linzjane88
Closet Disneyphile
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2014
- Messages
- 1,427
Hi there! We just got back from 6 days/ 5 nights in Anaheim. I figured I would share a few things that happened along the way since I gleaned a ton of info from others info.This was a surprise trip that our girls (4 and 8) didn't know about. We told them my DH had a doctors apointment in the city and that we were going to Costco afterwards 
. They are young and naive--I didn't get too creative with the story.
We started our with a royally huge airfare messup which I will link to so I don't clutter this post: http://disboards.com/threads/whats-your-worst-vacation-mishap-heres-mine.3514185/ I will say Southwest stole my heart after this trip...very happy with them!
John Wayne Airport (SNA): Great airport to use both ways. It is so small and easy to navigate. When we we leaving the check-in was unlike anything I have ever seen. We were literally the only people in line to check our bags AND to go through security. The TSA agents were incredibly friendly and not once did I hear them barking orders (ya know, at us or the 3 people behind us). I am SO glad we changed to SNA when we changed our original travel plans. The drive to Disney only took about 20 minutes.
Uber: We are sheltered. I will come right out and say it. We have never used a subway, a taxi, and my experience with buses are only of those in WDW (which I hate!). The idea of some random stranger picking me us up and driving us around is super awkward
. Do I make smalltalk while we drive? Do I sit in the front? Is s/he going to kidnap us? Well, you will be happy to know I wasn't kidnapped. And husband made a little awkward smalltalk from the front seat. We requested an Uber XL because there are 4 of us plus a stroller and various bags. Within 5-10 minutes the driver was there. The cost was $30 each way and that got us a Toyota Sienna and a minivan on the way back. I found promo codes so our actual out of pocket was about $16 round trip, I tipped 5$ each time. We would definitely use it again.
Hotel: We stayed at Park Vue and were overall pretty happy. I just don't see the value in a $300+ a night room on property in DL. In WDW we prefer to be onsite but the prices are hard to justify in DL. Park Vue was about a 5 minute walk to the bag check each morning and that is certainly a convenience you can't get in WDW. The room itself was clean and nicely updated. I expected a motel across the street from Disney to be used and abused but it was obvious they really tried to maintain the rooms.The breakfast was nice--waffles, potatoes, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese and fruit, yogurt, and various bagels/toast. I am sure they were powdered eggs and frozen potatoes but we didn't expect gourmet quality. Everything was really clean and there were always 2-3 employees waiting to refill and wipe things down. I never once saw an empty container of anything.
Some things I didn't love: beds were pretty uncomfortable, outside noises and conversations are very loud in the rooms--expect to be awakened by 0700 and to go to bed when the park closes (or bring earplugs), and the rooms smelled a little bit musty. I also was a little frustrated by housekeeping even though it's not really their fault. We were coming back for midday breaks and to let the kids nap, usually around 2-4. That timing seemed to not jive well with the housekeeping schedule because our room was never cleaned in the morning and we would put the DND on during naptime so we didn't get woken up. We were getting desperate for clean towels by the end! In WDW mousekeeping will leave you a bag of towels and toiletries every few days your there with your DND sign out. All in all I felt there was alot of value in the Park Vue and would stay again.
Tickets- Yes, you need the park hoppers
. We were at the parks for 5 days and I think we did both parks every day. Being able to dodge crowds if one park was busier than other was nice. We felt like we got to do everything we wanted and actually felt 'done' when we were leaving for our flight. I think if you are travelling with kids the 5 day with hoppers is a necessity.
Grad nights- There were grad nights on about half of our days. It was about what I expected-- herds of 10-20 teenagers roaming through the parks. Overall I think they were pretty well behaved with the exception of a few random obscenities here and there to be "cool". They filled the Starbucks lines and thrill rides. I know DCA is "their" park in the evening but don't let that fool you. They are everywhere pretty much all day.
