First trip to Disneyland TRIP REPORT

[rtiller]

So I went to Disneyland for the first time ever after visting Walt Disney World many times. I was at the park on Wednesday, July 5. I will be heading to Orlando this weekend as luck would have it so I hope to compare some things between the two parks.

I don't know where to start so ask questions if there is something you are wondering. I have a few questions of my own before I get going too.

What was Space Mountain like before the rehab? If it was like WDW's current version they need to get going on that quick because the DLR version is awesome!!! I was at Disneyland Paris last fall and their version is good but not as good as DLR's.

I hate to think this but was in fact Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress located where Innoventions currently is?

Tinkerbell is great. It's too bad they aren't able to do something like that at WDW.

I wore a Happy Birthday sticker all day as my birthday is this month. I'll be wearing one at WDW this weekend too. Nothing extra happend but I did get a lot of "Happy Birthday" comments which was nice.

POTC was fun. I didn't even notice Jack's first "scene" someone pointed it out to me.

We did the dessert buffet for Fantasmic and that was awesome. The view was great and we didn't have to fight the crowds.

Mr. Toad's wild ride was my first ride and I still can't believe WDW took that ride out.

The Aladdin show was a great show to see. The Genie was funny too.

I'm doing this report from work so I don't have a lot of time to recall all that we did and saw. If you have any questions feel free to ask and it may trigger something I'm forgetting now.

Thanks for all of the helpful advice prior to the trip it all came in very handy.

I can't figure out how to post pictures so if you can help I'd be glad to put some up.

 

[Ausdaddy]

Were you Fantasmic seats in the balcony?

 

[rtiller]

Yes they were. Front row and well worth it!

 

[darthjohnny]

Space Mountain was basically like the one in WDW, but I believe it only had one side, but its trains sat 12 riders. By the way, if you go to all the parks and Downtown Disney you can get Happy Birthday button pins, although the Magic Kingdom and MGM have the same pins. Didn't know if you knew that or not. Doesn't the Fantasmic show preform in the Rivers of America. There is no seating, unless you ate at the restaurant?

 

[rtiller]

I had heard about all of the pins at WDW but thanks for the reminder. I'm hoping to get a few this weekend.

We were in the balcony seating at the Disney Gallery for the dessert buffet.

 

[netenyahoo]

Space Mountain was basically the same before, but the sound is better, new paint and there are new effects, especially the ending. It is also much darker inside now too. They took out the escalator belt when exiting and put stairs in.

 

[WDWCPF98]

Hi, I'm going to DLR for the first time in September, can't wait!! But this is the first I've heard of the dessert buffet. Do you need reservations? You get show seating with the buffet? Is it expensive? ...Glad to hear you had a good time!!

 

[rtiller]

The buffet is $59 per person and they only have about 18 seats for each show. The food is good but the seats are worth the money. You just need to call the reservation line but I think it has to be within 30 days of the date.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

What kind of stuff was on the dessert buffet? Lots of chocolate? :wave:

 

[rtiller]

There was some chocolate (black forest cake I belive) fruit skewers and some different things. The food was good but the seats and the view were worth the money alone.

 

[TP2000]

Most importantly, did you have fun at Disneyland?

And yes, Innoventions was where the Carousel of Progress was from 1967 until 1973. From 1974 until 1988 it was America Sings, another revolving theater animatronic show. All of the America Sings animatronics became the Splash Mountain animals in 1989. Sad to think such two wonderful animatronic shows are now just a revolving Best Buy, isn't it?

 

[rtiller]

Yes I had a blast. The park was so much better than I had anticipated. I dare say I liked it as much as WDW.

 

[MainSt1993]

Yes I had a blast. The park was so much better than I had anticipated. I dare say I liked it as much as WDW.

That's because "Disneyland is the star. Everything else is in a supporting role." -WED

 

[Ausdaddy]

Yes I had a blast. The park was so much better than I had anticipated. I dare say I liked it as much as WDW.

I just got back from California yesterday and I totally agree. I was extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed DL. My wife felt that it lacked the immersion due to the surrounding area, but I loved the park itself. We also had first row at the Desert buffet and loved it for the view. It's the only way to go. Space Mountain 2.0 was great! I just thought the layout of the park was more intimate. Now there's a titanic struggle about which park to visit for our next trip!

 

[TP2000]

Seriously consider visiting Disneyland during the Holidays. Disneyland with all of the Christmas decorations up is simply Disneyland at its best. Plus, there's the excellent Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday versions of those rides, and the Christmas version of the nightly fireworks with the snowfall finale'. Add in the Christmas Parade, stunningly beautiful decorations everywhere, and the usual seasonal cheer, and it's an amazing time to see Disneyland. They even have the White House Turkey who is pardoned by the President on display in the Big Thunder Ranch, and this past year they shipped in a dozen live reindeer from Alaska who lounged around the cabin where Santa Claus poses for pictures!

But beware, Disneyland has cornered the market on Christmas with SoCal locals, and the last two weeks of December, the Thanksgiving week, and any Saturday from mid November through early January is often the busiest days of the year for Disneyland. It is not at all unusual, especially those last two weeks of December and Thanksgiving weeekend, for Disneyland to shut its turnstiles and stop selling tickets by 10:30 or 11:00 AM each day. They did that for several consecutive days this past year during the week between Christmas and New Years and it always catches people off gaurd, especially when they are locked out and can't get in to the Park.

But if you can get to Disneyland in early December, and preferably on a weekday, you are guaranteed an amazing time at Disneyland.

 

[MainSt1993]

It is not at all unusual, especially those last two weeks of December and Thanksgiving weeekend, for Disneyland to shut its turnstiles and stop selling tickets by 10:30 or 11:00 AM each day. They did that for several consecutive days this past year during the week between Christmas and New Years and it always catches people off gaurd, especially when they are locked out and can't get in to the Park.

TP2000 - if you're staying at a DLR hotel (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel, or Grand Californian), you can always get into the parks though, right?

 

[netenyahoo]

I also agree that Disneyland during the holidays is so beautiful and fun. The crowds can be a vacation killer though, so be prepared. We went after Christmas this last year and loved it, but it was SO crowded and the gates closed early each day. I got to go backstage several times around the time of the fireworks because the crowds were so bad they used backstage areas to move people around.

 

[KCBroadway]

My husband and I are taking our first trip out to Disneyland in Sept. to run the 1/2 marathon and are SO excited. We just got back from WDW on June 30th and had a blast as usual. We've gone the past two summers and plan on making it our yearly vaca. Anyway, just curious if you ate at Blue Bayou or Goofy's Kitchen. I actually just made reservations tonight for those two places. We're only going to be there a few days so I had to be selective. We LOVE character photo ops, which is why we chose Goofy's Kitchen - Plus it's a buffet! Did you see the afternoon parade (can't remember name) the one with big snowglobes? I heard that was very good.

Anyway - thanks for the report! I look forward to reading more! Any rides that shouldn't be missed? I doubt we'll miss any since we love rides, but I was just curious what your favs were.

 

[TP2000]

Any rides that shouldn't be missed? I doubt we'll miss any since we love rides, but I was just curious what your favs were.

You didn't ask me, but I'll butt in and give you my opinion anyway.

Here's something I cut and pasted from a previous post I wrote a few months ago for an East Coaster who was planning their first trip to Disneyland. Keep in mind the thread this was in had already covered the basics of not missing the Disneyland exclusive E Ticket attractions like Matterhorn Bobsled and Indiana Jones, plus the much longer version of Pirates of the Caribbean that Disneyland has. But here's the list of C & D Tickets that are exclusive to Disneyland. And then there's some rides that could probably be skipped due to their similarity or inferiority compared to the WDW versions....

Attractions You Should Try To Experience at Disneyland:
Alice In Wonderland - Disneyland exclusive and a clever multi-level dark ride from 1958.
Pinnochio's Daring Journey - They have one in Tokyo, but it's a nifty dark ride missing from Florida.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - Another dark ride now only found in Disneyland. They don't make 'em like this anymore!
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - A very long, very impressive dark ride with a spinning vehicle gimmick. It's got Fastpass too!
Davy Crockett Canoes - Another Disneyland exclusive, and a great way to see the Rivers of America at duck level. Be ready to paddle.
StorybookLand Canal Boats - A 1955 original, and a real blast from the past. It's a beautifully landscaped part of Disneyland and it has Walt written all over it. In this modern age you just don't see this type of craftsmanship or TLC any more. Only at Disneyland.
Casey Jr. Circus Train - A surprisingly thrilling little train ride, and a good alternative if you can't handle the long StorybookLand queue. It zips over and around all of StorybookLand.
Sailing Ship Columbia - If you don't do the Canoes, see the Rivers of America from this vessel! More thrilling than the Mark Twain Riverboat, with cannons that are fired (BOOM!) and a wonderful below decks museum of historic ship life. Another Disneyland exclusive.
Enchanted Tiki Room - This show is the original 1963 version, with all of the Walt-era charm, wit and style left firmly intact. The pre-show lanai with the Gods & Godesses introducing themselves and campy 1960's Dole Pineapple video is a time warp back to Disneyland when Lyndon Johnson was President and Walt walked the park daily picking up scraps of paper and signing autographs. Plus, it's a nice air-conditioned break from the maddening crowds. Don't miss it! And then be really mad at what they did to the WDW version!
Mickey's Toontown - It's wall to wall strollers by Noon, but there's so much wonderful eye candy and Imagineering at it's best in this land. Try to just wander the area for 15 minutes in the morning if you can.

