WDW vet doing DL tomorrow!!

[Melissa<3Disney]

So after living in San Diego for 8 months I'm finally making the trek to DL and DCA tomorrow for my birthday!! I am very excited... but we moved from Florida, (lived in Orlando for 2 years) and are big WDW people!! So I am a little scared that I will be disappointed, but its all in what you make of it..right?! Just thought my fellow DISer's would understand my excitement/ anticipation/fear!! haha Have a wonderful day!!

 

[bjakmom]

Have a GREAT day!! And be sure to report back about your experience. I'll be driving up to DL after a conference in San Diego in June for a couple of days and I'm also pretty 'lost' when it comes to DL - get to WDW a couple of times a year.
I'd also like to know how long it takes you to make the drive - I'll be driving up late afternoon on a Sunday early June.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Have fun! DL is different from WDW, but still lots of fun. One of the things we really liked about DL is that it is smaller and park hopping is soooooo easy! LOL The thing we were most disappointed in was the food.

Have a great trip!

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

As a fellow WDW vet, I didn't find Disneyland disappointing (California Adventure on the other hand....). I found it really neat to be in the original Disney park and it was fun to ride attractions that are either not at WDW or that are different than the WDW version. You'll definitely have fun! Make sure to check out the Teacups at night.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Doing the Happy Dance! board. Have a great trip!

 

[MYD714]

Have a wonderful time and happy birthday!

I loved DL. There's something about the original that is just amazing. I found it to be really different and loads of fun. The DL Fantasyland is great. The Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio rides were great. We loved the Indiana Jones ride and Space Mountain was so different. Enjoy the Matterhorn; I couldn't get enough of it. Their Pirates was amazing..I could go on an on.....

I was disappointed with DCA, but some parts were okay.

I'm so jealous! You'll love it. It's such a great experience for a Disney lover.

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

Thank you all so much for the advice and birthday wishes!! I need to get to bed here soon since we are driving up early in the morning with all the fun LA traffic!! Haha!! I will report back with my thoughts and maybe even a couple pics!! And Bjakmom I will let you know about the drive!! Have a wonderful night everyone!!

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.. I'll leave a more detailed report on the Disneyland page!! It was amazing!! We had a such a great time!! We drove from San Diego to Anaheim. It really wasn't that bad.. we left the house around 7:30 and go to Anaheim around 8:50, just becuase we hit a little traffic. We did both DCA and Disneyland... did all of the big rides that were open!! And then some. We even left before the park closed. It seemed really busy for a Thursday, but the longest we waited all day was about 25 minutes for Roger Rabbit!! haha.. Don't wait that long for that ride.. unless you have kids!!
I had such a fun moment with Mickey.. I'll post pics on the report too! I actually conquered my fear of Tower of Terror.. it was actually really fun! My boyfriend now prefers Disneyland to Disneyworld... he's not a big Disney guy as it is anyways!! But he said he liked the fact that you basically get all the fun rides in a much smaller walking distance! As far as lacking in magic.. I don't think so.. I felt immersed in it at both Disneyland and DCA.. I really think people give DCA a bad rap. I mean it def. wasn't up to Disney standards visually, but we still had a blast!! I loved the themes..they def. need to take some time in this park to make it a Disney Park visually.. but we loved the rides...and people seemed to be having a really good time!! We had so much fun and can't wait to go back when more attractions and shows will be open!!

 

[bjakmom]

Thanks for the update! So glad to hear you had such a wonderful day. An hour and twenty minutes? That's great! I was planning on 2 - 2 1/2, but I will be leaving from Coronado, so that might add a bit of time. Thanks for letting me know. Do you know if the traffic is typically heavy on Sundays around dinner time? That's when my conference ends.

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

Thanks for the update! So glad to hear you had such a wonderful day. An hour and twenty minutes? That's great! I was planning on 2 - 2 1/2, but I will be leaving from Coronado, so that might add a bit of time. Thanks for letting me know. Do you know if the traffic is typically heavy on Sundays around dinner time? That's when my conference ends.

Well we live in Downtown San Diego, not very far from Coronado. And we left during rush hour. I will say the carpool lane saved us a bunch of time. There is always traffic getting up to Anaheim and LA, but I don't think Sunday evenings should be bad, no work, school, or big holidays ( I don't think) are going on when you will be driving so you should be fine! I would say an hour and half at most!