Disneyland Trip Report 2014
We just got back from an amazing visit to Disneyland Resort from Nov 1-6. We were there to celebrate my 40th birthday. This was our second visit to DLR, our first was in late July 2011. We visited WDW in May, 2013. By way of background, we are WDW vets who find ourselves gravitating more to DLR now. This trip just confirmed that, and the family consensus is that DLR is superior to WDW.
We stayed at Park Vue Inn. Overall it was ok. Location was great. Free breakfast was good. There is a convenience store in the hotel which was, well, convenient. Room was small and only toilet and shower were closed off. It was clean. Might try one of the other close hotels next time. Shower pressure was really good. Our room had a safe, a fridge, and a microwave. We never used the pool.
We rode the Disneyland Express Bus from and to the airport. It was ok overall. Bus driver from airport to hotel was way too chatty and loud, tellng the entire bus about when he went to Disneyland as a child and what music he listened to when he was younger. Nice not to need a carseat for my DS4, but will do Super Shuttle next time assuming we don't need a car seat.
Downtown Disney: we spent an entire evening there on Nov 1. Since we weren't entering the parks until Nov 2, I grabbed our tickets on our way to DTD. The cast member at the ticket window was very kind and went out of his way to give us all the information we needed. He even dotted the "i's" on our names on the tickets with mickeys instead of periods. DTD was fun. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe (more on that below). My DS8 made a car at Ridemakerz, which he enjoyed but man was it expensive. I think we paid $100 for his car with very few accessories. We checked out the new Anna and Elsa Boutique which was cute. At World of Disney we went ahead and grabbed the Mickey Glow Ears for Fireworks and Fantasmic (a decision we would have made differently in retrospect - for the money, the kids didn't enjoy them that much and the interaction between the glowing and the shows was very basic and frankly not worth the money) as well as autograph books for the kids. I visited the pin traders next to the monorail station and found some neat pins, including a very nice Disneyland Monorail pin. In shopping for pins between DTD, DLP and DCA, I thought Pin traders at DTD had the best selection overall.
Rainforest Cafe: we had dinner her on Nov 1. It was a lot of fun. Food was really excellent. We have been to Rainforest at DTD WDW, AK WDW and now DTD DLR, and I would have to say the food was the best at DTD DLR. We got to sit upstairs which was fun, the theming is really well done up there. The only hiccup here was that my DS8 had a miniburger which was a little undercooked and which soured him a bit on the experience, but everyone else had a great time.
Cafe Orleans: we had dinner here on Nov 2. We sat outside right next to the exit gate that leads to the walkway that runs by Pirates and Blue Bayou. Great atmosphere and everyone enjoyed their food. Me, my DW and my DM (Disney mom) split 2 monte cristo sandwiches, and while we couldn't finish both, we all thought it was amazing. My DS4 was so tired by the end of dinner (we finished at nearly 8pm pacific time, but it felt like nearly 11pm for DS4 – we are from the Midwest) that he came and sat on my lap and promptly went to sleep!
Blue Bayou: we had dinner here on my birthday on Nov 4. We had a 4:40 reservation, and got there at 4:30 and requested a waterside table. They told us it would be an additional 20-40 minute wait, which was fine, and I think they seated us around 5:00. Atmosphere and food are wonderful. I had the filet mignon which was prepared very well. After dinner my DW and DM surprised me with a birthday cake which they brought out - it was chocolate and was amazing! They brought it out with candles lit and everything. DM said she called a couple of weeks ago and told them when our reservation was and they handled all the details, etc. So much fun to celebrate my birthday here!
Goofy's Kitchen: We had breakfast here on Nov 5. Having read some of the mixed reviews recently I was a little worried however we had an amazing experience here. After checking in we had our picture with Goofy then they seated us in the back next to the door where the characters come in. In 5 minutes we had seen Chip, Dale and Pluto, and Minnie came later. Character interactions were wonderful. Our DS4 really liked Chip and Dale! Food was good, so much variety, very filling. Only minor complaint on the food is that the mickey waffles were a little too crispy. Also warning: if you are staying on Harbour Blvd, Goofy's Kitchen is a bit of a hike; allow 30 minutes for the walk there.
Carnation Cafe: we had dinner here on Nov 5. This was the surprise of the trip, because we weren't expecting much and it doesn't look like much from the outside. But we loved it! We sat outside and it was a perfect evening and it was fun to hear all the hustle and bustle on main street while we ate. Food was classic American and very delicious. Chocolate malt was really good. Everyone loved their food and the service was excellent. The location was perfect too because we were at DCA all afternoon and were planning to spend the evening at DLP and we were tired from DCA and it was nice to have dinner without walking too far into DLP.
Overall we had a really, really good dining experience at DLR. Only one general complaint: why doesn't DLR serve normal lemonade instead of pomengrante lemonade? 2 of our 3 kids didn't like the pomengranate lemonade and were constantly asking for normal lemonade and they never had it. Would have been nice to have that option.
Day by Day Breakdown:
Nov 2: we started our first day in DCA. We did this because Cars Land was new since we had visited DLR three years ago so everyone wanted to do that first. The park opened at 8am and we were through the gates at 7:45. My DW picked up our photopass+ lanyard while me and DS8 pushed as far as we could on Buena Vista to position ourselves for RSR fastpasses. My touring plan had me grabbing an RSR fastpass and then meeting the rest of the family at TSMM. We had an RSR fastpass by 8:05 and were to TSMM by 8:10. TSMM was a near walk on and we had that done by 8:25. Then we did a couple of smaller rides and headed to Cars Land.
Cars Land was amazing. My DD11 said it was "like walking into a movie." It is really well done and Disney should be proud of it. First thing we did was Luigi's Flying Tires, which we all enjoyed. Hope the rumors about this going away aren't true, but at least we got to ride it once. Then we headed to RSR to use our fastpasses but it was down! Major buzzkill as we were most looking forward to this ride. However, the cast members did at least tell us that it would be open in 15-30 minutes, and it did open within that timeframe (NOTE: I love how if a ride is down the CMs will now give you an estimate of when it will be up; I don’t remember them doing that in 2011 – allows you to replan your time better now). The ride itself was awesome and a major hit with my family. Everyone wanted to do it multiple times and I think we did it 4-5 times overall before we left. It’s a great combination of a dark ride and a thrill ride.
Later that day we headed to DLP so we could see the fireworks and Fantasmic that night. First thing we did was take a ride around the park on the Disneyland Railroad so everyone could see the park and just enjoy it. We really liked that, and the Grand Canyon and Dinosaur displays never disappoint. We spent a lot of time on this day shopping on Main Street, took in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, saw some of the characters, etc. Since this was the day with the largest expected crowd at DLP, I wanted us to take it easy and enjoy Main Street and rest up for the later shows. We also made sure to hit Jungle Cruise because it was scheduled to go down for 10 days starting on Monday, November 3.
We greatly enjoyed the fireworks and Fantasmic, and thanks to many here who suggested we watch Fireworks near the Frontierland side of the hub so we could quickly get to Fantasmic viewing area for a good spot. We really enjoyed both shows: Remember Dreams Come True was awesome, I love the nod to all the classic DLR attractions; Fantasmic was great too, but be warned, it’s very loud. It woke DS4 up, he had been asleep in his stroller for 3 hours already!
The only disappointment of this day was when me and DW tried to ride Matterhorn. It had been under refurb when we last visited DLR in 2011 and I was most looking forward to riding it. DW and I tried to get a ride in after dinner while DM had the kids riding other stuff, but literally right when we walked up to the ride, they announced they would be down for 45 minutes. Later that evening, we got back in line, but after 10 minutes in line they shut down one side (the FantasyLand side) and then 10 minutes later shut the whole thing down. Very disappointing to say the least! But I was able to ride other days.
We did, however, get to ride Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy this night, and I thought it was really cool, however I do prefer the normal version better. It was a far better overlay than I was expecting, and I liked the video screens along the way. Glad my little ones didn’t do it, though, as they probably would have been scared.
Nov 3: we started this day in DLP. We did Fantasyland this morning. Wow, do we love Fantasyland at DLP. It’s very magical, there is so much to do, and it is so very well done. We were there at rope drop so we headed straight to Alice, and what a great ride that is. They updated it since we were there in 2011, and it was one of our favorite rides of the entire trip. It is also symbolic of what we love about DLR: they are not afraid to spend money on the classic movies/attractions. We walked on both Alice and StorybookLand Canal Boats, then did Pinocchio and Snow White, which were near walk ons, then my wife took my mom and the kids to ToonTown to meet Mickey and Minnie while I headed to DCA to get fastpasses for RSR and WOC. Thanks to Touring Plans here, as the morning worked nearly perfectly and the kids were able to see Mickey and Minnie quickly since they were there at ToonTown opening.
