peepleschamp
Footballguy
Another example of why this community is the best. Saw this yesterday morning and was able to get this applied for the family trip we have planned for August. Saved me $1100+. Thanks!!glvsav37 said:
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Disney Vacation (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter DOVCommish
- Start date
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Gonna hit a quick trip to meet up with some friends in February I think. Only 2 or 3 days. Probably stay in EPCOT the whole time and try to make my gastroenterologist earn his keep.
Don't Noonan
Footballguy
Live in Phoenix so Disneyland is usually a trip for my family at least once a year. Just booked a trip there for MLK weekend in a few weeks staying at Grand Californian Hotel at the park. We have always wanted to stay there but decided to pay extra and do it this time. Any tips from those who stayed there in the past? I believe I read you can enter the park an hour early.
Also, did Disney Maxpass add on for tickets. From what I read it allows you to book fast pass tickets easier on your smart phone
Also, did Disney Maxpass add on for tickets. From what I read it allows you to book fast pass tickets easier on your smart phone
glvsav37
Footballguy
IDK much about DL, but I do know that the Grand just got a complete renovation and it apparently looks amazing. I'm sure you can get into the parks early as they do in WDW, but the real cool thing bout5 the Grand is that they literally have an entrance right into the California Adventure park in the lobby.
here is where we miss @Bruce Dickinson
jb1020
Footballguy
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
I love the ride photos. Did I post the collage I made of all the weird faces my son made at Disney?
jb1020
Footballguy
Don't think I've seen it around here.
I'm going to dig around and see what others I can find.
Early Entry: I'm not 100% sure how it works but they have different days designated for early entry into the 2 different parks. You can also get into California Adventure directly from the hotel so you can bypass the main crowd.
Maxpass is fantastic. As soon as you are in the park you can start scheduling Fast Passes. It still works like the old system in that you get a pass and either have to wait until you reach the time on that pass or ~ 2 hours ahead, whichever is sooner, until you can get your next pass. The key is that you don't physically have to go to the Fast Pass Station. Just do it all on your phone. So as soon as you get in the park schedule your first FP. Pay attention to when you are able to get another FP. Get on the app as soon as your time is up and schedule the next fast pass. Manage it right and you can really maximize your time.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I like the two Asian guys on the ride with you.
I hate that ride for a multitude of reasons - loud, overly loud, did I mention it's ####### loud for no really good reason?, I lost a hat and sunglasses on it and it's loud.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
For those following along at home - paid for the reservation hold so looks like Free Dining and Food & Wine are a go.
Like there was any doubt.
Like there was any doubt.
jb1020
Footballguy
That was only the 2nd time I've been on it. First time it broke down and my son and I were in a dark room for like 5 minutes.
This time we were laughing hysterically as our kids cried and the narrator guy was flipping out. I'm still not sure the point of the ride. Rescuing a dinosaur or something?
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Yep, that's the idea - you are time traveling to rescue a dinosaur. The thing is, it's a decent premise for a ride but the execution is horrible (IMO). The ride is too jerky and loud and overly scary almost throughout. I only ride it now to get out of the heat.
Scoresman
Footballguy
I thought it had to do with rescuing Bill Cosby from the dinosaurs, since his wife is the one pleading for your help in the video before the ride. That ride has aged so poorly. Indiana Jones is a similar style ride and is so much better, even if it breaks down all the time.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Slumpbusters
Footballguy
Don’t post much but rely a lot on the advice in this forum. Just got back from Disney so I thought I’d chime in on a couple things:
Bring a 32 ounce Yeti type of water bottle and fill it with water at any soda machine all day. Saves a ton on water and keeps you ice cold all day.
Pleasantly surprised by the steak quality at Be Our Guest. I’ve eaten at pretty much every high quality steakhouse in the Midwest and it was arguably one of the best I’ve had. Restaurant itself was underwhelming. If you go ask to sit in the Rose room. May take a little longer but worth it.
One of the best experiences we had was the Storybook Dining at Artist Point. Characters and food were top notch. The Evil Queen was there and made a four year old cry with a look. Once the little kid started crying looked at her in disgust. Ruthless and awesome. She doesn’t visit tables in case kids are too afraid. Dopey, Grumpy and Snow White visit each table individually.
Avatar ride was worth the wait. Go early, 1 hour prior to rope drop they let you in for it.
Cheers,
Turk
Bring a 32 ounce Yeti type of water bottle and fill it with water at any soda machine all day. Saves a ton on water and keeps you ice cold all day.
Pleasantly surprised by the steak quality at Be Our Guest. I’ve eaten at pretty much every high quality steakhouse in the Midwest and it was arguably one of the best I’ve had. Restaurant itself was underwhelming. If you go ask to sit in the Rose room. May take a little longer but worth it.
One of the best experiences we had was the Storybook Dining at Artist Point. Characters and food were top notch. The Evil Queen was there and made a four year old cry with a look. Once the little kid started crying looked at her in disgust. Ruthless and awesome. She doesn’t visit tables in case kids are too afraid. Dopey, Grumpy and Snow White visit each table individually.
