alvernon90
Two Decade Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 1,647
I'm not one for trip reports, which makes me feel guilty because I take in so much free advice from the great people here and never give any back. So this is me taking a few minutes to give my thoughts in the middle of a post-Thanksgiving trip. I will also answer any questions I can. Here are my thoughts so far, organized by major topic:
GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL
--This is a great hotel. I would not have thought it was worth the price, and even at a discount (AP discount, $330 per night after taxes and fees) the expense is hard to swallow. Yet this hotel beats the Disneyland Hotel hands down.
--The location is great. If you are in the wing that sits directly above World of Disney, the fire escape trick is fantastic. From our room to the park turnstiles is about a three minute walk, including security. You do have to engage in a little backtracking coming home to the room, but it isn't that bad. It's absurd how far you have to walk down the halls and how many turns you have to make, but it is absurd funny rather than absurd bad.
--The lobby of this hotel is GORGEOUS at holiday time. People crowd in after the parks close to enjoy how beautiful it is. The bar has also been crowded, but you know, it's the holidays. People need alcohol.
--So far we have eaten at Storyteller's Cafe for dinner (good but limited menu if you don't want the buffet) and White Water Snacks (great quiet location and decent food but the menu is somewhat limited).
--The Downtown Disney view at holiday time is not all it is cracked up to be. We rejected an attempt for the desk to give us a "complimentary upgrade" to the pool view, but it isn't like holiday ambiance wafts up from DTD. One great thing: watching the holiday fireworks from the balcony. With the music on the TV, it was almost like being there because most fireworks clear the treeline so you can see them. A fantastic experience.
--My major complaint about this hotel is the ultra low flow showerheads in the shower. I'm all for saving the environment, but I also enjoy getting the seaweed shampoo out of my hair. These showerheads are 1.5 gallons per minute whereas most showerheads at Home Depot are 2.5 GPM. That means this water trickles out at about half the rate of a typical showerhead. Annoying!!
DCA:
--The holiday decorations are not nearly as intense here, at least not as far as I have seen. I consider this entire park to be in a state of flux right now, with all the construction. I do not want to say anything negative that will impact people reading these posts in a search two years from now after construction is complete.
--Taste Pilots Grill is not all that great. The Karl Strouss beer is delicious, but the price is way too high. The food is merely average.
--The Aladdin show runs hot and cold, alternating great songs and set pieces with boring stretches. The guy playing Genie during our show was a shameless mugger with up to the minute pop culture insults, but he couldn't bring excitement to the entire show. That said, it is a fantastic show given it is a theme park freebie. If I had paid $75 for tickets on Broadway, I'd be upset, but for an hour of your time, it is a good show.
--Soarin' is awesome.
--Monsters Inc. is not a great ride compared to, say, Pirates but when you compare it to Fantasyland dark rides like Snow White it is one of the better ones out there.
--The rock and roll holiday music is a little annoying.
DISNEYLAND PARK
--As has been the case all year, apparently, the crowds have been bigger than expected. I find this tremendously annoying, but I have no more right to be there than anyone else. I suspect this will be my last trip to DLR for many years, and maybe the last trip ever. I'd rather go to WDW or the millions of other vacation destinations in the world than spend my precious vacation time in a park full of people who don't think their time there is precious because they have a super-cheap annual pass. Disney needs to work out that situation ASAP or the big-spending casual travelers will stop coming.
--On an unrelated note, the thing I hate most about Disneyland is how there is always somebody who will do anything just to get in front of you. Some people will step on a toddler if it will save them 30 seconds. I'm always one of the "stop pushing me, I'll just step out of the way so you can go ahead" kind of people. You have to be if you want to avoid fist fights at this place.
--All that said, the crowds haven't done much to diminish from the beautiful holiday ambiance in this park. If you want to grab a meal without a PS, you are screwed. If you go to Adventureland or Fantasyland you will be jostled and shoved. But for other parts of the park, including even Main Street, the decorations are so lovely that even the crowds cannot take away from them.
--The Holiday Tour was a delight and totally worth the money. Through careful planning we have been able to go on both Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday multiple times, but getting front of the line access was nice anyway. Enjoying the parade (6 out of 10 stars) in reserved seating was also great. Our tour guide (Cate) was cute as a button and worked hard to make sure we had fun. Another guide who takes it too seriously might turn it into a Forced March of Whimsy through Disneyland, so your mileage may vary.
--The Holiday fireworks are mercifully brief. I always think fireworks shows are too long, but this one wasn't bad. Of course, I was watching from the balcony of my hotel room in my PJs, which made it even nicer. If you are one of those people who park your rear in front of the castle three hours in advance with a book and a flashlight to read the book, you might think 10 minutes of fireworks is too short.
--We still have not been allowed to walk through the castle. The holidays bring constant distractions to the castle, including today the taping of some TV show I've never heard of. The message clearly delivered by Disney: we don't want riffraff like you polluting the pristine shots of our castle. Not a big deal, but sometime going across the drawbridge is the most direct route you can take, and they have closed it off big time.
--If you only have 10 minutes to take in the holiday decorations, go to New Orleans Square. Just beautiful!
LAST THOUGHT
If you are willing to pull your kids out of school, the week immediately after Thanksgiving is probably the best week to go (unless it also coincides with the Candlelight Processional, which changes the cost-benefit analysis). Even so, the semi-private holiday enjoyment of the park I know from 15 years ago seems gone forever. If you want to get into the holiday spirit and you are both financially capable and very patient, this could be a great experience. If you are stretching your budget to make the trip and/or you find the crowds at the mall during the last few days before Christmas to be unbearable, this might not be for you.
GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL
--This is a great hotel. I would not have thought it was worth the price, and even at a discount (AP discount, $330 per night after taxes and fees) the expense is hard to swallow. Yet this hotel beats the Disneyland Hotel hands down.
--The location is great. If you are in the wing that sits directly above World of Disney, the fire escape trick is fantastic. From our room to the park turnstiles is about a three minute walk, including security. You do have to engage in a little backtracking coming home to the room, but it isn't that bad. It's absurd how far you have to walk down the halls and how many turns you have to make, but it is absurd funny rather than absurd bad.
--The lobby of this hotel is GORGEOUS at holiday time. People crowd in after the parks close to enjoy how beautiful it is. The bar has also been crowded, but you know, it's the holidays. People need alcohol.
--So far we have eaten at Storyteller's Cafe for dinner (good but limited menu if you don't want the buffet) and White Water Snacks (great quiet location and decent food but the menu is somewhat limited).
--The Downtown Disney view at holiday time is not all it is cracked up to be. We rejected an attempt for the desk to give us a "complimentary upgrade" to the pool view, but it isn't like holiday ambiance wafts up from DTD. One great thing: watching the holiday fireworks from the balcony. With the music on the TV, it was almost like being there because most fireworks clear the treeline so you can see them. A fantastic experience.
--My major complaint about this hotel is the ultra low flow showerheads in the shower. I'm all for saving the environment, but I also enjoy getting the seaweed shampoo out of my hair. These showerheads are 1.5 gallons per minute whereas most showerheads at Home Depot are 2.5 GPM. That means this water trickles out at about half the rate of a typical showerhead. Annoying!!
DCA:
--The holiday decorations are not nearly as intense here, at least not as far as I have seen. I consider this entire park to be in a state of flux right now, with all the construction. I do not want to say anything negative that will impact people reading these posts in a search two years from now after construction is complete.
--Taste Pilots Grill is not all that great. The Karl Strouss beer is delicious, but the price is way too high. The food is merely average.
--The Aladdin show runs hot and cold, alternating great songs and set pieces with boring stretches. The guy playing Genie during our show was a shameless mugger with up to the minute pop culture insults, but he couldn't bring excitement to the entire show. That said, it is a fantastic show given it is a theme park freebie. If I had paid $75 for tickets on Broadway, I'd be upset, but for an hour of your time, it is a good show.
--Soarin' is awesome.
--Monsters Inc. is not a great ride compared to, say, Pirates but when you compare it to Fantasyland dark rides like Snow White it is one of the better ones out there.
--The rock and roll holiday music is a little annoying.
DISNEYLAND PARK
--As has been the case all year, apparently, the crowds have been bigger than expected. I find this tremendously annoying, but I have no more right to be there than anyone else. I suspect this will be my last trip to DLR for many years, and maybe the last trip ever. I'd rather go to WDW or the millions of other vacation destinations in the world than spend my precious vacation time in a park full of people who don't think their time there is precious because they have a super-cheap annual pass. Disney needs to work out that situation ASAP or the big-spending casual travelers will stop coming.
--On an unrelated note, the thing I hate most about Disneyland is how there is always somebody who will do anything just to get in front of you. Some people will step on a toddler if it will save them 30 seconds. I'm always one of the "stop pushing me, I'll just step out of the way so you can go ahead" kind of people. You have to be if you want to avoid fist fights at this place.
--All that said, the crowds haven't done much to diminish from the beautiful holiday ambiance in this park. If you want to grab a meal without a PS, you are screwed. If you go to Adventureland or Fantasyland you will be jostled and shoved. But for other parts of the park, including even Main Street, the decorations are so lovely that even the crowds cannot take away from them.
--The Holiday Tour was a delight and totally worth the money. Through careful planning we have been able to go on both Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday multiple times, but getting front of the line access was nice anyway. Enjoying the parade (6 out of 10 stars) in reserved seating was also great. Our tour guide (Cate) was cute as a button and worked hard to make sure we had fun. Another guide who takes it too seriously might turn it into a Forced March of Whimsy through Disneyland, so your mileage may vary.
--The Holiday fireworks are mercifully brief. I always think fireworks shows are too long, but this one wasn't bad. Of course, I was watching from the balcony of my hotel room in my PJs, which made it even nicer. If you are one of those people who park your rear in front of the castle three hours in advance with a book and a flashlight to read the book, you might think 10 minutes of fireworks is too short.
--We still have not been allowed to walk through the castle. The holidays bring constant distractions to the castle, including today the taping of some TV show I've never heard of. The message clearly delivered by Disney: we don't want riffraff like you polluting the pristine shots of our castle. Not a big deal, but sometime going across the drawbridge is the most direct route you can take, and they have closed it off big time.
--If you only have 10 minutes to take in the holiday decorations, go to New Orleans Square. Just beautiful!
LAST THOUGHT
If you are willing to pull your kids out of school, the week immediately after Thanksgiving is probably the best week to go (unless it also coincides with the Candlelight Processional, which changes the cost-benefit analysis). Even so, the semi-private holiday enjoyment of the park I know from 15 years ago seems gone forever. If you want to get into the holiday spirit and you are both financially capable and very patient, this could be a great experience. If you are stretching your budget to make the trip and/or you find the crowds at the mall during the last few days before Christmas to be unbearable, this might not be for you.
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