WishUponAStar3
Believer In Big Dreams!
- Joined
- May 23, 2011
- Messages
- 205
Hello all! I just got back from Disneyland the other day, and I have to say it was one of the best trips yet. Here are some of my observations, and feel free to ask me any questions.
CROWDS: We were VERY pleasantly surprised by the light crowds on Saturday! I'd been nervously anticipating huge crowds after reading a lot of the threads on this board, but either we got lucky and/or Saturday is a light day, because the parks never seemed crowded or full! Navigating the parks was a breeze and from morning till night, we were able to get on rides with little waits.
BLUE BAYOU: We received amazing service at Blue Bayou- I wish I remembered our waitress and hostess's names because they really went out of their way to bring us some extra magic! We were celebrating my birthday so I requested a waterside table when we checked in, but after the hostess said it would be at least a 30-min wait, we said to forget it since we had a tour to catch and couldn't wait. We still had to wait 20 minutes for our table, and I politely let the hostess know that we had a tour and that's why I'd made the reservation for the time I did, and could we please be seated? Well, a few minutes after we were seated at a table far from the water, which we were fine with because of the time crunch, the hostess came up and said a waterside table had just become available and did we want to move!? We were so excited to be moved to the best seat in the house, and so touched that they came back to us rather than giving the water table to a new customer. And THEN, our waitress apologized for the 20-min wait to be seated and to make up for our lost time, she gave us a FP to the ride of our choice!! My bf and I were blown away by this outstanding level of service. And of course, the meal was delicious as always!
WALK IN WALT'S FOOTSTEPS TOUR: This was the highlight of the trip by far. Our tour guide, Mychal, was absolutely amazing and clearly so passionate about Walt's story- he brought tears to our eyes at both at the beginning AND end of the tour! Riding Peter Pan with no wait was such a treat, since that's a nostalgic favorite of mine that I usually skip due to the long lines. But the best part, of course, was the visit to Walt's apartment above Main Street. This was a LIFE highlight for sure! Afterward we had an early dinner (this was following the 2:30 tour) of sandwiches, chips, soda and dessert from Jolly Holiday Bakery, which was very yummy and definitely added to the value of the tour.
DISNEYLAND HOTEL: This is our second year staying at DLH after 5 stays at GCH, and we officially prefer DLH! Really, I think the only thing GCH has going for it over DLH is the stunning lobby, whereas DLH doesn't have an impressive lobby. I'm sure most people would also say proximity to the parks is GCH's biggest advantage, but staying in the Adventureland Tower at DLH isn't that much of a difference in terms of the walk, at least IMO. We just adored the DLH, from the renovated rooms, which are bigger and cheerier than those at GCH, to the fabulous bar scene at Trader Sam's, being steps away from the best character meal onsite, in our opinion (Goofy's) and of course, the renovated, spectacular pool!! Sunday was our pool day and we were out there for hours, riding the awesome water slide and laying out with frozen cocktails- it was heaven! Especially considering we got a (partial) pool-view room at DLH for less $$ than a standard-view room at GCH, it was a no-brainer for us.
Ahh, what a fun trip, I miss it already!
CROWDS: We were VERY pleasantly surprised by the light crowds on Saturday! I'd been nervously anticipating huge crowds after reading a lot of the threads on this board, but either we got lucky and/or Saturday is a light day, because the parks never seemed crowded or full! Navigating the parks was a breeze and from morning till night, we were able to get on rides with little waits.
BLUE BAYOU: We received amazing service at Blue Bayou- I wish I remembered our waitress and hostess's names because they really went out of their way to bring us some extra magic! We were celebrating my birthday so I requested a waterside table when we checked in, but after the hostess said it would be at least a 30-min wait, we said to forget it since we had a tour to catch and couldn't wait. We still had to wait 20 minutes for our table, and I politely let the hostess know that we had a tour and that's why I'd made the reservation for the time I did, and could we please be seated? Well, a few minutes after we were seated at a table far from the water, which we were fine with because of the time crunch, the hostess came up and said a waterside table had just become available and did we want to move!? We were so excited to be moved to the best seat in the house, and so touched that they came back to us rather than giving the water table to a new customer. And THEN, our waitress apologized for the 20-min wait to be seated and to make up for our lost time, she gave us a FP to the ride of our choice!! My bf and I were blown away by this outstanding level of service. And of course, the meal was delicious as always!
WALK IN WALT'S FOOTSTEPS TOUR: This was the highlight of the trip by far. Our tour guide, Mychal, was absolutely amazing and clearly so passionate about Walt's story- he brought tears to our eyes at both at the beginning AND end of the tour! Riding Peter Pan with no wait was such a treat, since that's a nostalgic favorite of mine that I usually skip due to the long lines. But the best part, of course, was the visit to Walt's apartment above Main Street. This was a LIFE highlight for sure! Afterward we had an early dinner (this was following the 2:30 tour) of sandwiches, chips, soda and dessert from Jolly Holiday Bakery, which was very yummy and definitely added to the value of the tour.
DISNEYLAND HOTEL: This is our second year staying at DLH after 5 stays at GCH, and we officially prefer DLH! Really, I think the only thing GCH has going for it over DLH is the stunning lobby, whereas DLH doesn't have an impressive lobby. I'm sure most people would also say proximity to the parks is GCH's biggest advantage, but staying in the Adventureland Tower at DLH isn't that much of a difference in terms of the walk, at least IMO. We just adored the DLH, from the renovated rooms, which are bigger and cheerier than those at GCH, to the fabulous bar scene at Trader Sam's, being steps away from the best character meal onsite, in our opinion (Goofy's) and of course, the renovated, spectacular pool!! Sunday was our pool day and we were out there for hours, riding the awesome water slide and laying out with frozen cocktails- it was heaven! Especially considering we got a (partial) pool-view room at DLH for less $$ than a standard-view room at GCH, it was a no-brainer for us.
Ahh, what a fun trip, I miss it already!
Someday, I will take that tour, and probably cry through the entire thing!! 
Thanks for the positive comments about the park as well. 
I have to attend a Directors meeting at WDW in jan 2015. I am not looking forward to it. I did my best to get it moved to DL but, to no avail.
The big boss told me suck it up n quit griping.
. Once again, thanks for sharing your upbeat travel tale.