Overall crowds: There is less walking room so it takes much fewer people to "feel" crowded. The difference I noticed is that in WDW when you are shoulder to shoulder crowds the wait times are going to be through the roof across the board. In DL, a sea of people didn't always translate over to huge waits at attractions. Weekend grad nights were bad. Really bad. I was convinced I wasn't going to make it out of the walkway between Buzz and Star Tours alive. That's a bottleneck on a good day, but on a Friday/ Saturday night grad night?
I would avoid that if at all possible.
Food:
I have alot to say here. Mostly opinions formed while in a hangry state so ye be warned. The food in the parks is pretty lacking compared to WDW, in my opinion. I am not a fan of fried food, burgers, corn dogs and it seemed pretty difficult to find something that fit the bill. We typically like to do one nice TS per day and found it sort of difficult. We attempted a walk up at both Blue Bayou (8pm on a Monday) and Carthay Circle (1:30pm on a Tuesday) with no success. As far as kids meals go they seem to have virtually identical mass produced kids meal menus/food at every table service which I didn't love. It was basically mac and cheese, chicken breast, spagetti and meatballs, or pizza.
La Brea Bakery Express (DTD) 4.5/5: Best quick service we tried. I got the caprese sandwich, DH got a calzone, and the girls got pizzas. Everything needed more sauce but overall was good. It was just nice to look at a menu that wasn't primarily deep fried.
Storytellers Cafe 5/5 (GCH): Expensive but not to far off from other table service places nearby. Best TS of the trip. We didn't have reservations but were seated within a few minutes. The service was prompt which is a huge plus in the land of overcrowded Disney dining, where dining experiences take far longer than I want them to as a general rule. My DH and I got the buffet which was $38 PP. The food was pretty good and paired with the peaceful walk through the Grand Californian it was just a nice experience all around.
Smokejumpers Grill 3.5/5 (DCA): Basic quick service. I got the veggie burger which was pretty good. It wasn't your average black bean type burger-it seemed to made with either rice or quinoa? It tasted fine but the parts on the outside of the burger were dried out so it felt like biting into uncooked rice. Husband go thte burger and onion rings which were WAY overcooked and exceptionally greasy. The toppings bar was a nice touch though.
Wine Country Trattoria 5/5 (DCA): This place was delicious. We actually ate here twice, both times for lunch with no reservations and about a 30 minute wait to be seated. My husband got the sandwich both times and loved it. I got the shrimp scampi and the pasta with brocollini and both were delicious. The shrimp scampi was hands down the best meal of the trip (and definitely NOT calorie free!). Service was slower than my impatient self wants so we never got dessert.
Hungry Bear Restaraunt (DL) 1/5: Ew! Quick service burgers, fries, and other things I don't want.
The story here is we were going to make another trip to the Storytellers Cafe but DD8 nay-sayed that plan, telling us "The macaroni and cheese tasted like Goldfish Crackers-I didn't like it." (which is funny because the mac and cheese seems to be the same everywhere 
). So we decided to venture into the parks for a meal and live dangerously. Bad choice! It was 8 by this point and all the sit downs were booked/closed. I pulled up a Disney Food Blog recommending The Hungry Bear. I don't know why one would ever recommend that place, it was generic greasy park food. In DFBs defense I was on my mobile searching and that particular "Top 10" article was older. I can't even find it now. I got a burger and inion rings and the onion rings consisted of a paper thin slice of onion--sometimes onion skin-- with a ton of fried breading.
River Bell Terrace (DL) 4/5: We had about a 25 minute wait at lunchtime with no reservations which is to be expected. Service was fairly prompt. The food was decent--lots of meaty things I don't typically eat but the need for a sit down meal when the kids are starting to lose steam mid-day trumps moms food preferences. The patio seating had nice views of Rivers of America and New Orleans Square.
