SillySymphony4me
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
We've been here since the 19th and are having a blast! The parks are beautiful with all the decorations, and the crowds had been light until the 24th. We even had a "brush with greatness" and met Luke Perry on the 22nd!
Took the holiday tour - highly recommend it. We walked through Main Street with the quide pointing out details about the park and the Christmas decorations. Then through Frontierland where we were given some fudge, then onto New Orleans Square for more trivia about Walt and the park, than straight onto Haunted Mansion. Then we took the train to Toon Town to see the decorations there, then straight onto Small World. When we finished that, we were led to chairs set up along the street for a front row seat for the holiday parade, complete with hot chocolate in a souvenier cup and a gingerbread cookie, and a holiday pin. (This is where we met Mr. Perry)
Managed to ride everything at both parks with little trouble. New favorites are Screaming, Grizzly and Soaring, great shows were Muppets 3D and It's tough to be a Bug, along with the all time faves Pirates, Peter Pan and Mattehorn.
A sad thing to see are the "cost cutting" measures. The toilet paper is only slightly better than you find in Russia. Mint Juleps are now dispensed from regular soda machines. Some of the cast members were less than cheerful or helpful - a couple downright rude. Paint chipping and peeling all over, most minor but some major - even in DCA. Dirty chairs in DCA at opening. I hope this is a result of concentrating efforts preparing for next year. Most of what's available at Paradise Pier is presicely what inspired Walt to build Disneyland in the first place and I was surprised at how hurt I was to see it.
Good things to see are designated smoking sections, the repainted castle is stunning, the new (to me anyway) restraunts are excellent, and the Grand Californian is absolutely breathtaking. After all the negs I had heard about DCA I mostly pleasantly surprised, though I can't wrap my head around beer and margurita kiosks - I had a hard enough time when I learned about beer and wine w/meals, and carny rides and games in a Disney park is just wrong.
We finally made it to Medievil Times and had a ball. A bit cheesy between entry and showtime, once the show starts it was wonderful - the food was good too.
We leave for home after Universal on Tuesday, though we could stay another couple of weeks quite happily. I'll be bringing my daughter and her best friend down in March, and our entire family is bringing my grandmother down in April for her 79th, (she's bever been before so that will be a great thing to watch), so it won't be soooo bad.
Cheers and Happy Holidays,
Lisa
Took the holiday tour - highly recommend it. We walked through Main Street with the quide pointing out details about the park and the Christmas decorations. Then through Frontierland where we were given some fudge, then onto New Orleans Square for more trivia about Walt and the park, than straight onto Haunted Mansion. Then we took the train to Toon Town to see the decorations there, then straight onto Small World. When we finished that, we were led to chairs set up along the street for a front row seat for the holiday parade, complete with hot chocolate in a souvenier cup and a gingerbread cookie, and a holiday pin. (This is where we met Mr. Perry)
Managed to ride everything at both parks with little trouble. New favorites are Screaming, Grizzly and Soaring, great shows were Muppets 3D and It's tough to be a Bug, along with the all time faves Pirates, Peter Pan and Mattehorn.
A sad thing to see are the "cost cutting" measures. The toilet paper is only slightly better than you find in Russia. Mint Juleps are now dispensed from regular soda machines. Some of the cast members were less than cheerful or helpful - a couple downright rude. Paint chipping and peeling all over, most minor but some major - even in DCA. Dirty chairs in DCA at opening. I hope this is a result of concentrating efforts preparing for next year. Most of what's available at Paradise Pier is presicely what inspired Walt to build Disneyland in the first place and I was surprised at how hurt I was to see it.
Good things to see are designated smoking sections, the repainted castle is stunning, the new (to me anyway) restraunts are excellent, and the Grand Californian is absolutely breathtaking. After all the negs I had heard about DCA I mostly pleasantly surprised, though I can't wrap my head around beer and margurita kiosks - I had a hard enough time when I learned about beer and wine w/meals, and carny rides and games in a Disney park is just wrong.
We finally made it to Medievil Times and had a ball. A bit cheesy between entry and showtime, once the show starts it was wonderful - the food was good too.
We leave for home after Universal on Tuesday, though we could stay another couple of weeks quite happily. I'll be bringing my daughter and her best friend down in March, and our entire family is bringing my grandmother down in April for her 79th, (she's bever been before so that will be a great thing to watch), so it won't be soooo bad.
Cheers and Happy Holidays,
Lisa
But you know, DL being alcohol-free is great, too. I guess it goes both ways. Luckily, we have never seen anyone "drunk" or even "tipsy" at either park. Did you see Aladdin? It is the best show at either park, IMO. Snow White at DL is cute as well. We did the Holiday Tour and did not regret it for one minute. It was thoroughly enjoyable and informative. The hot chocolate and cookie (along with a great "reserved" parade seat) at the end was the icing on the cake, made it perfect. 
