Us:
5 adults, most had been to DLR before though we go to WDW much more often. We stayed in 2 rooms at Paradise Pier from Sunday Aug 28 - Saturday Sept 3 with 5-day park hoppers including Genie+ (though we probably didn't need Genie+ for LL because we were able to do so much during Early Entry.) Photopass was included with Genie+ which we used often. With Genie+ we were also able to fish for MEPs which was a bonus that allowed us to go on some rides more than once.
Arrival Day:
Based on recommendations from this forum, we arranged for transportation with MidWilShuttle from LAX to the Paradise Pier Hotel. Midwil was great, they texted us the day of our flight to confirm the details and then again after our flight landed to let us know where to meet them. Cost for a shuttle van for the 5 of us was $150 each way. The drive between the airport and the hotel took about 40 minutes. I would highly recommend MidWilShuttle, they were reliable, friendly and professional.
We arranged for grocery delivery from Albertson's via Instacart. Another good experience, we had snacks including fruits and vegetables to last us through the week. Note that if alcohol is included in the order then you must meet with the Instacart delivery driver in the hotel lobby; the hotel will not sign for grocery orders that include alcohol.
Hotel: Paradise Pier
We booked two rooms at the cheapest/lowest room category. On arrival, our rooms were ready and we had been (magically) upgraded to park view. We'd forgotten to ask for connecting rooms and were pleasantly surprised that we were given connecting rooms anyway.
The hotel itself is dated, a bit worn, and in need of an overhaul, but otherwise everything was good. We booked there knowing that there aren't any restaurants at PPH but we would not have used them anyway, as we were so close to the other hotels, Downtown Disney and the parks. Mobile delivery is available from some of the Downtown Disney restaurants though we didn't use that service.
Early Entry was fantastic, as was the back entrance to DCA which we used multiple times. We also used the newly-reinstated package delivery from the park shops to the hotel (packages were sent to the gift shop.) Great to see Disney hotel perks returning.
The pool and pool deck area were nice but not as 'Disney' as the other two Disney hotel's pools. If we had kids with us then the other hotel pools would have been a better choice. For adults who just wanted to cool off, it was perfect.
Overall we felt we were back in the Disney bubble due to the fantastic cast members. They were always friendly and accommodating and made us feel like VIPs.
Here's a rundown of what we did:
Sunday: Trader Sam's
On our arrival day we had reservations for a late lunch at Trader Sam's, which did not disappoint. They were out of stock of some of the souveneir mugs, but they did have the Shipwreck/Rum Barrel and a couple of others. The shipwreck drink contains gin which one member of our party doesn't like, and the server was happy to swap it out for another drink in the same mug, which was awesome. Another bonus was that there were still Monstro mugs available from the limited-release on Friday, served with a non-alcohol drink (something something ginger beer) which was quite good. The mug was $50 (including the drink) which is pricey but we bought one anyway. The food was also good, but I can't recall what we ate (!). Did I mention that the drinks at Trader Sam's are REALLY good…
Monday: Rope Drop DCA
We had read online that the PPH back entrance did not always open on time for Early Entry, so we opted to use the main security entrance near the Disneyland Hotel.
When we arrived at security about 6:40 there were 2 groups ahead of us. By 7:00 when security opened, there were about 150 people in line. The majority (2/3) went to DL.
We waited at the DCA entrance until the gates opened just before 7:30. All gates opened at the same time so it didn't matter where we stood in line.
We were able to ride Webslingers and Guardians before 7:30. We then headed to RSR and were ahead of the non-early entry crowd, though RSR was down for most of the morning so we lost our advantage there.
We had a reservation for the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package at 4:00. Due to Disney magic we were seated at a table beside the water. The meal was good, I've read many negative reviews online about BB but we were happy with our meal. In particular, the tuna was excellent. The package included the Fantasmic chocolate mousse dessert which looked pretty, but tasted just ok.
Throughout the day we found some of the rides to be walk-on, including Big Thunder Mountain and Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. We bought Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance. RotR was good but we wouldn't pay $20 (or any ILL fee) to ride it again. Smugglers Run was much more fun for us and we rode that one multiple times over the week.