Rancho Del Zocalo (DL) 4/5:The food was decent and probably one of the better park quick services. Some may argue that the Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans wins but I personally don't like my sandwich fried. Or with jam and sugar. Anyway, my gripe with this place was that it was a chaotic style of ordering with different areas serving different foods. I know some WDW places are like this but I just don't think it works well for such a crowded place. There ends up being strollers and people with overflowing trays going every which way. Also, the toddler order of rice and beans is not the orange Spanish rice but just plain rice-- keep that in mind if that's what your little one typically gets from a Mexican restaurant. You can order just a side of rice and beans for about the same price. My other issue here was that the CM at the register was a turd about taking my digital DVC card. He kept going on about how they have been instructed not to give a discount for ANY card they don't physically have. He went on in a really loud and obnoxious fashion despite me showing him from the DVC page where it says "Take a screenshot of this and show it to a cast member." He gave me a discount 'just this one time' but refused to acknowledge that this MAY just be legit and he might be misinformed.
Jolly Holiday Bakery 5/5: I wish we would have known this place had food and not just bakery items. The sandwiches in the case looked great. We got strawberry shortcake, creme brulee, and a Mickey cookie. Everything was really good and seemed fresher and less generic than the sweets/candy shop on Main Street. We watched fireworks from the outdoor tables which I wouldn't recommend because the trees block the castle and the umbrellas block the fireworks. But it's where we happened to be at the time so we stayed. They get extra points for promptly getting my purse to lost and found when I forgot it after the fireworks. I wouldn't recommend doing that BTW. It's kind of stressful...
Offsite: Tony Romas 0/5: Don't. Just don't. It might be close and convenient but don't even try. It smells like an Applebees that's been set up in a public restroom. Everything looks greasy and the bottom two 3 feet of the place has grimy kid prints. Menus were sticky. My DH and I each got coffee....it was $3.25 a cup
. Seriously- two coffees, two kids meals, 2 adult meals (sandwich and ribs) came to $70!
Cheesecake Factory 4.5/5: About a mile walk from our hotel through a some sketchy areas including a bus stop turned hobo village. The food was as good as any CF but the waiter clearly had way too many tables. He basically would drop stuff at our table while doing wind sprints past the table. I downloaded the Cheesecake Factory app which allows you to get your bill and pay from your phone. Highly recommend that route-it saves alot of time at the end of the meal.
OK that's all for now. If anybody has any questions let me know.
ETA: Holy cow this is a wall of text. I really got carried away. Also, I think I said "sandwich" 376 times. I'm sorry. I guess I just really like them.
. They are young and naive--I didn't get too creative with the story.We started our with a royally huge airfare messup which I will link to so I don't clutter this post: http://disboards.com/threads/whats-your-worst-vacation-mishap-heres-mine.3514185/ I will say Southwest stole my heart after this trip...very happy with them!
John Wayne Airport (SNA): Great airport to use both ways. It is so small and easy to navigate. When we we leaving the check-in was unlike anything I have ever seen. We were literally the only people in line to check our bags AND to go through security. The TSA agents were incredibly friendly and not once did I hear them barking orders (ya know, at us or the 3 people behind us
). I am SO glad we changed to SNA when we changed our original travel plans. The drive to Disney only took about 20 minutes.Uber: We are sheltered. I will come right out and say it. We have never used a subway, a taxi, and my experience with buses are only of those in WDW (which I hate!). The idea of some random stranger picking me us up and driving us around is super awkward
. Do I make smalltalk while we drive? Do I sit in the front? Is s/he going to kidnap us? Well, you will be happy to know I wasn't kidnapped. And husband made a little awkward smalltalk from the front seat. We requested an Uber XL because there are 4 of us plus a stroller and various bags. Within 5-10 minutes the driver was there. The cost was $30 each way and that got us a Toyota Sienna and a minivan on the way back. I found promo codes so our actual out of pocket was about $16 round trip, I tipped 5$ each time. We would definitely use it again.Hotel: We stayed at Park Vue and were overall pretty happy. I just don't see the value in a $300+ a night room on property in DL. In WDW we prefer to be onsite but the prices are hard to justify in DL. Park Vue was about a 5 minute walk to the bag check each morning and that is certainly a convenience you can't get in WDW. The room itself was clean and nicely updated. I expected a motel across the street from Disney to be used and abused but it was obvious they really tried to maintain the rooms.The breakfast was nice--waffles, potatoes, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese and fruit, yogurt, and various bagels/toast. I am sure they were powdered eggs and frozen potatoes but we didn't expect gourmet quality. Everything was really clean and there were always 2-3 employees waiting to refill and wipe things down. I never once saw an empty container of anything.
