(*UPDATED WITH TRIP REPORT) First-Ever-Visit-To-Disneyland Pretrip Report: 8/24-29, 2019

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hello, all!

This is just a quick post-trip report with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from our Disneyland trip.

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Our travel was uneventful both ways, flying from Buffalo to LAX on JetBlue (direct, ~5 hours each way). We rented from Alamo at LAX (checked in online and printed a "skip the counter" ticket), which was easy and seamless both at pick-up and return. We also got lucky with the terminal shuttle to and from the rental location, as a bus arrived within 60 seconds for us each way. L.A. traffic was everything we'd heard about, but at least if you're only going 25 mph, you have plenty of time to spot your exit!

THE HOTELS: We stayed 3 nights at the Tropicana Inn & Suites, right across the street from the promenade between the two parks, and then 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel. The Tropicana was everything you could want from a budget accommodation: perfect location, quiet and squeaky-clean room on the ground floor, comfortable beds, convenient laundry room, centrally-located pool. No frills, but none were needed or expected.

At the Disneyland Hotel, we booked a Deluxe View ($15 more than standard, but less than Premium) room and I requested the Adventure Tower. We were given a beautiful 7th-floor room in the Adventure Tower with a fantastic view of the pool, an extra-large, nonstandard bathroom layout (double sinks, toilet in a separate room from the sinks and tub/shower), and a room that looked and felt larger than the photos I'd seen ahead of time online, with tons of floor space between all of the furniture, and in front of the window. It also appeared to have been freshly spruced up, as the tufted leather headboards (which look scratched up in all of the online photos I've seen) were brand spanking new and perfect. While the price was crazy ($500 a night by the time you added in taxes, fees and parking), we really enjoyed our brief time there, and took full advantage of the pools and onsite dining. We had breakfast at Steakhouse 55 right after checking in, which was lovely. Over the next 2 days, we also had a lunch and evening drinks at Trader Sam's, which was just as fun as we'd heard, and a highlight of the trip for us.

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Also, what can make you feel more welcome at your hotel than having Goofy and Pluto there to greet you? As I watched them hugging my kids in the lobby on our arrival -- as many other roaming park characters would over the week -- my heart ached a little. I'd forgotten how amazing it was to round a corner and run into a beloved character from my childhood, waiting to greet me with open arms (or at least a furry high-five). It was something you could do at WDW when I was a child, but which you don't see there anymore. Here at Disneyland, there were no minders, no velvet ropes, no queuing up for your "organized fun" -- just a world of Disney characters freely roaming and interacting with guests, as if they'd come to the parks to see US rather than the other way around. Over our few-day visit, we ran into Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Snow White, Tiana, Chip (no Dale), Gepetto, Bo Peep, Jessie, Captain Phasma, Chewbacca and Rey, all free-ranging. (We also met Mickey at his house in Toontown, although that was with the wait-in-line setup.) It was something wonderful that I hadn't realized I missed, and which added so much to our experience.

THE PARKS: It took me a good day-and-a-half to exhale, calm down, and really absorb the more relaxed feeling of Disneyland and California Adventure. I _knew_ that I didn't need to go charging in, loaded for bear, like I would with WDW touring, but knowing it and applying it turned out to be two different things. (Exhibit A: I kind of wigged out on the morning of our first full day at Disneyland after realizing, once we were lined up at a rope at the hub, that the Disneyland App hadn't registered my son's presence in the park, meaning I couldn't get MaxPass for us -- or any Fastpasses for him at all of any sort -- until we returned to the front gate to rectify the problem. Not only that, but horror of horrors, the Matterhorn (our initial destination) turned out to be down at park opening! As I quickly learned, however, there was NO NEED for me to stress about any of this or run around like a chicken with its head cut off: lines were short everywhere until lunchtime, the Matterhorn would be open in 30 minutes, and there was no hurry to get Fastpasses at all, let alone to purchase Maxpass.) We did end up getting MaxPass, though, for 3 of our 4 days, and it more than paid for itself in convenience and photos.

