White Water Snacks

Today I am going to review White Water Snacks, the quick service location located in the Grand Californian Hotel.

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The inside is relaxing but simple. Nothing exciting here, but it is simple a counter service spot after all! There is some outdoor seating as well.

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/5559915805_2e1e44251b.jpg

Here is the lunch and dinner menu: http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/dining/white-water-snacks/menus/lunch-and-dinner-menu

When we visited, we were looking for a simple, tasty lunch away from the hustle and bustle of the parks. We were there when it was busy and decided to eat here on the way back to Disneyland Hotel where we were staying and would be taking an afternoon break.

We ordered a personal size cheese pizza:

http://mintcrocodile.smugmug.com/photos/743615099_xATv3-S.jpg

I love pizza. It's rare that pizza grosses me out. I could hardly stomach this one. Disney is known for bad counter service pizza, and this one really fits the bill. I'd rather eat Little Caesar's, and I really dislike that. This pizza is gross. I give it a 0/5, I would eat it if there were not many other options, but there are SO many other options. If you are craving pizza, you're MUCH better off going to Napolini and grabbing a few to-go slices.

We also ordered the Angus cheeseburger:

http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/FB8fCczu-e5umOnNmPTvqw/l.jpg

The bun was nice but it ends there. The meat was very dry with that charbroiled taste that I don't like. It was past that too, more of a burnt flavor. The cheese was there. The fries are those Disney basic fries that are fine with some ketchup but just not very good. I give this burger a 1/5. Not good, boring, and with Tangaroa Terrace and it's delicious Hawaiian Burger not far away at the Disneyland Hotel, just pitiful in comparison.

I think we had Mickey Rice Krispies for dessert, and they were the standard ones you can get anywhere. The dessert options here are not unique, but there are some pretty decent options.

I know a lot of people enjoy White Water Snacks. It is in a great location if you just want to get out of the parks for a bit, especially if you're visiting DCA. Maybe it was just what we ordered, but out of what we experienced I can't recommend it. They were just gross. There are so many amazing counter service options in the parks and at other locations in Downtown Disney that I would honestly suggest going somewhere else. Maybe some of the other dishes are better though, people seem to enjoy the beef nachos and the Carnitas Angus Cheeseburger. Based on my experience, though, I can only give it a 1/5 overall.

Hidden Gems at Disneyland

This post is a little different. With the help of people over on the Lines app chat, here is a list of cool hidden things at Disneyland. No food and minimal hidden mickeys involved! I will list the username of the person who added the information on the chat if it wasn't me.

Disneyland Park

• General
1. Some of the little popcorn people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAqD_mKuj04
2. The feral cats in DL are believed to have been released there on purpose for natural pest maintenance. They are fed and taken care of by Cast Members There's estimated to be about 200 cats on property. They do trap neuter release so they don't get too many and have adopted out kittens. They have 5 discreet feeding stations around the park. Visit disneylandcats.wordpress.com
• Main Street
1. Check out the bricks at the water fountains by the lockers at DL. They are all mismatched. They were tested out by Imagineers before they made a decision on what to use in the park and they kept their "test bricks"!
2. You can ride in the Lily Belle train car. 
3. You can ride the tender behind engines 1&2 on DLRR-ask at Main St (also where you ask for L Belle which Must be 1st thing in Morn). -ralfrick
4. The light that Walt would turn on in the Firehouse window when he was residing there is always on now since Walt's spirit is always present in the park.
5. Vanilla scent is pumped through vents on Main St., during the holidays it's peppermint. 
6. Main St. is set in 1910 and Tomorrowland in 1986- both Haley's comet years 
7. All the names on the windows were people who helped build DL.
8. Here's a bit about Oscar, the namesake of Oscar's Choice on the menu at Carnation Cafe. He's worked for DL since 1956- 55 years now! http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/01/54-54-years-and-still-cookin-at-disneyland-park-and-still-cookin/
9. Steve Martin worked at the Magic Shop on Main St.
10. Imagineers talking about some of the buildings on Main St: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XhnFHNHuDc
11. Listen in the alley by the lockers on Main Street in DL & you'll intermittently hear the goings-on of the "occupants" behind the windows up above! -milehighminnie
12. Pick up phone in Marketplace on Main St to listen in on the party line conversations. -poesers
13. If you've been in a Barbershop quartet - tell the Dapper Dans! If they're not too busy they'll let you sing with them, and give you a card naming you an honorary member of the Dapper Dans - I have one and it's awesome. -drsambojones
14. The draw bridge entering Sleeping Beauty Castle actually works. It has only been operated twice. Once on opening day in 1955 the second when they reopened the updated Fantasyland in the 80s. Sorry I forget the exact year. -seanyred  In 83' it was lowered for opening of new FL :-) -wggierhart
• Tomorrowland
1. You can ride in the front of the monorail- just ask! 
2. Main St. is set in 1910 and Tomorrowland in 1986- both Haley's comet years 
3. History of Autopia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLiE0D3V-Hw
4. The 2 geese from Am Sings not used in Splash are in ST queue-look at feet of the robots in baggage/security area. -ralfrick
5. Zurg figures on Buzz have hidden targets in ctr of chest. -ralfrick
6. Madame Leota is seen on new ST in baggage area -jasonindisney.com
• Fantasyland
1. Look at the window over Snow White. The Queen moves the curtain aside and you can see her every so often. 
2. Touch the apple at snow white entry. - ralfrick 
3. Try to open door on left at top of castle walkthru. - ralfrick
4. Cars on Casey Jr were benches removed from carousel. -ralfrick 
5. Didn't remember exact details on the carousel so I looked it up: it was built in 1875 and was purchased for DL. They refurbished, expanded, and altered it a bit. Added horses from other carousels. Walt wanted all jumpers so new legs were carved for the non-jumpers and the benches were removed and placed on Casey as @ralfrick said! 
6. The mad hatter hat shop next to Alice ride has a cheshire cat image that appears in the mirror behind registers -jasonindisney.com 
7. A fun thing to notice is how each building exterior in fantasyland is themed to the ride. Way cooler than WDW's circus tent look (although not in new fantasyland!)
8. On the carousel, Jingles the horse dedicated to Julie Andrews has her initials and Mary Poppins logos on the saddle. She's on outside & found right after the bench. -moorparknay15
• Toontown
1. Some of the buildings in Toontown are interactive.
2. I read that if you ring the doorbell at the Camera Shop in Toontown, the window flashes.-BACI
3. One of our favorite things to do is gather around the fountain near Mickey's house in Toontown and play the hidden instruments. There are four round buttons on the ground that play fun sounds when you jump on them. -nan4disney
• New Orleans Square
1. The beeping at the New Orleans Square train station is Walt's opening day speech being typed in Morse code. 
2. The crack (from a gunshot) in the glass on HM that now looks like a spider in the glass in ballroom scene is neat. 
• Adventureland
1. John Lasseter worked as a Jungle Cruise skipper. 
2. Pull the bamboo support and rope in the Indy queue!
3. Palm tree at Indy FP machines known as Dominguez Palm after family that owned that part of property-building is built around it. Ron Dominguez ultimately got a Main St window. -ralfrick
• Frontierland
1. The jumping fish in the pond near big thunder ranch are left over from the old Mine Train attraction- as is the tunnel behind. 
2. You can ride in the wheelhouse of the Mark Twain and ring the bells/whistle. 
3. The Columbia is a full-scale replica of Columbia Rediviva, the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe.
4. The petrified tree stump by the river was an anniversary gift from Walt to Lillian. 
5. A bunch of the buildings at BTMRR's mining town were taken from the old Mine Train attraction. 
6. I loved the pumpkin carvers, they are amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsgY1ega6Fc Only at Halloween time ;) 
7. The Halloween tree (dedicated to Ray Bradbury in 2007 based on novel he'd written) located in front of mailbox in Frontierland is decorated every Halloween season with jack o'lanterns, orange & yellow lights. -moorparknay15
• Critter Country
1. A lot of the AA characters on Splash were taken from America Sings which was in the Innoventions building.
2. 3 heads from country bears in Pooh. Above & behind you as leaving Heffulumps scene. -ralfrick

