Made it to California! A bit of testing and traveling info for my fellow Canadians!

Sounds so nice! I am getting more excited for our trip thanks to your posts. Thank-you for taking time out of your vacation for the updates.

Are you disappointed that Haunted Mansion is closed? Doing any shopping?
We are heading to DL tomorrow for a week... Haunted mansion is closed? :( Boo, lol
One of my favs
If all goes well we’ll be at WDW in December though, hope they don’t shut it down there as well!
 
We are heading to DL tomorrow for a week... Haunted mansion is closed? :( Boo, lol
One of my favs
If all goes well we’ll be at WDW in December though, hope they don’t shut it down there as well!

They do a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay on HM for Halloween and Christmas, I think its usually up and running early September.
 
Sounds so nice! I am getting more excited for our trip thanks to your posts. Thank-you for taking time out of your vacation for the updates.

Are you disappointed that Haunted Mansion is closed? Doing any shopping?
We were surprised that the Haunted Mansion was opened on Sunday! We heard it was supposed to be closed, so it was nice to ride it one time. 😁

We went through a few shops and I have my eyes on a few souvenirs. I love the graphics on the Disneyland 2021 line of clothing and souvenirs. We went to Downtown Disneyland, but it really is tiny compared to Disney Springs. Oh well... might not spend as much. Lol!
 
In the last couple of years, the parks have been busy in late August for two reasons... the launch of those after-hours Halloween parties AND non-US guests - mostly Canadians and some Europeans, heading to the parks in the last two weeks of August. With school starting in many US districts around mid-August in both Orlando and Anaheim, you have less locals going. Sites such as Touring Plans used to list late August as a great time to go, until non-local guests picked up on that and started to crowd the parks in late August. Right now, less locals + almost no foreign visitors = no crowds in Florida and Anaheim. There were reports at WDW yesterday of people going to Rise of the Resistance without a boarding group
 

Day 2 update...

Rope dropped DCA at 8am. It is now 1pm and we have done all attractions we wanted to do except Radiator Spring. Almost everything was a walk on. Had our own vehicles for Grizzly and Gadget. Longest wait was Webslinger with 30 minutes in a mostly unshaded line.

Time for a rest before we move on to DL! I love these long park hours! 8-10 for DCA and 8-11 for DL. It is wonderful to be able to have those hours of touring without the heat!
 
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We were surprised that the Haunted Mansion was opened on Sunday! We heard it was supposed to be closed, so it was nice to ride it one time. 😁

We went through a few shops and I have my eyes on a few souvenirs. I love the graphics on the Disneyland 2021 line of clothing and souvenirs. We went to Downtown Disneyland, but it really is tiny compared to Disney Springs. Oh well... might not spend as much. Lol!

Oh my gosh was it open!! I have it showing when we booked that it would be closed. So glad you got to experience it. Hope we have the same luck as you do. My husband will be glad to hear there are fewer stores to shop at. Sounds like you are having a very memorable trip! Thanks again for the updates! Have you eaten anything that you or your husband really enjoyed?
 
Sounds like you're having an amazing time! We are heading there late September. Can I ask where you booked your test for your return home and what the cost was? Thanks!
 
Oh my gosh was it open!! I have it showing when we booked that it would be closed. So glad you got to experience it. Hope we have the same luck as you do. My husband will be glad to hear there are fewer stores to shop at. Sounds like you are having a very memorable trip! Thanks again for the updates! Have you eaten anything that you or your husband really enjoyed?
Sorry to say but HM was closed today. Another amazing afternoon of low crowds and spontaneity. It is so liberating to simply walk around and enjoy one land at a time. We did wait a bit for a few rides this afternoon in DL. Most was 25 minutes for Roger Rabbit (it broke down). Average was 10-15 minutes tops.

Food has been just ok. Nothing amazing so far. We have reaply enjoyed the plentiful outdoor and shaded seating! My favorite spot so far is the Tropical Hideaway... great spot for Dole Whips and Sweet Lumpia.
 
Sounds like you're having an amazing time! We are heading there late September. Can I ask where you booked your test for your return home and what the cost was? Thanks!
We are getting tested tomorrow morning at the Anaheim City Hall. We picked the pricier NAAT test ($199) amd will be taking an Uber. It is less intrusive and results are usually within an hour. I had originally booked the free PCR test at the CVS on Harbour. It is pricey, but we felt that the peace of mind of getting results so quickly was worth it. I will post an update of my experience on the testing thread! 🙂
 
We are getting tested tomorrow morning at the Anaheim City Hall. We picked the pricier NAAT test ($199) amd will be taking an Uber. It is less intrusive and results are usually within an hour. I had originally booked the free PCR test at the CVS on Harbour. It is pricey, but we felt that the peace of mind of getting results so quickly was worth it. I will post an update of my experience on the testing thread! 🙂

Good luck at your testing! We also booked for City Hall for next week
 
Same! Our first day in DL is Saturday, and we get tested on Tuesday at City Hall. We’re also doing the NAAT. It’s the same price at LAX to get the PCR done, and I’m happy to have the less intrusive option. Lol! The crowds look insanely low at the parks! I’m so excited to be able to just walk around and be spontaneous! I haven’t seen crowds like that in a very long time. So glad you’re having such an amazing time!
 
Do you know by chance where we can get some groceries ordered from for delivery to Disneyland resort? We just want some bottled water, milk and cereal etc. Tried Vons, it directed me to pavilions and turns out you need an American credit card as it will only accept a zip code for billing address.
We are sitting at the airport now leaving shortly… thought maybe I give it another try.
 
