Thursday morning found DW and I packed and ready to go! Too bad we had to work.
DW headed out the door with her suitcase; I stayed home to take conference calls and do some last minute shopping and cleaning. My work load was light and I even managed to get a nap as I had been battling a cold for a day or so.
For once I wasn't rushing around at the last minute to get things done and the day seemed to drag by. I just couldn't wait to get to the airport! Finally, 6pm rolled around and I trundled out the door with suitcase and backpack. Even though this was only a three day trip, we had filled our bags with all kinds of snacks. DW is on a strict medical diet which really prohibits us from eating at any TS restaurants. Also, DFM and DFC are on a strict budget because DFM is a post doctoral fellow at a Bay Area university which must standardize their pay scale nationally for government funded positions, ignoring cost of living differences. San Francisco ain't cheap! The food at DLR is (IMHO) overpriced and mediocre (with some shining corn dog exceptions) so we were all planning to eat lots of food from home.
Back to our journey. DW met me on the train in Oakland and our BART ride to SFO was smooth. DW's homemade roast chicken sandwiches *yummy* were scarfed down while we waited to board. I took some cold medicine, crossed my fingers that my ears wouldn't bother me on the flight and we were up in the air and down at John Wayne before we knew it. Love the short flight! BTW, does anyone else feel like they are entering a cheesy club when they get on a Virgin America flight? There always seems to be pink neon lights along the walls and techno-ish music in the background.
We waited maybe 15 minutes at the airport before our Super Shuttle van left but we were the first one dropped off at the Hojo. Yes, the Hojo! Don't worry, we stayed at the Grand Californian, too, but couldn't justify the cost for Thursday night when the plan was pretty much to go immediately to bed and try and get a good night's sleep before hitting the parks hard on Friday. With the Entertainment rate, the cost at the Hojo was about 1/4 of the Grand Californian.
Check in at the Hojo was smooth and they had the box of food we had mailed ahead. The box included a full selection of minibar sized liquors. DW went a bit wild at BevMo! and came back with about 12 different things.
During our August stay, were were in Bldg 1, in a seventh floor Disney view room which I personally found to be a bit noisy for sleeping because of the highway. This time I opted for an NDD1 and we were placed in Bldg 3, directly behind the lobby building. It was a blissfully quiet and our room was spacious with a balcony, skylight, tons of drawers and an extra big closet with a cot where we could easily have stored our suitcases if we were staying for a few days.
Mini fridge, microwave, Kuerig coffee maker and small safe were all there. There were two sinks, one in the bathroom, one outside which was great for getting ready in the morning.
The interior of Bldg 3 was a bit more beat up than Bldg 1, with noticeable scrapes in the stairwells especially. I'm sure this is from people moving their suitcases up and down as there is no elevator. Not a problem for us but if you had a large family or lots of luggage it could be a chore. The Hojo is so accomodating that I'm sure they would find someone to help with luggage if needed. The bathroom in our room was also a bit dated, sporting some retro grey and pink tile (I'll post pics soon). Our room had two oversized double beds which are supposed to be only 6 inches narrower than a standard queen. They looked awfully small to me and DW commented that if we had been staying here with DFM and DFC we would have had to get a room with 2 queens. DFM is a big guy and I just know he would be uncomfortable on that bed. Overall, I give the Hojo two huge thumbs up.
Great value, great service, comfortable beds, close to the park and sparkling clean. Just don't go expecting super luxurious digs and you won't be disappointed.
Once we stowed our bags, we popped down to the convenience store to buy some mixers for our minibar. Good selection and prices were comparable to a corner market or gas station. Did you know that the Hojo offers a 10% discount at the market if you are an AP holder? Sweet!
Back to the room to get ready for bed. I took some Nyquil for the cold and to help battle my Disneyland insomnia. I just get so excited about being at the parks that I can't sleep very well. We tucked in around 11pm. I woke up around 4:30am but managed to sleep on and off until about 6:15am. I know I slept bc DW told me she woke up around 5:30am and asked if I was awake yet...no response.
We had set the alarm for 7am, figuring that would give us plenty of time to check out at the Hojo, check in a the Grand Californian and hoof it to park opening at 9am. But at 6:15am I woke up to find DW awake and ready to get moving. I was so excited that she was excited. I know she enjoys our DL trips but here was physical proof that she couldn't wait to get to the parks. DW is NOT the type to get up before her alarm, like, EVER.