WDW vets fall in love with DL

[Hound 109]

bleeps, as a wdw vet who now prefers DLR (for lots of personal reasons), I also completely agree with virtually all of your opinions. I definitely intend to continue visit wdw, but will head west 4 out of 5 times when i need my Disney "fix".

Some food comments below:

We unfortunately didn't eat at Downtown Disney, although Catal looked as wonderful "in person" as it did online and we'd hoped to try Ralph Brennan's. Someone with direct experience may pipe up, but those both looked terrific.

I like Brennans & Naples (& would like to try Catal next). But most importantly to me.....is that unlike WDW where going to DTD is a hassle, these restaurants are steps away from both the DL & DCA front gates. GREAT SPOTS to have an early dinner when the parks are packed.


CS places in DL that were better than we'd expected were Rancho del Zocalo (outdoor seating area was lovely and the overhead awnings provided plenty of shade/got there at about 11:30 and nearly had the place to ourselves/red chile enchilada platter was quite good and citrus fire-grilled chicken, though *slightly* dry, was still flavorful -- both were very hearty servings);

I'm also a fan of Zocalo. Yes i've had better "mexican" food (interior, Sonora Mex, tex mex & even Cal Mex)......but this place is solid. It's in a great location (next to BTMRR), is pretty, has good food & a GREAT tres leches cake. A great treat for splitting when one needs a 10 min sit down break.


Hungry Bear (the top level seating area, if you go to the far left, wasn't crowded even when the front area was/totally shaded and cool, pretty view of Rivers of America/crispy chicken sandwich was good and DH, who hates sweet potatoes, absolutely demolished the sweet potato fries).

Need to try this place.....many here recommend it.


We hit Tomorrowland Terrace for breakfast one morning and can recommend it -- my breakfast burrito was huge and very good, DS wiped out his french toast, and DH had a lovely fruit platter; everything was much better than we would have expected and was better (in our opinions) than any of the CS breakfasts available at WDW (which we always wish were more widely available).

I agree it's a good spot.....And by timing it right, one can tour & collect FPs for a couple of hours in the early AM & then have "Breakfast & a Show" here, since it overlooks the Jedi Training Academy.


CS at DCA we tried Taste Pilot's Grill (again, plentiful and shaded outdoor seating, ribs, bbq chicken sandwich, and supersonic salad [cold chicken on top of mixed greens, etc.] were all decent.

I agree it's good (but not great).


In the Grand Californian, we had a late lunch/early dinner on the day we left at Whitewater Snacks -- we each got a cold pre-made selection (although they do offer freshly made hot foods like burgers and nacho platters); I had a tuna sandwich, DS had a chicken caesar, and DH had a turkey sandwich -- everything was very fresh and flavorful.

It really was so lovely NOT to have ADRs for 2 or 3 meals a day, which is our habit at WDW b/c of dining plans -- it made for much more carefree pre-planning (although initially that kind of threw me for a loop since the planning is a big part of the WDW experience), and I avoided the "food coma" feeling I tend to get at WDW.

I also agree. But I do wish they had a mini World Showcase (even if only a "world showcase food court") at DLR. I also would love to see a version of Ohana at DLR somewhere & a Brown Derby would be a natural for DCA (maybe over near Monsters or Tower of Terror. )

Have a wonderful trip!!

A couple of quick questions:

- You're from the east coast, correct? Did you find it easy to get up each morning?

- If you did, did you utilize MM each time it was offered?

- Did you get a chance to ride: Alice, Storybookland, Toady, Pinocchio, Roger Rabbit, Screamin', Griz Rapids, Monsters & Heimlich's Chew Chew?

Any comments on these non WDW rides?


Thanks for the great report.

 

[bleeps]

A couple of quick questions:

- You're from the east coast, correct? Did you find it easy to get up each morning?

