I am going to Disneyland!!!

[AnaME]

Hi all!
My sweet DH just booked us a Valentine's trip to DL! Our first ever!
I hope to see the Pacific Ocean as well! Maybe I"ll catch a glimpse of
Don Alejandro or Zorro or both!

I am beside myself!! In all my travels I have stuck east of the Mississippi,
except for Iowa and Kansas.

So I need help. We are staying at the Disneyland Hotel (2/12-2/16), have park hoppers and a dining package. ( I am not a big fan of packages, but for this trip, being a novice, it made sense--- plus the whole package plus our airfare was less than just accomodations at the Poly for the same weekend).

Anyway, I know some of you here have been to DL and would have great suggestions.
Do we rent a car or have a "town car" service, suggestions? pro's con's
Is the Crystal Cathedral near by?
Dining must do's?
Attractions must seee's?

Help!! I am at a loss for DL, but thrilled to be going.
Best part, its just me and DH. The kids will come next time.

I apologize if my grammar or spelling is off, I am having trouble sitting still! I am going to Disneyland!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!

[BetsyAnn]

AnaMe!

That is great! Disneyland is my very favorite park of all amusement parks! I would suggest the Blue Bayou for lunch or dinner. It is located inside the beginning of the PoC. You need to make reservations for this one


Must do's

1) PoC is different as is Splash Mtn and HM. Small World has a great clock on the outside and that makes a huge difference to me!

2) Storybook Canal boats, Mr Toad, Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, Roger Rabbit Spin are at DL not MK

3) Ride the train all the way around to see the Dinorama

4) Listen to dixieland jazz, sip on a mint julip and get a fritter in New Orleans square

5) See the fireworks "Believe" ( I think Wishes is based on this firework show at DL)

6) Watch Fantasmic if it is being preformed - It is wonderful and different from the one at MGM -- we like to sit down about 12 feet from the fence and wait for show - be warned you may need to stake out a place if you want to sit down.

8 ) 8) Ride Soaring over CA in California Adventure

9) See Alddian at CA

10) If you love wooden type roller Coasters - do Screamin in CA -- it is metal but has the feel of an old wooden coaster!

11) See Moments with Mr Lincoln. Trust me on this one :wink:

12) Just look around, and enjoy being in the park that Walt walked around in. The details are good and the gardens are beautiful.

Have a great time planning!

[Moley]

Great list, Betsy Ann! :D

[Joe]

And don't forget to have lunch or dinner at the Blue Bayou! That is my very best, most favorite restaurant in DL! And ask for a table by the water.....

[AnaME]

Thanks to all of your great suggestions we are off to a great start!

So far we are:

Fantasmic Desserts on the Balcony of Walt and Roy's apartment

Wine & cheese party for Electrical parade at CA

Walking in Walt's footsteps tour

Lunch at the Blue Bayou

Breakfast at Goofy's kitchen

and we are still learning and planning.
I called the DL vacation planning office and the CM is fantastic.
Very friendly and knowledgable. Long time vet of DL.
I 'll keep you updated!!!

Electrical parade

[Barb D]

Do we rent a car or have a "town car" service, suggestions? pro's con's: We used Supershuttle a couple times and they are basically at the airport with no reservation needed. You go out the door near the parking garage and they are waiting for you. We even arrived late at night and they were still waiting. I cant remember how much it cost for 2 of us but I think it was about $30 each way from LAX. Its about a 20 to 30 minute commute with out traffic (We came in late and no traffic)

The plus is no driving needed or getting lost!! My husband loves to see where we are going and he feels when he drives he misses out on things. The bad: You could have more than your party and have to stop at other places on the way. We had 3 parties in our van and we was the middle stop. But all of the stops are near Disneyland. Also you have to schedule your return trip and I’m so worried about being late so I made them pick us up extra early. I hate not having control of that aspect of our trip.


Is the Crystal Cathedral near by? yes and no. Its about 10 miles I think? I horrible with mileage and directions. Its maybe a 10 to 15 minute drive. You would need a car or learn their public bus schedule. From what I could see it looks like they have a lot of busses running all around that area.

