Quick thoughts from our recent trip- 1 Dec to 11 Dec 2018

[819mac]

Hi all,

We just got back from an 11 day trip to Disneyland, staying at DLH from 1-11 December. I don’t really do trip reports, but here are a few quick notes about my trip. Feel free to ask questions about anything I’ve listed (or anything I haven’t).

Excellent

• Cast Members- Some cast members still go above and beyond and add to the magic, and we made sure to go to city hall/chamber of commerce for some of the best (shout out to Patrick at Lamplight Lounge, Leilani at Carthay Circle, Eileen at Trolley Treats and Carlos at Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree)
  
• Maxpass- Would not do Disneyland without it. I think the longest we waited for a ride was 20-30 minutes, and that was only due to maintenance issues that arose while in line. We had to leave early on our last day to catch our flight, and still got more than a dozen rides in without rushing.
• Blue Bayou Fantasmic Package- I was a bit worried about this, as a few people have been reporting that the quality has gone downhill and the restaurant was resting on its laurels. The meal was amazing, the atmosphere was great as usual, and the seating area for Fantasmic was perfect; we were pretty much watching from centre stage for the entire show. The fireworks are pretty good from here as well.
• Fantasmic- They have made some changes to the show since 2014 that I wasn’t aware of, and it seems very polished and extremely well done
• Carthay Circle Restaurant- Probably one of the best meals I have had in years, both for the meal itself and for the service.
• The Fairytale Suite- We treated ourselves to a night for our anniversary, and I have to say that this room is amazing. I am still trying to figure out how to recreate the bathroom in my own house (although for the size I would need to knock out a bedroom or 2).
• The reskins- I was worried about Pixar Pier, but I have to say I like it better than the old pier (and they have done Incredicoaster very well). GOTG also became our favourite ride for the trip, and was where some of our Fastpass selections went
• LAX- I know everyone complains about this airport, but try flying into Sydney and you will see how much more organised LAX is (at least the TBIT)
• Candlelight Processional- Chris Pratt was excellent, even with the occasional slipup.
• Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour- Very interesting insight into the park, and it was great to see the apartment.
• Lamplight Lounge- Great food, great drinks, great service and great atmosphere. We dined downstairs and loved it.
• Plaza Inn- I love the fried chicken.
• Harbour Galley- The lobster chips were great, but the standout was the Gold Port Galley Lemonade.
• Fireworks- Looks good with the added projections, and I liked having the reduced show in lieu of no show.
• Boudin Bakery- This was under refurb when we were last here, but that bread is amazing.
• Churro Toffee- We spent more than I care to admit on this .
• Amazon Fresh- We ordered some bottles of water and some fruit for when we arrived, and it was ridiculously easy (and cheap!)

Good

• Crowds- Pretty manageable.
• Star Wars Land- Obviously not open yet, but it looks impressive from the rest of the park. The reroute of the railway and the river is better than the original IMO.

Not so good

• DLH- We stayed here 4 years ago for our honeymoon, fell in love with it, and couldn't imagine staying anywhere else. Now, we won’t be staying here again. The rooms felt very run down, the “Premium View” had us looking through palm trees, the cast members were ordinary (apart from Bell Services), and the check in process takes forever (and always seems to involve the cast member disappearing out the back for 5 minutes for some reason)
• Cast members- There were a few times at the park where it felt like the magic was slipping a bit (one example- we noticed a cast member in the Redwood Creek costume, walking out of Cars Land with a Subway bag). In saying that, there were some that we felt went above and beyond the call of duty.
• Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen- We had a booking here and were really looking forward to the meal and the atmosphere. We were seated outside, away from the Jazz music and the atmosphere, one of our drinks was forgotten and the food was only ok. Given the time over, I would have redone BB or CC. We also used to love their beignets; now we buy the Mickey shaped ones from Mint Julep bar.
• Riverbelle Terrace- Food was ok, nothing special, but the service we had here was horrendous.
• Club Level at DLH- We had this for a night while in the Fairytale Suite, and although handy to have, I would save the money that you would otherwise spend upgrading to it.
• Festival of Holidays- I want to preface this by saying that I am an adventurous eater. We bought a sip and savor pass, and out of the 8 things we tried, I would only choose to have 1 again. There is better food to be had in the park.
• World of Color- I held out hope that it would be back in time, but no luck. Guess I will just have to plan another trip!
• Lansky- They were prompt and got us from A to B, but I much preferred Execucar, who we used last time.
• Cars Land Lighting- While the neons are beautiful, I am not sure why they change the music to Christmas carols instead of sticking with Sh Boom.

