Finally Finished - Trip Report - WDWers at Disneyland (June 10 - 18 with pictures)

[nzdisneymom]

We're leaving on Wednesday so I thought I would start our trip report tonight as our plans have been falling into place the last few days, and also in case anyone has any thoughts, recommendations, or tips to share before we leave!

Traveling Party
NZDisneymom (me, 45 y.o.)
DH (54)
DSN (turning 13 while we're there)
DSZ (11 1/2)

We live in Florida and have been to WDW many times since 1999. We are also DVC Members. Our only trip to Disneyland was in the fall of 1999 - DSN was just over 3 and DSZ had just turned two, so they don't have memories of it beyond the photos we've enjoyed over the years. DCA was being constructed when we were there last.

So we decided to spend our summer vacation at Disneyland and celebrate DSN's birthday this year. Yep, I've got his certificate and identification already ready to pack so we can see what we can get for him on his birthday.

We're flying from JAX to SNA on Wednesday, and we've scheduled the Disneyland Resort Express for our round-trip airport to hotel transfer. I got our airline tix back in October on a super-Tuesday drop in price (thanks to www.kayak.com!).

We're staying at the Disneyland Hotel using our DVC points. It's nice because we don't have to pay the $95 reservation fee that DVC requires for non-Disney hotels. We picked the Disneyland Hotel for a couple of reasons - one being that it was the most economical use of our points, and another being that we stayed at the DLH back in 1999 and this is a bit of a nostalgic trip for us.

We have the buy 3, get 5 day tickets that we bought online, so we plan to spend Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at the parks. While I've read that five days will be more than plenty, we have gotten so used to doing WDW at a casual pace and going back and forth to the hotel for a nap / swim, so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to see and do everything at DL / DCA that we can without having to commando any day. Also because we aren't sure what the crowd level may or may not be, we wanted to be sure that if we encountered lines beyond our tolerance level, we had some time to return at a lesser time.

While we don't think we really need a tour of Disneyland / DCA, we have opted to do the Welcome to Disneyland tour. DH and I have done the Keys to the Kingdom at WDW and absolutely loved the on-stage part with all the trivia and the pointing out of details, etc. Because the children consider themselves to be somewhat experts at WDW, we thought they would enjoy doing the Welcome to Disneyland tour. The tour is only offered on the weekends, so we are doing it on Friday morning. That gives us Thursday to explore on our own and I think will actually enhance the tour experience for us as we will have acclimated a bit to the California parks.

(funny aside - every now and then when we are at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, I try to get ice cream from where Casey's is on the corner of Main Street - because I remember getting ice cream at that same corner on Main Street in California some 10 years ago. The kids tease me about it - so just wait and see who I won't buy ice cream for on Main Street next week!)

We have booked a private tour of Hollywood area for Saturday, using Tony the Limo King based on recommendations we found over at TripAdvisor. I looked for information here on the DIS and just couldn't find any - so I will be sure to post our experiences in the Southern California forum when we return. One of the things we want to do as part of that tour is go to the Disney Studio Store / Soda Fountain at the El Capitan in Hollywood. I printed off a menu from disney.com today -- they have several menu items that remind me of Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club at WDW.

Sunday morning is our Goofy's Kitchen breakfast. We had nearly decided to skip it, but because we had such a delightful time there when the boys were young, we wanted to include this as part of our trip-down-memory-lane. We have it booked for mid-morning on Sunday, and since we aren't having a park-day or anything else planned, it doesn't matter if we feel like slugs when we're done -- the only thing we have planned for that day is laundry.

Monday is a park day. I've checked the schedules to see which days Fantasmic and Aladdin are offered and marked them on my planning sheet (but don't remember at this time which days I marked them on).

Tuesday is DSN's birthday - so that's a big day. It's also the only morning we can experience Magic Morning, but just an hour at 7 A.M. doesn't seem like something we'll participate in at that point in our vacation - I'm sure we'll be sleeping!

Wednesday will be our "make up" day - where we catch anything we've missed and do whatever we wanted to do "one more time" that we can squeeze in. It's also the day I'll see if we can get a late-check-out for the following morning.

