GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
It's just far enough to be able to comfortably walk, IMO, so the shuttle is your friend. Save all that leg energy for crisscrossing Disneyland and Disney Acquisition Adventure.
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Help! WDW expert but Disneyland rookie
- Thread starter CaptainAmerica
- Start date
It's just far enough to be able to comfortably walk, IMO, so the shuttle is your friend. Save all that leg energy for crisscrossing Disneyland and Disney Acquisition Adventure.
PB Watermelon
Well-Known Member
Another great customer rep story...went to (then) Disney/MGM with my mother. We're sitting outside on a curb in front of the Chinese Theater facade waiting for the fireworks (this was before the "Hat" thing, so glad it's gone). My mom likes coffee, asked if I could go find her some cappuccino. Went to the Brown Derby, they were closing up for the night, weren't serving anymore, I asked a rep if anyone was serving cappuccino and he said no. I thanked them, told them thanks for helping. So I go back to my mom, say everything is closing down, no one's serving. Sit down.
And this happens. This actually happens.
We're sitting on a curb. Two servers roll up to us with a cart with a full spread, and they personally deliver cappuccino to my mother. For free. Just because. Totally out of the blue.
Be good to Disney reps. They will be very good to you.
And this happens. This actually happens.
We're sitting on a curb. Two servers roll up to us with a cart with a full spread, and they personally deliver cappuccino to my mother. For free. Just because. Totally out of the blue.
Be good to Disney reps. They will be very good to you.
We have been to Disneyland three times in the past ten years. We go to WDW every other year. I love the Disney bubble too.
However, l also love Disneyland. It is a different experience, not better, not worse, just different. It also reminds me of my first visit to Disneyland in 1972, a trip down memory lane. Disneyland Park is smaller, so it can seem crowded much of the time. DCA is more spread out, so the crowds are dispersed and do not seem as bad there.
We stay in the Moderates at WDW. The Disneyland properties are to expensive for my budget, so we stay in the Harbor Blvd. hotels. We stayed at the Ho Jo's the first time., before the waterpark was built. We stayed at the Best Western Anaheim Inn on the second trip. Both hotels were good. The Best Western served a free hot breakfast. It is also located about a two minute walk to the pedestrian entrance. both of these trips were two night, 3 day visits. Our last trip was May of 2017. We stayed seven days at the Desert Palms Hotel and Suites. It was very nice. The stay also included free hot breakfast that was very good. It is on the corner of Harbor and Katella. It was about a ten minute walk to the pedestrian entrance to Disneyland, and we did not have to cross the street. The back of the Desert Palms backed up to the back fence of DCA. If we could have climbed the fence, we would have been in Cars Land in less than five minutes. We saw homeless people, but they did not bother us. They kept to themselves. We had a blast. We went to the parks everyday, but the first day. On the first day we slept in, walked around Downtown Disney, ate dinner at Rainforest Café, and looked around the resorts, and took lots of photos. The Disneyland hotel is a great place to walk around and to check out the lobby's of the different buildings. There is also a good restaurant there. I cannot remember the name of it, but one trip we ate breakfast there. We ate dinner there last year. The food and service were both good.
There is so much nostalgia at Disneyland. I love that aspect of it. There are always a lot of locals in the parks. You will see many guests dressed up in Disney themed dresses and outfits, not costumes with matching Disney shoes, purses and ears.
Cars Land is a blast. We went there everyday. One day we rode the Radiator Springs Racers six times. We had a fast pass, then we rode as single riders. A few times we were racing each other. My son's car always beat mine. I will just have to go back and try to beat him.
We ate at the Little Mermaid restaurant in DCA and had the dinner package to watch World of Color. The extra price is worth it. We were on the first row of the audience. the World of Color Show was fantastic. Fantasmic was closed while we were there. Very disappointing.
The Blue Bayou Restaurant is very good if you like Cajun food. Seeing the POC ride while you are eating dinner is so neat.
