Trip Report: DISNEY DREAM - VILLAS AT GRAND FLORIDIAN - BEACH CLUB VILLAS AND DISNEYLAND

somewhat, they threw a towel over it and then jumped on the towel numerous times

VGC (aside from the occasional giant bug), is a lovely resort. It had a number of great features, but the best of all is its proximity to the parks. VGC actually has a direct entrance to DCA and another to DTD. This makes getting around a snap. No buses, watercraft, monorails, or cars. You are at the DCA park gate in zero minutes and at DL in ten minutes. And the walk to DL is either through DCA or through DTD, very pleasant walks.

VGC has three pools. The studio I stayed in was slightly larger than the Beach Club and Boardwalk studios I've stayed in. The room was well layed-out and nicely furnished. There was wi-fi only in the lobby (hence a lively lobby usually) and there was a free wired internet connection in the room. The lobby was very nice with a giant fire place and a piano player at times.

I ate three meals in the resort. The first I mentioned was a late night meal in the bar and it was very good. The other two were both at the Story Tellers Cafe. I had breakfast buffet there that was good. I also had a lunch there that I found outstanding. It was the type of meal that I cleaned the plate with a piece of bread after I was done. I found it so surprisingly good that I discussed the preparation and ingredients with the waiter, something I would almost never bother to do. The food was very well-prepared and the service was excellent. And they had a good selection of wines of course and beer.

I realized that I take very few food pictures and I reasoned out that if the food wasn't picture worthy, I didn't bother to take a picture. But if the food looked good, I was all over it with no thought to picture taking.

Anyway, I wished I had more time to try Napa Rose which is supposedly the best Disney Restaurant, at least in the US. Next time.

Also the weather was gorgeous. After the swamp like conditions in MCO in September, it was such a delight. 60-80 every day and not a drop of rain the whole time.

I don't know where to start with the parks. There is so much to say. I can summarize it this way. And these are my opinions of course. DL is better than MK. DCA is better than HS. There is no Epcot, AK or water parks, so that's that. I'll get specific later.

I'm not a big fan of DTD in the World. I like the DTD in CA because it's so close. It becomes part of your everyday experience. You can get a Starbucks on the way to the park. You can leave the park and go to EoS for lunch. Again, there is no Disney Quest or Cirque. But that convenience factor is huge. You can stop at WoD on the way back to VGC- awesome.

To be continued...

DL has an amazing number of rides. Many of which MK or WDW does not have. In addition, many of the rides are better IMO. Pirates and HM come to mind. Also they have one of the best Disney rides, The Indiana Jones Adventure.

Main Street, U.S.A.
Disneyland Railroad
The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Main Street Vehicles
The Disney Gallery
Main Street Cinema
Tomorrowland
Astro Orbiter
Autopia
Innoventions
Star Tours"The Adventures Continue
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Captain EO Tribute
Space Mountain
Disneyland Monorail
Disneyland Railroad
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Starcade
Fantasyland
It's a Small World
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Peter Pan's Flight
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
King Arthur Carrousel
Mad Tea Party
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Mark Twain Riverboat
Big Thunder Ranch
Frontierland Shootin' Exposition
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Sailing Ship Columbia
Adventureland
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Jungle Cruise
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Tarzan's Treehouse
New Orleans Square
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Disneyland Railroad
Critter Country
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Splash Mountain
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
Mickey's Toontown
Chip 'n Dale's Treehouse
Disneyland Railroad
Donald's Boat
Gadget's Go Coaster
Goofy's Playhouse
Mickey's House and Meet Mickey
Minnie's House
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

I don't know if the food is better in DL since I was only there a short time and I only ate there a couple of times. But they definitely had some interesting offerings.

Bengal BBQ was right up my alley; meats on a stick. Gotta love that! I tried three varieties- two beefs and a chicken, all with different sauces. I liked em all.

There was a corn dog truck in the park that always had a line. And I found out why, the dogs were huge and delicious. No picture (I was hungry).

We got this enormous raspberry macaroon and a caramel coolata at the Plaza I think.

And of course...

And I found that the white chocolate chip raspberry cookies that I love and buy packaged in WDW are baked fresh in the DL bakery...a revelation! (no picture again)

Parades:

Daytime- Mickey's Soundsational Parade- cute but not as good as Festival of Fantasy.

At night I saw the Halloween Parade- no comparison to Boo to You. Not even close. Disappointing.

At DCA they had a cute little daytime Pixar parade, I don't know what it was called. All the floats and some of the characters had water guns of some sort. As they passed they randomly squirted water. It was really a lot of fun.

Some observations about the parades. First the CA people really cheered on the CMs in the parade and the CMs responded to that. This is occasional in WDW, but much more in DL. It was great to hear people cheer when the performers were putting on a good show.

Also, the people were much, much nicer when it came to getting parade viewing spots. You didn't feel the need to put up your elbows and box people out. Also if someone came in front of you, they sat down so they wouldn't block your vision. It was much more laid back that way.

And there was always someone to talk to everywhere you went. We talked to people at the parade, waiting for fireworks, on line for rides, in the stores, while eating, etc. So friendly! I know there were much less language barriers so I'm sure that helped. After a while my east coast defensive shields were fully lowered. Anyway, I found the whole atmosphere much more communal and that made the experience that much more enjoyable. I'd be curious to know if anyone else felt that way.

Yeah- I think you'll love it.

Yes- it reminded me of Wilderness Lodge as well.

Yeah, I had a long weekend so I booked it based on what many people told me, that you could do it in three days easy. So I did it a bit commando style, which is not my preference these days. In a couple of years maybe I'll go back and take it slower.

A lot of people also told me that I would be disappointed, it's so small. Non-Disney type people obviously.

It's not easy to get VGC at 7 months. I booked 7 nights, then cancelled the first three later on. That gave me a three day edge for getting that weekend. I would love to buy a small contract there to use every other year or so, but points are very expensive. I'll take my chances with the points I have. Also the good neighbor hotels are an alternative, but I don't think it will be the same experience. So in short- book at exactly seven months or forget getting VGC.

Captain's Quarters

Don't be chicken Carlos

you can fly...

In Disneyland Park you can see Remember...Dreams Come True fireworks and walk over to the Rivers of America and see Fantasmic on the same night. How great is that? I'm not a big fan of Fantasmic, but I like it in DL because it is just part of the park. I bought the Fantasmic Dessert Premium Seating package but it was totally unnecessary. You can get pretty good viewing just showing up 45 minutes before. I prefer Fantasmic in DL.

Dreams is every bit as good as Wishes IMO. They don't have the Castle Projection show, but they do some other things in DL. They have a cable running from Matterhorn to a place behind the Castle and they can make characters appear around the castle. For instance, during the Halloween fireworks, they had Zero up there. They have a projection screen on a nearby building. They use pyrotechnics from the Castle. The fireworks are also all around the park, not just behind the castle.

Yo ho, yo ho, etc, etc. Pirates is way longer in DL with many scenes WDW doesn't have.

Which guide did you read? I read the Unofficial Guide and the Imagineers Field Guide.