Disney's California Adventure Park

• Buena Vista Street
1. Really cool videos of Imagineers talking about details at DCA. BV St.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsoxaEdhm-A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ3iwkSx5dw 
2. The citizens of Buena Vista St. are cool! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSjOueUWLVk 
3. And don't forget to pick up a BV St. newspaper.
4. I want a citation from Officer Blue on BV St.!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3kNnIPcvz4
• Condor Flats
• Grizzly Peak
• Paradise Pier
1. Seach "midway mania tips" on youtube to score more points. -ralfrick
• Pacific Wharf
1. Blue Sky Cellar showcases upcoming or recently completed additions to DLR.
• Cars Land
1. Cars Land details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uSeyi0Dxgk
• a bug's land
• Hollywood Land
1. Tower of Terror drops 40 feet below the surface. 
2. The zoetrope (spelling?), the character quiz, and the thing where you can voice over a disney clip are lesser known attractions in the Animation building at DCA. 
3. When Boo is clubbing Randall at the end of Monsters Inc (ride) and he keeps changing colors/patterns, one of them is the Haunted Mansion wallpaper. -tayalltheway
4. And there's a hidden Mickey on Randall too -wggierhart

Downtown Disney/Hotels

1. There's a hidden Mickey on the sidewalks along DL Dr. It is just south of access rd that is between Paradise Pier Hotel & big lot south of hotel. Go to google satellite view & zoom in; it is actually labeled "Hidden Mickey Anaheim CA"! -ralfrick

Ariel's Grotto

Time to round out the restaurants we tried inside either of the parks! Ariel's Grotto is not anyone's favorite restaurant. The food had the reputation for being just alright. However, it is a wonderful restaurant to visit if you need princesses at a meal (I think it's the only princess character meal at DLR.) It is also a good choice for a slightly lower budget World of Color (WoC)) meal if Carthay Circle just isn't for you. Please note- there are NO characters at the WoC meal. When we visited in October 2011 there was no Carthay Circle and since it was a crowded Columbus Day weekend, we wanted those VIP WoC Fast Passes (FPs)! So our flight landed in the morning and we spent an evening in Disney's California Adventure (DCA) Park, including a dinner here.

Every now and then, they change up the WoC menus, so no guarantees that what I ate is what you get now. Here is a link to the World of Color dinner menu.

Ariel's Grotto is located in the Paradise Pier area of DCA, right off the bridge.

http://www.yesterland.com/images-caladventure/avaloncove_strollers.jpg

There is both indoor and outdoor seating, the outdoor being right on the water!

http://disneylandjoy.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ariels-grotto.jpg

http://cdnfiles.hdrcreme.com/1351/medium/v61mq4ekuw.jpg

We chose outside since the view is so pretty of Paradise Pier. It was dark when we were there so the view looked something like this:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/e7/2f/82/view-from-the-table-at.jpg

For our first night there, the view alone got us pretty excited for the trip to come!

The WoC menu at Ariel's Grotto has very limited choices and included bread, a choice of 2 different antipasto towers (I think there was 1 additional choice for kids), an entree selection out of maybe 6 choices, and a dessert platter. We started off with this flower looking bread:

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/WoC-bread.jpg

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/WoC-bread.jpg

It was pretty good. Nothing super exciting there, although I did enjoy having the different butters and toppings! Rating: 3/5.

I'm pretty sure this was the antipasto tower we had, since I know we had meats and most likely seafood. I think there was some cheese too and we pretty much skipped over the rest:

http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/dk1wKOtlFi212DDMNr1pXg/l.jpg

It was OK. The meats were pretty good. It's what you would expect, again, nothing exciting here. Rating: 2/5.

