DisneyLAND trip report (Nov 2015)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Just got back from DL. We were there 5 days (got 5-day parkhoppers). Wanted to note a few things down before I forget

Hotel - Stayed in Deluxe Suite in the brand-new Courtyard Marriott (Theme Park Entrance) on Harbor Blvd. WOW this place is AMAZING. I can't stress enough how great this place was, especially for the price ($250/night) and the proximity (closer than HoJo's). It is brand-new (opened this summer). Our room was literally a SUITE..as in, kids had their own "room" with bunk beds, a booth eating area, a couch, desk, TV. King bed was in another room (own TV). we had one bathroom that had 2 sinks and 2 showers (1 walk-in, 1 regular one with a tub). Had minifridge and microwave which was super useful. DH & I were literally stunned when we walked in. Oh, and there's an awesome-looking waterpark, though we never ended up using it. I definitely want to stay there again if we can get it, especially if we come back in the summertime when it's warmer and could make use of the waterpark!

Crowds - yes, it was crowded, but only in certain parts of the day. And DL was waay more crowded than DCA, especially at night!! We went on ALL the major thrill rides my kids were tall enough for (Thunder Mtn, Space Mountain, Star Tours, RSR, Grizzly River Run, etc) except for Splash mountain, and we never had to wait more than 20 minutes for ANY RIDE. And we probably walked on rides (no wait) on at least a dozen rides. And we only had ONE Magic Morning/Early Entry which we used to get on Peter Pan I think the trick was just to do all the popular rides first thing in the morning. And get Fast Passes early in the morning for everything else. Even without EMH, as long as it was before 9ish, there was very minimal wait. Peter Pan was the only one that filled up so fast, and no fast pass (hence why we needed EMH for it!).

Shows -

The Paint the Night parade @ DL was AMAZING. it literally took my breath away. if you go to just one show, i would say that should be it. DD had her jaw dropping after seeing tinkerbell. and as an EE i was especially impressed with all the LEDs being used in the show

Mickey and the Magical Map - awesome show. Kids very entertained by it. they loved seeing Jungle Book character and other scenes.

the Frozen show in the Crown Jewel Theater (DCA)- super cute . walking in, it literally feels like the Arendelle castle. if your kids love to sing along to Let it Go and other Frozen songs this is a must-see!!

the Frozen play in Royal Theater (DL) - kids loved this as well. The comedy was hilarious. was nice to see Anna & Elsa more "up close".

Aladdin show - WOW i was impressed. very well done. the flying carpet scene was pretty awesome. the genie was hilarious.

World of Color - Winter Dreams - pretty cool. Very Frozen-heavy, which my DD liked (DS was asleep!). At somepoint they blasted snowflakes made of some sort of soap - had no idea how they did it but DH thought it was very impressive

Other:

Disney Animation studios has a "class" where a Disney artist teaches you how to draw Mickey. it was literally like a sketching class! pretty awesome (though my perfectionist DS kept whining bc he made mistakes...)

Meeting Anna & Elsa - we went first thing one morning and it was like a 5 minute wait! they were super sweet with DD who was being really shy.

Olaf's Snow Fest - WOW i was impressed by this..literally have an area with snow/ice for kids to play in..even an area where you can toboggan down a slide!! They had some guy scultping things like an Olaf and a chair out of the ice..my kids were entertained by watching him. was a great place to cool off on the sunny days that were in the 80s/90s

Redwood Creek area (DCA) - OMG - my DS went to town in this place. Perfect place to have him run around and burn off some steam. Was so fun. there was rock climbing, a tire swing, slides..

Oh and we did the first 3 days without a stroller, and by the end of the 3rd day i broke down and ordered one for the remaining two days. GODSEND. NO way we would have made it to see World of Color or the parade if we didn't have it. Citystrollerrentals.com was awesome, i literally requested a double stroller at 9pm, got a response around 10pm and it was delivered to the hotel by 10am the following morning!! I was impressed.

Anyway, will write more later as I have the time..so many details to remember!! But we had an absolutely magical time, and DC's were so sad to leave. DH & I were pretty impressed by everything, and we definitely want to come back again

[lalasmama]

Sounds like it was a great trip!

DD is nearly 12 now, and she still LOVES the Redwood Creek area. Trying to be the "cool" mom and dad, DH and I go through it with her, though I'm scared to death of heights (and with my physical limitations, the area is significantly more challenging for me than it has ever been for her).

We loved Paint The Night too.... And the soap "snow" was so neat!

I saw Snow Fest last year, shortly after they opened it, and was pretty impressed with it! Glad to hear they are doing it again this year!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Sounds like it was a great trip!

DD is nearly 12 now, and she still LOVES the Redwood Creek area. Trying to be the "cool" mom and dad, DH and I go through it with her, though I'm scared to death of heights (and with my physical limitations, the area is significantly more challenging for me than it has ever been for her).

well, when we were there i was thinking, heck, i don't need to hire a personal trainer, all i need is for DS to drag me to all the "courses" they had there (i got out of breath after he ran me through all the rope "bridge" areas where you had to climb and walk across, etc)..seriously i could not keep up with him (and he's not even 6!). i felt like i was on some obstacle course.

it was funny we probably would have totally missed that area but we met up with some friends who were annual passholders and they told us about it and recommended going there. so glad they did...i think we spent a good 1.5 hrs there!

[bisous]

My kids absolutely love the Redwood Challenge trail. It is one of the highlights of our trip for sure (and a great workout!)

[geochick]

Thank you for recommending the new Courtyard hotel. I just booked it for this Spring. Yay.

[StantonHyde]

I just looked at it for our spring trip--it does look amazing!!! And the suite you stayed in-it's at least that much to stay at the Marriott Residence Inn Maingate in a 1 bedroom suite with a pull out couch!! So you scored! (we are going for the cheaper option--the RI in Placentia, but if we were talking a week at Disney, I would be at that Courtyard!)