Need LA/Disney help from some locals, please

[Gallivanting Souls]

For dinner walk outside the park and eat a real meal at Denny's. Your entire family can eat a real meal for what you can get a hot dog and pop inside the park. -And service will probably be faster too!

[Craving A Cruise]

Thanks for reporting back to us!! I loved hearing how everything worked out for you and your family. It sounds like you had a fantastic cruise and a great time at Disneyland. The rain usually scares away lots of people, but as annual passholders we have learned that a drizzly day is the ABSOLUTE BEST day to go to Disneyland. :D

 

Just wanted to report back after our adventure last weekend.

 

Kenish - your directions to DL from San Pedro were awesome! Thanks so much.

 

To the poster of the recommendation to put the kids in their flying clothes the night before, this was a great idea. It made getting them up and out of the hotel at 4 am MUCH easier.

 

Thanks! that was me :). That was a trick I learned when my boys were young. I only wish I could still do it now when they are teenagers, LOL. It sure would make getting them out of the house in the morning soooo much easier. :D;)

 

Don't let a little rain scare you. It was 50 degrees and raining when we got off the ship Saturday but decided to go for it anyway. We had enough layers and water "resistant" jackets. It was still drizzling when we got to DL but only lightly. Most of the afternoon it cleared off. We did get one other really good rainshower while driving in autopia (soaked lap!) but then went to innoventions to dry out and wait for the rain to stop. For us the big bonus was the lack of people. Our longest wait was 25 minutes for Nemo and Autopia. Several of the other rides we didn't wait at all and walked right on. We did utilize a few fastpasses. In the end I would take cool, damp and no lines over sunny, "mom, I'm hot..", and long lines. The only thing is I thought about packing some cheap, plastic rain ponchos we have and did not. Wishing I had...they are small and take very little space.

 

Again, thanks for all the good advice. I appreciate the other CC members that really helped make our vacation extra special. :D

[Mango Tango]

For dinner walk outside the park and eat a real meal at Denny's. Your entire family can eat a real meal for what you can get a hot dog and pop inside the park. -And service will probably be faster too!

I agree with this....we were at Disneyland on November 5 & 6, 2008 before our Vision cruise. What Disney charged for three hamburgers, fries and drinks was outrageous...and the quality....well, they should be ashamed for charging what they did for that poor quality of food. :eek: JMHO.

[kenish]

About 10-12 years ago, Disney hired a new COO to bring their costs down. In my opinion everything took a downhill slide. There was worn and dirty paint, burned out light bulbs, litter, the food quality became terrible, they did promos that made the park unbearably crowded, and they had a string of ride accidents. Definitely not what Walt Disney envisioned. They made another management change and things improved...but never really recovered to their previous quality.