What should we not miss at Dl/DCA

[Relishy]

I did such a lot of planning for the last 2 trips to WDW and knew each day which ride to aim for first etc. I visited Disneyland back in the early 80's when I was a nanny in Vancouver a group of us came over for Christmas. All I remember is that it seemed big but we went on most things without any real plans.
This time it is just DH and me and I wondered if we need to use fast passes as carefully and plan to get on certain things early. We will be there in mid-July. :)

[PsychoAlice]

oh my yes you will...July is a VERY busy time of year!

What not to miss..
here are the things at DL that you cant get at WDW
Indiana Jones Adventure only the most best ride at Disneyland!
Materhorn Bobsleds First steel tubed roller coaster (Thanks Uncle Walt!)
you must go watch the clock at its a small world
Autopia .... The cars you drive NOT the same as at WDW
Casey Jr circus train
Take a ride on the train!! Some cool things to see!
The Tiki Room! The original version!
Mr Toads Wild Ride
Pinocchio's Daring Adventure
Roger rabbits Car Toon Spin
Tarzans Treehouse
Alice in Wonderland
King Authurs Carousel
at DCA
California Screamin!
Golden Zephyr
Grizzly River Run
Jumpin Jellyfish
King Tritons Carousel
Mailboomer
Orange Stringer
Soarin over California
Sun Wheel
and make sure to check out our Tower of Terror!

[rjh812uk]

Before i have a proper think
DL: Indi,Matterhorn and Pirates (for the extra drops)
DCA:Soarin (so relaxing i wish it lasted an hour)
IMHO the rest is very similar apart from the small castle(that should get the west coasters going a bit)

[dcfromva]

I did such a lot of planning for the last 2 trips to WDW and knew each day which ride to aim for first etc. I visited Disneyland back in the early 80's when I was a nanny in Vancouver a group of us came over for Christmas. All I remember is that it seemed big but we went on most things without any real plans.
This time it is just DH and me and I wondered if we need to use fast passes as carefully and plan to get on certain things early. We will be there in mid-July. :)
Relishy,
DCA: The ride most likely to run out of FPes: Soaring Over California.
After Soaring, I would get CA Screaming (I'm not a coaster fan, but this is a real smooth ride and I like it a lot), ToT (opens in May) and Mullholland Madness and the River Rapids Ride.
Rides which FPes are available, but you most likely don't need them because they seat a LOT of folks: Muppets 3D, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and Millionaire. BTW, they pick folks to sit in the Fastest Finger seats by answering trivia questions or doing silly stuff. (1/2 from the standby line and 1/2 from the FP line). (Of course, just like at WDW, everyone in audience plays Millionaire--not just the Fastest Finger seats).
Show you should not miss: Aladdin. We were there last April for 7 nights and I could have watched that show every night if my family would have let me. It was awesome and I enjoyed watching it from the different seating areas.
Link to DCA rides (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dlr/listing/parkContentType?id=DCAParkAttractionsListingPage&initialContent=Attractions)
-DC :ears:

[rjh812uk]

And park hopping is very easy ,you can go from one park to the other in less than five minutes.And if you want you can stroll into DTD very easily.

[dcfromva]

Relishy,
There is a new show at DL which has been getting fabulous reviews. It is the Snow White Show. I can't wait to see it!

I am in the process of getting updated information on the Fantasmic Dessert seating for our visit in June. This will be one of the highlights of our trip is we are able to get ressies.

It used to be that you could only get these ressies on the day of the event. On one of our previous visits, I was awake at 3am anyway, so I got up was in line at Guest Services by 5am (there was one fellow ahead of me). The seating is limited (it is around 24 people). I was able to get the reservations and the seats were great. They are located on a balcony off from the Disney Gallery (this is above the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride). The Disney Gallery is where Walt Disney was planning to have an apartment in Disneyland, but unfortunately he died before it was finished. The balcony is just off what would have been the family dining room. So, you get to enjoy the view that Walt and his family would have had.

I have heard that they now take reservations in advance over the phone (either 30 or 60 days)

Fantasmic at WDW is great. But, Fantasmic at DL is just amazing. It is just like this show appears out of nowhere like magic. The good thing at WDW everyone gets a seat.

Anyway, I hope to update this as soon as I get more info...

-DC :ears:

[tajainaz]

I haven't been to California Adventure, so I can't comment on that, but here's my list for DL:

Matterhorn (not available in MK at WDW)
It's a Small World (don't cringe--it's the same annoying song, but the ambience is much nicer than WDW)
Casey Jr. Train (not available at WDW)
Disneyland & Rio Grande Railroad (be sure to do the entire circuit)
Pirates of the Caribbean (a tad different than WDW)
Jungle Cruise (also a tad different than WDW)

I'll probably think of something else after I post!


__________________
Taja :sun:

[BevW]

I second PA's suggestions! I love Disneyland and CA! California Screaming has got to be the best coaster ride. Mulholland Madness looks tame, but it's got surprises. Soaring over California is the ultimate glider ride. Indiana Jones is not the Indiana Jones of WDW. It's awesome!
I know you'll have fun!!

[Relishy]

Thanks for all the great ideas :D I love planning each day and the idea that you can hop between the 2 parks without using transportation should mean that we can move to another area if one is getting too busy rather than doing 1 park per day. We used to be there early usually for opening in Florida and I expect we will do the same, going back for a rest and then coming back early evening and staying until closing time.

[BevW]

Just make sure you buy park hopper passes!

[dcfromva]

Relishy,
I just called Disneyland (714 781-4400) regarding the special Fantasmic Dessert Package.
They do take ressies over the phone in advance 1 month to the day (it's not 30 days in advance, so be careful :) ). They open the phones at 8:00am Pacific Time.
Prices are as follows (all include tax):

Disney Gallery Balcony Seating Dessert Buffet: $47.00 per person (children and adults are the same price) There are 21 seats up there.

Along the river (at ground level), they have Premium Seating Dessert Buffet. There are 50 seats. The prices is $47.00 per adult (10 and over) and $37.00 per child (3-9). (I have heard in the past, it was a dessert box, but the CM I just spoke to said it is now a dessert buffet table.

(Sometimes, they have two Fantasmic shows, so that gives you a better chance to get one of these ressies)

We did the Balcony seating before and it was really awesome. I really hope we can get ressies for our trip in June. :)

-DC :ears:

[Relishy]

Thanks for that idea dcfromva, it will appeal to DH sweet tooth and it is both our birthdays whilst we are away :wink: :D I will have to figure out the time change in order to get in early. We have always tended to do things for the children and need to get back into indulging ourselves again. Have you any idea when the July hours will be available?

[dcfromva]

Relishy,
It looks like they now have park hours published for July, but they don't have the show/parade schedules published, yet.
Link to park hours (http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dlr/calendar/index?highlight=dlp&selectedDate=7/20/2004&Stay=1&DLP=DLP&DCA=DCA&DTD=DTD&submitted=true) (I just randomly picked July 20th to see if they had any July hours, yet. )

-DC :ears:

[Relishy]

Thank you very much for that link DC :D We are there the 15th & 16 July and on the Friday DL is open until mid-night :)
Shirley