Some things I didn't love: beds were pretty uncomfortable, outside noises and conversations are very loud in the rooms--expect to be awakened by 0700 and to go to bed when the park closes (or bring earplugs), and the rooms smelled a little bit musty. I also was a little frustrated by housekeeping even though it's not really their fault. We were coming back for midday breaks and to let the kids nap, usually around 2-4. That timing seemed to not jive well with the housekeeping schedule because our room was never cleaned in the morning and we would put the DND on during naptime so we didn't get woken up. We were getting desperate for clean towels by the end! In WDW mousekeeping will leave you a bag of towels and toiletries every few days your there with your DND sign out. All in all I felt there was alot of value in the Park Vue and would stay again.
Tickets- Yes, you need the park hoppers
. We were at the parks for 5 days and I think we did both parks every day. Being able to dodge crowds if one park was busier than other was nice. We felt like we got to do everything we wanted and actually felt 'done' when we were leaving for our flight. I think if you are travelling with kids the 5 day with hoppers is a necessity.Grad nights- There were grad nights on about half of our days. It was about what I expected-- herds of 10-20 teenagers roaming through the parks. Overall I think they were pretty well behaved with the exception of a few random obscenities here and there to be "cool". They filled the Starbucks lines and thrill rides. I know DCA is "their" park in the evening but don't let that fool you. They are everywhere pretty much all day.
Overall crowds: There is less walking room so it takes much fewer people to "feel" crowded. The difference I noticed is that in WDW when you are shoulder to shoulder crowds the wait times are going to be through the roof across the board. In DL, a sea of people didn't always translate over to huge waits at attractions. Weekend grad nights were bad. Really bad. I was convinced I wasn't going to make it out of the walkway between Buzz and Star Tours alive. That's a bottleneck on a good day, but on a Friday/ Saturday night grad night?
I would avoid that if at all possible.Food:
I have alot to say here. Mostly opinions formed while in a hangry state so ye be warned. The food in the parks is pretty lacking compared to WDW, in my opinion. I am not a fan of fried food, burgers, corn dogs and it seemed pretty difficult to find something that fit the bill. We typically like to do one nice TS per day and found it sort of difficult. We attempted a walk up at both Blue Bayou (8pm on a Monday) and Carthay Circle (1:30pm on a Tuesday) with no success. As far as kids meals go they seem to have virtually identical mass produced kids meal menus/food at every table service which I didn't love. It was basically mac and cheese, chicken breast, spagetti and meatballs, or pizza. La Brea Bakery Express (DTD) 4.5/5: Best quick service we tried. I got the caprese sandwich, DH got a calzone, and the girls got pizzas. Everything needed more sauce but overall was good. It was just nice to look at a menu that wasn't primarily deep fried.
Storytellers Cafe 5/5 (GCH): Expensive but not to far off from other table service places nearby. Best TS of the trip. We didn't have reservations but were seated within a few minutes. The service was prompt which is a huge plus in the land of overcrowded Disney dining, where dining experiences take far longer than I want them to as a general rule. My DH and I got the buffet which was $38 PP. The food was pretty good and paired with the peaceful walk through the Grand Californian it was just a nice experience all around.
Smokejumpers Grill 3.5/5 (DCA): Basic quick service. I got the veggie burger which was pretty good. It wasn't your average black bean type burger-it seemed to made with either rice or quinoa? It tasted fine but the parts on the outside of the burger were dried out so it felt like biting into uncooked rice. Husband go thte burger and onion rings which were WAY overcooked and exceptionally greasy. The toppings bar was a nice touch though.
