Have to get a few things off my chest

[disneydadazut2]

My family and I just got back from Disneyland - 4 days + Halloween Party. We had a great time, but we are exhausted. I just have a couple of good things I want to share, and a couple of complaints. Feel free to chime in with your view, as I might have things upside down, and I am in need of a bit of "re-education".

The Super Positives:
Ariel's Breakfast with Princess was a HUGE Win for my 4-yr old daughter. While I went on rides with by older boys, the wife and two daughters went to this breakfast. Loved it - tons of food, and it was everything we hoped our daughter would experience. The time we took our boys (several years ago), it wasn't quite as special... they didn't care much.

A&E Meet & Greet. It was great because we planned ahead. I was stressed out like crazy leading up to it - but everything worked out and I'm glad we did it. BTW, we were eating at Village Haus around 7 pm on Wednesday night - only about 5 families in the entire place, and A&E came through with their handlers for a quick break. They took the time to wave and point to my girls, blow kisses, etc. That was a HUGE deal for me and their mom. Big thumbs up for those CMs.

Plaza Inn fried chicken was AMAZING! Holy Cow, I was stuffed leaving there.

Carnation Cafe "Chicken Fried Chicken" was even better than the Fried Chicken at Plaza Inn. This is now a must do every time we go to DLR, I ate every bite and was full, but wanted more.

The breakfast at Tomorrowland's Terrace (name?) was fantastic! Loved all of it - and it was reasonably priced.

The Cream Cheese filled Mickey Pretzels and Dole Whips were also very good, and will be on the regular rotation going forward. The Corn Dogs were also as good as advertised. I'm not a Corn Dog eater, but my oldest is, and he kept saying on our last trip (2 yrs ago) that all he wanted was the Corn Dog for meals. I did some investigating, and wasn't disappointed - and my wife even liked them.

Side-note. Our food priorities historically have been just chicken nuggets/fries, chimichangas, Churros, candy, cookies, shakes, etc. While good and filling - they are being replaced with the above mentioned items.

Not as good as advertised:
Cafe Orleans. It took forever for service (I saw three tables sit after us and receive their meals before our order was even taken - they had a different server). The Pommes Fritas were good IMO (too much garlic for my taste), but my wife LOVED them. Beignets were fantastic. However, the Monte Cristo, although good, was not the show stopper I was anticipating. I felt my arteries clog as I was eating it. I only ate two of the four because I felt sick with all the sugar and fried goodness. Yes, the taste was good, but it was like drinking chocolate - the first gulp is good.

The Ridiculous and Disappointing:
Child Swap is a joke. It basically is a 'Fast Pass' now. In the past, that has not been the case. RSRs took over an hour (we had FPs to begin with) because of this method of rider swap. This really upset me!

I'm not going to go into too much here because I have read the past war of words regarding APs... but, yeah...

Halloween Party. Well, it seems to me that they sold 3x as many tickets to this one as the one we attended in 2012. You couldn't just walk onto rides, big lines on all the E-Ticket rides.

Speaking of crowds. The parks weren't that crowded, but yet HM had over an hour wait is a joke. The reality is, most of the time we didn't see or experience crowds, unless of course we were at: POC, HM, BTMRR, RSR, and/or SM. Frontier land is a shuffle walk at best, and NO square is the same. It felt like some people come to the park just to ride HM/BTMRR due to their changes/decorations and then linger around that area (see APs above) and do nothing else.

Lastly - and this I see everywhere - but it is always shocking how badly some guests treat CMs. We were at Flo's for dinner one night and two things happened that nearly had 2-3 CMs in tears. They held their composure and just smiled and kept saying they were sorry while two women criticized them up and down. I finally had to step in at one point and asked the lady to calm down because the CMs can't. If I had been a park manager, I would have promoted these two CMs to managers immediately, and then ushered the two APs, err, guests, out of the park. Some people take "the customer is always right" too literally.

