Home

[dagobert]

We (my girlfriend Claudia and I) just returned from our recent trip to DLRP. It was my fourth trip to DLRP and our second Disney trip this year (WDW in January, posted in International Trip Reports). We stayed at the Santa Fe Hotel for 6 nights with 5 days of park entry.We had a marvellous time, like always. Although we enjoyed every minute of our time in the parks, we figured out that four days are perfect for us, since we are more organized then. We really like the Santa Fe, but after three times in a row it's really time for a change now. So for our next trip we plan to stay in the Sequoia Lodge.

So here we go with my trip report:

Arrival

We started our journey at 7:00am and after a looooong 10 hour drive we arrived finally at Disneyland. We checked in at the Santa Fe (Room was nice and clean as always) and then walked over to Disney Village, where we were happy about the improvements they made about it. Dinner was at Annette's Diner, where we both ordered the veggie burger which was very tasty, although the portion was huge! After checking out the merchandise (imo so much nicer than in WDW) and a few drinks at the Sport's Bar we walked back to the hotel and went to bed early.

Day 1 in the Parks

We woke up very early to make full use of the EMH. So we had breakfast at 7:00 which was nice and quiet. When we left the dining hall there was a huge queue outside so we were happy that we got the earliest breakfast slot.
When we entered Disneyland Park we were so happy to be back in "our" park because we didn't have the nice "Disney feeling" at the Magic Kingdom in WDW (which was the last Disney park we visited). It was so nice to be "home" again.
After staring at the castle for a while we entered Discovery Land and went on Buzz Lightyear, and then on to Space Mountain, which we rode two times! Unfortunately our experience was very bumpy, I'm not sure if that's just our personal impression, anyone else has noticed that too?
After having a little snack in the Cable Car Bakeshop we went to the Guest Relations to make some reservations for restaurants. Unfortunately we were told that Walt's was closed ALL WEEK LONG! NOOO! So we were a little disappointed by that since it's our favorite restaurant. We headed over to the Studios, and were shocked by the huge queue in front of Crush's Coaster that was all through the park back to Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't even open yet!
Claudia didn't feel very well that day so we decided to go back to the hotel so she could have a little nap. After that we returned to Disneyland Park and had lunch at the Pizzeria Bella Notte. We've never been to this restaurant, but the theming is so nice. I had the four cheese pizza and Claudia had the Pasta Neapolitana. We enjoyed a very quiet lunch since it was only 12:00.
In the afternoon we enjoyed our favorite rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor (which was a little disappointing compared the updated version in WDW. Time for an update, folks!). Then we went over the Studios again and rode the Tower of Terror, which is just brilliant!!! We loved it. And the Cast Members were just amazing, they did such a good job – very creepy.

We had dinner at Au Chalet de la Marionette. We both had the salad with cheese, which was ok. One word of warning: Don't try to sit outside (especially in the afternoon). They have some serious issues with the restrooms nearby, and so the wind brought over an awful smell. We escaped to the other side of Fantasyland.

We watched Candlebration, but the show was disappointing, first of all you couldn't see the lights at the Castle and they re-used the Parade Music and second it was very short. After leaving the park we had some drinks at the Sports Bar and then went back to the hotel.

Photos will follow.

[dagobert]

Arrival Day:

Photos have been removed!

[Epcot_Boy]

Nice pics..........thanks for sharing :wink:

Epcot_Boy :ears:

[dagobert]

More pictures of the first day:

Photos have been removed!

[never2old]

Great report, looking forward to the rest!

I find SM very bumpy too... Last time I could only go once on it, I bumped my knee and after it was so painful whenever anything touched it, that I couldnt face going on SM a second time...

You had such a lovely weather!! And park seems fairly quiet in your pics... Looks perfect!!

[The Butlin Boy]

Great report and pictures Dagobert, thanks for sharing them, I look forward to seeing the rest

[ColdSun]

lovely pictures and great review. Looking forward to more ...

[SophieD]

thanks for sharing your trip report with us!!

I love all the pictures especially the ones of walt disney studios!!

i cannot wait to read more!!!

[bigrossco]

great pics reading it is just getting me more and more excited for my visit

[dagobert]

Second Day in the Park

We had breakfast again at 7:00am and headed over to the park just in time for the Extra Magic Hours. We enjoyed our favorite rides in Fantasyland – Tea Cups, it's a small world, Pinocchio and Peter Pan. Then we went over to the Studios because we really wanted to ride Crush's Coaster! So we were in line for 45min and then they told us that they had technical difficulties and that they wouldn't open the ride. Arghh! We also had a really bad experience with another guest. A guy with his kid tried to get in line right in front of us. He just skipped half of the Crush line (which was again insanely long). Needless to say he wasn't very successful in his attempt and ended up somewhere in the back. I can't believe how rude some people are. Fortunatley, this was the only case of bad guest behavior we've seen during our stay.

After this disappointing experience at Crush's we went back to Disneyland Park and had a little snack at the Salon Mickey, since I'm a new shareholder. Yay! Very nice.

Later we returned to the Studios and there was only a short queue in front of Crush (30 minutes). So we got in line and finally were able to enjoy this fun ride!! And then we rode it again! Whoohoo! Two time Crush's Coaster in a row – I am really proud, haha!

We took a little break at the Hollywood boulevard. With all the new additions, this part of the park is now such a nice spot to sit down and relax a little. We tried the Perrier "Cocktails" which come in yummy flavors and very bright colors. And we met Goofy as Bellhopper! ?

We returned to the Disneyland Park just in time for a late lunch at the Blue Lagoon. I was a little sceptical about this restaurant as it gets so many bad reviews. But we had an amazing time there, the service was excellent, the food was very yummy and you really can't beat the setting!! I had the Mahi-Mahi fish and my girlfriend (who is a vegetarian, by the way) had the pasta. We shared the goat cheese as an appetizer and the Creme Brulée as a dessert. So good! If anyone is interested in food pics, I can post them.

After dinner we were a little tired and very full, so we just walked through the park and enjoyed the atmosphere. Then we walked over to  Disney Village because we've found out that they have a Happy Hour at King Ludwig's – two beers for the price of one! So we had to try that. After a nice evening in the village we went back to the hotel.

Pictures:

Photos have been removed!

[never2old]

Crush twice in a row, whoa!! Very jealous!

Great pics, looking forward to more!

[dagobert]

Back in DLP:

Photos have been removed!

[Nala_84]

Hey, thanks for the trip report and the really great pictures so far, dagobert !

And aw, it's great that you liked the Veggie Burger at Annette's (is it only for take-out or is it also possible to eat it inside? For 13 Euros or so?), as my boyfriend and I (both Vegetarians, too) want to try it for the first time during our Christmas trip !

The pics are really awesome, and you had so nice wheather!! The cocktails look really yummy!
We also had the pasta last year (September) at the Blue Lagoon, the atmosphere is incredible, isn't it?

[dagobert]

Hi Nala!

Yes it's possible to order the burger in the restaurant. The burger is delicious and the portions are very big, so make sure that you are really hungry.

[jeakat24]

You're definately not the only who gets bashed around on SM. I find my head knocks side to side on the restraint the whole way round.  
The 7:00 am breakfast is one of DLRP's best kept secrets. It's so unbelievably quiet!! I'm not normally a morning person, but usually we get up chuck on some clothes, go and have breakfast at 7am then go back to the room and get ready properly, that way you're not up too early. It also works out well for lunch as you're hungry earlier meaning that you miss the big lunch rush!  /