Observations from recent DLR trip

[Midnightred]

I love the Matterhorn bumpiness and all, it was my first ever ride at DL when I was 5!

Midnightred

 

[Nonsuch]

2. Grand Californian room: We had the Deluxe Partial View. I looked long and hard here and elsewhere and didn’t find much on what exactly this is, but here’s what we had: We were on the 5th floor just over World of Disney and looking towards Disneyland, approximately the back of Adventureland. The first night we realized that we had a perfect view of the DL fireworks. You can tune in the music on your TV, which was great. We had 2 adults and three kids. There was a queen bed and bunk beds, and then the bottom bunk had another bed that pulled out from underneath. It worked great for our family, me, DW, DS11, DD6 and DD6. I saw people complain that the rooms were dark, I didn’t get that at all. I loved the décor.

The mapping of various view types at GCH remains rather mysterious
You received an excellent DTD view, nothing "partial" about it

3. Grand Californian secret exit: This took me a day to find, but once I did we abused it. You can only exit from it, not enter it, but it lets you out right by the La Brea Bakery, so you’re really close to the main gate. Our room was just down the hall from the staircase entrance (between x448 and x450), so it was perfect for us. Apparently you have to be on floors 3 to 5 to use it. There are signs that say it’s an emergency exit only, but trust me, no alarms sound when you open the door (at least when I did it!).

I wish I would've known about the GCH secret exit!

A video of the secret exit
In this wing of the hotel, there are only rooms on floors 3 to 5. There is no 6th floor with floors 1 and 2 combined into the high ceilings of the World of Disney.

 

[larryz]

3. Grand Californian secret exit: This took me a day to find, but once I did we abused it. You can only exit from it, not enter it, but it lets you out right by the La Brea Bakery, so you’re really close to the main gate. Our room was just down the hall from the staircase entrance (between x448 and x450), so it was perfect for us. Apparently you have to be on floors 3 to 5 to use it. There are signs that say it’s an emergency exit only, but trust me, no alarms sound when you open the door (at least when I did it!).

I haven't been to a Disney park in 4 years. To me, that's an emergency worth using a quick exit for!!!

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

So how do we know it's the correct emergency exit? Be on floors 3-5 and stationed near DTD or with a theme park view, and just head for the emergency exit stairs?

Knowing my luck, I'd find the correct door, but the alarm would be turned on!

 

[RoyalJay]

So how do we know it's the correct emergency exit? Be on floors 3-5 and stationed near DTD or with a theme park view, and just head for the emergency exit stairs? Knowing my luck, I'd find the correct door, but the alarm would be turned on!

The door in the hallway doesn't say emergency exit as far as I can remember. Just walk towards rooms x448 - x450 and you'll see the staircase entrance. It's the only one in the area as far as I remember. The signs saying emergency exit are in the staircase but you're fine. Below floor 2 it winds around a bit and then there's one last flight of stairs that takes you to the exit right by La Brea. You won't regret giving it a try

 

[aliwas]

We just got back this evening, and did 5 days in the parks - Saturday through Wednesday, and all but Sunday did EMH. Saturday, our first day, was a great success at DL, and we flew through all of Fantasyland. However, we later realized that Saturday was the least crowded day for our whole trip. We were expecting similar success on Tuesday at DL, but the crowds were huge, and we were there before 7:00 opening. We only got through three or four rides in FL from 7-8, even with skipping PP. We also rope-dropped on Wednesday, which isn't an EMH day at DL, and the crowds were much lower then.

However, EMH at DCA was great - no crowds at all, other than for RSR. On Wednesday (yesterday), we did EMH at DCA until about 7:45 -- long enough to ride RSR, Mater, Luigi, and CS -- and then hopped to DL, and did all of Fantasyland, except for PP, in the first hour. I would agree with PP -- skip EMH/MM at DL (except for Saturday, possibly), but do EMH at DCA.

