Quick Trip Report - Feb 17-18

Sunclytie

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Here is a super quick trip report from a two day trip over President's Day weekend. I decided to take my 4-year-old daughter for a couple of days in Disneyland for a treat that we both would enjoy.

The Good
  • The Enchanted Tiki Room is back! It was being refurbished the last time we were there, so my daughter and I got to experience it for the first time. We both fell in love with Jose and the crew, and with Dole Whips as well. While I didn't get a chance to visit the Tropical Hideaway, it looked beautiful. Does anyone have any hints on how to get the Tiki Room song out of my head?
  • We went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a (large) number of times and got a good look at Star Wars Land. It looks absolutely gorgeous, and I liked the vista through Frontierland. It was coherent, yet distant...like a galaxy far, far away.
  • Storyteller's Cafe had a fantastic brunch. The food was really good, and the characters, particularly Minnie, were very sweet and interactive. In case you're wondering, Minnie's favorite ice cream is strawberry, because it's pink.
  • Both my daughter and I really loved Mickey's Mix Magic. The music was fun, and while I won't spoil the surprise, some of the effects delighted us.
  • I thought both Disneyland and DCA looked spiffier than they had for a while. They're clearly getting ready for Star Wars.
The Meh
  • It was definitely crowded this weekend, but I had expected wall-to-wall crush and it wasn't like that. The rain on Sunday kept away a lot of the LA folks, I think. Using MaxPass, we were able to stay ahead of the crowds, and my daughter agreed to go on a lot of rides with very short wait times. She even volunteered to do Pinocchio!
  • I know people love it, but I just don't get the Disneyland Hotel. It didn't feel either special nor Disney to me, it just seemed like a nice convention hotel anywhere. The check-in was long and inefficient, and cast members were barking out directions at us waiting to check in. The pool was under refurbishment, which I knew about, but it was difficult to figure out which parts were open and which were not, and the cast members didn't seem to know. Also, we didn't get our check-in text until 7 o clock at night, after I'd gone to the front desk to ask which room we were in.
  • Thee cast members this trip seemed quite indifferent (if not downright rude). I know they have a hard job, and take a lot of flak from people, but usually they'll greet my daughter or talk to her ("Hello Princess!") while waiting for rides or walking around, but mostly they wanted to talk with each other. They acted a lot like the staff at our local theme park, California's Great America, except the ticket prices there are much, much cheaper. I didn't really notice a Disney Difference in service this time, with one or two exceptions.
The Bad
  • I found a tampon instruction sheet on the floor in our room at DLH when we checked in. Not ideal.
  • When we went on the Haunted Mansion, the cast member gave our doom buggy away to the party behind us. So, there we went, on the conveyer belt, into the dark, while party after party after party filled the doom buggies...as we were disappearing into the dark, I tried to get the CM's attention, but he turned his back and walked away. I have to confess that made me nervous. "Sir," I said. No response. So I had to shout louder "Sir! Sir!" because it's loud in there. He finally turned around, said, "Calm down lady," and pointed at a doom buggy. Sorry, but I was holding my daughter's hand and I don't know what happens at the end of the HM conveyer belt! I did not see his name tag, or I would have complained.
The Preschooler
  • The first day we were there I was able to convince my daughter to do some rides in Fantasyland, but that afternoon and all the next day, there were only three attractions she wanted to do: Haunted Mansion, the Tiki Room, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It turns out you can spend a fun day at Disneyland doing those three things. OK, maybe half a day. :rotfl2:
 
Glad to hear about the good things that happened on your trip!
Regarding the not so good things: please send in a comment to Disney about all those things (at the hotel, at the parks) -- don't worry about not knowing CM names -- a description with date, time, location, CM description (male? female? age? glasses? etc.) will be very helpful. Disney really needs to know about what's going on in the parks. Spiffing up the exteriors doesn't mean much if the CM interaction with guests isn't also staying spiffy. Be as detailed as you can be in your comment without being emotional -- what you've described here is fine. Management really does care about guest experience and it helps them to know how things are going in real life in the hotels and in the parks. Use the "contact us" link at the bottom of the DLR webpage to send in your comment -- and don't be surprised if someone contacts you to discuss things further -- they really do want to know and they appreciate your comments.
But I'm really glad to hear that you and your daughter got to enjoy some special time together in a very special place!
 
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.............interesting about the Tiki Room and the child.....does she watch a video at home that has some correlation to talking animals...... for example Wonder Pets?? or like. We always grumble about the attention span of children and with the Tiki Room I have zero attention span as an adult...so I find it fascinating that your child could watch the attraction over and over.
 
  • The Enchanted Tiki Room is back! It was being refurbished the last time we were there, so my daughter and I got to experience it for the first time. We both fell in love with Jose and the crew, and with Dole Whips as well. While I didn't get a chance to visit the Tropical Hideaway, it looked beautiful. Does anyone have any hints on how to get the Tiki Room song out of my head?

Go on IASW and poof - it's gone - but...then you have a new problem!
 


does she watch a video at home that has some correlation to talking animals
Oh yes, a lot of her favorite shows have talking animals. But she said her favorite part of the show was the drumming tikis. I think she found it exciting and a little scary. It was a small thrill she could do over and over again.
 

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