Just got back from DL and San Diego...

[c&m]

Our 2-week trip to SoCal is now over...time to reflect...

We went to:
- Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach
- DL/DCA
- Legoland/Sheraton Resort Carlsbad
- Moonlight Beach in Encinitas

Since this is the Disneyland forum, I will only focus on DL/DCA, where we spent 3 glorious days. Here are some highlights:

- Stayed at the Hampton Inn Garden Grove. Friendly, newly renovated hotel with complimentary hot breakfast, free parking, free drinks all day, free cookies in the evening and Thur-Sun night free movies/pizza night. Highly recommended!

- Went on the Toy Story Mania. Loads of fun!!! My highest score was 104,000. I couldn't seem to get any higher than that.

- Did a magic morning on the Tuesday, and rode on BTMR, Space Mtn, Matterhorn, Splash Mtn, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (2x), Indiana Jones -- all before 10am.

- Ate at Cafe Orleans, Goofy's Kitchen, Storytellers Cafe, and Whitewater Snacks. Ate offsite at Bubba Gump's and Mimi's Cafe. We enjoyed each and every meal.

- DL and DCA were both crowded, even though the ticket booth guy told me that attendance is down. DL was constantly crowded though noticeably less crowded in the early morning hours; after 11am, the congestion is thick. DCA seems to get less crowded in the later hours.

- The lineup for Toy Story Mania goes really fast. When we went on the ride at 8:30pm, we noticed the lineup was really short, so we went twice in a row.

- Made use of fast passes at all times. We breezed onto Grizzly River Rapids, Soarin', Indiana Jones, Splash Mtn, California Screamin', Buzz, etc. without the long waits. There was little, if any, downtime.

If you have any questions, fire away!

 

[PinkBudgie]

We just got back Thurs. I'll have to look into Hampton Inn. We stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Garden Grove and really liked that too. Just curious, how much the room? We had two queens for $99 a night. Free breakfast, free parking.

We only got on Indiana once. Every morning Indiana Jones liked to sleep in!

 

[LVdisneyChick]

welcome back... sounds like you had a smooth trip.

 

[c&m]

Just curious, how much the room? We had two queens for $99 a night. Free breakfast, free parking.

Our room was comparable in price to yours. It was $103 a night, includes free breakfast and free parking. We really like the hotels in Garden Grove, away from the parks.

 

[Just2DisneyKids]

- Stayed at the Hampton Inn Garden Grove. Friendly, newly renovated hotel with complimentary hot breakfast, free parking, free drinks all day, free cookies in the evening and Thur-Sun night free movies/pizza night. Highly recommended!


- The lineup for Toy Story Mania goes really fast. When we went on the ride at 8:30pm, we noticed the lineup was really short, so we went twice in a row.

I love Hampton Inn's, it's my favorite when we are traveling. I've always wished they were a little closer to Disneyland! Do they have a shuttle or did you just drive to the Disney Lot? It seems too far to walk!


What days of the week were you in the parks? Was the Electrical Parade about to start when you had a short line at Toy Story Mania? Not sure if we are willing to give up the parade for a short line...hmmm...

Thanks for the info!

By the way, my DH and I are C&M also, if that is what your user name is short for!

 

[c&m]

I love Hampton Inn's, it's my favorite when we are traveling. I've always wished they were a little closer to Disneyland! Do they have a shuttle or did you just drive to the Disney Lot? It seems too far to walk!

Yeah, there are many positives to having the hotel close to the park. However, with our DDs being older, we don't have the need to be close for the purpose of putting them down for naps. The Hampton Inn is definitely too far to walk. There is the ART that stops in front of the Embassy Suites next door. However, it only costs $12 to park at the Mickey & Friends lot. For a family, that is not extremely expensive, given that it costs quite a lot of $$$ to transport the whole family on the ART.

What days of the week were you in the parks? Was the Electrical Parade about to start when you had a short line at Toy Story Mania? Not sure if we are willing to give up the parade for a short line...

We were at the parks on Mon/Wed/Thur. Mon and Wed were really busy. We noticed Thur was a bit less crowded in the morning and early afternoon. However, crowds picked up by 2pm.

We go to DL every year and have watched the Electrical Parade every year. This year, we skipped it to go on the Toy Story ride. Yes, the line-up may have been less due to the parade starting. But we were guilty of sacrificing the parade this year for a ride. I was skeptical of missing the parade -- I feel it definitely adds to the magic. But I was voted down by my family as they all were ride-crazy!!!

By the way, my DH and I are C&M also, if that is what your user name is short for!

You're right! I'm C. DH is M.