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We absolutely loved our time at the Disneyland parks, and had fun comparing the attractions with those we've done in Orlando. The Disneyland parks are smaller, and more intimate, and unashamedly dated, but therein lies the charm. (Not to mention, the lines were consistently low!) We got to introduce the kids to Snow White's Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad, and the Nemo incarnation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- all vanished attractions from our childhoods. My husband and I had also read "Walt's Disneyland" by Jim Denney on the plane, and enjoyed identifying some of the tidbits that were designed, inspired or enjoyed by him during his time on property. The Haunted Mansion was only open during the first day and a half we were there, so we rode it about 3 times, in order to get the best look at the hatbox ghost we possibly could. (Apparently he made quite an impression: we each brought home one Disneyland souvenir for the week, and my husband chose a hatbox ghost Christmas ornament, my son picked out a matted Hatbox Ghost art print, and my daughter selected a Haunted Mansion wallpaper-printed leather waist pack). Other favorites were [Hyper]space Mountain, which was smoother and had better lighting effects than its Floridian counterpart, Radiator Springs Racers (which makes the story-less Test Track look sad and lame) and the Incredicoaster, which my son rode so many times in a row that his hair stood on end for the rest of the morning. (I was really impressed with the way the coaster told a coherent story, especially given that I know it wasn't designed with that story in mind.)

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We did the Fantasmic! dining package (dinner at Blue Bayou) on our third night, and while the price was exorbitant, we didn't begrudge the expense. Our dinners were perfectly-prepared, the restaurant was gorgeous, and the Fantasmic! show was awesome (we'd never seen it before, so it was all a surprise), with a perfect view from our "second row" ground seats. Even better, but after a post-Fantasmic! visit to Galaxy's Edge (see below), we happened to emerge on Main Street (at the curve of the hub toward Frontierland/Adventureland) right at the moment the rope was being stretched across it for the second Electric Light Parade, so we were able to whip out our souvenir Fantasmic! seat cushions, plop right down on the street with our noses to the rope, and have a perfect, front-row view of the parade, too. I hadn't seen it for years - not since our last visit to WDW during my mother's lifetime - and my sister and I had a record of the MSEP soundtrack that we listened to for years growing up. I admit that I teared up a little as those familiar floats and music made their appearance!

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THE FOOD: Overall, we thought the food ranged from perfectly adequate (Carnation Cafe, Splitsville, Lamplight Lounge, River Belle Terrace, Flo's V8 Cafe) to fabulous (the churros and Dole Whips and stuffed pretzels, Rancho del Zocalo, Blue Bayou, Steakhouse 55, Trader Sam's). We enjoyed every meal and had no complaints (with the exception of Oga's Cantina, detailed below). We ran into long lines at CS a couple of times (e.g., looking for late-night snacks at Refreshment Corner) and found that all we had to do was hop on the app and Mobile Order what we wanted to receive instant service, since there was never a line at the Mobile Order pick-up counter.

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GALAXY'S EDGE: We waited until our second full-day visit to Disneyland to attempt Galaxy's Edge, and visited it twice that day: once in the morning, when we rope-dropped it, and again in the evening, with a 10pm reservation at Oga's Cantina. The rope drop experience was exhausting (we were routed through Critter Country, the "long way," and quickly learned the limitations of our speed-walking stamina), but we were rewarded with a walk-on at Smuggler's Run, which was fun (although I concur with those who complain that the need to constantly press buttons on a control panel interferes overmuch with one's ability to really enjoy the ride and watch what's happening out the "windshield"). We stopped briefly at Ronto Roasters to pick up some iced water, and I made the regrettable and impulsive decision to buy some of their turkey jerky. It was so rock-hard that it was like trying to chew shards of glass, and I actually cut the inside of my mouth trying to munch it into submission! Bad choice. We came back to Galaxy's Edge that night (right after Fantasmic!, with the fireworks exploding over Batuu.

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We were excited for our 10pm reservation at Oga's Cantina, but unfortunately, that ended up being the biggest dud of the entire trip. While the atmosphere was beautifully detailed and the music really cool, service was beyond horrible. Our waiter disappeared after taking our orders, never to be seen again -- after 20 minutes we flagged down someone else who took pity on us and our drinks finally arrived no less than 30 minutes after we'd ordered them. Our table was filthy and we couldn't get anyone to clean it (despite asking twice), our drinks were all wrong (missing components, wrong color, wrong glasses, no dry ice for the Carbon Freezes), and they were served with no napkins, coasters, straws or spoons (e.g., to fish out the popping pearls or absorb any of the spillage that was all over the table from before, and all over the glasses themselves). It was so bad that by the time we left, the server who'd brought us our drinks happened to brush by and called out sheepishly, "I'm really sorry about that!" So were we!

