Ballybunion3
<font color=darkcoral>It's kind of like WDW's grea
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2001
- Messages
- 106
Well, we just got back from a whirlwind tour of DL and DCA this past weekend. This was our first trip to DL, but we have been to WDW a few times. I have been reading an awful lot of negative stuff about DL and DCA on these (and other) boards, and I want to give you an honest appraisal of our experience there.
Bottom line: while not perfect, there is simply no other place that matches the magic, quality, variety, and customer service that DL offers.
We arrived at DL at about 6:45PM after a flight into LAX and a rush hour commute (the horror...the horror) and check in to HoJo's on Harbor Blvd. We (DW, DD-17, DD-7 and myself) all heaved a great sigh of "we're finally here" after getting through the security gate and turnstiles (long but very quick moving lines). We did not have ambitious schedules this night - a quick ride on Haunted Mansion (my DD-7 was determined to ride it after seeing the movie, and was now brave enough!), the PoC, dinner at the French Market (where else can you get a spinach & arrugula salad with egg, cheese, bacon and shrimp for 8 bucks?) then a ride on Pooh Bear and a visit with the 100 acre wood gang. Finished up with a wonderful show of Fantasmic (arrived just as it was starting, and had seats on a brick wall in New Orleans Square). We were some tired puppies, and headed to our room at HoJos for some much needed rest. Ho Jo's is fine - clean, simple, basic, cheap.
Next morning arrived at 7:30, gates opened precisely at 8:00. We were hoping they would open earlier so we could walk down Main St USA, but no deal. Anyway, had a big morning hitting Splash, Matterhorn, all the Fantasyland rides, then headed over to DCA at 10:00 to ride Soarin over CA. CA Screamin broke down just before our Fastpass time was about to start. Bummer, but our DD-7 was getting tired, so we called it a morning and headed to Hollywood for a tour of the walk of fame & Beverly Hills.
Went back the DL that night just in time for the parade - and this is where the not-so-fun stuff starts.
We arrived for the parade, tired, hungry - not a good combination.
Before I go on let me make a few observations so far: the parks are clean. This was a weekend with heavy traffic, and I can tell you that there was no trash spilling out of any trashcans, or on the streets/walkways. However, extremely rude/inconsiderate people who come to DL seem to have no problem throwing their drink cups into ride wells (PoC, HM). We rode some of these rides in the morning, they were spotless - at night, trash. What a shame. Restrooms were as clean as you could possibly expect with the crowds. I saw nothing that would give me pause in a restroom.
Landscaping: I saw a couple of articles about trees being removed. All I can tell you is that the landscaping, the trees in DL are gorgeous. I'm not sure what the fuss is about. There were no walls up hiding missing trees in the hub. DCA is unusual - very little plant life/trees other than in the Redwood Creek area. Must be HOT in the summer!
Rides under refurb: Space mountain, Indy, Dumbo all down. Screamin also went down during our trip, and we never were able to ride it. While disappointing, this did not reduce our enjoyment of the trip. We concentrated on other aspects of the park that we otherwise might have missed. Don't get me wrong- I wish they were up & running, but I still feel we got more than our money's worth.
OK - now to my least favorite aspect of DL - crowds at night. Now, I feel like I'm a reasonably experienced Disney park kinda guy. But we made the mistake of trying to get to the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country right after the parade. Every single person in DL is heading straight for Frontierland/New Orleans Square for Fantasmic right after the parade. The pushing, shoving, and obnoxious behavior of the crowd nearly ruined our experience there. I had to pick up my DD-7 for fear of losing her. It's very difficult to keep track of family members in that mess. Once we broke through into Critter Country, we discovered the Hungry Bear closed. Ughhh. We had to face the gauntlet again. We finally made it through to the hub and found the Plaza Inn restaurant blessedly uncrowded. After a decent chicken dinner, we went back to Fantasyland to do a few "decompression rides" and did a little shopping. My DW, bless her heart, insisted we make the best of the evenig after that literally scary crowd scene. Late night, very tired, we trudged back to the hotel by 11:30.
We figured we'd wake up a little later on Sunday morning, but our 7YO popped right up at 6:30 ready to go back to the parks! We arrived just as the park opened. As we were walking toward the castle, Belle (our daughters' favorite) was walking nearby, and gave lots of attention to our DDs. Great photo op. Walked on to Peter Pan, Big Thunder (great to have it back up & running!), HM, Pooh, Jungle Cruise (great guide - JT!), stopped for an apple in Adventureland, and made our way over to Tomorrowland. Not much going on there - we went on Autopia with a 15 minute wait. Our DD-7 got a drivers license that said she was a special winner, and after the ride (which was very cute) went to "The Winners Circle) to claim her prize - a nice little toy replica of the Autopia car. A really nice touch. We then made our way over to DCA, got a Fastpass for Soarin', then got in line for Grizzly River Run. The wait said 45 minutes, but it barely took 15. This is a FANTASTIC raft ride - highly recommended! We got soaked, but it was quite hot and we didn't care - in fact it felt great. Spent a little time in Redwood Creek play area - great place for 8-12 YO boys to expend much energy, then we went back to probably the best ride in the entire facility, Soarin'. This is a MUST-do ride for anyone new to DL/DCA. It's so well done, relaxing, thrilling, beautiful, that you must experience it to understand. Trust me- just go on it.
We then went to the restaurant right next to Soarin' (Taste Pilots?), and had a nice salad and burgers for the kids. Very good and reasonable.
Back to DL for the new Snow White Show. We took the train around to Toontown, which is exactly at the entrance to the Snow White Show. We arrived about 45 minutes early, and it was HOT. Tip: bring some water to squirt on the kids to keep them cool. They let you in around 15 minutes before showtime. The crowds here are very bad as well (we were there for the 1:30 show).
The show was very good - about 35 minutes long, great singing, stage, storyline was excellent. DDs loved it. Mickey Bars on the way out, and that wrapped up our first-ever DL trip!
Final thoughts: we had a wonderful time. The crowds are part of the deal, and I should have known better than to get stuck in them. As the baseball saying goes, "hit 'em where they ain't" - applies here: go where the crowds ain't. Parades and Fantasmic attract and repel hoards in frightening numbers. Just go someplace else, or arrive early for the show and wait til the crowds disperse before you attempt to leave the show area. Lines for rides are significantly shorter during show times.
Comparison with WDW - obviously, MUCH more compact. It's kind of like WDW's greatest hits compacted into one park. PoC, It's a Small World MUCH better in DL. Extras in Fantasyland too many to mention - overall better in DL - and Matterhorn! Tomorrowland is a disaster, nuff said. Toontown is a lot of fun, but we didn't spend too much time there. Lots of characters out in DL, didn't see any in DCA.
Overall, well worth the trip - hope to go back again soon.
Please ask if you have any questions!
Bottom line: while not perfect, there is simply no other place that matches the magic, quality, variety, and customer service that DL offers.
We arrived at DL at about 6:45PM after a flight into LAX and a rush hour commute (the horror...the horror) and check in to HoJo's on Harbor Blvd. We (DW, DD-17, DD-7 and myself) all heaved a great sigh of "we're finally here" after getting through the security gate and turnstiles (long but very quick moving lines). We did not have ambitious schedules this night - a quick ride on Haunted Mansion (my DD-7 was determined to ride it after seeing the movie, and was now brave enough!), the PoC, dinner at the French Market (where else can you get a spinach & arrugula salad with egg, cheese, bacon and shrimp for 8 bucks?) then a ride on Pooh Bear and a visit with the 100 acre wood gang. Finished up with a wonderful show of Fantasmic (arrived just as it was starting, and had seats on a brick wall in New Orleans Square). We were some tired puppies, and headed to our room at HoJos for some much needed rest. Ho Jo's is fine - clean, simple, basic, cheap.
Next morning arrived at 7:30, gates opened precisely at 8:00. We were hoping they would open earlier so we could walk down Main St USA, but no deal. Anyway, had a big morning hitting Splash, Matterhorn, all the Fantasyland rides, then headed over to DCA at 10:00 to ride Soarin over CA. CA Screamin broke down just before our Fastpass time was about to start. Bummer, but our DD-7 was getting tired, so we called it a morning and headed to Hollywood for a tour of the walk of fame & Beverly Hills.
Went back the DL that night just in time for the parade - and this is where the not-so-fun stuff starts.
We arrived for the parade, tired, hungry - not a good combination.
Before I go on let me make a few observations so far: the parks are clean. This was a weekend with heavy traffic, and I can tell you that there was no trash spilling out of any trashcans, or on the streets/walkways. However, extremely rude/inconsiderate people who come to DL seem to have no problem throwing their drink cups into ride wells (PoC, HM). We rode some of these rides in the morning, they were spotless - at night, trash. What a shame. Restrooms were as clean as you could possibly expect with the crowds. I saw nothing that would give me pause in a restroom.
