Here now...personal observations

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

Son (15) and I are here for five PMS and four days in the parks. Went to DCA Wed and DL today. Here are my observations/ thoughts (warning...I have very high standards and have been attending DLR since 1968):
Steakhouse 55. BIG disappointment. Been family's favorite since 2012. Son had prime rib and I had the 18 oz ribeye steak. Macaroni and Cheese and Asparagus. Both meats ordered medium. Very tough and chewy. Mac and cheese with HEAVY garlic presence. Spoke to the manager. Don't know if it was just bad beef or bad chef. She offered free desert but I declined due to being so late (9 PM). Dinner took two hours (7 to 9 pm).
CMs. Been outstanding to date! Bringing their A game.
Security. Asked about a line for guests with no bags. Security manager on duty replied that the CMs can't agree on what is a bag. Easier said than done until you have to man the gate. People bring in all sorts of containers and bags and it can get very challenging. Thus, no line for those of us without any bags.
Music. First time here during the Christmas season. Christmas music playing at Downtown Disney and most of DCA and DL main street. Use to hearing Disney music everywhere...part of the atmosphere. Different. I personally associate Christmas music with home, auto and shopping. Disney tunes with DLR. For me, it takes away from the DL experience/ atmosphere with I am familiar with.
Fireworks. Lack of fireworks for a few days due to high winds.
Crowds. DL had a lot of early folks at 7 AM EMH rope drop. More than the summer. But crowds were very manageable. Nothing like biblical proportions.
MAXPASS. Awesome! Can't say enough good things about it. Allowed my son to navigate with his cell phone. Makes touring vastly superior. Just go to one E ticket ride after another with minimal waiting. Naturally the gaps become longer in the afternoon/ evening, but that allows dinning, shopping and a relaxed tour plan of the parks. Can't imagine touring without it. Commando touring from 7 AM to 1 PM with the greatest of ease.
Food in general. Either I have become too picky, too demanding or the Disney standard has been reduced since my last trip here in summer of 2016. RDZ meat was too chewy and tough; Deyer's (main street) ice cream with chocolate chip cookies featured stale and hard cookies (never order that again), Tangora and Jolly Holiday Bakery both had stale chips. Holiday Bakery turkey sandwich was good.
Prices. Don't know how the tourists (non-AP) can continue to afford DLR. Churros now $4.75, soda about $3.50 ea, counter service lunch for two costs $40. I am able to afford DLR due to military discounts. But have been priced out of the DL theme park view to a pool view and will likely go to parking lot view for next trip. Shirts costs anywhere from $24 to $36 each. Use to vacation 10 to 15 days per trip due to visiting from Hawaii. This trip is just five nights.
Christmas season at DLR. For me, nothing exceptional. Now that I have visited during the seasons of Halloween, Christmas and Summer, prefer Summer. Halloween has fewer hours and later RDs, Christmas weather is totally unpredictable and not worth the mark-up in hotel prices. Summer has consistent weather, early RD and lower prices.

 

[GatorChris]

Music. First time here during the Christmas season. Christmas music playing at Downtown Disney and most of DCA and DL main street. Use to hearing Disney music everywhere...part of the atmosphere. Different. I personally associate Christmas music with home, auto and shopping. Disney tunes with DLR. For me, it takes away from the DL experience/ atmosphere with I am familiar with.

Fireworks. Lack of fireworks for a few days due to high winds.

Prices. Don't know how the tourists (non-AP) can continue to afford DLR. Churros now $4.75, soda about $3.50 ea, counter service lunch for two costs $40. I am able to afford DLR due to military discounts. But have been priced out of the DL theme park view to a pool view and will likely go to parking lot view for next trip. Shirts costs anywhere from $24 to $36 each.

I know what you mean on the music. I remember going to Epcot and loving all the Epcot-ish music. Then when we went at Christmas, I missed all the Disney music. I guess you can say the same at DL

Fireworks. Yeah, there's no way I can keep count the fireworks were cancelled due to winds. Ugh.

And for sure on the prices. We've had AP the last 4 big trips, and it's saved a bundle. Soda's are so high! I ordered ice water at every meal when I was there. Probably save $100 between my and my wife.

Hope you have a great remainder of the trip!

 

[Malcon10t]

Soda's are so high! I ordered ice water at every meal when I was there. Probably save $100 between my and my wife.

Wow, that is almost 30 sodas. We do drink a lot of iced tea (same as sodas.) At $3.40 a large soda ($3.99 a soda, then take a 15% discount for AP, much cheaper than our local theaters and ball parks) with a free refill, for me, it is usually worth it.

This can cause lunch at a counter service to run about $16 per person, plus tax (average is $12 meal, $4 drink) but with an AP discount brings it down to $13.80.

For me, Christmas is the best time at Disneyland. I love hearing the music, I actually stood in the esplanade on the first day of the holiday season just letting it all sink in.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Re: security lines. There were "no bags" lines last weekend (Harbor entry). Weird they would say that.

Re: Maxpass- Totally agree. I won't go without it now! It was almost too good and we were exhausting ourselves. I need the wait times to rest a bit.

Re: Christmas music. I agree here, too. I LOVE Disney. I LOVE Christmas. But I don't think I like them together. Oh, but the IASW lighting is pretty darn magical.

 

[Shanti]

Aloha,

Son (15) and I are here for five PMS and four days in the parks. Went to DCA Wed and DL today. Here are my observations/ thoughts (warning...I have very high standards and have been attending DLR since 1968):
Steakhouse 55. BIG disappointment. Been family's favorite since 2012. Son had prime rib and I had the 18 oz ribeye steak. Macaroni and Cheese and Asparagus. Both meats ordered medium. Very tough and chewy. Mac and cheese with HEAVY garlic presence. Spoke to the manager. Don't know if it was just bad beef or bad chef. She offered free desert but I declined due to being so late (9 PM). Dinner took two hours (7 to 9 pm).
CMs. Been outstanding to date! Bringing their A game.
Security. Asked about a line for guests with no bags. Security manager on duty replied that the CMs can't agree on what is a bag. Easier said than done until you have to man the gate. People bring in all sorts of containers and bags and it can get very challenging. Thus, no line for those of us without any bags.
Music. First time here during the Christmas season. Christmas music playing at Downtown Disney and most of DCA and DL main street. Use to hearing Disney music everywhere...part of the atmosphere. Different. I personally associate Christmas music with home, auto and shopping. Disney tunes with DLR. For me, it takes away from the DL experience/ atmosphere with I am familiar with.
Fireworks. Lack of fireworks for a few days due to high winds.
Crowds. DL had a lot of early folks at 7 AM EMH rope drop. More than the summer. But crowds were very manageable. Nothing like biblical proportions.
MAXPASS. Awesome! Can't say enough good things about it. Allowed my son to navigate with his cell phone. Makes touring vastly superior. Just go to one E ticket ride after another with minimal waiting. Naturally the gaps become longer in the afternoon/ evening, but that allows dinning, shopping and a relaxed tour plan of the parks. Can't imagine touring without it. Commando touring from 7 AM to 1 PM with the greatest of ease.
Food in general. Either I have become too picky, too demanding or the Disney standard has been reduced since my last trip here in summer of 2016. RDZ meat was too chewy and tough; Deyer's (main street) ice cream with chocolate chip cookies featured stale and hard cookies (never order that again), Tangora and Jolly Holiday Bakery both had stale chips. Holiday Bakery turkey sandwich was good.
Prices. Don't know how the tourists (non-AP) can continue to afford DLR. Churros now $4.75, soda about $3.50 ea, counter service lunch for two costs $40. I am able to afford DLR due to military discounts. But have been priced out of the DL theme park view to a pool view and will likely go to parking lot view for next trip. Shirts costs anywhere from $24 to $36 each. Use to vacation 10 to 15 days per trip due to visiting from Hawaii. This trip is just five nights.
Christmas season at DLR. For me, nothing exceptional. Now that I have visited during the seasons of Halloween, Christmas and Summer, prefer Summer. Halloween has fewer hours and later RDs, Christmas weather is totally unpredictable and not worth the mark-up in hotel prices. Summer has consistent weather, early RD and lower prices.

I agree about MaxPass. Being used to the 3 FP's at WDW (plus whatever dinky FP's you can get there same-day), I was awed last month at being able to FP headliner after headliner at the Disneyland parks. I saw people waiting in the long standby lines and couldn't help wondering why more people wouldn't spend just $10 per person for a vastly improved touring experience.

We also ate at Steakhouse55 and were underwhelmed. Not a bad experience, but nothing great, either, and not really worth the money.

We like to stay in Disney hotels, and even using a great Dapper Day discount, the Disneyland Hotel was very expensive. So was everything else. WDW is more affordable, and I really missed being able to use Magical Express. On the other hand, the very useful daily morning EMH at the Disneyland parks blew WDW's anemic EMH offerings out of the water.

 

[BandMom1]

Steakhouse 55. BIG disappointment. Been family's favorite since 2012. Son had prime rib and I had the 18 oz ribeye steak. Macaroni and Cheese and Asparagus. Both meats ordered medium. Very tough and chewy. Mac and cheese with HEAVY garlic presence. Spoke to the manager. Don't know if it was just bad beef or bad chef. She offered free desert but I declined due to being so late (9 PM). Dinner took two hours (7 to 9 pm).

Sorry to read of your experience at SH55. We dine there at least once every trip and have always had outstanding food and service - the ribeye is my favorite! I will say that we are always there for at least an hour and a half if not longer.... for our family it's a meal to be lingered over and enjoyed. Hope that the next time you visit, you have a better experience!

 

[BrianL]

I'll agree on the music thing too. I don't like that they pump in all the Christmas music. I want to hear the regular background loops. They could at least maybe play a Christmas song here and there, but then go back to the regular stuff.

 

[mom2rtk]

I love the Christmas music in the parks!

 

[Malcon10t]

Sorry to read of your experience at SH55. We dine there at least once every trip and have always had outstanding food and service - the ribeye is my favorite! I will say that we are always there for at least an hour and a half if not longer.... for our family it's a meal to be lingered over and enjoyed. Hope that the next time you visit, you have a better experience!

