*** The Official 2014 - DLR -July Thread ***(We All Have Been There & Back Home)

[RHMH]

Just on our final leg driving home from the airport. We were in the parks from Saturday the 19th - Wednesday 24th. Sat and Sunday were awesome. Low crowds, hardly any lines, did everything we wanted to in the first two days. Rode RSR everyday with a fast pass and went single rider once at night.
It got busier mon and tues but we felt wed was a little less crowded.
It was a fantastic vacation. We stayed in the VGC villa (5510) and had a partial WOC view. We were able to wave to our kids on Goofy's sky school which was cool. We went to TSMM almost every night just before 10pm with a 5 min wait.
We got so spoiled on the weekend with no waiting in lines, mon-wed we mostly used fast pass or went to regular lines in the am.
All CMs were good. No crazy guest encounters. A couple of crying kids here and there but if that bugs you, you probably shouldn't go to disneyland ; )
Weather was great. Started to get a little too hot the last couple of days but ice cream and misty mates did the trick just fine.
Our 11yo who was deathly afraid of space and screamin and TOT turned out to love all 3 this trip. That was a nice surprise. Being two years older helped. I tried TOT this trip and enjoyed it. I expected to hate it and just did it to say I did it. But we went back and rode it again later that day. I also gave screamin a second chance this trip and rode it 3 times.
Never say never.
I don't think any of us would change much about our trip but one thing we might do different next time is put in a couple of rest days. We were pretty tired the last few days. We had fun in spite of our fatigue but a rest day or two could've made it even better.
Our very first morning going into the park at 7am, I took a header off the curb on Main Street and cut my leg and knee and had a tough time walking on it for the bulk of the trip. But I never complained once and continued to visit the first aid ladies and vents for ice bags and ibuprofen. I've never needed them before. They were great.
It was a lot of fun.
If anyone makes it to the end of this long trip report, my advise would be to be at the gates early, ride the fantasyland rides (if that's your thing) and Matterhorn, get a fp for Indy or space, ride big thunder and splash, then pirates and haunted mansion, then another fp for Indy or space. I liked dca's parade better than dl's. One morning, go to toon town early (9am) and meet all the characters. Such cute photo opps in there.
And definitely eat at the carnation cafe on the patio. Very cool and good food. Oh yeah, and the cove bar was great too.
Such a beautiful trip. Loved it.
Until next time Disneyland.

Glad you are on your final few miles... Bet you'll be glad to open the front door and just sit for a couple of minutes.

Sounds like you had a super trip and with a lot of detail advice... We also noticed the mornings had low crowds.

Midori, Lucy & Kathleen were at DLR on Saturday morning before we departed on the 19th.. Would have been nice to been able to say HI..

Rest up and have a relaxing evening or if you are like me, I have to put everything up, do laundry and try to cook up something Disney similar for Midori.

 

[Chrisfilm]

Woot. Tomorrow is the day. Now I just hope my kids survive the travel day and time change!

 

[RHMH]

We have all been waiting for this Special Day.

We wish for you, The Magic of Disney & Laughter to fill your Hearts.

*

Have Lots of Fun & We All Wish You Safe Travels

July 27

Luulu1999
HydroGuy
Chrisfilm​

 

[2boysmom1998]

According to a few other boards I follow it looks like the crowds aren't as bad as they were. Hopefully it will be great for everyone who is going this week!

Looks like we chose the wrong time to go. It was last awful last weekend!

 

[Godzilla55]

Just returned home from Disneyland.

A few things to highlight our trip:
DD8 rode screamin and BTMRR for the first time and loved it. We rode both multiple times.

Lunch at BB

Fantasmic Desert seating was worth every penny. We were second in line at 6:15 in order to reserve our seats. We got seats 1-4 . Amazing show and the number 1 highlight of our trip

Thank God for frozen lemonade on a hot day!

Some other comments about our trip:

Parks were busy but got a lot done during the first 2 hours. Hit space mountain, splash, Indiana Jones early and grab fast passes for those earlier in the day rather than later, as those fast passes run out fairly early in the evening.

Splash had a wait over an hour from about Noon until just before closing. Space mountain was the same, so we fast passed both those rides.

BTMRR has fast passes available until quite late in the night. We were able to grab passes, and ride stanby twice, an then use fast passes for a 3rd time.

Matterhorn never got above about a 30 min wait.

Ride matterhorn at night (if your tailbone can take the abuse)

Also ride BTMRR at night! So amazing, and a whole different experience.

1 alcoholic drink, and 3 virgin drinks, 2 in a souvenir cup was $64 before tip at Trader Sams. At least I can say I went there. It was fun. I had the Krakatoa Punch.

