Hi everyone, we're back from a 5/night, 5 park-day trip and I thought I'd post our experiences for those who are interested. We are out-of-towners and this was our third trip to DL, but the first one that involved everyone staying healthy and both kids being old enough to do all the rides we wanted to do. We have two boys, 7 and 9. The parks were BUSY, much busier than when we went same week last year. T - F it was totally manageable, but Sat. was pretty bad. We packed it in mid-day because when you have to wait 20 minutes just to get in the bathroom and pee, it's time to head back to the hotel and swim, as far as I'm concerned. 
ATTRACTIONS - We had so much fun! We were able to ride every ride we wanted over five days, many multiple times. We hit RSR two times during the EMHs, and once again when I dashed over to CA for fast passes while the rest of the family stayed at DL. I can't for the life of me understand why people ride stand-bye, it was a 120 minute wait at one point on Saturday! Hyperspace Mt. was SO much fun. I really preferred it to the original Space Mt. (hope that's not blasphemy). New favorite ride for my kids was BTMR. They were too scared to go on it last time, but I think we rode it 5 times this trip. First time on Mickey's Death Wheel - I knew I was in trouble when I saw the motion sickness bags provided in the car. Once was enough for me. Did Splash Mt. for the first time, so cute with the Song of the South theme! DH did Screamin' and said it was less scary than Space Mt., but none of the rest of us wanted to try.
SHOWS/ENTERTAINMENT - We did not do all the shows I wanted to, but we did a lot that we've never tried before. The Enchanted Tiki Room was a great way to kill some time. So was Tangled at the Royal Theater. (My oldest found it a bit babyish but I thought it was hilarious.) Star Wars Launch Bay was really neat. My kids could have stayed in there an hour with all the video games, and it was a great way to cool off and give them some downtime in the afternoon. We'd never walked through the Sorcerers Workshop, again, a nice way to take a break and have some unstructured time. Tough To Be A Bug was really cute, too. We didn't do Aminators Workshop, which was disappointing to me, but there never seemed to be a good time.
DISNEYLAND HOTEL - We enjoyed this hotel. The kids liked it a lot. DH and I did, too, but both agreed that we prefer GCH. I thought the pool are would be more spectacular than it was. I don't really get all the hype, I remember GCH's pool as being just as nice. Also, the pool service was awful. It took us close to an hour to order and receive some drinks and munchies one day. The hotel theming was wonderful, though. Didn't get a chance to check out Trader Sam's. The rooms were very nice and the beds were lovely, but they need to upgrade their pillows. Lots of lumps in them.
DINING - We loved Taronga Terrace for a quick hot breakfast in the mornings, loved Mickey Bienets with a latte from the Mint Julep Bar. Also had a great sandwich at Jolly Holiday and a yummy lemon/blueberry macaroon. Still love Bengal BBQ for a light but substantial lunch. Sit-down were as follows:
Carthay Circle - We ate there last year and had a great experience, same thing this year. Really good food and we had an outstanding service team. My only complaint is that the prices are totally out of control. I think we paid $42 for a bowl of ciopinno that was half the size I would have expected at that price. It had maybe 3 mussels, 3 pieces of shrimp, and a few clams in it. Total side-eye to Disney on the pricing. However, it was very yummy.
Napa Rose - We did the Chef's Counter and it was worth every penny. The food, the wine, also we sat next to a lovely couple who were great company. The chef and sous chef were extremely interactive. Highly recommend.
Wine County Trattoria - We will avoid this place at all costs in the future. The only thing it has going for it is a lovely patio in the heart of CA. Unfortunately, the food was sub-par and the service was terrible. Our pasta was over-cooked, the seafood was rubbery, appetizers were forgotten, DH's barolo had clearly been open too long and tasted like vinegar. We saw our server infrequently. I don't really blame him, he clearly had too many tables and was overwhelmed, but that should not have been the case.
