A couple of reservation questions

cwbronco

Earning My Ears
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May 22, 2010
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I've got a couple of questions on some of the reservations I was able to snag. We are flying in to LAX and our scheduled arrival is 7:25 AM on Sunday the 3rd. I was able to get book brunch at Lamplight for 10 AM, do you think we'll be able to make the reservations? We are staying at the Howard Johnson and plan on dropping our bags off and heading right over to the park. I've never flown in to LAX before so I have no idea what the travel time is like. Especially on a Sunday morning.

Also I was able to get dinner reservations for both the Napa Rose and Carthay Circle. Do you think it's worth it to hit both restaurants on the same trip?
 
I'd be concerned with that breakfast ressie. Will largely depend on how you're getting to the hotel from LAX. Landing at LAX at 7:25 am. Off plane 7:35. Bags by 8:00. If you're doing a taxi or ride share, you'll need to do LAX-it, so 30+ minutes. If you're doing a rental car, add an hour. If you're having a hired car with driver, that will be your quickest way of getting away from LAX. So, let's say you've got a hired driver. You'll be hopping in their car around 8:00 am.

The drive is about 35 miles. I've had that drive take 45 minutes, and I've had it take 2 hours. So, let's be realistic and say it's going to take an hour. You're now at 9:00 am.

Checking in 9:10. Dropping luggage off 9:20. Walk 9:30. So, it's 9:30 am, and you're at the gates! Yay!

However, there's a million "maybe"s.... Delayed take-off. Delayed lay-over take-off. Lost baggage. Your bag being the last off the handlers cart. Terminal 2 or terminal 7. A wrong turn. A fender bender. Heaven forbid a big accident. You get the idea.

For me personally, I'd be too frazzled worrying about making it there on time for a 10:00 am ressie on my day of arrival.
 
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That'll be tight! Our luggage took forever to come out when we flew into LAX a few weeks ago. Not sure if you're doing Uber or renting a car but just a heads up...we rented a car from thrifty and it was a 4 hour wait just to get our car. We'd already prebooked otherwise we'd have looked at other options. Thrifty appeared to be the only one with long lines. Also if there's any line at security or the turnstiles to get into the parks that will add to your time as well. I'd keep checking for a later ADR so you have more wiggle room.
 
Off subject ... but I noticed lalasmama referred to if you are Ubering it you need to LAX-it... is there a special area for share ride transport? Is it away from main terminal?
 

Off subject ... but I noticed lalasmama referred to if you are Ubering it you need to LAX-it... is there a special area for share ride transport? Is it away from main terminal?
Yes, you have to take a shuttle to a satellite lot to pick up rise shares and taxis.

Though if you’re on Southwest, it’s not bad because it’s just next door to Terminal 1, where Southwest operates.
 
Bummer, thanks everyone. I'll drop it so someone else can use it.

I did book private transfer through MidWil shuttle, what's the process for that type of pick up?
 
Bummer, thanks everyone. I'll drop it so someone else can use it.

I did book private transfer through MidWil shuttle, what's the process for that type of pick up?

I dunno, I'd probably chance it, based on whether you are checking bags or just doing carryon, and the fact that it's Sunday morning. We flew in on a Friday and it wasn't that bad, but we didn't have checked luggage.

MidWil is also going to be the LAX-it pickup lot. I was worried about this, having never done it before, but it was pretty easy when we picked up our Uber. You can walk to the lot, but it's a hike. The shuttle comes along every few minutes just outside of baggage claim. MidWil will tell you what area to hang out at once you get there.
 
I dunno, I'd probably chance it, based on whether you are checking bags or just doing carryon, and the fact that it's Sunday morning. We flew in on a Friday and it wasn't that bad, but we didn't have checked luggage.

MidWil is also going to be the LAX-it pickup lot. I was worried about this, having never done it before, but it was pretty easy when we picked up our Uber. You can walk to the lot, but it's a hike. The shuttle comes along every few minutes just outside of baggage claim. MidWil will tell you what area to hang out at once you get there.
We are also just going to have carry on bags so hopefully we can get out pretty quick. I checked my confirmation email with MidWil and it says they will pick us up right outside the terminal. I probably need to verify that with them.
 
We are also just going to have carry on bags so hopefully we can get out pretty quick. I checked my confirmation email with MidWil and it says they will pick us up right outside the terminal. I probably need to verify that with them.
If you're only doing carry-on and have a curbside pickup with only your group (no waiting on another party), you'll have a much better chance of making it!
 
We are also just going to have carry on bags so hopefully we can get out pretty quick. I checked my confirmation email with MidWil and it says they will pick us up right outside the terminal. I probably need to verify that with them.
No luggage and no car rental? Barring any flight delays your chances of making your brunch look much better! Midwilshuttle is great! DD and I used it to get back to LAX Sept 4th because DH returned the rental car when he went home a few days before us. They were on time (even a bit early) and the driver was super friendly and professional.
 
Traffic conditions will obviously vary, but we landed yesterday at 3 pm at LAX, carry-on only, waited a few minutes curbside for our shuttle (Sav-on Shuttle, second good experience through them), made it to our hotel in about an hour, checked into our hotel (Home2 suites on Harbor) freshened up and rearranged our park bags and still made it into the parks well before 5:00. The carpool lane definitely helped speed our trip. You're coming in on a weekend so you shouldn't have rush hour traffic.
 
There is a distinct lack of info/reviews of this hotel since it is so new, I would love to hear about your experience once you are done.

We had some ups and downs with this hotel due to their construction delays, which are still continuing, but once we actually arrived we had a wonderful stay. Way back in March we made two reservations -- one for May that was cancelled with less than two weeks' notice because they weren't open yet (luckily I'd made a back up reservation) and one for this past weekend for a two-bedroom suite for my daughter's birthday trip with her best friend. Last Wednesday they called to say the two-bedroom suites were still not finished, so they were moving us to two connecting studio rooms instead, but they further discounted our stay and only charged us for one studio room (so we ended up paying $325 total with tax for two nights in two rooms). Samantha is the one who called and worked with me and she was there and greeted us on arrival. All of the personnel we dealt with were friendly and helpful. They provide late checkout (1 pm) free of charge if capacity permits, which was great for us to run to the park early on our last day and then come back around noon to do our final packing and rest a bit.

The rooms were spacious, clean, and new and great for an extended stay with a fully-equipped kitchenette -- full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, plates, silverware, knives, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, real creamer for coffee/tea, paper towels, etc. You could save a ton on food by packing picnic lunches or eating back at the hotel during breaks. There is a roll out table so it's easy to eat in the room as well. Large TV, comfortable couches and beds.

Bathroom was great, good shower water pressure, shower head high enough that you don't have to duck under, provided 6 towels as standard (we stay at so many hotels with a 4 or 6 person occupancy that only provide 2 or 3 towels). I did find it surprising that they furnished mini toiletries instead of reusable wall-mounted dispensers.

The breakfast was the standard Home2 Suites set up (based on our experience in other locations) and was perfect for grab and go if you wanted to eat on the way to the park or in line -- they have three different types of hot breakfast sandwiches, bagels and bread, yogurts, boxed milks, coffee/tea, two different juices and two different "enhanced waters" in dispensers. They also have two waffle makers with lots of toppings (chocolate and caramel syrup for instance) and oatmeal with a variety of toppings, plus four cereals.

The pool and spray ground are still a work in progress, so if you want to swim you have to go to the adjacent hotel.

Our rooms looked out toward Disneyland and we had a view of the Matterhorn (many of the rooms would look out on either the Fairfield Inn or toward I-5, so if you want a park view, request a high-floor room in the northwest corner).

Despite the slightly longer walk, I would 100% stay here over all of the "crosswalk" motels on Harbor if the price were comparable or even $40-50 more per night, especially for a 4 or 5 day stay where the breakfast and nicer accommodations are more important. However, when I priced them for our next two weekend visits (in February and April), the prices are significantly higher, so we're sticking to the Fairfield Inn for our February trip and Desert Inn and Suites for April.
 

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Thank you so much for this detailed review!

One other question: for walking to DL, I assume you need to travel along Manchester to the north of the Courtyard? There isn’t some other opening to get more direc
(we stay at so many hotels with a 4 or 6 person occupancy that only provide 2 or 3 towels).

We stay in 6 person occupancy rooms all the time and they often have 4 towels. Drives me nuts.
 
Thank you so much for this detailed review!

One other question: for walking to DL, I assume you need to travel along Manchester to the north of the Courtyard? There isn’t some other opening to get more direc


We stay in 6 person occupancy rooms all the time and they often have 4 towels. Drives me nuts.

That's correct. You can cut the corner at little through the Courtyard parking lot, but honestly we preferred crossing at Manchester and Harbor and walking along the west side by the park boundary unless we were stopping by McDonald's for food. That way we were able to avoid the crosswalk crowds by the Harbor entrance. It was rare that we crossed paths with more then one other group on that walk until we got to the bus stop (where there were typically one or two homeless people). That's one reason I would choose Home2 Suites over say the Springhill Suites or Hyatt House at Harbor and Katella that are equidistant and provide similar accommodations/facilities -- there are crowds, homeless people and the various street vendors going south on Harbor that you just don't encounter to the north.
 
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