do not miss!

Jeff;2469555 wrote: "World of Color" light and water night time show at California Adventure.
This show is worth the whole trip west!

We are doing a dining package for that at Wine Country Trattoria so hopefully that affords us a good view. Great to hear it is worth the time allotted!

texas211;2469538 wrote:
The only thing californians eat at DL are churros. Heads up on that.

Not better at DL:
Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Small World,

LOL. You are SO wrong that Californians only eat the churros. SO wrong. We eat it ALL! But yeah, the churrros rock for sure.

And I have to ask, did you ride Thunder Mountain with the new projections? Because, it is amazing and I think the whole ride is much better than WDW's. The track is so much smoother.

I had the WOC dinning package at Wine Country. You most likely will get wet. Take a rain poncho. I don't think that Monster's Inc. is a must see. I do agree with the other ride suggestions though.

BrowncatP;2469577 wrote: I had the WOC dinning package at Wine Country. You most likely will get wet. Take a rain poncho. I don't think that Monster's Inc. is a must see. I do agree with the other ride suggestions though.

This is hugely helpful information!!! I never would have though about getting wet. Thank you!!!!!

BrerGnat;2469574 wrote: LOL. You are SO wrong that Californians only eat the churros. SO wrong. We eat it ALL! But yeah, the churrros rock for sure.

And I have to ask, did you ride Thunder Mountain with the new projections? Because, it is amazing and I think the whole ride is much better than WDW's. The track is so much smoother.

Are you sure? I'm pretty sure there was a Churro booth on board during the Storybrook ride. And I hear there is one at the top of Matter (took out the bball hoop).

I did. It's a push to me. WDW is bigger, and I like the refurb touches, as I do like the DL ones as well.

We liked the Monster's ride, as it had some cool details and like the dark rides of old (which still exist in DL).

Lindslou;2469580 wrote: This is hugely helpful information!!! I never would have though about getting wet. Thank you!!!!!

The level of getting wet depends largely on the wind. You will get misted in the front row, but will be fine about 15 feet back. If it's windy, you could get soaked!

texas211;2469611 wrote: Are you sure? I'm pretty sure there was a Churro booth on board during the Storybrook ride. And I hear there is one at the top of Matter (took out the bball hoop).
.

Well, they do sell churros on the parking lot trams, and in some of the restrooms, and in a few of the queue lines, but I mean, they would run out of them otherwise. ;)

I agree about Monster's Inc. Forgot to put that one on my list! I think it's a great dark ride.

Stop at the Firehouse and pay your respects to Walt. There is a light in the window 24/7. I always stop on the way out and say "Thank you Walt for a magical day." Look for the spike in the ground as you walk through the castle. Use to be the very center of Disneyland before Toontown was added. Also like to stand or sit where I know Walt had been in pictures that I've seen. Have a wonderful visit!:mickey:

disneydementia;2470384 wrote: Stop at the Firehouse and pay your respects to Walt. There is a light in the window 24/7. I always stop on the way out and say "Thank you Walt for a magical day." Look for the spike in the ground as you walk through the castle. Use to be the very center of Disneyland before Toontown was added. Also like to stand or sit where I know Walt had been in pictures that I've seen. Have a wonderful visit!:mickey:

Those are some lovely ideas. Thank you!

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. We had an amazing trip! In lieu of a full trip report here are some hightlights:

** California weather - It was hot but it sure beats the humidity in FL!
** World of Color - I thought it was spectacular. Love the inclusion of NPH! Really glad we did the Wine Country Trattoria fastpass deal for good viewing. The food was great as a nice side effect.
** Haunted Mansion overlay - So well done, wish WDW would do this.
** Space Mountain overlay - Ditto! So scary!
** Mr. Toad's Wild ride - For nostalgia.
** California Screamin' - Very smooth ride!
** Paint the Night Parade - I hope (and suspect) they'll bring this to WDW
** Carsland - Even after all the hype it still exceeded my expectations. We spend a sublime hour on the main drag drinking beers and watching the people (and cars) go by. Solid meal at Flo's as well.
** Indiana Jones - Another one I wish we had at WDW.
** The Firehouse and the candle in Walt's window - Need I say more?
** Disneyland Forever fireworks - It was everything.
** Proximity of the parks to each other - So convenient!
** Churros - Actually not a highlight. We were underwhelmed. But they do have a lot of them!
** Seeing Soarin' for the last time - It's leaving WDW.
** Sleeping Beauty Castle exhibit - Loved it.
** Trader Sam's Tiki bar - This should have been at the top of the list. This place is the jam!
** Characters - They are all over the place at DLR (more so than at WDW).
** Snow White's wishing well - So sweet.
** Carthay Circle - So steeped in old Hollywood. Great place for a mid day break (drink).
** New Orleans Square - Love the theming. Also loved Café Orleans.
** Grizzly Peak - The Grizzly River run was fun (and wet!) and we also enjoyed the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
** Uva Bar - A nice break between parks. And so nice Downtown Disney is so close to the parks.

I could go on but you all have things to do. = ) We greatly enjoyed our visit to "the original." Thanks to all for the help planning this adventure!

:mickey:

Yay! Sounds like you had a spectacular time! The weather has been ungodly hot lately, so that is kind of a bummer. Today's humidity was 95% and it was in the mid 80s. Felt like Florida....yuck! At least you weren't here for that.

I'm so glad we were able to give you some things to definitely not miss. Sounds like you did great! And, we really don't have that much to do. A full trip report would actually be the jam! ;)

Nice to hear you had such a fun time. I always forget to tell people to do the walk through in Sleeping Beauty's castle. Glad you found it.