I am making my first Disneyland Trip in May and wanted to know from those of you that have been there what are the must do dinning experiences and can't miss attractions.
I find at Disneyland, I tend to go for counter serve more than full-serve meals. ; I like to get the chili-cheese fries at the Golden Horseshoe and watch the show there while I eat lunch. ; The French Market is good, buffeteria style food, and the #1 thing for me over there are the (non-alcoholic) mint juleps. ; I could drink those all day, and I could, because there are free refills. ; The Blue Bayou is nice, if a bit pricey, but you get the entertainment value of watching the Pirates of the Caribbean boats drift by. ; Over at DCA, we had a really nice meal at the Trattoria at the winery. As for attractions, I find many of them classics are better at Disneyland than over in Florida. ; Pirates of the Caribbean is a MUST DO as it's twice as long as it's east coast cousin. ; Indiana Jones is the ride Dinosaur wants to be when it grows up. ; In Fantasyland, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Storybookland Canal Boats and especially Matterhorn have to be done. ; Don't pass by Autopia, it's a much cuter ride than the Tomorrowland Speedway in Florida, and Space Mountain is a totally different experience on the west coast. ; Also be sure to check out Toontown, much more elaborate at Disneyland, and with a great ride in Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin. Across the Esplanade, DCA must do's for me would be Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular and Monster's Inc, on Hollywood Boulevard; Grizzly River Rapids in Golden State; and California Screamin' and the Sun Wheel on Paradise Pier. ; Soarin' is EXACTLY the same ride as at Epcot, the Tower of Terror is half the ride it is in Florida, and many of the other rides are either carnival rides or clones of WDW attractions. ; Although seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade coming through DCA is still a thrill. Try to see "Remember" the fireworks show at Disneyland. It's my favourite pyrotechnic show anywhere. ; And Fantasmic is also a must see, not at all like the Florida show. I haven't been since Finding Nemo Submarines opened, but I'm sure that will be the longest line in the park for some time to come. Hope that helps!
Our nine year old wants to go to Disneyland. We all do bit I think were going to go to WDW a couple of times instead.
It's hard to recommend must-do rides, since tastes may be different. I tend to be the type that wants to do EVERYTHING... well... except the things I don't want to do. I've been to Disneyland twice and still haven't been on Splash Mountain ^_^ So, my first recommendation would be to go on everything. Don't miss any of the rides if you can help it and it's in your range of interests. Why not go on everything? Get the full experience! There are always a few favorite experiences I like to do though... Of course you'd want to take the grand circle tour on the Disneyland Railroad. Besides being a nice way to see the park, there are the Grand Canyon and Primeval World dioramas that you shouldn't miss. I would also stress that you should ask the conductors at Main St. Station if you can ride in the Lilly Belle salon car. It will depend if it's on the rails that day and if they have a spare conductor to ride with you (my party lucked out by having someone who works in Guest Relations hanging out with us on his day off), but it never hurts to politely ask. The luxury of the Lilly Belle is a fantastic way to ride the rails. There are two attractions that require foodstuffs. The first is the Enchanted Tiki Room, which happens to have the Dole pinapple stand right there. My favorite is the float, which has the famous Dole Whip ice cream as well as pinapple juice AND a little paper umbrella. The other is the Mark Twain Riverboat. First you want to go to the Mint Julep Bar by the Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square, and then head over to the Mark Twain's dock. If you don't manage to drink all of you Mint Julep on the way and waiting for the Mark Twain, then standing on the deck enjoying it while churning up the river is a wonderful experience. Speaking of the Mark Twain Riverboat and going from what I said about the Lilly Belle, don't be afraid to ask for privileges. The worst they can say is "no". So for the Mark Twain, ask about riding in the pilot's cabin, which is something I haven't even done yet and plan to next time. Also ask to ride in the Monorail cockpit. And ask if you can just ride through on the Haunted Mansion so you can see it twice without exiting your doombuggy. Those sort of things make nice, special little memories. More special memories come from slowing down and paying attention to the little