Some observations from a 4 night stay last week...

[labattblue]

Arrived Tuesday 8/4 around 3PM. Departed Saturday 8/8 around 12PM.

-Fairfield Inn....

Very nice stay. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Had a room on the 7th floor facing Mimi's and Hojo. Perfect view of the fireworks in the evening. Parking was not an issue for us, but it was clearly an issue late at night as their were cars parked everywhere each morning including the sides of the driveway. The room was in good shape, but I would have preferred a table with two chairs in stead of the chair/sofa bed.

Everything in the gift shop was ridiculously overpriced. A little travel bottle of Listerine that is .99 cents at most stores was $3.99!! You could hear the I-5 traffic at night but it would only bother the lightest of sleepers. I can't imagine how loud it would be at the Hojo rooms facing the freeway or the hotel/apartments between the FFI and the freeway. Only problem with the room was the door was sticking and it was resolved quickly by maintenance. The low showerheads made me laugh(I am 6'1") as I had forgotten the references to them that I had read here.

Elevator service was very good and we never waited long even in the morning. Walk to parks from the FFI was very quick. If you get lucky, time it right and don't get hung up at the crosswalk, it shaved 90 seconds or so off the walk.

In addition to the lemon and lime water, they had lemonade in the afternoon poured by staff with a friendly welcome back from the parks.

Overall, the stay was above average, the price was great(under $100 per night) and we would choose the FFI again.

-DLR and DCA...

We were at the parks from 8AM to 12AM on both Wednesday and Friday with a 3 hour mid-day break. Did not disappoint at all. Parks were clean. Never noticed dirty bathrooms. Upkeep seemed to be good(noticed a few queue railings that could have used some paint, but they take a beating and I guess this is to be expected). Any lightbulbs I noticed that were out on Wednesday were replaced by Friday. Crowds were lower on Wednesday versus Friday. Utilized FP's several times after the return time expired without a problem(Soarin' had a long FP wait in the queue on Friday evening). The short walk between the parks was unbeatable and will make me long for it next time we are at WDW. Didn't really notice any "unhappy" CM's.

Multiple rides on PoTC(5 times), HM(3 times), IJA(twice), MH(3 times) and BTMRR(6 times) chewed up a lot of our time but they are some of our favorites. I had forgotten how good of a 3D movie ITTBAB is. It really puts the Muppets and Honey I... to shame.

IaSW renovation with the Disney characters was really well done!

TSMM is GREAT. Only got to ride it twice(waited about 30 minutes each time). The second time they had a problem with the 3D projection in the second set of games(ride was closed earlier in the day and I assume it was related to this), but it didn't put a damper on my enthusiasm for this attraction.

Aladdin was OUTSTANDING. Waited for them to open the queue area for the mezzanine and were probably in the first 50 people in the queue. Sat 4 or 5 rows up dead center. Perfect view of the carpet flying. The Genie was hilarious and his pop culture references had me cracking up. Don't miss this show!

Monsters Inc. ride was nicely done and a pleasant surprise factoring in the short wait. The Roz AA at the end was funny.

Really enjoyed the Electrical Parade. Saw it twice. Once sitting by the Pacific Wharf Cafe and the other time from Sunshine Plaza. Saw Magical from the Esplanade twice and two other nights from our hotel balcony.

It was great to walk along the RoA without being overrun with Seagulls. If you have been to the MK, you know what I mean.

Watched a few minutes of the Celebrate parade and it just reinforced my belief that Disney needs to go back to the traditional parade and dump the high energy interactive parades.

- Dining...

We snacked a lot, so I don't have a lot of restaurant reviews. Mimi's lived up to the billing it gets here. Had breakfast there twice and lunch once. It was great all 3 times and having the coupon for breakfast(they take off the most expensive meal) didn't hurt. I wish we had one in NY! Had a quick bite at McDonald's on the days we went to the parks. Even if you aren't staying at the FFI, stop in before you go to McD's and pick up a 10% coupon from the rack where they have all the tourist brochures.

Ate at the Pacific Wharf Cafe one night and split the corn chowder in a bread bowl along with a turkey sub. The food was very good but the service was horrible. They only had 2 registers open and the same people taking your order then had to get your food and drinks. We must have waited at least 30 minutes in line. Ate twice at Taste Pilot Grill. Tried the burger, bbq chicken sandwich and the salad between the 3 of us. They were all good counter service choices. This place was always busy every time we walked by and I recommend finding a table before you order or have the others in your party look for one while you are ordering. We really liked the food at Cucina Cucamonga. The service was quick and there were plenty of tables that provided some shade from the heat.

Hopefully I can upload a few pics tomorrow. Any questions, feel free to fire away.

