brenda1966
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2004
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Disneyland Trip Report October 2005
We spent 4 days and then about 4.5 hours on a final day at Disneyland (DL) and California Adventure (CA) parks. I think my family thought I was crazy to suggest 4 days in the parks, but after seeing how much there was to do they were glad we spent that much time there. Even with 4 and a half days there are still so many things we didnt get to see or do: Princess story telling in the toy store, several rides at CA, very little time spent in the Animation building at CA, no time at the Innovations building at DL nor Tom Sawyer island at DL , little time to sit and enjoy live entertainment at either park.
First Ill comment on a few non-Disney items:
Hojos we loved the hotel! I had read about the small bathrooms and age of the hotel so I was prepared for that. We even had one of the rooms with the skylights, but that didnt keep us from napping and helped us wake up early as needed. My 3.75-year-old daughter ADORED the kids swimming pool and splash area. I appreciated that the pool really was heated (were wimps) and the hot tub was very hot! Wed certainly stay here again. The extra ½ block walk from DL was worth it just for the fantastic swimming pools. We walked back and forth to the parks each day, never taking a shuttle. I could walk it in about 8 minutes; with the grandparents it took about 15. Each day we napped and on a few of those days took a quick swim after nap.
Sea World very glad we only spent 1 day here wed have been bored silly trying to spend a second day. The park was empty. We enjoyed the dolphin feeding and ray petting the most. My daughter was a bit antsy during some of the shows. I agree that the pet show is not to be missed. The Atlantis ride was kind of a dud (very short ride). Im glad we went but am in no hurry to go back.
Beaches we visited Newport Beach in LA. It was very hot that day, hot to the point of being unpleasant. My daughter loved wading in the ice cold waves and got soaking wet. She lost her toy wand into the sea but was comforted by the thoughts of mermaids finding it. We found many small seashells on the shore. We also visited La Jolla in San Diego what a beautiful area! Saw all the seals at the Childrens beach. It was chilly so we didnt wade much.
Now onto Disneyland:
Disneyland was hot and crowded. I had no idea it would be 94 degrees in October. Everywhere you went you heard people mumbling its never this crowded this time of year. Still we found the magic and had a great time. I appreciated the park being open late on the weekend so I could spend a little time wandering around by myself while the grandparents took my daughter to the hotel. We spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there and then returned the following Thursday before flying home. (Im really glad we tacked on that last ½ day, as Disneyland was my daughters favorite part of the trip and having it as our last stop was a good finale.)
We used our Early Entry our first day, Thursday, to get in at 9 am instead of 10. They didnt let a single person in until 9 and the lines to get in were long. Needless to say Fantasyland was swamped, but we did get Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. done without much wait. We returned to Fantasyland Sunday morning first thing and the park was amazingly empty and wonderful. I really love the park early in the morning when its quiet. At one time or another we rode everything in Fantasyland except Snow White and Mr. Toad, hitting several favorites a few times. My daughter was lucky enough to ride the Carousel at the same time Snow White rode which was a thrill for her.
I rode the Matterhorn and it was smoother than I recall, but Im glad I didnt take my daughter on it as the monster growling really startled me shed have been mortified. She did ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Star Tours for the first time, barely squeaking by height-wise. She started to freak a bit during Star Tours and said she didnt like it. She did okay on Splash and BTM but said she wouldnt ride again until Im 4. The CMs were very nice about measuring her, even giving her tips like keep your feet together to make her as tall as possible. She made it on every ride she was measured for.
We spent a little time in Toontown 10 minutes after it opened on Friday and it was already a mob scene. We did get to meet Mickey with a minimal wait, but Minnies line was too long and outside in the blazing sun. We ate lunch and witnessed a child get their head stuck in the back of a chair. Poor thing was stuck until a CM could scrounge up a screwdriver to take the chair apart and release her.
Utilizing Fastpass was an absolute necessity. Thanks to Hydroguy for his great tutorial on its use. We used them for Space Mountain, Splash, Buzz Lightyear, and Haunted Mansion avoiding any long waits for these rides. The wait times for Splash were 85 minutes, 65 minutes for Space. At CA we used Fastpass for Soarin and Tower of Terror. I was the runner and this worked very well. Id dash across the park to get the fastpasses and meet everyone at our next ride.
Friday night we watched the Fireworks from the hub. Wonderful and a must see. We slept in Saturday and headed to CA for the 9:30 entry and road Soaring and got Fastpasses to ride again later. We all loved the ride. We later caught the Aladdin show, which is top-notch, Broadway quality and another must see. Saturday night was Fantasmic and the fireworks from the river view (just not the same as the hub). Sunday night we saw the fireworks again from Tomorrowland the started when we were driving the Autopia cars. We saw the parade at each park. Block Party Bash was a big hit with my little one we sat in the Toy Story section. The DL parade was wonderful too. My daughter saw the Tiki birds for the first time.
We were pleased to meet so many characters throughout the parks. We met Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cruella DeVille, Buzz, Jessie, Jo Jo, Pluto, and saw several others out and about. We also met Jasmine and Aladdin my daughters first face characters. She was shy and speechless at first, but soon got the hang of talking with them and asking them questions. On our last day she met Mulan, a favorite, and had a nice conversation about where Shang was and how shell be dressing as Mulan for Halloween.
Sunday we had lunch reservations at Ariels Grotto to meet some princesses. This was my first character meal and Im still not sure I think theyre worth the time and money. I did pay for all 5 of us because I knew my family would balk at the price so maybe just paying for my daughter and myself wouldnt be as painful. We got to meet 4 princesses: Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, and Belle. The food was good I had the salmon BLT.
I almost forgot to mention the Haunted Mansion holiday overlay of Nightmare Before Christmas. Absolutely loved it! I had always wanted to see it and am so glad we finally did. Frankly Im afraid the HM will appear sort of bland without it the next time were there. My daughter even loved it, showing no fear of the dreaded Oogie-Boogie. We rode 3 times and still feel like we didnt see all the details in the decorations. One of these days I must see the entire park decorated for the holidays.
California Adventure:
I really liked this park and although we spent about 1.5 days total there, I feel like I didnt get to see much of it. Soaring and ToT were so much fun we rode several times. My daughter loved the Bugs Life kids rides. I sat in two animation drawing classes and really enjoyed that. We didnt get anywhere near the water ride or the Brother Bear/ Chip and Dale area of the park. I feel there was a lot left to explore here and will definitely come back.
The differences between WDW and DL:
First off, I love both. DL is where it all started. Its Walts home and its cozy and quaint. WDW is so grand, a city unto itself. But the comparisons are inevitable. First and most obvious is the size. DL is packed in there so the crowds feel more intense. This does help your feet because things are closer. An offsite hotel across the street is 10 minutes away. This is closer than the parking lot! This makes leaving the parks for a nap or swim quick and easy to do. Park hopping is also easy. We left the DL Tiki birds and made it over to CA to see Crush in less than 10 minutes. Hopping is quick at DL whereas it can be a long adventure at WDW. Size also applies to the attractions. I had forgotten how small the DL castle looks. I almost laughed out loud when I saw it. Its beautiful though. Also Space Mountain is tiny I expected to see it from outside the park, but you barely get a glimpse. I had forgotten the Matterhorn is the biggest thing in the park.
DL has some original rides that WDW is lacking: Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr Train, and the Storybook Canal boats come to mind. My daughter started crying when we went on the Storybook boats because of the whale tunnel. She cried, but how are we going to get out of the whale? She ended up liking it and rode again. Some DL rides are just plain better: Pirates and Small World come to mind. Small World is so grand and beautiful at DL with the clock and the topiaries. The outside is an attraction in itself. Fantasmic at DL is supposedly better, but the seating is certainly worse as there is no seating, just camping out on the sidewalk. WDW certainly has more! More rides, more room, more parks. But WDW doesnt have everything so our future vacations will include both DL and WDW since I cant get enough of either one!
We spent 4 days and then about 4.5 hours on a final day at Disneyland (DL) and California Adventure (CA) parks. I think my family thought I was crazy to suggest 4 days in the parks, but after seeing how much there was to do they were glad we spent that much time there. Even with 4 and a half days there are still so many things we didnt get to see or do: Princess story telling in the toy store, several rides at CA, very little time spent in the Animation building at CA, no time at the Innovations building at DL nor Tom Sawyer island at DL , little time to sit and enjoy live entertainment at either park.
First Ill comment on a few non-Disney items:
Hojos we loved the hotel! I had read about the small bathrooms and age of the hotel so I was prepared for that. We even had one of the rooms with the skylights, but that didnt keep us from napping and helped us wake up early as needed. My 3.75-year-old daughter ADORED the kids swimming pool and splash area. I appreciated that the pool really was heated (were wimps) and the hot tub was very hot! Wed certainly stay here again. The extra ½ block walk from DL was worth it just for the fantastic swimming pools. We walked back and forth to the parks each day, never taking a shuttle. I could walk it in about 8 minutes; with the grandparents it took about 15. Each day we napped and on a few of those days took a quick swim after nap.
Sea World very glad we only spent 1 day here wed have been bored silly trying to spend a second day. The park was empty. We enjoyed the dolphin feeding and ray petting the most. My daughter was a bit antsy during some of the shows. I agree that the pet show is not to be missed. The Atlantis ride was kind of a dud (very short ride). Im glad we went but am in no hurry to go back.
Beaches we visited Newport Beach in LA. It was very hot that day, hot to the point of being unpleasant. My daughter loved wading in the ice cold waves and got soaking wet. She lost her toy wand into the sea but was comforted by the thoughts of mermaids finding it. We found many small seashells on the shore. We also visited La Jolla in San Diego what a beautiful area! Saw all the seals at the Childrens beach. It was chilly so we didnt wade much.
Now onto Disneyland:
Disneyland was hot and crowded. I had no idea it would be 94 degrees in October. Everywhere you went you heard people mumbling its never this crowded this time of year. Still we found the magic and had a great time. I appreciated the park being open late on the weekend so I could spend a little time wandering around by myself while the grandparents took my daughter to the hotel. We spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there and then returned the following Thursday before flying home. (Im really glad we tacked on that last ½ day, as Disneyland was my daughters favorite part of the trip and having it as our last stop was a good finale.)
We used our Early Entry our first day, Thursday, to get in at 9 am instead of 10. They didnt let a single person in until 9 and the lines to get in were long. Needless to say Fantasyland was swamped, but we did get Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. done without much wait. We returned to Fantasyland Sunday morning first thing and the park was amazingly empty and wonderful. I really love the park early in the morning when its quiet. At one time or another we rode everything in Fantasyland except Snow White and Mr. Toad, hitting several favorites a few times. My daughter was lucky enough to ride the Carousel at the same time Snow White rode which was a thrill for her.
I rode the Matterhorn and it was smoother than I recall, but Im glad I didnt take my daughter on it as the monster growling really startled me shed have been mortified. She did ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Star Tours for the first time, barely squeaking by height-wise. She started to freak a bit during Star Tours and said she didnt like it. She did okay on Splash and BTM but said she wouldnt ride again until Im 4. The CMs were very nice about measuring her, even giving her tips like keep your feet together to make her as tall as possible. She made it on every ride she was measured for.
We spent a little time in Toontown 10 minutes after it opened on Friday and it was already a mob scene. We did get to meet Mickey with a minimal wait, but Minnies line was too long and outside in the blazing sun. We ate lunch and witnessed a child get their head stuck in the back of a chair. Poor thing was stuck until a CM could scrounge up a screwdriver to take the chair apart and release her.
