I went to Disneyland for four days November 13- 17. My first trip to Disneyland in 12 years, we go to Disney world every year. I did not have a good time the crowd levels were way higher than predicted, 2-3 actually 5-8 rides kept breaking down, we were told when we arrived at the gate for the early hours that it is only for guests staying at a Disneyland hotel.
I realize the fastpass system is still the old style, but the kiosks seem to be randomly placed! I was so looking forward to riding the original dark rides since WDW has removed them. They certainly need an upgrade they are showing their age. I was surprised that some of the popular rides are not fastpass like at Disney World.
My apologies to any Disneyland fans but I did feel the magic like I do at WDW.
Interesting. A whole bunch of us Liners were there November 14-20, and we thought it was amazing and crowds weren’t too bad. We do go a lot though, so that might skew our perception. Did you buy the tickets that include one magic morning? They have to be prepurchased as the tickets at the gate do not include that. Yes, early hours are for resort guests, except for the one MM you get on certain tickets.
I am sorry you didn’t feel the magic. I usually feel it more at Disneyland than I do at WDW as it is much more laid back, no need for planning ahead much and so easy to hop back and forth between parks. Maybe you will try again in the future?
We did have pre-purchased tickets and it did have on them the Magic Morning. It’s unfortunate that the cast member I spoke to did not know what he was talking about. I do agree with easy of getting to the parks from the hotel and between parks. WDW is so spreed out it takes a lot of time. The planing ahead I like however getting dining fastpasses and everything done before leaving home makes for an easy vacation.
That is really too bad that Magic Morning didn’t work out for you. The times I have had Magic Morning in DL, especially in Fantasyland are some of my most favorite memories and truly feeling like Disneyland “my land”. While we have been to WDW, growing up going to DL and now going with my kids, Disneyland really our “home” park. Both are magical to us, but there’s something so special about the spontaneity and laid back feel that make it special and the fact that it is the first one, the original has a lot of magic. That being said, I’ve also felt intense stress that comes with crowds and sometimes negative CM experiences.
Truly saddened that you didn’t enjoy your experience and hope that if you give it a chance again you get to feel the magic of Walt’s original Magic Kingdom.
Also, as a generalization, it seems to me the CMs at DLR are totally into the experience where I felt like the ones at WDW were…just working. We very much enjoyed WDW except for one very rude train line handler, but DLR will always be home, and believe it or not, I feel more in the Disney bubble in the middle of Anaheim right next to the 5 than I do in the carefully curated world in and surrounding WDW.
I lived a few miles from WDW and loved going there. My kids grew up in those parks but I have to say that DL is so much more magical!! We moved to Phoenix (grudgingly) and my first thought was…I will finally see Disneyland! It’s so much more intimate and special and the lines are nothing compared to WDW. It always seemed like cattle being herded when the monorails arrived. The fact that you can walk to DL is great and easy. We were there last November for 11 days including Thanksgiving and the crowd predictions doubled 2 weeks before we left and it still wasn’t that bad. Homework goes a long way when planning our vacation!