nkereina
Last chance to lose your keys.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2009
DH and I just returned from a week long stay in Southern California. We live in NY and are frequent WDW visitors, but this was our first trip to DL/DCA. We were there the week leading up to Memorial Day, before the opening of SWGE, but still a busy time with the ending of the promotional tickets, Grad Nites, and the holiday weekend. We had mediocre weather – partly cloudy and highs in the 60s. 50s at night and in the mornings. Cool, but comfortable for touring the parks I suppose.
Random thoughts from our trip:
We also spent 3 days/2 nights in Los Angeles after we left Anaheim. For anyone interested:
Feel free to ask any questions or comparisons!
Random thoughts from our trip:
- LAX wasn’t as bad of a hassle as we thought, and it was worth it for the nonstop flight, ideal flight times, and cheaper price point for us.
- SuperShuttle was fine but LONG. Lots of stops. Would use Uber/Lyft next time coming from the airport. We did use Uber going back to LA, and it worked out well.
- Tropicana Inn across the street was great. No frills, but clean and very convenient. Also loved the Cove Market out front for miscellaneous needs and quick breakfasts.
- Loved how compact everything was compared to WDW, making everything very convenient.
- We had 3.5 park days and felt that was plenty of time. 3 days is ideal for doing everything at a good pace, IMO.
- We bought MaxPass every day, including the half day, and found it was worth it. We did everything we wanted more than once.
- Downtown Disney was considerably smaller than I was anticipating. We enjoyed Black Tap, Ballast Point, and the outdoor bar at Tortilla Jo’s, but nothing was a real stand-out there for us.
- We lacked for things to do in the evening when we wanted a break from the park. One night we checked out all the on-site resorts and agreed that Paradise Pier was a big disappointment, especially for the money. Felt like a Holiday Inn and our walk from the Tropicana was closer. Loved the vibe at Disneyland Hotel (and Trader Sam’s!), and the Grand Californian was beautiful. Also had an enjoyable dinner at Storyteller’s Café at Grand Californian.
- We thought the food was generally good, but I would respectfully disagree with the opinion that DL’s food is far superior to WDW food. We are big TS people but found DL lacking in that department – we ate more QS than ever before. We did enjoy Carnation Café and Café Orleans.
- Rides that DL/DCA wins over WDW: Small World, Pirates, Space Mountain, Guardians, Incredicoaster
- Rides that WDW wins over DL/DCA: Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Test Track, TSMM
We also spent 3 days/2 nights in Los Angeles after we left Anaheim. For anyone interested:
- Stayed at the Loews Hollywood Hotel – beautiful hotel, great amenities. Very convenient location for walking distance to the tourist spots in Hollywood, but we were shocked at how disgusting Hollywood is! Aggressive vendors, homeless/junkies on the street. Didn’t feel safe at times. Briefly saw the Walk of Fame, Dolby, and Chinese Theater, but mostly wanted to get out of the crowds of people.
- Randy's Donuts is delicious (we went to the location next to Dolby), and we had great views of the Hollywood sign from the second level landing of the shopping mall in that area. Also ate at Mel's Drive In which was walking distance from the hotel. It was ok, nothing to write home about.
- We did the double decker hop on hop off bus tour with Big Bus Tours. It’s a newer company to LA (they are in other cities), but they had all the stops we wanted. All of these bus tours had stops walking distance from our hotel. With Big Bus Tours, the buses were never full and they were always on time. They have an app that lets you see how far the next bus is from the stop you’re closest to. Worked out well, and they were very informative.
- We enjoyed Beverly Hills the most and would stay in that vicinity next time. Very beautiful, safe. Everything you'd expect from one of the richest areas in the world - LOL!
- We went to dinner and drinks in West Hollywood so I could be a Bravo superfan – really fun area, even if you aren’t interested in the Bravo locations. Would spend more time there if we return in the future.
- Loved the Farmer’s Market and the Grove! Beautiful area and delicious food at the market. We spent a whole afternoon here browsing and snacking.
- Warner Brother’s Studio Tour was fun. I wasn’t too familiar with some of the shows that had filmed on-site, but it was worth it to learn how filming a TV show or movie works. We also got to go on the set of the Ellen show which was awesome! I will say that the backlot is kept pretty generic because its still a working backlot, so a lot of the sets and soundstages were unrecognizable from the TV shows and movies shot there, but still interesting to see nonetheless.
- We spent one evening at Universal City Walk. Didn’t go in the park. Much larger than Universal Orlando City Walk, but we thought Universal Orlando City Walk had better stores and dining options. We ate at the brewery there (the name escapes me) but it was just ok. Not a place I’d return to.
Feel free to ask any questions or comparisons!
Last edited: