DisneyJamieCA
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2007
- Messages
- 8,054
This won't be a true trip report, but I thought I'd share thoughts from our recent trip. We flew in early Sat morning and left Wed morning, with Sat-Tues as park days.
Travel: We flew Southwest into LAX, which was a breeze. This trip was actually a surprise the kids (we have traveled on to NM for a family reunion, so they thought we were going early, with a layover at LAX) and I had Mandi over on the DISigns board make Alice in Wonderland themed boarding passes to announce the surprise. We asked the gate agent to help us and she went above and beyond by having the airport page them to come to the counter where she presented each child with their new "boarding pass". It was great. I know LAX can be crazy, but we were able to get our luggage, walk out and get on the DLE bus 5 mins later.
Hotel: We stayed at the PPH for the first time and we loved it! The rooms are great and the walk is so easy. The GCH will always be my choice if possibe, but I would prefer the PPH over the DLH any day. We never had a problem with the elevators although I could see how they could back up.
Dining: We ate Goofy's, Carthay Circle, Jazz Kitchen & Blue Bayou as our advanced dining reservations. After many disappointing trips to Goofy's, we had an amazing time last Nov so decided to try again, shooting for the same dining time. And unfortunately this time was another let down. I know the cost is for the character interaction, but except for Alice (who we had to request come to the table), it was really lacking. We did see Goofy, Minnie, Jasmine, Alice, Dale & Pluto for anybody wondering. I think this was our last time there - at least for a long while. Carthay Circle was amazing, the food was great, as was the service. Jazz Kitchen is a favorite of ours and this didn't disappoint. Blue Bayou was great for us - the food was delicious. We asked about a water side table at check in and they said it would be a 45 min wait. We opted not to wait, but it was nice to know they would allow a party our size to do it. When we were on Pirates after, we did see a party of about 12 sitting waterside.
EMH/Rides & such: As has been mentioned, there were a lot of rides that were done. Of course the scheduled ones, but TSMM was down both mornings we had EMH at DCA. RSR was down the second day too. They got both up & running by regular park opening, but it made for a "lost" feeling during that hour. Snow White was down almost every time we went by it. And BTMRR was down just as the first Fantasmic ended which created even more chaos than usual.
Other thoughts: The crowds weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting and nothing like Thanksgiving week. We were the second family at security both days at 6:30 for a 7am EMH at DCA and it never did get busy. The EMH/MM at DL on the other hand had huge lines by that time, although it never felt too busy that morning. It wasn't as empty as that time during Thanksgiving week however. It was a nice time to go because the grad nights are done, the hours are longer and it doesn't seem like true summer crowds have hit yet.
The line to see Anna was about an hour on Sat afternoon, so DH got in line while I did some rides with the kids. My mom got in line during our EMH on Tues and the line opened right away. It took us about 1/2 hour in line to meet them both, but by that time, they were estimating the line at 4 hours.
We did BBB for two of my daughters (one doesn't like her hair done, so we brought a dress and I did her make up). I have to say they do a good job, but it is crowded and seems very rushed. They take way more time at D365 and the hair stays up longer. We really did this for my 3 yr old who thanks to a gift from a family member was granted the castle package. One of the Fairy Godmothers in Training did convince my one who doesn't like her hair done, to do a little something to hold her tiara in and did for it no charge, which was nice. They were all allowed to do the photo shoot and they gave me an individual of the 3 yr old and 2 of all the girls. We also did the escort to PFF, which was great. We met Cinderella, Ariel & Tiana (a first for us; and she was totally sweet especially to the non-hair doer who was dressed as Tiana). On Sat there were a ton of Elsa dresses in all sizes and a few Anna in 14/16. By Tues, there were no Anna and only 2/3 Elsa (although they do hold some sizes in the back for BBB).
We had Photopass+ and while in Fantasyland, we had photographer come up and ask if we done any magic shots. We said no and he listed about 5 he could do with the kids, so we took him up on the offer. While attempting an Olaf one, a lady on an ECV was trying to park it, slowed down, but then for some reason, sped up and took out one of my daughters. I mean ran it right into her, her ankle got caught under the front and it knocked her to the ground. The lady was apologetic, but still just walked off and got on her ride. The photographer was angry and let it be known. They had a hard time getting ahold of first aid and after having 3 CMs wait with us, it was finally agreed that we would walk to first aid on our own, since she seemed to be doing ok. They did give her a FP for any ride of her choice and one for Peter Pan, each good for 6 people. First aid cleared her with some ice, but no worse for the wear. The photographer told us to find him the next day, so we did and he spent 45 mins doing pictures with the kids, both group shots and individual. I haven't seen them yet, since we're not home, but I know he did Olaf, balloons, Chip (Beauty & the Beast), Pascal & Tinkerbell. It was a lot of fun!
