Luv Bunnies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2006
- Messages
- 9,144
We just got back yesterday from a 7-day trip to Anaheim. Normally we wouldn't go so close to July 4th but my husband had a convention to attend last week. We invited my sister to come along and go to the parks with me and our boys (13 and 10) while my husband was attending convention sessions. We drove down last Sunday and stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites (see my review on the Desert Inn thread).
Here are a few highlights, observations, etc.:
- We enjoyed DL much more during the day. If you get there at opening and concentrate on one area, you can get a lot done with minimal lines. We also spent our mornings gathering Fast Passes to use later in the day. It would get so crowded that having FPs was the only way to get on the big rides in the afternoons or evenings. After about 3:00 p.m., they start putting up the ropes for the parade. People start camping out on the sidewalks and it gets harder to move around. By 6:00 p.m., people were already staking out spots for the fireworks and Fantasmic. After the fireworks, it's a nightmare trying to get anywhere (even out the front gate!). After doing the nighttime routine twice, we started leaving earlier to avoid the gridlock.
- CA was easier to navigate at night. We had dinner there one night during the Electrical Parade. We could see it from where we were sitting and the boys walked up and got a decent spot after it had started. It just doesn't seem to be that popular.
- The lagoon at CA is completely drained and you can see the work being done for World of Color. From the top of Mickey's Fun Wheel, you can get an overview of the Cars Land construction site, too. There's a nice little preview center called "Blue Sky Vinyands." They have models and maps depicting the new plans for CA. There's also a short film that shows the highlights. This was a nice, cool, uncrowded place to visit in the afternoon.
- Toy Story Mania is an awesome ride! We love it! However, it also seems to break down frequently. One morning at opening, it was down. It reopened after about an hour, only to go down again within 15 minutes. The last time we rode it was Thursday evening. It had been down for a while and then we noticed people were lining up. We got on, finished our games, got our score and then the ride stopped. We were close to the exit but had to wait about 20 minutes to be let off and walked out. It was close to 8:00 p.m. at that point and the ride didn't reopen that evening.
- We finally saw Alladin and loved it! What a great show!
- Crush is, like, totally awesome dude! He's become a must-see for us on our last few trips.
- The Cast Members were generally friendly and pleasant. We only encountered a few who were having bad days and my sister and I agreed that they mostly seemed to be in food service.
- We had one bad experience on the Haunted Mansion. When we left the elevator, the hallway to the Doom Buggies was packed and not moving at all. Another elevator opened and more people squeezed in to the hallway. We stood there in absolute gridlock for at least 10 minutes and we finally started to move. The CMs were insisting on 3 people per vehicle. My husband and I were riding with our 10 year old. My sister was going to ride with our 13 year old. There was a rather tall man who was a single rider and the CM insisted he ride with my sister and my son. The CM basically pushed the guy to board next to my sister. She didn't appreciate being squished up next to a strange man. My 13 year old is a bit autistic and has issues with strangers. If he had been riding in the middle and had this man pushed up next to him he would have freaked out. It wasn't the guy's fault. My sister said they basically didn't give him any choice so he hopped in. I can understand needing to keep the line moving, but squishing people together doesn't make for a fun ride!
At Buzz, we again had 5 people and my 13 year old was going to ride alone. The CM was yelling 2 or 3 per car! How can you fit 3 adult-sized people in one of those cars? And how can everyone enjoy the ride when there are only 2 guns?
All in all, we had a great time. Since we had 5-day passes, we made it our mission to do things we don't normally do or had never done before and we succeeded! I had never even been to Tom Sawyer Island until this trip!
We'll probably go back in 2011 since my husband wants to spend his 50th birthday at DL. Can't wait to start planning!
Here are a few highlights, observations, etc.:
- We enjoyed DL much more during the day. If you get there at opening and concentrate on one area, you can get a lot done with minimal lines. We also spent our mornings gathering Fast Passes to use later in the day. It would get so crowded that having FPs was the only way to get on the big rides in the afternoons or evenings. After about 3:00 p.m., they start putting up the ropes for the parade. People start camping out on the sidewalks and it gets harder to move around. By 6:00 p.m., people were already staking out spots for the fireworks and Fantasmic. After the fireworks, it's a nightmare trying to get anywhere (even out the front gate!). After doing the nighttime routine twice, we started leaving earlier to avoid the gridlock.
- CA was easier to navigate at night. We had dinner there one night during the Electrical Parade. We could see it from where we were sitting and the boys walked up and got a decent spot after it had started. It just doesn't seem to be that popular.
- The lagoon at CA is completely drained and you can see the work being done for World of Color. From the top of Mickey's Fun Wheel, you can get an overview of the Cars Land construction site, too. There's a nice little preview center called "Blue Sky Vinyands." They have models and maps depicting the new plans for CA. There's also a short film that shows the highlights. This was a nice, cool, uncrowded place to visit in the afternoon.
- Toy Story Mania is an awesome ride! We love it! However, it also seems to break down frequently. One morning at opening, it was down. It reopened after about an hour, only to go down again within 15 minutes. The last time we rode it was Thursday evening. It had been down for a while and then we noticed people were lining up. We got on, finished our games, got our score and then the ride stopped. We were close to the exit but had to wait about 20 minutes to be let off and walked out. It was close to 8:00 p.m. at that point and the ride didn't reopen that evening.
- We finally saw Alladin and loved it! What a great show!
- Crush is, like, totally awesome dude! He's become a must-see for us on our last few trips.
- The Cast Members were generally friendly and pleasant. We only encountered a few who were having bad days and my sister and I agreed that they mostly seemed to be in food service.
- We had one bad experience on the Haunted Mansion. When we left the elevator, the hallway to the Doom Buggies was packed and not moving at all. Another elevator opened and more people squeezed in to the hallway. We stood there in absolute gridlock for at least 10 minutes and we finally started to move. The CMs were insisting on 3 people per vehicle. My husband and I were riding with our 10 year old. My sister was going to ride with our 13 year old. There was a rather tall man who was a single rider and the CM insisted he ride with my sister and my son. The CM basically pushed the guy to board next to my sister. She didn't appreciate being squished up next to a strange man. My 13 year old is a bit autistic and has issues with strangers. If he had been riding in the middle and had this man pushed up next to him he would have freaked out. It wasn't the guy's fault. My sister said they basically didn't give him any choice so he hopped in. I can understand needing to keep the line moving, but squishing people together doesn't make for a fun ride!
At Buzz, we again had 5 people and my 13 year old was going to ride alone. The CM was yelling 2 or 3 per car! How can you fit 3 adult-sized people in one of those cars? And how can everyone enjoy the ride when there are only 2 guns?
All in all, we had a great time. Since we had 5-day passes, we made it our mission to do things we don't normally do or had never done before and we succeeded! I had never even been to Tom Sawyer Island until this trip!
We'll probably go back in 2011 since my husband wants to spend his 50th birthday at DL. Can't wait to start planning!
I'd be upset too. We only went on HM and POTC when the wait was short- usually before 10:30am.
then I will say, yes, it is for children of all ages. 
I don't understand why they'd ever insist 3 on Buzz. 
we finally saw Aladdin too and loved it. I plan to see it again LOL that genie was great 