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Despite that hiccup, we had an absolute blast at Disneyland, and found it to be so much more relaxing than our prior WDW vacations (no need to run places when lines are short and MaxPass can instantly help with the lines that aren't, no need to stress about dining when same-day reservations are always an option, no need to worry about travel times when park-hopping can happen in minutes). (BTW, our side trips to the VOID at Downtown Disney, where we did a Star Wars adventure, and to the LA Zoo to see the chimps, were great, too!)

In summary, we had a really wonderful week at the Happiest Place on Earth. Thanks again to all of your for your tips and recommendations! It was really helpful and much-appreciated!
 
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Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
So glad you were able to enjoy your time at the parks. I vaguely remember you saying this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but I hope you and your family can return at some point in the future!
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Did you enjoy seeing the Falcon Ramp??

Sarcasm, I presume? 😉

I know walking up that ramp was something a lot of fans hoped would be part of the experience, but I confess that it didn't bother me too much that you don't walk up the ramp to enter the attraction. The indoor queue is cool (figuratively and literally), and the premise is that you're boarding the ship from a jetway while it's docked, and the jetways (complete with spongy floor) are done really well.
 
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Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
Looks like a wonderful vacation!!! Your room view looks incredible! Bummer on your undisney experience at Oga's....wonder if it was just your server or lack of staff in general....thought I read they reduced staff in GE but unsure what areas got a cut. :angelic: Be sure to fill in feedback if you get the e-survey post trip.

Oh yes, Weatherlady did you park hop at all or feel the need to? Thanks. :happy:
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh yes, Weatherlady did you park hop at all or feel the need to? Thanks. :happy:

Yes, we did. There's no reason we _needed_ to parkhop, but we appreciated the flexibility, and because you can walk from the gate of one park to the other in less than 5 minutes, it was really convenient. We park-hopped three of our four days -- e.g., when CA was getting ready to close, we'd head to DL, which was open a couple hours later. Having the ability to parkhop so quickly and easily also meant we didn't feel like our itinerary had to be dictated by our in-park dining reservations in any way.
 

Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
Yes, we did. There's no reason we _needed_ to parkhop, but we appreciated the flexibility, and because you can walk from the gate of one park to the other in less than 5 minutes, it was really convenient. We park-hopped three of our four days -- e.g., when CA was getting ready to close, we'd head to DL, which was open a couple hours later. Having the ability to parkhop so quickly and easily also meant we didn't feel like our itinerary had to be dictated by our in-park dining reservations in any way.

Excellent....good to know....as I had not considered using it to maximize park time because of alternate closing of other park....like I always have bought hoppers at WDW but last visit we never used, mainly because the transfer time between parks consumes so much time, but as you say, this is NOT a factor at DLR and I like the flexibility especially to explore on a first visit! :cool:
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
I wonder with the low crowd levels if there is a decrease in MaxPass purchases. I'm surprised Disney hasn't increased the price of this yet. I was expecting at least $60 per person by now.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh, and I forgot to mention until I saw the "celebrity sightings" thread someone started yesterday:

Appropos of nothing, on our arrival day (Saturday, 8/24), my son and I ran into Josh Gad, who was exiting Splash Mountain as we came up the single rider line! He explained to a fan who approached, shook his hand and asked for a photo (stopping him right next to me, where I stood rooted to the spot, starstruck and with jaw agape) that he appreciated their support but wasn't doing photos or autographs because he was there to enjoy the day with his kids and wanted to keep his focus on them. He was as nice as could be about it. As we continued through the line, my son leaned over and said, "You know, he sounded just like Olaf!"
 

fctiger

Well-Known Member
Sounds like you had a great trip! Sometimes people get a little cynical about the parks when you go 20 times a year, but this is a great reminder that DLR really knows how to impress people due to its accessibility but the layers of charm you can find everywhere. Its truly an amazing place and I been to all the resorts, but grew up with this one.
 

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