wildflower329
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 178
Since I know I will not have time to do a complete trip report, I thought I would take a few minutes to right a brief review of our trip here.
We flew in on Thursday Oct 20, spent five straight days in the park the 20th-24th) and flew back home the 25th (yes, we were there over a weekend, which was also UEA weekend J )
Park Vue Inn: This was the second time staying at the Park Vue Inn, both times with a Queen and bunkbed room. Once again, we had a great stay. A few things to note, however. First, we arrived fairly early in the morning (flight came in at 9am, so arrived around 10am after getting luggage and the rental car). It appears that Park Vue does not have a place to store luggage if you arrive before check in time (although maybe they would if you were dropped off by a shuttle or taxi). All of our stuff had to stay in the car until check in, in the almost 100 degree heat. It was fine, but something worth noting. Also, be aware that if you book the Queen with bunkbed room, there are two sizes. When I checked in and got to our room this time, I was unpleasantly surprised with how tiny the room was. There was no closet and no alcove for the fridge, which essentially meant there was nowhere to store our three suitcases, 4 backpacks, and stroller. I went back up to the front desk, and thankfully, they were able to change us to a room that was similar to what we had before. Park Vue made it right, but be aware if you are staying here that this is a possibility. We could have stayed in that first room as a couple, but absolutely not as a family there for 5 nights.
Crowds: Wow! We knew that coming over the weekend and over UEA would be much busier, but we were not prepared for how busy. The crowds were felt most by pirates and haunted mansion and in adventure land, but there was very little room to move much of the time. I felt bad for one lady in her ECV… she was trying so hard to not hit anyone and navigate through the crowds, but people kept cutting her off and she wasn’t able to get anywhere for awhile. We tried to have her follow us, but her ECV was wider than we were and so it didn’t work well. We still had a great time, still got on the rides we wanted to, but fastpass was essential, as was getting to the parks close to rope drop. We also did not end up utilizing photopass this time or stopping for many character autographs and photos because the lines were so long and we decided it was going to waste too much precious park time. It also seemed like almost every time we found a character, the line was already cut off.
WOC: The viewing areas have changed significantly since the last time we were there, so I had to improvise, but we found a pretty decent spot. Our FP said to arrive by 9:15 for the 9:45 show, but I knew better, so arrived around 8:45 to get in line. There were probably already 100-200 people in front of me, but it worked because we did not want to be in the “wet zone.”
Frozen at the Hyperion: There are no longer FPs. DH and DS got in line about an hour before the show in the Mezzanine line and were very near the front of that line. We got great seats right at the front of the mezzanine. If you want orchestra seating (and want to be near the front of the orchestra line), I would arrive more than an hour before the show.
Mickey and the Magical Map: This is the first time we saw this show and it was very cute. It was a great break from the heat our second day there.
Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters: We were all quite disappointed in this one. We were one of the families that actually liked the old ride. The new ride was quite boring for all of us, including the 5 and 8 year old.
Weather: We had quite the crazy weather week. The first 2 days it was close to 100 degrees. The third day was more manageable, warm but not crazy hot. The last two days it rained (and hard) most of the day.
Anyway, it was a fun trip, but we have decided we will probably not go in October again. Too many fall breaks, the party made things a little crazy in California Adventure (we did not pay extra for party tickets), and we got significantly less done than usual. Even if we went during the week, the wait times still seem to be high compared to our previous trips.
We flew in on Thursday Oct 20, spent five straight days in the park the 20th-24th) and flew back home the 25th (yes, we were there over a weekend, which was also UEA weekend J )
Park Vue Inn: This was the second time staying at the Park Vue Inn, both times with a Queen and bunkbed room. Once again, we had a great stay. A few things to note, however. First, we arrived fairly early in the morning (flight came in at 9am, so arrived around 10am after getting luggage and the rental car). It appears that Park Vue does not have a place to store luggage if you arrive before check in time (although maybe they would if you were dropped off by a shuttle or taxi). All of our stuff had to stay in the car until check in, in the almost 100 degree heat. It was fine, but something worth noting. Also, be aware that if you book the Queen with bunkbed room, there are two sizes. When I checked in and got to our room this time, I was unpleasantly surprised with how tiny the room was. There was no closet and no alcove for the fridge, which essentially meant there was nowhere to store our three suitcases, 4 backpacks, and stroller. I went back up to the front desk, and thankfully, they were able to change us to a room that was similar to what we had before. Park Vue made it right, but be aware if you are staying here that this is a possibility. We could have stayed in that first room as a couple, but absolutely not as a family there for 5 nights.
Crowds: Wow! We knew that coming over the weekend and over UEA would be much busier, but we were not prepared for how busy. The crowds were felt most by pirates and haunted mansion and in adventure land, but there was very little room to move much of the time. I felt bad for one lady in her ECV… she was trying so hard to not hit anyone and navigate through the crowds, but people kept cutting her off and she wasn’t able to get anywhere for awhile. We tried to have her follow us, but her ECV was wider than we were and so it didn’t work well. We still had a great time, still got on the rides we wanted to, but fastpass was essential, as was getting to the parks close to rope drop. We also did not end up utilizing photopass this time or stopping for many character autographs and photos because the lines were so long and we decided it was going to waste too much precious park time. It also seemed like almost every time we found a character, the line was already cut off.
WOC: The viewing areas have changed significantly since the last time we were there, so I had to improvise, but we found a pretty decent spot. Our FP said to arrive by 9:15 for the 9:45 show, but I knew better, so arrived around 8:45 to get in line. There were probably already 100-200 people in front of me, but it worked because we did not want to be in the “wet zone.”
Frozen at the Hyperion: There are no longer FPs. DH and DS got in line about an hour before the show in the Mezzanine line and were very near the front of that line. We got great seats right at the front of the mezzanine. If you want orchestra seating (and want to be near the front of the orchestra line), I would arrive more than an hour before the show.
Mickey and the Magical Map: This is the first time we saw this show and it was very cute. It was a great break from the heat our second day there.
Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters: We were all quite disappointed in this one. We were one of the families that actually liked the old ride. The new ride was quite boring for all of us, including the 5 and 8 year old.
Weather: We had quite the crazy weather week. The first 2 days it was close to 100 degrees. The third day was more manageable, warm but not crazy hot. The last two days it rained (and hard) most of the day.
Anyway, it was a fun trip, but we have decided we will probably not go in October again. Too many fall breaks, the party made things a little crazy in California Adventure (we did not pay extra for party tickets), and we got significantly less done than usual. Even if we went during the week, the wait times still seem to be high compared to our previous trips.
