Grog
Semper Gumby
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2000
Just got back a few days ago from our trip to DLR, April 3rd-9th. We did 5½ days, with 4½ at DL and DCA and one day at USH. The details are a bit of a jumble so instead of trying to do this in chronological order I am going bounce around a bit and talk about the parks and the resort. I will be taking questions after the lecture. Please note that everything mentioned here is my opinion only and may not be the same as yours. That's why they are called opinions 
Hotel...
We stayed at Paradise Pier, 13th Floor, Theme Park View. Reviews for this hotel seem to run hot and cold. We enjoyed our stay here enough to want to go back and do it again. The view was fantastic and on one of our nights there we got to watch DEP work it's way through DCA. That was really cool. Getting to the parks was very easy. The private PPH entrance to DCA was about a two minute walk from the lobby of the hotel. The CM who checked us in advised us to cut through GC to get to DL quicker. This takes about five minutes as opposed to the ten or more minutes it takes if you go all the way through DTD from PPH. It's also good thinking on their part as it's free advertising for GC. The staff were terrific. We didn't have a single problem with any of the CMs at the hotel. Anytime we wanted anything they acted as if it was their pleasure to do so. There isn't as much themeing as there is at GC or DLH, but there are enough Mickey's that you can't possibly forget you are on Disney property. I also enjoyed the DCA concept art that was on various walls in and around the lobby of the hotel.
Eats...
Blue Bayou... What can I say? I loved it. This was my first time there and the atmosphere was wonderful. We were glad we made reservations as there was a huge line outside the door when we arrived. It was great to be whisked away to our table within a couple of minutes of arriving while the mere mortals looked on with envy. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent.
PCH Grill... We ended up eating here on our first night out of necessity and ended up eating there a total of three times (dinner twice, breakfast once). We found the food to be good, large portions, and the staff was always cheerful and attentive.
Yamabuki... Good Japanese food but the service was a bit slow.
Rainforest Cafe... Went there once for breakfast. Huge portions. Only has to wait about five minutes as we got there right after it opened. There was no getting in there or ESPN Zone for dinner while we were there as the lines were pretty long, usually in the 60 minute range.
River Belle Terrace... Ate there for breakfast our first morning in DL. Limited menu, but good food, big portions. We had two birds land on our table and stay there most of the time eating crumbs that we gave them.
White Water Snacks... Counter service restaurant in GC. Loved the Pizza Dog!! Speaking of dogs, I also fell in love with the Caesar Dog at Award Wieners. Never thought salad and a hot dog could go together.
DL Park...
The original. Gotta love it. The walls were still up around ROA until the day before we left. On our last day they took them down and we could see them testing the rafts, moving the Mark Twain back to it's dock, and getting ready for Fantasmic. We got to ride Pooh during the soft opening and enjoyed it. I can't compare it to the WDW version as I have never been on it. I'll have to do that on my next WDW trip. Only got to ride the Matterhorn once as the lines were really long most of the time we were in the park. On the other hand, everytime we went by Indy it was practically a walk-on so we got to ride it five times. Go figure. We go to ride Space Mountain the day before it closed, so that was kind of cool. One guy in our set of cars couldn't get his leg into his rocket properly as he had a knee brace. They couldn't let us run like that, but the lap bars were already locked so they moved us off the track into a maintenance bay. The guy in the brace was apologizing like crazy but I told him it wasn't a problem as I got to see a part of DL I otherwise wouldn't have seen. After they got us out of the rockets, we were sent into space on the next available flight. Loved the new (old) IASW. I think the white paint job looks better than the pastels they used to have. Toontown was fun. We went early in the morning before it got too hot so there were loads of characters out. There weren't many people there yet as I guess they were still working their way to the back of the park.
DCA...