For the entree, we both went with the tri-tip. The choices were pretty lackluster and this was really the only one that looked good to us.

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/e0/a5/b9/ariel-s-grotto.jpg

You know, I wasn't expecting much, but it was pretty darn good! I mean, yeah, it's meat and potatoes with veggies. Whoop-de-doo, right? But the meat was cooked nicely. It was medium and I can't remember if we got to request that or not, but that's how I like it! It was moist and pretty flavorful for essentially plain beef that is not a "steak" per se. The potatoes had cheese and were good! The veggies- meh. But I'm not a veggie person already. Rating: 3/5.

On to the desserts- the part I was the most excited about! No choices here, just a mixture of items!

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6121/5983514796_08d09825d6_z.jpg

Ooh, Aaah. So pretty! I loved the touch of the white chocolate film strip that reminds you of the show you will see with your VIP FPs later! Disclaimer: neither I nor my boyfriend enjoy dark chocolate. That level of richness is just gross to both of us. The lava cakes and brownie things were that bitter chocolate flavor that we just can't stand. The macaroons tasted very fake fruity and had that meringue texture-the bad kind. If that texture bothers you, which it does for us. The fluffy mousse-type things also had that gross fake flavor to me and almost no texture. I think the little cup was tiramisu.. and we both hate all kinds of coffee. The berries.. meh. Fine fruit, but I wanted dessert! So all in all, all the desserts on this platter were just plain gross for us. But I know other people enjoy it! When it comes to desserts, we enjoy more of the basics. I cannot imagine this platter going over well with kids, either! Rating: 1/5.

So all said and done, the dinner was OK, just like I expected. We were there for the FPs, and we got them, and they worked out great! It is not a priority at all to return. The entree was good, but very basic and plain, and the other stuff ranged from OK to the gross desserts, in our opinion. I would rate the restaurant a 3/5. Love the view, but the food is just not very good and you do pay a lot to eat there. If we were interested in princess character meals I'm sure we would rate it higher, because it does have decent food for a character meal restaurant!

Cafe Orleans

OK, this food review is sure to be controversial! I'm going to review Cafe Orleans, a Table Service restaurant located in the New Orleans Square section of Disneyland Park. This one is a fan favorite!

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/menus/
dl/images/DL/CafeOrleans.jpg

There is some indoor seating here:

http://albums.mouseplanet.com/DLCafeOrleans
Processed/CafeOrleans3_62106_AVP.jpg

But the majority of the seating is in a covered area outside:

http://wdwinfo.com/disneyland/dining/photos/cafeorleans2.jpg

You can check out the menu here. While there, we had an appetizer and shared a large entree. To begin, we chose the famous Pommes Frites:

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/art/news/cafe-orleans-Pommes-Frites.jpg

Yeah, that's right. Thick-cut fries tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic, and parsley and served with a cajun remoulade sauce. They were fantastic! I would return just to eat a whole bunch of these! They definitely get a 5/5 on the table service scale. Warning: very addictive.

We shared an order of the Monte Cristo sandwich between the two of us since I had done my research and new it was BIG!

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/art/news/cafe-orleans-monte-cristo.jpg

It's turkey, ham, and swiss, fried, and served with a berry puree. OK... so huge numbers of people love this thing. But for both of us, this was just inedibly gross. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. Cotton candy, beignets, ice cream, rock candy, cotton candy flavored ice cream.. the list goes on. The sweetness is not the issue. If anyone is familiar with the much-loved Tonga Toast at the Polynesian Resort in WDW, we both hated that too. I'm thinking maybe neither of us likes the kind of fried batter with sweet stuff or something like that. But I love beignets. So I'm not quite sure what it is, but this dish is loved by so many I feel like I need to defend myself! I have to give this a 1/5 on the table service scale, but recognize that that is only MY review. If you think you may like this dish, by all means, please give it a try!

Overall, I'd have to give Cafe Orleans a 3/5 on the table service scale. We loved one dish but hated the other. It's very expensive if you don't share, and the ambiance is just OK in my opinion. Also, the menu just isn't that interesting, at least for me. I would go back and just order pommes frites and maybe try the Mickey beignets!

Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

Today I'm going to do my first table service restaurant review. For those who aren't familiar, table service is the terminology Disney uses to describe a typical restaurant with a wait staff. Big Thunder Ranch BBQ (BTR BBQ) is located in the Frontierland section of Disneyland Park. I'm not quite sure what the technical name of the place is since I have seen it called the Roundup and BBQ, Celebration BBQ, and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, but we will go with BTR BBQ. This is one of the table service restaurants that I would recommend you set an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) for if you're going at dinnertime, sometimes they turn people without ADRs away. Also be aware that the dinner hours usually end fairly early (about 6:30 was the latest I could get) since it closes for Fantasmic! due to fireworks safety. The check-in desk looks like this:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4048/4465356980_49e5988c48_z.jpg

You will probably have to wait a little while for your buzzer to go off, but it's in a neat area of the park, so no big deal! All of the seating is outdoor and each party gets seated at their own covered table with bench seating:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/ef/9f/45/big-thunder-ranch-barbeque.jpg

During your meal, there is usually some corny entertainment going on at the stage located near the back of the restaurant. The lunch and dinner menus are the same, except at dinner, you also receive sausage and corn cobs. You can view the menu here. This restaurant is all-you-can-eat, served family style in cute pails:

http://www.chipandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/barbque.jpg

 As you can probably tell from the photo, it's good! In case you're from a place with good BBQ and you're afraid it won't be good, don't be afraid! I am originally from Texas and I've had both better and worse BBQ there. The meat is cooked perfectly and very tasty. The beans taste like Bush's (and could be), which are pretty good beans in my book. I don't recall how the cornbread was, so I'm guessing it wasn't stellar, but it's rare to find good cornbread at any restaurant, really. I give the meal as a whole a 4.5/5 on the table service scale. I'll definitely be back, even though it is a tad expensive. Show up hungry!

For dessert, we ordered the family-size chocolate chip cookie bake:

http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/DNO98ofPART8R0LR--VzAQ/l.jpg

It's hard to fit more food in your stomach after an all-you-can-eat meal, but this is a dessert you definitely want to save room for. It comes to you with the cookies still hot, 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream on top, and a little jug of hot fudge to pour on top. After we let it cool for a minute, we didn't even serve it, just dug in with forks. It was super delicious! I give it a 5/5 on the table service scale. It's a must-do.

For the overall restaurant experience, I would give BTR BBQ a 4.5/5 on the table service scale. It's often a restaurant that is overlooked due to the more well-known table service restaurants in the New Orleans Square area, but this restaurant is definitely one worth visiting!

Tangaroa Terrace

Tangaroa Terrace may be my favorite counter service location in the Disneyland resort.

http://kingkahunapokerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Tangaroa-Terrace.jpg

It's located at the Disneyland Hotel, which is situated on the far side of Downtown Disney from the park esplanade. It's only about a 10 minute walk through Downtown Disney from the parks, though, and you could ride the monorail to shorten your walk a bit if you wanted!

Plenty of seating outside, and some inside!

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/file-43-500x375.jpg

You order here at a snazzy kiosk:

You can view the menu here. After you order, grab whatever else you need (like dessert) from the grab and go case.

http://www.diszine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tangaroaterracegrabngo-300x225.jpg

 

After this, you check out and get a number that you place on your table. They deliver your food to you, and it's on real plates! We ended up eating here twice on our first trip since we loved it so much! We tried a few items, but most importantly, the Hawaiian Cheeseburger:

http://www.disneytouristblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/DSC_7176.jpg

Yes, it tastes like it looks. The sweet potato fry trend continues here, and they are delicious as always. The multigrain bun is soft and fresh. I would say that the Angus patty is, you know, a Disney patty. It could be moister or seasoned better. But don't worry.. the teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple ring totally make up for it! This was so delicious we ate it twice in one trip! On the counter service scale I give it a 5/5 for sure!

