Just returned from first DL trip to celebrate my Birthday!

Just returned late Saturday night from our first ever trip to DL (and CA for that matter). We are regulars to WDW, but had never gotten around to visiting DL.

I set my alarm for 3am on Saturday April 25th, got up, showered, did hair and makeup, and then woke up SO (he can get ready in like 15 minutes, that kills me! ). We packed the last minute items in our bags and bid farewell to our kitty and turtle who would be checked on daily by SO's mother while we were away.

Here is our kitty enjoying the sunshine in her favorite place on our screened porch.



And our aquatic turtle, who has grown out of his 3rd tank upgrade and is currently having a backyard pond constructed for him.



We left the house by 4:15am and had an uneventful drive to the Orlando International Airport. We parked in our normal place, the North blue lot, and snagged a spot directly across from the shuttle bus stop (B21). By the time we had removed our bags from the car and crossed the street a bus was stopping to pick us up. Our bus had about 7 other travelers on it and stopped to drop some off at Terminal A before proceeding to the B Terminal where our Delta flight would depart from.

The parking lot shuttle bus dropped us right outside of the curbside check in which we utilized to check our 2 pieces of luggage ($25 each which was paid at the time of online check-in for our flight). I always prefer to check in curbside when it is available, even for those airlines that charge a curbside check in fee. There was no one in line ahead of us and the whole process to weigh our bags, print our bag claim stickers and send us on our way took less than 3 minutes. I had already checked in online for our flight and had electronic boarding passes on our phones, but the nice skycap insisted on printing us paper boarding passes as well. Once we headed into the airport we could see an already sizable line for the Delta ticket counter even at this early hour and were again glad we made use of the curbside check in.

After a quick bathroom break we proceeded to the security line which was a breeze (usually is at MCO for early morning flights, but I have stood in line for almost an hour in the middle of the afternoon, so plan accordingly). After the security check we hopped on the AGT to take us to over to our gate. After a quick look around the duty free shop to kill a few minutes we grabbed some breakfast at Burger King. I had a carton of milk and a ham, egg, cheese croissant, and SO had french toast sticks and an Honest Ice Tea.

After breakfast we proceeded to our gate to sit and wait for the flight to board. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 7:05.



When I had booked the flight there were no seats next to each other on the plane (with the exception of first class and the comfort class, which I did not want to pay extra for), so I booked us both window seats one directly in front of the other near the rear of the plane. I checked back repeatedly online to see if we could switch seats, but none became available. Eventually the flight appeared sold out of regular seats. Fortunately, first class did not sell out and the gate ended up upgrading people (I am assuming high frequent flier miles people??) so that the economy class of the plane was not completely full. Both SO and I had 2 people sitting next to us, but when it became apparent that a row in the far rear was empty, the couple seated next to me asked the stewardess if they could relocate, which they did, then SO was able to sit next to me and we had the row to ourselves!

Our view out the window before takeoff.



A full plane ahead of us.



Our flight ended up boarding and taking off about 15 minutes late, but we must have had good flight weather because we arrived about 10 minutes early to LAX, making us only about 5 minutes behind schedule (this was a treat for us, because three out of the last four flights we took in 2014 were delayed considerably - one by around 11 hours and the other two by about 1.5 hours each). The 5 hr 35 min flight was uneventful. This particular plane did not have individual monitors, but group monitors located every few rows. They played the movie Into the Woods which I was happy to watch as I had been wanting to see it. After the movie I read for awhile on my kindle. SO is not a fan of musicals, so he passed the time listening to music, resting and taking pictures out the window.





By the time we reached California it was very cloudy.



Deplaning and baggage claim at LAX were very simple. I was concerned based on so many people's comments on this board and other travel forums about not liking to fly in/out of LAX because it was so busy. I guess with MCO being our home airport, we are used to a busy airport and it didn't phase us at all.

We followed the signs outside for the rental car shuttle pick up and after about 15 minutes along came our shuttle to take us to the Alamo rental car facility. Alamo shares a large shuttle bus with National (which are located right next to each other off-site). We used one of the many self serve kiosks to check in for our car and were on our way to the lot to make our selection in minutes. SO, who is ALWAYS the driver, selected a Nissan Altima. I liked the white one, but he wanted black. After a quick look around the car to assess any existing damage we were on our way. This car was very nice. A 2015 with less than 5000 miles on it. It had a backup camera as well as usb ports for media connection.

As we have had such problems in the recent past with delayed flights and having my plans for our first day activities blown out of the water, I had made no specific plans for this first day. By the time we had landed, gathered our bags, and picked up our rental car, it was around 10:45am PST. We sat in the rental lot for a few minutes discussing our options and decided to drive to Long Beach to take a 12pm whale watching cruise. Google maps on my phone indicated the driving time was about 30 minutes and it was pretty accurate.

We parked at the Aquarium of the Pacific parking structure which was filled! We ended up on the top uncovered level (white building to right in image below).



We grabbed hoodies and I changed my flip flops for some close toed shoes as it was damp and chilly. In hind site, this was NOT a good day to take this whale watching cruise. It was the only day of really bad weather for our entire trip.

The whale watching cruise we did left from dock 2 at the pier at the Aquarium of the Pacific.



The 2.5 hour cruise was $35/adult, however I had printed a coupon online from the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau website for buy one get one free tickets, so we both cruised for just $35.





We had arrived about 30 minutes early so we took the time to walk along the pier.





We were both hungry at this point, but didn't have time for anything elaborate before the cruise, so we settled on a hot dog stand on the pier. We each got a hot dog and we shared a bag of Fritos and a can of Sprite. Hot dogs were not very good, but the total was only about $8.

We were near the end of the boarding line, and all of the outdoor seats were taken. We sat on the inside, but did have lots of windows. I was originally disappointed until SO pointed out to me how chilly and damp it already was and that once the boat started going into the wind it would be even colder with the water spray and that it looked very close to raining. Also, since we had been flying I had worn my glasses not contacts because they get dry flying, and SO smartly pointed out how my glasses would get all wet sitting outside with the water spray off the ocean. He also suspected that as soon as we got underway and the people sitting outside realized how cold it was, that many would try to retreat inside. He was absolutely correct!

The weather made the journey unpleasant to say the least. Many people did pour inside from the cold. Also the water was extremely choppy from the storms and so many people were seasick they were passing out plastic bags for people and making announcements directing people that were sick to the rear of the boat to throw up overboard. Truth be told both SO and I were feeling a bit queasy at times and are not normally seasick.

On our way out of the harbor the boat passed cruise ships in the Long Beach cruise terminal as well as the Queen Mary.

The only sea lions we saw were at a great distance (this photo is using zoom) and they were lounging on a buoy.



On the tour they do stress that there is no guarantee to see whales or other sea life. On our cruise we spotted a small pod of dolphins on the way out. It wasn't until we were on our way back in (and we were soooo ready to be returning at this point, it was miserable) that we came across a HUGE pod of Common Dolphins. There were hundreds. My pictures do not do it justice because they were hard to capture out of the water.







Also there was a sighting of a Minke whale, unfortunately it was at the front right of the boat in the far distance when it breached, and we were inside on the left of the boat and by the time we got outside with everyone else, he was not to be seen again, although the boat did wait in the area for awhile to try to spot him again.

It had begun raining about halfway through the cruise and was still raining when docked and exited. Fortunately we had brought a small umbrella with us. I am sure this trip would have been much more fun on a warm sunny day without such rough waters, but I would not be tempted to do it again. We paid for our parking $8 with validation at the kiosk in the parking garage (make sure you get your parking ticket validated at either the Aquarium if you are visiting there, or the whale cruise ticket office). For some reason the kiosk wouldn't take our credit card and we ended up having to use cash in the machine, so be prepared for this eventuality.

At this point it was just before 3pm and we decided to drive to our hotel to check in. Google maps placed the drive from the Long Beach pier to our Anaheim hotel at around 30 minutes and it was accurate.

After lots of research I ended up booking the Super 8 near the corner of Katella and Harbor in Anaheim. After considering the 3 Disneyland Resort hotels we decided they were not worth the cost to us and I began looking at options off site but within walking distance. Since we were booking relatively close to our vacation (about 2.5 weeks out) some places were completely sold out. After reading reviews and comparing pricing to amenities and running it all by SO, who's opinion was all we were going to do was use it to sleep, I decided that the Super 8 fit my needs for this particular trip.



This property was within walking distance to DL. I timed it from the Disneyland turnstile exit to our room door one night at 16 minutes. It offered free parking, which was a must for us as we had the rental car and most of the walking distance properties had a parking fee. It offered free wi-fi (which worked just fine for us). It offered a free continental breakfast but it is only from 6-9am and we are not early risers. The one morning we would have made it to breakfast the line was out the breakfast room door, so we passed. It had a pool, but was only open until 10pm and sadly we never made it back in time to use the pool. It also had a refrigerator which I wanted.

The room itself was adequate. The beds were comfortable enough (although the pillows left a lot to be desired imo).









There was one 2-story building which housed the lobby, breakfast room, laundry facilities and some rooms, and then a larger U shaped 2-story building. We were in the interior rear of the U shaped building and I was very pleased by our location. For the most part it was very quiet and I think for several nights of our stay we didn't have anyone on either side of us. Thursday and Friday nights were far busier than the rest of the week.



After checking in SO wanted to take a nap for a bit because he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before (late night basketball game on TV coupled with very early morning to get to the airport). So he laid down while I got online to check some of my plans and schedules for the upcoming week.

I let him sleep for about and hour and a half before getting him up so we could walk down to Disneyland!

Hi!

The weather definitely didn't seem welcoming for your boat ride. The Dolphins were really a cool thing to see I'm sure.


I look forward to the rest of your trip report.

joining in! We have our first trip to DLR coming up this fall so interested in your take and experience

That's great that your flight was so early and the whale watching trip sounds like it would have been fun in better weather, but at least you saw all those dolphins which was cool

Your room looks pretty nice - we also opted to go with an "off property" resort as just couldn't justify the expense of the Disney hotels given how close the other options are (we are in the HoJo across the road from DLR

Great stuff Disney845. Looking forward to seeing more! Only 23 days until my wife and I are at DL!

kaoden39 said:

Hi!

The weather definitely didn't seem welcoming for your boat ride. The Dolphins were really a cool thing to see I'm sure.


I look forward to the rest of your trip report.

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Yes the weather really made it miserable, but the dolphins were great to see. We live in FL on the east coast so seeing dolphins isn't rare for us, but seeing so many together was incredible.

TheMaxRebo said:

joining in! We have our first trip to DLR coming up this fall so interested in your take and experience

That's great that your flight was so early and the whale watching trip sounds like it would have been fun in better weather, but at least you saw all those dolphins which was cool

Your room looks pretty nice - we also opted to go with an "off property" resort as just couldn't justify the expense of the Disney hotels given how close the other options are (we are in the HoJo across the road from DLR

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We were quite happy with our off-site location for DL. We usually have seasonal APs for WDW and we stay both on-site and off-site just depending on when we book (usually not very far in advance) and our particular interests for that visit, and it can really make the experience so much more immersive to stay on-site at WDW. We didn't feel that DL had that same immersive vibe even for the on-site hotels (we toured around the DLH) due to the exterior streets and the sight lines of the rest of Anaheim from some of the taller attractions.

BarkerBird said:

Great stuff Disney845. Looking forward to seeing more! Only 23 days until my wife and I are at DL!

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Glad you're following along. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful trip!

After SO got up (grudgingly) from his nap we made our first trip over to DL property. The walk was very easy from our motel (just over 15 minutes) and there were lots of other people around. This was the case even when walking back late at night. We never felt unsafe. The sidewalks were nicely manicured with trees and other foliage.



We passed several other motels that looked inviting. SO commented more than once that the Castle Inn looked like a cool place to stay.





It was disappointing to me to see that they were doing work on the entrance sign off of Harbor Blvd and had it covered in tarps as I was looking forward to that being my first DL picture.

We proceeded to a ticket booth and exchanged our vouchers for tickets. I had purchased our DL tickets online from Orbitz when I had made our motel reservation. I often use Orbitz as they are one of the few travel sites to routinely offer "usable" discount codes and I earn Orbucks which can be used on future purchases (free program to sign up on their website). Orbitz had a deal to buy 4 day hoppers get the 5th day free. The ticket booth castmember wasn't sure how to redeem my voucher, but a quick question to a coworker and he was able to figure it out without too much trouble. We got our paper tickets (I had Sulley from Monsters Inc and SO had Lightning McQueen from Cars) and we were on our way.

Saw this interesting gentleman in a full on King's cape and crown on his way into DCA.



Our first view of DL.



There goes the monorail.



It had rained so much earlier that they had cones out in the Esplanade.



We had no plans to go into a park this evening, but wanted to look around DTD and the resort hotels. Also, as all we had for lunch was a sad hot dog at the pier, we were starving. We stopped in Earl of Sandwich as I had a free birthday sandwich coupon (sign up on their website, it costs nothing and you get emailed coupons, info and specials).

EoS is at the far end of DTD towards the DLH. This is our view out the window from our table inside the EoS restaurant. The blue stars in the middle of the picture are the walkway leading to DLH. EoS was busy, but nothing like the line-way-out-the-door busy of the EoS in WDW DTD.



SO and I split a Full Montagu sandwich, an order of mac and cheese and a large ice tea.





The sandwich was very tasty, the mac and cheese was ok, and the tea was very weak in my opinion, but SO thinks I can be somewhat of an ice tea snob. I prefer the term selective. I drink a ton of tea at home. I even have an ice tea maker (small appliance) that makes pitchers of ice tea. I am on my third machine in probably 6 years, I use it so much I tend to kill them. I like my tea black (no white, green or fruity teas for me), unsweetened, and very strong. Oh, and no powdered teas. Yuck! If it isn't brewed I am not drinking it.

I have a terrible time resisting going into the park when I get there. I have an AP and on our trip in September my daughters and I don't plan on going to the parks on the first day. I keep trying to come of with excuses as to why I need to go in the parks. I told them I would get snacks and things for them in the parks while they swim. I'm not swimming so why not?

I look forward to trying EoS. Too bad about the mac and cheese, it looks so inviting! I'm a bit if a tea snob too. I totally get it!

After our snack at EoS we decided to check out the DLH.



There are three towers at the DLH, the first one we came to, when walking in from the DTD area (and hanging a left) was the Adventure Tower.



Across from the entrance to the Adventure Tower was the building housing Trader Sam's and Tangaroa Terrace. Lots of Tiki torches and plants make this a very inviting atmosphere. A cozy outdoor fireplace seating area (very far left in picture below) was filled with tons of people.



This is where we also saw our first DL cat. Terrible, terrible picture, but a white and grey kitty is on the walkway right between the bushes leading to the Tangaroa entrance. As soon as people exited the restaurant she/he ran into the bushes and we didn't get a better picture of her/him.



If you continue even further left from the Adventure Tower entrance you will hit the rose garden. I was very surprised by both its location, and small size. I had seen pictures online from weddings held here and was just expecting more.





The pool area, located in the middle of the towers looked very fun and we loved the Monorail theme.





We also stopped inside the Fantasy Tower and looked around the two stores. There was a cool light up map on one wall. Sadly I wasn't able to get a better picture of it.



We caught a glimpse of the characters through the windows of Goofy's Kitchen and thought it looked like a fun place to dine.



At this point it had grown very chilly and we were done with our tour around DLH and ready to move on to DTD shopping.

I love the DLH!!

Following along! Heading there the end of June!


"The sandwich was very tasty, the mac and cheese was ok, and the tea was very weak in my opinion, but SO thinks I can be somewhat of an ice tea snob. I prefer the term selective. I drink a ton of tea at home. I even have an ice tea maker (small appliance) that makes pitchers of ice tea. I am on my third machine in probably 6 years, I use it so much I tend to kill them. I like my tea black (no white, green or fruity teas for me), unsweetened, and very strong. Oh, and no powdered teas. Yuck! If it isn't brewed I am not drinking it.[/QUOTE]

You and my mom could be soul mates!! She will often order hot tea and a glass of ice if restaurants don't have fresh brewed.

Cruzmom said:

You and my mom could be soul mates!! She will often order hot tea and a glass of ice if restaurants don't have fresh brewed.

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I will sometimes do the same. In fact at WDW I would often fill up my drink mug with hot water and tea bags in the food court in the evening and come back to the room after it had steeped and add it to a glass of ice. I also like the Twinings brand of cold brewed bags (which will steep in a glass of cold water) which I will bring to work to make ice tea.

After touring around the DLH grounds we walked back through DTD to see the sights and sounds and look through the shops. I found it a bit congested, with some narrow passageways compared to WDW's DTD, but I did like the design and architecture of the restaurants and storefronts.

I especially liked the facade of the Rainforest Cafe designed in a Mayan Temple theme.



While we didn't venture inside, we enjoyed the Lego figures outside of the Lego shop. Especially Maleficent in her dragon form breathing fire down on Prince Philip.



A cute Beauty and Beast scene with Lumiere and Cogsworth looking on in the background.



Buzz and Woody in flight.



While we didn't end up buying anything this evening, we enjoyed browsing through Vault 28, D-Street, Fossil, Marceline's, Something Silver, and of course the World of Disney store. I also loved the interpretive twist on Disney art at the Wonderground Gallery!

Still pretty chilly and a little hungry from our shared sandwich we decided to call it a night at DTD, grab some food and head back to our room to get some rest for our first day of DL parks on Sunday.

In my research I had read of the Pizza Press restaurant and was very interested in the Subway-esque style of individual pizzas. Apparently Pizza Press isn't the only pizza restaurant such as this, but we have none near us that I had ever heard of and as pizza is probably one of my favorite foods, I was eager to try out this new (to me) concept.

Pizza Press is located on Harbor Blvd at the Carousel Inn just north of the Harbor Disneyland entrance.



The restaurant is very narrow and there are not too many seats inside (there were a few additional outside I believe).



They had fun fuzzy wallpaper which reminded me of the WDW Haunted Mansion queue right before you board the Doom Buggies.



Cute trash bin in the form of a mail box.



The restaurant has a few set pizzas that they can make (which are modifiable) or you can just pick and choose at will from the available sauce and toppings. I chose the Chronicle which was an Olive Oil base (as opposed to a red sauce), Mozzarella, Chèvre, Parmesan, Artichoke Heart, Grape Tomatoes, Roasted Peppers, and finished with Fresh Basil and Pesto Sauce. It also normally comes with mushroom and onion, but I requested that they hold those ingredients and also asked them to add pepperoni.

Here is my pizza being prepared.



After a few minutes through the baking oven this was my final product.



It was very good (usually anything which has goat cheese and I am a happy camper) and very reasonably priced. The pizza was only $10. Plus I had a 15% off coupon from the Anaheim Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. It was large enough for the two of us to split and have a piece left over that neither of us could manage (although on a hungrier day I might be tempted to not share). I did notice it had wayyyy too much of the oil base. Not sure if my pizza maker was just heavy handed or if that was the normal amount they use but it was overkill for me, so in the future I would ask for them to go lighter on the oil. SO enjoyed it enough that he suggested we could eat there again if the opportunity presented itself, although it never did.

After consuming the pizza we stopped at the Cold Stone Creamery that was next door to the Desert Inn & Suites because SO really wanted ice cream. I wasn't planning on having anything because I was full from the pizza. That lasted just about until we walked through the doors.

SO had a Chocolate Lava Meltdown (brownie, vanilla ice cream, whip cream, fudge, and chocolate shavings). I had mint ice cream, fudge and chocolate chips. I really should have stuck with my original plan of not getting ice cream because I took 4-5 bites and was done and threw the rest out.

After the ice cream we did finally make it back to the room to get some rest before a full day at Disneyland!

Love your TR! Loved your review of the Pizza Press. Have always wanted to venture over there - really reasonably priced esp with your coupon! Carousel Inn & Suites is a very popular hotel in the area (I live in So California & work in Anaheim). Can't wait to hear all about your first Park day!

heaven2dc said:

Love your TR! Loved your review of the Pizza Press. Have always wanted to venture over there - really reasonably priced esp with your coupon! Carousel Inn & Suites is a very popular hotel in the area (I live in So California & work in Anaheim). Can't wait to hear all about your first Park day!

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Glad you are enjoying it.

I would definitely recommended giving Pizza Press a try. They also had what appeared to be a decent (impressive?) selection of beers. Although I can't really speak to the quality or variety as we are not drinkers and didn't try any.

I like your use of the word "selective" ... people consider me a bit of a beer snob and I think I will counter that I am just "selective" with what beer I drink

Sounds like an easy walk and glad to hear you felt safe the whole way. I definitely hope to spend some time walking around the DLH - we are hoping to do breakfast at Steakhouse 55 our last day and definitely want to at least stop by Trader Sam's at least once. Feels like there are just a ton of cool pictures and artifacts throughout that hotel.

That pizza place sounds pretty cool and will have to keep it in mind as my kids (not surprisingly) love pizza and might get a kick out of seeing it made (though they basically just like plain pizza).

yeah, pretty much impossible to walk into a Stone Cold Creamery and not get anything