The park has grown beyond the "do-it-in-one-day" boundary. With California Adventure next door, Disneyland demands that you devote a minimum of two days. We did three which turned out to be just right. Mind you we went Tuesday through Thursday of last week. Many schools were in session so the park wasn't packed, yet it wasn't the true off season so all the rides were open. The first day we "did" Disneyland proper, including multiple sessions on the big ticket rides like Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn. The revamped Pirates of the Caribbean looked great with new special effects. The second day we went through Disneyland again going on a few of the lesser rides as well as, of course, again going on our favorites from the day before. The kids acted up so we forced them through "It's A Small World" with the threat that if they continued to act up they go on the ride again. Their behavior improved. Late in the day we found ourselves Disneylanded out so we traipsed over to California Adventure to get a preview of our next day. In the two hours there we managed to get through Grizzly River Rapids, the Massive outdoors climbing area and Paradise Pier. Thursday we finished California Adventure and returned to Disneyland for one last ride on our favorites and to watch the fireworks show.

So, how did we get taken? As I started above, the park demands more than two days. We made our reservations through Disneyland for a three-day park hopper plus hotel. We saved about $400 by not choosing a Disney hotel but one of their friendly partners. Our hotel was literally across the street. No complaints there. That the maid was asleep in our room...well...that's not a Disney issue.

No, the gripe was in the math. If we had bought the hopper tickets and gotten the room withouth going through Disney we could have saved another $200. Plus, by going through Disney we weren't eligible to gain frequent user points for the hotel.

Sure, Disney gave us extras like getting access to the park 1 hour early on one morning, lanyards for collecting (overpriced) Disney pins, and discount coupons to offset the absurd prices, but they couldn't counteract the price difference we paid.

We ate at the Blue Bayou - the nice restaurant next to the Pirates ride. I had fond memories of eating their as a kid but, while the food was good - not great - but good, it wasn't worth the price. $150 for 5 and that's with 3 kids. The best offering is the prime rib but it wasn't a $30 prime rib, it was a $15 prime rib. Sure, you can eat outside of the park and save bundles but your feet will have already taken a pounding, your kids will already be wilting with exhaustion, why subject everyone to an extra half-mile hike for cheap food? Disney knows this. Disney exploits this.

But the kids had a great time and they'll continue to do so until they have kids and take their kids to Disneyland. They'll then feel the pain.

A final word. California Adventure was odd. My wife commented that it made her want to visit the real places (again) instead of being in the phony versions here. My feeling was that they borrowed from the other amusement resorts. Grizzly River Rapids reminded me of Magic Mountain's Roaring Rapids (or whatever their rafting ride is called) only with 30 years of improvements over the original. The Hollywood Backlot area needed only a tram ride to mimic Universal Studios (and Downtown Disney was a CityWalk clone if ever there was one). Don't be surprised if a Shamu clone ends up swimming around Paradise Pier.