Just back from Disneyland

[never2muchdisney]

Hello - Just back from a wonderful Christmas vacation at Disneyland.

Would be happy to answer any questions I can.

Brief outline:

*Flew on Southwest with layovers in Vegas. (didn't see any of Vegas - just airport)

*Our group included a six month old, 3 year old, 3 middle 20 year olds, and two 50 year olds

*We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn.

*Some of the restaurants we ate at: the Rainforest Cafe DTD, Bucca Italian off site, Mimi's off site

*most restaurant prices were down compared to a year ago

*No crowds before the 24th

*Crowds started on 25th - Very crowded by 28th

*More characters out roaming the grounds than ever before

*Lots of photopass opportunities – sometimes 2 photographers at one location

*New movie and outline of the 3 phases of construction being done at CA are available to view at the winery.

*Wheelchair lines are longer and have the same wait time as stand by lines

*DL & CA didn’t show any signs of poor economy or less staff, but DTD did. The restrooms were dirty and the stores were understaffed – lines for food were long with not enough employees to handle the crowds.

*At least one ride broke down every day. The monorail only worked 50% of the time. We were stuck on MM at CA & IJ at DL. Both times we received a special pass to enter any other ride without waiting in line. The sun wheel was the only ride not open due to refurbishing. All the water was drained from the pier due to sun wheel refurbish project – looked strange.

*The fireworks and snow were awesome, as were the parades and shows.

* Remember to pack a raincoat – none of the rides shut down due to rain.

We had such a great time we’ve already put $50 in the vacation fund for next year. Would highly recommend Disneyland at Christmas time for all ages.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Wow, that sounds lovely! We have been talking about going to Florida next Christmas holiday but maybe DL is the way to go! Have a restful New Years!!!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Glad you had a great time! Christmas time is my favorite time at DLR

 

[Lou-Ann]

So glad you got to do this. We went last year but could not this year.

 

[BraMax]

Your right no one does Christmas like Disney. Although I've never been on Christmas just for all the other stuff. How was the Candy Cane Inn? My DH and I are staying there the beginning of Feb. Did you walk or take the shuttle?

Glad you had a wonderful time!

 

[pixiewings71]

Which monorail was breaking down? Was it just the red one?

 

[disneyluvbug]

we were there the same time as you!!!

when we rode the monorail blue they were only allowing 15 people per car..they said as we were going into disneyland that they were having issues with them, this was saturday.. we had to line up and only enter at front gate, they even counted infants as a person, and some cars only had 13 or 14 people..

we did not get stuck on it...

 

[never2muchdisney]

Your right no one does Christmas like Disney. Although I've never been on Christmas just for all the other stuff. How was the Candy Cane Inn? My DH and I are staying there the beginning of Feb. Did you walk or take the shuttle?

Glad you had a wonderful time!

The Candy Cane is great. The staff are wonderful, the grounds are so clean, breakfast is outstanding. We took the shuttle and walked. The walk was 10 minutes from our door to the DL security gates - the shuttle was a 4 minute ride. The shuttle would leave on the hour and half hour from the motel, so if we missed the shuttle, we would just walk instead of waiting 30 minutes for it to return. Most mornings - before 9:00 - the shuttle was full with passengers standing in the aisle. And between 11:00pm and 12:45am, the shuttle back to the motel is also standing room only. I think it's more full going back to the motel because everybody is carrying big packages. The shuttle leaves DL at 15 & 45 after the hour, and runs 45 minutes after the parks close. The best thing about the Candy Cane shuttle is that it only goes to and from the Candy Cane motel - no other stops on the way.

 

[never2muchdisney]

Which monorail was breaking down? Was it just the red one?

Two separate days we tried to ride the monorail from DL to DTD, and both times a cast member was standing at the entrance explaining that the monorail would be running again in about 45 minutes. So I’m not sure which one, the red or blue, was the problem. Then again, the monorail was down at the DTD entrance on Christmas Eve, the 26th, and the 27th. We never did get the opportunity to ride it during out trip. We did see both colors running throughout each day, but not when we were ready to board. LOL! Rumor in the Nemo ride line was that it was having problems for most of the month.

 

[Colfireman]

On Tuesday Blue was having a problem so red it was. We had to exit at DTD and then get in line for the return trip. All in all it took 10-20 minutes for the wait.

 

[BraMax]

The Candy Cane is great. The staff are wonderful, the grounds are so clean, breakfast is outstanding. We took the shuttle and walked. The walk was 10 minutes from our door to the DL security gates - the shuttle was a 4 minute ride. The shuttle would leave on the hour and half hour from the motel, so if we missed the shuttle, we would just walk instead of waiting 30 minutes for it to return. Most mornings - before 9:00 - the shuttle was full with passengers standing in the aisle. And between 11:00pm and 12:45am, the shuttle back to the motel is also standing room only. I think it's more full going back to the motel because everybody is carrying big packages. The shuttle leaves DL at 15 & 45 after the hour, and runs 45 minutes after the parks close. The best thing about the Candy Cane shuttle is that it only goes to and from the Candy Cane motel - no other stops on the way.

Thank-you so much for the review. We are looking forward to trying a new hotel this time. And since we don't have the kids we can truly enjoy it. The walk doesn't scare us. As we've walked from the Residence Inn but knowing that the free shuttle will be there at the end of a long day is nice as well.

 

[pixiewings71]

Two separate days we tried to ride the monorail from DL to DTD, and both times a cast member was standing at the entrance explaining that the monorail would be running again in about 45 minutes. So I’m not sure which one, the red or blue, was the problem. Then again, the monorail was down at the DTD entrance on Christmas Eve, the 26th, and the 27th. We never did get the opportunity to ride it during out trip. We did see both colors running throughout each day, but not when we were ready to board. LOL! Rumor in the Nemo ride line was that it was having problems for most of the month.

Thanks for the info. I hope to ride them both when we are there.

 

[Jasak]

Wow, going to Disneyland before the 24th wasn't busy?
We were there from Dec. 28 - 30 and it was crowded!! Thank goodness for the fastpasses.
By Monday, the 29th - crowds got bigger! It was hard to just walk around with hordes of people around, long lines for rides, to the restrooms and for food! But the fireworks, fantasmic were awesome!!
The cast members said that it was just starting to pick up!!! We will not be going at this time of year again.

 

[Echie]

Thanks for all the tips! What were some of the photopass photographer locations (other than the entrance and castle)?

 

[never2muchdisney]

Thanks for all the tips! What were some of the photopass photographer locations (other than the entrance and castle)?

While we were there, we found photographers and had our pics at the entrances of both parks, castle, and:

*DL The beginning of Mainstreet, just outside City Hall, Hat Shop, and Fire station. The characters hung out in that area for about 15 minutes every hour. We got photos with Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Goofy, Cruella.

*DL Under the Walt & Mickey statue with statue and castle in background.

*DL In front of raft rides, the photographer took pics of us holding a sword and later added Captain Hook to the pics.

*DL In front of the rocket ride, the photographer took pics of us holding a light saber and later added a Star Wars character to the pics. These were our favorites!

*DL Toontown, in Mickey’s house with Mickey.

*DL Critter Country with Pooh

*CA On Hollywood Street, Sulley, Cinnderella, Max, Goofy were hanging out and three photographers were there every day.

*CA In front of Tower of Terror

*CA On bridge in front of Sun Wheel. Even though it’s under construction, they still take pics there.


And we got lots of pics in front of the big Christmas trees at both DL & CA, also with Santa at the DL ranch and GC hotel lobby, and in a Christmas sleigh outside the ranch.

We mainly just looked out for any we could find, and if the lines weren’t long, we jumped in line. After a week, we had almost 200 pics taken. On the days it rained, the photographers disappeared.

Just a personal note: I read several times on the message boards that the photographers are not professionals. So I wasn’t expecting GREAT pics, but at least some fun ones. After viewing our pics online, they were correct, the pics are amateur, but at least our entire group was in most of them. Another advantage to photopass is that the night time pics turn out. My camera doesn’t take nice night time pics. The night time ones were especially nice in front of the castle and the Christmas trees. I feel like we got enough good pics out of the 200 taken to justify buying the CD. We got our money’s worth, and it was fun looking for photographers. You are able to edit any pics taken, it’s time consuming, but can be fun. The border selections are very limited, but look nice. I would do it again.

 

[Echie]

While we were there, we found photographers and had our pics at the entrances of both parks, castle, and:

*DL The beginning of Mainstreet, just outside City Hall, Hat Shop, and Fire station. The characters hung out in that area for about 15 minutes every hour. We got photos with Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Goofy, Cruella.

*DL Under the Walt & Mickey statue with statue and castle in background.

*DL In front of raft rides, the photographer took pics of us holding a sword and later added Captain Hook to the pics.

*DL In front of the rocket ride, the photographer took pics of us holding a light saber and later added a Star Wars character to the pics. These were our favorites!

*DL Toontown, in Mickey’s house with Mickey.

*DL Critter Country with Pooh

*CA On Hollywood Street, Sulley, Cinnderella, Max, Goofy were hanging out and three photographers were there every day.

*CA In front of Tower of Terror

*CA On bridge in front of Sun Wheel. Even though it’s under construction, they still take pics there.


And we got lots of pics in front of the big Christmas trees at both DL & CA, also with Santa at the DL ranch and GC hotel lobby, and in a Christmas sleigh outside the ranch.

We mainly just looked out for any we could find, and if the lines weren’t long, we jumped in line. After a week, we had almost 200 pics taken. On the days it rained, the photographers disappeared.

Just a personal note: I read several times on the message boards that the photographers are not professionals. So I wasn’t expecting GREAT pics, but at least some fun ones. After viewing our pics online, they were correct, the pics are amateur, but at least our entire group was in most of them. Another advantage to photopass is that the night time pics turn out. My camera doesn’t take nice night time pics. The night time ones were especially nice in front of the castle and the Christmas trees. I feel like we got enough good pics out of the 200 taken to justify buying the CD. We got our money’s worth, and it was fun looking for photographers. You are able to edit any pics taken, it’s time consuming, but can be fun. The border selections are very limited, but look nice. I would do it again.

Thank you VERY much! The last time we were in DL a few years ago, I don't actually remember seeing photopass photographers anywhere other than the entrance and the castle. I'll have to look for them in some of these places. Thanks

 

[PinkBudgie]

One more I noticed the other day that was new to me- Pictures with The Cars across from Soarin. McQueen and Mater. Very cute but didn't have to stop.

 

[LeilahandAidanMom]

Hi! How did you find the rooms at the CCI with a baby and toddler? We are heading to Disneyland in April with an 8 month old and 5 year old and based on what I've read, the CCI rooms are tiny, which is the only reason that I'm holding back from booking there. Will a crib fit into a Deluxe room and still leave us enough room to move around? I'm having such a hard time picking a hotel!

 

[never2muchdisney]

Hi! How did you find the rooms at the CCI with a baby and toddler? We are heading to Disneyland in April with an 8 month old and 5 year old and based on what I've read, the CCI rooms are tiny, which is the only reason that I'm holding back from booking there. Will a crib fit into a Deluxe room and still leave us enough room to move around? I'm having such a hard time picking a hotel!

Hello, We had a standard room, I know deluxe rooms book faster because they are just a bit bigger, but they cost a bit more also, so we went with a standard size. We set up the portable crib in the vanity area, and took one of the motel table chairs to my parent's room, but not much room to squeeze between crib and bathroom door. It only left us with one chair at the table each morning for breakfast. We took the crib down every morning so we could use the sink vanity and coffee pot area. It wasn't convenient by no means, but it just became routine. It would have been nicer if we could have left the crib up all day and had the other chair for sitting, because when we came back in the afternoons for naps, we had to set it all up again. One day, we came back and the housekeeping service hadn't made it to our room yet, so we hung out at the pool until our room was done, then set up the crib. The rooms are not good for more than 4 people who can sleep in the beds. Extras like cribs, playpens, and roll aways just don't fit well, but we didn't let it ruin our wonderful Disney trip. It's just one of those things we didn't think about before we booked our motel. It will be a consideration in the future, if we ever have another one in a crib during vacation. I really like the CCI, but HoJo's would fit our family and all their extra stuff much better. We've stayed there too, and really liked it as well.

 

[LeilahandAidanMom]

Thanks for your quick reply! I've Your information really helps with my decision. Although I love the idea of the free shuttle and continental breakfast at the CCI, I think having the extra space is more important. Did you find the walk to and from HoJo was ok? Especially if we want to return mid-afternoon for a nap? Thanks again!