We visited 8/6-8/13 and we had such a good time! My son (9) and I travel to
Disneyland often just the two of us and this was our first time going with more people. We had some old friends from another state meet us there- all first timers just there for SWGE. We did five day park hoppers at Disneyland and one day at Universal!
Here’s my randomly scattered thoughts:
SWGE: I wrote a longer recap on the SWGE thread but wow... I loved it. It felt like a love letter to the franchise and the fans with all the small details and Easter eggs. We did everything and our favorite things were Savi’s, Oga’s and MFSR. I shed a tear when I put the falcon into light speed. I can’t wait to go back!
Universal: Geez, that was our worst day. We went on the day of the CHOC walk and perhaps everyone else decided to do what we did as well?! It was so unbearingly crowded- I’ve never been there when it’s been that busy. You couldn’t even move down the walkways. They had staff organizing the crowd flow in directions with signs. We decided to wait three hours (?!?!) for Jurassic World and that really killed our day too. I normally would never subject myself to such insanity but my son said that was the only thing he cared about doing so I made the sacrifice.
I found it terrifying but he absolutely loved it haha. Too bad they charge so much for one picture- the ride photo would have been worth keeping because when we dropped I hid my face in his shoulder and wrapped myself around him because I think I panicked and felt like he was going to fall out.
He was like ‘mom, get off me!’ I guess I thought it was going to be like Splash Mountain.... definitely a bit more intense. After that we only had time to do Harry Potter world and ride the Forbidden Journey ride and see the Waterworld show. We didn’t get to do anything else- the lines were just too long. Our focus was HP though and my son and I were able to ride four times using single rider waiting less then ten mins each time. No one else in our group wanted to ride so we divided up for a bit. Frozen Butterbeer is my favorite. We drank so much! Overall, I think we just had a bad luck day. Every wait time was over 100 minutes and up. It was just not fun and I was kissing the FastPass scanners at Disneyland the next day. It was so horrible I told my kiddo I’m skipping Universal on our next trip to recover from my trauma haha! If I knew it was gonna be that insane we would have budgeted for the Express Pass!
Group trips: Wow, I found this surprisingly challenging. I’ve learned that I just like to move fast in the parks (rope drop and hit those rides before lunch!) and really prefer that everyone can keep up. We had some people that didn’t like some of the major rides after they tried them and that was also challenging to maneuver. Or people had issues waking up on time. Just overall, differences in how we wanted to experience the parks. Since we were traveling with people that aren’t necessarily Disney fans first (their focus was SWGE) they weren’t as interested in things that are ritual for us (characters, parades, etc) so that was also challenging trying to balance everyone’s priorities. Even though it was a fun change of pace, I think my kiddo and I both prefer it being just us.
We are so used to our routine of rope drop and park hop till you drop! I think in the future if I did a group trip again I’d make sure to mark specific time slots where everyone does their own thing each day for a bit. We did that on the last day and it really helped keep everyone more happy.
Disneyland Crowds: I’m sorry, what crowds?! We always visit at peak times and this was heaven. Every day was so easy to manage! Immediate FP return times nonstop and low wait standbys for most rides. Evenings picked up especially for the parade but mornings were blissfully slow. We did MaxPass as usual and that made it even easier. We rode everything we wanted each day with no hassle.
The Clarion: You may have seen me on these boards strongly defending this budget hotel.. we’ve stayed there our last three trips and it’s always been great.. well, there was definitely some dust or some weirdness in their AC units. It bothered all of us. My friends all had sore throats and coughs. I suffer from migraines (I take the preventative shots and all the crazy meds for them- I’m talking real migraines here..) and it triggered three (!) for me in the week we stayed. At first I couldn’t figure out what the deal was and then we noticed the funny smell when we ran the AC. Because of this, I’m taking them off my hotel list. Bummer! I normally never have migraines on my trips to Cali- the weather and lack of things I’m allergic to just seem to suit me better.
Dining: We did the dessert party for the first time and I loved it! It was so much fun, it’s the only way I want to watch WOC now. We did the Blue Bayou Fantasmic! Package like we always do and the experience was good as usual. Tried the Lamplight Lounge brunch- it was good but kind of a bummer it runs so late because we wanted lunch items and the reservation was for 1pm so surprised to be told they only were doing brunch. Cafe Orleans was disappointing. Our server was really rude and food was cold- first time Ive had that happen there. They did bring us new food but weren’t too friendly about it either. I hated all the SWGE food (I’m a picky vegetarian- it’s challenging) but I loved Oga’s!
Next years trip: I feel like I had some small post-vacation blues when we got back so I already booked our summer trip for next year! Anyone else do this? My family thinks I’m nuts but oh well.
It’s never too early to plan! Next summer I’m splurging and we’re doing the Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance. If old hotels can trigger migraines then I’m not doing that anymore!
Well that was a lot of random rambling, wow! Hope everyone had/will have a great time!
ETA: Character selfies are hilarious and my new favorite thing.