When I got back we did more of FantasyLand then had lunch at Pinnochio’s Village Haus. If you have lunch here, sit on the left side because you might see Anna and Elsa walk through, as we did. After lunch we did Casey Jr, which is one of my favorite DLP rides (and a great nod to Dumbo), then everyone else did Mickey and the Magical Map while I rod Matterhorn 4 (!) times as a single rider. So I love that ride, but be warned it is rough. The “FantasyLand” side is slower and smoother, but I much prefer the “TomorrowLand” side, which is rougher but faster with more dips. Ride in the front if you can: it’s awesome.
After finishing up FantasyLand, we headed to DCA for the rest of the day. We did Soarin, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and Grizzly River Run. We loved GRR, much better than Kali River Rapids at AK. Especially fun that it takes you very close to Grizzly Peak, which was cool. Later I took the boys to ride RSR again while the girls did the Aladdin musical (which they loved), then mom and I did Tower of Terror before finishing up at World of Color, which I enjoyed even more this time than I did in 2011.
Nov 4: This was my birthday and the plan was to spend the whole day at DLP doing all the attractions I love, as well as a sweep of TomorrowLand. I wanted to be one of the first ones there. It was a magic morning and we planned to use it this day (we had a 4 day park hopper). We got to the security lines at 8am and we were the third family in line. We got through security around 8:30 and we secured a “first in line” spot at one of the gates. Being first in line was a really cool experience! They scanned our tickets ahead of time and when the gates opened we rushed in and onto Main Street…this was awesome! They had the rope at the end of Main Street, and when the park “officially” opened at 9am we headed straight to Space Mountain. We were third in line there, and a Cast Member waited about a minute and then slowly guided everyone done and we were in the first car of the day. And my 8 year old son, who is usually wary of roller coasters, decided to ride with us as a birthday present to me. Great way to start my birthday!
We did the rest of TomorrowLand, kids loved all of it, especially Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (don’t trust the posted time there by the way; 10 minutes = 30 minutes easily), and finished it up with a Monorail trip followed by lunch at Redd Rocket’s Pizza Port (which was fun, and I loved the vintage posters inside).
Then we headed off to do Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc. Splash Mountain: probably a little bit inferior to the WDW version at least in terms of the “dark ride” portion, but equals or surpasses the WDW version in terms of thrills. Big Thunder Mountain: wow, what a great ride! My wife couldn’t believe how smooth it was compared to the WDW version, and the last hill/cave has some nice surprises which I won’t ruin for you here. Haunted Mansion Holiday: I will have to confess this was a little disappointing. I was impressed with the extent of the overlay, however we were hoping to hear some of the great music from the movie, and there was none of that. We didn’t feel like doing it again because of our disappointment.
Had a wonderful birthday dinner at the Blue Bayou, which I mentioned above. After dinner my DD11 worked up the courage to ride Matterhorn so we did that three times! They were having a parade at 7 and we found that was a GREAT time to ride pretty much everything, but especially Matterhorn, which was a walk-on. She loved it and preferred the “TomorrowLand” side even though it was rougher and faster.
Just before closing my DD11 worked up the courage to ride Space Mountain so we ended my birthday right where it started, with me, DW, DD11 and DS 8 riding Space Mountain, and we all loved it! What a magical birthday!
Nov 5: Our last full day at DLR. The night before, everyone said they wanted to ride RSR again, so I made a last minute adjustment to our touring plan. This was the day for a clean sweep of Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Frontierland, and we wanted to hit some things we missed last time, like Sailing Ship Columbia and Pirates Lair.
We had breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen at 8:15am (see above for more details) and then decided to take the Monorail into TomorrowLand instead of walking all the way back to the entrance and the long security lines. We got in the Monorail entry line around 9:40am and were second in line. At 10:00am, a CM came out and said the Monorail was broke and they didn’t know when it would be up. Frustrating…wish they would have told us that before 10:00am. So all the way back to the entrance and we lost 20 minutes in the parks on our last day.