The only complaint I have about Disneyland is the Counter Service meal options. There are not many and they are not as good as the ones at WDW. Also, we had a character dinner at Goofy's kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. It was a buffet, but they do not manage the characters very well. All of the characters did not even make it to our table. We waited a long time too. It was definitely not worth the price.
We had a character breakfast at the Plaza restaurant in Disneyland. It was great! There were a lot of characters, and they were managed very well. All of them came by our table in a reasonable amount of time. The food on the buffet was very good, and there was a lot of variety.
I hope you and your family enjoy your trip to Disneyland Resort. Just remember it is not WDW, but it was Walt's baby, and his spirit is definitely alive and well in the park.
However, l also love Disneyland. It is a different experience, not better, not worse, just different. It also reminds me of my first visit to Disneyland in 1972, a trip down memory lane. Disneyland Park is smaller, so it can seem crowded much of the time. DCA is more spread out, so the crowds are dispersed and do not seem as bad there.
We stay in the Moderates at WDW. The Disneyland properties are to expensive for my budget, so we stay in the Harbor Blvd. hotels. We stayed at the Ho Jo's the first time., before the waterpark was built. We stayed at the Best Western Anaheim Inn on the second trip. Both hotels were good. The Best Western served a free hot breakfast. It is also located about a two minute walk to the pedestrian entrance. both of these trips were two night, 3 day visits. Our last trip was May of 2017. We stayed seven days at the Desert Palms Hotel and Suites. It was very nice. The stay also included free hot breakfast that was very good. It is on the corner of Harbor and Katella. It was about a ten minute walk to the pedestrian entrance to Disneyland, and we did not have to cross the street. The back of the Desert Palms backed up to the back fence of DCA. If we could have climbed the fence, we would have been in Cars Land in less than five minutes. We saw homeless people, but they did not bother us. They kept to themselves. We had a blast. We went to the parks everyday, but the first day. On the first day we slept in, walked around Downtown Disney, ate dinner at Rainforest Café, and looked around the resorts, and took lots of photos. The Disneyland hotel is a great place to walk around and to check out the lobby's of the different buildings. There is also a good restaurant there. I cannot remember the name of it, but one trip we ate breakfast there. We ate dinner there last year. The food and service were both good.
There is so much nostalgia at Disneyland. I love that aspect of it. There are always a lot of locals in the parks. You will see many guests dressed up in Disney themed dresses and outfits, not costumes with matching Disney shoes, purses and ears.
Cars Land is a blast. We went there everyday. One day we rode the Radiator Springs Racers six times. We had a fast pass, then we rode as single riders. A few times we were racing each other. My son's car always beat mine. I will just have to go back and try to beat him.
We ate at the Little Mermaid restaurant in DCA and had the dinner package to watch World of Color. The extra price is worth it. We were on the first row of the audience. the World of Color Show was fantastic. Fantasmic was closed while we were there. Very disappointing.
The Blue Bayou Restaurant is very good if you like Cajun food. Seeing the POC ride while you are eating dinner is so neat.
The only complaint I have about Disneyland is the Counter Service meal options. There are not many and they are not as good as the ones at WDW. Also, we had a character dinner at Goofy's kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. It was a buffet, but they do not manage the characters very well. All of the characters did not even make it to our table. We waited a long time too. It was definitely not worth the price.
We had a character breakfast at the Plaza restaurant in Disneyland. It was great! There were a lot of characters, and they were managed very well. All of them came by our table in a reasonable amount of time. The food on the buffet was very good, and there was a lot of variety.
I hope you and your family enjoy your trip to Disneyland Resort. Just remember it is not WDW, but it was Walt's baby, and his spirit is definitely alive and well in the park.
Following up on the Downtown Disney construction... We're currently booked at the Grand Californian. Will the DTD construction affect 1) my access to Disneyland Park or 2) the walk from the Grand to the Disneyland Hotel for a character meal at Goofy's Kitchen? I've mapped it all out but it's hard to place where the roads / walking paths/ construction are without having actually been there to picture it.Agreed that the WDW Veterans thread is an absolute must-do starting point for this scenario.
