magickingdomprincess
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2015
- Messages
- 1,545
My family just got back from a week in SoCal and thought I’d share some of our experiences! My DH and I had been to DL once about nine years ago, and my DS8 and DD6 had never been. We are DVC members and usually visit WDW yearly in the summer. We stayed at the Springhill Suites Anaheim Maingate for 5 nights (we had a 7 night hotel certificate) and bought 5 day PH’s from Last Minute Travel. We purchased 5 day ART passes at our hotel, which is what we used to get back and forth to the park every day. Overall we had a really wonderful time!
We flew into LAX and rented a car, the shuttle to get to Alamo was a bit of an experience (actually finding where to stand, being packed on the bus, etc). And wow, that was the busiest car rental place I’d ever been to! Driving to Anaheim was fine, I think it took 1.5 hours. In the future would try to fly into John Wayne or SNA (I think that’s it), but due to prices and flight times the LAX flight just worked out better.
On our arrival day we went to DL around 6, and we only ended up riding IASW and ST before having dinner at Galactic Grill. We didn’t purchase MP for this day since it was so short, and we were all pretty tired so we called it a somewhat early night.
The other four days (Sun-Wed) we arrived at the parks around 9. I would have loved to have been there at opening but the rest of my family needed sleep so I didn’t push it. I really thought with the 2 hour time difference that waking up early wasn’t going to be an issue but I was wrong! Our hotel had a really nice free, hot breakfast everyday so that might have slowed us down a little too.
We used MaxPass every day after the first day, and really LOVED it! I was so surprised about the availability of the ride times! Other than RSR’s almost everything was available until the evening (also TSMM was a little tricky too). We probably rode Hyper SM 8 times, BTMR 10 times (8 in one day for DD!), Indy 4 times, and so much more. We did a lot of repeat rides that the kids enjoyed, we did end up missing a few rides that I wanted to go on since they aren’t at WDW (Mr. Road and Snow White come to mind), but that was just due to prioritizing other rides over those. We had a couple of small issues with MP – one good, one bad. The second day we used it I went to schedule our first FP/MP of the day, and it didn’t prompt me to purchase MP. We actually used MP all day until mid-afternoon when I went to schedule another MP and it then prompted me to buy it. I decided not to since we had a Fantasmic package later that night so we wouldn’t be using it that much anyways. I thought I might end up being charged but so far have not. The other issue we had was one day when we were using FP’s in DCA but heading to DL later in the evening, it kept telling me there were no FP’s available at all. I closed the app multiple times, kept refreshing, tried the website, etc and could not get it to work. I finally pulled a paper FP while in DL and then my MP finally did start working. Not a huge deal but a little frustrating.
Since this was the kiddos first time at DL, I booked the Fantasmic package at BB and the WOC Dessert party so that we could experience both of those shows, plus the fireworks. I would say I’d do the Fantasmic package again but probably not at BB, the experience was neat, and the bread was delicious! However, my steak was tough (DH’s was good though), and the desserts were ok (party due to personal tastes- I don’t care for coconut or chocolate cake). We all really enjoyed the WoC dessert party! Although it was pricey, we got in line early and were able to get a high-top table along the rail, in the right-most section, which had a great view of the show. We enjoyed the breadsticks and pretzel sticks, and loved the shortbread cookie and caramel cheesecake! We were able to take home the kiddo’s leftovers and snacked on those for several days after. Not something I’d do every time due to cost, but for an occasional splurge I think it was worth it.
We had a lunch at RBT, and thought the food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was just ok, and it was stuffy in the restaurant (it was 95 outside that day so we wanted a break from the sun). I wouldn’t rush to go back there to eat any time soon.
The rest of the food we ate was quick service, Galactic Grill (twice – both times really good food and got different items both times), Bengal BBQ we enjoyed quite a bit, Cocina Cukamonga (ck spelling) – was ok, got the tacos and wasn’t particularly impressed. Flo’s V8 café – got the kids fries there and chicken nuggets, not great, Cozy Cones bacon mac and cheese – was ok, wasn’t as good as I was hoping for, Cozy Cones soft serve ice cream was really good though. Overall I though the food was ok, it was kind of difficult to find food for my picky DD6, who will mostly only eat fries at the park, DS8 is easier to please and had pizza from Pizza Planet and a hotdog from Main St and he didn’t have any complaints.
We enjoyed the ART system and thought it worked well. We got lucky several times on just making the buses. The tip I received on here to text to get the next bus arrival time was a lifesaver! I don’t know why they don’t advertise that feature better since it really helps planning a lot. Some drivers were more friendly than others, but the buses were never supercrowded and the longest wait was probably 30 minutes in between buses. It was super cold during the day when the AC was running, but stuffy at night when they turned the AC off.
We went to the parks twice every day, with a 2-3 hour break every afternoon. This little break helped refresh the kids and gave us energy to go later at night. We only made it to park close at DL once and DCA once, but were close several times. The parks were definitely very warm in the afternoons (I think it was 90-95 a few days), and then got cool at night. I heard a few people remark about it being humid but I didn’t feel it was humid at all. I guess it’s all relative
SWGE was really beautiful! My DH (and I) was very impresses with the level of detail and how pretty it looked at night. My kids really enjoyed the Millennium Falcon ride (the adults too!). We rode three times, waited between 40 minutes to 70 minutes so not too horrible. We also went to Oga’s Cantina and while it was a neat experience that I’m glad we did, it’s not something I need to rush back for. Our server was kind of rude, and we had a high-top standing table, which was too tall for my DD6. We enjoyed all of our drinks though. The snack mix was interesting…
So overall was a really great trip and would really like to go back sometime! I’d say we definitely were able to ride more rides than WDW, and really enjoyed how close things were together. I’d love to stay at a hotel that’s a walkable distance next time, especially since there are so many options. I also wanted to say thanks for the help on the questions I had before our trip. I love the disboards and how helpful everyone is and it really can make a big difference in the experiences you have in the parks!
