I’m going to start with the list of things I wish I would have known and then provide a little trip report and context for the list. Let me preface this by saying I did not do as much research for this trip as I have for other trips as I’m currently studying for the first step of my professional board exams, so some of my assumptions / expectations are my own fault (I did read most of the guide on here for WDW veterans). However, I think my points are still useful information for the experienced WDWer visiting DL. Some of this may have to do with the timing of our visit as well, so as the good people on these boards comment, I’ll try to update my post as time allows. Here’s my list:
1. The hours of operation at DL and DCA are much more limited than at WDW. Most of the days we visited, the parks did not open until 10am and closed at 8pm.
2. Extra Magic hour (yes, only 1 hour) occurs only in the morning. The park with the extra magic morning hour alternates each day.
3. During EMH at DL, only PART of the park is open. During our time there, it was only Tomorrowland and Fantansyland that were open. Don’t know about DCA.
4. Fireworks and Fantasmic at DL only occur on the weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun). World of Color did happen every night while we were there
My wife and I just got back from a trip to California from NC. I was invited to a conference in San Diego and there was NO way I could go all the way to Ca without seeing DL, so we set aside 3 days to visit the Land (5/12-5/14/15). We stayed at the Best Western Stovall’s Inn. Don’t think we could’ve been happier with that selection.
I’ll start with the positives from our trip. BTMRR was probably the highlight for me. I had never seen all the fuses along the walls going as well some other minor effects and that was a very welcome surprise. We also got to see the Hatbox Ghost in the HM. We were also pleasantly surprised by the IASW ride at DL and its differences from WDW. Toontown was reminiscent of my trip to WDW when I was young and I think it fits so well thematically; plus my wife had never seen it, so that was nice. Food-wise, Steakhouse 55 was the highlight of our Disney time…it was truly fantastic!
Now for the negatives. The items I listed above highlight some of them. Obviously, more research would have allowed for more reasonable expectations, but I’m not sure I would have even have thought to look into some of those things. The extra magic hour and only PART of the park being open was one of the more irritating. Luckily, we used it our first day when it was at 8am. It seems like there was a real difference in crowds between 8am and 9am.
The most irritating was probably the WoC fastpass fiasco . We saw a massive line at 7:30 our first night, so we figured we’d get there early when we were going to see it. We got our fastpass in the morning, given this would be our only time to see it for the next decade or so, we thought we’d get there early so we could have a good spot in line. We got into the general area around 6pm. At around 6:30-7p, a lot of cast members were out, so we knew they’d be setting up the ropes soon. We asked several CMs where the entrance to our section would be. They either said they didn’t know or told us “right around here;” no one would give us a specific answer which was probably the most frustrating part. Well, it turned out there was a specific spot that a lot of people apparently knew about. After getting shoved and pushed around a bit, we ended up 100-150 people back in the corral. While we ended up with an acceptable spot I suppose, that whole process really put a damper on the experience. I just don’t get why they even have the Fastpass when it ends up being pushing and shoving into a corral.
Tied for most irritating was the lack of fireworks, Fantasmic, or even a parade during the week at DL. Maybe this was due to the timing with the diamond celebration stuff coming up, but it was REALLY disappointing.
We also had some other much more minor observations / opinions that didn’t meet our expectations. I was kind of disappointed by POTC. With the way I’ve seen it talked about on the boards here, I was expecting some really amazing differences. The extras seemed to be a bit of a ride through the bayou around the restaurant area and then a few still scenes. Those definitely make the ride better, but the queue lacked any real theming like the WDW one. I think this disappointment was more a matter of expectations than anything.
We were also surprised by Splash Mountain. I know the WDW has a pretty clear story (because I’ve been on it quite a bit), but the DL one didn’t seem to have the same story (I only got to ride it once so maybe I missed something). It was different; not necessarily bad though. The disappointment came with the big drop; it seemed a bit shorter than the WDW one. Anyone know if it is, in fact, shorter?
There was also a very different feel to DL. It felt much more like going to a Six Flags or something of that sort. Maybe it was because of the walk from reality into the parks and that we usually stay onsite at WDW; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just didn’t feel the same. I think seeing CMs walking into work and between sections of the park may have contributed. I’ve read about how Walt noticed that way back when, but would’ve thought they would have figured out a better way by now. I also think the CMs didn’t fully embrace the “onstage” idea as they do in WDW. As an example, we were waiting at the rope to get into Frontierland and some of the other people waiting were talking to the CM. Based upon their questioning, he was talking about how he was going to Indiana Jones to work after the rope drop and even showed us the little slip of paper with his assignment that he got when he clocked in. While it was interesting and I enjoyed the little glimpse “behind the scenes,” it also felt kind of wrong too (not sure how else to describe it).
Overall, we did not feel DL was as tourist / once-in-a-lifetime-trip friendly as WDW. I realize the majority of visitors are locals, but there should be some accommodation (like maybe fireworks / Fantasmic 1-2x during the week). While I’m glad that we went to see it for ourselves (I don’t think I would have believed anyone if they told me this), we don’t have any plans / desire to go back and I would discourage anyone from going to California just for Disney. I look forward to hearing about how common our experience was versus other times of the year, etc. Thanks.
1. The hours of operation at DL and DCA are much more limited than at WDW. Most of the days we visited, the parks did not open until 10am and closed at 8pm.
2. Extra Magic hour (yes, only 1 hour) occurs only in the morning. The park with the extra magic morning hour alternates each day.
3. During EMH at DL, only PART of the park is open. During our time there, it was only Tomorrowland and Fantansyland that were open. Don’t know about DCA.
4. Fireworks and Fantasmic at DL only occur on the weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun). World of Color did happen every night while we were there
My wife and I just got back from a trip to California from NC. I was invited to a conference in San Diego and there was NO way I could go all the way to Ca without seeing DL, so we set aside 3 days to visit the Land (5/12-5/14/15). We stayed at the Best Western Stovall’s Inn. Don’t think we could’ve been happier with that selection.
I’ll start with the positives from our trip. BTMRR was probably the highlight for me. I had never seen all the fuses along the walls going as well some other minor effects and that was a very welcome surprise. We also got to see the Hatbox Ghost in the HM. We were also pleasantly surprised by the IASW ride at DL and its differences from WDW. Toontown was reminiscent of my trip to WDW when I was young and I think it fits so well thematically; plus my wife had never seen it, so that was nice. Food-wise, Steakhouse 55 was the highlight of our Disney time…it was truly fantastic!
Now for the negatives. The items I listed above highlight some of them. Obviously, more research would have allowed for more reasonable expectations, but I’m not sure I would have even have thought to look into some of those things. The extra magic hour and only PART of the park being open was one of the more irritating. Luckily, we used it our first day when it was at 8am. It seems like there was a real difference in crowds between 8am and 9am.
The most irritating was probably the WoC fastpass fiasco . We saw a massive line at 7:30 our first night, so we figured we’d get there early when we were going to see it. We got our fastpass in the morning, given this would be our only time to see it for the next decade or so, we thought we’d get there early so we could have a good spot in line. We got into the general area around 6pm. At around 6:30-7p, a lot of cast members were out, so we knew they’d be setting up the ropes soon. We asked several CMs where the entrance to our section would be. They either said they didn’t know or told us “right around here;” no one would give us a specific answer which was probably the most frustrating part. Well, it turned out there was a specific spot that a lot of people apparently knew about. After getting shoved and pushed around a bit, we ended up 100-150 people back in the corral. While we ended up with an acceptable spot I suppose, that whole process really put a damper on the experience. I just don’t get why they even have the Fastpass when it ends up being pushing and shoving into a corral.
Tied for most irritating was the lack of fireworks, Fantasmic, or even a parade during the week at DL. Maybe this was due to the timing with the diamond celebration stuff coming up, but it was REALLY disappointing.
We also had some other much more minor observations / opinions that didn’t meet our expectations. I was kind of disappointed by POTC. With the way I’ve seen it talked about on the boards here, I was expecting some really amazing differences. The extras seemed to be a bit of a ride through the bayou around the restaurant area and then a few still scenes. Those definitely make the ride better, but the queue lacked any real theming like the WDW one. I think this disappointment was more a matter of expectations than anything.
We were also surprised by Splash Mountain. I know the WDW has a pretty clear story (because I’ve been on it quite a bit), but the DL one didn’t seem to have the same story (I only got to ride it once so maybe I missed something). It was different; not necessarily bad though. The disappointment came with the big drop; it seemed a bit shorter than the WDW one. Anyone know if it is, in fact, shorter?
There was also a very different feel to DL. It felt much more like going to a Six Flags or something of that sort. Maybe it was because of the walk from reality into the parks and that we usually stay onsite at WDW; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just didn’t feel the same. I think seeing CMs walking into work and between sections of the park may have contributed. I’ve read about how Walt noticed that way back when, but would’ve thought they would have figured out a better way by now. I also think the CMs didn’t fully embrace the “onstage” idea as they do in WDW. As an example, we were waiting at the rope to get into Frontierland and some of the other people waiting were talking to the CM. Based upon their questioning, he was talking about how he was going to Indiana Jones to work after the rope drop and even showed us the little slip of paper with his assignment that he got when he clocked in. While it was interesting and I enjoyed the little glimpse “behind the scenes,” it also felt kind of wrong too (not sure how else to describe it).
Overall, we did not feel DL was as tourist / once-in-a-lifetime-trip friendly as WDW. I realize the majority of visitors are locals, but there should be some accommodation (like maybe fireworks / Fantasmic 1-2x during the week). While I’m glad that we went to see it for ourselves (I don’t think I would have believed anyone if they told me this), we don’t have any plans / desire to go back and I would discourage anyone from going to California just for Disney. I look forward to hearing about how common our experience was versus other times of the year, etc. Thanks.