Despite what a lot of people say, I love this park. I can understand why the AP holders and visitors from CA might not like it. I would probably get tired of Disney's Texas Adventure if they built it just down the street. For me though it is great. I will probably never get to go hangliding over any part of California, or go rafting down her rivers, so this is the next best thing. DCA was a bit more crowded than the last time I visited but with a wise use of FP, we got to do Soarin' four times and GRR four times. It helped to know that GRR isn't plugged into the FP network with Soarin'. At the hottest part of the day the line was over an hour for GRR. Also, what's with the ponchos? Who rides a water ride to NOT get wet? I can see wrapping a camcorder in one but not my entire body. Hey, it's hot and I want to get wet! It as cool to see the new TOT being built. I'll probably plan my next DLR trip for when it opens. Also got to visit the animation building for the first time. The live action / animated show with Mushu was hilarious. It was fun just to stand in the large lobby area and just watch the cartoons on the big screens. Did a quick walk around A Bug's Land. Nice themeing but obviously made for the little ones.
USH...
We decided to do one day at Universal and have top admit we came away disappointed. The Jurassic Park ride was really cool, and the studio tram tour is definitely worth taking but the rest kind of fell short. We didn't do T2 as they were only running shows every couple of hours (I remember it being continuous at USF, maybe it was due to the light crowds the day we were there). City Walk (Universals version of DTD) was pretty cool, but we only had about 20 minutes there before we had to catch the shuttle back to our hotel. We ended up wishing we had stayed at DLR and had a "down day" instead and spent the money on something else.
Transportation...
We used Airport Bus from John Wayne to the Hotel. Our driver was terrific. He started joking with us even before we left the airport and ended up doing a routine about LA area traffic, traffic court, road rage, etc that had us all laughing. He made the DLR hotels his first stop (ourselves and one other family staying at PPH). As we passed the road leading to DLH we could see the big Mickey in the distance. Our driver then did a perfect Mickey imitation... "Thanks for coming to DL folks, and don't forget to bring your wallets". You could tell the Disney vets as we all started laughing. The poor first timers sat there like they were wondering what they had got themselves into moneywise.
Rumors...
Not sure how much truth there is to it, but as we passed a large empty area on Harbor, our driver told us that Disney was planning to build a water park there to open in 2007 or 2008.
The Great Pin Hunt...
It turned out that there were half a dozen new pins being released the Sunday I was there and three of them were ones I wanted. I was able to get two at World of Disney, but was told the third was only in DL. I went to the Main Street Emporium where I had seen it on display (it was the Spring Forward 2003 pin) the night before. They told me that, no, they weren't selling it, just displaying it. Two collectors who were nearby told me they had seen it at the Gag Factory in Toowntown. We beat feet over there only to be told that it was at the nearby Fantasy Faire Gifts. Well, we finally get there and it's a mad house. The lines just sort of disintegrated and it was every man for himself. After about ten minutes I was able to get the attention of a CM and got the pin not a moment too soon as we had a PS for Blue Bayou in only five minutes. With a skillful use of elbows we made it just in time.
Stereotypes...
Yep, they were all there. The Stroller Commandos, the people smoking anywhere they wanted, the teenagers switching off riding in a wheelchair (saw this twice), the sudden stop crowd who get mad when you run into them, the Cheerleaders (there was a competition of some sort that weekend and they were staying at the DLH. I also have to add that they were very well behaved), the "you'd better have a nice time because this is costing us a fortune" club (usually spoken to a crying child). All were there. I can't imagine a Disney vacation with out them.
Events...
Two events worth mentioning.
Gay Day 2.5..this was sort of a mini Gay Day ( I think the regular one is held later in the year). We knew about it ahead of time from another board so it didn't surprise us. From some posts I've seen about WDW Gay Days I expected people running down Main Street in their underwear, but it was very low key. Only saw one "enlightened" person telling someone else not to go near "those people". I hope he was hit by a runaway stroller.
Mad Scramble... I read about this before we left as well. Can't remember the details but it is a kind of scavenger hunt run through DL by teams. We saw a number of these teams on Sunday and gave a few words of encouragement when we could. They were braver souls than I for doing what they did that day as it was pretty crowded.
Well, that's about it. I could write a lot more but then wouldn't be posting this for a couple more weeks. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
Hotel...
We stayed at Paradise Pier, 13th Floor, Theme Park View. Reviews for this hotel seem to run hot and cold. We enjoyed our stay here enough to want to go back and do it again. The view was fantastic and on one of our nights there we got to watch DEP work it's way through DCA. That was really cool. Getting to the parks was very easy. The private PPH entrance to DCA was about a two minute walk from the lobby of the hotel. The CM who checked us in advised us to cut through GC to get to DL quicker. This takes about five minutes as opposed to the ten or more minutes it takes if you go all the way through DTD from PPH. It's also good thinking on their part as it's free advertising for GC. The staff were terrific. We didn't have a single problem with any of the CMs at the hotel. Anytime we wanted anything they acted as if it was their pleasure to do so. There isn't as much themeing as there is at GC or DLH, but there are enough Mickey's that you can't possibly forget you are on Disney property. I also enjoyed the DCA concept art that was on various walls in and around the lobby of the hotel.
Eats...
Blue Bayou... What can I say? I loved it. This was my first time there and the atmosphere was wonderful. We were glad we made reservations as there was a huge line outside the door when we arrived. It was great to be whisked away to our table within a couple of minutes of arriving while the mere mortals looked on with envy. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent.
PCH Grill... We ended up eating here on our first night out of necessity and ended up eating there a total of three times (dinner twice, breakfast once). We found the food to be good, large portions, and the staff was always cheerful and attentive.
Yamabuki... Good Japanese food but the service was a bit slow.
Rainforest Cafe... Went there once for breakfast. Huge portions. Only has to wait about five minutes as we got there right after it opened. There was no getting in there or ESPN Zone for dinner while we were there as the lines were pretty long, usually in the 60 minute range.
River Belle Terrace... Ate there for breakfast our first morning in DL. Limited menu, but good food, big portions. We had two birds land on our table and stay there most of the time eating crumbs that we gave them.
White Water Snacks... Counter service restaurant in GC. Loved the Pizza Dog!! Speaking of dogs, I also fell in love with the Caesar Dog at Award Wieners. Never thought salad and a hot dog could go together.
DL Park...
The original. Gotta love it. The walls were still up around ROA until the day before we left. On our last day they took them down and we could see them testing the rafts, moving the Mark Twain back to it's dock, and getting ready for Fantasmic. We got to ride Pooh during the soft opening and enjoyed it. I can't compare it to the WDW version as I have never been on it. I'll have to do that on my next WDW trip. Only got to ride the Matterhorn once as the lines were really long most of the time we were in the park. On the other hand, everytime we went by Indy it was practically a walk-on so we got to ride it five times. Go figure. We go to ride Space Mountain the day before it closed, so that was kind of cool. One guy in our set of cars couldn't get his leg into his rocket properly as he had a knee brace. They couldn't let us run like that, but the lap bars were already locked so they moved us off the track into a maintenance bay. The guy in the brace was apologizing like crazy but I told him it wasn't a problem as I got to see a part of DL I otherwise wouldn't have seen. After they got us out of the rockets, we were sent into space on the next available flight. Loved the new (old) IASW. I think the white paint job looks better than the pastels they used to have. Toontown was fun. We went early in the morning before it got too hot so there were loads of characters out. There weren't many people there yet as I guess they were still working their way to the back of the park.
DCA...
Despite what a lot of people say, I love this park. I can understand why the AP holders and visitors from CA might not like it. I would probably get tired of Disney's Texas Adventure if they built it just down the street. For me though it is great. I will probably never get to go hangliding over any part of California, or go rafting down her rivers, so this is the next best thing. DCA was a bit more crowded than the last time I visited but with a wise use of FP, we got to do Soarin' four times and GRR four times. It helped to know that GRR isn't plugged into the FP network with Soarin'. At the hottest part of the day the line was over an hour for GRR. Also, what's with the ponchos? Who rides a water ride to NOT get wet? I can see wrapping a camcorder in one but not my entire body. Hey, it's hot and I want to get wet! It as cool to see the new TOT being built. I'll probably plan my next DLR trip for when it opens. Also got to visit the animation building for the first time. The live action / animated show with Mushu was hilarious. It was fun just to stand in the large lobby area and just watch the cartoons on the big screens. Did a quick walk around A Bug's Land. Nice themeing but obviously made for the little ones.
USH...
We decided to do one day at Universal and have top admit we came away disappointed. The Jurassic Park ride was really cool, and the studio tram tour is definitely worth taking but the rest kind of fell short. We didn't do T2 as they were only running shows every couple of hours (I remember it being continuous at USF, maybe it was due to the light crowds the day we were there). City Walk (Universals version of DTD) was pretty cool, but we only had about 20 minutes there before we had to catch the shuttle back to our hotel. We ended up wishing we had stayed at DLR and had a "down day" instead and spent the money on something else.
Transportation...
We used Airport Bus from John Wayne to the Hotel. Our driver was terrific. He started joking with us even before we left the airport and ended up doing a routine about LA area traffic, traffic court, road rage, etc that had us all laughing. He made the DLR hotels his first stop (ourselves and one other family staying at PPH). As we passed the road leading to DLH we could see the big Mickey in the distance. Our driver then did a perfect Mickey imitation... "Thanks for coming to DL folks, and don't forget to bring your wallets". You could tell the Disney vets as we all started laughing. The poor first timers sat there like they were wondering what they had got themselves into moneywise.
Rumors...
Not sure how much truth there is to it, but as we passed a large empty area on Harbor, our driver told us that Disney was planning to build a water park there to open in 2007 or 2008.
The Great Pin Hunt...
It turned out that there were half a dozen new pins being released the Sunday I was there and three of them were ones I wanted. I was able to get two at World of Disney, but was told the third was only in DL. I went to the Main Street Emporium where I had seen it on display (it was the Spring Forward 2003 pin) the night before. They told me that, no, they weren't selling it, just displaying it. Two collectors who were nearby told me they had seen it at the Gag Factory in Toowntown. We beat feet over there only to be told that it was at the nearby Fantasy Faire Gifts. Well, we finally get there and it's a mad house. The lines just sort of disintegrated and it was every man for himself. After about ten minutes I was able to get the attention of a CM and got the pin not a moment too soon as we had a PS for Blue Bayou in only five minutes. With a skillful use of elbows we made it just in time.
Stereotypes...
Yep, they were all there. The Stroller Commandos, the people smoking anywhere they wanted, the teenagers switching off riding in a wheelchair (saw this twice), the sudden stop crowd who get mad when you run into them, the Cheerleaders (there was a competition of some sort that weekend and they were staying at the DLH. I also have to add that they were very well behaved), the "you'd better have a nice time because this is costing us a fortune" club (usually spoken to a crying child). All were there. I can't imagine a Disney vacation with out them.
Events...
Two events worth mentioning.
Gay Day 2.5..this was sort of a mini Gay Day ( I think the regular one is held later in the year). We knew about it ahead of time from another board so it didn't surprise us. From some posts I've seen about WDW Gay Days I expected people running down Main Street in their underwear, but it was very low key. Only saw one "enlightened" person telling someone else not to go near "those people". I hope he was hit by a runaway stroller.
Mad Scramble... I read about this before we left as well. Can't remember the details but it is a kind of scavenger hunt run through DL by teams. We saw a number of these teams on Sunday and gave a few words of encouragement when we could. They were braver souls than I for doing what they did that day as it was pretty crowded.
Well, that's about it. I could write a lot more but then wouldn't be posting this for a couple more weeks. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
