We did Blue Bayou fir the first time when DD22 was around 6. She spent the whole meal waving to boats going by! It was also my first Monte Cristo, but when we found out we could get it at Cafe Orleans with frittes!! We started going there every visit. But it’s still one of my favorite memories.
I’ll also join in the Lamplight praise. We love it! And we have had great meals at Tratoria as well.
Honestly better than Blue Bayou, IMO.
I’m going to chime in here…I have found dining at Rancho Del Zocalo to be great - especially if you grab a table that overlooks the Big Thunder Mountain track on that side of the dining area. You are so close to the track, which provides great people watching while enjoying your meal.
Lots to read here! We are planning a DLR trip next summer as well, only having visited WDW previously. I’m so excited to figure out what we’re doing.
You know I have never really bothered to try this for some reason! (At least not in many years.) I totally should. Putting it on the list for next time.
We used to go there quite often around 2014-16, anytime we started on the West side of the park, especially. I remember doing breakfast there a lot & I miss it. I think we just found other foods we loved more, but nothing there was bad. And we used to take our food from Stage Door or Bengal BBQ there a lot more (before they added more tables to Adventureland and near Stage Door).
We’ve been there once or twice. Comin from AZ, not the best Mexican food, but not that bad and the outdoor sitting by BTMRR is great.
Yes, the appreciation is more for the location and atmosphere than the food - although I’ve had worse theme park Mexican food. 
Trip is now booked for next summer!
4 nights at Grand Californian followed by 2 nights at Hilton Universal City.
We will do 3.5 park days at DLR, then drive to the Hilton and do 1 full park day at Universal. We will buy G+ and Hoppers for DLR.
As the trip gets closer, I will probably have more detailed questions for touring plan strategies at DLR.
Woot woot! Have a great time! I’m here to answer any questions you have.
If you plan on getting ExP for USH might I suggest doing the VIP tour, not the personal one, but the one priced per person. I did it last year and figured out that the price of my ticket (VIP includes the ticket) plus ExP would have only been $20 less than our VIP tour. With the tour, we not only got valet parking, but a great breakfast and an incredible buffet lunch and free waters. That doesn’t even include the backlot tour is 2 hrs instead of 1 on a bus instead of the tram and you get to get off and walk around the sets and take pictures. Also the VIP access was true front of the line access, unlike at Disney. There are rides that have 3 lines: SB, Ex, & VIP. Without the VIP line, we were taken through exits or back hallways to be put right on the ride. We didn’t wait for anything more than 3 minutes on Thanksgiving weekend. It also includes ExP the rest of the day. I’m a HUGE fan of USH VIP option. If you’re going to get ExP anyway, it’s a no brainier to upgrade to VIP. They do sell out though, so book early. You can even buy from Undercover Tourist for a discount.
For other things in LA I like the WB tour, but admittedly, it’s been at least a decade since I’ve done it. Tar Pits are cool and the beach is always a good choice.
We are planning on getting ExP. I will look into the VIP tour. Thank you
I honestly think that the USH group VIP tickets are the best value product at any theme park I have been to for all of the reasons you mentioned.
We did this last summer and the last thing that I had to think about was pointing our car toward the valet area. After that, I got to completely check out and enjoy the day without looking at a map, checking showtimes, lines or any of the other things I am usually in charge of (my phone was essentially just a camera and not a command center). While I love to do those things, it was amazing to NOT for once.
We saw EVERYTHING that we wanted to and then did a couple of EP rerides with our passes after the tour ended. No need for a second day at all (not that that would have been a bad thing but just unnecessary).
About how long is the Tour? Do you go to all the rides with the tour group? And then have time afterward to explore on your own?
I think it was about 6 hours.
We had the earliest available time slot so we checked in just a bit before that but still had time for a small second breakfast in the VIP lounge before our group was rounded up to head out.
The exact timings of each tour seem to be fluid based on show times etc but it was just a series
of seamless transitions between rides and shows with a lunch in the middle (and bathroom stops as needed - even some that are tucked into sets which was oddly amusing).
At the end you are just free to roam and use your pass like a normal express pass.
We returned earlier this week from a family WDW trip. On this trip, we discovered our kids (ages 8 and 6) have become very focused on characters and coasters … to the point that they chose to skip the Under the Sea and Pooh rides because they are “boring”.
Now I’m rethinking our DLR plan for next summer because it has so many slow dark rides and only has one of their 3 favorites (Guardians, Slinky Dog and Big Thunder Mountain).
Am I overthinking this??? Or setting the kids up for disappointment???
How do the quantity of characters meet and greets at DLR compare to WDW?
Tagging @lolabear_la and @Jeff_AZ , but interested in any opinions.
Disneyland is actually pretty good for thrill seekers due to DCA — Guardians, Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, and Grizzly River Run all have varying degrees of thrill. Also Disneyland has Galaxy’s Edge, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain (different enough from WDW that it is worth a try, even if they don’t like that version), and Matterhorn. I don’t do all the dark rides every time we go.
I don’t do a lot of meet and greets but there are some — Mickey and Minnie in Toontown, princesses near the castle, some roaming characters, etc. There are also character breakfasts at GCH and DLH. I’m not the best person to ask though.
