huskerchica
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2014
- Messages
- 42
We just got back from a 4 day visit to Disneyland. We spent 3 days at the parks. We had 3 day hopper passes but never "hopped." There was enough to do at each park that we didn't feel it was necessary. So when asked if you should "hop" or not, I'd say no. Again, depends on your family. We did 2 days at Disneyland and 1 day at California Adventure.
I didn't think the crowds were that bad, but there was definitely a lot of people. Interestingly, I spoke to a bell hop at our hotel and asked if this was a slow time of year for them. He said there is never a slow time at Disney. He said they're always pretty busy but that they are the busiest in May, June, July & November & December.
Disneyland
We loved Disney! We went on a Tuesday and Thursday. I still found the lines somewhat long, but not unbearable. We did take advantage of the fast passes. One thing I wished I would've known beforehand was the fast pass machines DO NOT open until the park does - this means no fast passes during early admission. We went to Peter Pan 1st which had the longest line we stood in the whole time. I noticed that all of the rides in Fantasyland (Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) had the longest lines and most people. For the 2nd day we went straight to Tomorrowland which had virtually no lines. We headed straight to Autopia our 2nd day. The Soundsational parade was amazing but kids actually wanted to do rides vs. watching it.
Characters At Disneyland
Mickey & Minnie are in the back in ToonTown. Both had long lines, but the lines have movies to watch a long the way. Overall, I think we waited about 15 mins each. We also saw lots of characters in the middle of the afternoon in the main square. Also saw Tigger, Winnie & Eeyore right by the Winnie the Pooh ride. Was disappointed we didn't see more princesses. We also saw Captain America inside of Innovations. Very cool background for pictures.
Disneyland Eating
We ate lunch the 1st day at Carnation Cafe. Okay food. Nice place to sit. 2nd day we ate at Hungry Bear in Critter County by the Winnie the Pooh ride. I highly recommend this place. Good FAST food and an amazing view of the Rivers of America. I was actually surprised Disneyland didn't have more fast food places. There were lots of nice sit down places, but not a ton of quick to go type foods.
Line for Dole Whip was long, but I finally managed to get some. So worth it! Yum! Churros were also delicious. I had a Salted Caramel one. Yum!
Disneyland Rides
My 5 year old son's favorite was Star Tours. Very fun ride with a fun waiting line inside. We did fast passes for this. My 5 year old daughter's favorite ride was Astro Blasters. This ride almost always had no long lines. Overhyped ride for me was Autopia. Basically it's just some go-carts and they broke down a lot. Rides in ToonTown were fun for the little kids and didn't have much wait times. We all loved Big Thunder as well. It's a small world was neat, but is very long ride! Indiana Jones was amazing as well but even with a fast pass, it was a long wait.
California Adventure
My favorite park by far! Such a neat environment and much less people! We got there for early admission and went straight to Radiator Springs. This ride is amazing! As soon as we got off, we went and got another fast pass for it. Overall, we rode it 3x! Love it! We also did the Tower of Terror - so scary!! The Soarin' Over California Ride is also very neat. Bugs Land usually had little to no lines.
I liked this park because it had more current disney characters that my kids new - Monsters Inc., Doc McStuffins, Sofia, Jake & the Neverland Pirates, Bugs Life, Cars, etc.
Cars Land is truly amazing. It's like you've walked into the movie. So cool!
Shows at California Adventure
Definitely go and see It's a Bugs Life in 3d. My kids absolutely loved this (as did I!) Disney Jr. Live on Stage is also so much fun! The World of Color show is fantastic. It actually brought me to tears! Amazing and so pretty! Truly magical.
California Adventure Eating
We ate lunch at a corndog stand and then did dinner at Ariel's Grotto. I did the World of Color Dining Package. It was terribly expensive and the food was so so. For 4 adults and 2 kids, our bill was $250 (not including tip). I was disappointed that there were no characters at the meal either. I guess they are only there for breakfast and lunch. My daughter was pretty disappointed. Bad planning on my part. BUT I will say the seats you get for the WOC show more than make up for it. We were literally in the very front!! We got a little misted by the water, but it was so worth it.
My favorite part of California Adventure was Paradise Pier. Such a fun environment and fun rides. Toy Story Mania was so much fun! Long line, but very worth it. California Screamin' is so much fun as well - so terrifying though too!