Then it's Thursday again. Our flight is the red-eye that leave at 9:45 that night, so we'll have all day to hang out. DH asked me today what we'll be doing that day. I told him I had absolutely no idea! I have backed-up the time we need to leave from DLH to arrive at the airport in plenty of time, and that leaves us several hours in the afternoon to hang out. We may find a place for a long, leisurely lunch, and maybe catch a movie at the AMC. Or finally go see what is over at GardenWalk or whatever. Then fly all night home.

Whew - are you tired yet? I'm not - I'm excited! We don't over-plan our vacations, but I do like to make sure we plan enough that we don't stand around wasting a lot of time and then get home and have a list of "wish we hads..."

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions??? Feel free to share! I got a new memory stick for our camera and hope to have lots of pictures to share when we get back. I'm not taking a laptop but I am taking pen/paper so I can keep some notes for our TR when we get home.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Belle Ella]

Hope you all have a great time and happy early birthday to DSN!! Can't wait to hear all about it. Hope it's another great stay at DLH - I loved it the one time I stayed there and also loved how close it was to the monorail station in DTD if I got a little tired fo the walk to and fro.

I hope you get lots of pictures too - they are my favorite part

 

[DLR29]

Edit: Never mind. Didn't realize the 11th is not a MM day due to grad nights.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Edit: Never mind. Didn't realize the 11th is not a MM day due to grad nights.

I had wondered why the 11th wasn't a MM day -- you answered my question! Most of the other days we'll be there, DL is open til midnight. We love the Florida MK at night - can't wait to experience the California one!

 

[scottishwee35]

Just want to saying have a fun...

Scottishwee35

 

[nzdisneymom]

So we take off tomorrow, heading for California! I called yesterday to put in a request for a rollaway bed, so hopefully we'll be able to get one The suitcases are packed (two, don't want to have to pay more than necessary for the baggage fees with Delta). We can't check-in online because our first leg tomorrow is with a "Delta partner"... so we have to make sure to allow a little more time before our flight.

Everything is taken care of, so now it's time to just read more on the DIS til time for bed, and then off we go! We'll post when we get back.

 

[Belle Ella]

Enjoy your flight tomorrow and (as if it doesn't go without saying) have a magical time!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Oh, one more thing -- we have decided to def. take advantage of Photo Pass this trip. We never do when we're at WDW - in fact, we rarely take photos any more even though I carry the camera with me all the time. I already advised DH and the boys that we WILL be getting our pictures made with the Photo Pass CMs and we WILL be cooperative (LOL). Check back with us later and see how that actually works out!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Well, almost home anyway -- we're spending a couple of days with family for the Fathers' Day weekend and then we'll be home. Over 350 pictures and several pages of notes to help me construct our trip report. We survived "June Gloom" and had a wonderful trip. Stay tuned....

 

[Gidget]

Welcome home...almost!!! I'm in!!! Can't wait!!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Our pictures are uploading to photobucket, so that means it's time to start writing our trip report!


So I've already introduced our family of four. We've been going to WDW since our youngest was 16 months old, so that was January 1999. We're season passholders and consider ourselves to be seasoned WDWers. We were last at DLR in September 1999, so a lot has changed! But we'll get to that! In addition to the four of us, we also took Mickey who had some fun times playing Hidden Mickey as well as just being in various pictures.

Wednesday, June 10th. We left home just before 8 a.m. for our 2 1/2 hour drive to Jacksonville to fly to Santa Ana / Orange County airport. We fly from JAX because we can usually get cheaper flights than flying from our home airport and when you're buying multiple tickets, well, that savings can be used for other things while on vacation. We flew Delta but were not able to check in online nor at the kiosk at the airport. Several other passengers had the same issue for our flight. We had a 15 minute wait in line for an agent to help us, but once we got started, we were checked in, two bags tagged and paid for, and on our way to the gate in no time. Bags with Delta are $15 per bag -- and $25 for additional bags. We learned that it is important when they ask how many bags you are checking to be very specific that I am checking one bag and DH is checking one bag for a total of two bags (more about that on our return flight...).

