A Grand Adventure... Day 1

Tink33

Disneyland Parade High Kicker
Joined
May 3, 2000
Cast
Me - 33 - lover of all things Disney
DH - 35 - not so Disney enchanted
DS - 9 - ride apprehensive
DD - 6 - just like her mom

Preface - I have lived in Southern California my entire life and have visited Disneyland often. My father attended opening week at Disneyland in 1955. I have had an AP since 1997. We planned this trip for the AP Sneak Preview of DCA.

Friday, February 2, 2001

After getting stuck in rush hour traffic, we finally make it to Disney Drive. We pull up into
the Grand Californian Hotel and we are greeted by the parking attendant. He asks if we have reservations at the hotel. After giving him our last name - he prints up a hotel parking pass with our names. We continue on to the entrance and as I am searching for our confirmation my DH accepts valet service. The bellman takes all of our luggage from the car and escorts us to the front desk. My children rush off to the small rocking chairs and begin watching a Disney movie.
My DH is impressed with the hotel. (One point for me.)


While I am checking in, I overhear a woman ranting about her room location. She has come with two other families and had asked for adjoining rooms. The two families have park views and she is "stuck" with a regular view. The check-in hostess is unsuccesful in telling this woman that she did not pay for a park view. If she would like park view then she would need to upgrade her reservation. She is adamant that she will NOT pay any additional money. Disney WILL move her to a park view room and NOW. I finally finish my check in with a smile to the CM. Moral - make sure you specify what type of room you want when making the reservation. ;)

We are escorted to our room by the bellman. I am not expecting a great room location as I paid $158.00 for an AP DCA Preview weekend special rate. The room is very nice. Rustic with lanterns over the bed. I walk out onto the balcony and discover we are the closest room to the monorail. The monorail passes almost directly under our room. We have a view of the courtyard and from the left side of the balcony I can see Downtown Disney. Excellent location.

Next on the agenda is the storytelling in front of the fireplace in the main lobby. Glynis tells us about the CA Gold Rush and the invention of Levi jeans. She also tells us a story about Taloola the tortoise. She gets the kids involved in the storytelling and in no time we are all singing and chanting. When the stories are over, Glynis pulls out a map and all of the children and adults make a mark next to their home town. (Most of the marks are from Southern California.)

The troops are hungry so we head in search of food. There is a 1 hour wait at Storyteller's Cafe. We put our names down and explore Downtown Disney for an hour. When we re-enter the Storyteller's Cafe we see a familiar face. When we went on the Disney Cruise in December 1999, we met two Disney Executives. One of them was transferred to open the Grand Californian Hotel. We had tried to set up dinner with him, but never connected. Well there he was on his way out of the restaurant. We chat for about two minutes. My DH tells him how much he likes the hotel. :D He remembers my love of Disney and offers me a CM opening day badge. I graciously accept the badge and he tells me that he hopes that I do not sell it on ebay. NO WAY. Don't you just love Disney Magic?

Dinner is good. I order the roasted chicken, DH gets the ribs and the kids have the make your own pizza. They bring all the ingredients to the table and the kids get to make their own pizza. During the meal, the table next to us is celebrating a birthday. I strike up a conversation with them and we discuss early opening for DCA. The mother informs me that they entered the park 1 hour before scheduled opening through the GC entrance to DCA. I look at the family and tell them we will be waking up early tomorrow. :eek:

We walk by the pool and then head back up to the room. I insist that everyone go to bed. Secretly, I can not sleep and sit there for an hour in the dark thinking about the next day. ;)

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[This message was edited by Tink33 on 04-06-01 at 10:53 AM.]
 
Great report! I am feeling very sad that I just cancelled my Grand Californian ressies for this holiday season and switched to WDW :( (Had to do it to see the in-laws who live in West Palm--but I can think of worse things to do that go to WDW!)

I can't wait to read more of your report!

1970s--Contemporary, Poly, FW
1999--Contemporary
2000--Contemporary/DxL
2001--Wyndham Palace
2002--Wilderness Lodge!
 
Your trip is off to a good start. Thanks for posting!

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