We flew into LAX and rented a car, the shuttle to get to Alamo was a bit of an experience (actually finding where to stand, being packed on the bus, etc). And wow, that was the busiest car rental place I’d ever been to! Driving to Anaheim was fine, I think it took 1.5 hours. In the future would try to fly into John Wayne or SNA (I think that’s it), but due to prices and flight times the LAX flight just worked out better.
On our arrival day we went to DL around 6, and we only ended up riding IASW and ST before having dinner at Galactic Grill. We didn’t purchase MP for this day since it was so short, and we were all pretty tired so we called it a somewhat early night.
The other four days (Sun-Wed) we arrived at the parks around 9. I would have loved to have been there at opening but the rest of my family needed sleep so I didn’t push it. I really thought with the 2 hour time difference that waking up early wasn’t going to be an issue but I was wrong! Our hotel had a really nice free, hot breakfast everyday so that might have slowed us down a little too.
We used MaxPass every day after the first day, and really LOVED it! I was so surprised about the availability of the ride times! Other than RSR’s almost everything was available until the evening (also TSMM was a little tricky too). We probably rode Hyper SM 8 times, BTMR 10 times (8 in one day for DD!), Indy 4 times, and so much more. We did a lot of repeat rides that the kids enjoyed, we did end up missing a few rides that I wanted to go on since they aren’t at WDW (Mr. Road and Snow White come to mind), but that was just due to prioritizing other rides over those. We had a couple of small issues with MP – one good, one bad. The second day we used it I went to schedule our first FP/MP of the day, and it didn’t prompt me to purchase MP. We actually used MP all day until mid-afternoon when I went to schedule another MP and it then prompted me to buy it. I decided not to since we had a Fantasmic package later that night so we wouldn’t be using it that much anyways. I thought I might end up being charged but so far have not. The other issue we had was one day when we were using FP’s in DCA but heading to DL later in the evening, it kept telling me there were no FP’s available at all. I closed the app multiple times, kept refreshing, tried the website, etc and could not get it to work. I finally pulled a paper FP while in DL and then my MP finally did start working. Not a huge deal but a little frustrating.
Since this was the kiddos first time at DL, I booked the Fantasmic package at BB and the WOC Dessert party so that we could experience both of those shows, plus the fireworks. I would say I’d do the Fantasmic package again but probably not at BB, the experience was neat, and the bread was delicious! However, my steak was tough (DH’s was good though), and the desserts were ok (party due to personal tastes- I don’t care for coconut or chocolate cake). We all really enjoyed the WoC dessert party! Although it was pricey, we got in line early and were able to get a high-top table along the rail, in the right-most section, which had a great view of the show. We enjoyed the breadsticks and pretzel sticks, and loved the shortbread cookie and caramel cheesecake! We were able to take home the kiddo’s leftovers and snacked on those for several days after. Not something I’d do every time due to cost, but for an occasional splurge I think it was worth it.
We had a lunch at RBT, and thought the food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was just ok, and it was stuffy in the restaurant (it was 95 outside that day so we wanted a break from the sun). I wouldn’t rush to go back there to eat any time soon.
The rest of the food we ate was quick service, Galactic Grill (twice – both times really good food and got different items both times), Bengal BBQ we enjoyed quite a bit, Cocina Cukamonga (ck spelling) – was ok, got the tacos and wasn’t particularly impressed. Flo’s V8 café – got the kids fries there and chicken nuggets, not great, Cozy Cones bacon mac and cheese – was ok, wasn’t as good as I was hoping for, Cozy Cones soft serve ice cream was really good though. Overall I though the food was ok, it was kind of difficult to find food for my picky DD6, who will mostly only eat fries at the park, DS8 is easier to please and had pizza from Pizza Planet and a hotdog from Main St and he didn’t have any complaints.
We enjoyed the ART system and thought it worked well. We got lucky several times on just making the buses. The tip I received on here to text to get the next bus arrival time was a lifesaver! I don’t know why they don’t advertise that feature better since it really helps planning a lot. Some drivers were more friendly than others, but the buses were never supercrowded and the longest wait was probably 30 minutes in between buses. It was super cold during the day when the AC was running, but stuffy at night when they turned the AC off.
We went to the parks twice every day, with a 2-3 hour break every afternoon. This little break helped refresh the kids and gave us energy to go later at night. We only made it to park close at DL once and DCA once, but were close several times. The parks were definitely very warm in the afternoons (I think it was 90-95 a few days), and then got cool at night. I heard a few people remark about it being humid but I didn’t feel it was humid at all. I guess it’s all relative
SWGE was really beautiful! My DH (and I) was very impresses with the level of detail and how pretty it looked at night. My kids really enjoyed the Millennium Falcon ride (the adults too!). We rode three times, waited between 40 minutes to 70 minutes so not too horrible. We also went to Oga’s Cantina and while it was a neat experience that I’m glad we did, it’s not something I need to rush back for. Our server was kind of rude, and we had a high-top standing table, which was too tall for my DD6. We enjoyed all of our drinks though. The snack mix was interesting…
So overall was a really great trip and would really like to go back sometime! I’d say we definitely were able to ride more rides than WDW, and really enjoyed how close things were together. I’d love to stay at a hotel that’s a walkable distance next time, especially since there are so many options. I also wanted to say thanks for the help on the questions I had before our trip. I love the disboards and how helpful everyone is and it really can make a big difference in the experiences you have in the parks!
