Summer Vacation Time - San Diego, Hotel Del Coronado, Catalina, and of course DL

[KCmike]

According to the Disneyland Encyclopedia I am reading, the spike marks the original center of DL, but with the expansions over the years it's not the center anymore. The book didn't say where the new center actually is. But you're mainly correct, that's what the original spike was supposed to do.

Excellent. Thanks for the info jcarwash.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Great updates Mike. I think the new Fantasyland expansion will certainly help the MK, but I still don't think it will be comparable to Disneyland.

I love how the architecture of Disneyland's Fantasyland is respective to the countries of story origin while also blending to feel a part of a fantasy kingdom of its own. I loved reading how the animators took "field trips" to Disneyland when they were designing the kingdom for Tangled.

 

[KCmike]

Great updates Mike. I think the new Fantasyland expansion will certainly help the MK, but I still don't think it will be comparable to Disneyland.

I love how the architecture of Disneyland's Fantasyland is respective to the countries of story origin while also blending to feel a part of a fantasy kingdom of its own. I loved reading how the animators took "field trips" to Disneyland when they were designing the kingdom for Tangled.

Never knew that about Tangled. Interesting.

 

[KCmike]

Random time

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Never knew that about Tangled. Interesting.

Right after I read that in the Art of Tangled, I knew at least part of why I enjoyed the movie so much.

I cannot wait to see Buena Vista Street and Carsland. A little over a month away for me now.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Enjoying your report very much! You have a beautiful family. Your photos of Hotel Del Coronado are absolutely stunning. I hope I can get there someday! We love the Fairfield Marriot, great choice!

 

[nancy drew]

Your photos have inspired me! My son is the youngest in the family, and still the smallest. However, I am 5'2" and I suspect DD will take after me, size-wise, which means at some point DS will overtake us and become the tallest. I'm going to take photos of both kids by those signs now, looking up at them, and take similar photos each year (at both parks) to document when DS is no longer the smallest guest in our family!!

 

[KCmike]

Enjoying your report very much! You have a beautiful family. Your photos of Hotel Del Coronado are absolutely stunning. I hope I can get there someday! We love the Fairfield Marriot, great choice!

Thanks so much! I hope you get there as well. It's a wonderful yet very expensive place to stay. If you can go in the spring into early summer they have buy 2 get 1 free rates.

 

[KCmike]

Your photos have inspired me! My son is the youngest in the family, and still the smallest. However, I am 5'2" and I suspect DD will take after me, size-wise, which means at some point DS will overtake us and become the tallest. I'm going to take photos of both kids by those signs now, looking up at them, and take similar photos each year (at both parks) to document when DS is no longer the smallest guest in our family!!

Definitely a must do for us. We have taken pics of the kids at WDW in front of the Fountains of Nations at Epcot, of course in front of the Magic Kingdom, and other special places. Since we've really been going to Disneyland the last seven years this place is has become one of our go to spots for showing the years and how they pass so quickly.

 

[KCmike]

More random shots...more of Radiator Springs Racers!

 

[arthur06]

More random shots...more of Radiator Springs Racers!

These are the pics that really inspired our DLR trip this year. We can not wait for Cars Land!

 

[KCmike]

These are the pics that really inspired our DLR trip this year. We can not wait for Cars Land!

Your going to have a blast!

 

[KCmike]

So as I'm trying to wrap up day 1 in Disneyland....

We ended up heading towards Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash, and Winnie the Pooh. All the wait times were very minimal except for Splash. I usually get splash fast passes and come back to it after lunch time.

From the Winnie the Pooh que

All the rides were great as usual. Even after starting very late this day because of the drive up from San Diego we still managed to get done quite a bit. It was time for lunch and it had to be the chicken dinner at Plaza Inn. Unfortunately the wife and kids don't like it as much as I do. Let me take that back. My wife likes it but she gets terrible heartburn after so she chooses not to eat it. Can't remember what they ended up having right now. I think I ate there twice on this trip. It's one of my favorite spots to eat. I like the location at the end of mainstreet and the atmosphere it brings with it. You also can't beat the large portions. It's gotta be one of the best bang for the buck meals in Disneyland. From here we wandered through the shops of mainstreet. The parade would be starting soon and we really didn't want to see it yet. It's so hard not to look when your walking in and out of the shops though.