We really enjoyed our trip and didn’t really want to leave.

Thank you all for your advice and posts throughout the year; it made the trip that much easier.

And now, photos!

 

[ButterflyKisses77]

Omg the churro toffee is amazing! My new addiction

 

[edhmom]

Thanks for the report and I love your photos!

 

[gottalovepluto]

You have some totally awesome photo skills!

Agree DLH really needs some TLC. My last trip at DLH was after I’d stayed at the remodeled GCH & I was constantly looking at stuff in light of that. It really brought home how desperately in need of refurb that property is. It can be back to great but Disney needs to put some serious money in it.

We liked DLH CL but it really depends if you’ll take advantage of the offerings. We were there for breakfast & appetizers/drinks so it worked good for us as a nice splurge. And the view was to die for!

Had I paid for a premium view & ended up with Palm Trees instead of a clear view of the pool I would have immediately high tailed it down to the front desk & requested a room with an actual premium view or to refund the upgrade cost. It’s not right for you to have to advocate for what you bought but it can be absolutely necessary sometimes.

Plaza Inn- right? Omg love the fried chicken

LAX- TBIT is it’s own world. If that’s all I had to deal with I wouldn’t mind LAX either, TBIT is great! It’s the rest of the airport that sucks- domestic terminals & car rentals.

 

[819mac]

Omg the churro toffee is amazing! My new addiction

We brought a few home, but I think we have now run out which sucks.

Thanks for the report and I love your photos!

You have some totally awesome photo skills!

I can't take any of the credit for the photography- all of the photos were taken by my wife. She did takes the photos with my phone, so I guess I could take some credit for that

Agree DLH really needs some TLC. My last trip at DLH was after I’d stayed at the remodeled GCH & I was constantly looking at stuff in light of that. It really brought home how desperately in need of refurb that property is. It can be back to great but Disney needs to put some serious money in it.

We liked DLH CL but it really depends if you’ll take advantage of the offerings. We were there for breakfast & appetizers/drinks so it worked good for us as a nice splurge. And the view was to die for!

Had I paid for a premium view & ended up with Palm Trees instead of a clear view of the pool I would have immediately high tailed it down to the front desk & requested a room with an actual premium view or to refund the upgrade cost. It’s not right for you to have to advocate for what you bought but it can be absolutely necessary sometimes.

You are right, the view is amazing from DLH CL. I wanted to go back down and sort out our not-so-Premium-View, but after a 14 hour flight and over 24 hours without sleep I had little fight in me. I have detailed these issues (and plenty more) in a nice long email to DLH, and will follow it up if I don't get a response.

Plaza Inn- right? Omg love the fried chicken

LAX- TBIT is it’s own world. If that’s all I had to deal with I wouldn’t mind LAX either, TBIT is great! It’s the rest of the airport that sucks- domestic terminals & car rentals.

I wish I could get fried chicken like that back home. I think this was the only meal that I repeated while we were there.

Our trip into LAX was slow as there was only 1 guy processing people through immigration, but everything was so well signposted that at least you knew where to go. As for the trip home, the airport was pretty empty as it was a later flight, so it took no time to get through security.

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks for a great report! We are going there for our 1st trip in Feb. Been to WDW many times, but this is a new venture for us

 

[BecAus]

Really enjoyed reading your trip report, thanks for posting -
we are back there next July, just my husband and I going this time for our wedding anniversary, staying at GCH (DVC rental)
Might give Carthay Circle a go, we haven’t been there before.
Great photos! Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[819mac]

Might give Carthay Circle a go, we haven’t been there before.

