DLR in May/June

[daveypoo]

We had a wonderful vacation in Disneyland Resort from May 25th until June 4th. Probably the longest we’ve ever spent in DLR at one time.

Initially, we stayed at a Fairfield Inn in Buena Park from the 26th to the 31st. We did this because I got an incredible discount and the hotel was only about 10 minutes away from Disneyland. It wasn’t bad, and it served its purpose. Our shortest ride time to/from the parks was like 8 minutes, and the longest was around 15. The room was clean, and except for a poorly positioned outlet that controlled the bedside lamp, we had no issues. From the 31st to the 5th, we stayed at The Grand Californian. We used our DVC points and stayed in a studio from the 31st to the 4th, then had to move to a GC hotel room for the last night.

Now the studio was nice, and looked pretty much like any other studio for DVC. They were nice enough to upgrade us to a Park View room since it was my birthday and we had to move rooms on the last night. When we moved to the regular hotel room for GC, we were somewhat disappointed…in the DVC room! The GC hotel room (which was also a room that overlooked the park) was BEAUTIFUL! It had been refurbished recently; the amenities were wonderful and overall, SO much better than the DVC studio. Honestly, the only difference in what the rooms had in it from the DVC to the hotel room was the studio had a kitchenette in it, and even then it was just a sink and microwave that was different. Sure, the hotel room was a lot more points than the studio, but I always thought that DVC was supposed to be just THAT much better.

Since we were staying for such a long visit, we got Signature Annual Passes with MaxPass. When I did the math, this worked out to be the best deal for us due to the no blackouts, and the discounts, plus the free parking which we used until we were staying on property. It felt so good to have AP’s again in DLR.

We were surprised at the reworking of the parking structure since it had changed so much since we were there last September. I liked the setup and layout much more. And I still love that you go through security once and don’t need to keep going through.

The parks were good, but more crowded that we anticipated. We figured that during the week, the crowds would be less since kids are still in school, but there were field trips and other things going on. Monday, June 4th was, by far, the busiest we had ever seen. The crowds were just crazy! But we did a few new things like the “Grand Circle Tour� train tour, which ended with us getting to ride in the Lily Belle. Other guests were NOT happy that we got to do that and they couldn’t! I also liked that you can use the “backstage� exit to leave the park at night and during parades. SO much easier than trying to battle people on Main Street. Another observation was that the Cast Members were either really good or really horrible. We encountered some Cast Members who looked so miserable that you felt like you were ruining their lives. Aside from that, it was a glorious time in the parks.

The two BIGGEST highlights were:
1) Dinner and drinks at Club 33. We were so VERY fortunate that we were invited to an evening in the lounge area of Club 33. The whole Club 33 was different from when we last visited, starting with the door to get in and then most the inside. I hadn’t realized they had redone the whole place, but it was pretty awesome, the food, drink and company were excellent, and I got some pretty cool Club 33 Summer of Tiki Merch as well, and made some new friends!
2) THE best Tiki Party EVER! One of the main reasons for this trip was to attend a Tiki Party of a very dear friend. This was, to say the least, COMPLETELY OFF THE HOOK!! 2 live bands, an M.C. and DJ, 3 guest bartenders who made drinks that were specially designed for the party, and a working VOLCANO! Plus we got to meet up with friends old and new. It was a party that will be talked about for years to come!

It was a great trip, the weather was good, and it all ended too soon! Now we make it through the summer, and then our trip to WDW!!
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When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney

[theEpiphany]

If this antiquated bucket of bolts of a forum had a like button, I'd love this poopie.
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[daveypoo]

[darlinpeople]

Can I just say that I love how you still have trip reviews here? I used to frequent another board where I loved reading these however people just stopped writing them. Plus I'd like to throw in there that your friend throws a mean party

[daveypoo]

[darlinpeople]

Unfortunately my trip reports would be pretty much the same, my kids were too amped up so they stayed up late, I didn't get any sleep, and they didn't want to ride anything that the other wanted to go on so I spent the must time begging one to accommodate the other. The ETR is pretty much the only thing we all agree on, well that and buzz lightyear. I've had to really change my expectations of what I get to do now that I have kids, basically I just like going to Disneyland itself so if I have to sit on a park bench and eat popcorn and hang out with a crabby kid while everyone else rides I'm still having a better day than average The crazy thing is I'll bring them (3 and 6) by myself, and have done so for the past 3 end of school years and I feel like I torture myself, but every year I do it again. Luckily I've made more friends who can meet me so I'm not stuck in the can't ride this because only 2 people per car paradox.