Randoom Musings from our trip....things that stood out.

[billyandjj]

And one more cool thing we did....on our way in the first day was to stop that the fire station from the 1970's TV show Emergency! It is in Carson, CA. Just outside of LA. My son is a big fan. The outside looks just the same. We knocked, but nobody came to the door to go inside. I bet they get annoyed with 'tourists' visiting! A fun picture opportunity!

We thought about going to see the Brady Bunch house too, but it seemed really far out of the way! And we had to make priorities!

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

Fantastic trip report!

---One thing in DL that I think makes the lines seem longer is very little internal 'queues'. That was very evident in New Orleans Square with Pirates and then BTMRR nearby. The lines snaked through the park, making the areas around them so cramped and really quite un-enjoyable. Which was too bad, not being able to explore that area more, since it was so beautiful. I guess the massive crowds they receive now were unimaginable when that area was layed out. Speaking of Pirates and BTMRR, though: AMAZING!!!

This is so true. I was there the week before and I was flabbergasted by how "packed in" New Orleans square was. Of course it was quadruple-y so as people started gathering for fantasmic. BTMRR was doing an AP-holder only preview before opening to the public that weekend which actually drew quite a crowd of AP holders and other interested people trying to figure out what was going on. Combine that with Pirates lines extending past the archway and fantasmic and it became impossible to move in NO Square. I know that this isn't unusual during high volume times but I tend to go during quieter parts of the year so it caught me by surprise a bit.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

What a lovely report. Glad you liked DLR! Anaheim definitely has the better churros. Though I like MK's Dole Whip better (it's sweeter!)

Your words on it's a small world stuck out in particular to me. From a DLR perspective, small world is a BIG DEAL (caps intended). It's a 15-minute historic super-headliner with a massive facade and loading zone, and in the minds of Disneyland visitors, it carries quite a lot of weight. It's basically the queen of DL's Fantasyland rides, in a whole other league from the dark rides.

From a WDW perspective, though, it's clearly not the same thing. It's a somewhat shorter ride that isn't a direct clone of the original, with a much smaller, not very prominent facade. But I still I always assumed WDW vets thought about small world in the same big-fat-deal way that DLR visitors do. I guess maybe not, though, huh? Which is interesting, because inside, both rides, while different, are still long and extraordinary. Just an observation.

 

[msmama]

Thanks for sharing!

Just curious - did you tend to stay on east coast time the whole trip (up earlier than usual)? I have no idea how my son is going to react to a time change so I'm hesitant to book anything at specific times yet (I think it'll kind of be nice to be "off" everybody else's time).

 

[mikamah]

Thank you for sharing your awesome trip report!! We are taking our first DL trip in august, and it was so fun to read your perspectives.

I am thinking of doing the greyline Hollywood/LA bus tour, but wonder if we would rather do it on our own so we can have more or less time down town by the Chinese theater, etc, so it's nice to hear your thoughts. We won't have a car, and I've heard public transportation isn't the greatest, so thought the bus tour would be easier. Did you walk from the theater and footprints to the area you could see the Hollywood sign from?

Thanks again!

 

[daisy_77]

I loved reading your TR! I had no idea they still did the silhouettes. I will have to have my kids go in and get them done on our next trip---with the frames.

 

[rachaeld]

Great trip report, plenty of points there that I will take note of.

---I would need to visit more to fully see the benefit of Magic Morning, so this is just an initial observation.....I might be totally wrong. It seems the benefit of MM is negligible. I felt like the park was more crowded in that hour than just about any other time we were there....it seems everyone had a MM pass. I could not believe the lines that morning. It was stressful. But, I feel like if you have one of those passes, you better use it or you will really be behind the 8 ball when the park opens. We spent ours in Fantasyland, and did get it all done in 1 hour, but it was stressful with the crowds.

What time was park opening when you were there? I am hoping that the 8am opening time for our visit will help with the early crowds.

 

[LisaT91403]

---Single rider on Matterhorn was the bomb! The line was about 40 minutes with the Magic Morning by the time we got to it....the single rider line was walk on. Nobody seemed to know about it. I was on the same car as my son the first time, and he did it a few more times himself, walk on each time. Matternorn is another ride where the lines snake around into the park and make it difficult to get around each time.

You are lucky. When we visited on 3/23, the single rider line took almost a half hour. The second time we tried, the single rider line was closed because it was full! I had never encountered that before.

 

[Blue32]

I am really enjoying reading these Trip Reports lately of WDW vets visiting DLR for the first time. It's interesting to read different peoples perspectives and thoughts about the parks there and your trip report was a great read!!

One thing that sticks out to me that mentioned is about your MM experience. I have been reading this more and more lately about DL's Magic Morning(being very crowded) and it kind of confirms my belief now that when MM starts any later than 7 am (I believe yours was at 8) it just does not hold that much value. I know some people swear by that extra hour. I'm sure at DCA it's great. I'm sure when DL's MM starts at 7 it's very pleasant, jumping on all the FL rides. But any later and it seems more people are able to get out of bed and make it to MM making it much busier.

 

[Oz Mum]

Thankyou so much for all the tips - love reading up on everything & it sure makes me feel better prepared for our upcoming visit

May I ask where in Disneyland the Silhouette Studio is??? Sounds like a great keepsake to have of my two daughters first trip overseas.

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

Thankyou so much for all the tips - love reading up on everything & it sure makes me feel better prepared for our upcoming visit

May I ask where in Disneyland the Silhouette Studio is??? Sounds like a great keepsake to have of my two daughters first trip overseas.

On Main Street, on the right side about 2/3 of the way if you are walking toward the castle.

