Disneyland Resort February 25, 26, 27 Part 1.

As mentioned in my previous report I was so excited for the opportunity to visit Disneyland. It would mark only my third time- my visits to WDW far outnumber those to DLR, as one might expect. But Disneyland is one of my favorite places on earth and for a variety of reasons I prefer it to Orlando’s parks. Or do I?
I hadn’t crossed the threshold of a Disney park since 2017 and so much of the process has changed. Well, everything, really. I tried to pay attention but anytime there was a discussion anywhere, here or elsewhere, I would glaze over. We’ve known about this trip for a while and as the dates approached my anxiety level got higher. I didn’t want to screw it up and miss out on anything. I got a popular, reliable “insiders” book but it’s thick as a bible and seems like a lot of stuff and seemed even slightly outdated already. But between that and talking to Disney Adult friends I took the leap.
Our tickets were parkhopper multi LL+ blah blah blah and for three days our individual rate was five hundred fifty six bucks. That gave us access to each LL attraction, but one time only- any other trips on that ride would be standby. LL can only be booked one at a time *unless* two hours goes by then you can make another to stack on top. With me so far? No? Hold on. Two rides at DLR are Single Use LL only and cost even more. Radiator Springs was 22 and Rise was over 30. Those return times weren’t so far out so that was good, and I secretly wish there were more of those, but reminded myself that I’m not Uncle Scrooge McDuck either.
My situation was further complicated by being a solo guest in the morning with my partner and his associates joining up in the afternoon. Oh. So my plan of attack was to stay off LL for early resort entry and rope drop and then watch LL return times through the morning. I linked everyone’s tickets to my phone and then they would notify me the second they crossed into the park and I’d hit the group with our first LL+ rides. Their job was to trust me with what was best for the group ride-wise. As they should. As for me I busted out Fantasyland and Tomorrowland starting at 7:30 am on Tuesday and Thursday. I love the dark rides and they were near walk-on standby status. Autopia was a short early wait both days and I had a private coach on Space Mountain, lol. California Adventure had Cars Land flats and some Pixar Pier stuff operating early. On one morning I joined the Single Rider standby line at Radiator Springs then bought us all a ride later so I got to go twice. It’s a game and a day ALL about the phone. Battery packs in your cross body bag are a necessity.
All in all we had great success. Over the three days I rode 38 rides-attractions and I thought for as busy as they were that was pretty good. I know Disneyland gets busier than they were that week but I don’t know how. I think it was to the limit for me.
So…. Does Disney hate poor people? Is what you pay worth it? Is it necessary? These are the questions that plague our minds and I’m still struggling with answers.
I’d say they don’t hate poor people any more than Neiman Marcus, Emirates Air, or BMW does. It’s an ultra-premium technological experience- what they do is mind-blowing and the detail they provide is unmatched. If they run full steam ahead knowing they’ll never ever be accessible to everybody I have a feeling they aren’t sorry about it. Should I be sorry about it? Well, I know I don’t want to see them any busier than I did, so I guess I let the laws of supply and demand win out there.
I have the sneaky feeling that DLR does a cracking season ticket business and I felt I was looking at more locals than vacationers- more so than Florida I think. I’d see families of 5 and 6 and think to myself “how do they do it?” Maybe they go enough that a day of standby attractions (or no attractions at all) is ok with them. A lot of people just seemed under no pressure to get it all in like us Ohioans did. Oh well.
One last thing is about Merch. In walking around the DL resort, both parks and Downtown Disney, I was struck at how many visitors had on some kind of Disney merchandise. And I was no exception with t shirts and stuff but seriously I’d say on the low end 89% of all visitors were seriously decked out like it was their job. We see far less of that at CP and KI. Some, but not like this. Once again I could only think of the money. I searched every retail spot for good men’s stuff- shirts, ears, hoodies, and there wasn’t much new or interesting. I asked a cast member about it and she explained that the company was phasing out the binary way of looking at merch. In other words, men’s “departments” are becoming a thing of the past and merchandise is more unisex than before. Interesting.
This went on, so thanks for reading.
Pt 2 is for those interested in our thoughts and experiences with rides, the hotel, and comparisons between Anaheim and Orlando.

RCMAC:

It’s a game and a day ALL about the phone. Battery packs in your cross body bag are a necessity.

Total no go for me. Vacation is no phone, not a fan of that at all.

Nice! I’ll be ther end of June timeframe. Can’t wait!!