fantasia73
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2000
- Messages
- 183
I just got back from a little under a week at the Disneyland Resort.
We stayed at the Disneyland hotel and loved it. Our Dreams Unlimited travel agent got us a great deal on our room. We were lucky enough to be in the Adventure Tower with a Premium View and E Ticket Lounge Privileges. I've been to WDW 12 times and have to admit DL has won me over. I loved the convenience of being able to walk to everything. We hit rope drop every morning at the Magic Morning park and then hit the other park once the MM park got crowded. We usually headed back for a nap in the late afternoon and then headed back to the parks at night. We felt much more relaxed in California and didn't feel like I needed to have so much planned ahead.
Traveling over President's Day week made the crowds pretty crazy. As the week went on, the crowds did seem to lighten up a bit. We took full advantage of using fast pass and single rider lines. We rode Radiator Springs Racers at least 8 times from the single rider line and never waited more than 10 minutes. We also made use of the Paint the Night Blue Bayou Package. We were planning to eat there anyway, so we figured we might as well use the package. We were satisfied with our spots for the parade. People were so angry when they didn't get spots sitting on the curb, but frankly, I thought I could see better standing up anyway. The parade was awesome and that's coming from someone who hates parades. The fireworks were good too - we loved the projections along Main Street. We didn't do a dining package for World of Color and I'm glad we didn't. We grabbed a fast pass and found a perfectly fine spot on the bridge in the blue section (after we were barred from using the bathroom near Paradise Garden Grill because Adele was in there!).
We enjoyed the food very much while we were in DL. The frites from Cafe Orleans are as good as advertised. We had lunch twice in the Carthay Circle Lounge, loved it and thought it was a good place to cool off on the 90 degree days. Breakfast at Steakhouse 55 is not to be missed. My bananas foster Mickey waffles were a highlight of my trip. We also really enjoyed the hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli in DCA, churros from the street carts, Mickey beignets and the tableside guacamole at Tortilla Jo's. Trader Sam's was a bit of a letdown, but I think my expectations were too high. That and I really had my heart set on the fried green beans and couldn't have them because they couldn't guarantee they were allergen free. My drink was good there, but I requested it in a souvenir mug which I didn't get (but wasn't charge for). The bar effects were cool the first few times and then it started to get annoying.
My biggest gripe about the trip was how many parents let their kids ruin nice meals. The kids in the parks didn't bother me - kids will be kids. I enjoyed seeing their excitement (not so much them always picking their noses). But both at Carthay Circle at dinner and Steakhouse 55 at dinner, there were kids literally screaming their heads off because they didn't want to be there. If I was 5 and had been in a theme park all day and was tired, I probably wouldn't have wanted to be there either. The parents seemed oblivious to the fact that they were not only ruining their own meals, but the meals of everyone else around them.
Here's my quick list of hints for planning a trip -
1) Stay within walking distance of the parks. Even if you stay off-site, there are plenty of options to find a convenient spot to stay. For us the Disneyland Hotel was perfect. People complain it's too far from the parks, but we didn't find that at all. Maybe if you were pushing a stroller, the walk would seem harder, but we didn't mind it at all.
2) Get to the parks early. I know it's vacation and you want to sleep in, but don't. It was easier for me coming from the East Coast. I was wide awake every morning at 6am and itching to get out the door.
3) Use Fast Pass and Single Rider Lines. This saved us a ton of time.
4) Don't spend all your time rushing from ride to ride. Take the time to relax and savor the experience. We loved checking out all of the live musical performances. Even if you don't ride a single ride, you can get a lot of bang for your buck at Disneyland.
5) Read Bob Thomas's biography of Walt Disney before you go. It will give you a real appreciation for the history of where you are when you get to Disneyland.
6) Plan one day for shopping and resort hopping. Rather than waste days when you're holding a theme park admission ticket; use an extra day to explore Downtown Disney and the other Disney hotels. We caught the red eye from LAX and leading up to it did all of our souvenir shopping and had a relaxing lunch at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen.
7) Request Disney Gift Cards well ahead of your trip. My relatives always ask for gift suggestions and I always say "I don't need anything". This year, I always said "a Disney Gift Card." I barely had to spend any money out of pocket. I used the gift cards for snacks, meals and a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride t-shirt. The only places you couldn't use the gift cards were at places not owned by Disney (Ghirardelli, Tortilla Jo's . . .)
8) Book with Dreams Unlimited Travel. They didn't pay me to say that, but they saved me a bunch of money on my trip. They also got me a FABULOUS room.
9) Get ready to smile. They don't call it "the happiest place on earth" for nothing. I can't tell you how many times I marveled at just how happy I was. It was the laughing out loud kind of happy. The shaking my head in disbelief because I was so happy kind of happy. Well done, Disneyland. Well done.
We stayed at the Disneyland hotel and loved it. Our Dreams Unlimited travel agent got us a great deal on our room. We were lucky enough to be in the Adventure Tower with a Premium View and E Ticket Lounge Privileges. I've been to WDW 12 times and have to admit DL has won me over. I loved the convenience of being able to walk to everything. We hit rope drop every morning at the Magic Morning park and then hit the other park once the MM park got crowded. We usually headed back for a nap in the late afternoon and then headed back to the parks at night. We felt much more relaxed in California and didn't feel like I needed to have so much planned ahead.
Traveling over President's Day week made the crowds pretty crazy. As the week went on, the crowds did seem to lighten up a bit. We took full advantage of using fast pass and single rider lines. We rode Radiator Springs Racers at least 8 times from the single rider line and never waited more than 10 minutes. We also made use of the Paint the Night Blue Bayou Package. We were planning to eat there anyway, so we figured we might as well use the package. We were satisfied with our spots for the parade. People were so angry when they didn't get spots sitting on the curb, but frankly, I thought I could see better standing up anyway. The parade was awesome and that's coming from someone who hates parades. The fireworks were good too - we loved the projections along Main Street. We didn't do a dining package for World of Color and I'm glad we didn't. We grabbed a fast pass and found a perfectly fine spot on the bridge in the blue section (after we were barred from using the bathroom near Paradise Garden Grill because Adele was in there!).
We enjoyed the food very much while we were in DL. The frites from Cafe Orleans are as good as advertised. We had lunch twice in the Carthay Circle Lounge, loved it and thought it was a good place to cool off on the 90 degree days. Breakfast at Steakhouse 55 is not to be missed. My bananas foster Mickey waffles were a highlight of my trip. We also really enjoyed the hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli in DCA, churros from the street carts, Mickey beignets and the tableside guacamole at Tortilla Jo's. Trader Sam's was a bit of a letdown, but I think my expectations were too high. That and I really had my heart set on the fried green beans and couldn't have them because they couldn't guarantee they were allergen free. My drink was good there, but I requested it in a souvenir mug which I didn't get (but wasn't charge for). The bar effects were cool the first few times and then it started to get annoying.
My biggest gripe about the trip was how many parents let their kids ruin nice meals. The kids in the parks didn't bother me - kids will be kids. I enjoyed seeing their excitement (not so much them always picking their noses). But both at Carthay Circle at dinner and Steakhouse 55 at dinner, there were kids literally screaming their heads off because they didn't want to be there. If I was 5 and had been in a theme park all day and was tired, I probably wouldn't have wanted to be there either. The parents seemed oblivious to the fact that they were not only ruining their own meals, but the meals of everyone else around them.
Here's my quick list of hints for planning a trip -
1) Stay within walking distance of the parks. Even if you stay off-site, there are plenty of options to find a convenient spot to stay. For us the Disneyland Hotel was perfect. People complain it's too far from the parks, but we didn't find that at all. Maybe if you were pushing a stroller, the walk would seem harder, but we didn't mind it at all.
2) Get to the parks early. I know it's vacation and you want to sleep in, but don't. It was easier for me coming from the East Coast. I was wide awake every morning at 6am and itching to get out the door.
3) Use Fast Pass and Single Rider Lines. This saved us a ton of time.
4) Don't spend all your time rushing from ride to ride. Take the time to relax and savor the experience. We loved checking out all of the live musical performances. Even if you don't ride a single ride, you can get a lot of bang for your buck at Disneyland.
5) Read Bob Thomas's biography of Walt Disney before you go. It will give you a real appreciation for the history of where you are when you get to Disneyland.
6) Plan one day for shopping and resort hopping. Rather than waste days when you're holding a theme park admission ticket; use an extra day to explore Downtown Disney and the other Disney hotels. We caught the red eye from LAX and leading up to it did all of our souvenir shopping and had a relaxing lunch at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen.
7) Request Disney Gift Cards well ahead of your trip. My relatives always ask for gift suggestions and I always say "I don't need anything". This year, I always said "a Disney Gift Card." I barely had to spend any money out of pocket. I used the gift cards for snacks, meals and a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride t-shirt. The only places you couldn't use the gift cards were at places not owned by Disney (Ghirardelli, Tortilla Jo's . . .)
8) Book with Dreams Unlimited Travel. They didn't pay me to say that, but they saved me a bunch of money on my trip. They also got me a FABULOUS room.
9) Get ready to smile. They don't call it "the happiest place on earth" for nothing. I can't tell you how many times I marveled at just how happy I was. It was the laughing out loud kind of happy. The shaking my head in disbelief because I was so happy kind of happy. Well done, Disneyland. Well done.