Downtown Disney
Also one of my favorite parts. I loved this area. Such nice restaurants and shops. Live music every night also. 1st night we ate at ESPN zone. Great spot for the men and actually the food was really good. Our favorite restaurant was Tortilla Jos. Amazing food and they also had a balloon artist at night going around making all the kids balloons.
My advise, go here the night you arrive and do your souvenir shopping then. All the prices are the same as they are in the park and they carry all the same products as they do inside the park. For that matter, all of the resorts on site carry the same souvenirs for the same prices as well. So if anything, do your shopping in your hotel. I loved the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. We also ate breakfast here in the mornings before entering the park. We didn't want to do a big meal or pay the big character breakfast price of $59 a person at Goofy's Kitchen. Lots of great spots here to get a coffee, muffin or snack for kids.
Paradise Pier Hotel
We stayed on site at PP. We really liked it. Although I thought the person checking us in was kind of rude. I noticed that PP and Disneyland Hotel are both almost the exact same distance to the parks. I'd rate them both about the same. PP looks like it may be further away, but if you cut through Grand California, you get right into the park. If money wasn't an issue, I would definitely stay at Grand California next time. What an amazing looking hotel. And so close to everything! PP had nice rooms and a nice pool with a slide that my kids enjoyed. I would definitely recommend staying on site. Saved us so much time. You do enough walking in the parks as is!
Overall we had a great trip! I'm not sure if the early morning admissions really saved us any time. Seems like almost everyone had an early morning pass. Next time, I wont get a hopper ticket and actually may skip the early morning. Not sure it saved us that much time. We all wore very comfortable shoes but still had very sore feet at the end! We also rented a stroller for my 5 year old twins which was so worth it b/c they tired very easily. We also brought in water and snacks into the park for us and the kids. Still we ate in the parks b/c we wanted to try some of the foods.
***oh yes, you must try to do the Jedi Training if you have kids at Disneyland. Both my kids got picked (they pick about 30) and they ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! It was so cool! They both got to fight Darth Vader one-on-one.
WE CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK! LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!! Next time we may go later in the year. It was still pretty hot in September.
I didn't think the crowds were that bad, but there was definitely a lot of people. Interestingly, I spoke to a bell hop at our hotel and asked if this was a slow time of year for them. He said there is never a slow time at Disney. He said they're always pretty busy but that they are the busiest in May, June, July & November & December.
Disneyland
We loved Disney! We went on a Tuesday and Thursday. I still found the lines somewhat long, but not unbearable. We did take advantage of the fast passes. One thing I wished I would've known beforehand was the fast pass machines DO NOT open until the park does - this means no fast passes during early admission. We went to Peter Pan 1st which had the longest line we stood in the whole time. I noticed that all of the rides in Fantasyland (Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan) had the longest lines and most people. For the 2nd day we went straight to Tomorrowland which had virtually no lines. We headed straight to Autopia our 2nd day. The Soundsational parade was amazing but kids actually wanted to do rides vs. watching it.
Characters At Disneyland
Mickey & Minnie are in the back in ToonTown. Both had long lines, but the lines have movies to watch a long the way. Overall, I think we waited about 15 mins each. We also saw lots of characters in the middle of the afternoon in the main square. Also saw Tigger, Winnie & Eeyore right by the Winnie the Pooh ride. Was disappointed we didn't see more princesses. We also saw Captain America inside of Innovations. Very cool background for pictures.
Disneyland Eating
We ate lunch the 1st day at Carnation Cafe. Okay food. Nice place to sit. 2nd day we ate at Hungry Bear in Critter County by the Winnie the Pooh ride. I highly recommend this place. Good FAST food and an amazing view of the Rivers of America. I was actually surprised Disneyland didn't have more fast food places. There were lots of nice sit down places, but not a ton of quick to go type foods.
Line for Dole Whip was long, but I finally managed to get some. So worth it! Yum! Churros were also delicious. I had a Salted Caramel one. Yum!
