**** Official 2014 AUGUST - Disneyland thread ****

[hearic]

Finally leaving today for the parks, cant wait!

 

[sweethannah]

So beyond our issues with GCH which I already groused about, I've been remiss in reporting back about the rest of our trip. We had an awesome time in the parks and in DtD overall. My partner, now on his third trip to DLR, feels like a vet now, too. At one point he was all like, "Excuse me, I KNOW my way around Disneyland!" So, you know, hurray!

FRIDAY
We arrived on Friday, and after check-in headed straight for the ticket booths to renew our APs (no more Premiers for us--we're all about DLR now--so we got Premiums), the into the parks. Our day-one schtick is buttons at City Hall (I got my belated birthday button!), then browsing Emporium, then breakfast at River Belle Terrace. That's what we did--by the end of breakfast overlooking the ROA, it always finally feels like we're back in the groove of DL.

We spent the morning and early afternoon following our nose instead of commando-chasing the headliners (Ryan has definitely taught me to stop and smell the roses in DL), though we did ride BTMRR. I can't tell you how much I missed DL's version and the new ending is amazing. Definitely prefer this version over MK's. I especially love the queue going down into the ravine vs. MK's interior queue. (I think this is my favorite Disney queue anywhere, actually!) Lunchtime we spent getting lost in the World of Disney store in DtD. After hanging in the hotel, we came back for our VIP reservations for Magic and F!. I had never watched the fireworks all the way through--Tink and Dumbo were totally awesome! And F! looks in great shape now! (Last October, some show elements were down.)

SATURDAY
Friends from Long Beach came to spend almost the whoe day with us on Saturday. I ran like a loon around DL Fantasyland for EMH, then an old teenage-years friend I used to know in NYC came out to the park, and then two friends I made from my blog--one of whom is a F! CM--came out. We did Indy, Space Mountain, Alice (everyone was floored at the new additions!), and eventually hopped to DCA then back to DL. My highlight was I finally got to have a Corn Dog from the cart on Main Street. First time ever. (Sadly, turned out I'm not a fan. Oh well, other great things to eat at DLR!) We also surprised our friends with lunch at CO (you've never seen so many Monte Cristos in your life!), and drinks at GCH's Hearthstone Lounge to thank them for coming out. Ryan and I will eventually move to SoCal, and it is a total blessing to already have local friends. We were very grateful about the whole day.

SUNDAY & MONDAY
Our remaining two days we played by ear. I spent more time in the parks; Ryan spent more time lounging at GCH. I learned the total magic of the RSR single-rider line, together we did Ryan's favorites at DCA--Soarin (which he loves at DCA but doesn't like at Epcot), ToT, and California Screamin' (which he made me ride four times and he never does that!), the reworked Under the Sea scene in Little Mermaid was a big hit for us, and we managed to watch two Soundsationals in DL because we couldn't stop hanging out on Main Street.

We had three big takeaways this trip:

• After experiencing DtD (Earl of Sandwich FTW!) and seeing the grounds of DLH and interior photos, Ryan desperately wants to stay at DLH now. (Hurray, on-site!);
• Space Mountain looks AWESOME inside the mountain now. Unfortunately, during the refurb they turned off all the blue ceiling lights in the loading zone that were half burnt-out anyway, and only replaced some of the blue lights in the power tunnel after the first lift hill. But..inside the ride dome, the starts have never, ever looked so full, or kinetic. It was like riding in outer space champagne bubbles of stars, just amazing. Best I've ever seen it look in there; and
• The Disneyland Monorail feels amazingly useful when you're staying on-property. We finally totally get how wonderful it is to hop out of DL to DtD and your hotel, and then right back in via the Monorail. Magic!

I also Instagrammed a lot of the trip as @mikedoyleblogger. Next time, that may be all we do. (Tired of not finding FP+ photographers in DL.) But all in all, we had a great time.

Also, don't tell Ryan, but I'm dragging him back over Rosh Hashanah weekend at the end of September.

P.S. I promise I wasn't paid per exclamation point or use of the word awesome, either.

I believe your article was picked up and reposted by HOJO anaheim

 

[dec2009mama]

Two more sleeps till we drive to Seattle - three more sleeps till we board a flight to Disneyland!!!!!!!
Entire family so excited!

 

[Grooovertoo]

Two more sleeps till we drive to Seattle - three more sleeps till we board a flight to Disneyland!!!!!!!
Entire family so excited!

2 slleeps tell we fly down, nothing but Disney podcasts and Disneyland park sounds from soundcloud for me today as it is my last day of work before vaca.

 

[Rubygoose]

Waiting in the Seattle airport right now for our flight to SNA. Took us an hour to get through customs so I'm glad we had 3hrs between our flights. Met a family on the plane who will be staying at Hojo too. We'll be eating dinner in Disneyland tonight!

 

[lifeguardette]

Waiting in the Seattle airport right now for our flight to SNA. Took us an hour to get through customs so I'm glad we had 3hrs between our flights. Met a family on the plane who will be staying at Hojo too. We'll be eating dinner in Disneyland tonight!

So excited for you!! I leave on Saturday!

 

[dec2009mama]

So excited for you!! I leave on Saturday!

We leave Saturday too!!

 

[Rubygoose]

We had an amazing first full day in DL yesterday! Met a fantastic PP photographer in front of the castle named Byron who spent about 15 minutes with us, politely making sure the lady with the "but crack" stayed out of our picture (she may not have spoken English). We got a lot of comments on our Splash themed matching shirts and one of the CMs at Splash gave us a fast pass for any ride because she loved the shirts. We used it on jungle cruise. The kids were troopers for our first trip without a stroller and managed to stay up for Fantasmic. We're loving the water park at Hojo! Off to Legoland pretty soon.

 

[mikamah]

Love reading about everyone's trips and can hardly wait til we go on Wednesday!!

Wishing you all magical, wonderful vacations!!!

 

[Aladora]

It has been a super busy but fun trip so far! Today is our last day here and we are spending the morning at the science centre then we are hitting DCA for our last afternoon/evening.

I'm sad that we are heading home tomorrow but not only have we had an amazing time so far but DH realized this trip that he really does love DL and it looks like we are going to try and get back here next Jan/Feb and he wants to look into renting points and checking out the villas at GC as a possible precursor to maybe becoming DVC members!!!

 

[dec2009mama]

At the gate at seatac - flight end delayed but still hope to be in the parks by 3pm!

 

[ColdNeverBotheredMe]

Well, we're home now, and let me just say that that was without a doubt the "raddest trip in the world!!!" We had so many magical moments! But I'll share the absolute best one:
We went back to DL after WoC, but the show had been delayed so we only had about half an hour in the park before closing. We chose to ride Astro-Orbitors (even though I didn't want to), and when we got to the front of the line, the CM noticed my shirt (it was an Aquabats shirt, which is an obscure silly band/TV show we're obsessed with) and loved it. So he asked us which ride we wanted to do, and this is five minutes from park closing. We said Space Mountain, so he actually called the people at Space Mountain and told them to hold the ride open for us, and gave us one of those special fastpasses with a note "from the Aquabats". We rode the astro-orbitors, and then ran to Space Mountain. They were reluctant to let us in, having already closed the line, because they didn't want other guests to see, but they finally did. We hadn't been able to do that ride during the day, and that is one of our favorites. The only regret is that we were not allowed to keep the fastpass because the CM on Space was kind of ticked about letting us on. It was an amazing night!!!!

 

[nervous1sttimer]

We had an amazing first full day in DL yesterday! Met a fantastic PP photographer in front of the castle named Byron who spent about 15 minutes with us, politely making sure the lady with the "but crack" stayed out of our picture (she may not have spoken English). We got a lot of comments on our Splash themed matching shirts and one of the CMs at Splash gave us a fast pass for any ride because she loved the shirts. We used it on jungle cruise. The kids were troopers for our first trip without a stroller and managed to stay up for Fantasmic. We're loving the water park at Hojo! Off to Legoland pretty soon.

Yay, this is very exciting! We arrive Monday afternoon and are staying in a kids suite at Hojo, so we'll probably hit up the waterpark right away. At lunch today my son said he was more excited for Legoland than Disneyland, so let me know if you have any good tips to share!

 

[wakica]

Here's the "Cole's Notes" version of wide right:
-only works when no one is in the park before you (ie. on non-EE day if you're staying offsite)
-get to the gates at least 30 minutes before opening
-lots of gates will open, so line up at any gate that has a short line
-when you get through the gates, speed walk straight down BV street until you get to the "rope" that is a gas hose held by two CMs.
-You want to stand as close as possible to the CM on the right. It's better to be behind someone on the right than up at the front, holding the hose, on the left or in the middle.
-you will be walked slowly down route 66, led by Mater and/or Lightening
-they will funnel the line over to the right, so if you are already there, then you're in perfect position
-if you have little kids, pick them up or walk with them behind you and holding BOTH of your hands so that you don't get separated when people are merging in from the left.

We did it last summer and got on the second run of cars for the day!

GREAT! Thanks so much for that!

 

[wakica]

sorry I've been so out of touch. We have been SSOOO busy while in California. We have LOVED so much of our trip!!! and are absolutely exhausted every night! I have time this evening because we forced ourselves to relax since 5 pm tonight so we are ready for the parks bright and early tomorrow morning. We were supposed to be in DTD tonight but went last night instead because we could not wait for a little Disney magic. We are so glad we did - it got us SOO excited for our upcoming park days and it felt so good to be back in the disney bubble

A cast member at the store found out we are WDW vets on their first trip to DL and insisted on giving us first time pins!!! YAY!!! Great way to start so we are wearing those tomorrow for sure.

I enjoyed reading about all your trips to the parks! It's making it UNBEARABLE for me to wait any longer!!!!!

 

[whoever]

Just finished my TR from my August Trip. HAD A BLAST. It was hot/humid though.

 

[sleepymouse]

I have time this evening because we forced ourselves to relax since 5 pm tonight so we are ready for the parks bright and early tomorrow morning.

Our first park day is tomorrow also, but later in the day. Happy to hear you are having a wonderful trip! Enjoy your first day in Walt's park!

 

[Aladora]

Sadly, we are in the airport right now waiting for our flight home.

It was a really fun trip and even though it was warm, it never felt TOO hot. I have to admit that while I love Disneyland park, the more we go, the more I prefer DCA. It never seems as crowded and there are a bunch of rides there that I absolutely have to go on such as ToT.

I know this is an odd question seeing as I am sitting in JWA and I am posting this, but does anyone have experience with coming to DL around the second week of February?

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

It was a really fun trip and even though it was warm, it never felt TOO hot. I have to admit that while I love Disneyland park, the more we go, the more I prefer DCA. It never seems as crowded and there are a bunch of rides there that I absolutely have to go on such as ToT.

This is exactly how I felt. I just got back late on Friday and after a day of recovery and reflection, I truly appreciated California Adventure. I've always liked it, even before they made it Disney themed, but I feel like that park flows much better, it's better connected, more spaces to get away from the sheer amount of bodies that seem to be wall to wall in Disneyland.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

So I've never, ever gotten to say this before, right after coming back from a Disneyland trip (since I live in another time zone!), but...we're going back next month! Um, yay!!!