Can You Please Tell Me About Disneyland

[HydroGuy]

I must say going in--I am a bit skeptical...but full out ready to put all of that aside as soon as I get there. WDW is still so fresh in my mind and I know there have been comparrisons about the Dreams...Fireworks, but I have to say that the ones in Epcot were AMAZING and will be hard to beat, but then it was our last night there too. I look forward to my adventure if only a short one and embrassing the differences of both parks--I will personally keep an open mind.

I will be curious to your conclusion. They are different types of shows (Remember at DL and Illuminations at Epcot). And comparisons are subjective. Whether Remember surpasses Illuminations or not in your judgement, it is still a spectacular show and you will be glad you saw it.

Illuminations was designed to be viewed from anywhere around the lagoon at Epcot. So tons of people can see it. Remember Dreams Come True was designed to be viewed from the hub or Main Street towards the hub. So fewer people can see it. There are special effects around the hub, on the castle, behind the castle, and on the Matterhorn. To get the full experience, take the time to get to the hub an hour early and get a spot with a clear view of the castle. There are a lot of trees in the DL hub, so make sure your spot is not behind one of the trees.

 

[quiltymom]

To get the full experience, take the time to get to the hub an hour early and get a spot with a clear view of the castle. There are a lot of trees in the DL hub, so make sure your spot is not behind one of the trees.

Also to remember is if people will be standing up once the show starts. This happened to us last summer. They had moved the walk-through (pass-through?) lane to the top of the hub in front of the castle, thus everyone stood up once the show started. And this was a bad thing because my kids are short - they missed a lot of stuff. The walk-through line was behind the hub the year before so everyone sat down. It was a much better show that way.

Can anyone say where the walk-through lane is now? To me it made all the difference in the world!

 

[jnjusoioa]

These tips and advice are all so awesome. I am really excited about my trip. I need to find a good character board so I know all the ins and outs of finding the characters at Disneyland and CA, I am pretty good at WDW but will need some help for DL and CA.

 

[quiltymom]

This is not an extensive list, but this is who we've seen and where:

• Cinderella is usually to the left of the walkway through the castle into Fantasyland (where the roses are). Sometimes Prince Charming is with her.
• Snow White has a storytime in the Princess Shop in FL.
• Ariel is in her grotto next to the Matterhorn.
• Jessie and Woody are in Frontierland. I've seen them anywhere from in front of the Golden Horseshoe to the walkway on the side of BTMRR.
• The Pooh characters are in Critter Country, near the exits of Splash and Pooh.
• Jack Sparrow is in the raised area between the Rivers of America and the French Market in New Orleans Square.
• You can catch both Mickey and Minnie first thing in front of their houses in Toontown after opening. Minnie later goes away, but Mickey can always be found in the "barn" after you go through his house.
• I've seen Goofy & Donald roaming Toontown.
• There are always characters in the front hub near the flagpole all throughout the day.
• I've seen Jungle Book characters in Adventureland near the Tiki Room.
• We have seen Buzz in Tomorrowland at the Tomorrowland Terrace
• Merlin is at the Sword in the Stone ceremony a few times a day.

I am sure there are plenty of others who can help you with more places. The kids really don't want to see the characters when were there (except for Buzz and Ariel), so it's just hit and miss for us.

I've not been to DCA, so I can't help you with that.

 

[HydroGuy]

Also to remember is if people will be standing up once the show starts. This happened to us last summer. They had moved the walk-through (pass-through?) lane to the top of the hub in front of the castle, thus everyone stood up once the show started. And this was a bad thing because my kids are short - they missed a lot of stuff. The walk-through line was behind the hub the year before so everyone sat down. It was a much better show that way.

Can anyone say where the walk-through lane is now? To me it made all the difference in the world!

Now you are getting down to the nitty-gritty, but these are good points. Here are some more tips we used.

Around the hub there is a curb. Since people stand up during the fireworks, I got a spot on the curb for my younger kids. This gave my DS9 and DS10 (at the time) a 4-6 inch advantage over those in the street in front of them. This worked well from the spot we selected, which was in front of Coke Corner. Also, behind us the CMs put up a rope walkway, so there was no one walking in front of us.

Pay attention to where the rope walkways are assembled. You do not want a walkway in front of you with people walking in front of you the whole time.

If you have really young kids, then you will want to hold them in your arms for the show so they can see. Some people put young ones on their shoulders, but this blocks the views of people behind you and someone is likely to get angry with you. The kids that are hardest to accomodate are the ones that are too big to be held but too small to see over standing adults. These would be in the age of 6-8 years old. If you get there super early (2-3 hours early) you can get a spot on one of the benches, and smaller ones could stand on the benches. Or you can get a spot down front where everyone remains seated for the fireworks. Or you can try for a curb like I did an hour early and make the best of it.

 

[Larissa]

I have been to Disneyland many times but not in the last little while. I was wondering just how early one needs to get to the WOC fastpass booth to get a fastpass and how early one needs to get to the fastpass area (I understand we are not officially allowed in until a certain time, but when do people start 'not waiting' (by which I mean hovering around waiting to rush in). I am fairly short and want to be able to see!

On another note, I was wondering about the fastpass. I will be heading down to Disneyland soon and I know as it is summer it will be very crowded. In the crowds are fastpass photographers harder to come by? Are the pictures they take as good? Are they a waste of time to pose for in a trip that is slightly less than a week long?

If anyone could answer these questions I'd really appreciate it.

 

[HydroGuy]

I have been to Disneyland many times but not in the last little while. I was wondering just how early one needs to get to the WOC fastpass booth to get a fastpass and how early one needs to get to the fastpass area (I understand we are not officially allowed in until a certain time, but when do people start 'not waiting' (by which I mean hovering around waiting to rush in). I am fairly short and want to be able to see!

On another note, I was wondering about the fastpass. I will be heading down to Disneyland soon and I know as it is summer it will be very crowded. In the crowds are fastpass photographers harder to come by? Are the pictures they take as good? Are they a waste of time to pose for in a trip that is slightly less than a week long?

If anyone could answer these questions I'd really appreciate it.

For info on WOC see "World of Color Superthread" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=37986447

And it sounds like you are getting Fastpass and Photopass confused. Which one are you really asking about?

 

[Larissa]

Oh, sorry, I meant photopass!

 

[HydroGuy]

Oh, sorry, I meant photopass!

There is a pre-paid option for Photopass but otherwise it is free. You only pay if you decide to buy photos. We have been at busy times and Photopass photographers have been easy to come by except at very busy spots like the castle. Then you may have to wait.

As for their quality, they are decent. They are not super duper professionals.

 

[Larissa]

That's good to know, thanks! I guess we'll just see what we get then.

 

[Anapauliana]

I need to buy school bags for my 3 boys. I imagined walking into a store in DL and finding a huge variety to choose from. Is this a dream or does it exist? I was hoping to get one with the character from Rio and others that are simply not common in other stores. HELP PLEASE!

 

[CrazyAboutWDW]

I strongly recommend staying onsite. DLR area is really fantastic without a car. You can walk from the Grand Californian to DL and California Adventure and Downtown Disney easily and staying right onsite makes it super nice.

 

[sonnyjane]

I don't understand how so many of these old threads are getting resurrected lately? This thread is nearly five years old?

 

[HydroGuy]

I don't understand how so many of these old threads are getting resurrected lately? This thread is nearly five years old?

With all the wierd forum behavior lately, maybe it is a search malfunction???