Finally - Lessons learned from this last trip:

#1 Don't ever go 4 days back to back... too exhausting.
#2 Don't go during Halloween again
#3 Just get the BEST foods while you are there - don't settle for chicken nuggets and Fries
#4 Get Dining reservations once a day
#5 Take more time for photos! (I learn this every time, but forget it running from place to place)
#6 Always give everyone a smile and a nod. You never know who might be there for the first time, or who had to make huge financial sacrifices to be there, and deserve a good experience.
#7 Plan to go again in late June/July... see above as to why.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

If you just got back, we were there the same 4 days (ours was Thurs-Sun) and I didn't find the crowds bad at all. We did the Halloween party in 2012, same weekend, as well and I actually found it be to less crowded this year. We went in June as well and for us, the crowds were about the same, so I wouldn't bank on that being a slower time.

That said, I don't understand why they don't use the FP system for HMH, since they have the capability and I agree, it's always busy! I also am confused by what you mean about RSR and rider swap. In our years of using it, which has been at least 5, this is always how it's worked, except now they let you take 3 people total instead of 2. We used rider swap for RSRs on Friday and only waited 5 minutes - and that was upon exiting using FPs that was also only a 5 minute wait. We love rider swap, so I feel like maybe I'm missing or not understanding what your issue is with it.

I used to love the Monte Cristo and ordered it at Blue Bayou. Maybe my tastes are changing or maybe it wasn't as good, but it definitely didn't "wow" me this time.

I'll also admit I don't understand the AP stuff. We are AP holders and were there as many days as you. I don't think AP holders make the parks less manageable and I'm not sure how you would know who was AP holders and who wasn't, especially in a group of people mingling around. NOS, Adventureland and the like is almost ALWAYS impossible to navigate without crowds unless it's first thing in the morning. It has narrow walkways and lot to see, so it creates a bottleneck - even more so around Fantasmic when some of that walkway gets eaten up.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I'd say instead of 4 days go for 6, and take more breaks. We do 5 or 6 days each trip now, and don't feel the need to be there open to close... Although we do try and make rope drop. Go back for naps/ pool time every afternoon from 1-4 ish... It makes for a much happier trip

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I agree with you regarding the Halloween party. We went for the first time last year and I was shocked at the crowds. The treat lines were extremely long, as were the lines for the rides. It was pretty disappointing that we spent all that extra money and still experienced significant crowds. If we ever go during Halloween time again, we won't go to the party.

 

[PinkBudgie]

I'd say instead of 4 days go for 6, and take more breaks. We do 5 or 6 days each trip now, and don't feel the need to be there open to close... Although we do try and make rope drop. Go back for naps/ pool time every afternoon from 1-4 ish... It makes for a much happier trip

This is exactly what I was going to say! We go for 6 days in the middle of July with naps in the afternoon.

Second, I love Cafe Orleans but I'd never get the Monte Cristo. Yuck! DH and I like to share the chicken gumbo along with the fries.

I usually make a reservation or two but have found I don't really need them for most places.

I like what the OP said about taking time for pictures! When you return, that's all you have. I love having them as a slide show on my desk top! And as also mentioned, a friendly smile is always nice too.

 

[cmpeter]

We were there last week and went to the Halloween party on Friday. While I thought the walk ways were crowded, the treat lines seemed to move very quickly and we never had more than a 10 minute wait for a ride. We can't wait to go back again next year.

Agree with you on Ariel's...we did lunch there and it was very much worth it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Not trying to start anything here, but I'm not sure how the OP knew that the rude people or the crowds in NOS were APs. The crowds could easily have been comprised of day guests (especially new visitors who didn't know their way around) and, as far as I know, anyone (APs or not) can be rude. In my experience, the APs we know are the ones who volunteer to help other guests, voluntarily pick up litter and throw it away, help the CMs and compliment them regularly, etc. Maybe I've just been lucky in my AP interaction. Our friends will put off riding the big attractions, like HMH, just so that the day guests can have their chance. We know that we can come back another time, but they can't. We were there over this past weekend, too, and while we found it crowded (it was UEA, after all), it didn't seem unmanageable.

 

[meggles]

I generally agree about Halloweentime and the Halloween party. Although the heat wave we experienced during our Sept. visit this year certainly didn't help either. I think we could've managed the crowds better if it wasn't 95 degrees out! Generally, more off season times are parts of jan, feb, early May, early sept, and early nov. If you only want the lowest crowds, go then. I don't think Halloweentime is low season At All anymore.

