****Official August 2015 Check-In Thread****

[nancy drew]

We will be there in August. Next week, in fact! And I am currently having hotel anxiety. In fact, last night I had a dream that we were booked in a hotel that probably does not exist in Anaheim, and that our room had the hallway to the free breakfast IN our room. So everyone who wanted to go to breakfast had to walk through our room. There was then a curtain we could close to separate us from the breakfast room. I was so fed up with this, I announced to the kids that I had booked us another room at another hotel and we were going there.

This is what happens when I stay up late reading Trip Advisor reviews.

 

[Aladora]

I finally bit the bullet and we are doing a split stay Park Vue and Paradise Pier this trip! Not quite what I wanted but DH is taking a sailing course in September so we had to compromise.

I also found that if we spent $10 more per night we could move from the Desert Inn to Park Vue Inn and enjoy their much better breakfast.

August 1
amyg1975 Aug 1-2
cgh Aug 1-6 DLH

August 2
j2thomason Aug 2-6 Camelot
momof4fans Aug 2-8 Park Vue Inn
gerilyne Aug 2-8
Mama Mia Aug 2-8 Courtyard Irvine

August 3
Pixie Dust x3 Aug 3-4 Candy Cane Inn
beachdreamr1229 Aug 3-5 HOJO
auteur55 Aug 2-6 DLH
Disneyanajc Aug 3-7 PPH

August 4
rentayenta Aug 4-7 Anaheim Hilton/Seal Beach
sc426 Aug 4-7 GCH (Leader of the Band)
NorthernCalMom Aug 4-9 DLH
Limace Aug 4-11 Springhill Convention Centre

August 5

August 6
alchrismom Aug 6-10

August 7
Winnowill Aug 7-12

August 8
pamcarey Aug 8-16
jessicalynn88 Aug 8-14

August 9
Elk Grove Chris Aug 9-11 Carousel Inn
kindra657 Aug 9-12
czmom Aug 9-14 VGC
vkandrew Aug 9-14 DI&S
jkolkemo Aug 9-16
PatMcDuck Aug 9-16 GCH/PP split

August 10
coloredimage Aug 10-13
Luv_Tink Aug 10-14
Sjwillia Aug 10-14 Best Western Park Place Inn
jlyanks85 Aug 10-15 DLH
DLSean22 - Aug 10-15 PVI
Halloweenqueen Aug 10-17 Desert Inn

August 11
jhoannam Aug 11-13 Castle Inn
nana50 Aug 11-13 Sheraton
PrncessA Aug 11-13 Desert Palms
AnnMarBill Aug 11-15
DisTXMom Aug 11-16 DLH
Rubygoose Aug 11-19 HOJO/GCH

August 12
dbuckho Aug 12-15 DLH
sharksfinatic17 Aug 12-16
CynthiaC925 Aug 12-17 Hyatt

August 13
jewdmeister Aug 13
audrey2580 Aug 13-15 GCH
woodlygrrl Aig 13-15
PlutoJenn Aug 13-16 PVI
Missyrose Aug 13-17 Hilton Anaheim
Brumeiser Aug 13-17 Hilton Anaheim
+Rosetta+ Aug 13-17 Anabella

August 14
ScrtSolstice Aug 14-16
Pygmypuff07 Aug 14-21
Spunky946 Aug 14-21 Embassy Suites
tiffjoy Aug 14-23 CCI

August 15
bfost87 Aug 15-16 Marriott Suites
Karbase8 Aug 15-20 DLH
Golf4food Aug 15-21 HOJO/GCH

August 16
dorchrislen Aug 16-17 Hotel Menage
brianerickson Aug 16-19

August 17

August 18
Girlie1 Aug 18-22 VGC
Duckwife Aug 18-22 DI&S
michelle1177 Aug 18-24 Hojo

August 19
JustCallMeVee Aug 19-21 Ramada Maingate

August 20

August 21
heidica Aug 21-26 BWPPI

August 22
Dizzy4DL Aug 22-26 BW
marx Aug 22-26 GCH
jillyasu425 Aug 22-26 PPH
Imdboss Aug 22-28 Embassy Suites S
Joyful Disney Aug 22-28 Tropicana
Tinker1972 Aug 22-29 Tropicana
Rjmdds Aug 22-30 GCH

August 23
Cameo818 Aug 23-27 PPH
Aladora Aug 23-28 PVI/PPH
pinky Aug 23-28 GCH
DnA2010 Aug 23-29 Desert Inn and Suites
wildflower329 Aug 23-29 Park Vue Inn