Things you could skip at Disneyland, in my opinion, are...

Star Tours - Exact same ride, just in a different building with a slightly different pre-show. Skip it.
Splash Mountain - This is about the only E Ticket that is inferior to it's Florida cousin. The pacing of the sets is faster and more frenetic here and it's just not as well done as Florida's. There are more animatronics in the Disneyland version, but you are going so fast it's hard to tell what they are saying or what is going on. I didn't even know Splash Mountain had a plotline until I went on the WDW version! The lines will be HUGE on a hot July day, and you'd have to waste a Fastpass that would be better spent on Indy or Space Mountain. Skip it.
Winnie The Pooh - Noticeably different ride, but not that much better than Florida's. Only do it if there's less than a 10 minute line. Otherwise, skip it.
Peter Pan's Flight - It's a great ride, but the differences from Florida aren't enough to justify waiting in the horendous 45-60 minute line.
Buzz Lightyear - Same story as Pooh and Pan. Fun, but too similar to WDW's when you're limited on time. The guns in Disneyland are not attached to the vehicles however, which is an improvement over the WDW version.
Innoventions - It looks snazzy from the outside with the spinning building, but it's just as boring as the Epcot version. Visit your local Best Buy instead.

When you are there in September, the Matterhorn, the Monorail and the Haunted Mansion will be closed for rehabs, so you don't have to worry about those.

If you get to DCA, California Screamin' is an excellent E Ticket coaster. And the Monsters Inc. dark ride in the Hollywood Backlot area is a very well done dark ride.

You'll love the Blue Bayou! Goofy's Kitchen is good for Character interaction, although I wasn't super impressed with the food the last time I was there a couple years ago. But if you are looking for carb/protein loading the night before the race you'll probably be in heaven.

This is the first year they have ever done any kind of Disneyland race, let alone a half-marathon, so I will be interested to see how well it is organized. I know that most of the course is on Anaheim city streets, and it takes you all the way down to Angel Stadium and The Pond where the Mighty Ducks play, before it loops back towards Disneyland. I think it goes through both parks as well, doesn't it? It should be a crazy weekend for the Resort, but for an East Coaster who has never been I'm sure you'll have fun.

I use to live in Massachusetts for a couple years, and I remember the culture shock when I first moved there from SoCal. So I'm sure you'll get some culture shock in reverse if you spend some time in and around SoCal or Orange County.

 

[TP2000]

TP2000 - if you're staying at a DLR hotel (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel, or Grand Californian), you can always get into the parks though, right?

Yes, that is correct. It's the casual day visitors arriving at Disneyland that get blocked out first. Then they block out CM complimentary/discount tickets (their sign-in passes are already blocked the last two weeks of December). Then they start blocking out Annual Passholders. Then they start blocking out park hopper ticket holders who are not staying at a Disney Hotel, and force them to go to DCA instead of Disneyland. The very last step is to block out Hotel guests who have already purchased tickets.

They've never got past the threshold where they block out Annual Passholders. But often in late December the big digital signs on the freeways approaching Disneyland will read "DISNEYLAND IS FULL", and the TV and radio stations will all do stories about how Disneyland had to "stop selling tickets and close the turnstiles". But what that really means is they blocked out the locals who were driving down from Pasadena for the day. The tourists who have already purchased tickets, and most importantly the tourists staying at a Disney Hotel, can be guaranteed they'll get in on those types of capacity days.

The only problem is that once you flash your hotel key and they let you in, Disneyland is still very, very crowded! You need to have a plan for Fastpass, and you need to take a big dollop of patience for lines and crowds.

Disneyland does Christmas so darn well, that they almost literally have to beat people off with a stick because too many people try to get into the Park from roughly December 18th through January 2nd.