The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (227 page)

Transportation (Local:  To and from the Resort):
  If you’re from Northern Cal, out-of-state, or out-of-the-country and arriving via airplane, an airport taxi or hotel shuttle will bring you to your hotel.  Your hotel shuttle will probably be free or included in your vacation package.  Check with your travel agent, vacation planner, or the hotel itself about prices.  If you’re taking a taxi, try to strike a deal with the driver.  So Cal taxi drivers are typically open to a bit of bartering, and you can usually bring down the first flat fee they give you with a fair counteroffer and a decent tip.  If you’re local or vacationing in the Los Angeles area, consider taking an Amtrak train to
Anaheim
; train tickets start at about $14 from Union Station in L.A. to
Anaheim
, and it’s only a 40-minute journey. 
Disneyland
is ten minutes from the
Anaheim
Amtrak station and there’s usually a queue of waiting taxis, as well as the less-expensive option of riding the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART), a local transportation service for Guests and residents that shuttles you around in cute little trolley-style transports.  You’ll save money with ART, but not time, since it makes many stops.  And if you have a large family, and have to purchase an ART ticket for each of them, it would actually be less expensive to take the $11 to $15 taxi ride to the resort.  The most economical local ride from the L.A. area to
Disneyland
is via the number 460 bus, which winds its way from Downtown L.A. (near 7
th
and Flower) through Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, and Buena Park, depositing riders on
Harbor Boulevard
directly in front of
Disneyland
for about $2.00 each with day pass.  A sweet deal; but be prepared for a posterior-numbing two hour journey without an onboard WC.  Out-of-towners should also take note that you will encounter some very nice but also some very unusual fellow riders on the 460 line; this is a true-life L.A. bus line.

Water:
  Water is your friend.  Drink a lot of it while you’re visiting the resort, especially if you’re there on a hot summer day.  At about $3 per bottle, it’s also one of the better deals in the parks.  If you’re on a tight budget, save money by buying water once, and then re-filling the bottles for free at water fountains.  This is an especially important technique if you have a large family or a large group.  Why keep paying $3 per bottle when the drinking fountain water is free?  You can also request complimentary cups of water at some resort eateries.

Disneyland Resort Deluxe

If you have money to burn and want to pamper you
rself, here are some luxurious recommendations.

Hotel:
 
Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
is a grand-hotel that’s actually kid-friendly.  24-hour room service, laundry service, turn-down service–the theme here is warm, classy, constant service from superlative Cast Members.  The Park-Avenue-meets-
Ahwahnee
grandeur of the Arts and Crafts architecture is a feast for the artistic soul; the structure, its décor, and its
objets d’art
are a holistically pleasing masterpiece in a palette of forest greens, fawns, coppers, and reds.  Begin your morning by joining other Guests for Pilates or yoga or a brisk walk around the beautiful grounds.  Enjoy a tour of the hotel and an informed guide’s discussion of its architectural influences.  Relax by one of the three pools; kids will love the redwood-themed slide, and the hotel provides the luxe pool towels.  Treat yourself to an afternoon in the
Mandara
Spa
for a massage or aromatherapy, and then dine in the hotel’s award-winning
Napa Rose
restaurant while your little ones play in
Pinocchio’s Workshop
, the hotel’s childcare center.  Finish off your day with a drink or cappuccino in the comfortably appointed
Hearthstone Lounge
or sit by the crackling fire of the towering
Great Hearth
.  Don’t forget to enjoy the parks at some point! 
Disneyland
is a five to seven-minute walk away, and you have a private entrance to
Disney California Adventure
, making it literally seconds from the hotel. 
Downtown Disney
is also seconds away, as it’s adjacent to the hotel.  Request a room with a view of
Downtown Disney
,
DCA
, or the pools.  It’ll add substantially to your bill, but you’re not caring about money on this trip, and the views are splendid.  For the ultimate in pampering, request the Artisan, Club-Level, and Signature Suites, and concierge service.  These options are even more expensive than the already pricey standard rooms, but with an even higher level of personal attention and more space for your party to spread out in.  Signature Suites were inspired by the architecture of
Charles and Henry Greene
and Frank Lloyd Wright.  Call (714) 956-6425 for details.

Tours:
 
VIP Tour
(
Disneyland
) $750+ for six hours for up to ten Guests.  Call (714) 300-7710 for details.

Restaurants:
 
Napa Rose
(
Grand Californian
),
Steakhouse 55
(
Disneyland Hotel
),
Blue Bayou
(
New Orleans Square, Disneyland
),
Carthay Circle Restaurant
(
Buena Vista Street
,
DCA
).  Arrange for
Priority Seating
at these popular, high-end dining establishments by calling (714) 781-3463 or email
[email protected]
.

Spa:
 
Mandara Spa
(
Grand Californian
) for massage therapies, body wraps, facials, mani-pedis, and tea in a tranquil Zen Tea Garden.

