sleepingbooty
10-03-2008, 06:49 PM
We just returned on the 28th from a 10 day trip to Southern California. While we were there, we spent 2 days at DL / DCA. Suprisingly, my impressions were a bit mixed. My parents are originally from SoCal, so I went to DL many times as a child, though not since I was about 16. Only in the last 5 years have I become a WDW fanatic. I fully expected to be really wowed by DLR. You know, I really wasn't.
First of all, it was so crowded! And this is supposed to be low season. We went on Wednesday the 24th, and again on Saturday. Wednesday was not too bad, but Saturday was insane. And it just seemed a bit claustrophobic on the DL side - the walkways are all much narrower than MK. Saturday night, on the way out, they did something that I thought made sense: As we exited Tomorrowland, they had turned the hub into a one-way only, going counterclockwise like a round-a-bout road. With the mad crush of people, it inched along painfully slowly, but letting people go whatever direction they wanted would have been sheer insanity. I've never seen them do that at MK (then again, I've never seen it that crowded at MK as we usually go during low season).
I don't want to make it sound that I didn't enjoy the parks, I really did. I was just disappointed that I didn't like it better than Florida. I guess the thing I enjoy most about our Disney vacations is the sense of complete immersion in a fantasy world that you get the minute you sign in at Magical Express and doesn't stop until you leave a week later. I love getting the dining plan and staying onsite, using Disney transportation, etc. I didn't get that at DLR. Its just different being a day visitor, I guess.
We stayed with my cousin in Huntington Beach, and he works for Disney, so we really lucked out. We got free admission and parking both days, plus 35% off on most of our food and souvenir purchases. On another day he even took us to a cast member store that's offsite nearby in an industrial area called "Company D." Everything there was 50-75% off or more. We got most of our souvenirs there. He was also able to get us on any of the rides that had long lines without waiting (yeah, I know, so how can I complain about the crowds, right?) We didn't have wait for Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Nemo Submarines, Toy Story Mania. If it was less than 20 minutes, we just went ahead and waited. Despite the big crowds, the lines weren't all that bad. It was fun to do my old favorites from childhood again, and introduce them to my girls, like Alice and Mr.Toad. We really were blown away by DL's version of Pirates: much longer and complex and MK. One thing I didn't care for was the Nightmare before Christmas overlay on HM. I guess you have to be a fan of that movie, which I'm not, to enjoy it. I missed the regular version of HM.
California Adventure didn't do a lot for me. There were some good rides, of course, but I guess the park just didn't feel cohesive. It'll be interesting to see what they dream up for the big overhaul. We did really like the new Toy Story ride, and of course Soarin - one of my faves at WDW as well. On our way out of DCA on Wednesday, I passed Lindsay Lohan and her girlfriend on their way in - like 6 inches from me at the turnstyles. Kinda cool. I thought it was surprising that they were going in the regular entrance, and they didn't have any "handlers" with them. My cousin said that one of his coworkers told him that Hannah Montana was in the park that day as well, but we didn't run into her. Now that would have been a real treat for my girls!
Overall, we had an enjoyable trip. It was wonderful to see family again, and I really liked San Diego (we were down there the first five days) and Laguna Beach (another cousin lives there). But let me tell you, I'm now really craving a complete WDW fix. Is it too early to start planning for September 2009?:blush:
First of all, it was so crowded! And this is supposed to be low season. We went on Wednesday the 24th, and again on Saturday. Wednesday was not too bad, but Saturday was insane. And it just seemed a bit claustrophobic on the DL side - the walkways are all much narrower than MK. Saturday night, on the way out, they did something that I thought made sense: As we exited Tomorrowland, they had turned the hub into a one-way only, going counterclockwise like a round-a-bout road. With the mad crush of people, it inched along painfully slowly, but letting people go whatever direction they wanted would have been sheer insanity. I've never seen them do that at MK (then again, I've never seen it that crowded at MK as we usually go during low season).
I don't want to make it sound that I didn't enjoy the parks, I really did. I was just disappointed that I didn't like it better than Florida. I guess the thing I enjoy most about our Disney vacations is the sense of complete immersion in a fantasy world that you get the minute you sign in at Magical Express and doesn't stop until you leave a week later. I love getting the dining plan and staying onsite, using Disney transportation, etc. I didn't get that at DLR. Its just different being a day visitor, I guess.
We stayed with my cousin in Huntington Beach, and he works for Disney, so we really lucked out. We got free admission and parking both days, plus 35% off on most of our food and souvenir purchases. On another day he even took us to a cast member store that's offsite nearby in an industrial area called "Company D." Everything there was 50-75% off or more. We got most of our souvenirs there. He was also able to get us on any of the rides that had long lines without waiting (yeah, I know, so how can I complain about the crowds, right?) We didn't have wait for Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Nemo Submarines, Toy Story Mania. If it was less than 20 minutes, we just went ahead and waited. Despite the big crowds, the lines weren't all that bad. It was fun to do my old favorites from childhood again, and introduce them to my girls, like Alice and Mr.Toad. We really were blown away by DL's version of Pirates: much longer and complex and MK. One thing I didn't care for was the Nightmare before Christmas overlay on HM. I guess you have to be a fan of that movie, which I'm not, to enjoy it. I missed the regular version of HM.
California Adventure didn't do a lot for me. There were some good rides, of course, but I guess the park just didn't feel cohesive. It'll be interesting to see what they dream up for the big overhaul. We did really like the new Toy Story ride, and of course Soarin - one of my faves at WDW as well. On our way out of DCA on Wednesday, I passed Lindsay Lohan and her girlfriend on their way in - like 6 inches from me at the turnstyles. Kinda cool. I thought it was surprising that they were going in the regular entrance, and they didn't have any "handlers" with them. My cousin said that one of his coworkers told him that Hannah Montana was in the park that day as well, but we didn't run into her. Now that would have been a real treat for my girls!
Overall, we had an enjoyable trip. It was wonderful to see family again, and I really liked San Diego (we were down there the first five days) and Laguna Beach (another cousin lives there). But let me tell you, I'm now really craving a complete WDW fix. Is it too early to start planning for September 2009?:blush: