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View Full Version : Disneyland and DCA first timer trip report



elke
04-26-2004, 03:59 PM
Hi,

I thought I'd post a trip report from our recent very first trip to Disneyland and DCA:

We (husband and I) went on the weekend of 4/24-4/25, taking advantage of the "2fer" offer.

We did DCA on Saturday, wanting to save the less crowded day for Disneyland. We really liked DCA, despite all the negative reports - BUT then that was also before we had ever seen Disneyland...

Our favorite rides were Screaming, Soaring, and the bug's 3dfilm, and for a mellower ride, the orange stinger (I found Grizzly was too slow and too wet). But Screaming was broken down for a good part of the day, so we only managed to ride it twice, and Soaring had huge lines all day long, so that we only got on that once, too. Maliboomer broke down with us on it.

Actually, all the big rides (all 3 of them) had huge huge waits for most of the day (3hrs for Grizzly), although we didn't wait in line for any attraction more than 5-10 minutes save the last Screaming Ride, which we had to do without Fastpass. We also played the Millionaire show, which was silly, but fun. Saw Aladdin, liked that too. Spent a app. 10 hours in the park, did almost all the rides, and crawled back to the Howard Johnson for the night.

Sunday morning we got up at the crack of dawn, were one of the first guests in the park, possibly the first on the main townsquare, and definitely the first in Adventureland and on Indy! A huge thrill.

I was really impressed with the detail and theming of the lands, though admittedly we ran through them like mad for the first few hours of the morning.

Taking advantage of the separate fastpass machines and late fastpasses (thanks to Mousepad and Darkbeer for that information!!!!), we never waited in line for anything all day except for the disneyland railroad, which I wish we had skipped - it spoilt it a little to see the backstage area of the park.

The only CM to ever say anything about our late returns was at Roger Rabbit, and they still let us on that one. We basically collected almost all our fastpasses in the morning (except big thunder, which we collected as often as we could) and then used them throughout the day.

Our favorite ride was Big Thunder, not too long, thrilling all the way but still fun - I think we did that 6 times. Also really liked the Matterhorn, and wish we had ridden that more often in the morning when the lines were still short.

Had lunch in the Blue Bayou (also picked that recommendation up browsing here, thanks!), which I think is a little overrated just because I thought the whole park was so impressive, I didn't see how the Blue Bayou was so much more special. But on a hot bright day it was very soothing to sit in a cool dark spot for lunch, and the Monte Christo was worth ordering.

So, despite pretty big crowds, we actually managed to ride all the major rides, most of them at least twice, and all the Fantasyland dark rides, and we never waited for anything. Fastpass made such a huge difference!

Neither my husband and I are Disneyfans - so the park did not have any sentimental value, but it was just so elaborate, greatly themed, hugely entertaining - we had never seen anything like it before, and were pretty wide-eyed all day.

Having seen both parks now, I think DCA is a very very nice looking amusement park (with too few bigline attractions for the number of guests), but Disneyland is really a great "forget all your cares" playground.

What would I change? I'd wish there were a few more thrilling options in Disneyland, for example a few more drops in Pirates, a few more effects like the giant rolling ball in Indy, maybe some motion effects in Haunted, fewer singing birds and bunnies and more drops in Splash...

The few hours in the morning when it was less crowded were the best by far, not so much for wait times as for atmosphere.

Anyways, having all the "insider" info from here made a huge difference, thanks to all who contributed!

Lekta
04-27-2004, 09:52 AM
Glad to hear that you had a great first trip. Are you planning on making a return trip? What, in your opinion was the "best" ride?

elke
04-27-2004, 12:54 PM
well, in my opinion the overall most thrilling ride would actually be California Screaming in DCA, although it has no special details or theming.

For Disneyland, I think the most fun were Big Thunder, Bobsleds, Indiana Jones, and Splash.

and I am plodding the return trip...maybe just before Christmas, when it's all festive? I can't wait!

sediment
04-27-2004, 01:28 PM
What would I change? I'd wish there were a few more thrilling options in Disneyland, for example a few more drops in Pirates,...
Well, you can only go underground so far.