We also tried the Barbeque Chicken Sandwich:

http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/HN3fcUHnQhDyeQg5gxEQPA/l.jpg

In theory, it sounded great. Just like the burger, it's not your typical chicken sandwich. The patty is panko-crusted and the sauce is tamarind barbeque sauce. The bun is that awesome multigrain again! Maybe it was because we ordered the burger as well or maybe it was because we liked Hungry Bear's chicken sandwich better, but this sandwich just wasn't my taste. If it's your taste, it is very good, though! Just a preference thing. On the counter service scale, I give it a 4/5. I'd give it another whirl.

On another occasion, we tried the Kalua Pork Flatbread:

http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/129450-1/TTKaluaPorkFlatbread-20110528-BW.JPG

 

I get that it's a flatbread, but this one just fell flat for me. I think I don't like the flavor of barbeque sauce on pizza, so I just didn't dig it. Not much crust and not much toppings. The quality is definitely there, but meh for me. On the counter service scale I give it a 2/5. It might be your thing, but I wouldn't order it again.

We also sampled the Sweet Potato Cake:

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DSC03493-500x375.jpg

It's a very pretty pink, and it was definitely very soft with a good amount of cream cheese icing. It tasted just like carrot cake basically, which I love, so this was a hit. It's rare that we order a dessert at a counter service spot because they're usually boring and not good, but this was great! On the counter service scale I give it a 4/5. I would order it again.

All in all, I give Tangaroa Terrace a 5/5 on the counter service scale. It is a must-do for us. A side note is that Trader Sam's, the tiki bar that looks AWESOME, is right next door. You can even order tapas there or better yet, walk over and order yourself a Hawaiian Burger and I think they will deliver it to the bar. Tasty!

Hungry Bear

OK, first food review! I'm going to start of with one of my favorite counter service locations: Hungry Bear!

http://dlr2.wdpromedia.com/media/dlr_nextgen/MediaPlayer/
dining/detail/alt/hungry-bear-restaurant_alt.jpg

It is a very cute and rustic counter service restaurant located in the Critter Country area of Disneyland park. It has ample seating on two levels, all outdoor, with great views of the Rivers of America.

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/
menus/dl/images/DL/HungryBearOutside2.jpg

http://wdwinfo.com/disneyland/dining/photos/hungry-bear2.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2526/3716868363_704c50c7c5_z.jpg?zz=1

 Here's a link to the menu.

In my opinion, the things to get here are the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich or the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. They always get the best feed back, supposedly, the burgers are just OK. We sampled the Crispy Chicken Sandwich with sweet potato fries:

http://i1.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC00203-500x375.jpg

We are both big fans of sweet potato fries, and these are good ones! Crispy enough and not too browned. The chicken was cooked nicely. The honey mustard sauce was very flavorful, and the multi-grain bun (or whatever it's called) was really soft and fresh. It seems like a normal fried chicken sandwich, but I swear it tasted better! I'd rate this a 5/5 on the counter service scale and will go back to Hungry Bear just to order this.

We also sampled the Turkey & Provolone Sandwich with sweet potato fries:

http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/trngfAUt0cdavRan4EJlIg/l.jpg

It's pictured with half of the sandwich and slaw, which we didn't try. It has basil mayonnaise, but it just wasn't that flavorful. Just a good quality deli meat and cheese and some mayo, really. I'd rate it a 3/5 on the counter service scale and won't order it again. It's good, but I like more flavor.

Overall, I'd rate Hungry Bear a 5/5 on the counter service scale. It's really one of the best. Good quality and if you order right, good flavor. People go crazy over the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich, so I'd go for that, or if you're more of a carnivore like me, go for the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. You won't regret it!

Disneyland vs. Disney World

A lot of people ask me why I prefer Disneyland Resort (DLR) over the Walt Disney World Resort (WDW). Each person who forms their preference has their reasons, and I can only speak for mine. This will just be a very general overview!

Size. Yes, DLR is WAY smaller. It has 2 theme parks and Downtown Disney (DTD) compared to WDW's 4 theme parks, DTD, and 2 water parks, among other, more minor destinations. But I love the size of DLR. Since it's "only" 2 parks, I can plan a 5 or 6 day trip and really take my time enjoying all the details and minor attractions, as well as have time for afternoon breaks, a day to sleep in, etc. Everything is within easy walking distance, including the 2 parks, DTD, the onsite hotels, and even offsite hotels for those on a tighter budget. It is kind of a pain at WDW to wait for transportation and then spend 10-15 minutes on average getting anywhere. Even if you drive yourself, it can still be time consuming. So I love being able to wake up, get ready, and walk 8 minutes or so to the park gates. It's really magical!

http://anaheimhotelsandtickets.com/maps/Disneyland_Resort_Map02.jpg

Attractions. Even though DLR has half as many parks, they really pack a punch. Not only are there a whole lot of attractions squeezed into a relatively tiny area, but there are a lot of really great ones! At WDW, there are more attractions, but in each park, there are usually quite a few that can be considered "skippable" or to-do if you have time. At DLR, however, you'll find that is not the case to the same extent. If you study a park map or attraction list, like the ones here you'll see what I mean! I see DLR's attractions as more of a "best of" than WDW which I view more as a "takes longer" if that makes sense.

Historical Significance. I mean, DL is Walt's park! You only have to look at a photo like the one below to realize the importance of it. Not only is DL park about 15 years older than WDW's Magic Kingdom, but it was the first of its kind.

http://dbhennigan.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/walt-disney-disneyland-castle.jpg?w=315&h=344

Counter Service. The counter service (also called quick service or fast food) at DLR is better than at WDW. More variation in the menus, better quality at many locations, and better flavor at most locations. I think that since mostly SoCal residents visit the parks and lots of fast food is available outside the resort, DLR has really had to increase quality in recent years to try and keep people in the parks to eat.

Nighttime Shows. "Remember... Dreams Come True" is the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen. Wishes at WDW just does not compare. Fantasmic! at DLR is a much better show than WDW's because you are closer to the action, it utilizes the 2 riverboats instead of a cheap prop-style boat, the Peter Pan scene is much more entertaining and complex than the Pocohontas scene at WDW, and instead of a big puppet, DLR uses a GIANT animatronic dragon that breathes fire. World of Color is in a league all its own and will leave your mind blown. Enough said.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/desktops/FA_desktop_WOC3_800.jpg

Weather. It's SoCal. It's sunny and not humid and really doesn't rain all that much. Pretty mild all year, maybe a little hot if you go in the summer. WDW is HOT like.. heat stroke hot. Humid like.. is that sweat or did I accidentally land in a swamp? There are short windows of time during the year that WDW has pretty good weather but they are relatively more rare. We went in January and there was a cold snap.. it was only in the 40s and we're used to colder, but in that humidity it feels COLD! And it rains a lot in Florida, especially in the summer. It's not really a coincidence that so many Florida sports teams are named after bad weather!

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If you've never visited DLR before, now you know some of the highlights of what it has to offer over WDW. If you've visited both, maybe I seconded your opinions or maybe you prefer WDW. To each his/her own! These are my opinions and many people share them and many people don't. My advice to everyone is to try it out and judge for yourself! And don't forget to have a magical trip!

Introduction

Welcome! This blog is intended to provide reviews of attractions and eateries in the Disneyland Resort. It is written by a Disney fan, for Disney fans! I believe the main focus of the blog will be dining locations, as there isn't enough information about Disneyland dining currently available, in my opinion. As far as attractions, I will most likely take an approach of comparing it to any similar attractions in Walt Disney World, since general ride reviews depend heavily on family structure, age, preference, etc. If I think of other things to add to this blog along the way, or people ask for specific things, the contents may shift a little bit! I do not take may photos in the parks, and when I do, they look terrible, so I will be borrowing photos from around the internet, and will cite accordingly. Thanks!