EDIT: come to think of it it's probably more like 3/4 of the way down. Basically across the street from the Penny Arcade

 

[jemmi]

I used 2 different ones....the free one, DL Waits seemed to be the most accurate. It was pretty basic, but the one we used most of the time in the parks. The other was $3.99, I believe and it was really cool, so much more than just wait times....called Walkee. It has interactive maps of the parks, lots of extras and history of attractions that we would read if we were waiting in line for that ride. The wait times seemed to be a little underestimated on this one. This one was fun to play with before we went as well. So download them earlier than you trip if you know you are getting the for sure. Also, looking at them some before you go gives you trends of wait lines and times of days that maybe the lines lessen in time.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[billyandjj]

On Main Street, on the right side about 2/3 of the way if you are walking toward the castle.

EDIT: come to think of it it's probably more like 3/4 of the way down. Basically across the street from the Penny Arcade

And it is a very small shop....easy to miss. Just past it is a porch with rocking chairs on it - so if you see that, you have gone too far!

 

[billyandjj]

What a lovely report. Glad you liked DLR! Anaheim definitely has the better churros. Though I like MK's Dole Whip better (it's sweeter!)

Your words on it's a small world stuck out in particular to me. From a DLR perspective, small world is a BIG DEAL (caps intended). It's a 15-minute historic super-headliner with a massive facade and loading zone, and in the minds of Disneyland visitors, it carries quite a lot of weight. It's basically the queen of DL's Fantasyland rides, in a whole other league from the dark rides.

From a WDW perspective, though, it's clearly not the same thing. It's a somewhat shorter ride that isn't a direct clone of the original, with a much smaller, not very prominent facade. But I still I always assumed WDW vets thought about small world in the same big-fat-deal way that DLR visitors do. I guess maybe not, though, huh? Which is interesting, because inside, both rides, while different, are still long and extraordinary. Just an observation.

I always knew it was iconic.....but I thought mostly because of the 'catchy tune' that everyone knows, even if you have never been on the ride! And then, if you have been on the ride....you will never forget the song!!!!1 But, I did not know the history and how Walt got the ride sponsored and how it was at the World's Fair. I really loved all the history at DL (and from the tour we took) and am so bummed we were not able to do the ride this time. We went back in that area just exploring, and when we saw the massive facade.....and was amazed!

 

[billyandjj]

Thanks for sharing!

Just curious - did you tend to stay on east coast time the whole trip (up earlier than usual)? I have no idea how my son is going to react to a time change so I'm hesitant to book anything at specific times yet (I think it'll kind of be nice to be "off" everybody else's time).

Well, the problem with staying on East Coast time is that the shows all start at 9:00 - 9:45, so that is hard to see those shows for the little ones. My boys are 9 &11. We really wanted to see fantasmic, and the only night it was playing was our first night....the day we traveled. We went in with the thought that we would just see how we felt and luckily, we were able to stay up and see the show....although we were exhausted. I think that helped us acclimate, however. We always got up a bit earlier in the mornings but that was good to get up and in for rope drop. I would say if you can wait and schedule stuff later in the week for night, then do so. We did WOC (9:45 showing) on our last night to be better acclimated.

I think another thing is that since it does not get dark until 8ish, your body automatically adjusts as well.

But, one thing is for sure....we were exhausted after this vacation, we packed so much in.....so we needed a 'vacation from our vacation'!!!!!

 

[billyandjj]

Thank you for sharing your awesome trip report!! We are taking our first DL trip in august, and it was so fun to read your perspectives.

I am thinking of doing the greyline Hollywood/LA bus tour, but wonder if we would rather do it on our own so we can have more or less time down town by the Chinese theater, etc, so it's nice to hear your thoughts. We won't have a car, and I've heard public transportation isn't the greatest, so thought the bus tour would be easier. Did you walk from the theater and footprints to the area you could see the Hollywood sign from?

Thanks again!

All the things I listed in Hollywood were very close together, all really on that same block of street....some on either side of the street. But, you could park or be dropped off and do the whole area at once.

 

[billyandjj]

Great trip report, plenty of points there that I will take note of. What time was park opening when you were there? I am hoping that the 8am opening time for our visit will help with the early crowds.

For us, 9:00 regular opening....and 8:00 for MM......but that did not deter the crowds!!!!

 

[billyandjj]

I am really enjoying reading these Trip Reports lately of WDW vets visiting DLR for the first time. It's interesting to read different peoples perspectives and thoughts about the parks there and your trip report was a great read!!

One thing that sticks out to me that mentioned is about your MM experience. I have been reading this more and more lately about DL's Magic Morning(being very crowded) and it kind of confirms my belief now that when MM starts any later than 7 am (I believe yours was at 8) it just does not hold that much value. I know some people swear by that extra hour. I'm sure at DCA it's great. I'm sure when DL's MM starts at 7 it's very pleasant, jumping on all the FL rides. But any later and it seems more people are able to get out of bed and make it to MM making it much busier.

We stayed offsite and as we were walking in that morning, I could not believe the crowds. I think they must give that pass out to just about anyone. We got our through Costco. You might be right that at 7:00, we would have been better off....but all I know is that we were packed like sardines. And, with only two lands open, that makes things very crowded. While waiting at DCA at rope drop and seeing the crowds for EMH, they seemed much more relaxed!!!! I was jealous....but not enough to pay the difference for that onsite hotel. I am glad we did the MM because it gave us an extra hour in the park, but I do not think it was any different crowd wise than a regular rope drop.

 

[devlindvcfam]

Thanks for the info, we go in august! We've been once before but DCA was under construction for cars land, super excited to ride those rides. What is RSR? And what about inning reservation in the parks? Any recommendations? Thanks

 

[devlindvcfam]

*dining reservations