This was one of my favorite things I saw in the stores

Always love the Disney art as well

I usually have great ideas in mind for the sword in the stone area with the castle in the background but when I get there it all goes south in a hurry. I think part of the reason is I feel rushed by all the people waiting around the area. I did manage to get my two girls holding on at the same time.

That night we ended up watching both Magical and the late Fantasmic! show. It was a great start to the Disneyland vacation. We were tired to say the least. Tomorrow would be DCA and the first day for us to see the remodel/refurbish project.

 

[kaoden39]

Mike, I got that one and the sun one on our trip in February. I could not resist it!

 

[KCmike]

Mike, I got that one and the sun one on our trip in February. I could not resist it!

That was the first time I say that one. We also got the stickers for the car (and I am so not a car sticker person!). We got the "my other car is a monorail...its an inside peel on sticker. I also wanted to get the "my family is a nightmare! sticker from Nightmare before Christmas.

 

[KCmike]

Alrighty then Day 2 equals Disney California Adventure. Why do they insist on taking off the " 's " on Disney? What sense does that make? It is about Walt's arriving into California from Kansas City to start his dream right? Why shouldn't it be possessive?

This is the day I was really looking forward to the most. Isn't that awful that DCA would take top billing over DL? DL still has my heart but it was going to be fun to see something new. It didn't disappoint at all either. So the day started off with us sleeping in just a little bit. We didn't arrive to the gate until about 8am or a little after and we walked right in. I was astonished to see the transformation of the mainstreet towards the Carthay Circle. It was also neat to see Carthay Circle from the outside of the gates. The shops are so elegant and I like how similar to Disneyland they interconnect with each other so you can walk all the way down the street and exit right at the new hub. They need more products in there as it seemed a little light but with that being said it was picture perfect.

I have so so many pictures of the shops inside and out. I will try and save them for a little later.

So we walked straight for our fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers. I knew exactly where we had to go to get them. I am a Disboarder, right?! So we all made our way to Bug's Land to get them and saw the line. It was massive. So we made our way back to the end of the line. This was the one ride that we paid thousands of dollars to see, right? So we walked back to Carthay Circle, then back to Hollywood Land past Disney JR and past Animation Academy. I'm thinking what the what? How could the line possibly be this long for a fast pass? So we kept walking further back and around the corner making our way towards Tower of Terror. That's right towards ToT. It didn't reach that far back but it was about half way. I turned to my wife and kids and said let's forget this. I went to talk to two CM's and asked if the fast passes would even last long enough for us to get there and they said probably not. That was good enough for me so we made our way to Radiator Springs Racers via through ToT area into Bug's Land and then into Carsland. We hit the area and noticed this sign.

270 Minutes - How many hours is that?

Loyal order of the lugnuts

We initially got in the line and began to wait it out. My oldest daughter didn't want to wait this long (she secretly gets scared of rides that go fast or has drops even though she was ok with test track). So she decided to head off to ride Lil Mermaid and other things. She texted us that the rest of the park was wide open. No waiting for anything except for the other two Carsland rides. We hopped out of the regular line and decided to go into the single rider line. Best move we ever made. We made it up there within 40 min or less (didn't seem very long at all especially looking around all the wonderful details) and we were up there. My wife/daughter made it on to one car together with one in front and one in back and my son and I had the exact same experience. It was sooooo much fun. I did watch the youtube video of the ride before hand but it didn't convey how much fun the actual ride is! It blows away Test Track. It is the perfect blend of animatronics and ride. True Disney!

As your leaving the ride

I won't give away too much of the ride.

The whole area of Carsland is so well done. If you watch the movie again they have faithfully recreated the area in so much detail. Everything is there. I mean everything!