Not sure what you mean about the rider switch. We used it for RSR this last time and waited maybe 10 minutes. The standby time was at least an hour. It seems like the rider switch pass does put you in with the fastpass line for most rides. The difference is that with FP it is for a short window of time. For rider switch, you cAn use it any time that day! So you can do fp for RSR early on in the day and then get a rider switch pass to use at night. Super convenient and awesome, especially with a 2 year old who can't wait patiently for parents to ride back to back.

 

[Brancaneve]

Loves your "lessons learned" section. I was just there last week and coincidentally walked away with the same thoughts and impressions. One has to literally smell the roses instead of running from one attraction to the other. Last week I tried a lot of new foods(pumpkin beignets, mint juleps) and it added so much to my trip.

 

[jenpace]

That's a lot of blame for negativity directed at APs. How can you tell that someone has an AP as opposed to a park hopper?

 

[tarheelalum]

There are no down times any more. Its always crowded. You just have to show up early and know how to make the most of your day and be flexible in all matters.

 

[LisaT91403]

It's so strange how people can have vastly different experiences at Disneyland, isn't it? I'm not saying that the OP's observations and experiences are in anyway invalid, but we had a totally different experience on Friday, 10/10.

I have an AP (not sure why the anger is directed at AP's? I don't get it)...and couldn't believe how wonderful the crowd levels were. I kept thinking "why didn't I pay extra for the Halloween Party before now?" If I had known how delightful the lines would be (or should I say lack thereof), I would have tried MHP sooner. The only long lines we encountered were HM (30 minutes) and Indy (25 minutes). Everything else we did was walk-on/less than 10 minutes.

As for treat trails, we didn't really have any "lines" to wait in. Maybe the lines were at the trails we didn't visit? There was a really long line to meet Mickey and Minnie at the Toontown pre-party -- 45 minutes, and we chose not to wait in that line. There were also lines at some of the prime picture locations.

Again, just so strange how the experience can be so different. Sorry it wasn't better for the OP...total bummer to spend the money and not enjoy it.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

That's a lot of blame for negativity directed at APs. How can you tell that someone has an AP as opposed to a park hopper?

I'm curious about this as well. We frequent the parks but are not pass holders yet. I've never been able to tell who has an AP and who doesn't. We can however usually spot newbies to the park! Its fun to see the excitement on peoples faces that have never seen or done something before.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

It's so strange how people can have vastly different experiences at Disneyland, isn't it? I'm not saying that the OP's observations and experiences are in anyway invalid, but we had a totally different experience on Friday, 10/10.

I have an AP (not sure why the anger is directed at AP's? I don't get it)...and couldn't believe how wonderful the crowd levels were. I kept thinking "why didn't I pay extra for the Halloween Party before now?" If I had known how delightful the lines would be (or should I say lack thereof), I would have tried MHP sooner. The only long lines we encountered were HM (30 minutes) and Indy (25 minutes). Everything else we did was walk-on/less than 10 minutes.

As for treat trails, we didn't really have any "lines" to wait in. Maybe the lines were at the trails we didn't visit? There was a really long line to meet Mickey and Minnie at the Toontown pre-party -- 45 minutes, and we chose not to wait in that line. There were also lines at some of the prime picture locations.

Again, just so strange how the experience can be so different. Sorry it wasn't better for the OP...total bummer to spend the money and not enjoy it.

We had a similar experience to yours at the 10/3 party. I thought it was less crowded than previous years. We've also been to the parks and thought it was a slow day, only to log in here and read that others thought it was a madhouse! I always figure its just perspective, what someone has built up in their minds as to what the park is going to be like and a little bit of timing (maybe they were in a more crowded area at a certain time). And also maybe past experience. We've been at the park when it is literally shoulder to shoulder and miserable, so anything less crowded than that seems pretty good, haha!

 

[JayRW]

Not sure what you mean about the rider switch. We used it for RSR this last time and waited maybe 10 minutes. The standby time was at least an hour. It seems like the rider switch pass does put you in with the fastpass line for most rides. The difference is that with FP it is for a short window of time. For rider switch, you cAn use it any time that day! So you can do fp for RSR early on in the day and then get a rider switch pass to use at night. Super convenient and awesome, especially with a 2 year old who can't wait patiently for parents to ride back to back.

I'm not positive, but I think this was the OP's point. I think the OP was saying it is basically an extra FP and adds wait time for everyone else. I haven't been yet (Dec!!) so I can't comment one way or the other.