Dining must do's? I agree about Blue Byau. My husband and I got to meet up with BetsyAnn and we had lunch there. We tried the Monte Cristo sandwich (The description of this sandwich scared me but it was terrific!!) Its only served at lunch time though. You must get reservations or you may not get in. You can call up to 60 days in advance

I also loved the Naples restaurant in Downtown Disney. I had a thin almost cracker like pizza with mushrooms and sausage and it was really good. My husband had a pasta dish similar to lasagna. Its a huge place and you should get in no problem. All three Disney hotels have a character meal and with out reservations you may not get in so be sure to call ahead. I have never tried any of them since we rarely do all you can eat places.

They do have a rainforest cafe in downtown Disney. Its similar to all Rainforest cafes in food and its about a 7 on a scale of 1-10 for animal and animation. I consider downtown Disney a 9 or 10.

For breakfast on the run we stopped at the LeBrea bakery. Its all homemade and YUM!! Le Brea also has a factory tour you can see in California Adventure park. I love to see how sourdough is made. Its a lot more than you ever imagined.


Attractions must see's? My must sees: At Disneyland include the story book canals. (I love miniatures), Indiana Jones (a lot like the dinasour ride at Animal Kingdom but way better theming), Mattahorn because its not at WDW, also the Lincoln thing. I love that sort of history attraction. You will fall in love with toon town because its a lot better themed and Small World because its a huge castle with a lot of photo opportunity with your group. Since its just two of you don’t be afraid to ask others to snap pictures of you two in front of that and the castle. By the way the castle is different too.

My must sees in California Adventure: Of course the roller coaster California Screaming, I also love the Golden Dreams with Whoopie Goldberg, California Soaring (If you have opportunity ask to wait for the top row. They say its the same in every row but not true! The top row doesn’t see a bunch of distracting feet dangling in their view.), I also love the tortilla factory tour as I am convinced when I have a spare million dollars I plan to get one of these. lol They do give samples of the fresh off the press tortillas. If you never had a fresh one like that you have never had a fresh tortilla. The animation studio is one of those attractions to do early in the morning because it’s too crowded to do all the little kiosks when its crowded. In the part called sorcers workshop you get to find out what character you are most like, and then in another section you can make a cartoon and be the voices. It’s a lot of fun. I personally love California Adventure park. If you go expecting something different something like how MGM and Epcot are different than Magic Kingdom you will find a whole new world out there too. Some sites are pretty negative about this park. I’ve been down there 3 separate times and go a lot over several days each time since it first opened and I continue to find a lot I love about that park.


Hope this gives you a little taste of what to expect.

Barb

[BetsyAnn]

Great lists everyone - now I want to go TOO! :(

[KatEnigma]

I went to the DL site to see if the new Snow White show would be open yet when you're there (They showed one of the numbers on Regis and Kelly yesterday, and it looked good, even if Dopey did look more maniacal than dopey! :shock: ) Anyway, it doesn't look like it will be open yet, and I also noted what's closed for refurbishment.


In DL
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Indiana Jones Adventure
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Sleeping Beauty Castle - Attraction Walkway
Space Mountain

In CA
Superstar Limo

You're in luck though, because they ARE showing Fantasmic that weekend. :D I wish I could make the drive down myself now. :cry:

[Barb D]

Your not missing anything with Superstar Limo. It was so bad of an attraction!! I think it will be replaced at least I hope so with something worth seeing.

[AnaME]

I did find out that the Snow White musical WILL be open sort of.
It's Soft opening is Feb 9, so I am hoping that we will see it.
Thanks for ALL the GREAT suggestions! I will let you all know!

[BetsyAnn]

Oh AnaME if you do get to see Snow White we would love to hear about it!

[Joe]

BetsyAnn, I'm with you. After reading all of the responses here, I'm ready to head west!

[LisaG]

Sorry I haven't been around sooner, been moving...

Just so you don't get your hopes up - Indiana Jones is closed for rehab thru April. We were there on Saturday and they have signs up. Also the train stop in Tomorrowland is closed for rehab. So make sure you stay on til the Main street stop so you can see Primevil World and the Grand Canyon.

Have a great trip!