WDW Vets - Back from DL Trip Report

[TinkSassy]

We are back and had a great time! I'm downloading pictures tonight and will start the ongoing trip report.

We had soo much fun! I need a vacation

We stayed at the Tropicana and it was nice. Clean room, plenty of room for us, breakfast left a bit to be desired (cereal would have been nice). Great proximity to the park - right across the street! We had a mishap on the last morning and the bathroom flooded - as well as the vanity area! Maintenance was there in minutes and they promptly moved us to another room so we could get ready for the day (15 minutes total). Was very impressed!

It was cold so we didn't check out the pool. We did have a mini fridge and microwave so that was good too.

For WDW Vets! I will post some of my impressions on the differences soon too!

 

[HappieMommie]

I can't wait!!

 

[Belle Ella]

Looking forward to everything!

 

[TinkSassy]

We started our first day walking over to the Disneyland Hotel for breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. The 4 of us - me (32), BS (40), DK (40) and AA (36) are 4 friends from all over the US and Canada uniting for a birthday celebration for DK. The breakfast was a surprise for her.

We were missing a few vouchers so it was an easy fib to let her think we were going to the hotel for that. We surprised her when we walked into the restaurant!

I have a bunch of pics to share on this - but having trouble figuring out how to post photos. Will add and continue tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

 

[TinkSassy]

For WDW Vets here are some things I noticed:

Rides I thought were better at DL -
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Space Mountain - SO MUCH BETTER!
Star Tours (smoother ride)
Train (more theming)
Mark Twain (more dioramas)
Big Thunder Mountain
Small World

Toss Ups:
Splash Mountain (not as good with theming - prefer the drop, milder)
Peter Pan - both fabulous but different couldn't pick (DL could use the continuous load though), lines for this ride were crazy long!

Better at WDW:
Winnie the Pooh - better ride from the vehicle, to the motion, etc.

Dining - what a switch! Glad I researched before arriving. It was harder to find food easily. Burgers and Pizza are the budget items. Staying in budget was also a lot more difficult. My recommendation - come prepared! Buffet style restaurants have huge portions - share to save money.

Hotels - we stayed off site out of budget necessity. While the proximity was good and the Tropicana was clean and nice, I did miss the submersion experience on the walk back at night. The extra magic mornings may have been worth the Disney hotel price - something to ponder.

Lines - The rides do not translate in what is most popular. Here's some things I noticed:
Winnie the Pooh - not very popular at DL easier lines compared to WDW
Peter Pan - this is a very slow load at DL with no FP so plan accordingly, catch first thing in the morning or watch the fireworks for FL and wait at the ropes for FL to reopen and be one of the first in line!
Space Mtn - If you don't FP this one early you may not get one! Much more popular (rightfully so)
Soarin at DCA - Popular but not nearly as much as Epcot, FP was still available at 3pm when we were there.
Innoventions - loads in groups not like the walk in at Epcot, once inside see the dream house and watch out for the video games that take over the upper floor if you have kids (I was not impressed)
ToT - not as heavy a line as DHS has

Rides at DL not at WDW:
Pinocchio
Alice (very popular)
Storybook Canals (LOVE IT)
Casey Jr. Train
Matterhorn (don't be afraid of a line around the mtn it moves fast)
Sleeping Beauty walk through
Nemo

As for DCA rides only ToT, Muppets 3D, and Soarin are available at WDW.

Fantasmic - hard to get seating, plan on camping for a long time - but this show is heads and tails above the one at DHS.

Fireworks - don't camp in the center circle - this is a fire lane and you will be asked to move. There is a good view from Fantasmic seating and not a bad view from FL behind the castle. In front of castle is best to see all the effects.

Hope this helps some making the transition.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We were at the Tropicana as well. I thought it was nice & even with noise in the parking lot on a few nights, we didn't seem to notice it in our room. Look forward to reading more.
If you get bored....you could check mine out!!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Can't wait to hear more. I agree with most of your comparisons. I'm a DLR vet and after 14 trips, also a WDW vet. I know what you mean about the immerision into Disney magic. It's why I love to go to WDW. We have AP to DLR and so we return home at night. People always ask me "why do you go to WDW when DL is right here?" These are obviously people who just don't get it!

I too wish the food at DLR was better. I love dining at WDW! Especially when if it's free DDP! Not to jump ahead but did you do Wine Country Trattoria? I love to sit on the patio on a nice sunny day, or at twilight.

More please......

 

[TinkSassy]

Ok - figuring out the pics thing so continuing with breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.

We started with our picture with Pluto on the way in

AA, BS, DK and Me

We also saw Alice, Chip, Dale, Goofy and . . .

the hug from Baloo for the birthday girl!

Also got some good buffet shots - love the PB&J pizza! Didn't sound good but I heard so much about it here I had to try it - yum . . . . Also loved the bananas foster crepes

After leaving Goofy's we walked over to the WD Travel office to get the vouchers I was expecting and get our backpack. We also got a tip for the CM there that because the parade at DL was dark we could ask to use our priority parade seating voucher for Fantasmic! at city hall in the morning. That came in really handy!

We then went to Alamo in DTD and picked up a car so we could go get supplies and head to the beaches for awhile. Just a note - Alamo at this location needs a kiosk! It is a lifesaver at the Orlando airport and was sorely missed here.

We made a stop at Target to get water, sodas, snacks and a few other items. Then went to the Coke collectors store about a mile from DLR - AA is a collector and was in 7th heaven! They had a lot of unique items.

Then it was off to Newport Beach! I'll continue with the beaches soon.

Disneydaz - We didn't get to WCT, we thought about it, but with only 3 days in the park we got very tight on a few things. We ended up dining in whatever area we happened to be close to.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Great start, and Tropicana seems to be a popular place to stay I haven't heard anything really bad about any of the hotels on Harbor, but yes - having to physically walk off property to a normal hotel does lose something.

Very cool about doing the birthday suprise

Glad you worked out the picture thing, although it looks like a couple of your links are broken The ones that did come out look great though.

I like your comparison/contrast between WDW and DLR. There are some interesting differences, aren't there?

 

[DizNee Luver]

Just a quick question.....what day did you do Goofy's???? Was it friday (the 13th) for breakfast???? if so, did you sit to the left of the buffet??? (if you were facing the buffet)

 

[DizNee Luver]

Ok, I answered my own question!!!!! Look behind Alice & my kids...... we were the ones that took your group photo with Baloo!!!!!! OMG...... a fellow DIS moment & we didn't even realize it!!

Remember my daughter singing the Bear Necessities to Baloo????? that is just hilarious!!! Happy Birthday by the way!!!!

Here's another one I found.....
Camera's up!!

 

[TinkSassy]

Diznee! That is too funny! Thank you again for the group shot with Baloo. I remember the kids - did you have 2 birthdays or was the CM just being good about taking care of them both?

These pics are priceless!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Diznee! That is too funny! Thank you again for the group shot with Baloo. I remember the kids - did you have 2 birthdays or was the CM just being good about taking care of them both?

These pics are priceless!

You're very welcome....hope it came out!!
It was our son's 8th birthday & our 3yr old's Adoption celebration. We were celebrating a lot that week.....since originally the trip was for my hubby & I for our 25th anniversary......!

 

[TinkSassy]

It was quite cold this weekend, but we started at Newport Beach. We decided to do the Fun Company Harbor cruise off of Balboa Island.

The took us out to see the mansions, yachts, and we even saw some sea lions.

Our boat

Some of the mansions

One of the yachts

Sea lion pals

After we did the cruise we did a little shopping, stopped at the sports museum across the bay. This was a nice little museum by an area called Fashion Island. It was free admission, unfortunately my pics did not turn out.

I'll post Huntington next.

 

[TinkSassy]

Photo Links for Goofy's Kitchen are fixed - check out the food porn!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Photo Links for Goofy's Kitchen are fixed - check out the food porn!

That's funny I seem to have a lot of those same food pics!!!! lol

 

[TinkSassy]

We spent late afternoon to sunset at Huntington.

We had fun watching the surfers as we walked out on the pier

I could of sat and watched these guys for hours! I love watching surfing - at some point I'd love to get the nerve to actually try it myself. Closest I've gotten was an outrigger canoe on Waikiki

We at dinner at the end of the pier at Ruby's diner. The food was really good - standard diner menu with burgers, pot roast and the like. The view was the big seller here. We got a seat on the upper level right by the windows!

Sorry I was so hungry by then I forgot to take pictures of the food. But the portions were really large and everyone liked what they got.

We stayed until sunset and left with the surfers

Did some shopping on our way back to the hotel and tried to get in early so we could be ready for magic morning open at 7am!!!!

More soon!

 

[TinkSassy]

That's funny I seem to have a lot of those same food pics!!!! lol

Birds of a feather!

 

[TinkSassy]

Our first day in was Saturday and we took advantage of MM. Got there in plenty of time and got a locker in the plaza before opening. We bolted straight for Peter Pan and were some of the first on, we hit Dumbo, Alice and Toad in quick succession.

BS on Dumbo

We then headed for Matterhorn shortly before 7:30 - and it was down already. So we decided to stick our heads around the corner and the line for Nemo was only about 10 minutes so we hopped in line (what a find!)

Then we went back to Matterhorn and it was open so we rode the tomorrowland side (we did the other another day - this one was sooo much better, faster, smoother - didn't think I'd notice that much difference). Then rambled by Storybook Canals with no line so we rode

Look out for Monstro!

I love these dioramas! We then headed for Casey's - we wanted a shot at our "true selves" LOL!

Then we caught Pinocchio and Snow White - with a final stop at the carousel before leaving. I wanted one picture and I knew I wouldn't get it once the park got crowded. I love Julie Andrews and I wanted a picture with the horse dedicated to her "Jingles". Here we are!

We then realized we had played at DL until 9:30am and it was time to go to DCA for opening. We made our way out and over. It was a good time to run the crowds were coming in!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I have yet to get a picture of Jingles, so thank you for sharing that one & the special markings to commemorate Julie Andrews & the 50th!!!