I had the Korean Chili Glazed Angus Sirloin and my wife had the Roasted Chicken Breast, and we shared the Signature Fried Biscuits. I would highly recommend any of those; the steak was amazing, the chicken was what all roast chicken should aspire to taste like, and the biscuits are something I will definitely try to replicate at home.

Also, I had a couple more positive/negatives I forgot to include in my original post:

Excellent:
Fantasy Faire- The Royal Theatre is always fun to go to.

Not So Good:
Cosy Cone Motel- I fail to understand how their speed of service could be so slow for how simple their offerings are. I think the big problem is that there is regularly 1 person working by themselves, so it slows things down. If Festival of Holidays works as inefficiently it would never return.

 

[Rayray650]

Thanks for the report. You have made me reconsider .... again .... staying at the DLH for Christmas 2019. I currently have six nights booked plus a night in one of the suites. I was last there in 2012 Christmas but it sounds like it hasn’t had any refreshes since then. May go back to booking off site as Paradise Pier is a bit further of a walk and the rooms at GCH are too small

You mentioned that you preferred Execucar over Lansky. Was there something in particular that stood out with their service?

 

[819mac]

Thanks for the report. You have made me reconsider .... again .... staying at the DLH for Christmas 2019. I currently have six nights booked plus a night in one of the suites. I was last there in 2012 Christmas but it sounds like it hasn’t had any refreshes since then. May go back to booking off site as Paradise Pier is a bit further of a walk and the rooms at GCH are too small

We debated our booking at the DLH after reading a number of mixed reviews in the long lead up to our trip, but we decided that that was where the magic was for us. Maybe we set our expectations too high for this stay after the amazing trip we had in 2014, but we definitely did not have a great experience.

We found the check in/out process, including the cast member interactions at the desk, to be a negative experience, and we believe that the hotel is in need of some serious TLC. Unless the hotel has a major refresh we definitely won't be staying here again, but keep in mind that we have never stayed anywhere else (onsite or offsite) while visiting the Disneyland Resort.

You mentioned that you preferred Execucar over Lansky. Was there something in particular that stood out with their service?

I'm not sure how the road rules differ in the USA compared to Australia, but here if you want to make/receive phone calls while driving you can only do so with a hands-free system. Both of our drivers were on the phone at least once during our trip, holding the phone up to their ear. It also doesn't sound like much, but they seemed to consistently speed by over 5mph for most of the trip (I don't have specific examples, but they were over 70mph for parts of the trip between LAX and Disneyland)

We used Execucar in 2014, and in comparison never felt anything except safe and comfortable.

At the time we needed to book our transfers, we could not find any recent reviews about Execucar, but everyone was leaving generally positive reviews about Lansky. We'd recommend taking a look at this more recent thread about Execucar if you haven't already, taking note that the OP got the basic service which didn’t include meeting at baggage claim, but others have had good experiences with them

 

[tarheelalum]

It also doesn't sound like much, but they seemed to consistently speed by over 5mph for most of the trip (I don't have specific examples, but they were over 70mph for parts of the trip between LAX and Disneyland)

If he was only going over 5 mph over consider yourself lucky. The highway patrol will not even give you a ticket for 5 over. On many southern California freeways drivers consistently go 10, 15 or 20 mph over the posted speed limit. Often it is dangerous to travel the speed limit because most drivers are going 20 mph over it. Holding a cell phone while driving is an infraction but people regularly do it.

 

[Mrs. W]

Excellent trip report!

I visit Disneyland regularly and very much agree with most of your "good" and "not so good" thoughts. Honestly, I could've written the bits about the Blue Bayou package, Fantasmic, and Ralph Brennan Jazz Kitchen myself. I was especially disappointed in Ralph Brennan the last 2 visits. I used to love going there. It was one of my favorite restaurants on the resort property. I do not think I will give it another chance.

I need to try Carthay Circle again. They were off for me last visit but I haven't gone in several trips; since last March, I think. The menu has since changed though, and I'd like to try them out again.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Not So Good:
Cosy Cone Motel- I fail to understand how their speed of service could be so slow for how simple their offerings are. I think the big problem is that there is regularly 1 person working by themselves, so it slows things down. If Festival of Holidays works as inefficiently it would never return.

