Trip Report 3/24-3/27

[dcook]

It's been about 3 years since our last trip, thought I was smart and scheduled this trip prior to the kid's spring break to avoid the crowds. Boy, was I mistaken. Crazy Busy! Huge crowds. Friday had a 5yo and 13 yo in tow, Mom had a previous appointment so just the three of us. Monorail in from the Disney Hotel, what a great way to get in the park, very efficient. Star Tours, Haunted Mansion, Got Fast Pass for Splash Mountain- back to FantasyLand for the little one- Carousel, Dumbo, and then lunch. Back to Splash Mountain, a bit concerned about the 5 yo on it...she loved it. Did the usual...Tiki Room, back to HM. This is when we realized that we were going to have to modify our plans and lower our expectations on what we can actually accomplish because of the crowds. Mom and the 13 yo crashed early, me and the 5yo stayed up for the fireworks. Much more impressive than I imagined. Incredible. Saturday we hit DisneyCalifornia. Mom and 5 yo see Disney Playhouse while 13yo and me go to Tower of Terror, 30 minute wait so we jump in line. What a great ride! Fast Pass for Soaring over California. The 5yo went nuts over this one. Her favorite ride. Didn't go on too many rides because of the crowds on Saturday, which was ok, we had fun doing other things. Thought I would get a good seat for the fireworks next to Walt's statue , so sat and people watched for 2 1/2 hrs, but alas, fireworks cancelled due to high winds. Sunday turned out to be a day for shows and listening to music. Just a few rides, Love the Dapper Dans, 5 yo got picked to participate with them, Disneyland Band was good and went to the Horshoe Saloon to see Billy and the Hillbillies, fun show. Staked out seats again for fireworks, but 5 minutes prior to the show, some rude people shoved their way in and stood right in front of us, I nicely asked them to move, explaining that I have been here for 2 1/2 hours.
I noticed that some of the food service people aren't as pleasent as previous trips, I think that they need to pay more and get better people to work in the restaurants, I also noticed some cast members in rides that seemed bored out of their minds, one gal on the Haunted mansion looked miserable. The most efficient food vendor was the Corn Dog people on Main Street, upbeat, friendly and quick. The same with the Tiki Room vendors, very nice. In summary, we saw about 30% of what we wanted to see because of the crowds, but I still love the atmosphere of just being in Disneyland. The kids were great...no fussiness at all, the Disney Hotel was beautiful, had a great experience at Goofys Kitchen. That's it!

[Bob38dizfan]

Great report, thanks for sharing. It sounds like you all had lots of fun.

[ratoncita]

I was there Sun. and Mon. I couldn't believe the crowds! I thought it was too early for Spring Break, but I was way wrong! I still had loads of fun in spite of the crowds and rain.

[smitty-78]

Thanks for telling us about your trip

[Alpha]

Great report! I was there on Wednesday and the crowds were still crazy. Just have to prioritize!

[ILOVETINK]

Thanks for sharing your report..Glad you had a good time

[dcook]

I could have a great time in Disneyland without ever going on a ride, I'm not a big "thrill ride" fan, so I can have fun going to the Tiki Room, Haunted mansion and just hanging out at Main Street. It's a little tougher when you have a 5yo and she wants to wait in a long line for the Dumbo ride. We never did go on the new Monster Inc ride because of the lines, what did I miss?