Disneyland Rides
My 5 year old son's favorite was Star Tours. Very fun ride with a fun waiting line inside. We did fast passes for this. My 5 year old daughter's favorite ride was Astro Blasters. This ride almost always had no long lines. Overhyped ride for me was Autopia. Basically it's just some go-carts and they broke down a lot. Rides in ToonTown were fun for the little kids and didn't have much wait times. We all loved Big Thunder as well. It's a small world was neat, but is very long ride! Indiana Jones was amazing as well but even with a fast pass, it was a long wait.
California Adventure
My favorite park by far! Such a neat environment and much less people! We got there for early admission and went straight to Radiator Springs. This ride is amazing! As soon as we got off, we went and got another fast pass for it. Overall, we rode it 3x! Love it! We also did the Tower of Terror - so scary!! The Soarin' Over California Ride is also very neat. Bugs Land usually had little to no lines.
I liked this park because it had more current disney characters that my kids new - Monsters Inc., Doc McStuffins, Sofia, Jake & the Neverland Pirates, Bugs Life, Cars, etc.
Cars Land is truly amazing. It's like you've walked into the movie. So cool!
Shows at California Adventure
Definitely go and see It's a Bugs Life in 3d. My kids absolutely loved this (as did I!) Disney Jr. Live on Stage is also so much fun! The World of Color show is fantastic. It actually brought me to tears! Amazing and so pretty! Truly magical.
California Adventure Eating
We ate lunch at a corndog stand and then did dinner at Ariel's Grotto. I did the World of Color Dining Package. It was terribly expensive and the food was so so. For 4 adults and 2 kids, our bill was $250 (not including tip). I was disappointed that there were no characters at the meal either. I guess they are only there for breakfast and lunch. My daughter was pretty disappointed. Bad planning on my part. BUT I will say the seats you get for the WOC show more than make up for it. We were literally in the very front!! We got a little misted by the water, but it was so worth it.
My favorite part of California Adventure was Paradise Pier. Such a fun environment and fun rides. Toy Story Mania was so much fun! Long line, but very worth it. California Screamin' is so much fun as well - so terrifying though too!
Downtown Disney
Also one of my favorite parts. I loved this area. Such nice restaurants and shops. Live music every night also. 1st night we ate at ESPN zone. Great spot for the men and actually the food was really good. Our favorite restaurant was Tortilla Jos. Amazing food and they also had a balloon artist at night going around making all the kids balloons.
My advise, go here the night you arrive and do your souvenir shopping then. All the prices are the same as they are in the park and they carry all the same products as they do inside the park. For that matter, all of the resorts on site carry the same souvenirs for the same prices as well. So if anything, do your shopping in your hotel. I loved the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. We also ate breakfast here in the mornings before entering the park. We didn't want to do a big meal or pay the big character breakfast price of $59 a person at Goofy's Kitchen. Lots of great spots here to get a coffee, muffin or snack for kids.
Paradise Pier Hotel
We stayed on site at PP. We really liked it. Although I thought the person checking us in was kind of rude. I noticed that PP and Disneyland Hotel are both almost the exact same distance to the parks. I'd rate them both about the same. PP looks like it may be further away, but if you cut through Grand California, you get right into the park. If money wasn't an issue, I would definitely stay at Grand California next time. What an amazing looking hotel. And so close to everything! PP had nice rooms and a nice pool with a slide that my kids enjoyed. I would definitely recommend staying on site. Saved us so much time. You do enough walking in the parks as is!
Overall we had a great trip! I'm not sure if the early morning admissions really saved us any time. Seems like almost everyone had an early morning pass. Next time, I wont get a hopper ticket and actually may skip the early morning. Not sure it saved us that much time. We all wore very comfortable shoes but still had very sore feet at the end! We also rented a stroller for my 5 year old twins which was so worth it b/c they tired very easily. We also brought in water and snacks into the park for us and the kids. Still we ate in the parks b/c we wanted to try some of the foods.
***oh yes, you must try to do the Jedi Training if you have kids at Disneyland. Both my kids got picked (they pick about 30) and they ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! It was so cool! They both got to fight Darth Vader one-on-one.
WE CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK! LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!! Next time we may go later in the year. It was still pretty hot in September.
Congratulations again
Only saw her in the parade. Was hoping we'd see her at Ariel's Grotto but due to my misunderstanding, no characters at dinner. Boo! She didn't even notice though. Had so much fun with the other stuff!
Sounds like you had a magical trip. World of Color also brings me to happy tears; every single time. 