If you want a waterside table for lunch at BB, your reservation should be at 11:30, or at 12:15 or later. All the 11:30 people get there and ask for that, and you have to wait for the tables to turn before one opens up. We were at 11:50 and would have waited about 35 to 40 min to get one.

Parks were busy, but we showed up to the park at or near opening and then took a nap break until 5 or 6. Grabbed dinner and closed down thw park every night. My kids DD8 and DS9 did fine with this even though they are always in bed by 9. Plus, it was great to escape some of the heat.

The things we did not do that we wanted to do:

Mickey an the magical map, Rogger Rabbits Cartoon Spin and Muppet Vision 3-d. Still have never seen these! There is always our next trip!!

Keep your photopass+ receipt that they give you when you get your lanyard in your wallet and make sure it is with you at all times. They lanyard they give has a very cheap clip on it. The cards are so thin mine fell off. And I lost my receipt, so I was unable to get all our ride photos for the last 3 days. I was so upset by this I have written to Disney about it. Ride photos is the only reason we get it. No longer will they accept a photo of the back of your card. Not at the ride, and not to replace it.

All in all, I think I prefer summer crowds with the long hours, over quieter times in the parks, but nap time is a must. I think next time we will do the same 4 days, but with a full day off in between.

One day we went to Huntington Beach in the morning for a few hours. What an amazing beach! And had some killer fish tacos at Sanchos tacos near the pier.

I sure wish I had photos of my daughter's first ride on screamin. In hindsight, I should have just purchased the photo since I lost my photopass card.

My kids told me this trip was by far their best Disney trip ever. It gives me goose bumbs every time I think about it.

A big Thank You to Bob, who made our wait seem shorter.

Cheers to all of the July park visitors

 

[RHMH]

Wow!! Sounds like your Disney trip was a success. Love to hear all of the nest stuff you and your family was able to accomplish.

No problem on keeping everyone excited and helping the waiting game seem short.

I feel as if my time is getting ready to end. July Disney travelers are all about to have been and gone.

 

[Califlove]

It would have been fun to meet you Bob. And yes, rest has been nice. Sitting down was my goal for the day : )
I hope the remaining July dis folks have as much fun as we did the last couple of weeks.

 

[rickenmartin78]

WE'RE HERE!!!

After a very long day (24 hours if you go by the time change), we finally made it! We have been able to explore DTD a little--had a nice meal at Naples, then spent the rest of the evening at the pool here at the Disneyland Hotel.

Just in case anyone was wondering, the D and E ticket pools are not heated. The splash/slide pool is heated. But no worries--we made good use of the spas when it got cold

While walking around DTD, we decided to venture into the esplanade. Oh, boy! The water works were turned on (much to the embarrassment of our DD) when we caught a glimpse of the train station

Tomorrow is a fun-filled day at Disneyland Park! I'll wear my LGMH with pride for all the ultra-cool July DISers!

Y'all take care.

 

[rickenmartin78]

HA! I knew this would happen...

Up and awake at 3am! Wonderful

I was recapping yesterday in my head and one thing that jumped out was our experience with the Disneyland Express from LAX to DLR. This, of course, would be good information for those who haven't been yet--especially for those who have only had experience with Orlando's Magical Express. Perhaps I didn't research it enough, but I was anticipating more of a Magical Express-type of experience. The Disneyland Express is operated by Gray Lines, so there is no check-in counter at LAX. You just walk out to the "Flyaway/Long distance busses/vans" sign just outside of baggage claim (luggage and all) and wait. We had pre-paid vouchers for our ride from LAX to DLR. What we didn't know about were the numerous shuttles that say "Disneyland Express" on them. A couple of these shuttle drivers stopped and proceeded to ask if we were "pre-paid" or not. (I told DW it reminded me of when we haggled, traded, and took 4 different cabs to get 3mi on St Thomas!) But the "poser" shuttles left us alone when they saw we were prepaid. Eventually the Disney-themed (wrapped) motor coach arrived (on time) and we were off. From that point on, the experience was almost identical to the one in FL. We watched a promo-type movie during the first leg of our trip from LAX to DLR. The rest of the trip was cool, comfortable, and quiet. Our driver was all about getting us there quick and safe, but was very personable and polite.

I developed an acute and irreversible grin while walking from the motor coach into the hotel. I gave my grin to my DW when I spotted the Mickey and Minnie statues in front of the lobby. Now we're both sick with smiles!

This North Carolinian is ready for rope drop at 3am ! Let's get it on!!!

 

[rickenmartin78]

A big Thank You to Bob, who made our wait seem shorter.

Cheers to all of the July park visitors

Here! Here! This thread has made the planning experience so much fun! It's obvious that so much care and loyalty have gone into our little corner of the DIS.

Thank you, Bob!

Now who's ready to start planning for next year?!? Hahahahahaha!

 

[RHMH]

WE'RE HERE!!!

After a very long day (24 hours if you go by the time change), we finally made it! We have been able to explore DTD a little--had a nice meal at Naples, then spent the rest of the evening at the pool here at the Disneyland Hotel.

Just in case anyone was wondering, the D and E ticket pools are not heated. The splash/slide pool is heated. But no worries--we made good use of the spas when it got cold

While walking around DTD, we decided to venture into the esplanade. Oh, boy! The water works were turned on (much to the embarrassment of our DD) when we caught a glimpse of the train station

Tomorrow is a fun-filled day at Disneyland Park! I'll wear my LGMH with pride for all the ultra-cool July DISers!

Y'all take care.

HA! I knew this would happen...

Up and awake at 3am! Wonderful

I was recapping yesterday in my head and one thing that jumped out was our experience with the Disneyland Express from LAX to DLR. This, of course, would be good information for those who haven't been yet--especially for those who have only had experience with Orlando's Magical Express. Perhaps I didn't research it enough, but I was anticipating more of a Magical Express-type of experience. The Disneyland Express is operated by Gray Lines, so there is no check-in counter at LAX. You just walk out to the "Flyaway/Long distance busses/vans" sign just outside of baggage claim (luggage and all) and wait. We had pre-paid vouchers for our ride from LAX to DLR. What we didn't know about were the numerous shuttles that say "Disneyland Express" on them. A couple of these shuttle drivers stopped and proceeded to ask if we were "pre-paid" or not. (I told DW it reminded me of when we haggled, traded, and took 4 different cabs to get 3mi on St Thomas!) But the "poser" shuttles left us alone when they saw we were prepaid. Eventually the Disney-themed (wrapped) motor coach arrived (on time) and we were off. From that point on, the experience was almost identical to the one in FL. We watched a promo-type movie during the first leg of our trip from LAX to DLR. The rest of the trip was cool, comfortable, and quiet. Our driver was all about getting us there quick and safe, but was very personable and polite.

I developed an acute and irreversible grin while walking from the motor coach into the hotel. I gave my grin to my DW when I spotted the Mickey and Minnie statues in front of the lobby. Now we're both sick with smiles!

This North Carolinian is ready for rope drop at 3am ! Let's get it on!!!

Here! Here! This thread has made the planning experience so much fun! It's obvious that so much care and loyalty have gone into our little corner of the DIS.

Thank you, Bob!

Glad to hear from you - Happy Day and Have A Magical Disney Vacation - Excellent Information - this is really going to help future Diser's & myself included.

Rickeymartin wrote - {This North Carolinian is ready for rope drop at 3am ! Let's get it on!!! ----- Now who's ready to start planning for next year?!? Hahahahahaha! }

Now, Now......Slow down on the coffee, don't want you to have to make to many bathroom stops while in the parks. Your family will decide to leave you at one of the bathrooms and take off for a ride... We are ready to start planning 2015

I have had fun with this thread

 

[RHMH]

We have all been waiting for this Special Day

We wish for you, The Magic of Disney & Laughter to fill your Hearts

*

Have Lots of Fun & We All Wish You Safe Travels

July 28

Fferret
Mommy To Kayla​

 

[RHMH]

Hello Everyone & Happy Sunday To All

I have a question to help a Friend on another thread. They are interested in going to DLR in 2015 and would like to stay t the Candy Cane Inn. Because of the name and thought it the owners would decorate the Inn with the name Candy Cane in mind.

After I sent some pictures of the Inn this past wek to them, they were a little disappointed in the color. They commented to me in a funny way that the Inn should be called the Ginger Bread Inn because of the color.

If any of you have or know anyone that have stayed at the Inn, would the rooms be decorated in any way resembling the name Candy Cane Inn?

Being funny with this question... do they place a Candy Cane instead of Chocolate when they do their nightly turndown service?

Thanks for your help in advance

Bob

 

[BensWife]

Hello Everyone & Happy Sunday To All

I have a question to help a Friend on another thread. They are interested in going to DLR in 2015 and would like to stay t the Candy Cane Inn. Because of the name and thought it the owners would decorate the Inn with the name Candy Cane in mind.

After I sent some pictures of the Inn this past wek to them, they were a little disappointed in the color. They commented to me in a funny way that the Inn should be called the Ginger Bread Inn because of the color.