Omg THIS!!!! I used to wait for the chocolate dipped soft serve here (which I don’t think is offered anymore) but after the last time I decided never again! Especially since they are always “out” of the chocolate dip even though it’s still on the menu.

 

[Rayray650]

We debated our booking at the DLH after reading a number of mixed reviews in the long lead up to our trip, but we decided that that was where the magic was for us. Maybe we set our expectations too high for this stay after the amazing trip we had in 2014, but we definitely did not have a great experience.

We found the check in/out process, including the cast member interactions at the desk, to be a negative experience, and we believe that the hotel is in need of some serious TLC. Unless the hotel has a major refresh we definitely won't be staying here again, but keep in mind that we have never stayed anywhere else (onsite or offsite) while visiting the Disneyland Resort.



I'm not sure how the road rules differ in the USA compared to Australia, but here if you want to make/receive phone calls while driving you can only do so with a hands-free system. Both of our drivers were on the phone at least once during our trip, holding the phone up to their ear. It also doesn't sound like much, but they seemed to consistently speed by over 5mph for most of the trip (I don't have specific examples, but they were over 70mph for parts of the trip between LAX and Disneyland)

We used Execucar in 2014, and in comparison never felt anything except safe and comfortable.

At the time we needed to book our transfers, we could not find any recent reviews about Execucar, but everyone was leaving generally positive reviews about Lansky. We'd recommend taking a look at this more recent thread about Execucar if you haven't already, taking note that the OP got the basic service which didn’t include meeting at baggage claim, but others have had good experiences with them

Thanks. Fellow Aussie here so disappointing about the phone while driving aspect. I did some further research after reading your review and have changed our booking to an off site location. I have only ever stayed at DLH. PP doesn’t appeal to us other then room views and GCH rooms are too small (three adults and a child) for us to live out of for over a week so we opted for an off site which is getting rave reviews and our travel agent cousin recommended it also. Just hoping that it is ok I will miss the early mornings, but in reality we would have only used it twice during our stay. Having the ten day tickets certainly helps.

 

[819mac]

Thanks. Fellow Aussie here so disappointing about the phone while driving aspect. I did some further research after reading your review and have changed our booking to an off site location. I have only ever stayed at DLH. PP doesn’t appeal to us other then room views and GCH rooms are too small (three adults and a child) for us to live out of for over a week so we opted for an off site which is getting rave reviews and our travel agent cousin recommended it also. Just hoping that it is ok I will miss the early mornings, but in reality we would have only used it twice during our stay. Having the ten day tickets certainly helps.

I have heard a few people say that the rooms at GCH are smaller than DLH which amazes me when I think about our first room at DLH. It did not have a lounge chair like the rooms usually have because there was not enough room for it. After thinking about our room last time (as well as reading some reviews of the Fairytale suite that had a lot more magic than our stay) I think we drew the short straw a bit.

I hope you enjoy your stay, if the masses are giving good reviews then it is a good day to start. The 10 day tickets do help a bit (although we found for extended stays it is sometimes worthwhile for 1 member of the party to have an AP, especially if your hotel offers AP discounts)

 

[Rayray650]

I have heard a few people say that the rooms at GCH are smaller than DLH which amazes me when I think about our first room at DLH. It did not have a lounge chair like the rooms usually have because there was not enough room for it. After thinking about our room last time (as well as reading some reviews of the Fairytale suite that had a lot more magic than our stay) I think we drew the short straw a bit.

I hope you enjoy your stay, if the masses are giving good reviews then it is a good day to start. The 10 day tickets do help a bit (although we found for extended stays it is sometimes worthwhile for 1 member of the party to have an AP, especially if your hotel offers AP discounts)

Thank you. My daughter is graduating from kindy so it is a celebration trip. I am sure that we will have a great time, assuming that she copes with the flight, crowds and Disney overload

Btw - good luck trying to recreate the Fairytale Suite bathroom. I stayed on New Year’s Eve 2012 before the renovation and fell in love with the bathroom and the Tinkerbell entrance. I kept finding excuses to walk in and out the door so that she would appear.