Avatar ride was worth the wait. Go early, 1 hour prior to rope drop they let you in for it.
Cheers,
Turk
Last edited by a moderator:
AcerFC
Footballguy
Scoresman
Footballguy
themeanmachine
Footballguy
Found cheap tickets to Paris over this coming Thanksgiving. 4 of us going, kids will be 16 and 13. Will be in the city for 5 days, then 2 at Disneyland Paris before heading home. Anyone been to Disneyland Paris? Any advice?
Scoresman
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
I lost a GD tooth on that ####er....adult kind...and no, I'm not 6.
that ride is ok but when compared to its CA version, Indy Jones, its not even in the conversation of good rides. The only part I actually like is about 2/3 of the way through—when the big dino comes out of the trees on the left and almost runs with you for a minute.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Ouch - I’ll take a hat and sunglasses over a tooth.
glvsav37
Footballguy
lol....it was a fake one, but still a #####.
My front 2 choppers are fake/caps—I tripped over my shoelaces as a kid and went buck-teeth fist into a curb.
anyway, flash forward to riding Dino with my then GF (now wife) and her family on their vacation. No one really knew I had fake choppers, just a detail you don't need to tell anyone when you are dating.
The ride is bucking all over the place, dark and loud and I have not ridden it in years. Just at the end when the big dino head comes down from the top, I get spooked and duck right as the car bucks up and bam...tooth right on handlebar. Immediately I felt the wind between the new gap and felt it fall out of my mouth...into the dark abyss.
The ride comes to the unload, and patting myself down hoping it landed in my lap....no dice. I look up at the family and smile with this front gap..."HFS!!!" they respond. GF's dad looks down and there it is on the floorboards.
So I grab it and we high tail it to first aide. ON the way GF sees Flick from Bugs life and wants a picture— i'm like "Really?" We pass him by and get to First Aide where all i needed was some denture bond to glue it back in place for the time. When I get done, I go back out in the waiting room and there is my GF taking a picture with Flick, turns out first aide was that areas entrance/exit to backstage. So at least we have a funny story and a pict of my GF and flick in some medical waiting room.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
glvsav37
Footballguy
yea...wasnt my proudest moment, I admit. It caught me off guardI'd hate to see some of you guys on a real roller coaster.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
These prices are finally starting to really irk me. Wife and I have been discussing selling our DVC.
Every time we go we feel more and more nickel and dimed. Beers that used to be 22 oz are now 16oz and two bucks more. Items that we used to be able to split and be full are now more expensive and much smaller.
I also feel we are in a bit of a bubble here for DVC. We paid 39 bucks a point for ours. We could sell it today for 70. The availability has become much more difficult. So booking on shorter notice in order to save money on flights isnt really an option anymore.
People have obviously complained forever about the prices at disney. These recent increases though are insane. We are seeing double digit ticket price increases. Double digit food increases. I never felt disney was much more expensive than other vacations though because you had so much to do each day that you didnt have to keep shelling out money for. I think they have crossed that threshold by a large margin now.
Every time we go we feel more and more nickel and dimed. Beers that used to be 22 oz are now 16oz and two bucks more. Items that we used to be able to split and be full are now more expensive and much smaller.
I also feel we are in a bit of a bubble here for DVC. We paid 39 bucks a point for ours. We could sell it today for 70. The availability has become much more difficult. So booking on shorter notice in order to save money on flights isnt really an option anymore.
People have obviously complained forever about the prices at disney. These recent increases though are insane. We are seeing double digit ticket price increases. Double digit food increases. I never felt disney was much more expensive than other vacations though because you had so much to do each day that you didnt have to keep shelling out money for. I think they have crossed that threshold by a large margin now.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Yeah, I'm glad our kids are getting older - this fall may be one of our last trips as a family and I'm ok with that (I think). Just too expensive versus what you get. The money isn't the biggest problem as the fact that I could take that money and probably had 3 week long vacations at decent locations. The fact that the parks are packed almost all the time doesn't help.
But, I don't blame Disney - what are they supposed to do, lower prices? As long as people are still willing to pay it then we have to expect it to keep going up.
glvsav37
Footballguy
Don't disagree.....we are DVC too and every time I think about adding on, I rethink about using that money elsewhere for vacations. My kids are 12 and 9 and enjoy WDW but really loved universal as well. I dont think I'd ever sell, I'm looking forward to using the points when its just the wife and I.parasaurolophus said:
But I hear you, the prices are getting silly. we've always done AP's (at aDVC discount) and dining plan, but this will be our 1st year w/o the plan. Really looking to use this vacation as a downshift and not do as much.
thats a great price per point...where do you own and how many its? $70 seems cheep, I dont see many contracts under $90/pp
jb1020
Footballguy
Same boat here. We've gone from at least an annual trip to thinking its going to be 2-3 years before we think about going back. We all still love it, but the return on investment seems to be going down for us.AAABatteries said:
But you're right, they're not lowing the ticket prices, ever. To me there just kind of masking the prices. I've never really once thought about the actual ticket prices. You go to the website and buy hotel, tickets, meal plans, etc all in one lump sum.