August 24

August 25
maryjeane Aug 25-29 Castle Inn

August 26
Michaisgood54 Aug 26-39 BW Inn & Suites
DaveNinja Aug 26-31
pattyduke34 Aug 26-31
Ckmommy72 Aug 26-Sep 2

August 27
theworldneedscolor Aug 27-28
Mickeybell Aug 27-31 PPH
buttercup14 Aug 27-31

August 28
mlnbabies Aug 28-30 Holiday Inn
DWillowBay Aug 28-Sep 4

August 29
goofyfordisney Aug 29-Sept 1 PPH

August 30

August 31

Unknown dates:
ndpeirce
scubamouse
ixmnrs

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Arrived this morning. The crowds weren't as bad as we expected though i do understand the parade crowd issues everyone has been complaining about. Got stuck while heading to dinner thanks to Soundsational. Other than that it's been great so far. Got a gorgeous view from the top floor of HOJO and we are just happy to be here.

 

[limace]

Last bits of packing before our 5 am flight tomorrow. I'm tired already . We just got back from camping yesterday so it's a lot of laundry and cleaning to prepare to head-it'll all be worth it soon! Worried about forgetting something and trying to remember that we will have a car-as long as we bring our smart phones, ID, Disney gift cards and credit cards-everything else can easily be replaced there. Did our tie dyed Mickey head shirts and they are very cute . Still trying to settle in activities tomorrow-vague plan of dropping luggage off at the hotel, hitting a beach, hopefully naps late afternoon and downtown Disney in the eve, with a grocery store run in there somewhere (we arrive at 9am).

 

[Aladora]

Last bits of packing before our 5 am flight tomorrow. I'm tired already . We just got back from camping yesterday so it's a lot of laundry and cleaning to prepare to head-it'll all be worth it soon! Worried about forgetting something and trying to remember that we will have a car-as long as we bring our smart phones, ID, Disney gift cards and credit cards-everything else can easily be replaced there. Did our tie dyed Mickey head shirts and they are very cute . Still trying to settle in activities tomorrow-vague plan of dropping luggage off at the hotel, hitting a beach, hopefully naps late afternoon and downtown Disney in the eve, with a grocery store run in there somewhere (we arrive at 9am).

That is exactly how I feel about traveling! As long as we have our passports, credit card and essential medications, the rest can always be replaced!

Since we changed to onsite for part of the trip, I cancelled our WOC dinner at Carthay and booked the Chef's Counter at Napa Rose for me and DH and Pinnochio's Workshop for DS.

Now, the last two things I need to do are to get our parkhoppers and figure out when and how to tell DS we are going!

 

[limace]

I am so tempted by the chef's counter! We want to splurge on one night out-my 18 year old daughter knows she's on kid duty one night-and it's very tempting.

 

[j2thomason]

We had a great day at DCA yesterday! We were there from rope drop until closing. The crowds seemed a little lighter than at DL the day before. We have been using a combination of touring plans and mouse wait apps to help with wait times and deciding which attractions to do. Saved us lots of time.

 

[Aladora]

I am so tempted by the chef's counter! We want to splurge on one night out-my 18 year old daughter knows she's on kid duty one night-and it's very tempting.

If it is in your budget, I cannot recommend this enough!

We went back in February for my husband's 40th birthday and it is the reason that we are staying at the PPH, so we can send DS to Pinocchio's Workshop while we go for dinner. We did the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings and let the chef decide what to make. Chef Gloria chatted with us for a little while to find out about allergies and likes/dislikes and the food was amazing.

 

[limace]

We are here! Didn't do parks today but good day anyway -cab picked us up at 3:30 am, flights were smooth-kids weren't monsters-made it to SNA by 9 am and to the hotel a little after 10. Our room was miraculously ready-hotel is very nice (the new Springhill suites). Afternoon was In'n'Out and Huntington Beach, which made my former So-Cal lifeguard hubby very happy. Now back for naps-I hope-and DTD this evening.

 

[Imdboss]

I love getting all the little updates for our August travelers! I'm getting so excited for our trip, been counting down for 8 months and now we are only 2.5 weeks away. Good thing I realized that today since I still needed to order PP+ (which is now done).

 

[amyg1975]

We got back yesterday and had a great time! It was just the two of us (daughter at home!), and we stayed at Park Place, our go-to hotel. On Saturday our flight got in to SNA at 8:30, and we were at the park at 9:30. We rode 10 rides that day, and left the park at 10:30pm. Pirates was down most of the day, it went down when we were very close to boarding. The poor people were stuck on the boats for awhile! We happened to walk by Pirates just as they re-opened that evening, and got right on! When we were at DCA we walked to Cars Land and lady asked if I wanted their fast passes for RSR that were for that exact time!!! We ate at Pizza Port for lunch, and the mexican restaurant at DCA (we always eat at both places). The parade was great, but the fireworks were AMAZING!!!

Sunday we went to DCA first and at rope drop we got RSR fast passes (for 9:15am), rode Soarin' and Toy Story, won two prizes at the boardwalk, then rode RSR. As we were walking to RSR I found one active fast pass for RSR on the ground, so hubby got an extra ride in after we rode! Lunch was a corn dog and dinner was at Rainforest.

Speaking of Rainforest Cafe, if you are a Landry's club member, they treat you like royalty! We showed them our card when we put our name down, and we got in very quick. During dinner the manager came by to check in on us, as she knew we were members!

It was a fast trip, but we had a lot of fun. We are going back in October and March for sure, and probably more now that we have annual passes!

 

[Rubygoose]

We're exactly one week away from our trip! Getting a little stressed out, though, because DH won some passes to Legoland and they still haven't arrived. He won 2 adult passes, so I went ahead and purchased two children's passes, and the prize passes still haven't arrived! And I didn't even like Legoland when we went last year! DH has been e-mailing back and forth with a representative from the contest, and she originally stated to allow 6-8 weeks for the tickets to arrive, which was almost 10 weeks ago. Now she's saying that they can't guarantee that they'll arrive in time because "there are too many variables" (whatever that mean!?) Just crossing my fingers that they'll arrive this week. We have APs for Disneyland, so worst case scenario is we're out $150 USD for the kids passes and we'll just spend the day in Disneyland instead.

Good news from my whole Orbitz fiasco, though... a couple weeks ago I had trouble with changing my reservation at GCH so they gave me a $50 voucher and 10% off my reservation (when I originally booked at 15% off). Yesterday I got an e-mail for 15% off and no minimum stay, so I was able to book my 1 night at GCH through Orbitz (I have 3 booked through Disney with the AP discount) and I was able to get 15% off AND use my $50 voucher, so I saved $100 on that night! And, I'm no longer super bitter with Orbitz!

 

[Aladora]

We're exactly one week away from our trip! Getting a little stressed out, though, because DH won some passes to Legoland and they still haven't arrived. He won 2 adult passes, so I went ahead and purchased two children's passes, and the prize passes still haven't arrived! And I didn't even like Legoland when we went last year! DH has been e-mailing back and forth with a representative from the contest, and she originally stated to allow 6-8 weeks for the tickets to arrive, which was almost 10 weeks ago. Now she's saying that they can't guarantee that they'll arrive in time because "there are too many variables" (whatever that mean!?) Just crossing my fingers that they'll arrive this week. We have APs for Disneyland, so worst case scenario is we're out $150 USD for the kids passes and we'll just spend the day in Disneyland instead.

Good news from my whole Orbitz fiasco, though... a couple weeks ago I had trouble with changing my reservation at GCH so they gave me a $50 voucher and 10% off my reservation (when I originally booked at 15% off). Yesterday I got an e-mail for 15% off and no minimum stay, so I was able to book my 1 night at GCH through Orbitz (I have 3 booked through Disney with the AP discount) and I was able to get 15% off AND use my $50 voucher, so I saved $100 on that night! And, I'm no longer super bitter with Orbitz!

Boo about the Legoland tix but YAY for saving more $$$!

Can the contest rep give you a tracking number or maybe they can e-mail you ticket vouchers?

 

[amyg1975]

Oh, and we bought two popcorn buckets while there: Han Solo and Cinderella's carriage! On Saturday I saw the carriage everywhere, on Sunday only one place had some left, and later that evening they were gone!

 

[Aladora]

I managed to check a few more things off of my to do list. I called our cell phone provider and got them to unlock both of our phones, picked up Roam Mobility sim cards for the two of us and set up the 7 day plan for the two sim cards. I've set up our travel notification for our credit card as well. I'm pretty sure that the only thing I have left to do is get our park hoppers!

2 1/2 weeks to go, how exciting!

 

[Rubygoose]

Boo about the Legoland tix but YAY for saving more $$$!

Can the contest rep give you a tracking number or maybe they can e-mail you ticket vouchers?

DH e-mailed the rep again and suggested they e-mail us the e-tickets (which is what I bought for the kids), or that they have the tickets waiting at the gates for us. I didn't think of asking for a tracking number, though, so that's a good idea. I'm not even sure if they've already mailed them or not.

