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My first time to Disneyland..any advice

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My first time to Disneyland..any advice
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preciousawakenin

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I am a frequent visitor to Disneyworld and I am finally venturing out to Disneyland this Sunday for a week. Can you guys please give me some advice on do's and don'ts for pin buying and trading as well as rides / the parks in general. We are spending 2 days in Disneyland, 2 days in California Adventure and 1 day in Universal.

Thanks!!
 
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As a DLR local... I can give you a few tips... The best time to do lanyard trading with cast members is either early in the morning when the parks first opens before all the lanyards have been picked clean of good pins... Also in the evening at DLR just before the lower the flag on Main Street there are many managers and cast members along mainstreet with fresh pins on their lanyards... For trading with fellow pin traders the best place to go is in DLR at Westward Ho Trading Co. this is where the majority of the traders are... When this area fills up, some people use the tables in front of The Little Green Men store... Pin Buying... This is tough here since most good releases are taken up on the day of their release... All the shops have a good selection of pins to choose from, but if you have transportation, I would make it a point to visit Gosh and the others at My D-Pins which is a few miles away... It is an awesome store where collectors lease space and sell older great pins at amazing prices... Now do not tell anyone about this place it is my little secret...LOL...
Enough about pins lets talk food and fun... Rides at DLR... There are the traditionals that are a must, Pirates of the Carrabean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain,Small World... Star Tours is probably my favorite since there are dozens of movies they use, each ride is different... DCA with the new expansion this is a madhouse... I am not at all impressed with the new rides so that will help with lines on other things... A Must ride is Midway Mania, Screamin Coaster, and the tower of terror...

Now for the best part... The Food... Downtown Disney is where you find some of the better restaraunts to choose from... Naples has great Italian food, Napa Rose is fine dining (California's only 5 star restaraunt from what I heard), My favorite place though is Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel...Mmmmm


I hope these tips help and perhaps I will see you at the park, I hope you have a great time...
 
CarsLand seems to have lots of refreshed lanyards. Many people are so busy looking at all the new stuff they skip the lanyards. Also, tourists bring in / trade decent stuff in that area. Check the stores at DCA and ask for a pin board, some will have them. Fly n Buy maybe, Tower of Terror shop does, Boardwalk store does, Ariels Emarcadero does.
Check the hotel guest service desks, they usually have a board.
Main St. is always a good place to look. Star Trader (Star Tours store) has lanyards and a book often by the Space Mountain/Pizza Port side entrance of store.
If you have WDW pins then got to the tables at Westward Ho or if later on try Little Green Men's Store Command. The DLR traders will like your WDW pins and offer up DLR pins.
 
Westwerd ho is best pin shop and downtown disney is has the best places 2 eat!:yum:

Disneyland must rides:Haunted mansion,Pirates splash, big thunder,space,matterhorn, sleeping beauty castle walkthrough, Indiana jones,small world.

Disneyland rides 2 stay away from(in my opinion):Finding nemo:ride is just BORING!,winnie the pooh:again ride is just boring!

California adventure ride that are a must:The little mermaid Ariel's undersea advneure! (best ride ever!) screamin, tower of terror, sorin, grizzly river run, midway mania,WORLD OF COLOR!, the animatiors building.

california advneutre ride 2 stay away from:none really

I hope I helped a bit
 
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If you are going to Universal then stop at DSF on your way through Hollywood! They will have some pins for sure, and a Pin Trader Delight as always. If you eat at Hard Rock Cafe in Universal City Walk they have pin bags that are nicer than Disney and usually cheaper. Just to take a look won't hurt.
 
Best advice: Take your time. Don't do everything the first day. You will pay for it the rest of the week. I hadn't been to DLR in many years and when I went back I did everything possible. That first day I have really bad blisters on my feet and I was there for two more days. So just take your time, don't run every where and just listen to your surroundings.

Best place to trade: West Ward Ho. Some of the nicest people trade there. That was how I had heard of DPF was at West Ward Ho tables. I think on Sundays you can trade on main street but I wouldn't suggest that as most of them are sharks. I had a bad experience with one lady and I refuse to go back to any of them. When West Ward Ho does fill up some trickle over to Little Green Men but not many and you have to get there just at the right time to see anyone at those tables. There is a store in DTD so take the monorail from Tomorrowland into DTD and it is on your left as you exit through the ticket takers.

Rides:
DLR: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain, Sleeping Beauty's walk through of the castle (glad they brought that back. So many memories of when I was little) Snow White, Indiana Jones (just make sure you go early in the morning or while everyone is waiting for fireworks or Fanstamic (sp?)) and Matterhorn since they redid the ride.

DCA: Tower of Terror (very different then WDW's version), California Screamin', Little Mermaid and Soarin'. I haven't been on the Carsland rides yet so I don't know about those. But do fast pass for those rides and you can do the other big rides while you wait.

Food:
The mexican resturant in Frontierland is AMAZING. Always went there for my whole life going to the parks. Tostada salad is the only thing I get.
The places in DTD are pretty good. If you want to watch sports ESPN Zone is good they have the typical American food like burgers and pizza and wings.
I don't know much about the food in DCA all I know is the beer is good over in Fisherman's Wharf area.
 
For CA ADVENTURE:
Cars Land If you can, for Radiator Springs Racers I'd do single rider. Fastpass still if you can get one is around an hour and a half-2 hr wait and the regular line is usually around 240 mins. I did single Rider and got on in about 40 mins, well worth it. The New Carthaway Circle Theater restaurant is good, I didn't have a reservation and got there right at 10:50 AM when they open the doors and got a reservation right away, It was packed within minutes so if you wanna try that I'd recommend it! I'd definitely do Tower Of Terror because yes, it is different than WDW, Soarin is exactly the same as Epcot, California Screamin' and Ariel's Undersea Adventure you must do!! Toy Story Mania is the same as WDW but with no fastpasses

For Disneyland: I personally like DLR's Space Mountain MUCH better. Its much smoother and more exciting Its a MUST do. I also like Buzz Lightyear astro blasters Better than WDW's and Also DLR pirates is much longer and better!! DLR's haunted mansion isnt as cool as WDWs but still a must do!! Also, get on Indiana Jones!! You wont regret it. If you like Small World, DLR's small world is MUCH bigger and atleast more impressive to look at. I think what you'll be most impressed with is how easy it is to park hop and get on the rides you want. Much less of a chore than WDW so take your time DEFINITELY if your there for a week!! haha. I'd see World Of Color more than once and try to get fastpasses for the Yellow Section and get as close to the middle as possible, You wont believe the difference in the show from where you are sitting! Hope I helped!
 
OH and as for don'ts theres like nowhere to eat in any of the parks compared to WDW!! Don't eat in the parks if you like WDW food! haha. Id say for CA adventure, pretty much every ride is a must do....I don't really care for Goofy's Sky School but I'd still give it a try since it is new At DLR Finding Nemo is Not worth the wait at all. People sit out and pin trade next to Astro Blasters Little Green Men Store next to the attraction and in the entrance to Frontierland next to the shop Westward Ho! I'd definitely check that out, everyone is really nice and has beautiful pins
 
^ I only had to wait 30 minutes with the fast pass for Radiator Races but my return time was after 9pm.
 
preciousawakenin said:
We are doing the dinner at Wine Country with the World of Color Experience. So we get "fastpasses" when we sit down at dinner right?


PS - thanks everyone for the help!!
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To get the preferred viewing vouchers you must tell them you want the World of Color dining package when you make your reservation. Trattoria is not like Carthay Circle where anyone dining there gets the preferred viewing just by ordering an appetizer and entree. At Trattoria you will be seated in a separate area and have a prie fixe menu.

Like Goofy Moe said, Napa Rose is probably the best restaurant in the resort. It isn't 5 stars because Michelin won't give it a 5 star rating since it has no dress code. Personally I love that it's 5 star food without the pretense. Steakhouse 55 in DL Hotel is also a great place that often gets overlooked due to all the attention Napa Rose gets. It's the kind of place I'd take my dad as he'd rather have a nice steak over the fancy food at Napa Rose. I have to agree with Goofy Moe about the Hard Rock pin bags. I love their design and wish Disney would use something similar, although they are a little smaller.

I think DCA can still be done in one day if planned correctly. Get there at opening and get a Fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers as those run out within a hour or two of park opening. Then do the two minor Carsland rides starting with Luigi's. While everyone is getting into the 3+ hour wait for RSR you can go do Toy Story, CA Screaming', Soaring', or Tower of Terror. They should all have minimal waits if not walk ons since everyone will be in Carsland. If you have small children you might want to do Flik's Fun Fair early since those low capacity rides get ridiculous wait times later on. Conversely you can do them late at night and they will be walk ons.

If you end up finishing DCA in a day I really recommend a day at Knott's Berry Farm, America's 1st Theme Park. They've really made an effort to bring theme back recently after years of ripping stuff out to put in roller coasters. If you buy the tickets online they are only $35. Walt Disney and Walter Knott were friends and Disney often went to Knott's while he was planning Disneyland. Knott also hired some of the original Imagineers to work on projects at Knott's. Definitely worth a visit for the history and the famous fried chicken. They have some decent coasters too if that is your thing. Knott's Ghost Town > Frontierland.
 

Thanks!! We are actually doing 1.5 days at DCA with the first full day being our last day there. I did tell them I wanted the World of Color Dining Package. I do find it weird that I was not given any confirmation numbers for our dining reservations (maybe I am spoiled by WDW).

Also my vacation package said that we all get a Lanyard with pin starter set...anyone know what they are?
 
Yeah, the lack of confirmation kind of threw me off at first, but I've yet to have a problem. For the lanyard, they will give you a voucher which you can redeem at a couple of locations. Right now the starter is Cars themed. I think you get 4 pins with it, although last time I was there I saw a cast member hand one to someone and tell them that there were 5 pins so I'm not sure.

One more thing: if you can get to Universal early, Transformers opens 30 minutes before posted opening time. I don't think this is something they have heavily advertised.
 
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Thanks. I am using Southern California Gray Line to get over to Universal so I am at their mercy for getting to Universal. Hopefully we get their early and are allowed to stay late.

I am so excited about the cars starter set as well as trading with others at a new Disney Park!!
 
I just got back yesterday from my first trip to DLR and we are also WDW veterans. You've already got lots of great advice so I won't add too much more. The biggest thing I'd tell you is that DLR is DIFFERENT. I was warned ahead of time that I might be disappointed because it's so much smaller, so I was just determined not too be! Get to the parks at opening, especially for Carsland. It's peak vacation time and they were packed by late morning!

Oh, and one more thing. If you're into the classic characters, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip, and Dale, try the Big Country Ranch Jamboree. It's not marked as a character meeting place on the map, but we wandered in and found all of the characters with no waits at all
 
preciousawakenin said:
We are doing the dinner at Wine Country with the World of Color Experience. So we get "fastpasses" when we sit down at dinner right?


PS - thanks everyone for the help!!
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Yes, you get fastpasses but after you've paid The food is yummy. Hope you did it for the 2nd (or last show). That way you don't have to wait too long in the area where they put people waiting for the 1st show to clear out. There's a preferred viewing area.
 
For the second show you get to sit in a nice waiting area while the first show clears out and then they lead you past everyone else into the preferred viewing area. That alone is worth the price of the dining package IMO.
 
You got some great advise here but something that was missed, if you like the Dole Whip's at WDW, you'll LOVE it from our park. But we don't have all the flavors they do there because the natural flavors are much fresher here. And a question I have for you, what days are you in what parks? Because even thou it is Summer different days vary dramatically.
 
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