D-Land for a D-World family

[dwbakerjr]

This summer vacation is at Disney-LAND (tied in with a few days at the Grand Canyon). We are DVC memebers and have been going to Orlando every year for 7 yrs; so, we dont know a lot of the little subtleties of Mickey's California digs. Any comments, warnings, advice, lectures, directions, or scolding would be (probably) welcome.

Just trolling for info on how to maximize our trip enjoyment. We will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel for 5 days in July.


Hakuna Matata...

 

[Disneyland_emily]

First off HAVE FUN!

DL is a whole different experiance than WDW- and frankly we do something better... Make sure to check out if Fantasmic is playing cause its amazing (and better than WDWs)


When will you be there? Ill be there July 16-20th

-em

 

[daannzzz]

Disneyland is compact compared to WDW. http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html

The Disneyland hotel is a great place to stay. Call ahead and request a room in the sierra tower with two queen beds and a day bed. These are large rooms with a nice large bathroom.
Good places to eat at the Hotel are Goofy's Kitchen Breakfast is great, have never gone to lunch or dinner), and Hooks Point ( a bit more upscale and expensive).
Take some time to check out the grand Californian Hotel. It is beautiful. Good places to eat here are The Storyteller Cafe for a nice variety on the menu. The expensive place here is Napa Rose.
I recommend seing everything that you can. It is fun to compare the differing versions of attractions from both coasts. Get some reservationd for the Blue Bayou at Disneyland. It is a neat place to eat a full service lunch or dinner. Fantasmic is really good though it is not quite as easy to see as you have to sit on the ground or stand.

 

[dwbakerjr]

We will be arriving the night of the 12th; departing on Satruday for the long drive back to Texas.

question // Is there any advantage to buying tickets in advance or from a broker? We have 5 'days' to see parks, but havent decided how many will be with Disney, and how many with Knotts, Univ, or whoever...

thanx..

DB.

 

[daannzzz]

I have never purchased my tickets from a broker. Just from the Disney Store or at the Disney Hotel or ticket booth. You will need about 3 days for everything at The Disneyland resort. Mostly you will need 2 days for Disneyland and one for DCA. If you are driving yourself over to Universal from Disneyland give yourself at the very least an hour and fifteen minutes. It use to be an easy drive but the traffic is pretty bad these days.

 

[ceejay13]

We too are DVC members but get to DL yearly. In fact we have a 7 night stay starting a week from today at the GC. Although WDW and the DVC resorts are my all time favorites, I absolutely love DL. I would avoid Saturdays at DL especially. There are a ton of local kids that get APs and hang out on Friday nights and all day Saturday. As the previous poster stated about 2 days for DL and 1 for DCA is about right. We usually do it in 4 days and at a slower pace. I have heard there has been a whole lot of refurbishment lately. Hopefully it will be completed for your trip in July. Another tip is checking to see if buying a premium AP for one of you might not pay for itself in discounts. I don't if this is true for you but we have been doing this. You get 10% off almost all stores and restaurants in the parks. In addition, they have been giving one 20% off coupon for one purchase. This can be used, for example, if you have a big purchase at the World of Disney or any of the other stores. We try to purchase the bulk of our souveniers at once and use the coupon. You might check the AP section on the official DL website to see if the discounts are something you might be interested in. Also, you can get great discounts on your rooms with an AP for most of the year. We have used points once at the GC and the other times have paid cash so these discounts were very handy. This year I did purchase my DH a 5 day hopper on the website. According to that information, it was a significant savings over buying it at the park. I will check that out to see if it's true. Also, if you are a lover of Walt Disney history and have the time, the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour is great. Finally, I would recommend having lunch at the Blue Bayou one day. It is a restaurant that is on the banks of the waterway of Pirates of the Caribbean. This is something you can't do at WDW, as the setting is very different at the beginning. The river is lined with trees and little shacks. The crickets are singing and the fireflys are lit. It is a wonderful setting, eating lunch and watching the boats go by. There are certainly other differences, and I think they will make for a very enjoyable trip for you. I know we can't wait.

 

[daannzzz]

Also be aware that the Sleeping Beauty Castle should be at the beggining of a major refurb and paint job and may be partially or completely covered with scaffolding.

 

[goaliemom]

We just got back from a week in Anaheim - our first time as a family to DL. We go to WDW regularly.

There are some distinct differences between the two, beyond size and location, that is. For one - the maps at DL/DCA do not indicate the locations of all food and shopping places. Research those in advance and have an idea of where they are. Second - the proximity of DL/DCA to local hotels, etc. makes everything a walkable distance. That's so different from WDW and it really did affect our trip - in a positive way.


Here are some thoughts we had - we found that the FP locations listed on many websites weren't necessarily the actual attractions that had FP. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was a small difference. Also - make sure you're fully educated on which FP rides aren't attached to the system - that made a world of difference for us. I would go into DL and pick up 2 FP right away. A couple of hours later I could get a couple more. Then at the end of the day we'd be doing 4 FP attractions in a row without a wait, which was always a great way to end a day.

You must try all of the rides/attractions that are DL/DCA only. Some of them are really amazing. Additionally, some of the attractions we thought were better at DL than at WDW were IASW, Autopia (Speedway), Tiki (we much prefer the original), the Railroad (gotta love those dioramas) and Fantasmic. For us, the others were either about the same, or better at WDW. Still we did all of them.

We had 5 park days (with the internet special 5 for the price of 3 ticket at Disneyland.com) and did everything we wanted to, and our favorites we did several times.

Be aware that the monorail is an attraction at DL. As a result, you might have substantial lines at times, and it only makes one loop - from Tomorrowland to DTD. It was a timesaver for us just once. The other time we rode it was just for fun.

We had a bunch of other observations about the differences between WDW and DL, but they weren't complaints or anything - just observations.

Enjoy!

 

[smcbaker]

Can anyone advise as to which FP rides aren't connected to the system? Previous poster mentioned finding out which ones were not in advance so that you could get more than one FP. Anyone have a list? Thanks!!

 

[goaliemom]

Independent Machines (AKA Stand-Alone)

Pirates of the Caribbean (DL)
Haunted Mansion (DL)
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin(DL)
Star Tours(DL)

Grizzly River Run (DCA)
Muppet Vision 3D (DCA)
It's Tough to be a Bug! (DCA)

 

[ilovemky]

QUOTE]I would avoid Saturdays at DL especially. There are a ton of local kids that get APs and hang out on Friday nights and all day Saturday.[/QUOTE]

I have to disagree slightly with the poster who wrote this. It used to be worse on saturdays but now, especially the dates you are going, only premium passholders can visit the parks these days and most kids do not have that pass. It seems to be more crowded on sundays now. But anytime in the summer will be packed, so be prepared for that.

 

[Disney Doc]

Just be ready when you see that teeny little castle at the end of main street... it's a whole different look

 

[jlima]

Please try to experience the rides that are not in Orlando, such as the Casey Jr Circus Train, the Indiana Jones ride, Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin, Soaring Over California, and also Mr Toad's Wild Ride which is gone from Orlando!! And remember, DL is the park that Walt built.

 

[jlmarr]

Originally posted by Disney Doc
Just be ready when you see that teeny little castle at the end of main street... it's a whole different look

Yes, but it's a good look, a nicely proportioned castle, particularly juxtaposed with the nearby Matterhorn. To me the huge castle that intrudes on the Main Street at WDW/MK seems out of place. But as ever, Your Mileage May Vary, and really it comes down to the look you grew up with.

Now that we've got that out of the way, be sure to check out the many DL unique rides, such as Indiana Jones, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, and Alice in Wonderland.

Give DCA a look too - some people call it "California for Dummies", i.e a Disney-fied representation of California highlights. For instance, the Soaring Over California attraction is set in an area called Condor Flats, which is meant to represent the high desert area around Edwards AFB used for flight testing in the 1940s-50s-60s. Have a beer and a burger at the Taste Pilot's Grill (the hangar with the X-1 above the entrance) and enjoy theme music which includes selections from the movie "The Right Stuff".