Trip Report: Disneyland

I haven’t had time to write a trip report for my recent visit the Disneyland Resort, but I wanted to post a few of my thoughts about everything I encountered.  This post will focus mainly on Disneyland, and I’ll give my thoughts on Disney California Adventure in another post.  Instead of going with a traditional paragraph format that I typically use for trip reports I’m just going to give some bullet points from my stream of consciousness as I reflect on my trip, so if this post seems a bit disjointed that’s because it probably is.


Planning

• I spent three days at the resort, and that seemed like the perfect amount of time.  This allowed me to see everything that I wanted to and re-ride some of my favorites without feeling rushed.  

• Park hopper tickets are absolutely worth the additional cost.  I typically avoid park hoppers at Walt Disney World simply because the time it takes to switch parks is not worth it to me, but since Disneyland and DCA are literally right across from each other I was able to make good use of the park hopper tickets.

• I stayed onsite at the Disneyland Hotel.  It was a nice place, and the perk of entering a park an hour early was nice, but there are much cheaper (and closer) options that I will look at if I ever go back.

Food

• I wasn’t too impressed by the Disneyland food.  It was good, but it didn’t really live up to the hype.  My mind was not blown like I was expecting.  I’ll chalk it up to a case of disappointment.

• Plaza Inn fried chicken was good, if not a bit too salty, but it was too much food.  I would like to see them offer a smaller portion for a cheaper price.

• Jolly Holiday Bakery was a great big “meh” to me.  My sandwich was generic, the house chips were good, and the Matterhorn Macaroon was really dry.  There was nothing memorable about my meal.

• Little Red Wagon corn dog was really good.  The worst corn dog in the world is still probably good, but this cart is gets it right nonetheless.

• Mint Julep is not good, and neither are the mickey shaped beignets.  I don’t know why these items are hyped so much.  The mint julep tastes like mouthwash and the beignets were flat and greasy unlike real beignets.  I would not order these again.

Rides

• Indiana Jones Adventure might rival Spiderman at Islands of Adventure as my favorite theme park attraction.  The queue, the theming, and the ride sequence were absolutely amazing.  I loved it.

• Pirates of the Caribbean blew me away as well.  I wasn’t expecting it to be as awesome as it was.

• Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Hyperspace Mountain, and Storybook Land Canal Boats were some of my favorites as well.

• Matterhorn Bobsleds might be the worst coaster I’ve ever ridden.  The trains were terrible, the track layout was horrible, and I felt like I had been through a boxing match when I got off.  I hated every second of this ride.

• I was underwhelmed by the Fantasyland dark rides.  Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and Alice in Wonderland felt very dated to me.  These rides have the potential to be amazing, but the cardboard cutouts and static show scenes left me feeling less than impressed.

• All of the other rides I went on were fine.  Nothing else stood out, but I didn’t have any problems with them either.

Attractions

• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was a nice place to sit down in the air conditioning for a few minutes.  The animatronic has withstood the test of time and still very impressive.

• Enchanted Tiki Room is a lot of fun.  I also like that you can take your Dole Whip into the show.  I wish Disney World would adopt a similar policy.

• I would like to get back whenever the Disneyland Railroad and Rivers of America attractions re-open.  I also want to see Fantasmic.

• Main Street Cinema was a bit confusing with the multiple screens showing Steamboat Willie.  This space would be better utilized if it were set up with a single screen and rows of seats where guests could sit down for a few minutes.

• The monorail was fine, but the loading operations were atrocious.  I shouldn’t have to wait 25 minutes in between dispatches, especially at the end of the night when there are no guests boarding at the Downtown Disney station.

• Sleepy Beauty Castle walkthrough was a nice touch.  The Disneyland castle may not be as grand as its Disney World counterpart, but this walkthrough and other aspects give it a much more quaint and charming feel.

Other

• Music.  It seems like there was a band playing everywhere I turned, and I loved it.

• Crowds weren’t terrible, but due to the compact layout of the park it felt much busier than it actually was.

• Single rider lines are a godsend.  I just wish more attractions actually utilized them.

• As much I dislike FastPass+ at Walt Disney World, I was missing having three guaranteed passes before I even set foot in the park.  FastPass at Disneyland became more of a hassle when we had to run all over the park to either obtain a pass or to get back to an attraction and use our pass.

• Paint the Night was very impressive.  I’m not a big on parades, but this one was a lot of fun.

• Disneyland Forever fireworks were fantastic.  My only gripe is that you might not see the entire show depending on where you stand.  If you stand too close to the castle then you miss the projection mapping on Main Street, and if you stand too close to the main entrance then you miss the projections of the Matterhorn.

So there you have it.  Those are my high level thoughts on my trip to Disneyland.  The park is not without its faults, but it’s still a wonderful park that is worth a visit for any theme park fan.  Look for a similar post about Disney California Adventure soon.