Astylla
Disney Fanatic
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2011
- Messages
- 2,791
Hi all - since DH and I took an unscheduled trip I wanted to give some feedback regarding experiences , crowds , etc. We are Premium AP holders so we just decided to leave the bay area Friday night.
Friday night - We left around 7pm due to some horrific accidents snarling the freeway in our area. Due to leaving so late we ran into some construction late at night on I-5 just past LA/Burbank.
ALL 4 LANES CLOSE FOR 2 EXITS. Though there were alternate routes posted early on , we decided to tough it out and that was a mistake. Take the early detours !
This likely won't affect most people but if driving on I-5 in either direction past 10pm in that area be prepared.
Hotel : We finally rolled into Wyndham Garden Grove around 1:15am. I got a good last minute deal on Hotel Tonight and check in was friendly , fast and efficient. Very cheerful and knowledgeable front desk and getting in so late to have such a friendly demeanor was appreciated. We had a room on the top floor
( they call it executive level) and it was spacious , clean with very small signs of normal wear and tear but I really had to look for them. They do share parking with a Marriott so parking can be a trek late at night but we didn't find it enough to not come back. Towels were thick and absorbent and it had very good soundproofing. Though we faced Harbor Blvd. and the mountains I couldn't hear a thing.
Even from the hallways there wasn't much noise at all. The AC was QUIET - a central unit and powerful. I keep my rooms ice cold and it delivered. I was very happy with the property and won't hesitate to return.
Pics from room :
Sat : We slept in until around 9am and took our car to Toy Story lot. Wyndham offers shuttle service in their resort fee but it was quite busy so we decided to drive since parking was included.
Toy story was only 5 minutes drive but wow it was backed into the street! Unfortunately people were exceedingly impatient and blocking traffic , but since we were in the far right lane it worked to our advantage. Though we've never seen it so backed up. We found out why as we were directed back to Pongo lot , though unsure why it was fine. Once we parked we maybe waited 10 minutes to board a bus and took about 5 minutes to reach the parks. Bag check was quick and efficient and many lines were open.
At DL gates it was quite busy and so we decided to go by SM Ghost Galaxy FP but the return time was earlier than we wanted so we went to Splash Mountain for a FP instead. We had to wait 40 minutes for it to open so we first grabbed lunch at Hungry Bear. I had the new Caesar Turkey wrap and hubby had the cheeseburger with fries and onion rings. The wrap was really good ! It's deli type turkey with some shaved Parmesan cheese , Caesar dressing and lettuce. Dressing is a little runny but very tasty , it was a nice change from the heavier options.
Turkey Wrap :
We went on Splash with our FP then passed on Winnie the Pooh since it was over 20 minutes.We started looking at wait times and we were shocked. HM was hitting over 120-145 minutes all day , Pirates was 50 minutes , Star Tours 60 minutes , even Astro Blasters was upwards of 45 minutes. We decided to go back to Space Mountain , get a FP for later which ended up being around 8pm and go to DCA. Best decision ever.
We walked into DCA around 1:30pm and hit up the Good Dinosaur preview. It was REALLY PACKED.
But the preview was awesome , we enjoyed it !
Mural of The Good Dinosaur :
Afterwards we decided to do RSR single rider - waited maybe 15-20 minutes and ended up in the same car anyway. After we got off we hit up Cozy Cone for some ice cream. Apparently everyone had the same idea because the line was about 12 people deep. So I held a shaded bench spot while he got it. After cooling off we went and grabbed a FP for Grizzly River Run and hit up Little Mermaid then Screamin' over California. After that we decided to take a breather , got Red Trolley Ale from Award Weiners and headed to the Mad T party area to relax. It's a really great spot to just take a break away from the crowds , though DCA was really calm compared to DL !
Enjoying the Red Trolley Ale YUM!!
Lightning McQueen making his appearance while we had ice cream :
Our Grizzly FP came up so we went and rode that with a great fun family from the bay area ironically enough! Afterwards we grabbed an early dinner at Cocina Cucamonga . I had the two chicken tamales and my hubby has the carne asada steak and tamale. Both were excellent and the carne asada steak was very tender and well seasoned. Not salty at all but not bland. I was kind of wishing I got it too ! The rice was well cooked and the beans were flavorful too!
Carne Asada and Tamale dinner
We got there before the rush as the Pixar Parade was starting soon so we grabbed a table near the water and enjoyed our dinner and watched the parade too. While not an ideal spot it really is relaxing and you can still get a decent view and hear much of it !
Afterwards we decided to head back towards Paradise Pier.
We got a few pics as the sun was going down.
Here is where a normal day goes weird. DH and I were walking as normal and someone had stopped in front of us with a stroller so we got ready to walk around , suddenly someone "bumps" into my husband and it was apparent he tried to pickpocket us!! My husband said he was actually grabbed by this individual but because of how we carry items it was fruitless for this person to try. However we saw a CM walking towards us and immediately informed her. I appreciate she took the concern serious because she immediately started shadowing him and his companion who appeared to be his "daughter" but I'm not convinced. These things can happen ANYWHERE. So just be aware , please don't be afraid I just want to inform people.
While we couldn't believe what just happened we decided to carry on and hit up Toy Story Mania since it was cooling down and the wait was only 30 minutes. The line moved quickly and stayed true to that time. For veteran DLR guests you know anything under 45 minutes for this ride is awesome LOL.
Afterwards we hit up Ghiradelli before trekking over to DL.
I got the Salted Caramel Sundae and it did not disappoint !!
By this time our FP for Space was approaching so we headed back to the front.
The line to get back into DL was pretty short so we got in easily. We headed directly to Space and used our FP. After getting out we figured we'd head over to adventureland but PTN was finishing up so we watched the rest of that. I decided to rush towards IASW to get a "space" for fireworks since they would be soon. We got a decent standing spot about 3/4 down the wall on the lower level of the elevated platform Merida used to Meet and greet. I really love the IASW fireworks spot because you still have a great view.
Some pics from the parade - We were easily 20 feet back.
After that ended the struggle is real to get over to Critter Country as we wanted to get a late FP for Splash Mountain. Because Fantasmic was lining up it took what felt like forever but we finally got our FP for 11pm-12am return time. Since it was about 10:20pm by the time we got there we decided to just relax by the lower level of Hungry Bear by the restrooms.
This turned out to be a hidden gem. So Fantasmic started at 10:45pm and because the floats and Mark Twain/Columbia have to go by this area we kind of got snippets of a sneak peak of things.
The characters on the floats as they got ready would wave to us too! It was really cool!
The best was at the end when the Mark Twain circles around all the characters waved at us ,. Pluto blew us kisses and it felt very personal ! There were maybe a handful of people - 10 -12
including us if that. We enjoyed this spot immensely.
By now our Splash FP opened so we rode that with the most vocal group ever..very fun!
We passed by Pirates at 11:35pm so got in line for our last ride. We exited the ride around 12:10am and headed to the Toy Story line. HOLY COW WAS IT LONG. While it moved quickly we easily waited 30 minutes to board a bus. But given how busy the parks were it was expected.
Sunday :
We slept in until around 9:45am , checked out and headed to Toy Story after discovering Mickey and Friends was closed due to high traffic.
PRO TIP : NEVER FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. JUST TAKE KATELLA TO TOY STORY. YOU'LL THANK ME LATER. They diverted people to Gardenwalk first and just avoid that and Convention parking like the plague.
We parked easily and were pretty close to the buses and didn't even have a wait. We only spent the day at DL since we would drive back today.
We decided to make HM FP our priority as it was already ticking to 2:50pm-3:50pm return as of 10:45/11am. We got the FP for that then headed to Royal Street Veranda to share a clam chowder bread bowl. After that we went and rode Mr. Toad with a 15 min. wait , Star Tours only about 20 min. wait and then took the train over to New Orleans as using the Disneyland app we found our FP window was up and we could get Splash FP. We got our FP for Splash and had a short wait so did Winnie the Pooh then went to Pooh Corner for a snack. I had the 60th anniversary Minnie Mouse cake pop and hubby had a chunky chocolate chip cookie. Both were very good.
C is for COOKIE !!
Minnie Mouse 60th Cake Pop - WARNING THIS WAS SUPER RICH. More like a brownie truffle cake pop but VERY good!!
AP HOLDER TIP : Because Pooh Corner is a store we received a 20% discount for our snacks! They also sell bottled drinks so it's one of a few places you can get discounts on bottle drinks!
We then went on Splash again and then headed over towards New Orleans and HM.
Since we had a small wait for our FP to open we grabbed some popcorn and I got a Zero Popcorn bucket. We then went to ride HM as our last ride before heading out.
I unfortunately had to be a jerk and tell an obnoxious person to stop screaming at in the most horrible screeching ever. It was apparent they were doing it to annoy people , even their friends were embarrassed. After the first room I told him to be quiet as he's being obnoxious and it suddenly got much quieter. I don't like to be that person but sometimes it needs to be said.
Today was a Halloween Party so we definitely saw an uptick as the day went on. There were SO MANY GOOD COSTUMES. I would have loved to just people watch all night.
TLDR VERSION :
Even with high crowds and limited time you can get alot done ! Maximixe FP , make a priority list and be flexible. See something with a decent wait time ?