DD11 and I started the day with IJ while DW and DS4 did Buzz and DM and DS8 did Space Mountain (my DS8 became a Space Mountain junkie this trip!). All were virtual walk-ons even though we didn’t get into DLP until 10:20am due to the Monorail fiasco. IJ was awesome…in 2011 it seemed like it needed some TLC and this time around it was much more enjoyable. I will say, though, that the ride is much better in the front right or left seats or the back right or left seats.
All of us met up at Pirates, which was broke of course, so we adjusted and did Big Thunder, Splash, Winnie the Pooh, etc. The highlight for me was Sailing Ship Columbia and Pirates Lair. Me and DS8 and DS4 did both and had a GREAT time. The Sailing Ship is cool and the length of the “voyage” is just right. Pirates Lair was awesome, so many caves and trails to explore, and one cave led us to this tower/lookout thing that was really cool. A little disappointed that Fort Wilderness wasn’t open, but loved the graveyard behind it and the Pirates Treasure nearby. DS8 and DS4 were in heaven. On the raft back, a pirate band entertained, which was just awesome. They said “we are the best Pirate band that ever played on a raft.” LOL! It’s these little touches of magic that make us adore DLR.
Pirates was back up so we hit that again, love this ride, much better than its WDW counterpart. We also did Tarzan’s Tree House, which the kids love. It tells a story like Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, but also allows for much more running and jumping. Then we hit Tiki Room, before we headed back to DCA for the last time.
At DCA we hit RSR again, as well as Soarin, Grizzly River Run and Heimlich’s train for DS4 (he LOVED that ride!). Then we did a little shopping on Buena Vista before waving goodbye to DCA for this trip.
Back at DLP we had a great dinner at Carnation Café (see above for more details). DM was tired and said she would take DS4 back to the hotel (he was really tired) so me, DW, DS11 and DS 8 decided that, for our last 1.5 hours in DLP, we would try to hit Star Tours, SM, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and IJ before the park closed. Due to very low crowds, we were able to do that with time to spare! What a fun way to end our last night in the parks.
Crowd levels: very, very manageable. When we were there in late July, 2011, touring plans said the crowds were 10/10 every day we were there.
This time, the crowds were 6/10, 4/10, 4/10, and 1/10. That last day it was a complete ghost town, and everything was nearly a walk on all day. It still “felt” more crowded than WDW at low season, though. But we rode everything we wanted multiple times, and also took time to have several nice sit down meals.
Photopass Plus: I think this was a pretty good value. We didn’t have nearly as many pictures taken as we thought we would, but it’s almost worth it for the ride photos alone.
Touring Plans: I spent a good 4-5 months fine tuning our daily touring plans using this service. I found that it worked better as a planning tool than an onsite, real time touring tool. For example, touring plans thought Jungle Cruise was closed on Nov 2 even though it was open, and it didn’t know that Autopia and IJ fastpasses would be down all week. Those things threw some wrinkles into the plans I made. So it needs better, real time information on things like that. Also, our first morning at DCA, our RSR fastpasses had a much earlier return time than what Touring Plans had projected, and when I went to optimize the plan, it tried to take us in a much different direction than planned. If it had just been me and DW, we could have changed our plan, but with DM and little kids, I couldn’t walk all the way across the parks again. So I improvised a lot and thankfully the parks weren’t crowded so we made it all work. But they definitely need better real time info, and the app needs to let you easily move touring steps up and down in real time.
Park entry in the morning: am I the only one who wishes they had dedicated lines for those who are entering for the first time? They have to take photos of everyone on their first day visit and it really, really slows the lines down. Also there were several times where I would park hop and I wish they would have a dedicated line where park hoppers could quickly get from park to park. Heck, here is an even better idea: create some kind or ride that connects the two parks (maybe a monorail stop in DCA?) like they are doing with the new Harry Potter worlds.
Conclusion: wow, what an amazing trip! Best birthday ever and a great way to spend your 40th birthday in particular. We all had a great time and consensus is that DLR is more enjoyable than WDW. If you are a WDW vet and you have never visited DLR, please do so ASAP. I promise you will not be disappointed. As for me, although WDW will always be special, DLR is certainly my “home park” now and what I think of when I think of “Disney Magic.” Thanks to everyone here for the great tips you have shared, they made our trip much more enjoyable!
We just got back from an amazing visit to Disneyland Resort from Nov 1-6. We were there to celebrate my 40th birthday. This was our second visit to DLR, our first was in late July 2011. We visited WDW in May, 2013. By way of background, we are WDW vets who find ourselves gravitating more to DLR now. This trip just confirmed that, and the family consensus is that DLR is superior to WDW.
We stayed at Park Vue Inn. Overall it was ok. Location was great. Free breakfast was good. There is a convenience store in the hotel which was, well, convenient. Room was small and only toilet and shower were closed off. It was clean. Might try one of the other close hotels next time. Shower pressure was really good. Our room had a safe, a fridge, and a microwave. We never used the pool.
We rode the Disneyland Express Bus from and to the airport. It was ok overall. Bus driver from airport to hotel was way too chatty and loud, tellng the entire bus about when he went to Disneyland as a child and what music he listened to when he was younger. Nice not to need a carseat for my DS4, but will do Super Shuttle next time assuming we don't need a car seat.
Downtown Disney: we spent an entire evening there on Nov 1. Since we weren't entering the parks until Nov 2, I grabbed our tickets on our way to DTD. The cast member at the ticket window was very kind and went out of his way to give us all the information we needed. He even dotted the "i's" on our names on the tickets with mickeys instead of periods. DTD was fun. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe (more on that below). My DS8 made a car at Ridemakerz, which he enjoyed but man was it expensive. I think we paid $100 for his car with very few accessories. We checked out the new Anna and Elsa Boutique which was cute. At World of Disney we went ahead and grabbed the Mickey Glow Ears for Fireworks and Fantasmic (a decision we would have made differently in retrospect - for the money, the kids didn't enjoy them that much and the interaction between the glowing and the shows was very basic and frankly not worth the money) as well as autograph books for the kids. I visited the pin traders next to the monorail station and found some neat pins, including a very nice Disneyland Monorail pin. In shopping for pins between DTD, DLP and DCA, I thought Pin traders at DTD had the best selection overall.
Rainforest Cafe: we had dinner her on Nov 1. It was a lot of fun. Food was really excellent. We have been to Rainforest at DTD WDW, AK WDW and now DTD DLR, and I would have to say the food was the best at DTD DLR. We got to sit upstairs which was fun, the theming is really well done up there. The only hiccup here was that my DS8 had a miniburger which was a little undercooked and which soured him a bit on the experience, but everyone else had a great time.
Cafe Orleans: we had dinner here on Nov 2. We sat outside right next to the exit gate that leads to the walkway that runs by Pirates and Blue Bayou. Great atmosphere and everyone enjoyed their food. Me, my DW and my DM (Disney mom) split 2 monte cristo sandwiches, and while we couldn't finish both, we all thought it was amazing. My DS4 was so tired by the end of dinner (we finished at nearly 8pm pacific time, but it felt like nearly 11pm for DS4 – we are from the Midwest) that he came and sat on my lap and promptly went to sleep!
Blue Bayou: we had dinner here on my birthday on Nov 4. We had a 4:40 reservation, and got there at 4:30 and requested a waterside table. They told us it would be an additional 20-40 minute wait, which was fine, and I think they seated us around 5:00. Atmosphere and food are wonderful. I had the filet mignon which was prepared very well. After dinner my DW and DM surprised me with a birthday cake which they brought out - it was chocolate and was amazing! They brought it out with candles lit and everything. DM said she called a couple of weeks ago and told them when our reservation was and they handled all the details, etc. So much fun to celebrate my birthday here!
Goofy's Kitchen: We had breakfast here on Nov 5. Having read some of the mixed reviews recently I was a little worried however we had an amazing experience here. After checking in we had our picture with Goofy then they seated us in the back next to the door where the characters come in. In 5 minutes we had seen Chip, Dale and Pluto, and Minnie came later. Character interactions were wonderful. Our DS4 really liked Chip and Dale! Food was good, so much variety, very filling. Only minor complaint on the food is that the mickey waffles were a little too crispy. Also warning: if you are staying on Harbour Blvd, Goofy's Kitchen is a bit of a hike; allow 30 minutes for the walk there.
