Belated (Holiday) Trip Report, 12-13-14...

[LizzyS]

Just now getting around to it, but here goes...

We decided to do a quick, one day Saturday trip to Disneyland only as we had never been to the resort during the Holiday Season. We got lucky in that the Friday we drove over, it was raining pretty steadily, but when we got to Anaheim, the sky opened up and we didn't encounter any more rain during our short trip.

We stayed at the Red Lion at Harbor and Katella, which we have stayed at twice previously. It seems to be too far to walk for a lot of people's taste, but we have no issue staying there.

On our arrival day, we just did Downtown Disney and we ate at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for dinner. I knew what the menu was like and figured that my picky husband could get the steak or fried chicken options, if nothing else. He looked worried when he saw the menu, but when the food came, he thought it was fantastic! We got the corn chowder and shared it and OH MY GOODNESS it was delicious! I had the jalapeno cornbread crusted salmon and the hubby had the mahi mahi dish, which were both so, so good. My husband was so cute, he goes "the cook here, this guy is a PROFESSIONAL", heehee. So anyway, I highly recommend RB's Jazz Kitchen if you're looking for a place to make reservations at in DTD. It was busy, but the atmosphere and food was excellent!

We went to the park on Saturday, arriving right before park opening. We got several things done in the morning and it seemed like a pretty normal Saturday to us, until after lunch time, when it started to get much more busy. I have to be honest and say that around dinner time, it was the busiest I have ever seen the park. The bottleneck at Tomorrowland was fairly atrocious. Movement through that area was barely possible, but we finally made it through.

We rode two new rides for us this trip:

BTMRR- We LOVED this ride. I have never been on such a smooth coaster before, but then again, I'm not big on roller coasters anyway- they pretty much have to be "Disneyland speed" for me to even get on them and I won't go on any that go upside down. This ride had been down our last two trips and the first time was a one day trip, so we just didn't make it.

IASW- My husband was not really thrilled with this ride, but it had been down on ALL 3 of our previous DLR trips, so I figured this was our chance. I was really surprised at how long this ride lasts, honestly. I thought it was cute and all, but I doubt I will wait as long as I did to ride it in the future.

I thought we weren't going to get to ride the train at all this trip because it was down for some reason that afternoon for what seemed like a few hours. They kept running the trains, but not letting anyone on them. At the stop at Tomorrowland, they didn't have a CM stationed to let people know, so of course people kept lining up only to be told they couldn't ride the train when it arrived empty. That's my only real gripe this trip as we wasted some time there. Anyway, later on, they were running again, but only two trains instead of four. We waited for probably 40 minutes just to ride the train, but we love it and were tired later in the day anyway, so we did it.

We really liked the Jingle Cruise and thought it was super cute. It's hard to get my hubby to go on the regular Jungle Cruise anymore as he says it's "the same", lol.

I would have liked to stay and see the fireworks this time, but my husband was feeling a little sketchy. I'm pretty sure now that it was just allergies as he took Claritin when we got home and it seemed to clear up, but I didn't want to make him suffer.

All in all, we had a great time and will probably make a trip in September this year, as are my plans as of right now. I think the Holiday season is a fun time to visit, but it's pretty busy, as far as what I saw on a Saturday.

 

[mom2rtk]

We were there all day that Saturday (12/13) as well. It's probably the most crowded I have ever experienced DL. It was the final weekend some of the APs were still open to be used before Christmas.

It didn't help that a number of rides went down that day. We kept trying all morning to ride POTC, but were unsuccessful. BTMRR was down that afternoon for a while. We decided to leave that very crowded side of the park and headed for the train station only to find out the train was down. So we walked over to the other side of the park fighting the crowds to find the Nemo Subs closed.

The train did finally come up later that night, but was running at a reduced capacity. We were in a short line at the Toontown station and it took right at an hour to get on. We would have bailed and just walked to the front (we were trying to leave) but the parade had just finished and it was gridlock back where we were near Small World.

It was not a fun day at all to us. I was so happy we had so many other great days ahead of that one, and that we got to head back for a little more fun (in far lower crowds) early the next morning.

If you can get back again during the holiday season, I would just advise you to try and get there so you can enjoy some lower crowds mid-week.

 

[LizzyS]

I agree about the mid-week advice if you want to avoid crowds.

We had a good time, but it was so crowded, I'm hesitant to try it again on a weekend day during the Holiday season.

 

[krispin41]

I was there the same day as well. It was the last day of my trip.

The day before, the rain kept crowds manageable, I was able to do a ton of things...

The weather was gorgeous and everyone was out, I started my day at DCA and was able to ride Soarin before the lines got too long and meet Oswald...then over to DL where it was mobbed. I knew it would be busy...but WOW.

I had a nice lunch and did some shopping. And then I had to catch my shuttle for my flight.