Friday night - We left around 7pm due to some horrific accidents snarling the freeway in our area. Due to leaving so late we ran into some construction late at night on I-5 just past LA/Burbank.
ALL 4 LANES CLOSE FOR 2 EXITS. Though there were alternate routes posted early on , we decided to tough it out and that was a mistake. Take the early detours !
This likely won't affect most people but if driving on I-5 in either direction past 10pm in that area be prepared.
Hotel : We finally rolled into Wyndham Garden Grove around 1:15am. I got a good last minute deal on Hotel Tonight and check in was friendly , fast and efficient. Very cheerful and knowledgeable front desk and getting in so late to have such a friendly demeanor was appreciated. We had a room on the top floor
( they call it executive level) and it was spacious , clean with very small signs of normal wear and tear but I really had to look for them. They do share parking with a Marriott so parking can be a trek late at night but we didn't find it enough to not come back. Towels were thick and absorbent and it had very good soundproofing. Though we faced Harbor Blvd. and the mountains I couldn't hear a thing.
Even from the hallways there wasn't much noise at all. The AC was QUIET - a central unit and powerful. I keep my rooms ice cold and it delivered. I was very happy with the property and won't hesitate to return.
Pics from room :
Sat : We slept in until around 9am and took our car to Toy Story lot. Wyndham offers shuttle service in their resort fee but it was quite busy so we decided to drive since parking was included.
Toy story was only 5 minutes drive but wow it was backed into the street! Unfortunately people were exceedingly impatient and blocking traffic , but since we were in the far right lane it worked to our advantage. Though we've never seen it so backed up. We found out why as we were directed back to Pongo lot , though unsure why it was fine. Once we parked we maybe waited 10 minutes to board a bus and took about 5 minutes to reach the parks. Bag check was quick and efficient and many lines were open.
At DL gates it was quite busy and so we decided to go by SM Ghost Galaxy FP but the return time was earlier than we wanted so we went to Splash Mountain for a FP instead. We had to wait 40 minutes for it to open so we first grabbed lunch at Hungry Bear. I had the new Caesar Turkey wrap and hubby had the cheeseburger with fries and onion rings. The wrap was really good ! It's deli type turkey with some shaved Parmesan cheese , Caesar dressing and lettuce. Dressing is a little runny but very tasty , it was a nice change from the heavier options.
Turkey Wrap :
We went on Splash with our FP then passed on Winnie the Pooh since it was over 20 minutes.We started looking at wait times and we were shocked. HM was hitting over 120-145 minutes all day , Pirates was 50 minutes , Star Tours 60 minutes , even Astro Blasters was upwards of 45 minutes. We decided to go back to Space Mountain , get a FP for later which ended up being around 8pm and go to DCA. Best decision ever.
We walked into DCA around 1:30pm and hit up the Good Dinosaur preview. It was REALLY PACKED.
But the preview was awesome , we enjoyed it !
Mural of The Good Dinosaur :
Afterwards we decided to do RSR single rider - waited maybe 15-20 minutes and ended up in the same car anyway. After we got off we hit up Cozy Cone for some ice cream. Apparently everyone had the same idea because the line was about 12 people deep. So I held a shaded bench spot while he got it. After cooling off we went and grabbed a FP for Grizzly River Run and hit up Little Mermaid then Screamin' over California. After that we decided to take a breather , got Red Trolley Ale from Award Weiners and headed to the Mad T party area to relax. It's a really great spot to just take a break away from the crowds , though DCA was really calm compared to DL !
Enjoying the Red Trolley Ale YUM!!
Lightning McQueen making his appearance while we had ice cream :
Our Grizzly FP came up so we went and rode that with a great fun family from the bay area ironically enough! Afterwards we grabbed an early dinner at Cocina Cucamonga . I had the two chicken tamales and my hubby has the carne asada steak and tamale. Both were excellent and the carne asada steak was very tender and well seasoned. Not salty at all but not bland. I was kind of wishing I got it too ! The rice was well cooked and the beans were flavorful too!
Carne Asada and Tamale dinner
We got there before the rush as the Pixar Parade was starting soon so we grabbed a table near the water and enjoyed our dinner and watched the parade too. While not an ideal spot it really is relaxing and you can still get a decent view and hear much of it !
Afterwards we decided to head back towards Paradise Pier.
We got a few pics as the sun was going down.
Here is where a normal day goes weird. DH and I were walking as normal and someone had stopped in front of us with a stroller so we got ready to walk around , suddenly someone "bumps" into my husband and it was apparent he tried to pickpocket us!! My husband said he was actually grabbed by this individual but because of how we carry items it was fruitless for this person to try. However we saw a CM walking towards us and immediately informed her. I appreciate she took the concern serious because she immediately started shadowing him and his companion who appeared to be his "daughter" but I'm not convinced. These things can happen ANYWHERE. So just be aware , please don't be afraid I just want to inform people.
While we couldn't believe what just happened we decided to carry on and hit up Toy Story Mania since it was cooling down and the wait was only 30 minutes. The line moved quickly and stayed true to that time. For veteran DLR guests you know anything under 45 minutes for this ride is awesome LOL.
Afterwards we hit up Ghiradelli before trekking over to DL.
I got the Salted Caramel Sundae and it did not disappoint !!
By this time our FP for Space was approaching so we headed back to the front.
The line to get back into DL was pretty short so we got in easily. We headed directly to Space and used our FP. After getting out we figured we'd head over to adventureland but PTN was finishing up so we watched the rest of that. I decided to rush towards IASW to get a "space" for fireworks since they would be soon. We got a decent standing spot about 3/4 down the wall on the lower level of the elevated platform Merida used to Meet and greet. I really love the IASW fireworks spot because you still have a great view.
Some pics from the parade - We were easily 20 feet back.
After that ended the struggle is real to get over to Critter Country as we wanted to get a late FP for Splash Mountain. Because Fantasmic was lining up it took what felt like forever but we finally got our FP for 11pm-12am return time. Since it was about 10:20pm by the time we got there we decided to just relax by the lower level of Hungry Bear by the restrooms.
This turned out to be a hidden gem. So Fantasmic started at 10:45pm and because the floats and Mark Twain/Columbia have to go by this area we kind of got snippets of a sneak peak of things.
The characters on the floats as they got ready would wave to us too! It was really cool!
The best was at the end when the Mark Twain circles around all the characters waved at us ,. Pluto blew us kisses and it felt very personal ! There were maybe a handful of people - 10 -12
including us if that. We enjoyed this spot immensely.
By now our Splash FP opened so we rode that with the most vocal group ever..very fun!
We passed by Pirates at 11:35pm so got in line for our last ride. We exited the ride around 12:10am and headed to the Toy Story line. HOLY COW WAS IT LONG. While it moved quickly we easily waited 30 minutes to board a bus. But given how busy the parks were it was expected.
Sunday :
We slept in until around 9:45am , checked out and headed to Toy Story after discovering Mickey and Friends was closed due to high traffic.
PRO TIP : NEVER FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. JUST TAKE KATELLA TO TOY STORY. YOU'LL THANK ME LATER. They diverted people to Gardenwalk first and just avoid that and Convention parking like the plague.
We parked easily and were pretty close to the buses and didn't even have a wait. We only spent the day at DL since we would drive back today.
We decided to make HM FP our priority as it was already ticking to 2:50pm-3:50pm return as of 10:45/11am. We got the FP for that then headed to Royal Street Veranda to share a clam chowder bread bowl. After that we went and rode Mr. Toad with a 15 min. wait , Star Tours only about 20 min. wait and then took the train over to New Orleans as using the Disneyland app we found our FP window was up and we could get Splash FP. We got our FP for Splash and had a short wait so did Winnie the Pooh then went to Pooh Corner for a snack. I had the 60th anniversary Minnie Mouse cake pop and hubby had a chunky chocolate chip cookie. Both were very good.
C is for COOKIE !!
Minnie Mouse 60th Cake Pop - WARNING THIS WAS SUPER RICH. More like a brownie truffle cake pop but VERY good!!
AP HOLDER TIP : Because Pooh Corner is a store we received a 20% discount for our snacks! They also sell bottled drinks so it's one of a few places you can get discounts on bottle drinks!
We then went on Splash again and then headed over towards New Orleans and HM.
Since we had a small wait for our FP to open we grabbed some popcorn and I got a Zero Popcorn bucket. We then went to ride HM as our last ride before heading out.
I unfortunately had to be a jerk and tell an obnoxious person to stop screaming at in the most horrible screeching ever. It was apparent they were doing it to annoy people , even their friends were embarrassed. After the first room I told him to be quiet as he's being obnoxious and it suddenly got much quieter. I don't like to be that person but sometimes it needs to be said.
Today was a Halloween Party so we definitely saw an uptick as the day went on. There were SO MANY GOOD COSTUMES. I would have loved to just people watch all night.
TLDR VERSION :
Even with high crowds and limited time you can get alot done ! Maximixe FP , make a priority list and be flexible. See something with a decent wait time ?
Last edited:
Chocolate covered pineapple spear and water at 20% off? Yes, please!
It can happen anywhere sadly and it's why we carry only what we need and my husband is very particular what he wears to ensure it makes it near impossible for anything to be lifted.