If any of you have or know anyone that have stayed at the Inn, would the rooms be decorated in any way resembling the name Candy Cane Inn?

Being funny with this question... do they place a Candy Cane instead of Chocolate when they do their nightly turndown service?

Thanks for your help in advance

Bob

We have stayed at the CCI, and it is not decorated like Candy Canes or Christmas at all. The only thing they do have is a bowl of candy canes in the check in counter. I don't remember them having turndown service - but it might be available if you ask for it (we never did) so I can't comment on that. We went Sept 2012, so I'm not sure if things are different during the holidays. It was a nice little hotel and I really liked that they had a shuttle after a long day of walking. It was a nice motel.

 

[RHMH]

We have stayed at the CCI, and it is not decorated like Candy Canes or Christmas at all. The only thing they do have is a bowl of candy canes in the check in counter. I don't remember them having turndown service - but it might be available if you ask for it (we never did) so I can't comment on that. We went Sept 2012, so I'm not sure if things are different during the holidays. It was a nice little hotel and I really liked that they had a shuttle after a long day of walking. It was a nice motel.

Thanks so much for the information.. I will share it with friends on another thread..

 

[SpacecadetNZ]

Hello all,
We're back! Three weeks in California and British Columbia. An awesome trip, just so much fun. We got home a day and a half ago. 19 hour time zone change but amazingly we are all doing ok. The temperature change however is much harder to cope with! Brrrr, someone take me back to southern California please!!

Had a wonderful time at Disneyland. Three days of fun. The crowds were surprisingly bearable. (We were there 7-9 July.) The longest wait was less than half an hour and we made good use of FastPasses.

We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn (no, there is nothing candy cane about it at all except the bowl of mini candy canes in the lobby). The location was superb, so close, but the motel itself was rather basic and the room very small. Mind you, we spent very little time in the room so really it didn't matter hugely.

After Disneyland, we went to LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo, San Diego, then up to Vancouver, Victoria, and Tofino. A full itinerary of fun. Such a great trip.

How's everyone coping with their PVD? (Post-vacation depression ). I am suffering!! Any tips? I want to go again.

Huge congrats to musicalmama21 on your engagement. How lovely.

 

[luulu1999]

We finally made it to the Park Vue Inn

 

[RHMH]

Hello all,
We're back! Three weeks in California and British Columbia. An awesome trip, just so much fun. We got home a day and a half ago. 19 hour time zone change but amazingly we are all doing ok. The temperature change however is much harder to cope with! Brrrr, someone take me back to southern California please!!

Had a wonderful time at Disneyland. Three days of fun. The crowds were surprisingly bearable. (We were there 7-9 July.) The longest wait was less than half an hour and we made good use of FastPasses.

We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn (no, there is nothing candy cane about it at all except the bowl of mini candy canes in the lobby). The location was superb, so close, but the motel itself was rather basic and the room very small. Mind you, we spent very little time in the room so really it didn't matter hugely.

After Disneyland, we went to LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo, San Diego, then up to Vancouver, Victoria, and Tofino. A full itinerary of fun. Such a great trip.

How's everyone coping with their PVD? (Post-vacation depression ). I am suffering!! Any tips? I want to go again.

Huge congrats to musicalmama21 on your engagement. How lovely.

What a super vacation, also sounds like a Dream Vacation. Glad you enjoyed your Disney tour and thanks for the CCI information.. Hoping to hear more details about your trip if you have the time and don't forget pics!!!

We finally made it to the Park Vue Inn

Yes, Yes, Yes.... You are at Disney.. Have fun, ride the rides you and your family have been waiting for. Let us know how you are doing from time to time... we would love to hear from you.

 

[RHMH]

We have all been waiting for this Special Day.

We wish for you, The Magic of Disney & Laughter to fill your Hearts.

*

Have Lots of Fun & We All Wish You Safe Travels

July 29

ILuv2travel2 ​

 

[RHMH]

Note To All - WOW!!! this is the last group going to Disney. What a journey & WOW!! the fun we all had during our planning, departing & returning home with neat experiences to share.

I have had fun my Dear Dis-Friends & Families.. I am sad to say, I will miss the responsibilities of this thread. I have made many lasting friendships & have learned so much about everyone and have learned a few things about my personal self.

I have learn to improve & become a better person inside & how important it is to portray who I am & what you see of myself on the other side of the Dis-Board.

We can all log into the Dis-Board and say hello & we are going to Disney, but to make friends and to keep up a lasting true friendship during our journey takes honesty & love.

I have truly felt it all. Love you all.

Happy Future Planning & May You & Your Families Be Blessed Everyday Of Your Lives.

Bob