Utilizing Fastpass was an absolute necessity. Thanks to Hydroguy for his great tutorial on its use. We used them for Space Mountain, Splash, Buzz Lightyear, and Haunted Mansion avoiding any long waits for these rides. The wait times for Splash were 85 minutes, 65 minutes for Space. At CA we used Fastpass for Soarin and Tower of Terror. I was the runner and this worked very well. Id dash across the park to get the fastpasses and meet everyone at our next ride.
Friday night we watched the Fireworks from the hub. Wonderful and a must see. We slept in Saturday and headed to CA for the 9:30 entry and road Soaring and got Fastpasses to ride again later. We all loved the ride. We later caught the Aladdin show, which is top-notch, Broadway quality and another must see. Saturday night was Fantasmic and the fireworks from the river view (just not the same as the hub). Sunday night we saw the fireworks again from Tomorrowland the started when we were driving the Autopia cars. We saw the parade at each park. Block Party Bash was a big hit with my little one we sat in the Toy Story section. The DL parade was wonderful too. My daughter saw the Tiki birds for the first time.
We were pleased to meet so many characters throughout the parks. We met Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cruella DeVille, Buzz, Jessie, Jo Jo, Pluto, and saw several others out and about. We also met Jasmine and Aladdin my daughters first face characters. She was shy and speechless at first, but soon got the hang of talking with them and asking them questions. On our last day she met Mulan, a favorite, and had a nice conversation about where Shang was and how shell be dressing as Mulan for Halloween.
Sunday we had lunch reservations at Ariels Grotto to meet some princesses. This was my first character meal and Im still not sure I think theyre worth the time and money. I did pay for all 5 of us because I knew my family would balk at the price so maybe just paying for my daughter and myself wouldnt be as painful. We got to meet 4 princesses: Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, and Belle. The food was good I had the salmon BLT.
I almost forgot to mention the Haunted Mansion holiday overlay of Nightmare Before Christmas. Absolutely loved it! I had always wanted to see it and am so glad we finally did. Frankly Im afraid the HM will appear sort of bland without it the next time were there. My daughter even loved it, showing no fear of the dreaded Oogie-Boogie. We rode 3 times and still feel like we didnt see all the details in the decorations. One of these days I must see the entire park decorated for the holidays.
California Adventure:
I really liked this park and although we spent about 1.5 days total there, I feel like I didnt get to see much of it. Soaring and ToT were so much fun we rode several times. My daughter loved the Bugs Life kids rides. I sat in two animation drawing classes and really enjoyed that. We didnt get anywhere near the water ride or the Brother Bear/ Chip and Dale area of the park. I feel there was a lot left to explore here and will definitely come back.
The differences between WDW and DL:
First off, I love both. DL is where it all started. Its Walts home and its cozy and quaint. WDW is so grand, a city unto itself. But the comparisons are inevitable. First and most obvious is the size. DL is packed in there so the crowds feel more intense. This does help your feet because things are closer. An offsite hotel across the street is 10 minutes away. This is closer than the parking lot! This makes leaving the parks for a nap or swim quick and easy to do. Park hopping is also easy. We left the DL Tiki birds and made it over to CA to see Crush in less than 10 minutes. Hopping is quick at DL whereas it can be a long adventure at WDW. Size also applies to the attractions. I had forgotten how small the DL castle looks. I almost laughed out loud when I saw it. Its beautiful though. Also Space Mountain is tiny I expected to see it from outside the park, but you barely get a glimpse. I had forgotten the Matterhorn is the biggest thing in the park.
DL has some original rides that WDW is lacking: Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr Train, and the Storybook Canal boats come to mind. My daughter started crying when we went on the Storybook boats because of the whale tunnel. She cried, but how are we going to get out of the whale? She ended up liking it and rode again. Some DL rides are just plain better: Pirates and Small World come to mind. Small World is so grand and beautiful at DL with the clock and the topiaries. The outside is an attraction in itself. Fantasmic at DL is supposedly better, but the seating is certainly worse as there is no seating, just camping out on the sidewalk. WDW certainly has more! More rides, more room, more parks. But WDW doesnt have everything so our future vacations will include both DL and WDW since I cant get enough of either one!
