Photo Trip Report – Panama Canal Cruise plus 3 days in DLR

[jegsnakkernorsk]

We got park hopper tickets to go between California Adventure and Disneyland:



Our first stop was a late lunch/early dinner at carnation café. I had made reservations ahead of time by calling Disneyland. There is no way to reserve online and there is no confirmation number but we never ran into a problem with any of our reservations.









Lemonade toped with a citrus foam...


This was really good baked potato soup


fried pickles


I think this was the special


Meatloaf, which was very spicy (everything in California was on the spicy side)


This was the better choice - chicken fried chicken...

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

we headed first to the Haunted Mansion after picking up fastpasses for Indian Jones



The line was very long. Actually all of Disneyland was very crowded with locals coming into the park after school or work. While waiting in line for haunted mansion we saw many kids line jumping something I have never seen at Walt Disney World. I am sure it happens there too but it was very overt at Disneyland and cast members did not seem to care.



When we entered the stretching room it was so loud. My mother even said in my ear - aren't people supposed to quiet down now to hear the introduction to the ride. Nope you couldn't hear any of the introduction and during the ride cast members had to stop it several times to ask people to stay seated and to not use flash photography.



Next stop was Pirates of the Caribbean the ride is longer than at Disney World but the boats are smaller.



Indian Jones is a great ride but once again the local teenagers were screaming the entire time. It just seemed like they were cooped up in school all day and are using Disney to release all their pent up energy.

This was a fun performance in the golden horseshoe...


I wanted my dad to go on the Matterhorn since I have old footage of him as a kid in the 60's going on this ride but it was always such a long line. At one point the ride went down so we waited first in line till it came back up. For some reason it is easier on the psyche to wait for the ride to come back up than to stand in a long line while it is running.

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

I booked three night at Disneyland because there were several night shows I wanted to see...The Mad T Party, World of Color, Disneyland Fireworks, and fantasmic (we have this at Hollywood studios so this was last on my list). To my surprise only one of the four evening shows were held in the three nights we were there - world of color.

So we headed back for an evening at the hotel - first stop was the pool. Once again the feeling that Disneyland is understaffed became apparent where leftover towels and food dishes were surrounding the pool with no one cleaning up.

but on a positive note this slide is really cool...


My absolute favorite spot in all of the resort was Trader Sam's at The Disneyland Hotel. This reminded me a bit of the old Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island.











These were good but had a kick to them...

 

[speedo]

We ate breakfast at the E-Ticket Club which is on the concierge floor (DSis and I were given passes at check in because of our parents staying in concierge)



It was a decent breakfast but often difficult to get a seat.



We ran into someone else from our ship in the lounge who was also disappointed in the lack of fireworks - he stayed concierge only because of the view towards the park.

That morning there was an extra early hour at Disneyland so we headed there first.





unfortunately, very few attractions are open during this early hour. basically just fantasyland. I had wanted to go on Roger Rabbit but that wasn't open yet.

so we went on Mr. Toad's

 

[speedo]

It was soon time to head over to California Adventure - which is walking distance. No need for buses or other transportation between the two - it is all very compact.

when we arrived at California Adventure our first planned stop was Cars Land, unfortunately that was everyone else's planned stop also









On a whole the cast members were not too happy at Disneyland. These two were the typical face expressions we saw...



Carsland is themed really well - very fun atmosphere that lives up to the hype



Lots of 'cars' around, like this one...


The rock formation is the fender of a Cadillac - another nice detail...


Waiting in line - even when the park first open we waited 120 minutes for this ride. This is longest I have ever waited for a Disney ride. The fastpass line was a 90 minute wait but we thought surely the standby would be faster than that when the park opened. The line was never less than 120 minutes and the fastpasses were fully distributed by the time we were done with the ride - so within the first 2 hours of park opening they were gone. This is on a Tuesday when school is still in session.

Not so sure about this sign - this ride was often closed during our three days at DLR...


This is not an interactive line like what they are starting to do at Disney World. There really is not much to keep you interested but we made friends with the people ahead of us and had great conversation with them.

This one of the most interesting aspects of the line...a building constructed using old motor oil bottles.



Finally, we made it - it was a fun experience but not worth the 2 hour wait.



We went by this so fast that I actually don't remember seeing this waterfall good thing for photos













more fun details in carsland...

 

[speedo]

I enjoyed the atmosphere of California Adventure - It was a really fun experience.







cheers! to surviving Carsland


Marshmallow, caramel, chocolate - nothing wrong in that combination



These treats came from...


Everyone is thinner in LA - including Minnie Mouse. She's a Skinny Minnie



The entire time we were on the cruise the running joke was that the characters always take a great photo - never frowning, never blinking...but in Disneyland apparently they can blink!



By the way Minnie's Fly Girls is a cute show that I definitely recommend catching. They have it several times a day.

 

[jegsnakkernorsk]

By the way Minnie's Fly Girls is a cute show that I definitely recommend catching. They have it several times a day.

Just what ever you do, PLEASE DO NOT SIT ON THE EDGE OF THIS STAGE. Not even if it is three hours before any character gets into costume. If you think about sitting your gray haired grandmother on the edge of this stage or stop to prop your foot on the stage to tie a shoelace, you will be attacked by the only cast members you will see all day that are not either selling you something or making sure your seatbelt is securely fastened. These are crazy cast members whose only job is to make sure no one is sitting at Disneyland. Seriously though, the cast members are crazy about sitting anywhere in the park. While waiting for family in the restroom I saw so many people get yelled at for sitting on this stage or looking like they would - and this was after the show and like two hours before the next and it's not like it's a show you wait for - just walk by and say "hey let's look at this for five minutes".

 

[KyCruisinSusan]

OMG!! Walt must be turning over in his grave. Disneyland sounds horrible

The only time that I've ever been was in August 1987. California Adventure didn't even exsist and I fell madly in love with Tigger when he tipped me backwards in a great hug!!

Glad I'm not planning a visit there when we cruise.

 

[speedo]

OMG!! Walt must be turning over in his grave. Disneyland sounds horrible

The only time that I've ever been was in August 1987. California Adventure didn't even exsist and I fell madly in love with Tigger when he tipped me backwards in a great hug!!

Glad I'm not planning a visit there when we cruise.

I really think he is too - I actually said the same thing to my sister while we were there. His famous quote was how his park would be different - clean and family friendly. Unfortunately it was neither while we were there. They really only cater to the locals which makes sense since the locals make up most of the guests. For those on vacation it really is not the best place to visit even with the new carsland attraction.

For those who want to see Disneyland, because it was the first, etc., I would suggest planning only one day tops - not worth it to spend 3 days there like we did.

In my mind Disneyland may be the first, but you know what they say about first pancakes

 

[ShellB8585]

I have loved your TR thank yo so much for sharing.

Just a quick comment on DLR - if you think that is bad do not visit Disneyland Paris. If Walt knows anything about DLP he definitely will be turning in his grave.

Fingers crossed one day Disney will decide to take over and buy back some of the shares and take control because although it looks Disney its just not Disney!

 

[speedo]

I have loved your TR thank yo so much for sharing.

Just a quick comment on DLR - if you think that is bad do not visit Disneyland Paris. If Walt knows anything about DLP he definitely will be turning in his grave.

Fingers crossed one day Disney will decide to take over and buy back some of the shares and take control because although it looks Disney its just not Disney!

Thanks for following along!

I think I will stick with WDW and DCL

But for some reason I do want to go to Disneyland Tokyo someday. I have read that the crowds are incredible with 4 hour waits! but DisneySea looks really cool. Lurkyloo's blog convinced me to add it to my bucket list. We'll see if I ever make it there

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Your PC trip was great. Thanks for sharing your memories.

I'm sorry you were disappointed in DL. I have been many, many times (not a local) and I have always found the park to be clean and the CMs to be friendly. A little planning also goes a long way to avoid lines and enjoy the park to its fullest, just as in WDW. DL is still my favorite park and will continue to enjoy it for many years to come (I hope!). IMHO 3 days is just the right number of days to see everything. You really can't do DL or DCA justice in 1 day, as you recommended.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Your PC trip was great. Thanks for sharing your memories.

I'm sorry you were disappointed in DL. I have been many, many times (not a local) and I have always found the park to be clean and the CMs to be friendly. A little planning also goes a long way to avoid lines and enjoy the park to its fullest, just as in WDW. DL is still my favorite park and will continue to enjoy it for many years to come (I hope!). IMHO 3 days is just the right number of days to see everything. You really can't do DL or DCA justice in 1 day, as you recommended.

I agree - I'm so sorry that you were disappointed in DL!!

Having grown up in Orlando, I have been to WDW hundreds of times. Last year before our Wonder Pixar cruise we went to DL for the first time. I thought I could do it in a day, but ended up going 3 days and still didn't see it all. I had a great time - I loved that it was so much easier to get around between the parks than WDW. Didn't really notice an issue with the CMs. Carsland was awesome - we went on the race car ride a few times, usually with fast pass, but we did have to wait quite a while once because we didn't have a fast pass. I do see your point though - there were a lot more locals (especially teens and young adults) who acted like they were spending the day at the mall than a once-in- a-lifetime vacation at a theme park, so perhaps that takes away a little from the magic. But since I'm sort of like that with WDW, I guess I can't complain too much!!

