How was your visit? I'm curious about the crowds... it's almost always crowded at DL on a Saturday no matter what. We just visited in December - a Wed - Saturday. Wed and Thurs were a dream... Friday it started to get crowded, and Saturday we were glad we were leaving
Hope you had fun! DCA is all torn up right now with the total overhaul they are doing. I personally think the add on for both parks should only be about $5.
I had a blast. Best time I've ever had in a theme park. I've never been to Disneyland, so that may have been some of it, but it was wonderful, and a complete contrast to my visit to WDW two weeks ago.
I got there at 7 am for the magic morning since I was staying at the Disneyland Hotel. There was a total of about 50 people there. It wasn't raining yet, but was threatening. It rained off and on throughout the day, obviously enough to keep the crowds away.
I don't know what "crowded" means at Disneyland, but this can't have been it. Compared to the Florida parks it was empty. The longest wait I had all day was about 20 minutes. The Nemo Submarine ride had a fairly long line (30 minutes), but I rode it first thing in the morning.
All told I rode about 50 times (multiple times on most attractions). Rode Space Mountain 7 times, Indiana Jones 3 times, Pirates 3 times, Matterhorn 4 times, and everything else at least 2 times. The only things I didn't ride were Astro Orbiters, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo and Mad Tea Cups. Tarzan's Treehouse, Haunted Mansion and Tom Sawyer Island were not open.
Space Mountain was absolutely amazing. I got to ride it twice in a row without getting off!
Maybe's its not a contest, but Disneyland just blows away any of the parks in Florida. It's better taken care of than any of them, the cast members are nicer, there's more to do than any one Florida park and its more beautiful than any of the Florida parks with the exception of Animal Kingdom (there's just not enough to do there).
I also got the sense from talking to people and overhearing other conversations that there's more of a respect for the history of the place in California. I don't know if that's accurate, or where it stems from (who's in charge or the makeup of the guests) but it seemed to be the case.
The food is just as homogenized as Florida (they have the Dining Plan or something like it in CA, right?) but the food seemed to taste a little better, or else I just got lucky.
I always thought Disneyland would seem like a cheap crowded version of Florida. It is crowded, but in a neat way. Its amazing how they got all of those attractions in that little park, and still have room to walk!
Overall I was very impressed. I definitely plan to go back soon.
Hopefully they can get California Adventure up to the same level with the work they are doing now. I'm just going to wait on visiting it until they are done.