For Fantasmic, we were given old-style paper 'FastPass' tickets and were told to check in near Harbor Galley. We brought inflatable seat pads with us which worked great. The Blue Bayou section must remain seated on the ground for the show and these pads helped not only make us more comfortable but also provided a protective barrier to the various drinks spilled on the ground by the people sitting behind us
. The show itself was as amazing as ever and the view from the BB section was great. I would recommend anyone book this experience at least once, it really was a fun night and worth the splurge.
Tuesday: Rope Drop DL
Security opened at 7:00 exactly. The DL gates opened at 7:30. We headed straight to Fantasyland.
During Early Entry we
road Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinocchio, the Carousel and were on Dumbo when the non-hotel guests' rope dropped at 8:00. We then
road Alice, the Teacups, Storybook Canal Boats and the Casey Jr. Circus train by 9. We then went into the Red Rose Tavern for breakfast.
After breakfast we headed into Galexys Edge to build lightsabers. Only two of our group of five were building sabers though the remaining three were allowed into Savi's to observe. Note that there were a total of six people building sabers so there was a lot of extra room. I expect if it's a full group of saber-builders that the number of observers would be restricted a bit.
We had reservations for Oga's at 11. We were interested in the souvenir mugs; the only ones available were the cliff-dweller/Porg and beer flight/Rancor Teeth. Seated in a booth, we ordered a few drinks and were enjoying the atmosphere until about 20 minutes later when we were asked to move closer to each other so that another party could join us in our booth. The couple that was seated with us were already inebriated and the husband was far too 'friendly' for our comfort.
Oga's was fun but the drinks were just ok. Based on having to share a table with (possibly drunk) strangers, the drinks being mediocre at best and Oga's being out of stock of many of the souvenir mugs, we would not do this again. Good to do once though.
That evening we had dinner at Lamplight Lounge, which we really enjoyed. We were seated promptly, the food was good and the cast members were great.
We had booked the World of Color dessert party (1st show) and tried to check in around 6:40, hoping we could get our wristbands and then explore a bit more before sitting down for the show, but the check-in process took a really long time. There weren't any signs indicating where to check-in,and the cast members that we asked didn't know. Eventually we and a few other groups formed our own line at viewing area for the Eureka water wheel building near GRR. Castmembers arrived there with a podium just after 7:00 and started checking people in at 7:20. At 8:10 we were led over to the seating area and taken to our tables. The server brought our dessert plates right away (same offerings as are already posted online). For drinks, the options were soft drinks, beer, water, a shirley-temple type cocktail, a tequila cocktail and sparkling wine.
The show itself was just ok. While the colors, lights and images were beautiful, there was no storyline or memorable music. It seemed to be a bunch of clips from Disney movies strung together in no particular order and without a theme or message.
Overall, I would not recommend the WoC dessert party. Our group ended up spending almost 90 minutes waiting in line/checking in plus one hour at the table in order to watch a 27-minute show. That's a lot of park time. The cost was high (also, not all members of our party drink, but the price is the same with or without alcohol) and there was too much dessert (we packed up a lot of it to take back to the hotel.) I would rather pay less, skip the alcohol, have one nice dessert with coffee/tea (instead of a plate full of 'just ok ones') and be able to show up closer to the show time.
Wednesday: Rope Drop DCA
As with the other days, security opened promptly at 7:00. DCA gates opened at 7:30. We did Webslingers and hoped to ride RSR, but it was down again. Later on we went to Pyms for breakfast (loved the strange sizes for the food!) We ended up buying Individual Lightning Lane for RSR. When we rode it, we realized there were only 6 people in the single rider line, I would strongly recommend going single rider unless you absolutely have to have your group ride together.
For the afternoon/evening, we had the Plaza Inn MSEP package in DL at 3:30. The food was as reported on other posts - decent but HUGE portions. For the parade (we went to the first parade on the second last night for the MSEP) Main Street was packed. We arrived at the flagpole just before 7:00 and were allowed into the seating area just before 8:00. No issues with getting a seat on the curb. The parade was awesome, as was the view. Given the huge crowds that night we were happy to have guaranteed viewing. We would definitely do this again.
Thursday: NON- Rope Drop Disneyland Morning
We slept in a bit and then took the Monorail into Disneyland around 9:00. We had breakfast reservations at the Carnation Cafe and then went to some of the 'lower demand' attractions (Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, etc.) We took a long break in the afternoon then returned to DL for the Riverbelle Fantasmic Premium package at 7:15.
