We're back, had a great trip!

[Rajah]

We're back from Disneyland, and we had a *fantastic* vacation! Didn't get as much in as we usually fit per day, but we were much more relaxed on this trip than usual, too. Took it at a much more leasurly (sp?) pace. The crowds never got bad -- worst was, as expected, on Saturday when the lines were long enough we didn't ride much, but we had enough other things to keep us busy.

I'll get busy on a trip report.

Before we left, DH got me a new lens for our camera, so I had a new toy to play with. Because of that lens, I ended up taking about 100-110 pictures of ONE SHOWING of the fireworks. I think that's my record That doesn't include the 40 or so other pictures of previous showings, or the video.

Anyway, it's late, we just got back in, we're tired, and there's some unpacking to do. So, I'll catch y'all tomorrow!

 

[Rajah]

Oh, a summary of what we did:

Stayed at the Disneyland Hotel (loved it!!)

Ate at:

Redd Rocket's Pizza Port (late lunch)
Hook's Pointe (dinner twice)
Goofy's Kitchen (br)
Storyteller's Cafe (br twice)
Storyteller's Cafe (dinner)
Riverbelle Terrace (br)
Blue Bayou (lunch)
Napa Rose (dinner)

We spent a lot of time in both parks and saw almost every attraction at Disneyland, missed all the shows unfortunately except Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, and did the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour.

Saw everything in DCA that we wanted to see, which was almost everything --skipped the things that are duplicates of WDW attractions, skipped Golden Dreams, and skipped the Maliboomer. Otherwise I think did/saw everything in DCA that wasn't a show.

 

[TheLionKing]

I am happy that you had a good time.

Sorry I could not get down there, but I got my butt kicked at work this weekend and I am glad I was not in Disneyland. It would have been a bad thing.

I want to hear more about the new lens you got.......

I have been trying to do some research on taking fireworks photos....

 

[Michelle]

Glad you guys had a great time, and we certainly had the perfect WEATHER while you were here.

 

[Rajah]

It was BEAUTIFUL weather the entire time! Never got too hot, did get a little warm on Friday and Saturday in the middle of the day, but not too hot. Never got too cold, either.

TLK -- sorry we missed you, but I'm glad you weren't with us, too, if you were kept so busy.

The lens was a wide-angle lens for the Nikon Coolpix 990.

 

[Carl]

Welcome back. Glad you enjoyed the trip. I wish that you were able to come to Dis Con. Tell me, is it really worth the trip to go to Disneyland instead of going to WDW instead? I never could convenience myself that it would be worth it. If I'm going to spend the money on air fare, I feel like I should go somewhere that has more to see. And of course NOW, I have DVC and an annual pass, so it would cost much more to go to California. (The first year I bought an annual pass, I actually thought it was good for ALL Disney parks, but I soon found out that was not true.)

 

[Grog]

Glad you had a great time

Looking forward to the trip report

 

[Rajah]

Originally posted by Carl
Tell me, is it really worth the trip to go to Disneyland instead of going to WDW instead?

Yes.

If you've never been to Disneyland, it's a very different atmosphere while still being Disney. To me, it's a much more relaxed and more detailed park. I find myself rushing from park to park to show to show to park to show at Disneyworld, especially at night. I never want to miss Illuminations or Fantasy in the Sky or Tapestry or Fantasmic or or or...

At Disneyland, I *never* felt I needed to rush like that this trip. I've always felt somewhat rushed in the past because I only allotted 1.5 days. This time with essentially 4 full days (3 full days, half day on front and half day on end), I never felt rushed. Something about the atmosphere in Disneyland itself says "Hey, there's this nice thing over here to come relax and enjoy. Just make yourself at home. No need to rush."

And the fact that it was the *first* park has a lot to do with it for me, too.

Disneyland is much more charming than anything in Disneyworld. No, it doesn't have even half the "doings" to offer, but the charm makes up for it. Fantasyland is worlds better than the equiv at Disneyworld, for example, and you have New Orleans Square which is really charming as well.

And with the addition of DCA, it's very much worth going. Michael and I found we rode/did very little in DCA, but we loved walking through the park to just enjoy the atmosphere.

So, back to the short answer -- yes. It's worth going to Disneyland, even if you've been to WDW. And I'd say it would be worth going at least once, even if you're DVC at Disneyworld -- especially if you can use your DVC points to get the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian.

I wouldn't plan to spend more than 4 or 5 days at Disneyland, whereas I could easily spend 9 or 10 at Disneyworld. But for a 4 day trip it was perfect.

 

[IandGsmom]

It sounds like you had so much fun!! Any pictures?

 

[Rajah]

Originally posted by IandGsmom
Any pictures?

Hmm... about 750, give or take 25.

I'm sorting through them now so I have a *chance* of getting them posted before this time next year

 

[Bob O]

Glad you had a great time, cant wait for our upcoming visit, now less than 2 weeks away!!!

 

[TheLionKing]

700+ pictures?

Is that before or after you have deleted the bad ones?

 

[Rajah]

Originally posted by TheLionKing
700+ pictures?

Is that before or after you have deleted the bad ones?

After I deleted the 10 or 20 that I deleted on the fly in the park, but before I cut out the bad or not-as-good ones or narrowed it down from two or three virtually identical (where I played with camera settings) to just one.

So when I finish clearing things up, probly will be closer to 200-300.

 

[Horizons16]

What did you think about DCA? We are going in about 30 days or so to Disneyland and we are also going to spend some time there. What would you suggest more time at Disneyland or DCA?

Thanks a Bunch
~Steve

 

[Rajah]

We really enjoyed DCA for the atmosphere and for a couple of rides. There's not really a whole lot to *do* over there, but if you like to just soak up atmosphere, DCA has alot of it for how young it is.

Definitely plan more time for Disneyland, but I think we did about 1/3 of the trip in DCA.

 

[Snurk71]

We liked the thrill-type rides in DCA and just the general feel of the park (very relaxed and easy going - remided us of walking along the boardwalk at WDW). CA Screamin' is a great coaster, Maliboomer is a surge, the rapids ride is more "rapids" than Kali in WDW, Soarin' over CA is cool, and Millionaire is a lot of fun (I was 1 point out of getting in the hot seat).

Things were walk on at DCA last week. They were even waiting for people on a couple rides.

 

[SquirrelsMom]

Rajah,

Glad to hear you had a fantastic trip and took lots of pictures.

While you were planning your trip, I noticed you had asked questions about transportation. What did you finally decide to use to get from the airport to your hotel and how did it work out?

SquirrelsMom

 

[Rajah]

We did a cab, and were very happy with it. It was very much worth having someone else drive in that traffic, and it was also very worth the extra $10/ride it cost us to be able to go straight to the hotel/airport without having to have reservations.

That's the route I'd do again if we flew into SNA again. Not from LAX, though, because that's too far away and would cost too much.

Taxi from SNA to Disneyland Hotel was $30 + tip each way.