Maybe there is a bubble thats about to burst. Star Wars ain't gonna pay for itself though.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
While I know its not a huge hit in this thread, looks like a good chunk of the Tomorrowland Speedway is getting ripped up in order to make room for Tron Coaster.
Both the Speedway and the Rail Road are currently closed as work continues on the Tron site. Speedway is expected to reopen this May, but no idea on if this track removal is permanent or not.
Both the Speedway and the Rail Road are currently closed as work continues on the Tron site. Speedway is expected to reopen this May, but no idea on if this track removal is permanent or not.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
The Tomorrowland Speedway should have been removed permanently years ago or at least re themed to have something to do with the future or technology. Instead it is a loud, slow moving and loading attraction that wreaks of gasoline engine exhaust. I was fortunate that when my kids were little they never cared about it after riding it once.
JackReacher
Footballguy
While I agree it's terribly dated, my daughters absolutely loved it the last time we went on it. We usually walk right by, but there was no line because everyone was watching the fireworks. The cast members noticed my oldest especially liked it, and asked if she wanted to go around a second time. My daughter was thrilled.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
In addition to everything you state the real estate is prime for expansion - you could add a lot in that area and the walking path from Space Mountain to the back of Fantasyland. If the maps are close enough to scale it's an area larger than Liberty Square and not that much smaller than the rest of Tomorrowland combined.
JackReacher
Footballguy
I posted in the Mecum thread about my Kissimmee experience. Had a great time. Along with cars, Mecum also auctions off Road Art. This piece will interest DHS fans. Went for $88K.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Agreed, the land could be put to better use.
That said I understand that a lot of kids like it but I think if it is going to remain in tomorrowland they should update the vehicles to look like futuristic cars and maybe use flora that looks outworldy. Better still would be to re-theme the vehicles as space rovers and change the landscape to look like the Moon, Mars, or make the cars look like Wall-E and landscape as a distant future Earth. It would also be nice if the cars were electric and at least partially using solar,
AcerFC
Footballguy
Interesting article that suggests 200,000 people are expected to hit DL when SW land opens
https://amp.cinemablend.com/news/2465190/the-insane-number-of-guests-disneyland-could-see-on-opening-day-of-star-wars-galaxys-edge
Going this weekend. Should be fun.
https://amp.cinemablend.com/news/2465190/the-insane-number-of-guests-disneyland-could-see-on-opening-day-of-star-wars-galaxys-edge
Going this weekend. Should be fun.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I'd be cool with those changes. And I get that kids like it - the idea of driving or controlling the ride has a lot of appeal to kids (and adults). It's just poorly executed all the way around - loud, smells, the queue sucks (or did last time I was in it). I really like your idea about electric/solar vehicles. Even if they don't do that with the speedway they should do something like that at EPCOT.
Don't Noonan
Footballguy
AcerFC
Footballguy
The Commish
Footballguy
It will be approximately 3 years before you can step foot in HS after SW land opens here. I don't plan on going anywhere near that park for a while.
jb1020
Footballguy
I wonder what initial reaction to Star Wars Land is going to be like? Expectations are going to be thru the roof for most people. Between massive crowds, waits to get in the park, waits to get on the rides...I can see some bad reviews coming out of this. Maybe I'm just not a big enough SW guy, but I'm like you....I don't think I'll touch that park for a while.
Plus there is only 2 rides.
I do love Pandora (and I've never even seen Avatar), but its still nothing you can spend all day at.
The Commish
Footballguy
I'm not a big SW guy....never have been. Don't get it, but I absolutely made sure I got to the openings of the movies just to watch. I feel like doing that here is a death sentence. And I agree. I'm not sure how this lives to the hype. I suspect there will be lines of people days before this thing opens waiting. Maybe they won't allow that?
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
We are pretty much the same. Not that I wouldn't mind the experience as I'm sure it will be awesome, but I have no problem soaking in EPCOT all that much more when everyone is pretending to be on Tatooine using the force. I'll just keep hanging out with the German and Italian chicks drinking their beer and telling my wife I am going to look at a clock for real this time.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Yeah, no way Disney allows that. And they always have the park limit they could stick to like they do on holidays. I don't know when my first trip will be in relation to the opening but I'd head to it just to check it out.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I would bet money on them doing it awesome.
The problem there though, such as it is, is the hotel rooms. They are just building too many and getting too many people there all the time. I get it, because I run a business and am a capitalist as well, but there is no break anymore, very little down time, and far too many people have started going there that are just rude all the dang time. It wasn't always like that. But the park demographic has certainly changed, and with it we have lost some level of enjoyment with it. Not enough to stop going, mind you. But I'm also not rushing to the computer with my wife to try to fit in the 3rd trip this year.
And as I said above, there is no chance we go near Studios for awhile once that thing opens. It's just not worth it.
AcerFC
Footballguy
What I am looking forward to more than the rides is getting info on the immersive part. If sounds like it could be a RPG type atmosphere. How does that work. Eating at the cantina will be cool as well. I cant see how they can make a ride any better than what is out there already so that is last on my list of things to do there. Being that we went last July and are going to land now, I can see us not hitting it until late 2020.