things. Treat Main St. like a land unto itself: enjoy the Main St. Cinema and the Penny Arcade, take in the marching band, ride the trolly and the omnibus, look at the exhibits in Main St. Station, etc. Be sure to get your fortunes from Esmeralda and Shrunken Ned. Just hang out in New Orleans Square, taking in the atmosphere and music. The Court of Angels is a lovely spot. Go to the Golden Horseshoe and watch Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, and don't be afraid to be dragged into a Laughing Stock Company skit. Shoot up the Shootin' Exposition. Take a breather in Snow White's Grotto. Monorail over to the Disneyland Hotel and, even if you're not staying there, just wander around and look at all the historic photos and things. Disneyland is a smaller park than the Magic Kingdom, and a lot of fun is in the small details. You will want to eat at the Blue Bayou Restaurant (and get a reservation) and I gather that the Monte Cristo is the must-eat item... I still haven't had it myself ^_^ For breakfast, I'd always go to the River Belle Terrace and have a nice plate of sausage and eggs on the patio overlooking the Rivers of America. The Mickey Mouse Pancakes are a must at least once. Take a tour, and if you're a Disney fan, the big one is the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour. If you're reasonably versed as a Disney geek, you'll undoubtedly know most of what they tell you, to the exent where they'll even start fact-checking with you (that happened to me ^_^). But there are a lot of neat little opportunities in it. Besides lunch and the status-gaining pin, you'll do things like get a special session in the Enchanted Tiki Room where you can handle one of the original singing flowers and see the lobby of Club 33. Oh yeah, you want seats in front of the Castle for the fireworks. And see Fantasmic, as well as the Electrical Parade in California Adventure. The "big three" shows are wonderful. Regarding California Adventure, that's pretty much up to you. It didn't really do a whole lot for me... I am looking forward to the rennovations and am planning my next trip for after at least the bulk of them are done. I WANT to like California Adventure because I have fallen in love with California, but it's not the best it could be right now. However, you do want to take in the Disney Animation exhibit, the Tower of Terror and Muppet*Vision 3-D. But on California, don't be afraid to venture from the resort! I don't know how long your plan is, but I would recommend seeing some of Los Angeles while you're there. Take a day or two out and go down to Hollywood, Griffith Park, the La Brea Tar Pits, etc. The more I go down to LA, the more I find out about and want to see. Also, there are Disney connections: Disney owns the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood and has their Studio Soda Shop there, and Walt's Barn from the Carolwood Pacific is at Griffith Park. Most of all, though, have fun! You don't need me to tell you that, but do it! ^_^ I gather I'm in a minority where I LOVE Disneyland. Most people seem to be WDW fans and can argue quite eloquently about why it's better than Disneyland, but never appreciated how I love Disneyland until I went to Disneyland Paris. DLP is a BEAUTIFUL park... It is phenomenally well-designed park with an excellent array of rides that are unique and wonderfully crafted. It's better than Disneyland U.S.A. in numerous qualifiable and quantifiable ways... But I didn't get a sense of loving it like I love Disneyland. It's awesome, but Disneyland U.S.A. is a quaint, lovely little park that is and will always be Walt's original. WDW was the follow-up act and gained a lot by the experiment that was Disneyland, but Disneyland is the original Magic Kingdom, Walt's original dream. When you watch all those old episodes of the Disneyland TV series, it's THIS Disneyland they're talking about. This is where Walt walked, what Walt personally designed, and it's a cute, charming, intimate, lovely little place. I dunno'... Disneyland does it for me ^_^
Thanks guys for the tips. My next show is going to be about our trip planning and what we have decided so far.
I'm in for any Disney really. ; we went to Disney tokyo in march and while the DL park was the same the Disney Sea was the most amazing place I've seen so far.... Anyway, I agree with corytheraven on his tips. ; I know that some people have said that Blue Bayou is too expensive but really you get a lot of food with it and I thought that it was pretty darned good food too....but the experience was just so neat! ; ; i too recommend that you make reservations and ask for a seat by the water. You should also find a restaurant that sells mickey waffles. ; just for the chance to say you did it. ; They were pretty darned good too.
