I was having a tough time picking a hotel in the DL area and decided to book at the Disneyland Hotel with a great AP rate($159). Having never stayed on-site at DL and seeing much better rates at the off-site hotels I was really starting to question my choice. I booked a standard/king bed room and was looking forward to the king bed as we had just drove over from Vegas where we had a king bed at the hotel there.
We arrived at the DL hotel last Wed(Nov 19th) around 1145am and went to check-in. We were in line about 25min before it was our turn to check-in and the people in front and behind us were so upset that there was a check-in line that it was nice just to get away from them. The CM behind the counter was the nicest lady in all of DL. There were no standard King beds ready/available at our check-in time and told her really don't mind waiting for a king. We starting talking and I told her about how this was my girlfriends first trip to DL in 25years and I wanted to make sure she had a great trip, like the ones we've had recently at WDW. She then asked if I minded waiting a moment and got on her phone with someone. All I'll heard was something about "S2" and "C2" and "come on it's a magical moment" and "thanks alot".
Next thing I know we are upgraded from a standard parking lot view king room to a Concierge/Pool view king room that was ready right away.
After thanking her numerous times we dropped off the luggage in the room, changed and headed off to the parks. We walked over to DL and by the time we activated our AP's it was only 1:30pm. We headed over to Space Mountain to check out how much better it is than at WDW and all I can say is I will not be riding it again at WDW until it gets the rehab. The rides were all walk-ons with the exception of Nemo which we only waited 15mins for. We rode Space, Splash, BTMRR, Indiana Jones, POTC, Matterhorn, HM, Nemo, Buzz, all before 4. We then hopped over to CA and rode ToT, TSM, CA Screaming, and Grizzly Rapids before heading back to the hotel to change out of our wet cloths. We were so amazed at all the headliners we got to ride in 4 hours of park time!
We used Magic Mornings(a on-site perk) on Thurs getting us in to DL(Tomorrowland/Fantasyland) 1 hour early. We rode everthing we wanted to and then some and headed over to CA for lunch. We again rode everything we wanted to, and felt like we had the park to ourselves. Left the parks aroung 430 and enjoyed the pool before it got crowded with the families coming back from the parks.
On Friday we got to DL for rope drop and planned only a couple of hours at the parks during the day as DL was open to 12am. It was also the first night for the xmas parade and fireworks so we wanted to rest a few hours in the afternoon so we could enjoy the parade/fireworks without being too tired. We started looking for a spot for the parade about 1hour15min before the parade started and were amazed at how DL lets people lay blankets all over, reserving "their" spot for the parade. It wouldn't have bothered me but these people weren't even with their blankets. The blankets were just laid out on the curbs, and benches while their owners were out enjoying the parks attractions, kinda BS if you ask me! By this time DL was really starting to fill, not just fill, it was packed. We watched the parade and left as we were starting to feel like it was turning into a gong show. The CMs didn't seem to have any control and the guests were very rude to the CMs and other guests, not very magical.
Saturday was another Magic Morning so we got to DL for rope drop again. We decided to go with same plan as Fri but this time we were going to miss the parade and watch the fireworks. The morning and early afternoon were quite enjoyable as the crowds were light and friendly but as it got darker so did the mood of the crowd. We managed to get a spot for the fireworks(90mins early) in the hub by the Mickey/Walt Disney statue and thought that the fireworks were good, but not great. We left right after the fireworks as the park was stuffed so full it took 45 to get from our spot in Main Street to the front gates.
Sunday was another Magic Morning and we had to leave to LAX at 11am for our 145pm flight. We got to the gate for rope drop at 7am, rode our fav's and got back to the room by 10 so we could shower and clean up before checking out at 11.
It may seem like I'm being a little negative about DL/CA but please don't take it the wrong way! The trip was very magical with some not so magical spots, but we didn't let in ruin our trip.
Some of our Fav's from DL
Space Mountain - way better than at WDW, WDW needs the rehab
Haunted Mansion - the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay is amazing, we rode HM probably 12 times over 5 days and were blown away each time!
POTC - better than WDW
Grizzly Rapids - much better themed and thrilling than Kali River Rapids
Wed and Thursday - crowds more like WDW
DL hotels and DTD being so close to the parks
We enjoyed our stay in the Disneyland Resort and will return but probably only between Mon-Thurs! Looking forward to Feb and WDW.
