was very sweet, much smaller than the others we've seen but in keeping with the retro vibe of the park.
The parade was great and just loved WOC, thought it was beautiful
Found that even with the FP scheme, we needed to arrive an hour early to secure a good spot so we could see the show.
This I would say is the worst part about DL/DCA. WOC/fireworks/Fantasmic all seemed to require a very long wait up front to secure any kind of position from which to view. In WDW, you can show up 15 mins before F and get reasonable seats. For F at DL, we went straight from the fireworks to the second showing and couldnt even get in the viewing area. Tried to find a spot outside, checked with a CM if we could stand somewhere, she agreed it was fine. 5 mins later, another CM moved us on and wouldnt even listen to us telling him what the other CM had said which was a little frustrating!!
Similar issue with fireworks - very limited viewing area in the main hub and CMs jamming people in where there wasnt any room half way through the display, leading to a 12/14 year old lad kicking me in the side whilst trying to climb on his brothers sholders. Was not very happy!!
Whilst I appreciate there is just limited seating for F - maybe a FP scheme similar to WOC would help?!
And with the fireworks, maybe a similar operation to WDW where the whole hub is open for viewing and all the lights are off? Trying to keep the paths open meant CMs were constantly shouting and waving there lit batons around which detracted from the show a little.
We did the Happiest Haunts tour which we enjoyed a great deal. Sadly the keys are no longer offered as souvenirs but instead pins (which werent ready!! Apparently they are going to post them to us!!).
We were supposed to get 6 rides but only managed 5 as BTM had broken down. We were offered a FP to compensate but unfortunately we didnt have time to use it!
Had the silouettes done on main street - thought this was brilliant.
Stayed 2 nights at Best Western Stovalls Inn during the week, perfectly functional but a little dark, we needed the lights on even during the day! We came back on the weekend to do HHT, F & the fireworks and had 1 night at the DL hotel. The room wasnt ready on time, which was a pain as we wanted to shower & change for the tour but on the plus side - they gave us a free upgrade to the adventure tower.
Upside - they did us a beautiful turn down for our anniversary with rose petals, a long stem rose & chocs. Room was beautiful, esp the headboard but the nice blue cushion shown in the pics wasnt there. Not sure if these were getting taken or were just for special rooms?!
Downside - the balloons they had done said "happy birthday"!! And we were woken by the building work the next morning (and Im a very heavy sleeper).
The customised gift baskets I ordered was very nice, only problem was the wrong sized tee which I swopped in the morning.
Ate at Steakhouse 55 and thought this was lovely, really good food & service. Only downside would be 2 crying babies (seperate tables), whilst I appreciate that kids are generally welcome everywhere at Disney, I was under the impression that most people would avoid taking them to the more upscale restaurants particularly as it was past 9pm. Still - no biggy, babies will cry and that cant be helped! And there were a group eating there and the men were wearing vests (I belive tank tops in the US?!). Again not a big deal, we're pretty casual, but just a tee would have smartened up the "arm pits at the dinner table issue"!!
We went to the Carnation Cafe following lots of positive reviews and had a dismal experience. Waited 20 mins for a table, which was to be expected at breakfast. But then the 4 tables who were seated after us had there food first. When we asked about the hold up, our waiter (Lonnie) said the kitchen was "backed up" which would be fine, except only our food was held up!!
Finally my husbands food was bought out but was stone cold. This was sent back and finally mine came out - also cold. Then they bought the replacement - also (you guessed it) cold. At this point we gave up!!!
I know these things happen, but Lonnie literally couldnt give a damn. No apology, empathy - nothing. Real shame, as everyone elses food looked yum
Rides wise: Thought the Haunted Mansion Holiday was amazing, really something to see. Ghost Galaxy Space Mountain - the best SM we've ridden. More exciting than WDW and less painful the DLP (agony - lots of head banging!!). Unfortunatley we couldnt ride POC which was a shame.
Loved Buzz and ST, was great to see the new version.
Soarin - ended up in row 3 which is always a bummer *** you see peoples feet hanging. One day I'll make it to row 1 haha.
BTM & SM are always favourites!!
Bit of a pain of Storybook, as 3 women just chatted all the way round meaning we missed the commentary.
Generally speaking, I thought it was a great visit - much more comparable in size to DLP rather than WDW and easy to get round in 2 days. Though we may have missed a few bits, so 3 might be better.
It was lovely to see the original park, something we had wanted to do for a long time.