Steakhouse 55 - I was a little concerned, given that I've seen mixed reviews here recently. My verdict is that no, we weren't overwhemed by the steak. However, we live in a city that's sort of known for it's beef, so our expectations are high. The lobster was very good, however, as were the appetizers. The soups were too rich for my taste, but someone else might love them. The service was outstanding.
Blue Bayou - We were there for lunch on Sat. I was really on the fence about booking this, because I already know from this board that the food isn't spectacular and you're really paying for the ambiance. We decided to try it anyway. So, first off, they tried to seat us at THE table. It's been discussed at length in another thread. That weird table that's right next to a bright, noisey service station, supposedly "water-side" but so tucked back that you can't see a bit of the water? Well, I totally balked. Not only did I make this reservation 3 months ago, I was the FIRST person to check in at 11:15 (the earliest they would let us). I said, "We would prefer one of the tables over there, please," waving towards one of the other waterside tables. Hostess said, "Oh, I'm not sure I can do that." I said, "We prefer not to be right next to the kitchen." She said, "Oh! That's all right, this isn't the kitchen!" and started setting down out menus. I said, "Well, we don't want to be next to THAT, whatever it is, please. We would prefer to be over THERE." So she had to go and check with someone, and eventually came back and seated us at a very nice, quiet table right by the water more toward the center. My DH was looking at me, like, "really?" but gosh-darn it, I KNEW we were paying for ambiance and darned if we weren't going to get ambiance! And I was right, because the food, while certainly not horrible, did not in any way, shape or form justify the hefty bill, and the service was extremely rushed as I get the feeling this is very much a turn-and-burn kind of place. I'm really glad we went because it was a neat experience, but I also know we won't do it again.
Ralph Brennan's - Another turn-and-burn joint. Food was good, not great. Our server was extremely rushed to the point of finishing our sentences for us, even when he had it wrong. However, my son ordered the wrong thing by mistake and when I asked for a different meal for him and stressed that we were happy to pay for the first one, too, I was told that it was no big deal and we wouldn't be charged. I really appreciated that.
STEP COUNT - Since there was a post about this recently, I'll report that according to my phone, I logged between 13,000 and 24,000 steps on the days we were there. I don't know if that's pathetic or amazing, all I know is that by day 3, I was falling into bed completely exhausted (in a good way)!
All in all, a really great trip. We won't go back until Star Wars Land is built, so I'm hoping it will be done by Dec. 2017 as the rumors say!
ATTRACTIONS - We had so much fun! We were able to ride every ride we wanted over five days, many multiple times. We hit RSR two times during the EMHs, and once again when I dashed over to CA for fast passes while the rest of the family stayed at DL. I can't for the life of me understand why people ride stand-bye, it was a 120 minute wait at one point on Saturday! Hyperspace Mt. was SO much fun. I really preferred it to the original Space Mt. (hope that's not blasphemy). New favorite ride for my kids was BTMR. They were too scared to go on it last time, but I think we rode it 5 times this trip. First time on Mickey's Death Wheel - I knew I was in trouble when I saw the motion sickness bags provided in the car. Once was enough for me. Did Splash Mt. for the first time, so cute with the Song of the South theme! DH did Screamin' and said it was less scary than Space Mt., but none of the rest of us wanted to try.
SHOWS/ENTERTAINMENT - We did not do all the shows I wanted to, but we did a lot that we've never tried before. The Enchanted Tiki Room was a great way to kill some time. So was Tangled at the Royal Theater. (My oldest found it a bit babyish but I thought it was hilarious.) Star Wars Launch Bay was really neat. My kids could have stayed in there an hour with all the video games, and it was a great way to cool off and give them some downtime in the afternoon. We'd never walked through the Sorcerers Workshop, again, a nice way to take a break and have some unstructured time. Tough To Be A Bug was really cute, too. We didn't do Aminators Workshop, which was disappointing to me, but there never seemed to be a good time.
DISNEYLAND HOTEL - We enjoyed this hotel. The kids liked it a lot. DH and I did, too, but both agreed that we prefer GCH. I thought the pool are would be more spectacular than it was. I don't really get all the hype, I remember GCH's pool as being just as nice. Also, the pool service was awful. It took us close to an hour to order and receive some drinks and munchies one day. The hotel theming was wonderful, though. Didn't get a chance to check out Trader Sam's. The rooms were very nice and the beds were lovely, but they need to upgrade their pillows. Lots of lumps in them.
