Trip Report We’re Soarin’, Flyin’… Into the Unknown

Hello friends!

Many of you know me, but I’ve been pretty absent for awhile. This school year was wild and left me with very little time for… well, anything. But I’m back and trying to be more present here, because you’re my people and it makes me happy to be in good company!

Some quick reintroductions since it’s been so long…

I’m Brittany! I’m a PA turned Florida girl and I love every second of my life in the sunshine state! I teach 1st grade and that will almost always be the reason for any unexplained absence from me here. This is my husband, Dylan! I drug him along (okay, okay, he came willingly) for my fairytale Florida life, and we’re pretty happy with what we’ve created here. He is also a teacher, but he teaches high school history. His cup of tea, definitely not mine. We are Disney and Universal Passholders, so you can almost always find us at a theme park. Now, on to the exciting stuff!

Where are we soarin’, flyin to?

When are we venturing into the unknown? July 7. Yep…. TOMORROW.

We had been planning this trip for summer 2020 through Adventures by Disney so we could do the Studios and Imagineering tours, but you know, Covid. But now the trip is back on, though not through Adventures by Disney. We’ll eventually live out that dream, but for now, getting to the parks is more than enough! This was a spur of the moment “book the trip!” kind of deal, but everything is set and we are EXCITED!

We have 3 park days planned with a rest day in the middle. We’ll spend some time in Downtown Disney and at our hotel pool, but it’ll mostly be a go with the flow kind of day. We’re not staying on property this trip, but our hotel is right across the road from the parks so I can pretend. Our flight back home is late in the evening, so we’re also planning a visit to Griffith Park for that day. I’m almost as excited for that as the parks! Lol.

So, there it is! I hope that you’ll follow along on our journey to the original happy place… I promise to try and keep the tears to a minimum.

 

[MickeyCB]

Disneyland and everything that it is.... just There truly aren't words to describe it. I'm tearing up just writing this. I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced Walt's original park.. his vision, his heart. I always scoffed at people (*ahem* @lostpro9het) who said DLR > WDW, but now I get it. Just like my love for everything Disney, it's not about the rides, the shows, the characters, the food. It's about the feelings and the pure happiness that it provides. And the feelings and happiness that I felt at DL were very different than the feelings and happiness I feel at WDW. They're both special, but DLR is just so... unique. There's truly something to be said about the original. Sequels aren't always better.

I enjoyed your report, thanks for sharing!
We had the pleasure of going to DL only once a few years ago (precovid). Knowing we would only be there for a long weekend and that weekend happened to be in July, I decided to splurge on a VIP tour.
Our guide was super into the history of Disney and the park. She asked if we wanted to hear some history as we walked along, and I practically jumped for joy, yes please!!
She was constantly saying, Walt did this here, that was where he did x, they did this with this ride because...
It was so cool to get a history lesson along with the advantage of the tour.

 

[Loco_driver]

Thanks for a great report. We had plans to visit Disneyland back in September of 2019, but my father in law was very sick with cancer and we didn’t want to travel far away from him. We rescheduled for June of 2020 but obviously that didn’t happen. Your report has me thinking about trying again!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thank you so much for sharing! I really want to get out to DL, so I always love seeing a DL report show up!

 

[amjt660]

Great TR !
Was not sure if it was going to get finished

All Disney parks have their features that make them special but Walt's park will always be my favourite

Max

 

[lostpro9het]

Final thoughts....

8. Disneyland and everything that it is.... just There truly aren't words to describe it. I'm tearing up just writing this. I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced Walt's original park.. his vision, his heart. I always scoffed at people (*ahem* @lostpro9het) who said DLR > WDW, but now I get it. Just like my love for everything Disney, it's not about the rides, the shows, the characters, the food. It's about the feelings and the pure happiness that it provides. And the feelings and happiness that I felt at DL were very different than the feelings and happiness I feel at WDW. They're both special, but DLR is just so... unique. There's truly something to be said about the original. Sequels aren't always better.

Thank you for following along and joining me on this incredible journey into the unknown! I hope that you enjoyed it even a fraction as much as I did.

Glad you enjoyed it, knew you would, and welcome to the scoffed at fold! If lady 'Rona allows it, we look forward to another visit in April before hopping on The Wonder for a few days.

 

[cgersic]

Thank you so much for this report! I'm one that hasn't made it to Disneyland yet, and seeing it through eyes of someone that I know loves WDW so much, I now need to really start thinking about a trip too!

 

[fractal]

Final thoughts....

1. The transportation company that we used (Shuttle to LAX) was fantastic and very convenient. Our driver was super friendly and chatted with us the whole ride from the airport to the hotel. He had a lot of interesting information to share! I don't remember exactly how much we paid, but I do know that it was the cheapest option available. After I booked online, everything was handled through the app. I would definitely recommend them!

2. The next time we visit (because there will be a next time ), I would probably have us fly into John Wayne rather than LAX. I imagine the price point would have been about the same when it was all said and done, because travel from John Wayne would have been cheaper (and faster). So paying a little more for a flight and less in transportation fees would make sense to me. Flying out of LAX made sense for us though, with our plans to visit places in LA on our last day.

3. Park hopping at DLR is sooooo much more convenient. I feel like that's kind of a given, with the proximity of the parks in comparison to the proximity of the WDW parks, but it's still worth noting. So much time is wasted on transportation in WDW when park hopping!

4. On that same note, the proximity of everything at DLR is so convenient. It's amazing for getting into/exiting the parks, park hopping, visiting Downtown Disney, etc. Bigger isn't always better. As a WDW passholder, I would very much appreciate the convenience. However, I do understand Walt's vision for the immersiveness of the Disney bubble. And the transportation is half of the experience for tourists, I suppose.

5. There were characters and entertainment EVERYWHERE. I know things have changed at both parks since our visit, however at that point in time, DL had soooo much more to offer in terms of entertainment than WDW. I was a little bit salty. It was just frustrating for me because if DL can do it, why can't WDW? Especially when Florida has been so lax with Covid restrictions throughout the pandemic, especially in comparison to California. I loved getting to interact with characters that I hadn't seen since pre-Covid. This was a huge highlight for me.

6. I already mentioned this, but the quick service options were lacking, especially at Disneyland. Now, I'm also fully aware that I'm a picky eater and that plays a part. But it was also just strange to me that there wasn't a restaurant that offered all of the typical theme park foods in one place, similar to a Cosmic Rays location. Instead, you had to go one place for a hamburger, another place for chicken fingers, etc. I imagine that to be very frustrating for families with multiple kids who want different things.

7. The majority of the queues were outside and uncovered. California weather is a little less chaotic than Florida weather, but this still could be problematic when bad weather does roll through. Even standing in the sun was uncomfortable. The queues were also VERY close together. It was difficult to weave in and out without bumping into other guests, which isn't ideal at any time, but definitely not in this Covid world we're living in.

8. Disneyland and everything that it is.... just There truly aren't words to describe it. I'm tearing up just writing this. I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced Walt's original park.. his vision, his heart. I always scoffed at people (*ahem* @lostpro9het) who said DLR > WDW, but now I get it. Just like my love for everything Disney, it's not about the rides, the shows, the characters, the food. It's about the feelings and the pure happiness that it provides. And the feelings and happiness that I felt at DL were very different than the feelings and happiness I feel at WDW. They're both special, but DLR is just so... unique. There's truly something to be said about the original. Sequels aren't always better.

Thank you for following along and joining me on this incredible journey into the unknown! I hope that you enjoyed it even a fraction as much as I did.

Great report and I appreciate your observations and thoughts...now it's making me really miss Disneyland!