Entertainment:
 
Fantasmic!
Premium Seating
(
Disneyland
) It might seem pricey at $60+ per Guest, but you enjoy “elevated seating” in reserved areas of
New Orleans Square
, sipping beverages and noshing on desserts while enjoying stunning views of
Fantasmic!
  Call (714) 781-SHOW up to 30 days in advance to book your seating.

Holiday Fun:
 
Mickey’s Halloween Party
is held every year around Halloween time at
Disney California Adventure
or (in recent years)
Disneyland
.  For an extra admission price of around $70 - $74 (less for
Annual Passholders
) you and your little ones can spend several hours trick-or-treating in a fun environment that includes astoundingly generous candy stations, kid-friendly spooky touches, interaction with
Disney
characters, and a spooky fireworks show. 
Mickey’s Halloween Party
is held on select evenings only.  You can purchase tickets online, by phone, or at
Disneyland Resort Ticket Booths
. 
A Disney Family Thanksgiving Feast
is a holiday meal held on Thanksgiving Day in the
Grand Ballroom
of the
Disneyland Hotel
.  Beef, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and salads are on the menu, along with a decadent dessert buffet. 
Disney Characters
attend the event and will sign autographs and pose for photos.  This is one of the pricier Thanksgiving meals on property, but one of the best.  Children under three are free.  Call (714) 781-DINE for details. 
Napa Rose Four-Course Thanksgiving
meal is just what it sounds like, an elegant four-course Thanksgiving feast at the
Grand Californian
’s award-winning restaurant, the
Napa Rose
.  Reservations are strongly recommended:  (714) 781-DINE.

Romance: 
Carthay Circle Restaurant
(
DCA
),
Napa Rose
(
Grand Californian Hotel
) or
Steakhouse 55
(
Disneyland Hotel
) are perfect restaurant choices for that special date, Valentine’s Day, proposal, honeymoon meal, or anniversary celebration.  Call (714) 781-DINE for reservations.  And when you and your true love are ready to start planning your customized, fairy tale wedding, commitment ceremony or vow renewal, call a
Disney Wedding Planner
at (321) 939-4160.  Choose the
Disneyland Resort Hotel
or
Theme Park
locations where you want to get hitched and hold ancillary events like the rehearsal dinner and reception.  The
Disney Wedding Planner
can move mountains to make your dreams come true!  Expect to start the planning process about a year before the big day.

Top
Park-in-the-Dark Thrills

1.
                    
Ride
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
during the
Magical Fireworks
show around 9:25 pm.
  Combine the dadgum awesome thrills of the wildly twisting, recently refurbished
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
roller coaster with the dazzling fireworks of
Disneyland
’s nightly extravaganza.  Where better to view the dancing bursts of color than from the car of a runaway mine train?  As your train races in and out of caverns, and corkscrews up and down Bryce-canyon-like buttes, the night sky is radiant with the firework art that only
Disney
can paint on the night sky.  A true thrill!  (Note: 
Magical Fireworks
run nightly during peak seasons, and on Saturday nights only during the off seasons.  Fireworks typically begin at 9:26 pm, although inclement weather can cause delays or cancellations.)

2.
                   
Ride
Pirates of the Caribbean
during
Fantasmic!
  If you and your party have already seen
Fantasmic!
or it’s not your cup of tea, consider riding
Pirates
during a
Fantasmic!
performance.  Because
Fantasmic!
is so popular, it can be difficult to make your way through the throngs lining the
Rivers of America
, but if you can reach the
Pirates
entrance, it’s worth the effort.  You’ll find almost no one in line for
Pirates
immediately prior to and during the
Fantasmic!
performances, especially since summer 2009, when the
Fantasmic!
show was
plussed
with an even larger
Audio-Animatronic (AA)
dragon and crisper and more vivid effects.  You and your party might even be able to ride in your very own
bateaux
, without other Guests.  During one research trip I was able to ride solo in a
bateaux
; navigating the flumes and caverns alone was a pleasantly eerie experience for this
Pirates
fan.

3.
                   
Ride
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
around 11 pm.
  I dare you.  I
double
dare you to ride this attraction just before the park closes.  There’s a reason
Disneyland
eventually added the word “Scary” to
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
.  On the surface it’s a simple
Disney
dark ride, but this surprisingly affecting attraction truly puts the “dark” in “dark ride”.  Yes, there are enchanting, glittering gems in the
Dwarfs
’
Mine
, but mainly there are haunting stretches of lonely forest where trees sway like tortured and menacing souls, where the raven familiar of the
Evil Queen
caws and croaks from dark nooks, and where the
Evil Queen
herself, transformed into her murderous alter ego the
Witch
, pops out at you unexpectedly, multiple times, to sneer and cackle malevolently.  Kindly ingénue
Snow White
appears near the beginning of the experience, in one of the attraction’s few cheerful set pieces, but the
Evil Queen
and her
Witch
alter ego own this journey.  That’s why when you stand outside
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
and look up at the window, the curtains part and it’s not
Snow White
beaming down at you, but the glowering face of the
Evil Queen
.