We leave for the EBPC cruise in a couple weeks, but we aren't going to be able to do DL again, unfortunately.

 

[speedo]

Your PC trip was great. Thanks for sharing your memories.

I'm sorry you were disappointed in DL. I have been many, many times (not a local) and I have always found the park to be clean and the CMs to be friendly. A little planning also goes a long way to avoid lines and enjoy the park to its fullest, just as in WDW. DL is still my favorite park and will continue to enjoy it for many years to come (I hope!). IMHO 3 days is just the right number of days to see everything. You really can't do DL or DCA justice in 1 day, as you recommended.

The first time I went was in early January, 2007 and had the exact opposite experience than this trip. so it may have been an off-time at the park.

 

[speedo]

I agree - I'm so sorry that you were disappointed in DL!!

Having grown up in Orlando, I have been to WDW hundreds of times. Last year before our Wonder Pixar cruise we went to DL for the first time. I thought I could do it in a day, but ended up going 3 days and still didn't see it all. I had a great time - I loved that it was so much easier to get around between the parks than WDW. Didn't really notice an issue with the CMs. Carsland was awesome - we went on the race car ride a few times, usually with fast pass, but we did have to wait quite a while once because we didn't have a fast pass. I do see your point though - there were a lot more locals (especially teens and young adults) who acted like they were spending the day at the mall than a once-in- a-lifetime vacation at a theme park, so perhaps that takes away a little from the magic. But since I'm sort of like that with WDW, I guess I can't complain too much!!

We leave for the EBPC cruise in a couple weeks, but we aren't going to be able to do DL again, unfortunately.

I agree I probably wouldn't have been able to see as much as I did in one day - it just was that I didn't want to spend anymore time at Disneyland after the first day. I just kept thinking how much I have been taking WDW for granted. I am headed back to WDW the end of next month and can't wait to go back "home".

 

[speedo]

Oh one more thought to give DLR the benefit of the doubt - we were there for the last week before the black out dates began for the cheapest local pass (something like $15 per month). So a lot of people may have been taking advantage of their last use for their local passes before the start of summer. Which might account for heavier crowds than normal.

As far as the understaffed feel it may have also been because of our timing. We were there Monday-Wednesday and that Friday they were having 24-hours of Disney with the park open all night. Perhaps they gave employees time off the week before because they needed a lot for the 24 hours event.

 

[speedo]

I don't think this is an official land but once again this area of California Adventure had very effective theming - the rides were geared for little ones but nonetheless adults can appreciate the feel of being a bug







loved this popsicle bench...

 

[speedo]

We headed to Tower of Terror but because of the long lines we opted for fastpasses.



this was a cool effect on the sign



while waiting to use our fastpass we wandered around the park and caught this show - There was a lot of entertainment around the park.



we headed to the Pacific Warf area of California adventure





Surprisingly there were never long lines at Toy Story Mania, which is one of my favorites so that was great for us!


not bad...


We also went on California Screaming using a fastpass that I think we grabbed earlier but not sure. This is a really great roller coaster



on our way back to tower of terror - we grabbed this photo promoting Monster University (waiting on this to come out on Netflix)



time to use our fastpasses


As we approached the elevator we figured out why the lines were so long for this - they only had 1 of the 3 or 4 (not sure how many exactly) elevators operating. They weren't down because of maintenance - they just did not have enough cast members working that day.

 

[speedo]

It may seem like we are going back and forth a lot because well we were but this is a much smaller park than Disney World so I didn't feel like I was doing as much walking as the pictures make it seem.

My parents joined up with us in the early afternoon after Dad played a round of golf that morning. The golf was arranged through Disneyland Hotel but the cab driver got lost on the way to the course. The printed directions from the hotel were confusing because they did not say what town the golf course was in an my Dad had assumed it would be closer.

At any rate we wanted our dad to go on the race cars in carsland. The line was still 2 hours long but they have a single rider line which was much shorter only 30 minutes. This was even shorter than the fastpass line. but my dad said that people noticed this and hopped over from fastpass to single rider so eventually the line evened out behind him.

While we were waiting we decided to have a snack served in cones...






there were pretzel bites in here but photographer wasn't fast enough

 

[speedo]

Definitely a highlight of our trip was lunch at Carthay Circle Restaurant







the image of the evil queen can be found in the wood on the tables:


according to our server, who was really great, this is the only hidden mickey in the ceiling



























When eating here they give you a fastpass for World of Color (one for each person in your party of course).