Landscaping: I saw a couple of articles about trees being removed. All I can tell you is that the landscaping, the trees in DL are gorgeous. I'm not sure what the fuss is about. There were no walls up hiding missing trees in the hub. DCA is unusual - very little plant life/trees other than in the Redwood Creek area. Must be HOT in the summer!
Rides under refurb: Space mountain, Indy, Dumbo all down. Screamin also went down during our trip, and we never were able to ride it. While disappointing, this did not reduce our enjoyment of the trip. We concentrated on other aspects of the park that we otherwise might have missed. Don't get me wrong- I wish they were up & running, but I still feel we got more than our money's worth.
OK - now to my least favorite aspect of DL - crowds at night. Now, I feel like I'm a reasonably experienced Disney park kinda guy. But we made the mistake of trying to get to the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country right after the parade. Every single person in DL is heading straight for Frontierland/New Orleans Square for Fantasmic right after the parade. The pushing, shoving, and obnoxious behavior of the crowd nearly ruined our experience there. I had to pick up my DD-7 for fear of losing her. It's very difficult to keep track of family members in that mess. Once we broke through into Critter Country, we discovered the Hungry Bear closed. Ughhh. We had to face the gauntlet again. We finally made it through to the hub and found the Plaza Inn restaurant blessedly uncrowded. After a decent chicken dinner, we went back to Fantasyland to do a few "decompression rides" and did a little shopping. My DW, bless her heart, insisted we make the best of the evenig after that literally scary crowd scene. Late night, very tired, we trudged back to the hotel by 11:30.
We figured we'd wake up a little later on Sunday morning, but our 7YO popped right up at 6:30 ready to go back to the parks! We arrived just as the park opened. As we were walking toward the castle, Belle (our daughters' favorite) was walking nearby, and gave lots of attention to our DDs. Great photo op. Walked on to Peter Pan, Big Thunder (great to have it back up & running!), HM, Pooh, Jungle Cruise (great guide - JT!), stopped for an apple in Adventureland, and made our way over to Tomorrowland. Not much going on there - we went on Autopia with a 15 minute wait. Our DD-7 got a drivers license that said she was a special winner, and after the ride (which was very cute) went to "The Winners Circle) to claim her prize - a nice little toy replica of the Autopia car. A really nice touch. We then made our way over to DCA, got a Fastpass for Soarin', then got in line for Grizzly River Run. The wait said 45 minutes, but it barely took 15. This is a FANTASTIC raft ride - highly recommended! We got soaked, but it was quite hot and we didn't care - in fact it felt great. Spent a little time in Redwood Creek play area - great place for 8-12 YO boys to expend much energy, then we went back to probably the best ride in the entire facility, Soarin'. This is a MUST-do ride for anyone new to DL/DCA. It's so well done, relaxing, thrilling, beautiful, that you must experience it to understand. Trust me- just go on it.
We then went to the restaurant right next to Soarin' (Taste Pilots?), and had a nice salad and burgers for the kids. Very good and reasonable.
Back to DL for the new Snow White Show. We took the train around to Toontown, which is exactly at the entrance to the Snow White Show. We arrived about 45 minutes early, and it was HOT. Tip: bring some water to squirt on the kids to keep them cool. They let you in around 15 minutes before showtime. The crowds here are very bad as well (we were there for the 1:30 show).
The show was very good - about 35 minutes long, great singing, stage, storyline was excellent. DDs loved it. Mickey Bars on the way out, and that wrapped up our first-ever DL trip!
Final thoughts: we had a wonderful time. The crowds are part of the deal, and I should have known better than to get stuck in them. As the baseball saying goes, "hit 'em where they ain't" - applies here: go where the crowds ain't. Parades and Fantasmic attract and repel hoards in frightening numbers. Just go someplace else, or arrive early for the show and wait til the crowds disperse before you attempt to leave the show area. Lines for rides are significantly shorter during show times.
Comparison with WDW - obviously, MUCH more compact. It's kind of like WDW's greatest hits compacted into one park. PoC, It's a Small World MUCH better in DL. Extras in Fantasyland too many to mention - overall better in DL - and Matterhorn! Tomorrowland is a disaster, nuff said. Toontown is a lot of fun, but we didn't spend too much time there. Lots of characters out in DL, didn't see any in DCA.
Overall, well worth the trip - hope to go back again soon.
Please ask if you have any questions!
It sounds like you had a wonderful visit.
