DLR Trip 12/17/13

[Vipraa]

Just got back from a single day trip to Disneyland. It was just me and my cousin on this trip and we stayed at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites which was 80 bucks a night plus 4 dollars for parking and less then 5 min walk to the front gates of the park. Even though it was only a 1 day trip it was pretty successful imo with us hitting 30 attractions plus World of Color: Winter Dreams and Fantasmic! in one day.

The Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites was an okay hotel but nothing special at all. It was pretty old facility wise but had everything that we needed and was clean so I cant complain. Plus it right across the street from the Tower of Terror and 5 min walk from the front gate for basically 84 bucks a night.

 

[Vipraa]

We decided to go to DCA first and hit up Cars Land before it got too busy later in the day. We didnt quite make it for the rope drop but got to the park around 5 minutes afterwards. The line for Radiator Springs Racers Fastpasses was already down into Hollywood Land so we decided to head straight for the ride. As soon as we hit Cars Land we saw the line for RSR was down to Sarge's Surplus as they filled in the line. When we finally got to the ride entrance the stand-by wait was at 50 minutes and this is only about 10 minutes into park opening so we hit up single rider and only waited about 5 minutes. Great Ride.

After RSR we hit up the 5 minute waits for Luigi's Flying tires and Maters Junkyard Jamboree which were both more fun then you would expect them to be, especially Maters. Then we headed to the RSR fastpasses and got one of those for a return time of 4:45-5:45 less then an hour after the park opened. Then we headed up to the Tower of Terror for 13 min wait. Finally we got a Fastpasses for World of Color: Winter Dreams 9:00 pm showing before heading over to Disneyland around 10:30.

As soon as we got to DL we went over to Space Mountain and got a Fastpass for that. We tried to get on the Matterhorn but it was down for the morning so we went next door to the Mad Tea Party. Next we hit up Pirates and then Indiana Jones which was a 45 minute wait but we used the single rider line and only waited about 5 minutes and then still sat together. After that we went back to tomorrowland for Buzz, another fastpass for space and used our first space fastpass. Afterward Matterhorn had just reopened (TL side only) and we got a ride in on that.

Then we got lunch at Rancho del Zocalo for some quick Mexican food. It was decent but not excellent. After lunch we hit up Haunted Mansion Holiday which was great. After that we headed over to Fantasyland again and did all of the classic Dark rides (Pinocchio, Snow White, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Alice) and headed over to Toontown for Roger Rabbit. The line for Small World Holiday was 45 minutes so we decided to skip it. We hit up Star tours while waiting for our Fastpass for space to come due and then used it as well as got a third one for inbetween WOC and Fantasmic.

Our RSR racer fastpass was about ready so we decided to head back over to DCA. As soon as we got there the Pixar Parade was going on so we couldn't get to Cars Land so we hit Soarin' Over California single rider. This is one single rider I don't recommend because they only bring in 1-3 people per showing and you always get stuck on the lowest bench in a corner. Then we used our RSR fastpass and headed over to Paradise Pier. We hit up 5 minute waits for Little Mermaid and Silly Symphony Swings before heading over to California Screamin'. For those who dont know CA Screamin' is a capacity monster so the line is always short so we rode that 3 time in under half an hour in the stand-by line. Then hit up Toy Story Midway Mania in a 45 min line (the longest of the day by far) and the swings one last time before WOC.

We then watched World of Color: Winter Dreams which I think is a great show but not as good as the normal World of Color. The Let it Go sequence should be moved over to the normal show though. After the show we said bye to DCA and headed over to Disneyland for the rest of the night. We saw the fireworks Believe... in Holiday Magic as we walked down Main St. headed for Space mountain. After Space we headed over to the 10:30 showing of Fantasmic!. The later showing is always much less crowded so we found a great spot no problem. After the show we had 7 minutes until the park closed so we walked onto Splash Mountain.

That was the end of our day in the parks unfortunately and we got a late dinner on the way back to our hotel at Dennys. Great day from basically open to close and would have loved to spend more time down there but we only had the one day.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Sounds pretty amazing! 30 attractions is a lot even on a slow day... which day was your trip?

 

[Disneyfanman]

We were there on the same day, and actually were in the parks Mon, Tue, and Thu. Monday and Tuesday were beautiful warm and sunny days. Open to close Mon and Tue, and then open to 8 PM on Thu (rainy and chilly). We thought crowds were moderate to heavy the first couple of days, but it was really only packed in the evenings for the shows. Interestingly the Matterhorn was down every morning of our trip. I wonder how often that happens. We finally got to ride it on Thursday at about noon.

Our longest wait in three days was 40 minutes for Peter Pan. The parks looked beautiful. I think that the 2nd and 3rd week in December are a great time to visit. We left on Friday just as the huge crowds were beginning to show.