Let's start with the hotel first...I absolutely LOVE this place! This is the first hotel on Disny property HERE that really has that "Disney World" feel to it. The theming and decor are outstanding, and the attention to detail in how they carry out the theme is amazing. It's beautiful. Service is overally VERY good; they still have some rough spots (the service in the Hearthstone Lounge was very slow) but overall they seem to have a good team assembled and will bend over backwards to accommodate guests.
Now for DCA. Basically you should read Sarangel's review of the park and I'll add my "DITTO".
Soarin' Over California is THE ride here, totally fun and the best by far. BE WARNED, though, if you want to ride it you'd better get a Fast Pass FIRST THING. At yesterday's preview, the ride was not operational at 9:00 am when they opened, and the line to get a FAST PASS was huge! We were lucky to get FPs for the afternoon; they had all the FP times totally full within an hour. The stand-by line was at TWO HOURS all afternoon long!
California Screamin' is a GREAT coaster, very smooth, very fast, and a much longer ride than I had thought it would be. Definitely the #2 ride here.
I've got more on some of the other rides, but for now I just want to comment on two other things:
Food - quite good throughout the park! The Terrace is a lovely place to enjoy a glass of wine and some appetizers (it's above the Mondavi winery). The Soap Opera Bistro was sort of fun, not really as campy as expected, and the food was okay. I think the place will continue to improve, though. There were several other restaurants that looked interesting, both counter service and sit-down, and I look forward to trying more of them.
Merchandise - GREAT selection of new stuff! I was in shopper's paradise yesterday; they have all sorts of NEW DCA merchandise, and a huge variety to choose from. I was very impressed with the quality as well.
That's it for now...if anyone has any specific questions I'll try and answer them.
Michelle
Assistant Webmaster
Cruise & Inspiration Board Co-Host
Disneyland Board Co-Host
Now for DCA. Basically you should read Sarangel's review of the park and I'll add my "DITTO".
Soarin' Over California is THE ride here, totally fun and the best by far. BE WARNED, though, if you want to ride it you'd better get a Fast Pass FIRST THING. At yesterday's preview, the ride was not operational at 9:00 am when they opened, and the line to get a FAST PASS was huge! We were lucky to get FPs for the afternoon; they had all the FP times totally full within an hour. The stand-by line was at TWO HOURS all afternoon long!
California Screamin' is a GREAT coaster, very smooth, very fast, and a much longer ride than I had thought it would be. Definitely the #2 ride here.
I've got more on some of the other rides, but for now I just want to comment on two other things:
Food - quite good throughout the park! The Terrace is a lovely place to enjoy a glass of wine and some appetizers (it's above the Mondavi winery). The Soap Opera Bistro was sort of fun, not really as campy as expected, and the food was okay. I think the place will continue to improve, though. There were several other restaurants that looked interesting, both counter service and sit-down, and I look forward to trying more of them.
Merchandise - GREAT selection of new stuff! I was in shopper's paradise yesterday; they have all sorts of NEW DCA merchandise, and a huge variety to choose from. I was very impressed with the quality as well.
That's it for now...if anyone has any specific questions I'll try and answer them.
Michelle
Assistant Webmaster
Cruise & Inspiration Board Co-Host
Disneyland Board Co-Host