Because it was lunch time, we opted to grab a bite at the airport. DH, DSZ, and I got fast food from Burger King before going through security, and DSN got some breadsticks from Sbarro after we cleared security. I updated my notes. (Seriously, I updated my notes every time we had a break on our trip because if I didn't there is no way I would remember anything about what we did when.)

Our flight left JAX on time even though it had arrived late. We got to ATL and had to change concourses which is pretty standard, but we had plenty of time between connections. We boarded on time, but just as we were pushing back from the gate, down came the late afternoon Georgia thunderstorms which pretty much brings ATL to a halt. We took off about an hour late and also had to take a more southernly route to SNA (according to the pilot) so our flight time was longer, too. But we had onboard entertainment system and I was introduced by my kids to the show Cash Cab which is on Discovery channel... there must've been a marathon because we saw a lot of episodes (they had satellite t.v. for the flight out, the movies had to be paid for which was a bummer because I wanted to watch a movie).

We arrived at SNA at 6:39 and were off the plane by 6:50. Our bags were some of the first off, so we were out at Ground Transportation right at 7 p. m. and met the Disneyland Resort Express there. I had paid online and got the online discount which saved us a few dollars, so I showed the driver the voucher, we loaded the bags, and were soon on our way. We were the only family onboard.

It was about 20 - 25 minute drive from SNA to the DLH. We called my folks to let them know we arrived safely - we had to call right then because of the time difference as it was bedtime on the east coast but still daylight in CA.

The temperature was noticeably cooler than when we left Florida (it was in the 90s when we left and high 60s in CA). It was so refreshing to us although we had so many people apologizing to us for the June Gloom we got to experience during the week. Trust me, we certainly didn't care!

Next up: Arrival at the hotel, check-in, and review of our room.

 

[MassMom94]

Great start! Or should I say, continuation. Can't wait to read more!

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Your TR is great so far, keep it coming! We leave for our 1st trip to DLR this Sunday (can't wait!). Looking forward to seeing some of those 300+ pictures you took!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Wednesday, June 10th - continued.

The Disneyland Resort Express is an easy way to get from the airport to the Disneyland Hotel (and other surrounding hotels). On the way to the hotel, our driver pointed out various sites to us including the Angels' stadium. DH and I had stayed at a Doubletree near the Angels' stadium back in 1995 when he had a work conference out there, so we were able to see where we had been before. We didn't realize we had been so close to Disneyland, but back then, we weren't going to WDW either, so we didn't go.

Anyway, we pulled into the Disney property, saw the huge parking structure which is known as "where the most family arguments happen" at Disneyland Resort because no one remembers where they parked their car, and then entered the DLH drop off area. The bus literally drops you off in front. There was a DRE ticket person there who checked our voucher and was supposed to give me a return voucher for our trip back on the 18th but he was out of slips, so he said just show my same paper when we were ready to go back.

We got our bags, tipped the driver, and headed for check-in. I didn't remember much about the hotel from 10 years ago at first, so it was like going into a new place for us.

The registration desk is to the left as you enter the hotel; Guest Services is to the far right as you enter. There was no line when we checked in, so check-in went smoothly. We had requested a roll-away so the boys wouldn't have to sleep together, but as it was later in the day, all the (few) rooms that could accommodate a roll-away were already occupied. The CM asked if we were celebrating any birthdays, etc., so I told him DSN's birthday was on Tuesday, and he asked who his favorite character is (Mickey).

This is from the registration / information area:

Our room was on the second floor (2077) in the Wonder tower which is in the far back of the property, but not really a long walk. It is the same building we were in back in 1999, only this time we had a "lovely" view of the parking lot while last time we overlooked the fountains / courtyard area.

We were a little disappointed when we first saw our room as it was pretty tiny. But then as DVC owners, we've gotten used to even the studios being a bit larger than a regular hotel room, but you could definitely tell this is an older hotel in terms of the smaller room. However not once during the week did we find that it was too small for us. So maybe the Tinkerbell flying around the top of the room spread enough pixie dust to make the room magically expand to fit us.

I apparently didn't take any room shots, because this is the only one I can find from our check-in day:

The bathroom was set up so the sink was in one area and the toilet/tub/shower was in a separate area which made getting ready in the mornings a bit easier.