From here we really wanted to ride the other two rides in Carsland but the wait was so long. We skipped Luigi's tires and decided to ride Mater's junkyard jamboree. I was skeptical of both of these rides but they are both winners. The songs/background music for the junkyard are sung by Larry the Cable Guy and are done very well. There are about seven songs I believe and one extra song that plays every 30-60 min. It was recorded in error and they added it to the ride. The CM's call it their favorite song! I have to agree! Larry forgot the words to the song and made up stuff and its just pure Tow Mater fun. I am trying to find a way to get that recording. I've seen it on Youtube but can't seem to buy or get that recording. I've head they sell a Carsland cd now (didn't see it their then, heard they sold out of alot of mdse while we were there including the Luigi's Tires hat). So I'm on the lookout if anyone of you see it.

From there it was on to Little Mermaid. Last year we skipped California in favor of WDW in Florida. This was our original home vacation destination and my wife really pushed hard to go back and see it again. We did and while we really loved the resort feel, Grand Floridian was awesome and staying on the monorail is the only way to go for us (we also did a split stay staying at Port Orleans Riverside) we don't enjoy the bus experience anymore. Too spoiled by Disneyland's proximity of everything. The parks at WDW were ok and my favorite ride Splash Mountain down there is still my favorite of all time but they just lacked heart especially the Magic Kingdom. Once you've seen Disneyland its hard not to compare the two. There so much nostalgia, rides, and detail in that little park that Walt created. Anyway I still love Epcot but can do without Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. To me (probably will get flamed for this) but those two parks are half day experiences for me. Epcot is great but I wish they would restore it to its former glory. I miss the old Journey Into Imagination and the old Spaceship Earth.

Ok back to Little Mermaid. I had a sneaking suspicion that this ride would be a disappointment. After the first time I thought it was. I wasn't dazzled by it at all. It was a nice ride and I'm a huge fan of dark rides but for them to spend so many milliions of dollars. Again it was nice and with that that omnimover ride system like Haunted Mansion it made for little wait times. In fact there was really never a wait. We ended up riding it I think three times total on vacation and while I began to enjoy it a little more each time I think I would rather spend more time in Carsland. It will be interesting to see what the WDW crowd thinks of it and if they get the copy cat version. I think the area outside will be much better in WDW. The building though in DCA is gorgeous. Alot of detail work and really looks beautiful from the Paradise Park area. The popcorn lighting is wonderful.

To be continued.

 

[mom2rtk]

270 minutes? Yikes. Just yikes. Great call to go single rider. I'd have to do that too. I still want to find a way to get there next year, long waits or not. My first thought after seeing the preview photos of it were that it looked like an awesome mix of fast fun ride and dark ride. So glad you thought so too!

I've also been a little curious how the LM ride will go over at WDW. Really, that's the only new ride that will open with the first phase of the expansion. The exteriors all look STUNNING, but how long will people want to just hang around and look at the exteriors? Well, I know I'll want to hang out and take a lot of photos, but I would think most won't. The Beast's castle will be cool, but if you don't plan to eat there, it might be a non-issue. I still think I'll enjoy it, but am secretly bracing myself for a little potential disappointment at how little new there is to do.

It sure looks like DCA didn't disappoint though. And what a glorious sky you had that day to enjoy while in the park!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hi Mike, joining in late but just finished catching up. I'm really enjoying your TR! Your experience in single rider line for RSR gives me hope for October.

We were in San Diego a couple of weeks earlier than you and had a blast as well. Didn't luck out with the weather and am jealous of the blue skies and great sunsets you got to experience. We stayed at Pacific Terrace Hotel further up north and enjoyed it. I tried to convince my family traveling with me to take a side trip to DLR but was shot down. Which is what led me to my solo trip planning for October while I'm down at SD for a conference.

Can't wait to read and see more of your TR!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Catching up!

Over 4 hours to ride RSR? What's more incredible is that people are waiting for that time......


It is interesting to read how you feel about DLR/WDW. I love DLR because of the nostalgia and the details. And there is just so much else to do in California.
I love WDW for the immersion factor...I don't always appreciate the size of the World and how there just seems to be so much more travel time needed to get to the parks. Sometimes, I just need to disconnect from real life for a while and WDW gives me that.

As always....great pictures. I'm enjoying seeing the parks through your lenses.

 

[I'm mikey]

Fantastic update Mike, love the carsland pics, cant wait to see it myself.
About the little mermaid, we found the ride to be a bit disappointing also,
maybe if the cars were to move a little slower and the lighting not so bright
it could be more enjoyable.