Five Fabulous Days!

[thewelts]

We just returned from spending 5 days/4 nights at Disneyland. We stayed at the Grand Californian in a DVC studio (December 13-17). This was our 5th trip since 2010.

Our friends/neighbors joined us for part of the trip. They stayed at the Park Vue Inn and also had a wonderful first-timer experience!

Here are a few of our highlights/low-lights:

What went well:
Renting DVC points
We found a VGC owner on the Disboards and rented 84 points at the 11 month mark. We paid $924 for 4 nights in a VGC studio ($231/night inclusive of taxes).

Lansky Car Service
$95 Flat rate from LAX to Disneyland. We has 4 adults and 2 kids in our party. We were very pleased and would certainly use Lansky again (if we fly in LAX).

Ordering Groceries from Vons.com
Be sure to order EARLY to lock-in a good delivery time. I placed our original order about 3 weeks in advance – delivery on our arrival day between 2-3 PM. I routinely updated and modified our order. We usually stock up on basics like milk, cereal, bread, butter, peanut butter, jam, cheese, crackers, fruit, water, etc. We generally do not eat breakfast or lunch in the parks. This allows for a more generous dinner budget for special dining packages.

Walking with a Fitbit
I was surprised to see an average of 22,000 steps or 10 miles per day recorded! It made me feel better about eating that churro and corndog! We had hopper tickets and actively walked back and forth between parks, DTD and our hotel.

Fastpass System
I love Disneyland’s Fastpass system and I hope it doesn’t change. Last year we went to WDW as they were launching the magic band fast pass program. I was horrified by how restricted and limited the options are.

Favorite moments and highlights:
• "Believe...In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular (viewed from Main Street)
• Fantasmic! (Blue Bayou Dining package)
• Aladdin (We had great seats – 1st row of upper orchestra)
• Carthay Manhattan at Carthay Lounge (Love that ice cube and those cherries!)
• Fiesta Navidad!

Things I didn’t love or would not do again:
• Holiday Time at Disneyland Tour
• Winter Dreams –World of Color show (I love the original show much more)
• Dinner at Jazz Kitchen (I used to love this place)

The weather was very fair -- partly sunny and mid-sixties. We had one day with scattered showers. It wasn't quite "swimming" weather, but my son and his friend managed to fit in a swim and I was happy to sit in the sun.

The holidays at Disneyland are magical (and crowded). I'm so glad we allowed lots of extra time to enjoy everything (we normally stay for 3 nights).

 

[Satye1]

Dîd you dine at Ralph Brennan's Jazz kitchen? If so, what didn't you like? My DH & DD's were going to try it for our first time in Feb.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I too would like to know what was disappointing about Jazz. We ate there in Nov. and it was fantastic (seafood gumbo - drool).
Sounds like a wonderful trip otherwise.

 

[thewelts]

I would suggest that you give Jazz Kitchen a try. It was our least favorite meal for this trip -- in the past it was often my favorite meal. Perhaps they were having an off-night. I noticed that the kid's menu was not as good (standard chicken strips rather than corn flake crusted and the mac and cheese was not as good). I had a glass of white wine, the salad (very good), followed by the Coconut crusted shrimp appetizer as my entree (with a side of sauted spinach), and bread pudding for dessert. I was pleased with my meal, but not thrilled with my husband's or son's meal.

Of the dinners we had, I would rank Carthay Circle #1 - we had a lovely private room and I loved the Carthay Manhattan. I would rank Naples #2, as it was super inexpensive and their pizza is quite good. Blue Bayou #3 and Jazz Kitchen #4.

 

[DizMe]

Great report! My sister and I were there a week ago. We opted not to do the Holiday Tour this year and we didn't miss it. I loved it the first couple of times, but we found we didn't need to continue that tradition as it had gotten stale for us. We didn't feel the price justified a padded seat and goodies for the parade

We also ate at Jazz Kitchen and had a wonderful meal. We didn't have kids with us and my sis and I had the same thing (beef medallions & bread pudding) plus soup and salad, so we didn't really experience much on the menu. Our food was fantastic, though, and we had such a good time there.

We also had dinner at Carthay on the balcony, with a drink first in the lounge. It was also excellent, but I'd give it fewer stars than Jazz Kitchen due to the price and service. It was very expensive, I felt the menu was really limited, and our service was ok but not as good as you would expect. However, the pork chop was delectable! We didn't order dessert because we wanted to have that in the Napa Rose lounge in front of the fireplace

I enjoyed your report very much!! Thanks for sharing

 

[DizMe]

OP, I just read your Holiday Tour report on another thread. I'm so sorry!!! That was a terrible experience compared to what we've always had. I've been on the tour 6 times and thought it was worth the price every trip, but have never encountered the problems you had and have always gotten a really fun tour guide. I just found that after so many times listening to the same info over awful headphones it was no longer the value it used to be for me. Last year, DH and I took our dds on the tour (first time for all but me, as I usually go with just my sister) and they really enjoyed it--girls were 10, 10, and 13. It's easy to pay for one tour, but five people = a lot of money for something like that, so it's a bigger deal if the experience is disappointing!

 

[77catwoman]

We are WDW (Orlando locals) going to DLR next year for five days at the same time. This is incredibly helpful so thank you!

Question for you...was it incredibly busy or were able to do everything pretty easily? It will be the first visit for our daughter who will be 5 at the time.

Thanks,

 

[thewelts]

We are WDW (Orlando locals) going to DLR next year for five days at the same time. This is incredibly helpful so thank you!

Question for you...was it incredibly busy or were able to do everything pretty easily? It will be the first visit for our daughter who will be 5 at the time.

Thanks,

It was crowded, but no more crowded that WDW during the same time. The mornings are always quiet and you can get a lot done before Noon. The parks start to feel full around 11 AM.

We never made it to a Magic Morning, as we like to sleep in a bit -- We stay up later than usual for the nighttime shows. We would usually stroll into the park by 8:30 AM and by Noon we left the park for an afternoon break.

I would recommend that you book all your dinner reservations 60 days out and that you plan on one nighttime show per evening (WOC, Fantasmic!, Fireworks from Main Street, and Aladdin).

You will love it!

 

[77catwoman]

Awesome to hear! Thanks!!!!

 

[TheDoleWhipper]

Wow! Seems like you had fun! We are also going for 5 days in June staying at the Disneyland hotel. Can't wait!!!

I am so sorry that you disliked the holiday tour. I just read your review of it. I guess the crowds are something to keep in mind when booking tours on crazy packed days! I did not realize that they can make such a difference in your tour! And not to mention that you were not even able to see some special holiday details! Well, at least it was not the most crowded day of disneyland's christmas season. I imagine that the cast members are already bracing themselves in preparation for these coming weeks!