Meeky Mouse
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 128
We've been to WDW about 20 times in the last 15 years or so, but had never been to Disneyland. My husband had wanted to go for a long time, but I kept talking him out of it. From what I read, I thought it would be too small and not worth the cross country trip (I'm not a huge fan of flying). Due to some hard times he's had family- & work-wise lately, he really needed something to cheer him up. So I put my negative feelings aside & booked a 4-day trip to Disneyland. I'm happy to say, he was right and I was wrong - we all had a great time!
We stayed at the Grand Californian - wow! The hotel was fabulous and our room was beautiful. Even though we had a standard view room, we had a great view of California Adventure. The only thing we didn't like was that Whitewater Snacks closed at 7:00 and the hotel store closed at 9:00 (we're used to the food courts & stores at WDW closing at 11:00 pm or midnight). My daughter was thrilled because there was a mommy cat and her two baby kittens hanging around outside of the restaurant.
Even though WDW and DLR share some of the same attractions, most are not the same. Space Mountain was so much better at DLR, as was Pirates. The Haunted Mansion with the Nightmare decorations was amazing. However, we prefer WDW's Tower of Terror and the waiting area for Toy Story Mania.
Other observations:
* Although it seemed odd at first, having the entrances to the two parks right across from each other with Downtown Disney right there as well was so convenient.
* Cueing: Rather than trusting people to form an orderly line on their own, DLR keeps people in cue lines more. There was none of the pushing, shoving, and hanging-on-for-dear-life-to-your-loved-ones that's needed at so many attractions at WDW.
* We ate at Blue Bayou and, even though the restaurant was quite nice, we thought the prices were ridiculously high.
* Direct access to California Adventure from the hotel was a fantastic perk.
All in all, we had a great few days at Disneyland and were sad to have to leave. WDW is still our favorite, but DLR has won our hearts as well. We're looking forward to going back sometime soon!
We stayed at the Grand Californian - wow! The hotel was fabulous and our room was beautiful. Even though we had a standard view room, we had a great view of California Adventure. The only thing we didn't like was that Whitewater Snacks closed at 7:00 and the hotel store closed at 9:00 (we're used to the food courts & stores at WDW closing at 11:00 pm or midnight). My daughter was thrilled because there was a mommy cat and her two baby kittens hanging around outside of the restaurant.
Even though WDW and DLR share some of the same attractions, most are not the same. Space Mountain was so much better at DLR, as was Pirates. The Haunted Mansion with the Nightmare decorations was amazing. However, we prefer WDW's Tower of Terror and the waiting area for Toy Story Mania.
Other observations:
* Although it seemed odd at first, having the entrances to the two parks right across from each other with Downtown Disney right there as well was so convenient.
* Cueing: Rather than trusting people to form an orderly line on their own, DLR keeps people in cue lines more. There was none of the pushing, shoving, and hanging-on-for-dear-life-to-your-loved-ones that's needed at so many attractions at WDW.
* We ate at Blue Bayou and, even though the restaurant was quite nice, we thought the prices were ridiculously high.
* Direct access to California Adventure from the hotel was a fantastic perk.
All in all, we had a great few days at Disneyland and were sad to have to leave. WDW is still our favorite, but DLR has won our hearts as well. We're looking forward to going back sometime soon!