I am missing Disneyland already and am counting down the days until we return! Any questions, feel free to ask.
Travel: We flew Southwest into LAX, which was a breeze. This trip was actually a surprise the kids (we have traveled on to NM for a family reunion, so they thought we were going early, with a layover at LAX) and I had Mandi over on the DISigns board make Alice in Wonderland themed boarding passes to announce the surprise. We asked the gate agent to help us and she went above and beyond by having the airport page them to come to the counter where she presented each child with their new "boarding pass". It was great. I know LAX can be crazy, but we were able to get our luggage, walk out and get on the DLE bus 5 mins later.
Hotel: We stayed at the PPH for the first time and we loved it! The rooms are great and the walk is so easy. The GCH will always be my choice if possibe, but I would prefer the PPH over the DLH any day. We never had a problem with the elevators although I could see how they could back up.
Dining: We ate Goofy's, Carthay Circle, Jazz Kitchen & Blue Bayou as our advanced dining reservations. After many disappointing trips to Goofy's, we had an amazing time last Nov so decided to try again, shooting for the same dining time. And unfortunately this time was another let down. I know the cost is for the character interaction, but except for Alice (who we had to request come to the table), it was really lacking. We did see Goofy, Minnie, Jasmine, Alice, Dale & Pluto for anybody wondering. I think this was our last time there - at least for a long while. Carthay Circle was amazing, the food was great, as was the service. Jazz Kitchen is a favorite of ours and this didn't disappoint. Blue Bayou was great for us - the food was delicious. We asked about a water side table at check in and they said it would be a 45 min wait. We opted not to wait, but it was nice to know they would allow a party our size to do it. When we were on Pirates after, we did see a party of about 12 sitting waterside.
EMH/Rides & such: As has been mentioned, there were a lot of rides that were done. Of course the scheduled ones, but TSMM was down both mornings we had EMH at DCA. RSR was down the second day too. They got both up & running by regular park opening, but it made for a "lost" feeling during that hour. Snow White was down almost every time we went by it. And BTMRR was down just as the first Fantasmic ended which created even more chaos than usual.
Other thoughts: The crowds weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting and nothing like Thanksgiving week. We were the second family at security both days at 6:30 for a 7am EMH at DCA and it never did get busy. The EMH/MM at DL on the other hand had huge lines by that time, although it never felt too busy that morning. It wasn't as empty as that time during Thanksgiving week however. It was a nice time to go because the grad nights are done, the hours are longer and it doesn't seem like true summer crowds have hit yet.
The line to see Anna was about an hour on Sat afternoon, so DH got in line while I did some rides with the kids. My mom got in line during our EMH on Tues and the line opened right away. It took us about 1/2 hour in line to meet them both, but by that time, they were estimating the line at 4 hours.
We did BBB for two of my daughters (one doesn't like her hair done, so we brought a dress and I did her make up). I have to say they do a good job, but it is crowded and seems very rushed. They take way more time at D365 and the hair stays up longer. We really did this for my 3 yr old who thanks to a gift from a family member was granted the castle package. One of the Fairy Godmothers in Training did convince my one who doesn't like her hair done, to do a little something to hold her tiara in and did for it no charge, which was nice. They were all allowed to do the photo shoot and they gave me an individual of the 3 yr old and 2 of all the girls. We also did the escort to PFF, which was great. We met Cinderella, Ariel & Tiana (a first for us; and she was totally sweet especially to the non-hair doer who was dressed as Tiana). On Sat there were a ton of Elsa dresses in all sizes and a few Anna in 14/16. By Tues, there were no Anna and only 2/3 Elsa (although they do hold some sizes in the back for BBB).
We had Photopass+ and while in Fantasyland, we had photographer come up and ask if we done any magic shots. We said no and he listed about 5 he could do with the kids, so we took him up on the offer. While attempting an Olaf one, a lady on an ECV was trying to park it, slowed down, but then for some reason, sped up and took out one of my daughters. I mean ran it right into her, her ankle got caught under the front and it knocked her to the ground. The lady was apologetic, but still just walked off and got on her ride. The photographer was angry and let it be known. They had a hard time getting ahold of first aid and after having 3 CMs wait with us, it was finally agreed that we would walk to first aid on our own, since she seemed to be doing ok. They did give her a FP for any ride of her choice and one for Peter Pan, each good for 6 people. First aid cleared her with some ice, but no worse for the wear. The photographer told us to find him the next day, so we did and he spent 45 mins doing pictures with the kids, both group shots and individual. I haven't seen them yet, since we're not home, but I know he did Olaf, balloons, Chip (Beauty & the Beast), Pascal & Tinkerbell. It was a lot of fun!
I am missing Disneyland already and am counting down the days until we return! Any questions, feel free to ask.
Lori