Carnation Cafe: we had dinner here on Nov 5. This was the surprise of the trip, because we weren't expecting much and it doesn't look like much from the outside. But we loved it! We sat outside and it was a perfect evening and it was fun to hear all the hustle and bustle on main street while we ate. Food was classic American and very delicious. Chocolate malt was really good. Everyone loved their food and the service was excellent. The location was perfect too because we were at DCA all afternoon and were planning to spend the evening at DLP and we were tired from DCA and it was nice to have dinner without walking too far into DLP.
Overall we had a really, really good dining experience at DLR. Only one general complaint: why doesn't DLR serve normal lemonade instead of pomengrante lemonade? 2 of our 3 kids didn't like the pomengranate lemonade and were constantly asking for normal lemonade and they never had it. Would have been nice to have that option.
Day by Day Breakdown:
Nov 2: we started our first day in DCA. We did this because Cars Land was new since we had visited DLR three years ago so everyone wanted to do that first. The park opened at 8am and we were through the gates at 7:45. My DW picked up our photopass+ lanyard while me and DS8 pushed as far as we could on Buena Vista to position ourselves for RSR fastpasses. My touring plan had me grabbing an RSR fastpass and then meeting the rest of the family at TSMM. We had an RSR fastpass by 8:05 and were to TSMM by 8:10. TSMM was a near walk on and we had that done by 8:25. Then we did a couple of smaller rides and headed to Cars Land.
Cars Land was amazing. My DD11 said it was "like walking into a movie." It is really well done and Disney should be proud of it. First thing we did was Luigi's Flying Tires, which we all enjoyed. Hope the rumors about this going away aren't true, but at least we got to ride it once. Then we headed to RSR to use our fastpasses but it was down! Major buzzkill as we were most looking forward to this ride. However, the cast members did at least tell us that it would be open in 15-30 minutes, and it did open within that timeframe (NOTE: I love how if a ride is down the CMs will now give you an estimate of when it will be up; I don’t remember them doing that in 2011 – allows you to replan your time better now). The ride itself was awesome and a major hit with my family. Everyone wanted to do it multiple times and I think we did it 4-5 times overall before we left. It’s a great combination of a dark ride and a thrill ride.
Later that day we headed to DLP so we could see the fireworks and Fantasmic that night. First thing we did was take a ride around the park on the Disneyland Railroad so everyone could see the park and just enjoy it. We really liked that, and the Grand Canyon and Dinosaur displays never disappoint. We spent a lot of time on this day shopping on Main Street, took in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, saw some of the characters, etc. Since this was the day with the largest expected crowd at DLP, I wanted us to take it easy and enjoy Main Street and rest up for the later shows. We also made sure to hit Jungle Cruise because it was scheduled to go down for 10 days starting on Monday, November 3.
We greatly enjoyed the fireworks and Fantasmic, and thanks to many here who suggested we watch Fireworks near the Frontierland side of the hub so we could quickly get to Fantasmic viewing area for a good spot. We really enjoyed both shows: Remember Dreams Come True was awesome, I love the nod to all the classic DLR attractions; Fantasmic was great too, but be warned, it’s very loud. It woke DS4 up, he had been asleep in his stroller for 3 hours already!
The only disappointment of this day was when me and DW tried to ride Matterhorn. It had been under refurb when we last visited DLR in 2011 and I was most looking forward to riding it. DW and I tried to get a ride in after dinner while DM had the kids riding other stuff, but literally right when we walked up to the ride, they announced they would be down for 45 minutes. Later that evening, we got back in line, but after 10 minutes in line they shut down one side (the FantasyLand side) and then 10 minutes later shut the whole thing down. Very disappointing to say the least! But I was able to ride other days.
We did, however, get to ride Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy this night, and I thought it was really cool, however I do prefer the normal version better. It was a far better overlay than I was expecting, and I liked the video screens along the way. Glad my little ones didn’t do it, though, as they probably would have been scared.
Nov 3: we started this day in DLP. We did Fantasyland this morning. Wow, do we love Fantasyland at DLP. It’s very magical, there is so much to do, and it is so very well done. We were there at rope drop so we headed straight to Alice, and what a great ride that is. They updated it since we were there in 2011, and it was one of our favorite rides of the entire trip. It is also symbolic of what we love about DLR: they are not afraid to spend money on the classic movies/attractions. We walked on both Alice and StorybookLand Canal Boats, then did Pinocchio and Snow White, which were near walk ons, then my wife took my mom and the kids to ToonTown to meet Mickey and Minnie while I headed to DCA to get fastpasses for RSR and WOC. Thanks to Touring Plans here, as the morning worked nearly perfectly and the kids were able to see Mickey and Minnie quickly since they were there at ToonTown opening.