The beds were pretty close to the wall - so close that it was hard for me to get off my side of the bed as I was by the wall, and the beds are a little bit high.

There was plenty of drawer space and closet space for us to fully unpack, and there was also a small refrigerator where we could keep a few drinks cold during the week. The t.v. worked and yep, it had the Discovery channel, so I saw even more episodes of Cash Cab

The sliding glass door opened to a baledge (not a balcony, a little more than a ledge). You couldn't really stand on it, but you could step out enough to look around a bit. There was a decal that said don't leave the window open because the birds were friendly, so we didn't open it much although the cool air would've been nice.

The boys found a Spencer train engine left in the rail of the sliding door up behind the curtain, so we took it to Guest Services on our last day and asked them if they could try to find the owner as I imagine there is some sad little boy who left his train behind and some mom or dad who said "I told you not to play with it there and to make sure you put it back where it wouldn't get left." We hope that the CM will follow through with the previous guest(s) and find the owner.

Next up: Dinner at midnight.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Feel free to ask any questions if you have any along the way.


After getting our stuff in and making sure the room seemed ok, we headed out for dinner. We weren't sure what we wanted, but I had scoped out ahead of time what was available at Downtown Disney and where the various restaurants were. Our bus driver had mentioned Tortilla Jo's and we all like Mexican food, so we thought we'd see if we could get in there.

Downtown Disney is literally adjacent to the Disneyland Hotel, so it was a short walk to the DtD area. When you enter DtD from the DLH, you come to the ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe first. (the pictures are from the next morning -you can see the June Gloom overcastness)

Then just beyond the monorail, you'll find Tortilla Jo's, the House of Blues, and Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. Then further down is Napolini and Naples. There is also a Wetzel's Pretzels and Haagen Daz, and a coffee bar.

We got to Tortilla Jo's a bit before 8:30 p.m. California time; there was a 20 minute wait and they asked us to please wait inside. They did not have buzzers. They do have some outside seating but they don't use it every day, and there is also a walk-up window where you can get a limited menu selection outside with a little cafe-seating. We were tired and hungry and opted to wait inside for table service. We had time to look over the menu (adult and kid) so that by the time we were seated (right at 9 p.m. - or midnight our time!), we were ready to order.

It took about 5 minutes after we were seated before our server came over; he was training someone and the party next to us was large and having some issue over their bill. I wondered if that was a sign as to how our dinner would be, but about that time, chips and salsa arrived Our server, once he was able to attend to us, did a good job; our food came out as ordered and our drink glasses were kept full. I had the steak quesadillas which were more than plentiful; the boys had chicken fingers and cheese quesadilla with fresh fruit on the side for their dinners off the kid menu. The kid-menu items were $7.95 which was a bit steep for what we're used to ($4.95 for similar selection and portion sizes), but we had expected the prices to be more at the DLR and California in general. I don't remember what DH had but he said it was good.

The kids didn't eat their fruit, so we got a to-go container and took the fruit with us as we had the refrigerator in our room.

We walked around DtD for several minutes to get a lay of the land, but by then the temperature had dropped considerably and there was a breeze, so the boys, in their short-sleeved shirts and shorts, were getting chilly. We were all pretty tired, too, so we headed back to the hotel for showers and sleep.

One thing we enjoyed each evening was the channel on the t.v. that had a princess telling bedtime tales. During the time we were there, Snow White, Belle, and Cinderella each told their story over and over and over. They switched over at 8 p.m. and their bedtime story ran for 24 hours. It got so that it was really funny and DSZ got really good at the script at the end where the princess says "Did you like my story?" (pause) "Wonderful!" And then she says "Well Brian (he's the guy in the story that helps act it out), it's getting late... oh, he fell asleep. We should all sleep now. Tomorrow is another magical day here at the happiest place on earth. Goodnight!" and then she would blow a kiss.

And what was really funny is how it really seemed to work! We all fell asleep pretty quickly! Lights out and all was quiet by 11:30 California time(2:30 a.m. our time). And don't worry -- we stopped adding / subtracting those three hours beginning the next day!

Next up - our first day in the park.

 

[thmar]

Joining in...

We like to eat at Tortilla Joe's at least once during our trips. They usually have big portions...easy to split meals.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thursday, June 11th.

You gotta love going from Eastern time to Pacific! We woke up around 6:30 feeling like we'd slept all day! Disneyland didn't open until 9 a.m. (and DCA at 10 a.m.), but I thought we'd need time to exchange our tickets plus get some breakfast, so we were out the door at 7:20.

We wanted to get beignets at Ralph Brennan's express, but it turned out that they don't open unitl 8 a.m., so we had plenty of time to walk around DtD and see what was there as well as see how far it was to the entry for DL/DCA. There were already people queued at the bag-check. I hoped that didn't predict how busy the parks would be that day.

We were first in line for breakfast and had to wait about 15 minutes for the beignets (I had the english muffin sandwich which was ok but by the time the beignets were ready, I'd had it too long - I shouldn't have waited on the others). We met a nice lady from Arizona while waiting and she gave us some tips about the parks, especially compared to WDW.

Bag check is a little different than at WDW - they don't have a "no bags" line (or at least they didn't when we were there) but it seemed that people weren't trying to take in half their household items with them, either, so the bag check went quickly.

There was a long line snaking around the ticket booth. We had pre-purchased our tickets online, but I hadn't read all the instructions, so I thought we'd have to exchange the paper for tickets at Guest Services or the Ticket window. DH noticed the Guest Services line was short (as in just two people waiting), so we went over there. I needed to pick up our tickets for Friday's Welcome to Disneyland tour as well, so I thought we'd do both. Well, if I had read the paper for the e-tickets, I would've seen that I just had to go to the turnstiles and they would give me a ticket there. We did pick up the Welcome to Disneyland tickets, so it wasn't a waste of time.

It was still before 9 a.m., but the CMs were letting people stream into the park and onto Main Street. The boys had said for several weeks now that they wanted the Matterhorn to be their first ride, so we consulted the map (gosh, that felt so odd!) and knew we needed to head right.

We stopped for a couple of pictures:

The rope hadn't dropped yet, so we slowly walked on the edges of Main Street taking it all in. We made sure to look around rather than at the map so we could see and experience Main Street first thing! They played some music over the speakers and then basically said Welcome to Disneyland, don't run, have fun, and then everyone was off.

We made it to the queue for the Matterhorn Bobsleds on the right side. Our server at Tortilla Jo's had said the right side was longer (and seeing from a thread on the main DL board, I see that is, indeed, correct). Here are the boys waiting:

DSN is not much for roller-coasters and dark rides, so he was a little bit nervous about doing the ride. The rest of us were looking forward to it. DSN and DSZ rode together while DH and I each took our own bobsled. It was a good ride, but bumpier / jerkier than I had remembered... or else all the padding was gone from my bobsled. The boys had a great time, though, although at one point I heard DSN say "never again..." but by the time we got off, he was definitely ready to go again and said he thought he might even try Space Mountain later in the week.

Next up: It's a Small World -- find the new characters.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Our next stop was It's a Small World. The boys were marveling at the outside since it is so spectacular, especially compared to Florida.

I knew that it had recently changed, but I had forgotten that various characters were now making appearances, so I was surprised to see Alice:

and Cinderella:

and Jasmine and Aladdin:

and Dory and Nemo:

and Woody and Bullseye:

We didn't get pictures of Peter Pan, Pinnochio and Jiminy Cricket, Jessie, the Three Cabalerros, Lilo and Stitch, Ariel, or Mulan. We went back through the ride a few days later to see if we'd missed anyone, but that's all we could spy. If we've missed anyone, please post it here!

Next stop: a date with the Queen of Hearts.

 

[hfehr1s]

I am so enjoying your recaps. We are WDW vets as well and are making our first trip out west next month, so I am soaking up as much information as I can!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

I am so enjoying your recaps. We are WDW vets as well and are making our first trip out west next month, so I am soaking up as much information as I can!!

Thanks. People kept asking us which we liked better - California or Florida -- and honestly there were things we like better about each place. Like you, I wanted to read ahead to know enough about the California experience before we got there to help make things easier (and more efficient) for our few days there.