I was sorry to hear this also. We've did have one bad experience a few years ago, but every other one has been over the top! We were there last Saturday for dinner after candlelight, and the food was amazing! The braised short rib just fell apart. We had a party of 10 and everyone raved how great it was. I hope this won't stop the OP from visiting again in the future.

 

[GatorChris]

Wow, that is almost 30 sodas. .

Well, we were there for 8 days. With a lunch and dinner daily, that's 32 adult meals we had at the park. Instead of the $3.99 soda and the $3.75 water bottle each time, my wife and I would order two ice waters a piece (almost every meal). Like I said. Probably around $100 we saved this trip. And the ice water was actually good in taste. It's nothing like the sulfur water at Orlando.

I wonder how many calories I saved.....

 

[figment_jii]

Re: security lines. There were "no bags" lines last weekend (Harbor entry). Weird they would say that.

I wonder if they periodically try a "no bags" line to see if it'll work, but for the most part have found the issues that the OP mentioned (disagreement on what "no bags" means - both among CMs and guests). While I do understand the desire to have a no bag line, I've also seen guests that are carrying something try to use the no bag line (at WDW). So I understand why it's easier to just say everyone has to go through bag check, that way there is no/less judgement call about who to allow through and who to send back to through bag check.

Count me in the group that also likes the holiday music in the parks during the holiday season. I wouldn't mind mixing in some of the non-holiday background music, but it doesn't really bother me either way.

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that it is reasonable for DL to play Christmas music in DTD & the Esplanade during the Christmas season. One could certainly choose to avoid going to Disneyland during Nov & Dec if it detracts a lot from one's ability to enjoy the visit. But that would be a bummer because Disneyland at Christmas is pretty magical.

DL's prices for drinks have always been high and they go up every year (like everything else does). We've gotten into the habit of bringing water bottles w/us and getting the free ice water from CS restaurants. It saves a ton of money.

We go to DL about once a year. We are able to afford to go, even with DL prices, by doing the following:

• Stay off site. This saves a TON of $$ and lets us spend our money on other things without breaking the bank.
• If the off-site hotel has free breakfast, that's a huge win and big $$ saver for our family of 4
• We don't buy sodas, coffees, iced tea, etc., in the parks. Water only out of water bottles we bring w/us.
• We bring snacks into the parks with us & budget for 1 "in the park" snack per day.
• We're strategic about CS meals. Sometimes I will get a kid's meal for myself instead of a regular adult meal.

 

[LTiffany]

I love the Christmas music in the parks!

Me too! Glad I'm not the only one.

 

[az4boys]

On our last trip I told our kids we weren't buying any drinks in the parks. It saved us about $200 over 4 days. We took in some drinks, and I stocked the fridge at the hotel so it worked out fine.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

To the OP: send a comment to Disney (use the "contact us" link at the bottom of the DLR webpage) about your food experiences in the parks and at S55. They want to be and need to be informed about what is going on with food service. We recently sent in a comment about a lackluster lunch at CCR and received a very nice answer from someone addressing our concerns. Guests comments are very important and helpful to Disney in improving guest experience at DLR.
And add me to the list of people who love the Christmas music at DLR -- makes me cry the first time I hear it every year!

 

[katyringo]

We are having some groceries including some soda and bottles water and juice delivered to our hotel and got the kiddos water bottles to bring with them. We have dinning vouchers for character dinning but other then that we aren’t paying for drinks.

 

[Susie63]

Are we talking Christmas music that I hear when I turn on my radio or is there actually Disney Christmas music?

 

[BadPinkTink]

Don't know how the tourists (non-AP) can continue to afford DLR

waves hi, once a year visitor from Europe here, for my last trip in June 2017
1. stay offsite
2. buy large water and soda at CVS near Disney and bring back to hotel. Pour into small bottles to bring into the park each day
3. buy snacks like chips or candy or chocolate in CVS and bring into the park each day
4. Have a daily food budget eg $50 per person. From this $50 all food / snacks for the entire 14 hour Disney day. Can be multiple snacks or 2 quick service or 1 TS

As I go once a year, I put money aside through the year, its actually really easy once you get into the habit, 8 to 10 months before Disney to start putting money aside. I usually decide on a merchandise shopping list, eg $40 on Pirates merchandise, or $20 for a plush or have a daily budget for merchandise. So if say my daily budget for merchandise is $30 and I buy a $25 shirt, then I wont buy a $20 plush on the same day, I will wait until the following day.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

For me, Christmas is the best time at Disneyland. I love hearing the music, I actually stood in the esplanade on the first day of the holiday season just letting it all sink in.

Me too! I love the Christmas music at DL. And I love walking out of the hotel to it playing in DTD. It starts my day on such a wonderful note. Now, back home, I hear certain carols and it reminds me of DL.

 

[whoever]

Son had prime rib and I had the 18 oz ribeye steak. Both meats ordered medium. Very tough and chewy. .

You instructed them to overcook the meat.