Disney Land 1st timers

[Conniesaurus]

We are planning our first trip to Disneyland in July. We are staying at the Grand Californian villas. Any suggestions, tips, or restaurant ideas would be appreciated. We are planning on eating at Napa Rose. thanks

 

[Deb & Bill]

Check out the Disneyland board on the DIS. They are very knowledgeable. I went there before we took our first trip to DL.

What I liked about DL was everything is easy to walk to. You park your car and that's it. You can easily go from DL to California Adventure. And if you stay at the GC (or the villas) there is a back door entrance to CA.

DL is like the MK on growth hormone. Many more attractions and they are close together to really use up the space. Check out the schedule for Fantasmic because it is really neat at DL (much better than WDW), but there is no auditorium for it. They show it right in the park and you have to find a place to sit early. And all the attractions that they have at WDW are so much better at DL. POTC is excellent.

 

[Conniesaurus]

Thanks for the great info!

 

[SusieBea]

We enjoyed the restaurant adjacent to Pirates of the Caribbean, Blue Bayou, I believe. We also enjoyed Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in the Downtown Disney area - really easy to get to from the GCalifornian. Have a great time. It's very fun to compare the two different properties.

 

[Nikisha421]

We went to DL this past February the DL boards were great and informative...we went to StoryTellers Cafe for a character breakfast we had a nice time...

 

[Conniesaurus]

Thanks for all of the great replies! We are looking forward to the trip!

 

[heathpack]

Plan to spend some time by the pool. Great loungers with super-thick pads. There is also usually something that happens by the fireplace in the lobby every day around 4pm- either a story teller for the kids or music of some sort. It is very relaxing to sit by the fire and mellow out for a bit.

We really enjoyed the Fantasmic reserved seating dessert package- we did this 2 years ago, so I am not sure about the details on this anymore. But we had a great view of fantasmic, chairs to sit on, and a box of tasty desserts.

We have also done the Segway tour, Cruizin' California Adventure. This was great fun. Tour guides were laid back and it was nice to see the park prior to opening.

There is a Sunday Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We have never been to this location, but did go to the same show at HOB in Hollywood and the show is very good. Loud, but good.

We LOVE the morning buffet at Storyteller's. Pretty low key for a character breakfast and good food.

In general, we find the dining options at DL to be less inspiring than those at WDW. Blue Bayou is over-priced but we love it and it has a great ambience. Cafe New Orleans is pretty good with some of the same dishes, but the check-in area is chaos (as is the restaurant itself sometimes). I would probably make a reservation for one or the other. White Water Snacks at the Grand Californian is pretty good quick service. We also like breakfast at La Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney (try the pretzel bread), and of course smoothies at Jamba Juice (also DTD). There is also a kettle corn cart in DTD that we like. Otherwise, we do not get too jazzed about dining in DL.

Disneyland has narrower walkways than the parks in WDW and they can get gridlocked (like the traffic here in So Cal)- especially Tomorrow Land in the evening and the area around New Orleans Square before, during and after Fantasmic.

Some of the rides are different at DL- for example, Space Mountain (better at DL IMHO) and Big Thunder Mountain (better at MK IMHO), so ride things that you are already familiar with and see what you think. Fantasmic seems way better to me at DL. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but it never seemed to make any sense when I would see the show in Florida.

If Billy Hill and the Hillbillies are playing (in Frontier Land), see this show. It is hilarious, even if country music and corny jokes are not usually your thing. If you have young kids, Big Thunder Ranch (a petting zoo type attraction) is nice. My six-year-old niece loved it.

Hmm, that's all I can think of just now... You will love VGC, it is one of our favorite hotels anywhere. Have a great visit!

H

 

[Torgue]

We love Hooks Pointe for dinner. Great ambience and great seafood! I also agree with Story Teller's for Breakfast !

 

[JoRo]

Make time for the Aladdian show at CA it goes away in Aug its a great mini broadway play!.

Paridise Pier has a Mickey Character Buffet that we havent tried (we will in June) its suppose to be good.

A must is Ariels Grotto to see all the princesses and get a good meal. We also like Goofys Kitchen.

For quick food the Pizza/Pasta place is decent in Tomorrow Land.

In DTD Tortilla Joes is good - HUGE burritos we ordered and took back to our room - we should have shared for sure!

Blue Bayou is expensive go for lunch, if you have never been its good to go once.

Enjoy I love DL better the MK - especially for xmas but I grew up on DL and not WDW. Its two different worlds!

 

[heathpack]

Totally agree on the Aladdin show. It is a must-see!

Can't agree, though, on the Paradise Pier buffet. We went when it was the Lilo and Stitch Breakfast. Place was packed- tons of grimy foot traffic (as you would expect) along the buffet. Then someone knocked a serving spoon off onto the dirty floor. Cast member picked up the spoon and placed it back into the tray of food. Ewwww! So disgusting husband actually jumped out of his chair, grabbed the spoon, and took it back to the kitchen! Somehow we've never been inclined to go back...

Goofy's is pretty fun, especially if you have any kids with you. Never been to Hook's Pointe or Steakhouse 55, but have heard good things about both.

I have heard good things about the Pizza Port, but it always seems very average to me. Plus it is one of these places where everybody goes up to a different counter to order food and then reconvenes at the register to pay. Always seems disorganized to me and inevitably one of us stands around with food getting cold.

H

 

[skiingfast]

Blue Bayou as mentioned is the only nice table service in DL so what would you expect. But I went when I was 5 or 6 and have never forgotten it. Try eating breakfast at the Plaza in DL if you can before the park opens. Also keep in mind that a lot of the nice resturaunts are in the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels and DTD district which are not too close to the rest of DLR but by WDW standards practically on top of you.
In WDW I would call dining an expereince of its own. But sometimes I feel like I'm spending way too much time sitting down to eat. And also worry that the fireworks will be starting before the time the check is being presented to me. At DL I like it to be simpler and get counter service when I feel like instead of racing around to make my ADR.
The Fireworks in DL are much better than MK and as mentioned Fantasmic is way better and being improved as i write. Plus I imagine the new World of Color in Califonia will be Disney's premier show.

Autopia, Finding Nemo Submarine and Indiana Jones get the really long lines for DL. In DCA, California Screeming and Toy Story get the longest lines.

Take the Monorail from the GC hotel early in the morning to DL. It takes you to Tommorowland so you have a head start over the guest coming down mainstreet.

 

[dvc_john]

Be sure to pick up a portable perks booklet.

Last time I was there (and I assume it hasn't changed) there was a DVC discount for just about every restaurant (both TS and CS) in both parks, the hotels, and DtD.

 

[Conniesaurus]

Thanks for all of your replies. We are so excited to try all the new things and can't wait to see Aladdian.

Didn't even think about portable perks, but we will pick one up.

I also was wondering about transportation from the airport, we will be arriving in Orange County(?), any info or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[dvc_john]

I also was wondering about transportation from the airport, we will be arriving in Orange County(?), any info or suggestions would be appreciated.

If you are not renting a car, I would suggest either a shuttle or the express bus.

The SuperShuttle for instance is a van sized vehicle, and may stop at several hotels on the way. You can hop on a shuttle at the airport, but for the return, you need to call ahead.

The Disneyland Express Bus is a full sized bus and runs on a schedule. It's a little more expensive than the shuttle, but you don't need reservations.

 

[Conniesaurus]

We are not renting a car so we will either use the super shuttle or the disneyland express bus. I just need to do some checking to see where we would pick them up at.

Thanks for all of your help!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We did the SuperShuttle for one trip and it was fine. The other trip, we drove.

The Plaza was nice for breakfast one morning. Blue Bayou was closed for our two trips if I remember correctly. I wasn't very impressed with Goofy's restaurant at the DL Hotel, but we did like the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at Paradise Pier.

 

[actnkidz]

Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel is very good and has great ambiance. The pool at VGC is great take time to enjoy it in the afternoon when it is too hot to be in the parks. We also like to grab fastpasses for the rapids ride in CA in the morning then we get on it after getting our swimsuits on, then right after the ride we head back to the pool which is right by the back gate.

 

[Conniesaurus]

We checked out the menu at Steakhouse 55 and it looks good. We thought that we would make reservations at Napa Rose at GVC for our first night.

Thanks for all of your replies, they have been so helpful!!

Can't wait until the hours to be posted. I know we want to do all of the nighttime parades and shows.