Wine Country Trattoria 5/5 (DCA): This place was delicious. We actually ate here twice, both times for lunch with no reservations and about a 30 minute wait to be seated. My husband got the sandwich both times and loved it. I got the shrimp scampi and the pasta with brocollini and both were delicious. The shrimp scampi was hands down the best meal of the trip (and definitely NOT calorie free!). Service was slower than my impatient self wants so we never got dessert.
Hungry Bear Restaraunt (DL) 1/5: Ew! Quick service burgers, fries, and other things I don't want.
The story here is we were going to make another trip to the Storytellers Cafe but DD8 nay-sayed that plan, telling us "The macaroni and cheese tasted like Goldfish Crackers-I didn't like it." (which is funny because the mac and cheese seems to be the same everywhere ). So we decided to venture into the parks for a meal and live dangerously. Bad choice! It was 8 by this point and all the sit downs were booked/closed. I pulled up a Disney Food Blog recommending The Hungry Bear. I don't know why one would ever recommend that place, it was generic greasy park food. In DFBs defense I was on my mobile searching and that particular "Top 10" article was older. I can't even find it now. I got a burger and inion rings and the onion rings consisted of a paper thin slice of onion--sometimes onion skin-- with a ton of fried breading. River Bell Terrace (DL) 4/5: We had about a 25 minute wait at lunchtime with no reservations which is to be expected. Service was fairly prompt. The food was decent--lots of meaty things I don't typically eat but the need for a sit down meal when the kids are starting to lose steam mid-day trumps moms food preferences. The patio seating had nice views of Rivers of America and New Orleans Square.
Rancho Del Zocalo (DL) 4/5:The food was decent and probably one of the better park quick services. Some may argue that the Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans wins but I personally don't like my sandwich fried. Or with jam and sugar. Anyway, my gripe with this place was that it was a chaotic style of ordering with different areas serving different foods. I know some WDW places are like this but I just don't think it works well for such a crowded place. There ends up being strollers and people with overflowing trays going every which way. Also, the toddler order of rice and beans is not the orange Spanish rice but just plain rice-- keep that in mind if that's what your little one typically gets from a Mexican restaurant. You can order just a side of rice and beans for about the same price. My other issue here was that the CM at the register was a turd about taking my digital DVC card. He kept going on about how they have been instructed not to give a discount for ANY card they don't physically have. He went on in a really loud and obnoxious fashion despite me showing him from the DVC page where it says "Take a screenshot of this and show it to a cast member." He gave me a discount 'just this one time' but refused to acknowledge that this MAY just be legit and he might be misinformed.
Jolly Holiday Bakery 5/5: I wish we would have known this place had food and not just bakery items. The sandwiches in the case looked great. We got strawberry shortcake, creme brulee, and a Mickey cookie. Everything was really good and seemed fresher and less generic than the sweets/candy shop on Main Street. We watched fireworks from the outdoor tables which I wouldn't recommend because the trees block the castle and the umbrellas block the fireworks. But it's where we happened to be at the time so we stayed. They get extra points for promptly getting my purse to lost and found when I forgot it after the fireworks
. I wouldn't recommend doing that BTW. It's kind of stressful...Offsite: Tony Romas 0/5: Don't. Just don't. It might be close and convenient but don't even try. It smells like an Applebees that's been set up in a public restroom. Everything looks greasy and the bottom two 3 feet of the place has grimy kid prints. Menus were sticky. My DH and I each got coffee....it was $3.25 a cup
. Seriously- two coffees, two kids meals, 2 adult meals (sandwich and ribs) came to $70! Cheesecake Factory 4.5/5: About a mile walk from our hotel through a some sketchy areas including a bus stop turned hobo village. The food was as good as any CF but the waiter clearly had way too many tables. He basically would drop stuff at our table while doing wind sprints past the table. I downloaded the Cheesecake Factory app which allows you to get your bill and pay from your phone. Highly recommend that route-it saves alot of time at the end of the meal.
OK that's all for now. If anybody has any questions let me know.
ETA: Holy cow this is a wall of text. I really got carried away. Also, I think I said "sandwich" 376 times. I'm sorry. I guess I just really like them.
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Classic!