When I got back we did more of FantasyLand then had lunch at Pinnochio’s Village Haus. If you have lunch here, sit on the left side because you might see Anna and Elsa walk through, as we did. After lunch we did Casey Jr, which is one of my favorite DLP rides (and a great nod to Dumbo), then everyone else did Mickey and the Magical Map while I rod Matterhorn 4 (!) times as a single rider. So I love that ride, but be warned it is rough. The “FantasyLand” side is slower and smoother, but I much prefer the “TomorrowLand” side, which is rougher but faster with more dips. Ride in the front if you can: it’s awesome.
After finishing up FantasyLand, we headed to DCA for the rest of the day. We did Soarin, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and Grizzly River Run. We loved GRR, much better than Kali River Rapids at AK. Especially fun that it takes you very close to Grizzly Peak, which was cool. Later I took the boys to ride RSR again while the girls did the Aladdin musical (which they loved), then mom and I did Tower of Terror before finishing up at World of Color, which I enjoyed even more this time than I did in 2011.
Nov 4: This was my birthday and the plan was to spend the whole day at DLP doing all the attractions I love, as well as a sweep of TomorrowLand. I wanted to be one of the first ones there. It was a magic morning and we planned to use it this day (we had a 4 day park hopper). We got to the security lines at 8am and we were the third family in line. We got through security around 8:30 and we secured a “first in line” spot at one of the gates. Being first in line was a really cool experience! They scanned our tickets ahead of time and when the gates opened we rushed in and onto Main Street…this was awesome! They had the rope at the end of Main Street, and when the park “officially” opened at 9am we headed straight to Space Mountain. We were third in line there, and a Cast Member waited about a minute and then slowly guided everyone done and we were in the first car of the day. And my 8 year old son, who is usually wary of roller coasters, decided to ride with us as a birthday present to me. Great way to start my birthday!
We did the rest of TomorrowLand, kids loved all of it, especially Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (don’t trust the posted time there by the way; 10 minutes = 30 minutes easily), and finished it up with a Monorail trip followed by lunch at Redd Rocket’s Pizza Port (which was fun, and I loved the vintage posters inside).
Then we headed off to do Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc. Splash Mountain: probably a little bit inferior to the WDW version at least in terms of the “dark ride” portion, but equals or surpasses the WDW version in terms of thrills. Big Thunder Mountain: wow, what a great ride! My wife couldn’t believe how smooth it was compared to the WDW version, and the last hill/cave has some nice surprises which I won’t ruin for you here. Haunted Mansion Holiday: I will have to confess this was a little disappointing. I was impressed with the extent of the overlay, however we were hoping to hear some of the great music from the movie, and there was none of that. We didn’t feel like doing it again because of our disappointment.
Had a wonderful birthday dinner at the Blue Bayou, which I mentioned above. After dinner my DD11 worked up the courage to ride Matterhorn so we did that three times! They were having a parade at 7 and we found that was a GREAT time to ride pretty much everything, but especially Matterhorn, which was a walk-on. She loved it and preferred the “TomorrowLand” side even though it was rougher and faster.
Just before closing my DD11 worked up the courage to ride Space Mountain so we ended my birthday right where it started, with me, DW, DD11 and DS 8 riding Space Mountain, and we all loved it! What a magical birthday!
Nov 5: Our last full day at DLR. The night before, everyone said they wanted to ride RSR again, so I made a last minute adjustment to our touring plan. This was the day for a clean sweep of Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country and Frontierland, and we wanted to hit some things we missed last time, like Sailing Ship Columbia and Pirates Lair.
We had breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen at 8:15am (see above for more details) and then decided to take the Monorail into TomorrowLand instead of walking all the way back to the entrance and the long security lines. We got in the Monorail entry line around 9:40am and were second in line. At 10:00am, a CM came out and said the Monorail was broke and they didn’t know when it would be up. Frustrating…wish they would have told us that before 10:00am. So all the way back to the entrance and we lost 20 minutes in the parks on our last day.
DD11 and I started the day with IJ while DW and DS4 did Buzz and DM and DS8 did Space Mountain (my DS8 became a Space Mountain junkie this trip!). All were virtual walk-ons even though we didn’t get into DLP until 10:20am due to the Monorail fiasco. IJ was awesome…in 2011 it seemed like it needed some TLC and this time around it was much more enjoyable. I will say, though, that the ride is much better in the front right or left seats or the back right or left seats.
All of us met up at Pirates, which was broke of course, so we adjusted and did Big Thunder, Splash, Winnie the Pooh, etc. The highlight for me was Sailing Ship Columbia and Pirates Lair. Me and DS8 and DS4 did both and had a GREAT time. The Sailing Ship is cool and the length of the “voyage” is just right. Pirates Lair was awesome, so many caves and trails to explore, and one cave led us to this tower/lookout thing that was really cool. A little disappointed that Fort Wilderness wasn’t open, but loved the graveyard behind it and the Pirates Treasure nearby. DS8 and DS4 were in heaven. On the raft back, a pirate band entertained, which was just awesome. They said “we are the best Pirate band that ever played on a raft.” LOL! It’s these little touches of magic that make us adore DLR.
Pirates was back up so we hit that again, love this ride, much better than its WDW counterpart. We also did Tarzan’s Tree House, which the kids love. It tells a story like Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, but also allows for much more running and jumping. Then we hit Tiki Room, before we headed back to DCA for the last time.
At DCA we hit RSR again, as well as Soarin, Grizzly River Run and Heimlich’s train for DS4 (he LOVED that ride!). Then we did a little shopping on Buena Vista before waving goodbye to DCA for this trip.
Back at DLP we had a great dinner at Carnation Café (see above for more details). DM was tired and said she would take DS4 back to the hotel (he was really tired) so me, DW, DS11 and DS 8 decided that, for our last 1.5 hours in DLP, we would try to hit Star Tours, SM, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and IJ before the park closed. Due to very low crowds, we were able to do that with time to spare! What a fun way to end our last night in the parks.
Crowd levels: very, very manageable. When we were there in late July, 2011, touring plans said the crowds were 10/10 every day we were there.
This time, the crowds were 6/10, 4/10, 4/10, and 1/10. That last day it was a complete ghost town, and everything was nearly a walk on all day. It still “felt” more crowded than WDW at low season, though. But we rode everything we wanted multiple times, and also took time to have several nice sit down meals.
Photopass Plus: I think this was a pretty good value. We didn’t have nearly as many pictures taken as we thought we would, but it’s almost worth it for the ride photos alone.
Touring Plans: I spent a good 4-5 months fine tuning our daily touring plans using this service. I found that it worked better as a planning tool than an onsite, real time touring tool. For example, touring plans thought Jungle Cruise was closed on Nov 2 even though it was open, and it didn’t know that Autopia and IJ fastpasses would be down all week. Those things threw some wrinkles into the plans I made. So it needs better, real time information on things like that. Also, our first morning at DCA, our RSR fastpasses had a much earlier return time than what Touring Plans had projected, and when I went to optimize the plan, it tried to take us in a much different direction than planned. If it had just been me and DW, we could have changed our plan, but with DM and little kids, I couldn’t walk all the way across the parks again. So I improvised a lot and thankfully the parks weren’t crowded so we made it all work. But they definitely need better real time info, and the app needs to let you easily move touring steps up and down in real time.
Park entry in the morning: am I the only one who wishes they had dedicated lines for those who are entering for the first time? They have to take photos of everyone on their first day visit and it really, really slows the lines down. Also there were several times where I would park hop and I wish they would have a dedicated line where park hoppers could quickly get from park to park. Heck, here is an even better idea: create some kind or ride that connects the two parks (maybe a monorail stop in DCA?) like they are doing with the new Harry Potter worlds.
Conclusion: wow, what an amazing trip! Best birthday ever and a great way to spend your 40th birthday in particular. We all had a great time and consensus is that DLR is more enjoyable than WDW. If you are a WDW vet and you have never visited DLR, please do so ASAP. I promise you will not be disappointed. As for me, although WDW will always be special, DLR is certainly my “home park” now and what I think of when I think of “Disney Magic.” Thanks to everyone here for the great tips you have shared, they made our trip much more enjoyable!
My family is one of those converts, too.