Yes, we're from Boston. We flew into San Diego and arrived at our hotel in that area (spent a few days there before heading to DL) at about 10 pm local time. We went to bed, and got up the next morning at 6:30 am local time which would be our usual time to get up at home on a weekend (6:30) -- so right from the beginning our entry into the local time zone was seamless. We make a habit of changing our watches to the local time the moment we get on the plane and to start right away to *think* in the new time zone, which we believe helps. Also, I wonder if that bright CA sunshine helps with instant clock re-setting.... As an FYI, we took a red-eye home; we departed Long Beach at 9 p.m. and got into Boston at 5:30 a.m. Never did that before but it worked pretty well for us -- yesterday (which was Sat. morning and our arrival back home) was a little weird/bleary/sleepy; we slept in this morning but I think all 3 of us are back on local time again -- this seemed much easier/faster than flying back during the day, for some reason.

- If you did, did you utilize MM each time it was offered?

We had one morning that offered EMH (DL opened at 8 for resort guests) and we did that -- worked out great. Resort guests can do as many EMHs as they'd like. (Although DL was open until 11 pm each day of our trip, we missed the evening EMHs that WDW offers and the parks stayed crowded in the evenings.) On our last day (Fri), DL opened at 8 for everyone; the advantage was that all the attractions (as far as we could tell) were open (unlike EMH where I believe only select attractions in TL and FL were open), but it was definitely more crowded. We decided not to take advantage of a MM; resort guests get one ticket each to a MM so you only have one shot at it. DS isn't so much into the characters anymore (he's 14), so it wasn't important to him.

- Did you get a chance to ride: Alice, Storybookland, Toady, Pinocchio, Roger Rabbit, Screamin', Griz Rapids, Monsters & Heimlich's Chew Chew?

The only 2 on your list we didn't do were Griz Rapids (looked awesome and was just steps from our hotel [GC] so we could have easily changed clothes, but everyone getting off was absolutely drenched and we just weren't in the mood -- weather was gorgeous but a little cool for this) and Heimlich's (bug's land theming was incredible, but we did notice in this area that, unlike other attractions in other parks, these were geared for the youngest kids AND those in line really were all very little kids and their parents. So, while everyone rides, say, Alice and Peter and Pinocchio, regardless of age, this area did not appear to have any groups of all adults or families with older kids -- so my DS felt that he should let the youngest ride and not take up what would be their places in line, and also it was the only area where he said he'd feel awkward riding the kiddie rides. But, if your kids are younger it all looked terrific.)

Screamin' was DS' favorite at DCA, and he rates it right below EE (which is his all-time fav coaster). Screamin' combines some ride construction elements of RNR (don't want to spoil it so I'll leave it at that!) with a classic coaster (although it is longer than any classic we've ever seen) -- and, at least during our visit, it was always easy to either walk on, get on with a short wait, or get FPs that weren't super far in the future from the time we got them.

Loved Roger Rabbit and Monsters -- Monsters was particularly good. The only kind of odd thing about Roger was that the queue area is extraordinarily dark -- coming out of that bright CA sunshine we had a hard time navigating it and b/c it was a walk-on, we were moving through it fairly quickly (maybe it's easier when you move through more slowly) and the storyline of the attraction focuses on the dark side. They really nailed Monsters, in our opinion.

Any comments on these non WDW rides?

Toady was a priority for us since we never got to WDW before that attraction turned over to Winnie, and we loved it. Alice was amazing; the whole thing is just gorgeous. Pinocchio was neat, although not quite as great as the first two, but definitely worth doing. BTW, be sure to try Snow White's Scary Adventures, too. It's not exactly the same as the version that was at WDW -- in fact, do know that EVERY *same* attraction isn't exactly the same -- BTMR, Splash, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, etc. -- EVERY attraction at DL is a different version than the one at WDW.

Storybook Land was my personal favorite and the one I'll miss the most -- note that it is popular and the timing for getting on without much of a wait takes a little planning; if you go during EMH, it's not open so you have to get there when the rest of the park opens, or if you go at rope drop on a regular opening day you might want to head there first. ALthough do note that "long" ride waits in the case of DL means more than 20 minutes -- it was rare to see what we'd consider normal (long) wait times as compared to MK at WDW because DL has SO many more attractions.

Indiana Jones is fantasic, BTW. For DL, this would be DS' choice as best non-WDW attraction.

Autopia, BTW, in DL, is far superior, to us, to Tomorrowland Speedway -- same general idea, but more lanes for more cars so the queue moves much more quickly and the track is much longer and more fun to drive.

And my gosh -- Toontown is just incredible. I totally get why people never had much good to say about the WDW if they'd seen it in DL, and I'm no longer bummed that it got scrapped for the new Fantasyland expansion at WDW. We were in awe.

Thanks for the great report.

Thank you!!! Happy to answer more questions if you have them. (Although I realized after the fact that I was preaching to the choir -- sorry about that!)

 

[seadd67]

OP great report, you hit it head on with the CM's I have been going to DL since I was 8, going to WDW for the last 10 years. So I seen plenty of both from both sides( but you never get enough of Disney). The DL CM's are locals(mainly) seveing locals so there not going to go out of there way to make you feel like your somewhere special. There not rude(again just in genreal, you will find unfreindly people everywhere), they will help you, just does not have the extra pxi dust the that wdw has with there CM's. The WDW CM's are the best, i wish my employes show that much enjoyment for there job as the CM's at WDW do. They stay in that Disney custumer service mode the whole time. I am sorry more companys should practice that Disney custumer service training, its priceless. Just my view

 

[HydroGuy]

Storybook Land was my personal favorite and the one I'll miss the most -- note that it is popular and the timing for getting on without much of a wait takes a little planning; if you go during EMH, it's not open so you have to get there when the rest of the park opens, or if you go at rope drop on a regular opening day you might want to head there first. ALthough do note that "long" ride waits in the case of DL means more than 20 minutes -- it was rare to see what we'd consider normal (long) wait times as compared to MK at WDW because DL has SO many more attractions.

bleeps, you are just so "in the zone" here. StorybookLand Canal Boats is a gem. I especially love it at dusk.

 

[bleeps]

The WDW CM's are the best, i wish my employes show that much enjoyment for there job as the CM's at WDW do.

First, thanks for your kind words.

Second, of course without knowing what business you are in -- I once read a fascinating article about how to bring out the best in customer service in industries that deal with the public all day long and expectations are high (they didn't include Disney but it was based on high-end hotel customer service and a few other similar businesses). Each employee, in a place behind the counter that the public could never see, had a little sign that said, "I forgive you."

The point was to both empower the employees to help resolve issues for customers in a way that didn't make them (employees) feel like doormats and that brought out the most empathy for the worst-behaving customers. By encouraging the employees to have the mindset that, "I forgive you, the customer, for behaving badly and I can only begin to imagine what's at stake for you here, so now I would like to do everything in my power to help you" it made a huge difference both in job satisfaction AND in the service that was provided.

Also don't know if this would be of any help to you or not, but I really enjoyed reading the book "How to be Like Walt" which takes the lessons he learned along the way in his career and shares ways to take on that kind of mindset in your own life/business.

 

[MINNIEANN MOUSE]

Thank you for your post. We too love everything that has to do with "Disney" and we are just beginning to plan our 2nd trip to Disneyland in August. Each park has so much to offer and as you pointed out, I think there's always enough to make everyone happy. Enjoy your next trip!

 

[CamoMama]

I so enjoyed reading your report. After visiting WDW for the first time this year I totally agree with you on just about everything.

Storybook Land is my absolute favorite "quiet" ride at Disneyland. It's just so lovely and relaxing. It's a must do on every trip.

I had never thought about the friendliness of CMs at DL before I went to WDW. We always found them helpful and polite. My daughter has high-fived every CM she has come in contact with at DLR (except at ToT where she decided not to try as their character is a bit on the surly side, a couple of teenagers in line behind us tried and got snarky comments from the CMs, it was hilarious), and they've never left her hanging, whenever we've asked questions or looked lost someone has given us a gentle push in the right direction, and everyone seems genuinely happy to be at work when we speak to them. At WDW, however, they approached us to high-five, which she found to be just awesome. There was one cast member at DHS who was at least 7 feet tall, maybe more, who held his hand above his head for a high-five as we approached him (my daughters and I are all very short, 5', 5'2" and 5'4"), we all burst out giggling and had a nice chat with him for a few minutes. The CMs at the resort bus stops have always been fun and helpful, coming up with games for the kids to play while waiting. They're just far more extroverted at WDW and likely to approach you than at DLR. I think you may be right about the local aspect. I'll try to be more aware next time I visit.

I love WDW, we had a great time and we plan to go again, but DL will always be our favorite for all of the reasons that you listed.

 

[bleeps]

bleeps, you are just so "in the zone" here. StorybookLand Canal Boats is a gem. I especially love it at dusk.

I used to regularly suggest to DH that we build a mini-golf course in our yard b/c as a family we just love the game. Now that we've experienced this incredible attraction, I've told him my new fantasy goal is to create storybook gardens w/ little houses just like this -- and although of course I'd also love to dig the canal and float through in a little boat, I'd settle for just the gardens

 

[Hound 109]

(Although I realized after the fact that I was preaching to the choir -- sorry about that!)

Thanks for your additional opinions. Virtually all of us DL lovers share them. I think it's very helpful for WDW veterans who are reading & planning their FIRST visit to DLR....get a chance to read the opinions of someone who has just visited for the first time.


& Yep, I'm part of the choir.

Like Hydroguy (& you....& others ), I am a big fan of Storybookland. Both during the day & the night. I also think Alice is a crazy cool old time dark ride. & Toady is pretty edgy for Fantasyland....but kids 8-12 (& all adults....especially those that miss Toady at WDW) get a kick out of it.

I love Pinocchio because i love the story, & think that the movie was Walt's greatest. Since it rarely has a line I ride it often....try to catch some detail that i might have missed before.

Padewan Alec & I love the E ticket rides (Splash, BTMRR, Indy & SM)....but DL's FantasyLand is what truly makes DL magical to me.


Bleeps, thanks again for your report. It's one of the best "one post" synopsis of a first timers visit to DLR that I've ever read. Plus you "nailed" what many of us love about Walt's Park (& DLR). I kinda wish it was a sticky.

 

[bleeps]

& Yep, I'm part of the choir.


I love Pinocchio because i love the story, & think that the movie was Walt's greatest. Since it rarely has a line I ride it often....try to catch some detail that i might have missed before.

DL's FantasyLand is what truly makes DL magical to me.


Bleeps, thanks again for your report. It's one of the best "one post" synopsis of a first timers visit to DLR that I've ever read. Plus you "nailed" what many of us love about Walt's Park (& DLR). I kinda wish it was a sticky.

You've truly made my day -- thanks so much!

We did realize that we need to watch Pinocchio again soon; the ride made us appreciate Walt's masterpiece (totally agree on that).

Of course we just keep talking about our trip, and while we do appreciate how the WDW's MK *fixed* certain problems (I agree with Walt -- it was strange to see CMs walking to and from work in their respective lands in costumes totally out of place with where we saw them, making me truly appreciate the special construction at MK in WDW), and the overall size helps spread out the crowds, there is an overall beauty and charm, particularly to Fantasyland, that WDW lacks.

End of the day I'd love to see everyone simply appreciate and love what each iteration of Disney has to offer rather than argue about which is better. Just wish I still lived in Chicago and not Boston so that both were equally distant (and therefore easier to visit both!).

 

[bleeps]

I had never thought about the friendliness of CMs at DL before I went to WDW. We always found them helpful and polite. My daughter has high-fived every CM she has come in contact with at DLR (except at ToT where she decided not to try as their character is a bit on the surly side, a couple of teenagers in line behind us tried and got snarky comments from the CMs, it was hilarious)...

We did love how the set-up at ToT had those CMs right at the front and we could see them having their fun with guests -- totally wonderful!

You made me remember that the DL Jungle Boat Skippers were absolutely fantastic and on every one of the 4 times we rode it, they were awesome! We love this ride at WDW, too, and have ridden it there -- I don't know -- 30 times? 40 times? more? -- and for us to get off and say "wow, that skipper was great!" is relatively rare. But at DL each one was terrific; sure, our sample size is smaller, but I'd be shocked to ride 4 times at WDW on one trip and have 4 fantastic experiences. It seemed that the crowd at DL generally held JC in a dear place in their hearts, and we loved that!!

 

[Ariel224]

- If you did, did you utilize MM each time it was offered?

We had one morning that offered EMH (DL opened at 8 for resort guests) and we did that -- worked out great. Resort guests can do as many EMHs as they'd like. (Although DL was open until 11 pm each day of our trip, we missed the evening EMHs that WDW offers and the parks stayed crowded in the evenings.) On our last day (Fri), DL opened at 8 for everyone; the advantage was that all the attractions (as far as we could tell) were open (unlike EMH where I believe only select attractions in TL and FL were open), but it was definitely more crowded. We decided not to take advantage of a MM; resort guests get one ticket each to a MM so you only have one shot at it. DS isn't so much into the characters anymore (he's 14), so it wasn't important to him.

bleeps, just an FYI for your next visit... I think you may be confusing some of the terminology here. Basically, MM (Magic Morning) is to DL what EMH are to WDW, i.e. they are the same thing. You are absolutely correct that resort guests are allowed to take in all offered MMs (EMHs) during their stay. Also, any guest (resort or otherwise) with a Parkhopper ticket will be allowed entrance into one MM during the life of their ticket. Your last sentence above (which I bolded) leads me to believe that you may be confusing MM with Toon Town Morning Madness. TTMM is a character event held on certain days in Toon Town an hour before it officially opens. It requires a voucher, which I believe is given only to resort guests. Hope this helps.

I'm glad you had such a great vacation. We have yet to make it to WDW. I am obsessive planner, but the WDW logistics me out of it.......so we're are cruising on the Fantasy this fall instead.

 

[yakkin' yeti]

bleeps, thanks so much for your report. We're also family of 3 WDW vets with a DS going for the first time this summer, and your posts got me even more excited for our trip.

Did you happen to eat at Storyteller's during your stay at the GCH? My son wanted to do one character breakfast, and that menu sounded the most appealing to us. If so, I'd love to hear your impressions.

 

[Magalex]

Great review!! Hopefully we will have out first DL visit as WDW vets We were thinking of this summer but change plans for WDW/Universal Orlando. We wanted to wait until Carsland is open

 

[CamoMama]

[/B]TTMM is a character event held on certain days in Toon Town an hour before it officially opens. It requires a voucher, which I believe is given only to resort guests.

Close, but not quite. TTMM vouchers also come with park hopper tickets. When we went last we received a booklet for each traveller with vouchers for priority seating at Aladdin, Muppet Vision 3D, TTMM and a few other perks. We've never stayed onsite at DLR. Now that I have my AP, however, in order to enjoy MM or TTMM I'm going to have to stay onsite. I guess if I have to...

 

[nunzia]

Oh, you're absolutely right; I think what swings it is the age of your child(ren). Our son is 14, so although we all enjoyed walking through a bug's land, for example, and totally enjoyed the beauty of it, we didn't ride any of the attractions -- they were adorable, but really geared to the younger set (and while we'll sometimes ride attractions meant more for the littles, my son commented that being twice as tall as anyone waiting in line made him feel it was best to not take up the spaces in line that younger kids should get). He adored the Paradise Pier side and Calif. Screamin' is a new favorite. I think once Cars Land is open it will be more of a fit for us -- we'd probably put AK as our next favorite after both Magic Kingdoms just because it suits us as a family on more levels than the current incarnation of DCA, but even so we'd be very happy with a return visit to Anaheim!

[edited to add:]
I also think that all the parks *improve* with the more time you spend at them. People will often complain that AK is a "half-day park" because there's not enough to do, but for us we need at LEAST two full days there each time. Loving a park comes from multiple visits, from learning all the nooks and crannies, and from taking the time to slow down and enjoy everything about it. I am sure that after 4 or 5 DCA visits it would reveal more of itself to us and we'd be more in love with it (again, not that we didn't enjoy it). I guess this is the other piece of the whole *DL vs. WDW* thing -- it really all comes down to simply the place you know best.

Great report and insights. People always wonder how we can go to DLR again and again..because, each time it is always different! Some new discovery or treat or experience.

 

[bleeps]

[/B]

bleeps, just an FYI for your next visit... I think you may be confusing some of the terminology here. Basically, MM (Magic Morning) is to DL what EMH are to WDW, i.e. they are the same thing. You are absolutely correct that resort guests are allowed to take in all offered MMs (EMHs) during their stay. Also, any guest (resort or otherwise) with a Parkhopper ticket will be allowed entrance into one MM during the life of their ticket. Your last sentence above (which I bolded) leads me to believe that you may be confusing MM with Toon Town Morning Madness.

Yup -- definitely trying to get up to speed with the lingo over here! So it was TTMM we skipped, and MM (which we would think of as EMH) that we hit. Thanks for clarifying the terminology!

 

[bleeps]

Did you happen to eat at Storyteller's during your stay at the GCH? My son wanted to do one character breakfast, and that menu sounded the most appealing to us. If so, I'd love to hear your impressions.

Yes -- we did do Storytellers for breakfast. It's a funny/interesting mix of characters, and our interaction with each of them was wonderful. (I'll say that the mix isn't the standard WDW mix you'd see, and some of them aren't out much any more at WDW -- the characters seemed surprised/delighted that we knew them all by name).

As with WDW breakfasts that offer both a buffet and a menu, the CM definitely wanted us to take the buffet -- only minor thing I'd say about her is that she insisted that "everything on the menu is on the buffet!" which just wasn't true, and the buffet rate was $24 each (included coffee and juice) while the entrees were in the $16 to $18 range. We went with the buffet mostly to make it quick and easy on us, and the food was fresh. There weren't any Mickey waffles out -- not the end of the world to us -- but without asking a kitchen staffer came to the table with a plate full (he was delivering them to all the tables) -- but we couldn't find any syrup to save our lives. (We certainly could have asked, but we just found it funny and rolled with it.)

Whew -- a long way of saying -- we enjoyed the breakfast, the characters were lovely, and the food was fine. The place was quite empty (it is huge) and it is beautiful.

Are you also staying at GCH? It's fantastic!

 

[Ariel224]

Close, but not quite. TTMM vouchers also come with park hopper tickets. When we went last we received a booklet for each traveller with vouchers for priority seating at Aladdin, Muppet Vision 3D, TTMM and a few other perks. We've never stayed onsite at DLR. Now that I have my AP, however, in order to enjoy MM or TTMM I'm going to have to stay onsite. I guess if I have to...

Definitely not a perk given with all Parkhoppers. We always stay offsite and have NEVER received those booklets. I book the hotel myself and purchase our tickets separately. Do you book everything separately yourself, or as a package through an agency? I do, now that I think about it, remember seeing the booklets as a perk of booking Good Neighbor Hotel packages with certain agencies. That might have something to do with it.

 

[yakkin' yeti]

Yes -- we did do Storytellers for breakfast. It's a funny/interesting mix of characters, and our interaction with each of them was wonderful. (I'll say that the mix isn't the standard WDW mix you'd see, and some of them aren't out much any more at WDW -- the characters seemed surprised/delighted that we knew them all by name).

As with WDW breakfasts that offer both a buffet and a menu, the CM definitely wanted us to take the buffet -- only minor thing I'd say about her is that she insisted that "everything on the menu is on the buffet!" which just wasn't true, and the buffet rate was $24 each (included coffee and juice) while the entrees were in the $16 to $18 range. We went with the buffet mostly to make it quick and easy on us, and the food was fresh. There weren't any Mickey waffles out -- not the end of the world to us -- but without asking a kitchen staffer came to the table with a plate full (he was delivering them to all the tables) -- but we couldn't find any syrup to save our lives. (We certainly could have asked, but we just found it funny and rolled with it.)

Whew -- a long way of saying -- we enjoyed the breakfast, the characters were lovely, and the food was fine. The place was quite empty (it is huge) and it is beautiful.

Are you also staying at GCH? It's fantastic!

We're actually staying at the DLH -- the refurb looks phenomenal and it seemed like the most nostalgic of the three hotels. But this way, we'll at least get a little taste of the GCH.

I'm not a huge buffet person, so the fact Storytellers has both options is appealing. (I can see why the waitress' hard sell on the buffet would have been a tad off-putting.) My husband and son both enjoy the variety, and this way I can hug Chip and Dale (I hope they're still there?) and eat huevos rancheros.

Thanks so much!