We'd read some bad reviews about Riverbelle but found everything to be good there. One of us ordered the infamous 'New-York-but-not-a-Steak' The server clarified to us that it's closer to prime rib and asked if that was ok, which it was. It was a large serving, cooked and seasoned properly (in our opinion) and we had no complaints at all. As with all of the packages there was too much food, but everything that we had was good even though we couldn't finish it.
The meal took almost 2 hours, which we found to be slow. Some of the other tables still didn't have dessert when Fantasmic started at 9:00.
We loved seeing Fantasmic for a second time in one week, and the view from Riverbelle was awesome. I would recommend this package to anyone who has already seen Fantasmic. The view was slightly better from the BB sitting area but watching the show from a chair was much more comfortable.
Friday: Rope Drop Disneyland
Friday was the day that Haunted Mansion re-opened (and also our last park day) so we decided to wait at the Adventureland entrance and ride Haunted Mansion first thing in the morning. This was a mistake. The crowds were huge and there were multiple people cutting in front of the line. Two people got into a fight but fortunately it didn't escalate beyond pushing each other.
Once Adventureland opened, some of the crowd started running and shoving past each other. There was way too much aggression so our group stepped out of the way and let everyone run past. The lesson I learned here is to not do Rope Drop without early entry, and to stay away from anything brand new, it's just not worth it.
The rest of the day was great, we had already experienced almost every attraction (many more than once) so we wandered around DL and DCA trying the seasonal food offerings and enjoying the park decorations. Haunted Mansion and a few other rides broke down throughout the day and we ended up with some MEPs which we used to ride HM twice plus a few other attractions. Ignoring that first hour or so, this was a perfect Disney Day for us.
We stayed until just after midnight, crawled back to our hotel rooms and by the time we were in bed we could hear music coming from DCA. All of the DCA ride lights were on (Incredicoaster, Pixar Pal Around, etc.) We assume this was a late-night rehearsal for the OBB parade which starts Tuesday. It was a nice bit of Pixie Dust to hear it on our last night - so excited for those of you attending OBB in the weeks to come!
5 adults, most had been to DLR before though we go to WDW much more often. We stayed in 2 rooms at Paradise Pier from Sunday Aug 28 - Saturday Sept 3 with 5-day park hoppers including Genie+ (though we probably didn't need Genie+ for LL because we were able to do so much during Early Entry.) Photopass was included with Genie+ which we used often. With Genie+ we were also able to fish for MEPs which was a bonus that allowed us to go on some rides more than once.
Arrival Day:
Based on recommendations from this forum, we arranged for transportation with MidWilShuttle from LAX to the Paradise Pier Hotel. Midwil was great, they texted us the day of our flight to confirm the details and then again after our flight landed to let us know where to meet them. Cost for a shuttle van for the 5 of us was $150 each way. The drive between the airport and the hotel took about 40 minutes. I would highly recommend MidWilShuttle, they were reliable, friendly and professional.
We arranged for grocery delivery from Albertson's via Instacart. Another good experience, we had snacks including fruits and vegetables to last us through the week. Note that if alcohol is included in the order then you must meet with the Instacart delivery driver in the hotel lobby; the hotel will not sign for grocery orders that include alcohol.
Hotel: Paradise Pier
We booked two rooms at the cheapest/lowest room category. On arrival, our rooms were ready and we had been (magically) upgraded to park view. We'd forgotten to ask for connecting rooms and were pleasantly surprised that we were given connecting rooms anyway.
The hotel itself is dated, a bit worn, and in need of an overhaul, but otherwise everything was good. We booked there knowing that there aren't any restaurants at PPH but we would not have used them anyway, as we were so close to the other hotels, Downtown Disney and the parks. Mobile delivery is available from some of the Downtown Disney restaurants though we didn't use that service.
Early Entry was fantastic, as was the back entrance to DCA which we used multiple times. We also used the newly-reinstated package delivery from the park shops to the hotel (packages were sent to the gift shop.) Great to see Disney hotel perks returning.
The pool and pool deck area were nice but not as 'Disney' as the other two Disney hotel's pools. If we had kids with us then the other hotel pools would have been a better choice. For adults who just wanted to cool off, it was perfect.
Overall we felt we were back in the Disney bubble due to the fantastic cast members. They were always friendly and accommodating and made us feel like VIPs.
Here's a rundown of what we did:
Sunday: Trader Sam's
On our arrival day we had reservations for a late lunch at Trader Sam's, which did not disappoint. They were out of stock of some of the souveneir mugs, but they did have the Shipwreck/Rum Barrel and a couple of others. The shipwreck drink contains gin which one member of our party doesn't like, and the server was happy to swap it out for another drink in the same mug, which was awesome. Another bonus was that there were still Monstro mugs available from the limited-release on Friday, served with a non-alcohol drink (something something ginger beer) which was quite good. The mug was $50 (including the drink) which is pricey but we bought one anyway. The food was also good, but I can't recall what we ate (!). Did I mention that the drinks at Trader Sam's are REALLY good…
Monday: Rope Drop DCA
We had read online that the PPH back entrance did not always open on time for Early Entry, so we opted to use the main security entrance near the Disneyland Hotel.
When we arrived at security about 6:40 there were 2 groups ahead of us. By 7:00 when security opened, there were about 150 people in line. The majority (2/3) went to DL.
We waited at the DCA entrance until the gates opened just before 7:30. All gates opened at the same time so it didn't matter where we stood in line.
We were able to ride Webslingers and Guardians before 7:30. We then headed to RSR and were ahead of the non-early entry crowd, though RSR was down for most of the morning so we lost our advantage there.
We had a reservation for the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package at 4:00. Due to Disney magic we were seated at a table beside the water. The meal was good, I've read many negative reviews online about BB but we were happy with our meal. In particular, the tuna was excellent. The package included the Fantasmic chocolate mousse dessert which looked pretty, but tasted just ok.
Throughout the day we found some of the rides to be walk-on, including Big Thunder Mountain and Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. We bought Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance. RotR was good but we wouldn't pay $20 (or any ILL fee) to ride it again. Smugglers Run was much more fun for us and we rode that one multiple times over the week.
For Fantasmic, we were given old-style paper 'FastPass' tickets and were told to check in near Harbor Galley. We brought inflatable seat pads with us which worked great. The Blue Bayou section must remain seated on the ground for the show and these pads helped not only make us more comfortable but also provided a protective barrier to the various drinks spilled on the ground by the people sitting behind us
. The show itself was as amazing as ever and the view from the BB section was great. I would recommend anyone book this experience at least once, it really was a fun night and worth the splurge.Tuesday: Rope Drop DL
Security opened at 7:00 exactly. The DL gates opened at 7:30. We headed straight to Fantasyland.
During Early Entry we
road Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinocchio, the Carousel and were on Dumbo when the non-hotel guests' rope dropped at 8:00. We then
road Alice, the Teacups, Storybook Canal Boats and the Casey Jr. Circus train by 9. We then went into the Red Rose Tavern for breakfast.
After breakfast we headed into Galexys Edge to build lightsabers. Only two of our group of five were building sabers though the remaining three were allowed into Savi's to observe. Note that there were a total of six people building sabers so there was a lot of extra room. I expect if it's a full group of saber-builders that the number of observers would be restricted a bit.
We had reservations for Oga's at 11. We were interested in the souvenir mugs; the only ones available were the cliff-dweller/Porg and beer flight/Rancor Teeth. Seated in a booth, we ordered a few drinks and were enjoying the atmosphere until about 20 minutes later when we were asked to move closer to each other so that another party could join us in our booth. The couple that was seated with us were already inebriated and the husband was far too 'friendly' for our comfort.
Oga's was fun but the drinks were just ok. Based on having to share a table with (possibly drunk) strangers, the drinks being mediocre at best and Oga's being out of stock of many of the souvenir mugs, we would not do this again. Good to do once though.
That evening we had dinner at Lamplight Lounge, which we really enjoyed. We were seated promptly, the food was good and the cast members were great.
We had booked the World of Color dessert party (1st show) and tried to check in around 6:40, hoping we could get our wristbands and then explore a bit more before sitting down for the show, but the check-in process took a really long time. There weren't any signs indicating where to check-in,and the cast members that we asked didn't know. Eventually we and a few other groups formed our own line at viewing area for the Eureka water wheel building near GRR. Castmembers arrived there with a podium just after 7:00 and started checking people in at 7:20. At 8:10 we were led over to the seating area and taken to our tables. The server brought our dessert plates right away (same offerings as are already posted online). For drinks, the options were soft drinks, beer, water, a shirley-temple type cocktail, a tequila cocktail and sparkling wine.
The show itself was just ok. While the colors, lights and images were beautiful, there was no storyline or memorable music. It seemed to be a bunch of clips from Disney movies strung together in no particular order and without a theme or message.
Overall, I would not recommend the WoC dessert party. Our group ended up spending almost 90 minutes waiting in line/checking in plus one hour at the table in order to watch a 27-minute show. That's a lot of park time. The cost was high (also, not all members of our party drink, but the price is the same with or without alcohol) and there was too much dessert (we packed up a lot of it to take back to the hotel.) I would rather pay less, skip the alcohol, have one nice dessert with coffee/tea (instead of a plate full of 'just ok ones') and be able to show up closer to the show time.
Wednesday: Rope Drop DCA
As with the other days, security opened promptly at 7:00. DCA gates opened at 7:30. We did Webslingers and hoped to ride RSR, but it was down again. Later on we went to Pyms for breakfast (loved the strange sizes for the food!) We ended up buying Individual Lightning Lane for RSR. When we rode it, we realized there were only 6 people in the single rider line, I would strongly recommend going single rider unless you absolutely have to have your group ride together.
For the afternoon/evening, we had the Plaza Inn MSEP package in DL at 3:30. The food was as reported on other posts - decent but HUGE portions. For the parade (we went to the first parade on the second last night for the MSEP) Main Street was packed. We arrived at the flagpole just before 7:00 and were allowed into the seating area just before 8:00. No issues with getting a seat on the curb. The parade was awesome, as was the view. Given the huge crowds that night we were happy to have guaranteed viewing. We would definitely do this again.
Thursday: NON- Rope Drop Disneyland Morning
We slept in a bit and then took the Monorail into Disneyland around 9:00. We had breakfast reservations at the Carnation Cafe and then went to some of the 'lower demand' attractions (Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, etc.) We took a long break in the afternoon then returned to DL for the Riverbelle Fantasmic Premium package at 7:15.
We'd read some bad reviews about Riverbelle but found everything to be good there. One of us ordered the infamous 'New-York-but-not-a-Steak' The server clarified to us that it's closer to prime rib and asked if that was ok, which it was. It was a large serving, cooked and seasoned properly (in our opinion) and we had no complaints at all. As with all of the packages there was too much food, but everything that we had was good even though we couldn't finish it.
The meal took almost 2 hours, which we found to be slow. Some of the other tables still didn't have dessert when Fantasmic started at 9:00.
We loved seeing Fantasmic for a second time in one week, and the view from Riverbelle was awesome. I would recommend this package to anyone who has already seen Fantasmic. The view was slightly better from the BB sitting area but watching the show from a chair was much more comfortable.
Friday: Rope Drop Disneyland
Friday was the day that Haunted Mansion re-opened (and also our last park day) so we decided to wait at the Adventureland entrance and ride Haunted Mansion first thing in the morning. This was a mistake. The crowds were huge and there were multiple people cutting in front of the line. Two people got into a fight but fortunately it didn't escalate beyond pushing each other.
Once Adventureland opened, some of the crowd started running and shoving past each other. There was way too much aggression so our group stepped out of the way and let everyone run past. The lesson I learned here is to not do Rope Drop without early entry, and to stay away from anything brand new, it's just not worth it.
The rest of the day was great, we had already experienced almost every attraction (many more than once) so we wandered around DL and DCA trying the seasonal food offerings and enjoying the park decorations. Haunted Mansion and a few other rides broke down throughout the day and we ended up with some MEPs which we used to ride HM twice plus a few other attractions. Ignoring that first hour or so, this was a perfect Disney Day for us.
We stayed until just after midnight, crawled back to our hotel rooms and by the time we were in bed we could hear music coming from DCA. All of the DCA ride lights were on (Incredicoaster, Pixar Pal Around, etc.) We assume this was a late-night rehearsal for the OBB parade which starts Tuesday. It was a nice bit of Pixie Dust to hear it on our last night - so excited for those of you attending OBB in the weeks to come!
