Ok, I'm not going to do a traditional trip report, but just my general observations/experiences.
Disneyland Express - we have taken this many times before, and since it meant we didn't have to bring car seats, we decided to do it again. The pick up at LAX was smooth and we dropped of the GCH on time. This time, they gave us a card to fill out with our return flight info/hotel and said they would call to confirm a pick up time. We received that call Sat morning. However, I was speaking to a family who was on our return bus and they weren't given that card. And our return bus was 30 mins late picking us up! It all ended up ok, as LAX wasn't busy at all, but be aware.
GCH - I know there is split consensus on the value of this hotel, but I am as much in love with it as I have always been! Our rooms were great (overlooking DTD), they were ready early (we checked in at 8am and got a text at 1pm), the staff was wonderful. And of course the lobby/tree/gingerbread house was amazing. And the location simply can't be beat, especially at the end of the night.
Crowds/Hours/EMH - This is the first time we've ever been with shorter hours (first half of our trip) and the crowd level was wonderful. That said, I completely understand what people mean by the MM/EMH being useless at Disneyland for a later opening. We were able to get on/off PP in 15 minutes, but all of FL was PACKED. We ended up ditching our plans there and headed over to the Matterhorn & Tomorrowland, which was much better. The EMH at DCA were still perfect and we were able to do TSMM 4x, Screamin' 2x and the Fun Wheel before park opening. What was interesting to me, was on these early days how empty NOS was. Except for first thing in the morning or very late at night, it's always been wall to wall people. We walked through it our first full day at 3pm and it was a ghost town! The crowds stayed low through Sun, but Monday was a zoo. The early closing hours (8pm) was also the first time I've found DTD unbearable. They were closing DL for a special event, so Main Street didn't stay open longer and everybody was in the World of Disney!
Characters - they were everywhere!!! It was amazing. We came back in one night for the parade and by the Mickey head flower were Ariel, Aurora, Mulan and the Evil Queen, all with little or no wait. Monday morning was the same in Town Square with Chip, Pluto, Minnie & Donald. We also encountered Mad Hatter/Alice and Captain Hook just hanging out in FL. We also spent a lot of time back in the JJJ, where as many know the characters roam. It can be frustrating to have to chase them around, but with a little patience, can all be seen relatively easily. Seeing Santa was our longest line. We also saw over at Elias & Co. with no wait.
Elsa & Anna - I feel like this character M&G needs it's own bullet point. Our first EMH at DL (9am), the kids and I stood at rope drop, while DH got in the FP line. They were led back before we were let through and DH had scored FPs with a return time of 10:10-10:30 and met me at the exit of PP. However when we got back in line with our FPs, they were telling people they were already gone for the day. To say it made people unhappy was an understatement. And I understand why - 10 mins into regular park opening is frustrating. My advice is if you don't have MM/EMH, you attempt this on a non MM/EMH day. We waited 5 mins and were let in to see them, where they were as wonderful as always. We saw them again 2 days later since we had little ones dressed up like them, using the same method. DH was further up in the line (8am EMH) and received a return time of 9:30-9:50. This time the return line was long and we waited probably 20 mins to see them. When we came out the return line was all the way out to Snow White though, so I still consider us lucky!
Shows - We got Blue FPs for WOC and while the show was better than ever, the getting into was such a nightmare. There was a line to line up and people were pushing, etc. We get let in and I find a rail spot next to a woman. I put my kids there, with the stroller sideways behind them and figure DH & I can stand behind the stroller. At the same time, the woman's daughter comes back from another spot and says these spots were better, where the woman then proceeds to slide down and push my children out of their spots. DS turned around to ask me a question and when he turned back around, she PUSHED him out of his spot. At this point, the gloves were off and I told her there was no need to push a 5 yr old. She tried saying they were there first, to which I explained SHE was there first, not their entire party (who at this point all have rail spots). Finally her daughter steps in and tells her mom to knock it off and we could all share the space. At some point during our hour wait, she tells her mom to move back towards to them and to stop trying to crowd us out. My oldest (10 yrs old) told me afterwards the lady elbowed her the entire time, which I didn't know. Thankfully we had a wonderful couple on the other side of us, who were so sweet and fun to hang out with, so we focused our attention there. I understand we all want great views, and to see it all, but when it comes to pushing people, especially children, I think it's time for a time out.
A few nights later, everybody wanted to ride Splash, except for my 3 yr old, who had fallen asleep in the stroller. On our way over there, I saw Fastasmic! was starting, so found a rail spot off the to the side (across from HM). It wasn't a great view, but for just walking up as it was starting, it was perfect. A family arrives 10-15 mins into it and can't see - the woman pushed her young daughter next to my stroller, where the girl sits down on the side, ON my DD. I twice had to tell her to not sit on the stroller. Stand back up, to find the mom leaning on the handle to the stroller. Her sister moved in front of the stroller and was blocking my view, so I had to ask her to move too. I'm ok being packed in like sardines, but have some respect for personal space! And don't expect to get rail spots half way through the show. Having seen this show the first time since high school, it's on my list to carve out time to get good spots for this!
We arrived back at DL at 5pm for the 5:45 parade, however the characters out that I mentioned before, derailed our plans for getting good parade spots. I figured we try another day, but we walked in, we saw space right behind some little kids in front of the train station. My kids sat down behind them to wait, but were never asked to stand up, so it all worked out wonderfully. This was definitely luck though!
All 3 shows/parades were GREAT though, so all worth it in the end!
*side note - we didn't see the Viva Navidad show, but we did see the 3 Caballeros with no wait right when the M&G opened!
Elsa & Anna Boutique - We had makeovers booked here and I was hesitant because of the limited styles and that they had raised their prices during the switch over, but it was so great! They were great with the kids, the hair turned out amazing and stayed in forever. We had them done on Fri and my kids finally took them down on Sun after swimming and needing to wash their hair. Our friends' kids kept theirs in through Monday night at least. DS did the Olaf one and got to pick a shirt with it and it stayed up in the mohawk ALL DAY. Last year, it started falling down pretty quickly, but not this year. And it only came down then because he went on GRR twice. I highly recommend this place as a more affordable alternative to BBB. On a side note, after being impossible to find on our June trip, there are Elsa & Anna dresses for sale all over the place, in all sizes!
Food - Overall we had great experiences with dining. We ate at Naples in DTD (amazing!), Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle, Minnie's Breakfast and Big Thunder BBQ. I double checked all of our reservations before we left and everything was fine, but I checked again on Sunday afternoon, somehow both our Carthay & Big Thunder were both scheduled for Monday! I walked to Carthay at noon to explain and try to cancel that one (it was supposed to be Sun) because I didn't want to be charged the no show, but we didn't want to do both in the same day. They were more than gracious, spoke to a manager and was able to seat at our original time on Sun and just checked us in early. I wasn't expecting that at all since we were a party of 12! Blue Bayou was great and our food was delicious. I had the Tesoro Island Chicken and DH had the skirt steak. The BBQ was great as always. Our one disappointment was Minnie's Breakfast. We had a really bad experience there 2 years ago but decided it was time to give them another chance, especially since the friends we were with wanted to do it. When we checked in they asked if outside was ok and I told them only if we were stuck in a corner and that they would make sure the characters came by. She reserved a certain table for us with that promise. However, an hour in only one character had been by! (And I give Peter Pan credit - only half the kids were there when he first came by and he made a point of coming back when they were all there!). Minnie had a standing spot now, where people line up to see her and we were pretty close to that. (Btw, if they have this spot now, why isn't the picture you get taken with her?!). I finally went to speak with her handler and when I got there, there were 2 other families complaining about the same thing. She said she would take care of it. At that point, we did get all of the characters over, but we also had people walking up the entrance to use it as a regular M&G (my same complaint from the last time). The head handler came out and told the characters to make sure there were seeing people who had actual tables, so at least it was addressed. The definitely figured out the problem while we were there, but I just hate that it takes us talking to them every time. I think being seated inside is the best bet. I am done with character meals now - the cost just isn't worth it to us! However, if somebody is considering one, I would actually recommend this one based on the number of characters alone! By the end, we had seen Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Rafiki, Pooh Bear, Max, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Eeyore & Tigger. That's 10 characters!
Celebrity Sightings - So, you all know we had hoped to see John Stamos, but he wasn't there. However, another huge Disney fan, Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) was. We didn't actually see her, but she posted pictures to her Instagram of her & friends in DCA and the GCH lobby. Francesca Capaldi (Dog with a Blog) was there and some other people we talked to saw her eating dinner in the Plaza Inn. They said she was really sweet and took pictures. And we rode Jingle Cruise with former RHOC, Peggy Tanous & family - who were very much wanting to be recognized with the way they were dressed. They didn't have a plaid with them though and they were just hanging out as a family.
I'm sure there is a ton I've left out and I'll try to share pictures as I get them organized. If you have any questions, ask away! I thought we'd be taking a year off, but I find myself already trying to plan for next Thanksgiving, lol.
), but I wanted to pop in and post this new press release:
That is sooooo cool!
Stop all the biters before anyone else has a chance to sink their teeth into it!)
It's cold here. I need to go catch up on sleep but wanted to say a few quick things re the trip.