Shayne
We arrived at the DL hotel last Wed(Nov 19th) around 1145am and went to check-in. We were in line about 25min before it was our turn to check-in and the people in front and behind us were so upset that there was a check-in line that it was nice just to get away from them. The CM behind the counter was the nicest lady in all of DL. There were no standard King beds ready/available at our check-in time and told her really don't mind waiting for a king. We starting talking and I told her about how this was my girlfriends first trip to DL in 25years and I wanted to make sure she had a great trip, like the ones we've had recently at WDW. She then asked if I minded waiting a moment and got on her phone with someone. All I'll heard was something about "S2" and "C2" and "come on it's a magical moment" and "thanks alot".
Next thing I know we are upgraded from a standard parking lot view king room to a Concierge/Pool view king room that was ready right away.
After thanking her numerous times we dropped off the luggage in the room, changed and headed off to the parks. We walked over to DL and by the time we activated our AP's it was only 1:30pm. We headed over to Space Mountain to check out how much better it is than at WDW and all I can say is I will not be riding it again at WDW until it gets the rehab. The rides were all walk-ons with the exception of Nemo which we only waited 15mins for. We rode Space, Splash, BTMRR, Indiana Jones, POTC, Matterhorn, HM, Nemo, Buzz, all before 4. We then hopped over to CA and rode ToT, TSM, CA Screaming, and Grizzly Rapids before heading back to the hotel to change out of our wet cloths. We were so amazed at all the headliners we got to ride in 4 hours of park time!
We used Magic Mornings(a on-site perk) on Thurs getting us in to DL(Tomorrowland/Fantasyland) 1 hour early. We rode everthing we wanted to and then some and headed over to CA for lunch. We again rode everything we wanted to, and felt like we had the park to ourselves. Left the parks aroung 430 and enjoyed the pool before it got crowded with the families coming back from the parks.
On Friday we got to DL for rope drop and planned only a couple of hours at the parks during the day as DL was open to 12am. It was also the first night for the xmas parade and fireworks so we wanted to rest a few hours in the afternoon so we could enjoy the parade/fireworks without being too tired. We started looking for a spot for the parade about 1hour15min before the parade started and were amazed at how DL lets people lay blankets all over, reserving "their" spot for the parade. It wouldn't have bothered me but these people weren't even with their blankets. The blankets were just laid out on the curbs, and benches while their owners were out enjoying the parks attractions, kinda BS if you ask me! By this time DL was really starting to fill, not just fill, it was packed. We watched the parade and left as we were starting to feel like it was turning into a gong show. The CMs didn't seem to have any control and the guests were very rude to the CMs and other guests, not very magical.
Saturday was another Magic Morning so we got to DL for rope drop again. We decided to go with same plan as Fri but this time we were going to miss the parade and watch the fireworks. The morning and early afternoon were quite enjoyable as the crowds were light and friendly but as it got darker so did the mood of the crowd. We managed to get a spot for the fireworks(90mins early) in the hub by the Mickey/Walt Disney statue and thought that the fireworks were good, but not great. We left right after the fireworks as the park was stuffed so full it took 45 to get from our spot in Main Street to the front gates.
Sunday was another Magic Morning and we had to leave to LAX at 11am for our 145pm flight. We got to the gate for rope drop at 7am, rode our fav's and got back to the room by 10 so we could shower and clean up before checking out at 11.
It may seem like I'm being a little negative about DL/CA but please don't take it the wrong way! The trip was very magical with some not so magical spots, but we didn't let in ruin our trip.
Some of our Fav's from DL
Space Mountain - way better than at WDW, WDW needs the rehab
Haunted Mansion - the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay is amazing, we rode HM probably 12 times over 5 days and were blown away each time!
POTC - better than WDW
Grizzly Rapids - much better themed and thrilling than Kali River Rapids
Wed and Thursday - crowds more like WDW
DL hotels and DTD being so close to the parks
We enjoyed our stay in the Disneyland Resort and will return but probably only between Mon-Thurs! Looking forward to Feb and WDW.
Shayne
The blanket thing has been going on since our first visit in 1982. You darn near need to pitch camp to get a good seat for the parade and fireworks. We usually refill our hot chocolate mugs and cookies and wait on our blankies on the curb for the parade. Blankets on benches is inappropriate however and should be removed. Many wonderful changes are in progress for DCA and I can see us spending a LOT more time at DL once it is complete. DL is my fav park and always will be
Glad you had a great trip. Pirates and Space Mtn. at WDW don't even come close to the DL one eh!