My older thrill-seeking loving kids absolutely love all of those mentioned by Jeff. Plus Goofy’s Sky School which is a Wild Mouse coaster but much smoother than our local amusement park’s crickety Wild Mouse.
Also maybe hopefully it’s just that they didn’t want the same old dark rides. Alice in Wonderland, Snow White’s are wonderful & not anything like anything at WDW. Also Mr. Toad’s and Pinocchio’s are good fun, with even a few mild scares that have given my kids pause over the years for riding. Then in DCA Monsters Inc is a top-notch quality ride, even if Monsters isn’t our favorite IP, we fit it in every 3-4 trips because it’s done well.
And hopefully some of the ambiance and snacks help fill in any gaps for missing Slinky Dog Dash and Cosmic Rewind, along with the different but also great thrills.
Thanks. I knew you both would have good insight.
This is a good point too. We have been on the WDW dark rides many, many times.
There are less announced/scheduled meets but DLR has roaming characters everywhere that are a lot of fun to see & find. For instance, Avengers Campus has lots of Avengers that roam. The last few times we’ve run into Dr. Strange the most, but we’ve also seen Black Widow, Iron-Man and Spider-Man. We’ve not run into yet but I’ve seen pictures of people running into Thor, Loki, Captain America, Ant-Man and Black Panther.
Pixar Pier has a lot of Toy Story characters meet near Toy Story Midway Mania, the Incredibles sometimes near a fountain just inside the arch for Incredicoaster, and then some fun less common Pixar characters right across from the Pixar Pal-Around wheel entrance. We’ve met Dug from Up there and Sulley from Monsters Inc. Sometimes they’ll have Joy or Sadness but we’ve not caught them there (yet). There’s also a character gazebo tucked away in a corner almost behind Goofy’s Sky School and they’ll sometimes rotate a character meet there based on the season or who’s new. At Christmas it will usually be either the Three Caballeros or Mickey & Minnie in their Viva Navidad festive attire. Then Lunar New Year will be Mulan, Mushu and then whatever character they do based on what animal is that animal’s year. For example, 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit & so they had Oswald in an adorable traditional costume. We met Mirabel there sometime over the summer, but I think she’s also in Frontierland now near Big Thunder’s entrance.
Then in Toontown, we love to meet Mickey & Minnie at their houses. Go early (first hour or so) because the lines get long and don’t go back down. The rest of the Fab 5 (usually not Daisy 
) will also meet around Toontown as well at pop-up spots.
There’s also the Royal Hall with princesses which is one of my favorite meets. The princesses in there are always so great. Tiana will also meet on the Mark Twain if your kids at all like riding a boat. And Pocahontas meets/wanders in the walkways around Big Thunder Mtn.
Around Fantasyland you get lots and lots and lots of roaming characters: Gaston, Belle in her blue dress sometimes accompanied by the Beast, Mary Poppins and Bert, Pinocchio & Geppetto, Alice & Mad Hatter. These guys will wander anywhere from the Storybook Land Canal Boats/Teacups down into the carousel area and then towards Red Rose Taven.
Along the small world mall they’ll also schedule some meets for some additional princesses like the new live action Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin & Genie. But other characters may roam around there too. I think a long time ago Merida met there, and does sometimes wander there.
Right now for Halloween the villains wander around a lot and that’s fun, Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters, Evil Queen, Queen of Hearts & Frollo are all ones we’ve seen. The villains usually roam anywhere from Matterhorn Way down through the hub and in Town Square too. (but most of these are usually only around Halloween). The 2 villains that we do see at non-Halloween times are Cruella and Evil Queen. They are both a hoot to meet. Cruella is often in Town Square or up near the floral gardens too.
And then in Town Square you’ll find most all Mickey & friends including Daisy this time and Chip & Dale. Whenever there’s a celebration or season going they’ll be dressed accordingly so will be a different outfit than you’ll see in ToonTown.
Also back in DCA along Buena Vista St. there will be Mickey & friends but all in different costumes that fit the 1920’s California vibe for the area. At Halloween they get a costume that’s different than their Halloween costume over in DL so another fun meet.
Also, a couple of more scheduled meets I haven’t mentioned: Anna & Elsa meet at the Animation Building in Hollywood Land at DCA and then Tinkerbell meets at Pixie Hollow near the Matterhorn in DL. The hours for those are usually pretty standard and they actually follow what they put in the app.
But I think that’s most everything. Oh! Galaxy’s Edge will have a ton of roaming characters. Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma and the Storm-Troopers. As well as Boba Fett, Mando & Grogu, Chewie, Rey and even R2-D2 and other smaller droids. I think we’ve spotted Fennec Shand before but a long while ago. So definitely good to scope out Galaxy’s edge for characters.
And then lastly, if your kids really love meeting lots of Characters and aren’t opposed to character dining, Plaza Inn in DLR does a character breakfast that is amazing fun. They do about 8 characters in all and have had some really rare ones come by. But is usually standard to have Minnie, Chip & Dale, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and then a mix of other fun & rare characters. So a great way to get a whole bunch of characters met.