disney-super-mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2004
Well I'm back after 5 nights at the DLH and overall the trip was terrific.
DL, DCA, and DTD were all decked out for the holidays and looked specatacular - very beautiful! And the fireworks were as usual incredible with snow (foam bubbles) at the end falling on mainstreet. LOVED IT!
The crowds were moderately light, and the longest we stood in line for a ride was about 10 minutes. At times we could just walk on a ride like Pirates, Indiana Jones, Small World, Star Tours, and all of the FantasyLand rides except Peter Pan and Dumbo. We never did get to ride Peter Pan because the line was sooooooo long.
Some rides, especially in Tomorrow Land, we rode at least 8 times during our trip because that is our 5 year old's favorite part of the park.
We didn't spend too much time at DCA since it's geared towards the older kids, but we rode Soarin twice (our first time ever riding this attraction) and it was great. We also watched Muppet Vision 3D and Disney Playhouse, which our kids loved.
So all-in-all the parks were fun, fun, fun!
We stayed at the DLH in the Marina tower. Our room was good sized and nice, but unfortunatley it was right above the roof of the convention center and Goofy's kitchen, so the view was basically terrible. We weren't too disappointed though because we spent most of our time in the parks, and we could still see the Neverland pool, Hooks Point, etc.
We also had a character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, which was awesome. All the characters (Chip & Dale, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Mary Poppins, Donald Duck, Aladdin) visited us and played around with the kids. Even our 17 month old loved it and wasn't at all afraid of the characters. We got some great pictures!
Warning about staying at the DLH without a rental car - although the rooms are nice and it's in a great location, the prices for food and beverages are unbelievable high, and without a way to eat somewhere off Disney property, you're stuck with the high, high, high Disney prices. We didn't rent a car, so our choices for eating was DL, DCA, DTD, or DLH. It didn't matter if we were sitting down to a nice lunch at the Blue Bayou or just buying some chips, fruit, and drinks at a food stand, our total always seemed to hit over $50. Heck, even a small 8oz carton of milk, which was enough to fill only one baby bottle for our youngest, was $1.79.
The next time we stay at a Disney property, we're definatley going to make a stop at a grocery store or 7-11 and stock up on supplies (snacks, milk, cereal, pop, etc...) before checking in. This is a good tip for anyone staying at a Disney property.
Next time we go to DL, we'll probably go back to the good ol Hojo, the Hilton, or we might try the Candy Cane Inn. But don't worry, we'll be back to stay at a Disney property, we just need to fatten up our wallets again if you know what I mean.
By the way, on Mickeys birthday they had two parades on Main Street to celebrate. AND it looks like the Matterhorn is almost ready to reopen. The box at the top of the Matterhorn is gone, and on Thursday (Nov. 18th) they were running the bobsleds around the tracks testing them out. My husband talked to one of the crew that has been working on the Matterhorn, and he told my husband that they have been removing asbestos from the inside of the mountain.
Also, the new Buzz Lightyear attraction is coming along. They have the queue archway up with approx wait times, and if I recall, I think the attraction is called "Astro Blasters".
I wish I knew what they were imagineering in the old submarine attraction. Maybe it'll have something to do with Nemo?! That would be pretty cool. Anyway, I want the 411 on this.
Well, what more can I say without writing a book. We had a great time, and everytime we go I see something or learn something that I've never seen or known before.
DL, DCA, and DTD were all decked out for the holidays and looked specatacular - very beautiful! And the fireworks were as usual incredible with snow (foam bubbles) at the end falling on mainstreet. LOVED IT!
The crowds were moderately light, and the longest we stood in line for a ride was about 10 minutes. At times we could just walk on a ride like Pirates, Indiana Jones, Small World, Star Tours, and all of the FantasyLand rides except Peter Pan and Dumbo. We never did get to ride Peter Pan because the line was sooooooo long.
Some rides, especially in Tomorrow Land, we rode at least 8 times during our trip because that is our 5 year old's favorite part of the park.
We didn't spend too much time at DCA since it's geared towards the older kids, but we rode Soarin twice (our first time ever riding this attraction) and it was great. We also watched Muppet Vision 3D and Disney Playhouse, which our kids loved.
So all-in-all the parks were fun, fun, fun!
We stayed at the DLH in the Marina tower. Our room was good sized and nice, but unfortunatley it was right above the roof of the convention center and Goofy's kitchen, so the view was basically terrible. We weren't too disappointed though because we spent most of our time in the parks, and we could still see the Neverland pool, Hooks Point, etc.
We also had a character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, which was awesome. All the characters (Chip & Dale, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Mary Poppins, Donald Duck, Aladdin) visited us and played around with the kids. Even our 17 month old loved it and wasn't at all afraid of the characters. We got some great pictures!
Warning about staying at the DLH without a rental car - although the rooms are nice and it's in a great location, the prices for food and beverages are unbelievable high, and without a way to eat somewhere off Disney property, you're stuck with the high, high, high Disney prices. We didn't rent a car, so our choices for eating was DL, DCA, DTD, or DLH. It didn't matter if we were sitting down to a nice lunch at the Blue Bayou or just buying some chips, fruit, and drinks at a food stand, our total always seemed to hit over $50. Heck, even a small 8oz carton of milk, which was enough to fill only one baby bottle for our youngest, was $1.79.
The next time we stay at a Disney property, we're definatley going to make a stop at a grocery store or 7-11 and stock up on supplies (snacks, milk, cereal, pop, etc...) before checking in. This is a good tip for anyone staying at a Disney property.
Next time we go to DL, we'll probably go back to the good ol Hojo, the Hilton, or we might try the Candy Cane Inn. But don't worry, we'll be back to stay at a Disney property, we just need to fatten up our wallets again if you know what I mean.
By the way, on Mickeys birthday they had two parades on Main Street to celebrate. AND it looks like the Matterhorn is almost ready to reopen. The box at the top of the Matterhorn is gone, and on Thursday (Nov. 18th) they were running the bobsleds around the tracks testing them out. My husband talked to one of the crew that has been working on the Matterhorn, and he told my husband that they have been removing asbestos from the inside of the mountain.
Also, the new Buzz Lightyear attraction is coming along. They have the queue archway up with approx wait times, and if I recall, I think the attraction is called "Astro Blasters".
I wish I knew what they were imagineering in the old submarine attraction. Maybe it'll have something to do with Nemo?! That would be pretty cool. Anyway, I want the 411 on this.
Well, what more can I say without writing a book. We had a great time, and everytime we go I see something or learn something that I've never seen or known before.