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Disney Land Advice
- Thread starter WDW!
- Start date
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
I don't think you know what you're talking about.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
WDW has always been "The Most Magical Place on Earth", Disneyland has always been "The Happiest Place on Earth." Officially, it has never been vice versa...only by casual guests is one called the other.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
Illuminations is going on 20 Yrs old (with Various versions) and easily still the best show in the property in terms of theme, storyline, score, and execution...I think Wishes is about the same age.
HTF
Well-Known Member
That's because they've never experienced it, haters gonna hate is a slogan that is very popular around the WDW resort...
We prefer the Disneyland Hotel, it isn't as close as the Grand Californian, but it is very close to the Monorail station so it gets you into Disneyland where you want to be easier than going from Grand Californian. Also the water slides in the Disneyland are much improved over where they were in the past. Not sure of the age of your kids or even if you have kids, but if you do they will enjoy the water slides.
As for the amount of time to stay, Even in long trips we've taken to California we generally only plan 4 days, maybe 5 for the parks. If you plan things well you will be able to hit everything you want in that amount of time easily. The trick is to know what rides are going to take enormous amounts of time and plan for them if you still really want to do them. Radiator Springs is the most crowded place in California Adventure, if you are intent on riding the racers then you really need to set aside one morning so you can hit the fast pass line quickly, by 11:00am all the fast passes will be gone, sometime even sooner.... also don't be surprised if you have to stand in a long line for the fast passes for that ride.... Granted when you go there it will be a year old so maybe it will have finally gotten a little more sane. Our last time there was October and it was still over the top crowded.
Since you it is your first time you may also want to plan on hitting rides you can't get at WDW or that are much better at DL... Pirates of the Caribbean, Mr. Toads, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones, Casey Jones Train, Story land boats, Winnie the Pooh, Captain Eo, Finding Nemo Submarine...
Also you will have to decide if the World of Color is worth it or not, I suggest you watch a Youtube video of it and decide if it is worth the trouble to your family or not. We have done it once, and frankly no one in my family thought it was worth it.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
I'd like to give some advice as a WDW APer (though we've been on a 2Yr Hiatus) that has taken a trip to DL before and will be taking our 2nd one in about 3 weeks.
When planning our trip, we started booking things about 13 months out...such a habit when we were planning out "big" annual WDW holiday trip, I noticed I was trying to do everything with my Disneyland planning that I was used to with planning trips for WDW, and it got a bit frustrating that some things couldn't be planned that far out. (ie: Dinner reservations are only 60 days out, park hours are only posted for current and following month, parades and fireworks are not daily occurances during some parts of the year, etc.) Get past all of that. It's no big deal.
We stayed at Paradise Pier for our first trip. The reason was simply because staying on Property at WDW is so hyped up, when it came to planning for DL, we had to stay on property, no ifs ands or buts! Paradise Pier is the lowest priced On-Property Option, and is equivalent in price (but not theming) to your Wilderness Lodge or AK Lodge Deluxe Resorts. Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian are at a much higher premium, but seem to be well worth it if you can swing it. The Grand is located partially in DCA and DtD (Disneyland Hotel is also on the edge of DtD). Now Paradise Pier is a wonderful hotel, but it in no way has that same on-property Disney feel that you might be used to from even a Mod or Value resort from WDW. To me it felt like a Hyatt (a lower end one). While nicely decorated with a mid 1930s Pier theme, it just doesn't have that same "feel" of a WDW themed resort. What I mean is, to us, it wasn't worth the premium. And also don't be fooled by the "On-Property" aspect. It's twice as far as the other two hotels, and there are sooo many hotels on Harbor Blvd that are right across the street from the entrance plaza of DCA and DL. This time around we're staying at the Carousel Inn...it was a spur of the moment trip and we didn't want to shell out Disneyland Hotel-kind-of cash this go around. Having said that, again, if you can splurge, go for one of the big two, the cost difference between Disneyland Hotel and the Grand isn't much at all....so it would depend on which appealed to you more.
Now our first trip (and this one) we have 4.5 days on property. Spending this amount of time gave us time to slow down and really enjoy the parks without feeling rushed. We spend about 2 full days in Disneyland, one full day in DCA (pre Carsland btw) and the other day and half jumping back and forth between the 2 parks. I have a feeling this go around we will need to spend more time at DCA, but we also toured with the mindset of "let's make sure we atleast do the things we don't have at WDW, then also tour the things we know are different than what we have at WDW." It seemed to work out well for us, but when we got home, we realized there were still things that we missed.
Lastly...ADRs...don't worry about them. They aren't a big deal at Disneyland. If you want to eat at a steakhouse, or do a WoC dinner package, or eat at Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle Theater, then go ahead and figure your plans out, also be sure to plan around the fireworks and fantasmic as they aren't shown daily in late winter/early spring and fall. But most other restaurants you can walk up to and eat at with about a 30 min wait.
Double lastly...you must ride (and love) Autopia.
Hope this helps! I'm sure @raven24 might have an opinion on my reviews.
flynnibus
Premium Member
I think it's a very impressive attraction - but it's not a plus to the HM.
IASW on the other hand.. that's a plus to the attraction.
HMH might as well just be a different attraction all together.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Remember.. blows Wishes away in terms of a 'full production'. You were confused because Disney used the same marketing pitch that summer for both parks.. but they didn't bring the Remember... show to MK. Remember uses 360 fireworks, projections, Julie Andrews, different phases for each land of the park, etc. Its a show unlike any ever shown in the MK.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Well, we'll see. We desperately need some new stuff in WDW. Mainly fireworks. They're still nice, but I've had enough of watching the same shows for most of my life.
But I guess if they're pumping similar amounts of money into both parks, DL can get more of a facelift because it's so much smaller. Our Downtown Disney and Fantasyland and Test Track all just got redone, so you can't really say that things don't change frequently. And we're supposed to get an Avatar land in Animal Kingdom sometimes in the next few years. When you have tripple the parks...one of which can fit all three of the other theme parks inside with room to spare...Plus we get seasonal stuff. Star Wars weekends (I told my dad I want to go to that once I'm in college and have May off!) Flower and Garden show, food and wine festival, and holiday stuff of course. But when I went in January, there were two new rides, a new area of Fantasyland, and a new restarant. And that was just the change from August. In August, what used to be Toontown (poorly done in comparison to DL) reopened as Storybook Circus, and our Dumbo got moved. And it doubled in size. And it got a playground. And Fastpasses. My parents needed all that when I was about 3, lol. We also have a Goofy rollercoaster in that area now. I think we're getting a Tangled meet-and-greet. They just put her tower up. It looks AWESOME! We're also set to get a new general Princess Meet-and-Greet, as well as a new Snow White Rollercoaster. Then maybe we can get some new fireworks...I don't know how familiar you are with Epcot fireworks, but for half the show, a globe sits on the middle of the water. And said globe cost a fortune.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
About the monorail? I frequently stay at Bay Lake. I know what I'm talking about. I've also been to Disneyland. And I am right; in most of the more upscale resorts, characters are understated.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Remember is shown in the winter. I saw another one, which had a few similar sequences to the one they brought to MK. I've only been to DL in June because that's when I can go.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I looked it up. I remember the first showing of Reflections of Earth. I happened to be down there when they were doing a soft opening, and some Moroccan Cast Members said it was new. I was 4. I'm almost 18. You do the math. Wishes has only been around since 2003. I remember my parents saying how they hated MK fireworks, but Wishes came and we were blown away. And our first thought was, "This beats Epcot Fireworks". In Baltimore, we love our Orioles and they love us, so they do fireworks. Those are almost as good as anything we see at WDW, which is just sad. And they bother to create a new show each time they do it.
Illuminations did just win an award. I'd rather see them change it up since I've been watching it since I was 4 years old. Prior to reflections of Earth, they did other Illuminations. My parents never liked them though. Can't speak for it; I'm only 18.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Paradise Pier was an existing hotel that Disney bought and refurbished into the Pier theme. Many others (though not all) have said that it doesn't feel like a Disney hotel, and that's probably why.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
but so was the Disneyland Hotel, and they did a superb job making that one feel "Disney'
flynnibus
Premium Member
Well that's like comparing DL vs DCA v1. DL Hotel was a premium hotel all along and tightly associated with Disney. It has also been completely redone... PPier is neither of those
PPier was a product of the resort expansion and done like DCAv1.. on the corner-cutting table
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
Reflections of Earth yes, but IllumiNations has been around since 1988, was replace by IllumiNations 25 in 1996, then IllimiNations: Reflections of Earth in 1999. So your statement of "IllumiNations is around 14 years old" is false...its actually 25 years old.