That said, a few comments specific to this group and itinerary...
In June they begin Downtown Disney demolition and construction on the fourth luxury hotel for Disneyland, and it will take over the west end of Downtown Disney by the Disneyland Hotel. By February'19 that area will be leveled, but it will make walking into the parks from the Disneyland Hotel difficult and the monorail station may be closed.
With a child who has Cars Land at the top of their list, it would be wise to budget the extra money to stay at the Grand Californian instead of the Disneyland Hotel in February '19.
I always recommend people look at Disneyland via Google Earth, and that gets you a better idea of how the place fits together. And remember, there are nearly as many rides and attractions and major entertainment spectaculars crammed into these two parks the size of Epcot as there are in all four WDW theme parks combined. Lines are typically shorter at Disneyland Resort because of this, and rides can literally be stacked on top of one another or have entrances just a few yards from each other. MaxPass can still be very handy when it comes to grabbing Fastpasses for the popular E Tickets like Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.
Same Scale and Same Size. Very different land use.
Yeah Storyteller's would be my choice but my daughter has no love for their character lineup. We had a great interaction with Pluto at Garden Grill last year and she's dying to introduce her baby sister to Pluto and how silly he is.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Pluto is now at Storyteller's. They finally redid it this summer and put Mickey and the gang in there. Somewhere on planet Earth the 7 fans of Koda and Kenai are really mad.
But if you need to get to Goofy's Kitchen the construction in Downtown Disney won't be a problem. It's no more of a walk to cross over Disneyland Drive from the Grand and walk through the Disneyland Hotel garden area than it is to walk through Downtown Disney. It might even be a few steps shorter now that I think about it.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
3 days is fine...
Disneyland is more compact and if staying there...That’s a great experience. Definitely different in a good way.
Saying there’s “more to do” or “superior” to WDW is the classic sign of someone who hasn’t spent enough slow time at WDW. The hotels are better and the water parks/downtown/golf and Rec alone offers things unavailable at Disneyland. To say nothing of Epcot or DAK.
Not really a competition...so why make it that?
Disneyland is more compact and if staying there...That’s a great experience. Definitely different in a good way.
Saying there’s “more to do” or “superior” to WDW is the classic sign of someone who hasn’t spent enough slow time at WDW. The hotels are better and the water parks/downtown/golf and Rec alone offers things unavailable at Disneyland. To say nothing of Epcot or DAK.
Not really a competition...so why make it that?
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Just a word of caution...the food is far inferior at sitdowns in Anaheim. The quickserves are better.
So the character meals aren’t what you’re used to...don’t get high expectations for those.
We're planning three TS over seven nights. Carnation Cafe, a character meal, and breakfast at Steakhouse 55.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
The last time we were there...we did carnation, blue bayou, storytellers, and the trattoria...
Very unimpressed - sorry to say.
I did like Ralph Brennan.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Carnation is pretty standard. Not gonna change your life or anything, but fine. Steakhouse 55 is really fantastic though, so hopefully you enjoy that. The head chef there used to have that post at Club 33 and was semi-demoted to 55 when the Club was redesigned. It's 55's gain for sure.
We'd love to do it for dinner but my girls will be 4 and 1 at the time of the trip. They're well behaved at restaurants so I'm comfortable bringing them to a nice place for a late breakfast, but I wouldn't bring them to 55 or Napa Rose for dinner.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
The best thing about Carnation for me was the milkshake.
It's also nicer than having to line up for fast food elsewhere in the park.
It's also nicer than having to line up for fast food elsewhere in the park.
Anybody have any experience doing a split stay between DLH and GCH? We had decided on the Grand specifically due to the construction that was expected to be going on at the time of our trip, but now that the hotel construction is on hold we're considering doing three nights at the DLH and then four nights at the Grand.