 

[disneydadazut2]

Thanks for the responses. Let me answer a few of the questions:

The trip was not a waste. I think that it may have appeared that way since I ended the post with the negative comments, but overall we enjoyed ourselves. IMO, being at Disneyland with my kids will always beat work with co-workers - and I enjoy my career...

Second - Rider swap issue. In the past, I have used rider swap for two things - Autopia and Star Tours. Both allowed me or my wife to immediately get on the ride after the other was done. In Autopia - we stood at the 'exit' and waited. In terms of RSR, unfortunately our 'FP' at that time still had a 20 min wait, the standby line was 60+. I think I should have gone with single rider line in hindsight (there was a family of three that took it the same time and got on the ride sooner), but it was great to have my two boys go back with me.

Also - if you read my comments closely, I didn't necessarily blame APs for the poor attitudes/large crowds I saw. But, in an effort to defend my, um hints and innuendos - I knew they were APs because they used their discounts right in front of me and/or they told me they were APs (as if to brag about it, which I didn't understand why that was a big deal). But, like I said earlier, there are jerks everywhere and I don't paint all APs in the same color. But 5 of 6 negative experiences is an odd sampling.

Crowd levels - I thought the parks weren't crowded at all - except for the E-Ticket rides. In fact, my wife and I commented several times, "where is everyone?" But, as an earlier post mentioned about being there in 2012 for MHP, I must be mis-remembering the crowd levels. It seemed much higher this time around.

Final take - Disneyland is wonderful and fun, and we will continue to go back. There are several reasons we don't go more often; travel time, kids school, other vacation priorities, and we want to keep it 'fresh'.

Thanks everyone for your feedback - I actually enjoy hearing the other side of the coin, because it helps me reason through my own feelings and/or change my views.

 

[knitster]

I loved everything about Cafe Orleans...except the monte cristo. Never again!

I'd say instead of 4 days go for 6, and take more breaks. We do 5 or 6 days each trip now, and don't feel the need to be there open to close... Although we do try and make rope drop. Go back for naps/ pool time every afternoon from 1-4 ish... It makes for a much happier trip

Absolutely! On our last trip (third week of September in the middle of the terrible heat wave), we did 3 days in the parks, 1 break day, then 3 more days in the park. We were able to take things slow and relax and ride our favorites over and over again without having to be there from open to close every day.

 

[anmickey]

I was also very disappointed in cafe Orleans. Cold food, slow/rude service. I used to love the monte Christo and that was nowhere near as good as it used to be. It has been removed from our must dos every trip.

We are annual pass holders but only make it to the parks 2-4 times per year. It is generally cheaper for us than park hoppers and I like the ability to make payments. I am confused about the attitude toward AP holders. I'm sure there are nasty ones just im also sure there are rude or entitled day guest goers......I'm not seeing the correlation between having an annual pass and being rude.

 

[starjazz]

I'm kind of confused by the confusion. It seems to me that OP is saying that he experienced some negativity from APs. Perhaps he's insinuating that they appeared "entitled" or whatever. But bottom line is he's sharing his experience. He clarified in his second post how he knew they were APs. It was his experience, and obviously he's not the only one to experience this. That doesn't mean we need a big game of red rover between APs and non-APs. Clearly purchasing an AP does not inherently make a person evil.

 

[Sherry E]

In the past I've read other commentary from people who said they saw someone's AP, and that's how they knew that the person was an AP holder, or they saw the person using an AP discount. It got me thinking.

Maybe I'm the odd woman out here, but... not once, anytime that I have been at DLR, have I looked at what people were pulling out of their wallets, pockets, purses, pouches dangling from their necks, etc. It's never occurred to me to look, and I don't think I have ever even inadvertently seen what people were handing over to CMs -- unless they were actual friends/traveling companions of mine, with whom I was involved in conversation.

I don't think I have ever heard or listened to what people in front of me said they were using as far as using discounts either. The only way I would tune in to something like that is if I happened to be waiting in a really long line that seemed to be held up by one specific person, and I wanted to hear what the nature of the delay was -- but I can't even remember doing that in recent years.

Is everyone at DLR secretly paying attention to what we all -- AP holders and non-AP holders -- pay with, use for discounts, hand over to CMs, pull out of our wallets, etc.? Am I missing out on some fun by not paying attention?