We are back! The Good, Bad & the Ugly!

[bayareadisneyland]

We are back from our trip! A few thoughts:

The Good

- The DL Hotel was awesome and worth the extra $$. I usually stay at the BWPPI and have done the Grand once. Like the DL hotel the best by far. Pools were amazing (especially loved the slide pool for my toddler). Beds were comfy and clean. We really liked the balance of park & resort time.

- CMs were awesome. When my daughter cried as she left the park- one of them came up and gave her a Mickey Mouse sticker. A small gesture that was really appreciated.

- The parks looked beautiful- liked the "new" DCA much better and the upgrade on BTMRR!

- SO glad we rode TSMM, CA Screamin and didn't follow the hoards to RSR during Early Entry on 5/13. Lined up for a FP w/ my toddler (while everyone else did Soarin) and got a 10:50am return time. That is the way to go for sure!

The Bad

- As others have mentioned, the breakdowns were bad. Indiana JOnes in particular. Twice I had Fps and when our window opened up, the ride was down. Finally, the next day when it was open, I just went up to the CM w/ all of our expired FP and our party was allowed in the temple (still 50+ minute wait!?- only one side running and line backed up to ramp before bat cave?!).

- Some obvious maintenance issues- especially on Splash. Lights that were supposed to shine on Brer Rabbit/ Fox not working- very distracting.

- Early Entry on Tuesday was a joke! Lines backed up to DCA to get into the park! Matterhorn didn't start loading until 30 minutes after opening due to "warm up issues" and Fantasyland was so clogged you could barely walk. Never again!

- I puked after CA Screamin! I used to be able to ride 3x in a row! I'm getting old! I did Space, BTMRR and Star Tours w/ no problems!

The Ugly

- The heat. If I knew how bad it would be, I would have sucked up the cancellation fees and moved it out a week. It was too hot. 103 on weather.com is 113 in the parks! Glad we had the pools to enjoy! The last two days, we only did 9-11am and 7-9pm in the parks. Monorail was hotter in the cabins than outside!

- Crowds were also much bigger than expected. My mom said they were the same as summer weekends in the 80s. I don't think there is a down time anymore!


Thanks everyone for your help! You guys rock! I'm sure I'll asks another round of questions in the future when planning another trip!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Nice report back!

So glad there was some "Good", among the "Bad", and the "Ugly", which made me chuckle, by the way!

I would have termed the high temps, and the huge crowds at EMH/MM among the "Ugly" as well!

The DLH is beautiful---happy for you that you enjoyed your stay there!

 

[smiles33]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear how bad the heat and crowds were so "early" in the busy season!

Question: how crowded was it at the DLH pool? I rented a cabana for one day of our upcoming June trip, as I want to be guaranteed some place to sit as the kids play. Were there any empty chairs? I'm hoping a Monday will be less crowded than the weekend.

 

[bayareadisneyland]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear how bad the heat and crowds were so "early" in the busy season!

Question: how crowded was it at the DLH pool? I rented a cabana for one day of our upcoming June trip, as I want to be guaranteed some place to sit as the kids play. Were there any empty chairs? I'm hoping a Monday will be less crowded than the weekend.

Hi, There were lots of empty chairs- the issue was shade! Due to a "wind advisory" they wouldn't put the umbrellas down a few times. I had a cabana too and cancelled it. I'm glad I did since we were always able to find a shady spot (a few areas have trees that shade). It was so hot we were at the pools by 11-12 so we had first dibs!

 

[Kristina4109]

Oh, I am so bummed that your trip happened to coincide with our freakishly hot weather. That is just NOT the norm for May. But glad you enjoyed the DLH! I stayed there for my first ever Disneyland birthday!

 

[smiles33]

Thanks so much! It's good to know that even when the parks were super crowded, there were still open chairs. I'm debating on whether to keep my cabana rental. I worry June will be a lot more crowded than May, though.

 

[daisy_77]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I am looking forward to staying at DLH with my husband and kids next year. I know they will love it! I haven't been there since they changed it. It looks so fun!