I completely agree with this, we got to DL Tues morning about 8:30 and it was wall to wall people. We were only able to do one ride in the first hour. We hopped over to CA where it was much better. Def the most crowded we saw it all week.

 

[kitayama]

I pretty much agree with you on the rides, although Dinosaur scares the crap out of me which makes it a lot more thrilling the the Indy ride (and my kids didn't like it either). Matterhorn is way to bumpy and jerky, and it needs to be re-imagined for me or the kids to ever do it - all they could talk about is how much better ExEv is. And I did like the fact that Soarin' was like a 20 minute wait for us, and TSMM was about 30. Quite a change from the WDW crowd, and this is exactly why Soarin' at Epcot has never been high on the list. For WOC, I think as a WDW vet, I'm spoiled on "viewing areas" for nightime shows. From the mile long loop for Illuminations, to the 9000 seat arena for Fantasmic!, I'm used to SEEING the show. WOC is great, but you can't really see it unless you time it perfect and you're among the luck 80 people who got a good spot. Dining, yes! I miss my daily sit down meal. DL just doesn't have it in this department, though I really loved Big Thunder Mt Ranch BBQ. There's nothing like Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's, 1900 Park Faire, Akershus, or 50's Prime Time. I'll be going to Disneyland a lot for the next year (with an AP), and the one thing I'll miss is the great food of WDW. Feeling your pain, but glad you had a good trip - especially to Lake Arrowhead.

I wish Disneyland had the room for the stadiums that WDW has. I loved having a seat for Fantasmic at WDW, but I must admit that I audibly laughed (I got a couple of strange looks from others when I laughed a little too loud) when the faux Mark Twain came out.
As far as food, I have to agree that the food choices at WDW are superior. This is coming from a Disneyland fan who goes there weekly and likes it better then WDW. There is something nice about not having to stress over reservations though.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I have had good and bad experiences with Matterhorn, some days it seems smoother than I expect and other days I come off in pain. I don't know if some cars have better padding or if maybe after a big breakfast I have extra padding but even after the rougher rides I still love it.

I really wish they could come up with a seating solution for WOC, it's an amazing show but unless you are there over an hour early it's very hard to get an unobstructed view. There is so much going on, including at water level, that if you have people in front of you you miss a lot of the show.

Glad to hear you had a good time. I think part of the fun of alternating between WDW and DL is exploring and comparing the differences between the parks. I've found when I'm at DL I miss certain aspects of MK and when I'm at MK I miss certain aspects of DL. Love all the Disney parks!

Did you get a chance to do the canoes on Rivers of America? It has become my favorite ride at DL, it's simply amazing to paddle down the tranquil river listening to the guides crack jokes as the Columbia and Mark Twain sail/steam by and IIRC they don't offer it at MK.

 

[nunzia]

Thanks for the great review! I'm glad the secret exit worked so well for you. We used to use it also before DVC and now only stay in that wing so totally miss that exit and the DTD view which was always my favorite. One time when we took the secret exit out the 1/2 marathon was in process and we could NOT cross that little path by La Brea as it was all open for runners. You should have seen the CMs waving at us to keep back..keep back. So we were stuck for quite some time and finally called someone else in our party to come down and open the door (which took awhile and when she opened the door had on robe and slippers).So..do not use that exit when a race is on
I agree with all you said...Blue Bayou only good if you get the proper seat, WOC is an amazing show but the viewing design is awful and must be fixed. Another viewing tip..we found the garbage cans by Little Mermaid to be a decent view if you don't want to fight the official area.

 

[RoyalJay]

Did you get a chance to do the canoes on Rivers of America? It has become my favorite ride at DL, it's simply amazing to paddle down the tranquil river listening to the guides crack jokes as the Columbia and Mark Twain sail/steam by and IIRC they don't offer it at MK.

No, but I wish I would have. Apparently they were only available on weekends. I wasn't sure that we needed any extra exercise after all of the walking we did, but I've heard enough positive comments that I would have done it if we could have...