Return to Disneyland - Final Thoughts - TRIP REPORT COMPLETED - June 10 About This Page:

[Joy J]

We just returned last night from nine wonderful days in Anaheim and this is the second time in the last few months when I've had to return from gloriously warm temperatures (first in Orlando and now in California) only to be greeted by chilling cold and falling snow. It's enough to make one want to jump on the next plane back to Disneyland. Not like I really needed any incentive for that action in the first plane. I realize that lots of folks find three to five days to be plenty of time to enjoy all the wonders that DLR has to offer but, for some strange reason, I just can't seem to get enough of the place. The atmosphere there speaks to my soul and surrounds me with such a feeling of magic and happiness that it's all I can manage to tear myself away from there at trip's end.
I will launch into all the gory details of our entire trip starting with the next installment of my trip report. But first, just a few opening comments:
This time around we stayed off site (right across the road from DLR) as opposed to staying on site like we did the last time. Having experienced both, I would have to say that I would opt for off site for any future trips. I found it to be an even shorter walk to the theme parks from our off site hotel than it was when we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and the savings we enjoyed by staying off site were HUGE. That enabled us to spend more money on a few quality sit down dinners and of course, all the obligatory Disney souvenirs. Our hotel room was clean and comfortable and the staff there were all very friendly and helpful. And the complimentary continental breakfast they offered daily was a great free way to fuel up our engines in the morning before heading out for the parks.
I didn't notice the same sort of granting of some of those million dreams at DLR as I had witnessed at WDW in January but I did see and even experience many magic moments, all of which I'll describe as my trip report unfolds. Unless they don't wear a separate uniform as is done at WDW, I didn't even see any Dream Squad members out and about at DLR while we were there.
The weather was gloriously warm and sunny for our entire trip. We didn't experience so much as a drop of rain and the temperature most days was in the mid seventies to low eighties. It did drop to the low sixties in the evenings but even then, a sweater was all that was ever needed to keep toasty warm.
I had been a tad worried in advance about the crowd levels due to spring break but we found the crowd conditions to be about the same as when we visited in July. Since we hit the parks right at opening, took a mid-day break and then returned in late evening, crowds were never too much of an issue for us. One thing that did surprise me, though, was how the crowds (once they built in mid-morning) stayed thick in Fantasyland for the entire rest of the day, even when the park was open until midnight. I was amazed by the number of parents who were dragging around their very tired and cranky toddlers to ride after ride long after they normally would have been tucked cozily into their beds. That fact probably explained why that same Fantasyland was practically deserted every morning until after noon.
When it comes to transportation from LAX to DLR, I am now a firm supporter of using the services of a limo company. Sure, it costs significantly more money than using one of the shuttle companies (depending on the number of people in your party) but it is SOOOOOO worth it. The convenience and luxury of being able to sit back and relax and let the driver take care of everything and not having to stop at a kazillion other resorts before your own makes it an invaluable perk for any DLR vacation. It enabled me to start my holiday in comfort and set the tone for the entire rest of the trip. I would probably feel very differently if DLR offered a similar service to WDW's Magical Express, but unfortunately they don't and personally, I was just not very impressed with the quality of service supplied by the shuttle companies during our July DLR vacation.
We dined at several DLR table service restaurants on this trip, including several new ones so at this point in time, I've now tried out every table service restaurant at DLR at least once during the past year. If anyone has any questions about any of these restaurants, please feel free to PM me if you would like my input about them. Of course, I will be covering each of them briefly as well as this trip report progresses.
Next up: Our arrival and a last minute decision

Joy

[wvugrrrl]

I get the feeling this is going to be soooo good!

[DyanKJ130]

Sounds like the weather and the crowds were definitely on your side!! Can't wait to hear what the last minute decision was!

[tinksmom]

Can't wait to start reading your TR. I'm looking foward to gleening lots of tips for our upcoming trip!
Tenya

[Chrissi]

I'm looking forward to reading more. You've intrigued me.

