We got the quick service meal plan for "free" once when staying at pop century. Of course it's not free, but it's basically a discount on the room. Since we had 4 people staying in the room and we all got the meal plan included, that was actually a really good discount on the room in terms of what we would have actually spent otherwise on food.

But after using the meal plan on that occasion, I determined that I would never just outright buy the meal plan. It results in exactly what you said, trying to maximize the value of the credits all the time. And even if you do that it still ends up being more expensive than if you had just paid for food without it most of the time.

I have spent much more time at Disneyland rather than world. I have watched the whole area evolve. I will write more about this someday I think.

There was a time when there were some unsafer areas around Disneyland but that is pretty much history. (15 years ago history…). The whole area is very safe, now. IMO. It has been a good thing having Disneyland here, For the local economy. I look forward to pandemic restrictions lifting and going back.

I will be seen more at knotts berry farm here in ca. I love Disney though, too. Knotts reminds me of cedar point in Ohio. My place growing up.

Cedar point in the 80s. The video.

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As Azmo says, things with DL and the surrounding Anaheim area have changed quite a bit in recent years. So it may be quite a bit different depending on when you last visited. Heck I remember back when there were literally hookers just blatantly walking right up and down the streets just outside DL (OK that's a fairly long ways back). There was a ton of money dropped by the city of Anaheim in the immediate area around DL, with improvements to the streets and surrounding businesses to spruce things up. So, its OK. I'm not sure I would call it "in the middle of a city", there isn't really anything that is like what I would call a city anywhere in Orange county. When I think of a city, I think of LA, or SF, or Boston, NY etc. Its just typical USA suburban blight with a long shiny string of restaurants, hotels, motels, etc.

Is it the best, most relaxing place to be for a vacation? Probably not. But then again, I have been to DW a number of times, and Kissimmee doesn't seem all that much different, that place is a zoo. I have also stayed entirely within the DW resort which is nice and gives you a different vibe, and that really is the big difference. At DW you have the gigantic sprawling resort that is basically "all Disney" and you can stay in that envelope your entire trip. At DL, when you come out of DL, you are in Anaheim. If you stay at the DL hotel, you basically just have that small area to hang along with downtown Disney. There isn't much else to go to other than the nearby restaurants and stuff, unless you venture further away to see other things that Socal might have to offer.

The TLDR is ... WDW offers a vacation bubble inside Disney... DLR does not. Well in theory staying at the GCH or DLH is as close as you get to the WDW 'inclusive' bubble.

But what DLR gives up in a bubble.. it makes up in 'other places to go' to make a bigger trip out of going to California. You don't spend a week at DLR like many do at WDW. But WDW has continued to erode itself just into the pure park experience so I bet the lengths of stay at WDW start trending down over time.

Anyone who has never been to DLR owes themselves at least a 3 day stay there. You won't be disappointed.

when We had annual passes(slight discount) we would stay at Grand Californian occasionally due to the fact that they have their own entrance to California Adventure and it is literally right there on the property...no walking after a 14 hour day at the parks....but I always wait until it is hovering around $500 per night....which is still ridiculous and over indulgent because when that happens the hotels right outside the gates are under $100 per night....

sometimes we like to splurge...

stayed at Paradise Pier once but it was not even close to worth it for a fairly conventional hotel experience.

The Anaheim Hotel right across the street is our new go to....good rates swanky MCM style....free parking. but if you have young kids the Howard Johnson has a really nice splash pad and pool.

If you have the money to burn, why not. If you want to say you stayed in the Disneyland Hotel, sure. If you’re on a budget and the highlights are the parks, then nope. If you stay across the street to the east side on Harbor Blvd you are just as close as the DL Hotel to walk in at 1/2 or 1/3 the cost. As our kids got older we went further away but still could walk. Last couple trips just before shut down we stayed a little further south on Harbor for $70/night and walked to the Toy Story lot and hopped on the bus there to ride in. We have friends that go back to the hotel a few times during the day for naps and things so closer and hotel perks matter to them. We leave in the morning and don’t come back until we are done so we just need a bed. If you find a great deal too far to walk driving in and parking isn’t bad either if the savings make up for the parking costs.

A lot of the old motels in the area are gone and there are lots of newer hotels along Katella Ave. and Harbor Blvd. that have replaced them near both the Resort and the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Convention Centre is across the street from the resort BTW.

I’m just curious now. If you were going to Disneyland in Anaheim, would you find the time to go to a proper hall of fame style arcade within 20 mins drive. Some of my pessimistic friends think that no one will leave the area of Disneyland anymore at all period. (And I am barking up the wrong tree)

What I mean is I understand many people will simply not add to their stay and leave Disney properties at all ever pretty much during their stay.

But would you? I’m thinking it would have to be worth it but yes, I would myself.

I’m getting a notion…

Not me, but I’m a Disney freak. Once I’m there for a couple days, the tickers get cheaper and cheaper. I’m going back into the park if I have more time.

I heard arcades just reopened and fireworks should be starting first week of a July.
Really hoping they put the new Avengers and Mandalorian in at all the arcades. We won’t be there till mid August so if anyone is at at the resorts soon please post if you see any new machines.

I really can’t wait for the border to open! Disney World is amazing! I’ve been 18 times!

Just booked the 5th and 6th of July for Disneyland. Going with my wife and 4 year old. Not sure how packed it will be but we'll make the most of it. Last time we went 2 years ago we rode the Winnie the pooh ride about 10 times, lol

One shouldn't use 'disney properties' so broadly. The visitor patterns for Orlando and WDW are very different than the visitor patterns for something like Disneyland.

Most people make Disneyland part of a larger assortment of stops - a large percentage of people would goto WDW and nothing else. But even in Orlando this is changing with ride shares, Universal getting stronger, etc.

You won't get someone to leave Disneyland for a half day to goto an arcade. But you can get someone who has done their 3 days at Disneyland to go somewhere else for a half day on day 4, 5, 6, etc.

Both parks have a very strong 'regional' pull where they get vacationers from the 8-12hr driving radius.

If anyone is going to Disneyland soon, can you snap a night time pic of this guy near the Adventureland arch? He has eyes cut out, but the shadow makes it hard to make out. Going to 3d print him.

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Has anyone been to Disney Tokyo? My twin boys will be 15 next year, I don't mind splurging a little on the next annual vacation, there aren't many left that they will be kids. One of my boys is really into the Japanese culture. Disney wouldn't be the only focus of the trip, but it would be a good starting point. We priced it briefly and it didn't seem like a whole lot more than a Disney World trip.

Disney World is also getting rid of masks indoors and on attractions for vaccinated guests starting June 15th.
The only place you will need one is on transportation.
They are also eliminating almost all of their social distance markers.
Seems like by July 4th Disney World will pretty much be back to normal

We have visited all the Disney parks in the world with the exception of Shanghai. (trip was cancelled due to covid.) We are big Disney fans and have visited the US ones over 50 times. We have been to Disney Tokyo. While it has the Disney name, it is a totally different experience than the US parks (not just a cultural thing). Disney Sea was an amazing experience for us and highly recommended. Early admission for staying at the onsite hotel is just 5 mins. That's a 5 min early entry vs US magic hours which are at least 1 hour (when they had them). We thought what good is 5 mins? Boy were we wrong. Those 5 mins make a world of difference.

Just from our experience, Disney Hong Kong was the best by far. Their rides were way more amped up than any other place. The big thunder mountain ride is the best ride in any Disney park we have visited. So if you are going to head that far, perhaps a stop in Hong Kong is warranted.

My wife and I have even talked about beating the record of visiting every Disney park in the world in under 75 hours. We are waiting for our kids to leave for college before we attempt it.

We just got back from there a couple weeks ago, and the food service was much improved from before. Like light years better. And ironically Universal's was poor this time, unlike the other times. So I don't know if this was just a covid thing or if it will be like this going forward.

Tokyo in general is awesome. Try and learn the Katakana and Hiragana alphabet (syllabary) before you go. it's easier than you think (probably take a week or 2), and you will read some stuff. definitely helps a bit.

I did exactly that the last time I was there. Grabbed a Lyft and went here one afternoon:

https://pinside.com/pinball/map/where-to-play/10269-mission-control-santa-ana-ca

After last week's discussion of the cuts at WDW and the comparisons with DL, I said "F it".

Packed up the car and drove the 600 miles to... Dollywood!

I know it's a bit off topic, but we had originally planned a trip to wdw at this time.

But we love Dollywood too, so all is good.

I've been learning to appreciate some of the things that non-Disney parks have to offer. Knott's Berry Farm has been a nice change of pace. Some nice differences from Disney like toy guns for sale, non-PC theming elements that haven't been erased from the park, meal and drink plans, adult humor, live music... It's a nice reminder of what Disneyland was like before it was sanitized to death.

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I am the ghost that haunts Buena Park.

Sometimes I feel like they made these parks just for me. In a way they did. You and me.

Tokyo Disney is great. Everything just feels a bit newer and I think Disney sea is a unique park.

And you get to experience Tokyo. If close price wise, Japan is a wonderful experience and I can’t recommend enough. So much to do and see.

