Hey Christmas
Disneyland peeps!! It sounds like you're all all doing well! I'm home from 5 days in the parks - dec 8-13! It was great overall! I started the week with several friends, party of 18 at one point. By the last 2 days it was just me and my 2 dd's. much easier to manage and enjoy with a smaller group! I do have some negative feedback at the end, so skip this post if you prefer not to hear me complain
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A few observations:
1. The crowds! I think they were so much heavier, and on all days of the week, not just the weekend! Sunday morning at rope drop for the first few hours were our lightest crowds of the whole week! And that was DL during the cp days. After the fireworks people still stayed on Thursday, which surprised me. Sunday they clearer out more. It wasn't until closing that it really thinned out. I think I wrongly expected it to be liter during the week since kids were still in school! Gah! Not lighter at all!
2. The flying carpet is back in Alladin! I hadn't read this anywhere before going, and that was a pleasant surprise!
love that show! And loved the royal theater production of Belle, rapunzel wasn't as good, but still really cute! Mickey and the magical map was pretty good, but I here they'll do the Ariel show or full beauty and beast show from MK instead.
3. Reservation for seated dining is a MUST with the crowds! We enjoyed a great meal at Cafe Orleans and were seated immediately upon arrival, 15 minutes before our reservation time
. Highly recommend!! Others were being turned away. Pomme frites and mont cristo were awesome!
4 pirates- much wetter than I remember it!! We rode it a lot during our 5 days there, and got wet on half our trips! Gah! Still a favorite though!! Can't beat the theming!
5. Matterhorn is not less jerky, but a fun ride and decent substitute for btmrr. I only rode it twice and at night it seemed jerker. My dd's discovered and used the SR line too many times to count!!! About 6-8 rides a night each! I couldn't take that
. But went and enjoyed IASw st night without my dd's complaining about it being boring
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6. DL has busy maintenance men!!! Every ride we rode was down at some point!! Even buzz, autopia, and pirates which I don't think of as down-able? We found ride closures to be much more frequent this visit. With btmrr closed, the pressure on Indy, space and Matterhorn is much greater, and they went down a lot our week there. CA already had challenges with RSR and TSMM. But goofy went down too!
7. RSR is still our favorite, even with going down a lot. Still worth it!! And sr line is wonderful! Night time ride is a must!! Maters is a favorite too!! Love the voice over instructions while wasting to ride
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8. Decorations!, loved them!! They seemed even more beautiful than last year!!! And the fireworks and light show (castle and IASW) were wonderful!! We got to see the fireworks from 3 separate locations-small world area, front left of castle, and front right, all were great, love the show and the snow!! IASW has the added projection which I preferred to the castle show, but the right side by astro orbiter was the best view of the actual fireworks! Love them!!
9. Missed WOC-weather cancelled Tuesday's performance and my dd's were too tired for the other nights option.
10. Hoppers are looking better to me with all the ride closures. TSMM and RSR down at the same time really hurts ca. It would be really nice to hit the other park
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11. FPs for Indy don't help much. Great for RSR and space though
. SR for Soarin' is a big mistake. Waited forever and eventually left b/c the standby line went much faster. I think they need a SR for Space. Would be a good addition, really great for RSR and Matterhorn.
12. Parade was really cute, and we caught it 3 times!
13. IASW was magical!!! The highlight of my trip!! The show outside was great, the train ride through it during the little show was sweet!, and inside it seemed even more decorated and magical then years past? Love it!!
14. While I waited for 11 FPs for RSR on Tuesday morning, my family and friends were chosen to open TOT!! They rode the trolley with chip and dale (my favorite characters who I could not find the rest of the trip, despite countless promises by well meaning but woefully uninformed CMs), and signed the guest book, and our friends who were there for their first visit got a free photo pass plus! Highlight for the week for all of them!
15.. Last observation-the gingerbread beignets are no where near as good as the regular ones
. Still yummy, but I'm glad I got the regular ones too (yummy!).
I think 5 day tickets were too much for me and my dd's. by the end of the week my dd's were fussing with each other and I was frustrated with the crowds and ride closures and lost sight of the Magic of Disneyland. Our last day we went to use our FPs for Indy, and it was down, so we walked across to Autopia and waited in line for 30 minutes, then it went down. No FP for later, just leave. Then we went to Space, waited and it went down!! Really? Then my dd's did SR for Matterhorn and dd(13) got stuck on the ride- sideways, by the water. Crazy! It was just a streak of bad luck right at the end of the trip which left us frustrated
. It wasn't the only time ride closures interrupted the trip, but it was the lasting impression of so many back to back that hurt. So much so that we chose NOT to upgrade to APs. We will take a break from DL for a while, let them fix the rides and see if they continue to raise the prices. I am still a DL lover, but this trip left me with a slightly different view of DL, and I'm sad to admit I was disappointed for the first time in my life
. I'm sorry to be so negative. I think I've reached the point where the cost vs benefit balance has been tipped in favor of taking a break from DL for a while. I was going to keep my thoughts to myself, as I don't want to discourage you all. But I think having more realistic expectations might keep other visitors happier going into the crowds and technical difficulties. Just my $0.02. I still love Disneyland!! But am going to take a bit of time off from visiting and build that enthusiasm back up
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