[loobyoxlip]

Yay! Another DL trip report!! I can't wait to hear all about your adventures, Joy!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Joy Bring on the report

[Joy J]

In advance, we had been very worried about conditions at the airport for today since this day marked the beginning of March break for the majority of Canadian students. All day long the radio and TV had been broadcasting reports about horrendous crowds at Pearson Airport. Because of this we allowed ourselves a ton of extra time and arrived at the airport about four hours before flight time. Imagine our surprise when there were no crowds and no big line-ups. Apparently this was because we didn't fly out until a little after 5 p.m. and the real zoo occurred mostly in the morning.
This was our first time flying with American Airlines and we were most impressed. The flight was a good one and the service was excellent. When we arrived at LAX and picked up our luggage (oh, how I missed Disney's Magical Express!), we were quickly met by our driver Richard and our lovely stretch limo. We had made the decision to splurge on a limo because of our disastrous trip from LAX to the Disneyland Hotel on our last DLR vacation. It had ended up taking us almost four hours to get from the airport to the hotel because the shuttle driver had spent what felt like forever circling the airport looking for more passengers and then made a katrillion stops on the way to our hotel. To say we were not impressed would be a huge understatement. Since we'd saved so much money on this trip by booking a room at an economy off site hotel, we knew we could afford to treat ourselves in the transportation department. I contacted several different limo companies and ended up going with Richard's services (Fifth Avenue Limos) because of his friendliness, courtesy and reasonable prices. In fact, he upgraded us for free to a stretch limo so the trip from the airport to the hotel cost us $99 including taxes and gratuities. Considering the comfort and luxury this afforded us, it was well worth the extra expenditure.
After our brief but pleasant trip to the hotel, we bid farewell to Richard and checked into our hotel, the Desert Inn and Suites. We were assigned a room which was on the main floor at the very back of the hotel, facing into a pretty little courtyard. Although originally I wasn't too impressed with the idea of staying in a room that was the farthest distance from Disneyland of all the rooms in the resort, I soon learned to actually appreciate this fact. Since we were on the main floor, we could walk straight out to the parking lot and street without having to wait for the elevator or climb flights of stairs at the end of a long day in the theme parks. Plus this location afforded us a lot of privacy, peace and quiet. The only noises we ever heard came from the cleaning staff and that only occurred in the late afternoon. The walkway to Disneyland is such a short distance from the Desert Inn that a few extra steps were really negligible in the long run. My overall impression of this resort is excellent. The room was always scrupulously clean, the staff were friendly and helpful and we even liked the free continental breakfast. Sure, it was only toast, Danishes, fruit, juice, and coffee or tea but it was certainly more than enough to give us a great start to the day. Of course, neither Kirk nor I are bacon and eggs first thing in the morning type people so this sort of light breakfast was perfect for us.
Originally we had not planneld to go to the parks that night since our plane didn't even land at LAX until shortly after 9 p.m. which, because of the time difference was really midnight to us. However, after our speedy comfortable trip from LAX to Anaheim, both Kirk and I were simply too excited about being there not to hop over to the park. So a quick last-minute decision was made and off to Disneyland we went, determined to make the most of the short time we had left until the park closed at midnight. Our short jaunt over to Disneyland had us really feeling like salmon swimming upstream since all the crowds appeared to be heading in the opposite direction.
Sure enough, when we got inside the park, it was practically deserted. We had more than enough time to leisurely stroll over and ride Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise before it was time to head back to the hotel. By this time we had worked up quite an appetite so we stopped for a quick bite at a nearby McDonald's before calling it a night with dreams of all the fun to come tomorrow stuffed into our now very tired heads.

Joy

[Colexis Mom]

Great start! How cool you were able to get a few rides done in the park before midnight

More please

[vacation1]

IM DEFINATELY GOING NEXT YEAR I WANT TO SEE THE MAGIC MYSELF! GREAT TIPS 4 HOTEL AND SHUTTLE I WAS GOING 2 USE DVC PTS BUT I MAY SAVE 4 WDW AND PAY CASH

[loobyoxlip]

Wow, that's so cool you went to the parks when you got in at 9PM! I don't think I would have that energy

[mrsmac2001]

Enjoying the report!

[Chrissi]

What a great start to your stay!

[DyanKJ130]

I'm impressed that you had enough energy to get yourself to the parks after arriving so late!! I'd be ready for Hurry back with more!

[chezp]

Great start Joy - I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip!