After a very successful August 23, we were headed off to Anaheim! We had a car rental, and it took several hours of sorting and packing before we were loaded up to hit the road.
We easily drove the 1.5 hours to Anaheim, stopping once along the way for some Subway, which of course we didn't photograph.
It wasn't long before we arrived to our destination, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel! You may recall that I've never stayed on property, and as for DW, she hadn't stayed on property since she was very young, and then there was only the one choice, the
Disneyland Hotel. We were both super excited to experience DL's premier resort as a special treat on our honeymoon.
I was a little worried I would just miss my beloved Hojo the entire time, but I figured YOLO! When else will it feel ok to spend over $400/night for a regular hotel room other than during our honeymoon.
As we drove up, this is what we saw:
We waited our turn in line to enter the valet/check-in area. Although valet parking is nice, I really was shocked that prior to check-in, we'd have to completely give up our vehicle to the valets. There really isn't any good nearby parking, valet or not, so even though we had massive amounts of luggage and road trip items, we had to remove everything we wanted from the car right there in the valet queue.
Because they were busy and it was right around check-in time, there seemed to be plenty of valets but no bell service people. This meant that our 14 items of luggage, baggage and goods were ours to carry, drag and pull into the beautiful lobby of the Grand Californian.
I will admit it was a not-so-magical experience.
I have loved staying on property at WDW, but that is always after flying in and riding the ME shuttle. Having a car at the Grand Californian seemed to be a major inconvenience right off hand.
We really had no wait to check in. The CM who helped us was very excited that we had noted it was our honeymoon on our reservation. She apologized that she had no complimentary upgrade for us, so instead she presented us with this:
A hand-crafted origami ornament made out of recycled park guides and maps.
She proclaimed it very special, stating they only give out a dozen per day.
We were pretty pleased with our little gift!
Also, our paperwork was presented to us in this envelope:
We thought this was pretty sweet, too.
So in spite of the inconvenience of losing access to our car so soon after arrival, we were impressed with the hotel.
After getting settled into our rooms and resting a bit, we headed in to DL. Our plan was to ride the Haunted Mansion a couple of times before it closed for refurbishment the next day.
For dinner, we checked one item off our must-do list: our soups in sourdough bread bowls.
Predictably, DW chose the vegetarian gumbo from the Royal Street Veranda, and as always, she remarked that it is her favorite soup ever.
I chose my routine selection:
This chowder never disappoints. It is creamy and delicious with a fair amount of clams. I always want more than I get.
We also split a hot chocolate:
After enjoying our visit with the 999 happy haunts and our quick dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early bed-time so we could be up for early entry to DCA the next morning.
Coming up next, breakfast from Fiddler Fifer & Practical Café, lunch at Flo's and dinner at Carthay Circle Restaurant, as well as a few hotel pics!