That's great that you picked up the Roam mobility cards. We use them and it's a really good value. We get the talk+text+data for one phone and just the talk+text for the other phone. The data doesn't work too well because there are so many people in DLR, but I can usually get a signal in the morning. I've also gotten it to work in the Tiki Room and on the Monorail when we're at the S. Harbor Blvd side. The first time I used my sim card, though, I had a terrible time figuring out how to get the data working. (It was when we went to Great Wolf Lodge last year.) I was able to use the wifi on my ipad and followed the directions on their website. The directions that they texted me didn't work.

 

[Aladora]

DH e-mailed the rep again and suggested they e-mail us the e-tickets (which is what I bought for the kids), or that they have the tickets waiting at the gates for us. I didn't think of asking for a tracking number, though, so that's a good idea. I'm not even sure if they've already mailed them or not.

That's great that you picked up the Roam mobility cards. We use them and it's a really good value. We get the talk+text+data for one phone and just the talk+text for the other phone. The data doesn't work too well because there are so many people in DLR, but I can usually get a signal in the morning. I've also gotten it to work in the Tiki Room and on the Monorail when we're at the S. Harbor Blvd side. The first time I used my sim card, though, I had a terrible time figuring out how to get the data working. (It was when we went to Great Wolf Lodge last year.) I was able to use the wifi on my ipad and followed the directions on their website. The directions that they texted me didn't work.

It depends on how grouchy you want to get with the rep but I tend to get a bee in my bonnet about things like this. If it were me, I would tell them that if the tickets you won do not arrive in time that I would expect reimbursement for the money I had spent to buy the additional tickets.

Good to know about the data signal, although that is the one thing I was really hoping would work. Not only does DH need it in case of work emergencies but I was hoping to be able to use the new Disneyland app. Oh well, if it doesn't work very well I will drop the data on my phone next time.

These last two weeks are just crawling by...

 

[Rubygoose]

It depends on how grouchy you want to get with the rep but I tend to get a bee in my bonnet about things like this. If it were me, I would tell them that if the tickets you won do not arrive in time that I would expect reimbursement for the money I had spent to buy the additional tickets.

Good to know about the data signal, although that is the one thing I was really hoping would work. Not only does DH need it in case of work emergencies but I was hoping to be able to use the new Disneyland app. Oh well, if it doesn't work very well I will drop the data on my phone next time.

These last two weeks are just crawling by...

Yeah, you'll find that the data signal comes and goes. Roam mobility used T-mobile's signal, I think. I also had a problem with it in WDW in the evenings at the hotel. I think it's likely just due to overuse. The best time to check your phones is first thing in the morning. Last year we stayed in the Adventure tower in DLH and our room was right across from Trader Sam's, and we couldn't get wifi or data reliably in the evenings. The data worked really well at HOJO, though.

 

[Luv_Tink]

Stressing out a little here because we leave on Friday and our RV's fridge is not working unless we are plugged in somewhere. We've had it in for repair for over a month but it keeps getting put on the back burner because they are doing the repair in trade for some work my husband did on the dealership's lighting/electrical. We told them we needed it ready to go by 8/6 and they haven't even looked at it yet. To make it worse, their service manager won't even talk to us now. Hubby was on the phone with the owner of the dealership last night. Told him if they can't guarantee it would be fixed then they need to cut us a check for the money they owe us so we can go purchase a good cooler that will keep our food until we get to Anaheim. I'm so ticked off, we had plenty of time to get it repaired somewhere else if they couldn't do it but they kept promising they'd get to it. I hope to have an answer on what they're going to do for us sometime this morning.

Other than that, I've made really good progress on my to do list and my girls have been great about getting the house in somewhat decent shape so it's not a mess when we return. Tomorrow, the girls get their packing lists so they can work on them and the last loads of laundry will go in and we'll pre-cook some food for quick meals. Of course that depends on if we have a fridge or cooler to put it in! Otherwise, there will be a lot more eating out to budget for.

 

[tiffjoy]

Nine days until we leave and I have so much to do in terms of packing and such! My in laws are here this week, though, and I'll be playing tour guide all weekend. Which is fun, and I enjoy it, but I'm not sure when to get my stuff done as they leave next Monday, and we drive down on Friday.

Is anyone doing anything but Disney?

I just booked our tickets to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit and movie at the California Science Center. It also includes seeing the Challenger. I'm excited! It looks really cool, and I think my girls will love it. My oldest loves anything space related.