The good and underwhelming...trip report from WDW vet!

[ajwomic]

We just arrived home to South Carolina fro a great trip to Disney land. It was just my dh and me. We left the 3 kids at home. Dh had a convention so I tagged along. We have done WDW world for the last several years so i wa interested in DL. We stayed at the DL Resort in a renovated room. Awesome. It really was beautiful. I left with great memories, but some things did surprise me. Here is the low down....

The Great:
The Dl Hotel new room
The proximity of room to DTD and parks. (I walked to DTD for breakfast each day)
Love the connectedness of the parks and DTD
Napa Rose - IT WAS INCREDIBLE! FOOD AND SERVICE!
DL was small enough to crisscross for Fastpasses without wearing yourself out
Bengal BBQ - MMMMM!
Indy and Space Mountain
World of Color

The underwhelming-
DCA - so much closed, only a ride or 2 we wanted to ride.
Blue Bayou - after all the hype, it was disappointing. We were literally in and out for dinner in 30 minutes as they were rushing everyone through. They asked for our order as soon as we sat down. The food was mediocre. NOT romantic at all. Also did not acknowledge our anniversary at all. While Napa made a huge deal of it.
Cafe Orleans - not a huge fan of the fries or creapes I had looked forward to. The beneigets were flat as a pancake and dense. Not light any airy like at WDW.
The construction at DL Hotel. I could not use the pool or take a nap midday due to the jackhammers.
Pumpkin muffin- just OK

The different:
Not many characters at DL. It seemed more focused on rides and not characters/movies.
Felt more crowded than this time last year at WDW
Non-Disney shopping at DTD
Not as many FP opportunities, IE fantasy LAND rides and Toy Story

All in all it was a great trip. I just wish the food on the whole had been better. Some of my best meals have been at WDW, so I think my expectations were high.

 

[Diszona]

Sorry you didn't have a good experience at Blue Bayou, it is one of my favorite things about DL. It can get really crowded, one strategy we have found to avoid the crowd there is to hold off dinner until late and go during the 1st Fantasmic show. It usually is almost empty because the 1st show always seems to draw the crowds. After you are done eating it is a short walk to a good spot for the 2nd Fantasmic show and from there once the show is done you can quickly get to POTC and ride it without a line.

I have noticed a lack of Fastpass options in Fantasyland, but I wonder if some of that is due to the differences in building and queue sizes between DL and their MK counterparts. Thinking about, Peter Pan, for instance, I am not sure where you would put a Fastpass line on that ride.

As far as the stores at DTD, I can't fault DLR too much for that, they are much more space limited than WDW is and simply can't have the same amount of stuff that the one in Florida. While it may not be as big, it definitely has a convenient location!

 

[ajwomic]

On the non-disney shopping at DTD, I actually meant that I liked that. It seems at DTD in Orlando it is ALL disney and I appreciated some "real" shopping opportunities in CA. It was different but good!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Food is just not very important to me in a typical DL or WDW vacation.I think we sometimes do a disservice to people by hyping it so much. Glad you had a good trip otherwise, and are planning to return after 2012 when DCA will come into it's own.

 

[tdashgirl]

DCA - so much closed, only a ride or 2 we wanted to ride.

I know I'd say pretty much everyone is hoping for a much better park once all the construction walls come down.

 

[KCmike]

What did you think of......
Pirates
IASM
Fantasyland
Aladdin at DCA
Fireworks (depending on when you went)
Parade
Space

We had gone to WDW for several years thinking it was the end all be all to vacations. Then we went to DL over an October weekend and we were instantly hooked. We saw RDCT fireworks (OMGoodnes), the HM overlay (OMGoodness) and were instantly hooked on everything California. We have ended up going back on several vacations hitting spots in San Diego, Monterey, San Fran and Yosemite National Park. I love Disneyland so much more than WDW. It just has more charm, character, and nostalgia. I appreciate how close everything is. No waiting for busses or walking miles between attractions. Glad you had a good time. Can't wait for all the changes happening at DCA.

It's funny because we ask the kids where they want to go WDW or DL and they all agree on DL/California.

 

[rmom]

All in all it was a great trip. I just wish the food on the whole had been better. Some of my best meals have been at WDW, so I think my expectations were high.

Glad you had a good time! I also wish the food at DL was better. We have been to WDW a couple of time and there is no comparison! I wish they would bring some of the menus and recipes from WDW to DL.

 

[jenksdj]

ajwomic, did you try the beignettes at the Jazz Kitchen Express in DTD? They are to die for! I haven't tried them at Cafe Orleans, and might not now, after your review.

Funny, we thought there were more characters at DL than WDW. Could just be the day, time, etc. that each of us experienced?! We also noticed that the focus at WDW is more on shows and at DL more on rides. We like the rides, so DL is our favorite for that reason.

We loved the Disney shopping at WDW, especially the Christmas store and the cooking store. WOW!

We are staying at the GCH in Nov., after staying at DLH on all previous vacations. We were a bit leery about the pool construction, so thanks for the info on that. I'm glad we're trying the GCH this time, but will probably do the DLH again, after all the renos are done.

Glad you had a fun trip!