Just back from a week at the Disneyland Resort About This Page:

[Wild4Diz]

I just got back from a week at the Disneyland Resort. I stayed at the Grand Californian - very nice! The room I had was quite roomy which I was a little surprised about because I was thinking they would be a bit on the small size (similar to Wilderness Lodge). The location of this resort is ideal - quick walk to Disneyland, separate entrance to California Adventure (very close to Soarin') and right there at Downtown Disney. My complaints - I was on the fifth floor above the lobby and it was a bit noisy in the mornings and evenings, my neighbors where quite loud and I could pretty much hear everything they did and the maids would get there very early in the morning to clean and a little too late in the evening for turn down service. I paid extra for the Theme Park view and while it was a nice view from the couch you couldn't see the Theme Park from any other part of the room (I'm spoiled by the Contemporary MK view). Those things said, I still really did enjoy the hotel and it is very beautiful - I would recommend it for the location alone - that was worth every penny [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

I arrived on Monday and the wild fire was terrible - there was a lot of ash and smoke in the air and that made it a little uncomfortable, but I was still able to enjoy Disneyland as a lot of the attractions are indoors. The lines were pretty minimal - I think my longest line was 20 minutes and that was Peter Pan. It always makes me chuckle the first time I see the castle at Disneyland because it's rather small (especially compared to the Magic Kingdom), but it really is quite beautiful all decked out for the 50th. Other than more stars, the soundtrack and it seemed a little smoother I didn't see what all the hype was about the new Space Mountain - I still like the ride, but I didn't think it was that different. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is one of my all time favorites, but I could never do quite as well at Disneyland even with some great tips from the Cast Members [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

This was my first visit to California Adventure and I was pleasantly surprised. Soarin' is by far my favorite ride and I must say I like the theming in the queue at California Adventure much better than Epcot, but the ride is just as spectacular at either park. Tower of Terror is great as is California Screamin'. I have to say that the Aladdin show is by far one of the best Disney Shows I've seen at any of the parks - I think they could easily take this one to Broadway - spectacular and what a great cast of people they have [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

I was at WDW in September and I am able to budget for this trip very easily, but I was surprised at how much more expensive things were in California. Souvenirs were more expensive, shipping souvenirs home was outrageously priced and food was even more expensive. Not that I didn't expect to spend some money on this trip, but it added up even more quickly than I had anticipated.

Overall it was a great relaxing trip and I met lots of nice people and had a wonderful time. The crowds were extremely low until Friday when it started picking up. I really didn't do any long waits and was able to ride my favorites over and over. The weather was unusually warm - in the low 80's but never uncomfortable. I would certainly recommend going in Feb.

If anyone has any specific questions feel free to message me and I'll try to answer [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

[loobyoxlip]

Wow, your sig pic looks like a great view! Sounds like you had a good time. That's funny you thought CA was more expensive than FL - I find the opposite to be true. We went one year and I spent less than $200 in food and the few souvenirs we bought! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] (we do eat at Denny's, IHOP, etc.)

[Cam22]

Love your sig pic! Great TR! Glad you had such a good time!

[chezp]

Thanks for posting your comments about your trip Amanda - this will come in really useful for us on our trip to Disneyland in a couple of months' time. Very interesting about the price of the souvenirs and food in particular.

[iamgrumpy]

Sounds like a great trip!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great trip you had Amanda [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Thanks for sharing your thoughts [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Thanks for sharing your trip Amanda!! Awesome new sig pic!!!

[Tink and co.]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, your sig pic looks like a great view! Sounds like you had a good time. That's funny you thought CA was more expensive than FL - I find the opposite to be true. We went one year and I spent less than $200 in food and the few souvenirs we bought! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] (we do eat at Denny's, IHOP, etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]Tina, I agree with you here. We always eat onsite and our family of five can eat for less than $100 a day in California, where just dinner seems to cost that much in Florida, in fact that's been my major complaint (if there is actually a complaint [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]) is about how much more expensive WDW is on the whole! We mostly buy t shirts, pins, and squished pennies for souvenirs, and they're the same cost in both places.

[Wild4Diz]

I'm a t-shirt, pins and keychains collector. The t-shirts were on average $23 each in CA, but I usually pay $19 in FL. Pins and keychains were similarly priced to FL. I was on my own and I am a bit of a picky eater, but counter service meals that I typically purchase at WDW for $12-$14 seemed to run $15-$20 in CA. While these don't seem like big differences I found that by the end of the trip it added up [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

[snoozy]

I'm happy to hear you had a great time.