DINING - We loved Taronga Terrace for a quick hot breakfast in the mornings, loved Mickey Bienets with a latte from the Mint Julep Bar. Also had a great sandwich at Jolly Holiday and a yummy lemon/blueberry macaroon. Still love Bengal BBQ for a light but substantial lunch. Sit-down were as follows:
Carthay Circle - We ate there last year and had a great experience, same thing this year. Really good food and we had an outstanding service team. My only complaint is that the prices are totally out of control. I think we paid $42 for a bowl of ciopinno that was half the size I would have expected at that price. It had maybe 3 mussels, 3 pieces of shrimp, and a few clams in it. Total side-eye to Disney on the pricing. However, it was very yummy.
Napa Rose - We did the Chef's Counter and it was worth every penny. The food, the wine, also we sat next to a lovely couple who were great company. The chef and sous chef were extremely interactive. Highly recommend.
Wine County Trattoria - We will avoid this place at all costs in the future. The only thing it has going for it is a lovely patio in the heart of CA. Unfortunately, the food was sub-par and the service was terrible. Our pasta was over-cooked, the seafood was rubbery, appetizers were forgotten, DH's barolo had clearly been open too long and tasted like vinegar. We saw our server infrequently. I don't really blame him, he clearly had too many tables and was overwhelmed, but that should not have been the case.
Steakhouse 55 - I was a little concerned, given that I've seen mixed reviews here recently. My verdict is that no, we weren't overwhemed by the steak. However, we live in a city that's sort of known for it's beef, so our expectations are high. The lobster was very good, however, as were the appetizers. The soups were too rich for my taste, but someone else might love them. The service was outstanding.
Blue Bayou - We were there for lunch on Sat. I was really on the fence about booking this, because I already know from this board that the food isn't spectacular and you're really paying for the ambiance. We decided to try it anyway. So, first off, they tried to seat us at THE table. It's been discussed at length in another thread. That weird table that's right next to a bright, noisey service station, supposedly "water-side" but so tucked back that you can't see a bit of the water? Well, I totally balked. Not only did I make this reservation 3 months ago, I was the FIRST person to check in at 11:15 (the earliest they would let us). I said, "We would prefer one of the tables over there, please," waving towards one of the other waterside tables. Hostess said, "Oh, I'm not sure I can do that." I said, "We prefer not to be right next to the kitchen." She said, "Oh! That's all right, this isn't the kitchen!" and started setting down out menus. I said, "Well, we don't want to be next to THAT, whatever it is, please. We would prefer to be over THERE." So she had to go and check with someone, and eventually came back and seated us at a very nice, quiet table right by the water more toward the center. My DH was looking at me, like, "really?" but gosh-darn it, I KNEW we were paying for ambiance and darned if we weren't going to get ambiance! And I was right, because the food, while certainly not horrible, did not in any way, shape or form justify the hefty bill, and the service was extremely rushed as I get the feeling this is very much a turn-and-burn kind of place. I'm really glad we went because it was a neat experience, but I also know we won't do it again.
Ralph Brennan's - Another turn-and-burn joint. Food was good, not great. Our server was extremely rushed to the point of finishing our sentences for us, even when he had it wrong. However, my son ordered the wrong thing by mistake and when I asked for a different meal for him and stressed that we were happy to pay for the first one, too, I was told that it was no big deal and we wouldn't be charged. I really appreciated that.
STEP COUNT - Since there was a post about this recently, I'll report that according to my phone, I logged between 13,000 and 24,000 steps on the days we were there. I don't know if that's pathetic or amazing, all I know is that by day 3, I was falling into bed completely exhausted (in a good way)!
All in all, a really great trip. We won't go back until Star Wars Land is built, so I'm hoping it will be done by Dec. 2017 as the rumors say!
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