-Conclusion...

It was a fantastic stay. I can't wait to visit again after WoC, LM and Carsland are finished. See you in 2012!!!!




PS A couple of non-disney vacation notes. We had a horrible trip to Hollywood(I'll post over in the SoCal board) and we got stuck in traffic driving to SD(2nd part of our vacation) on a Saturday afternoon(3 hour drive). Also, having a GPS is GREAT when going on vacation. If you don't have one, borrow one. You won't regret it especially if you are doing a lot of driving.

[Flitterific]

Wow...thanks for the wonderful trip report! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. Reading about your trip just got me even more excited than I already am (if that was even possible )

I will be staying at FFI next week and am really excited. How did you get the room with the view? Did you put in a special request at the time you made your reservation or when you checked in?

Also, how did you get the coupon for the Mimi's breakfast? I am thinking about grabbing a quick meal there before our flight on the last day.

TIA!

[avalon451]

Sounds great! Thanks for the mini TR-- there's lots of good info in there. I hope you are doing a more in-depth TR.

[greenmustang]

great report
i head to the FFI in 2 days
cant wait
vicky

[blackjackdelta]

Originally Posted by labattblue

Arrived Tuesday 8/4 around 3PM. Departed Saturday 8/8 around 12PM.

-Fairfield Inn....

Very nice stay. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Had a room on the 7th floor facing Mimi's and Hojo. Perfect view of the fireworks in the evening. Parking was not an issue for us, but it was clearly an issue late at night as their were cars parked everywhere each morning including the sides of the driveway. The room was in good shape, but I would have preferred a table with two chairs in stead of the chair/sofa bed.

Everything in the gift shop was ridiculously overpriced. A little travel bottle of Listerine that is .99 cents at most stores was $3.99!! You could hear the I-5 traffic at night but it would only bother the lightest of sleepers. I can't imagine how loud it would be at the Hojo rooms facing the freeway or the hotel/apartments between the FFI and the freeway. Only problem with the room was the door was sticking and it was resolved quickly by maintenance. The low showerheads made me laugh(I am 6'1") as I had forgotten the references to them that I had read here.

Elevator service was very good and we never waited long even in the morning. Walk to parks from the FFI was very quick. If you get lucky, time it right and don't get hung up at the crosswalk, it shaved 90 seconds or so off the walk.

In addition to the lemon and lime water, they had lemonade in the afternoon poured by staff with a friendly welcome back from the parks.

Overall, the stay was above average, the price was great(under $100 per night) and we would choose the FFI again.

-DLR and DCA...

We were at the parks from 8AM to 12AM on both Wednesday and Friday with a 3 hour mid-day break. Did not disappoint at all. Parks were clean. Never noticed dirty bathrooms. Upkeep seemed to be good(noticed a few queue railings that could have used some paint, but they take a beating and I guess this is to be expected). Any lightbulbs I noticed that were out on Wednesday were replaced by Friday. Crowds were lower on Wednesday versus Friday. Utilized FP's several times after the return time expired without a problem(Soarin' had a long FP wait in the queue on Friday evening). The short walk between the parks was unbeatable and will make me long for it next time we are at WDW. Didn't really notice any "unhappy" CM's.

Multiple rides on PoTC(5 times), HM(3 times), IJA(twice), MH(3 times) and BTMRR(6 times) chewed up a lot of our time but they are some of our favorites. I had forgotten how good of a 3D movie ITTBAB is. It really puts the Muppets and Honey I... to shame.

IaSW renovation with the Disney characters was really well done!

TSMM is GREAT. Only got to ride it twice(waited about 30 minutes each time). The second time they had a problem with the 3D projection in the second set of games(ride was closed earlier in the day and I assume it was related to this), but it didn't put a damper on my enthusiasm for this attraction.

Aladdin was OUTSTANDING. Waited for them to open the queue area for the mezzanine and were probably in the first 50 people in the queue. Sat 4 or 5 rows up dead center. Perfect view of the carpet flying. The Genie was hilarious and his pop culture references had me cracking up. Don't miss this show!

Monsters Inc. ride was nicely done and a pleasant surprise factoring in the short wait. The Roz AA at the end was funny.

Really enjoyed the Electrical Parade. Saw it twice. Once sitting by the Pacific Wharf Cafe and the other time from Sunshine Plaza. Saw Magical from the Esplanade twice and two other nights from our hotel balcony.

It was great to walk along the RoA without being overrun with Seagulls. If you have been to the MK, you know what I mean.

Watched a few minutes of the Celebrate parade and it just reinforced my belief that Disney needs to go back to the traditional parade and dump the high energy interactive parades.

- Dining...

We snacked a lot, so I don't have a lot of restaurant reviews. Mimi's lived up to the billing it gets here. Had breakfast there twice and lunch once. It was great all 3 times and having the coupon for breakfast(they take off the most expensive meal) didn't hurt. I wish we had one in NY! Had a quick bite at McDonald's on the days we went to the parks. Even if you aren't staying at the FFI, stop in before you go to McD's and pick up a 10% coupon from the rack where they have all the tourist brochures.

Ate at the Pacific Wharf Cafe one night and split the corn chowder in a bread bowl along with a turkey sub. The food was very good but the service was horrible. They only had 2 registers open and the same people taking your order then had to get your food and drinks. We must have waited at least 30 minutes in line. Ate twice at Taste Pilot Grill. Tried the burger, bbq chicken sandwich and the salad between the 3 of us. They were all good counter service choices. This place was always busy every time we walked by and I recommend finding a table before you order or have the others in your party look for one while you are ordering. We really liked the food at Cucina Cucamonga. The service was quick and there were plenty of tables that provided some shade from the heat.

Hopefully I can upload a few pics tomorrow. Any questions, feel free to fire away.

-Conclusion...

It was a fantastic stay. I can't wait to visit again after WoC, LM and Carsland are finished. See you in 2012!!!!




PS A couple of non-disney vacation notes. We had a horrible trip to Hollywood(I'll post over in the SoCal board) and we got stuck in traffic driving to SD(2nd part of our vacation) on a Saturday afternoon(3 hour drive). Also, having a GPS is GREAT when going on vacation. If you don't have one, borrow one. You won't regret it especially if you are doing a lot of driving.

Great report. Hollywood can be a pain, especially 101 at times. Same with SD, and traffic upheavels and you are had. Never go anywhere without my GPS, trying iPhone navigator this time to see how it works. Waiting to see your pics. We will be in SoCal on Sunday.

Jack

[teatime]

Im heading to the FFI also in 5 days!! I can not wait. thanks for the update

[labattblue]

Originally Posted by Flitterific

Wow...thanks for the wonderful trip report! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. Reading about your trip just got me even more excited than I already am (if that was even possible )

I will be staying at FFI next week and am really excited. How did you get the room with the view? Did you put in a special request at the time you made your reservation or when you checked in?

Also, how did you get the coupon for the Mimi's breakfast? I am thinking about grabbing a quick meal there before our flight on the last day.

TIA!

Did not make any special room request. This was just what was assigned to us. If you want to see the fireworks, just ask for a room facing Hojo and as high up as possible.

You can get the Mimi's coupon for breakfast by signing up for their e-club at their website...

http://www.mimiscafe.com/EClub.aspx

[pixiewings71]

Great report, thanks for the tip about the coupon for McD's!! I didn't know about that one.

We have a GPS, never go anywhere without it!!! That little thing has saved us so much time sitting in LA traffic......

[HydroGuy]

I remember seeing your posts here in recent months but can't remember if this was your first DLR trip. It sounds like it was. Nice summary report! Glad you enjoyed DLR.

We were there on August 5 too for a day trip and had a blast.

[labattblue]

Originally Posted by HydroGuy

I remember seeing your posts here in recent months but can't remember if this was your first DLR trip. It sounds like it was. Nice summary report! Glad you enjoyed DLR.

We were there on August 5 too for a day trip and had a blast.

We had a one day trip 4 or 5 years ago but did not have the chance to go to DCA, only DLR.

I just can't say enough good things about our stay.

[aprincess@mail.com]

thanks for the mini trip report because it was very good. Thanks!

Glad you had a great time!

[S. S. Columbia]

Thanks for sharing.

Did you get a chance to see Pixie Hollow at night? How about Fantasmic?

[Czardas]

Originally Posted by labattblue

Arrived Tuesday 8/4 around 3PM. Departed Saturday 8/8 around 12PM.


Multiple rides on PoTC(5 times), HM(3 times), IJA(twice), MH(3 times) and BTMRR(6 times) chewed up a lot of our time but they are some of our favorites. I had forgotten how good of a 3D movie ITTBAB is. It really puts the Muppets and Honey I... to shame.

What is ITTBAB?

[Crazy4Disney06]

Originally Posted by Czardas

What is ITTBAB?

I had the same question when I read this thread last night After thinking about it, I realized it was "It's Tough To Be A Bug."

[labattblue]

Originally Posted by S. S. Columbia

Thanks for sharing.

Did you get a chance to see Pixie Hollow at night? How about Fantasmic?

We walked by Pixie Hollow but not thru it. We just didn't want to fight the crowds for Fantasmic and I was disappointed that the dragon wasn't ready to go. Next time!