Hah, love that I found this thread.

My fiancé and I are huge Disney fans and may visit some of the non-US Disney properties as our honeymoon.

Used to be annual passholders at Disneyland; hoping that comes back sometime soon. We were about to upgrade to the Premier Passport (DLR and WDW in one), then the pandemic hit

Masks are optional at Disneyland starting tomorrow. No more social distancing either.

Only outdoors I believe. Anything indoors still a mask required.

Nope. Indoors as well.

No more Covid Data from the state, as it welcomes flights from India, Europe, and Brazil.....

Id love to go, as its a short drive, but I think Ill wait a bit.

It is going to be busier than #$%^ for some time. Tried booking some dates in jan - not much available.

For what? Disneyland is only booking 120 days out. And disneyworld is completely available in January.

Not for DL, but for WDW. DVC contracts are at an all time high and you also have to factor in the additional hotels they have build over the last few years.

It will be a madhouse for the foreseeable future.

Aren't a bunch of the resorts still closed, though? I admit I haven't followed that closely, so maybe they are open again. Or, at least taking reservations for January.

As far as DVC is concerned, in the past I have noticed that "busy DVC times" do not necessarily correspond to "busy park times" or even "busy non-DVC resort times".

Who knows anymore, though. My guess is that you are right and it's going to be busy for awhile. Lots of people have put off trips to wdw, so there is probably pent up demand.

Looks like they are starting up the nightly fireworks shows again in July. I'm hoping this also leads to some later park hours.

Later park hours, fireworks, masks changes, people mover, ratatouliie, tron, etc.

It's going to explode.

Yep, true. All that stuff will lead to big crowds. Hopefully they bring back fastpass soon.

It's rumored.

We're doing WDW, Epcot, Disney Studios, and Universal over Thanksgiving week this year, four cousins b/w 7-10 plus parents and grandparents. I'm sure it will be a madhouse, but we're all excited anyway. We made reservations at the Disney parks, though I doubt those will still be required by November (I kind of hope they are just to help with the crowds, but probably a pipe-dream). If anyone's visited during Thanksgiving and has specific tips I'd love to hear them!

DW needs to fix the fastpass system. They should take this opportunity to implement a new plan.

IAPPA scheduled this year! Great to be Back if it fits your Disney plans.

Tue, Nov 16, 2021 – Fri, Nov 19, 2021

There's no fastpass right now, and actually it seemed better than normal. I feel like there must have been too many people gaming the system.

Fast pass was good if you planned ahead, knew what you were doing and had a small party. There were days in the magic kingdom by using the refresh strategy we could get 10 fast passes in a day with my family of 4. But when we traveled with extended family and there were 12 of us forget about it. Fast pass was also great if you only wanted to spend an evening in the parks. As annual pass holders who stay 2-3 weeks we often will only go to a park for a few hours at night where we could use our 3 fast passes eat some food and watch a night show and hardly ever stand in line.

From what I read on the Disney forums park reservations are here to stay.
Right now dining reservations are only 60 days out which I really like, I hated the old way of 180 days ahead of time and people would make tons of dining reservations at a time to get in Resturant’s like Ohana because they didn’t really know when they wanted to eat there 6 months out, and as it got closer they would cancel the ones they didn’t need. I actually just made our dining reservations this morning and was able to get the exact times we were looking for.

The dining reservations have always irked me a bit. At the end of the day, you have to make a choice on what is important to you. They have plenty of great dining options at all parks and resorts but making a reservation half a year away is ridiculous.

I agree. We had our honeymoon in Disney 14 years ago and we had the dining plan which back then was great, appetizer entree dessert and drink, tips included. Each day we would look at where we wanted to eat and call the dining reservation number. We ate at some great restaurants and never had a problem getting in. That was before fast pass plus. I enjoyed those days when you would wake up in your hotel room and say, which park do you want to go to today? Instead of planning out your whole day months ahead of time.
We still really enjoy our time there, some things have improved like the new rides and incredibly immersive lands, but I don’t think anything will ever top that trip. People don’t believe me when I say Magic Kingdom was open till 3 am for resort guests twice a week, but we still have the paper times guide in a scrapbook to prove it!

It's amazing how much the experience has been reduced since then.

Honestly, our best days are the "off" days when we just resort hop. Catch a bus here, boat there, monorail there....those are the most enjoyable.

I think it's better now than it was 8 years ago when I first went. Food service was much improved.

The lines and the crowds kind of kill it for me, but the wife and kids still want to go so I continue to pay.

Their quick service food has improved for sure. There are still a few places that aren’t very good like cosmic rays and pizzafari but overall their choices and quality has gone up.