In all, we had a nice, fine trip. There were some notable disappointments, but some good news too, all of which is below.
Lodgings: Stayed at Hilton Garden Inn. Under $100 a night with the AAA rate. Lobby was nice. Staff was nice and welcoming. The rooms were very clean. The bathrooms were spotless, decor was tasteful. No real view to speak of except the classic Anaheim parking lot views of neighboring hotels. These rooms come with a microwave and frig, which is a huge money saver for breakfasts and some dinner. Also, Bucca di Beppo is next door, and they do take out, which is convenient. Pool and hot tub were simple and nice. Watch out for the snails, though. They're all over the pavement! Also nice: a small workout room with treadmill, bike, elliptical, and all purpose weight machine. Starbucks is behind the hotel, in the Hyatt. 5 minute walk gives you decent coffee. PArking is free. I repeat, Parking is free. At least for now. This was a great bonus and made us feel better about driving and -parking at Disneyland vs. taking those annoying shuttles. Only bad thing about the hotel: one of our rooms smelled of smoke, even though the rooms are deemed nonsmoking. Check your room first for this, and ask the front desk for another one if this happens to you.
Disneyland, the bad news first: Lots of stuff was being repaired. Lots of tarp and partitions up all over the place. In all, this was so apparent, that it just didn't have the same Disney atmosphere. Very disappointing. Details:
* The carousel had a huge tented tarp over it. Very ugly.
* The river was completly drained and sheltered by partitions. You could still see construction going on, however. Island was completly inaccessible. During the train ride, a four by four went galloping by on the river bottom. Very affronting.
* Matterhorn was covered with partitions and barriers too. Very ugly.
* The ceiling stars in Pirates/Blue Bayou were not "on." Just a black ceiling.
* Some of the stars were also "out" on Peter Pan too, so it didn't have the same feel as it once did. I don't know if this is temporary or not.
* We also got stuck in the Monorail for 45 minutes in the heat. People panicked. We were so angry, we went to city hall and complained. It wasn't pretty.
Disneyland, the good news: Main Street looked great, as did New Orleans. The Fireworks at night were not on the web site schedule prior to our trip, so we were surprised by that on Friday night. We also had great fun with the rides that WERE open. The lines were VERY small and neglible. And we didn't kill ourselves to get up early and be "the first ones at the park". We arrived around 11am each day. Here's our ride experiences, with mid day wait times:
* Soarin' over California was our favorite. Lines were very small. Rode it 4 times. The longest wait we saw was 30 minutes. We avoided that by using the single pass. (Inquire at the front of the ride.)
* Indiana Jones was good. Used single pass for that, waited 1 minute.
* Splash Mountain was great. Used single passes for that, didn't wait at all.
* Haunted Mansion opened after being refurbished. Had great fun, as always. Only 5 minute wait for that.
* Autopia was fun, especially the off road part. Waiting 20 minutes for that.
* Storybook canal was ok. Waiting 10 minutes. Looked a little shabby however.
* Teacups - no wait.
* Big Thunder Mountain - 5 minute wait.
* Grizzly River run - used single pass. No wait.
* Pirates: 5 minute wait.
* Millionaire: 5 minute wait.
*Screamin': 5 minutes wait.
* Train ride: no wait.
That's it! Hope it helps. Reply if quesitons...
-bigthunda
Lodgings: Stayed at Hilton Garden Inn. Under $100 a night with the AAA rate. Lobby was nice. Staff was nice and welcoming. The rooms were very clean. The bathrooms were spotless, decor was tasteful. No real view to speak of except the classic Anaheim parking lot views of neighboring hotels. These rooms come with a microwave and frig, which is a huge money saver for breakfasts and some dinner. Also, Bucca di Beppo is next door, and they do take out, which is convenient. Pool and hot tub were simple and nice. Watch out for the snails, though. They're all over the pavement! Also nice: a small workout room with treadmill, bike, elliptical, and all purpose weight machine. Starbucks is behind the hotel, in the Hyatt. 5 minute walk gives you decent coffee. PArking is free. I repeat, Parking is free. At least for now. This was a great bonus and made us feel better about driving and -parking at Disneyland vs. taking those annoying shuttles. Only bad thing about the hotel: one of our rooms smelled of smoke, even though the rooms are deemed nonsmoking. Check your room first for this, and ask the front desk for another one if this happens to you.
Disneyland, the bad news first: Lots of stuff was being repaired. Lots of tarp and partitions up all over the place. In all, this was so apparent, that it just didn't have the same Disney atmosphere. Very disappointing. Details:
* The carousel had a huge tented tarp over it. Very ugly.
* The river was completly drained and sheltered by partitions. You could still see construction going on, however. Island was completly inaccessible. During the train ride, a four by four went galloping by on the river bottom. Very affronting.
* Matterhorn was covered with partitions and barriers too. Very ugly.
* The ceiling stars in Pirates/Blue Bayou were not "on." Just a black ceiling.
* Some of the stars were also "out" on Peter Pan too, so it didn't have the same feel as it once did. I don't know if this is temporary or not.
* We also got stuck in the Monorail for 45 minutes in the heat. People panicked. We were so angry, we went to city hall and complained. It wasn't pretty.
Disneyland, the good news: Main Street looked great, as did New Orleans. The Fireworks at night were not on the web site schedule prior to our trip, so we were surprised by that on Friday night. We also had great fun with the rides that WERE open. The lines were VERY small and neglible. And we didn't kill ourselves to get up early and be "the first ones at the park". We arrived around 11am each day. Here's our ride experiences, with mid day wait times:
* Soarin' over California was our favorite. Lines were very small. Rode it 4 times. The longest wait we saw was 30 minutes. We avoided that by using the single pass. (Inquire at the front of the ride.)
* Indiana Jones was good. Used single pass for that, waited 1 minute.
* Splash Mountain was great. Used single passes for that, didn't wait at all.
* Haunted Mansion opened after being refurbished. Had great fun, as always. Only 5 minute wait for that.
* Autopia was fun, especially the off road part. Waiting 20 minutes for that.
* Storybook canal was ok. Waiting 10 minutes. Looked a little shabby however.
* Teacups - no wait.
* Big Thunder Mountain - 5 minute wait.
* Grizzly River run - used single pass. No wait.
* Pirates: 5 minute wait.
* Millionaire: 5 minute wait.
*Screamin': 5 minutes wait.
* Train ride: no wait.
That's it! Hope it helps. Reply if quesitons...
-bigthunda