Day 1 update... we had an amazing day! We started out in DL 15 minutes before rope drop. Waits were practically non existant for the first 3 hours.... not even for bag check or turnstiles! Some highlights : riding alone in a log at Splash and having our own "ship" for Smugglers Run (after a 15 minute wait 😲). From 8 to noon we had covered all headliners including Rise of the Resistance and all mountains. Longest wait was SM with 20 minutes.

We went back to the hotel for a few hours to get out of the sun and give our feet a rest.

5 to 10 was spend at DCA were we rode Webslinger 😍, Tower, Luigi's, TSM, Soarin and some attractions at the Pier with almost no wait.

As veteran WDW visitors, we love how compact the parks are. Not needing to take any transportation is great. Being able to comfortably eat outside is lovely! Honestly not having to worry about the timing of FPs or ADRs is amazing!

Over 35K steps were logged on Day 1. We might have to slow down the pace as we have 3 more days of tickets! 😂

As for jet lag, I was up super early (5am) and needed that after noon nap.
sounds like a great first day! One of the things I love about DL are the rides that are also in WDW, and how different they are from their WDW counterparts. Some much better like POTC, Space Mtn, and Small World. Also love that the original rides are still there! Did you do Indiana Jones? And Guardians of the Galaxy?

We are heading to DL tomorrow for a week... Haunted mansion is closed? :( Boo, lol
One of my favs
If all goes well we’ll be at WDW in December though, hope they don’t shut it down there as well!
Haunted Mansion is always usually closed by mid Sept to do Nightmare Before Christmas, and Space Mtn turns into Hyperspace Mountain. I love the DL Space Mtn.

Day 2 update...

Rope dropped DCA at 8am. It is now 1pm and we have done all attractions we wanted to do except Radiator Spring. Almost everything was a walk on. Had our own vehicles for Grizzly and Gadget. Longest wait was Webslinger with 30 minutes in a mostly unshaded line.

Time for a rest before we move on to DL! I love these long park hours! 8-10 for DCA and 8-11 for DL. It is wonderful to be able to have those hours of touring without the heat!
Rafiator Springs is so cool. Especially when they put up the Halloween decorations! How did you like Webslinger?

Sorry to say but HM was closed today. Another amazing afternoon of low crowds and spontaneity. It is so liberating to simply walk around and enjoy one land at a time. We did wait a bit for a few rides this afternoon in DL. Most was 25 minutes for Roger Rabbit (it broke down). Average was 10-15 minutes tops.

Food has been just ok. Nothing amazing so far. We have reaply enjoyed the plentiful outdoor and shaded seating! My favorite spot so far is the Tropical Hideaway... great spot for Dole Whips and Sweet Lumpia.
Love the Dole Whips there too, and pretty seating area. We had some good meals around French Quarter area. Also love the hand dipped Corn Dogs in DCA!

Do you know by chance where we can get some groceries ordered from for delivery to Disneyland resort? We just want some bottled water, milk and cereal etc. Tried Vons, it directed me to pavilions and turns out you need an American credit card as it will only accept a zip code for billing address.
We are sitting at the airport now leaving shortly… thought maybe I give it another try.
When we go to WDW we just uber to a nearby grocery store. But if you’re near CVS and Walgreens you could pick up a few things there.
 
Did you do Indiana Jones? And Guardians of the Galaxy?

How did you like Webslinger?

It is really great to compare the rides from both worlds. What I found very interesting was how rides like Toy Story Mania and Soarin' really work with the themed areas in DL. There is something special about visiting the Original park!

I loved both Indiana Jones and Webslinger! I had no idea what Webslinger was before our first ride... wow! So much fun we did it 3 times!

Thank you for the tips on dining! I will have to try a hand dipped corn dog before we leave! ❤
 
Day 3 update...

Started off with our covid test at City Hall. There was a mix-up with the code they entered and the report showed "Rapid Antigen" instead of "Molecular"... They fixed this after a bit. Tests were negative.

Parks were much much busier than Sunday and Monday! The key was to maximize the first and last hours. Wait times were ofter posted higher than actual... Big Thunder was posted at 45 but waited 15. Racers were posted at 60 and waited 25. Still a lovely day. 😁
 
Thanks again BlancheNeige7 for all your updates. My husband and girls have been reading them, and we are just so excited now for our trip next week. My husband and I were a bit nervous with this being our first time to California, but your reports have really helped with our little bit of anxiety. Thanks again for letting us join you from our computers on your trip!!
 
It is really great to compare the rides from both worlds. What I found very interesting was how rides like Toy Story Mania and Soarin' really work with the themed areas in DL. There is something special about visiting the Original park!

I loved both Indiana Jones and Webslinger! I had no idea what Webslinger was before our first ride... wow! So much fun we did it 3 times!

Thank you for the tips on dining! I will have to try a hand dipped corn dog before we leave! ❤
Yes, I love how the same rides are familiar yet different at both parks. I didn’t think I‘d love Guardians because we really love ToT, but it was fantastic. My (adult) dd who wouldn’t go on ToT rode Guardians several times!
 
Do you know by chance where we can get some groceries ordered from for delivery to Disneyland resort? We just want some bottled water, milk and cereal etc. Tried Vons, it directed me to pavilions and turns out you need an American credit card as it will only accept a zip code for billing address.
We are sitting at the airport now leaving shortly… thought maybe I give it another try.

I believe you can order from Instacart. I'm pretty sure I tried it once just to see and it accepted my Canadian info.
 
We are getting tested tomorrow morning at the Anaheim City Hall. We picked the pricier NAAT test ($199) amd will be taking an Uber. It is less intrusive and results are usually within an hour. I had originally booked the free PCR test at the CVS on Harbour. It is pricey, but we felt that the peace of mind of getting results so quickly was worth it. I will post an update of my experience on the testing thread! 🙂
I’m trying to book our tests for Saturday morning - do I have to book one person at a time (city hall)?
 















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