Thanks to the PCRU, We Get to Go to DLR Too! **COMPLETE 8/21/2010** - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Just catching up again, Danielle! It sounds like you're enjoying yourselves, but ACK! what a horrifying situation at Storytellers. Glad you were able to go somewhere where they were more careful about safe meals for Izzy. Sorry to see this coming to an end!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
The restaurants at the Grand Cali just did not represent themselves well for you and that is just too bad. They should be ashamed!!! I am very glad you had a great second meal at Steakhouse 55, yum. Izzy always seems so happy in all the pictures and she seemed to have let the Storytellers mess roll off her back nicely, she is a cutie!!! I am sad this trip is coming to an end, great TR.
Southwest Airlines: It has been quite some time since I have flown coast to coast and I was surprised with how quick the flight seemed to feel. It helped that there was no turbulence and no delays!
Grand Californian: The hotel is beautiful in a rustic, woodsy way and definitely of scale to the size of DLR. The concierge staff was lovely, very kind and accommodating. Our room had a great view of the mountains of DL and watching the fireworks from our balcony was a special treat. Walking to the parks and Downtown Disney was priceless!
Disneyland Park: We loved exploring DL; I think the theming is wonderful with so many lovely nooks and crannies filled with Disney magic! It was great fun to try out the rides unique to DLR as well as make some comparisons to those shared at WDW. Fantasmic and the fireworks were definitely highlights for us! There is a lovely quaintness to DLR.
California Adventure: I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about DCA but we really enjoyed it. Sure, it is a park in transition but there are some wonderful rides and attractions. We especially loved walking through Blue Sky Cellar and the Animation Academy. Aladdin is a family favorite and I hope it sticks around for awhile longer. The only real disappointment for me was World of Color; though I am hopeful that once they get organized, we will give it another try and I will enjoy it more.
The Restaurants: There are definitely less to choose from on sight though I felt like the options were more healthful than WDW. We had some really lovely meals and two not so lovely meals. I give high marks to Carnation Café, Café Orleans, Club 33 and Steakhouse 55. Napa Rose and Storytellers….I am jaded by the poor service in terms of the handling of Izzy’s food allergies…hopefully that was a rare occurrence for those establishments. In terms of availability of allergy friendly food? WDW has this one hands down…I give DLR a solid “C”…average but nothing above.
I think our overall sentiment was something along the lines of this….DLR has less to work with but whatever they have; they take it to a higher level than WDW. The rides, shows, and attractions were superior to many of their counterparts at WDW and the compact size makes it totally manageable. Of course, WDW has the super size and exceptional variety (as well as the food allergy TLC). The bottom line….each resort has wonderful attributes and I am thrilled we have been able to experience both!
That being said, we are jumping on a plane to WDW in about two hours from now and we are purchasing a premium pass. It is a heck of a lot of money but I have promised my son a trip back to DLR for the D23 expo and I am hoping if a good discount comes out, we can sneak in one other trip out west before then! J
Thanks for coming along on our west coast adventure!
danielle
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Great Trip Report Danielle!!! Sorry you had another bad service experience but at least they tried to make up for it with the gift card to a great restaurant. Sure sounds like you accomplished a lot on this trip. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us. Looking forward to your next TR!
Just got caught up on your travels... I can't believe how much you get done each day! I think those two bad experiences at the restaurants are just frightening. Clearly, they need to do a lot more training of their staff. I've never seen anything close to this in your WDW reports, so it obviously can be done right.
Great finish Danielle! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! I share a lot of the same sentiments as you for our first trip out there! I hope you're having another magical time at WDW and can't wait to hear all about it!
Thanks for sahring your trip with us. I'm sorry about the service problems you had. You wouldn't think that it was so had to get Izzy's food order right.
Liz
Thanks for sharing your DLR experiences! I loved hearing your compare and contrast of DLR and WDW. It's really making me want to get to California - and I just may get my wish if my work scheduled trip goes through! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that one! Enjoy your new WDW trip - so lucky!!!
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A Fairy Godmother wannabe -
Look what a little Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo can do!
Danielle, thank you so much for sharing your trip to DLR with us. It sounds like you had a wonderful family vacation, despite those two meals. I'm so sorry to hear that Storytellers & Napa Rose weren't more careful with Izzy's Food Allergies to allow your family the kind of experience you deserved. Glad to hear that Steakhouse 55 was accomodating and gave your family 2 wonderful meals though. It sounds like you're going to have a wonderful time in WDW.
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Glad you were able to go somewhere where they were more careful about safe meals for Izzy. Sorry to see this coming to an end!
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
. Hope you have a wonderful time at WDW! 
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