Hi all,
Just got back home yesterday after getting stuck on the WEst Coast due to the Hurricane...we got to extend our vacation which was good & bad.
Before I begin, I just want to thank everyone for all your help and support in planning our first trip to DL. I couldn't have done it w/o all the helpful hints, suggestions and excitement you inspired. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
We spent 10 days in California. First, San Diego which we always love and then drove to DL on 8/23 and was suppose to stay until Saturday but left late friday due to the storm (got stuck anyway!). We stayed at the DLH. When we first got there, things were a bit hectic and the construction was loud. The valet guy wouldn't let us leave our car more than 10 minutes even though our rooms were ready and we were trying to get clothes together for the pool (so we could kill time). It felt very overwhelming and didn't get a good first impression. However, this quickly changed. BTW, we have 2 kids ages 9 & 4.5.
As for the DLH, we stayed in Fantasy Tower which we loved and had a great view of the fireworks every night. They gave the kids balloons the first day and we ran into Goofy a couple of times which thrilled my daughter. We also saw Capt Hook walking around from afar. The FT has cookies or apples out w/flavored water so the kids looked forward to this treat after a day in the Parks. The room was beautiful. We had 2 doublebeds. The floor to ceiling window made the room look even bigger and everything was new and clean. The firework headboard was awesome and played music. We shut all the lights and put the headboard on during the fireworks...it was so cool. The monorail slide was a HUGE hit w/my daughter and the pool area will be amazing once its completed. The staff came around frequently to ask if we needed anything and again, just beautiful spacious grounds. We LOVED the pool area.
As for the parks, we loved them. I know there is much talk over which is "better" DL or WDW. We have only been to WDW once about 5 years ago. All I can say is there are some things I liked better at DL and some things I liked better at WDW. However, all in all, we really enjoyed our stay at DL. I like that the parks are doable and I truly didn't feel like I was walking to eternity to get to rides. We did most if not all of the rides that we wanted: POC, StarTours, TSMM, Buzz, Autopia, Peterpan, all rides in Fantasyland, Grizzly, Soarin, Little MM, etc. - We LOVED the rides...I truly think they are better than WDW. I LOVED StarTours; it was beyond awesome. We used our 4 anytime FPs to ride Grizzly and StarTours. We used RS b/c my little guy doesn't like the "wild" rides. We only had to use 2 anytime FPs and my 9 year old got to ride one time each w/us. It was very cool for her. BTW, we also loved Soarin and my family rode Grizzly maybe 6 times!
The crowds were very doable too. We got there first thing in the morning and left by 3pm. We were expecting long lines/crowds so I'm not sure if it wasn't as bad or our attitudes were good
TSMM was the only ride that was consistently long but we waited for 30 minutes and Woody was there so that cut the wait time in half. We walked on to many rides: POC, SNow White, Little Mermaid, Its a Small world etc. One night, I took my daughter to the parks for the fireworks which were truly amazing. We got to see Tinkerbell and Dumbo fly in the sky which made us gasp! I will always remember sitting there looking up at the lighted sky w/my beautiful 9 year old in my arms smiling from ear to ear!
As for food, we ate at Corn Dog Castle, the french cafe in Adventureland, the Pilots Grill, Rainforest Cafe, The french market place in DTD...I am sure I am forgetting some places too!
Again, we just had a great time at DL. I particularly loved DCA...there was a lot of construction but for some reason loved that park (loved DL too but wasn't expecting to love DCA as much as I did). Oh, we also saw Aladdin & Disney Junior on stage. Both a big hit w/our kids.
Thank you so much for all your help - We really appreciate you sharing your knowledge w/us!
Mary
Just got back home yesterday after getting stuck on the WEst Coast due to the Hurricane...we got to extend our vacation which was good & bad.
Before I begin, I just want to thank everyone for all your help and support in planning our first trip to DL. I couldn't have done it w/o all the helpful hints, suggestions and excitement you inspired. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
We spent 10 days in California. First, San Diego which we always love and then drove to DL on 8/23 and was suppose to stay until Saturday but left late friday due to the storm (got stuck anyway!). We stayed at the DLH. When we first got there, things were a bit hectic and the construction was loud. The valet guy wouldn't let us leave our car more than 10 minutes even though our rooms were ready and we were trying to get clothes together for the pool (so we could kill time). It felt very overwhelming and didn't get a good first impression. However, this quickly changed. BTW, we have 2 kids ages 9 & 4.5.
As for the DLH, we stayed in Fantasy Tower which we loved and had a great view of the fireworks every night. They gave the kids balloons the first day and we ran into Goofy a couple of times which thrilled my daughter. We also saw Capt Hook walking around from afar. The FT has cookies or apples out w/flavored water so the kids looked forward to this treat after a day in the Parks. The room was beautiful. We had 2 doublebeds. The floor to ceiling window made the room look even bigger and everything was new and clean. The firework headboard was awesome and played music. We shut all the lights and put the headboard on during the fireworks...it was so cool. The monorail slide was a HUGE hit w/my daughter and the pool area will be amazing once its completed. The staff came around frequently to ask if we needed anything and again, just beautiful spacious grounds. We LOVED the pool area.
As for the parks, we loved them. I know there is much talk over which is "better" DL or WDW. We have only been to WDW once about 5 years ago. All I can say is there are some things I liked better at DL and some things I liked better at WDW. However, all in all, we really enjoyed our stay at DL. I like that the parks are doable and I truly didn't feel like I was walking to eternity to get to rides. We did most if not all of the rides that we wanted: POC, StarTours, TSMM, Buzz, Autopia, Peterpan, all rides in Fantasyland, Grizzly, Soarin, Little MM, etc. - We LOVED the rides...I truly think they are better than WDW. I LOVED StarTours; it was beyond awesome. We used our 4 anytime FPs to ride Grizzly and StarTours. We used RS b/c my little guy doesn't like the "wild" rides. We only had to use 2 anytime FPs and my 9 year old got to ride one time each w/us. It was very cool for her. BTW, we also loved Soarin and my family rode Grizzly maybe 6 times!
The crowds were very doable too. We got there first thing in the morning and left by 3pm. We were expecting long lines/crowds so I'm not sure if it wasn't as bad or our attitudes were good
TSMM was the only ride that was consistently long but we waited for 30 minutes and Woody was there so that cut the wait time in half. We walked on to many rides: POC, SNow White, Little Mermaid, Its a Small world etc. One night, I took my daughter to the parks for the fireworks which were truly amazing. We got to see Tinkerbell and Dumbo fly in the sky which made us gasp! I will always remember sitting there looking up at the lighted sky w/my beautiful 9 year old in my arms smiling from ear to ear!As for food, we ate at Corn Dog Castle, the french cafe in Adventureland, the Pilots Grill, Rainforest Cafe, The french market place in DTD...I am sure I am forgetting some places too!
Again, we just had a great time at DL. I particularly loved DCA...there was a lot of construction but for some reason loved that park (loved DL too but wasn't expecting to love DCA as much as I did). Oh, we also saw Aladdin & Disney Junior on stage. Both a big hit w/our kids.
Thank you so much for all your help - We really appreciate you sharing your knowledge w/us!
Mary
