Final CA vacation hours and thoughts

[Luv2Roam]

Saturday, June 2, we rose and packed. We strolled around DTD and the resorts. (The stores were not open yet.)
World of Disney was open first and I bought a few last minute gifts. (Had to reach that $50 for the DC discount, so I topped the purchase off with the Bad Boys pin.)
From there, we just stolled through various stores, like Dept 56.
Afterwards, we returned the rental car and flew off towards home.

General notes I made while in the air:
1) Bought many nice pins. I was hoping to trade more with CM's and be able to buy more LE's, rather than rack pins. But still had a great time.
2) Disappointed fireworks and Fantasmic were not nightly events.
3) Saw a lot of behind the scenes. Not nearly as covered and guarded as WDW.
4) Anaheim Desert Inn - Very pleased, esp for the price. Very nice staff.
5) It was very nice to have the two parks, DTD and chain restaurants so close. Makes perfect park hopping!
6) DL park tours do not include behind the scenes, per tour CM we spoke with.
7) Used the DC discount much more @ Anaheim than Florida.
8) Universal - More expensive than Disney. Hours not as long; too many closed rides/attractions on weekdays; not Disney standards. US does the rope drop much better than DL. No crowd concerns.
9) Tired, but not as tired as end of WDW trip.
10) Crowd levels at DL/DCA were good, except Friday was heavier. Glad we were not there for the weekend.
11) Gift shops much better at WDW.
12) Thought food was higher in price in CA, over WDW. ~And thought WDW was high. Better food choices at WDW.
13) Big Thunder Mntn much better at DL. We almost didn't go on it at DL becuase the one at WDW threw us around so much. Different cars and MUCH better over all @DL.
14) Use the singles line for Maliboomer. Not as scary as it looks.
15) Cages on ferris wheel REALLY swing! FUN!

I hope my trip reports were of some help and offered some insight. Just remember, everyone is different. What I may think was good/bad, someone else will think the opposite.
Just enjoy your trip!!!

 

[TigerBear]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us!

 

[Disney Anna]

Visited LA this weekend and was able to spend some time at the Disneyland Resort this weekend.

1) The Bad:
After a day at The Getty Museum, my DH and I hopped on over to the parks. While hubby rested in the lobby of the Grand Californian (he has no AP and could care less about all things Disney) I satisfied my "habit" and made a quick foray into the land.

From what I could see the park appeared crowded, but manageable. I rode the train to N.O. Square and then headed for the Haunted Mansion.

The ride was awesome as usual. The bad is that the queue was filthy. The entire line had bits of trash, but it became especially bad near the 2 trashcans placed right before the turnstiles. Both were overflowing with trash. Trash was all around on the grounds, drinks had fallen and left a sticky mess eveywhere. To top it off people were dumping litter in the planters. It was the worst I've seen it ever and I've been going to DL for over 30 years.

2) The Good
I returned to DCA and DL the next day. Had a great time.

a) DCA: Rode Superstar Limo for the first time. I've heard so many negative things, but personally, I kind of liked this strange little ride. It is very weird though.

b) Bug's Life: Have rode this at WDW. Is it my imagination, or is this attraction better at AK? Maybe it's due to the size of the theater. From what I recall, the AK version is in a much larger theater.

c) Bountiful Farm: I don't know if this really belongs in a theme park, but I enjoyed looking at all the plants.

d) Soaring: Loved it as usual, but this time I rode in the third row for the first time. I think it's MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER if you sit in the very front. Seeing everbody's shoes hanging in front of you kind of spoils the experience. Plus, you really notice the other people sitting all around you.

DL:
a) Crowds: Good size. I was expecting it to be more crowded. I thought the amount of people there was just about right. Was able to eat at French Market after a very small line. No problem finding a table.

b) Listened in during Walkin in Walt's Footsteps tour for a little bit. Chimed in when Guide asked if anyone had seen the Luckiest Millionaire movie. He couldn't believe I had seen it. I laughed later when I was walking down Main St. and heard the song, "Fortuousity."

c) Pirates: This ride completely broke down just after we had completed it. We were sitting in boat (right in front of turnstiles located behind double doors at entrance) when they announced the attraction was having major technical difficulties. They asked everyone to turn around in line and exit the attraction (BOOs from the crowd). We then sat in boats for awhile (5 minutes?) until they were able to start them up again and we could disembark.

It was cool to be in the attraction when it was empty. I took a couple of photos.

d) Single Rider: Went onto Indy through Single Rider line. Better than fastpass.

 

[nickglover]

Thanks for all the reports and taking the time to write them. I read them all and look forward to going in September.

 

[andrewam]

Good reports, interesting to read what others think of DL after going to WDW. I've read so many times that everyone thinks BTMR is better at DL then at WDW but I think the opposite. Maybe I'm just weird, well the one at DLP is way better then all! I think most people could agree to that.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Thanks for posting your thoughts!