We made the hike out to California for March break -- which is off-season over there. This is a long trip report I did for friends & family giving my opinions of DL versus WDW.
My husband travels in the US for work, so our flights and hotels were completely free on points -- we thought we'd give the west coast a try. My DDs were just turned 5 and 7 at the time.
Here it is:
"We're back, and I thought I would give you my thoughts on California &
Disneyland.
First of all, my family is really schedule-bound. The girls go to bed at the same time each night (even in summer) and get up at the same time. The time difference was a big problem for us. It was a 5-hour flight there, and then there's a 3-hour time difference. It took us days to get over our exhaustion. The first morning the girls were up at 4 a.m. and the parks didn't open until 10. Needless to say, we were tired before we began. So, for that reason alone I would refrain from travelling to a different time zone with children in the near future.
We had gorgeous weather. Our temps were in the 80s everyday. It was actually warmer in California the week we were in Anaheim then it was in Florida. The bonus though... NO humidity... ZERO. And, for the 2 weeks we were there, it did not rain at all. This was actually a problem for the locals because they have not received rain for the entire month of March. But, for us... great vacation weather. It was cooler when the sun went down, but we were still in shorts with a light jacket.
The sky was pure blue with not a cloud in sight. It felt like you were on a movie set with a painted blue dome for the sky. It was surreal. Also, there was plenty of palm trees, and mountain ranges were everywhere you look. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the surroundings. Even our trip from LA airport to Anaheim was open and bright - not very city-like at all. California was very laid-back, and not as touristy as Florida. The locals were extremely friendly. The beaches were amazing. Definitely worthwhile to visit that state.
Disneyland
Now, here's where things definitely vary. Whereas WDW is a resort destination onto itself, Disneyland is an attraction for California visitors, much like Wonderland. It's a place to visit but not the main goal. Unlike Florida where you feel "Disney" from the moment you land the plane, drive along the highway, and see those welcome signs... there was no such feeling in CA. Disneyland is located right off a main street, right beside motels and McDonalds. There's no walking away from the real-world. There's no feeling of escaping. There's no magic really.
On our last day, we went to a brunch at the Disney hotels which are located on a Disney-made street west of the parks. If you flew into LAX, and only went straight to your Disney hotel, and never left the property... you might get a glimmer of the Disney resort feel as it was prettier on that side. So, if anyone wants to visit in the future and didn't want anything but Disney, I would highly recommend staying at their hotels even though they are $300/night. Otherwise, the motels are actually closer to the gates for way less.
The nice thing about DL is that the main park and the second park (Disney California Adventure) and Downtown DIsney are all walking distance to each other, and share the same entrance hub. No dealings with trams/monorails/buses. All the tickets are hoppers so you can go from park to park just like you would go from Tomorrowland to Adventureland at MK. It's that easy. Also, Build-a-Bear at DD is a huge attraction for my girls -- their highlight of the trip.
It was off-season when we went so Disneyland was only open 10-8 and DCA was open 10-6. The parks open exactly at 10, not a minute early creating congestion in the entrance hub to both parks. This is the only place where it was better to show up a half hour after opening so that you could just walk in.
In regards to the Disneyland park specifically, it's definitely showing it's age. Most of the attractions are outdoors, and so are the lines with no line theming that Disney is famous for. The park is tiny compared to MK in WDW but there are much more rides. The walkways are much more narrow, the rides are closer together, and the lines are outside -- all this creates a false sense of congestion. We went during a quiet time with no rain. I wouldn't like to see the walkways during the summer! Also, the bathrooms were very dingy and spread out. There were rusty, broken elements in view. Also, construction and tarps are in view throughout the day - something WDW tries to do only at night.
That being said, if DL can't change their size, they definitely put their focus in the rides. They were far better than the MK ones. "Dark" rides were actually dark. They didn't stop every 2 seconds for loading problems. Fantasyland, in particular, has way more rides and they are literally a few steps from each other. This park definitely had young children in mind. Also, a benefit of having outdoor lines is you can see exactly how long they are - no WDW trickery of moving from one loading station to another!
Rides that were much better at DL: Peter Pan (it was our favourite - a great dark room with stars that makes you feel like you are flying THROUGH them), It's a Small World, Space Mountain (Sarah loved it - Red Hot Chili Peppers soundtrack to it made it fun, again completely dark not like WDW), Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Autotopia, Toontown (a whole town!), Jungle Cruise, Matterhorn, Thunder Run (it goes through dark tunnels). Claire loved an Alice in Wonderland caterpillar ride which is not at WDW.
Not as good as WDW: Winnie-the-pooh, Tiki Room (yes, the update is better), Innoventions (at Epcot), castle. The castle is rather pathetic... more like a hut. Definitely not something that makes you want to run down main street.
In general, the CMs were extremely friendly and talkative. The restaurants were more varied and had good food choices.
Oh, one other big difference. I expected to see lots of characters around. There were none. You could line up for Mickey in toontown, and Winnie-the-pooh in front of his ride. We did come across goofy and Peter Pan walking around, but there were never characters on Main street at opening or closing. Thankfully, I had booked 2 character meals or the girls wouldn't have ahad much for their autograph books.
Oh.. I almost forgot.. We got "dreamed". On our first day, we got Million Dream Pin Lanyards with 2 pins as we walked off the Casey Train ride. That's it -- never saw prizes being given out for the rest of our stay although we did see a lot of people with dream fastpasses -- kind of funny because DL only has five fastpass rides, and only 2 had the fastpass lines working the week we were there.
California Disney Adventure
This park is not popular with the locals and is not profitable for Disney. That being said, we really enjoyed this park. It reminds me in scope to Disney MGM. Here's where you see what Disney park builders learned over the years -- super-large walkways, lots of open spaces and greenery, indoor lines with theming, lots of bright colours, and CLEAN. After our first day at DL, we spent the next 2 days here. The girls loved the Monster Inc ride they had here. The kids even got to scream it open -- they were the first bunch in line. More interaction at this park, and HSM (High School Musical for those that don't have girls) pep rally which got the girls dancing in the street
The water raft ride is not as good as Kali Rapids at AK, but overall a comfortable, fun little park.
San Diego - The one thing I learned on this trip is that Toronto really is first-class with its attactions. San Diego is known for its zoo, museums, and Seaworld. Well, Seaworld was really disappointing compared to the Florida version. Considering it's built on the ocean, you'd think you could actually see it! The Zoo was nice and the pens are designed so the animals are right up front (they have no space) but the park is rather small. We really under-appreciate our Zoo, ROM, and Science Centre. When compared to other cities, they really are world-class.
Legoland - This was a fun park for kids under 9. Not much for thrill rides, but really beautifully done with lots of greenery, shade, and interactive entertainment for the youngins. I'd highly recommend.
The beaches were beautiful. The first beach we visited was a traditional sand one with surfers. The girls collected seashells. The second beach was at La Jolla which is known for its rocky beaches and caves. Here, they could see sea lions on the rocks right below them, see sea creatures in tide pools, and swim in a small cove. That was our highlight of San Diego.
Overall, we had a relaxing family trip. No night life - all the parks closed by 6 pm (except DL at 8). I'd say that if anyone was planning a trip to DL, I would plan on 3-4 days at the park, add in a down day, and a day trip to Legoland or Universal or Knotts. Maybe explore Hollywood if you had older kids. I wouldn't bother driving down to San Diego to stay.
Although I loved the California views, I'll stick to the resort magic of WDW next time. Maybe we'll even stay on site this time ...
"
) and used Air Miles to book a rental car and for our DL passes. We're planning on 3 or 4 days at DL/DCA as well as a day at USH. We're also planning on a couple of non-park days - maybe a beach day and/or a tour of LA/Hollywood/Beverly Hills.
