A young'n booking his first trip to Disneyland

[Angel Ariel]

DH and I just got back from the Tropicana on May 3rd. I did see them redecorating the rooms the day we checked out. I posted pictures in the "Post pictures of hotels" thread...here is the link.

The pictures do not have the new furniture. They do have the new bedding, though.

DH and I thought it was very comfortable and clean, and it was a 5 min walk from our room to the turnstiles (minus bag check wait time, as that varies). We'd definitely stay there again! The link above has more review/comments as well

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[Bassman2112]

Haha, thanks a ton, guys!

It ended up being cheaper to order the book now while it was $12 and free shipping than using eBay =) I ordered one up! I'll give the HoJo a call tomorrow and, in all likelihood, will book a room for the week we have there =) Do you guys think the rooms with the view of the park are worth it? Or should the standard room be good enough for a couple of small-town kids? Haha =)

Thanks again, a million times over!
-Alex

edit: Thanks Angel! That's cool too, I actually looked into that one thanks to AMA (CAA [Canada's version of AAA]) haha =)
I'll see what happens with the HoJo then post an update here!

 

[Flitterific]

Haha, thanks a ton, guys!

It ended up being cheaper to order the book now while it was $12 and free shipping than using eBay =) I ordered one up! I'll give the HoJo a call tomorrow and, in all likelihood, will book a room for the week we have there =) Do you guys think the rooms with the view of the park are worth it? Or should the standard room be good enough for a couple of small-town kids? Haha =)

Thanks again, a million times over!
-Alex

edit: Thanks Angel! That's cool too, I actually looked into that one thanks to AMA (CAA [Canada's version of AAA]) haha =)
I'll see what happens with the HoJo then post an update here!

Oy...you ordered it already? I hope it is clear that the Entertainment Rate is not guaranteed...it is only available if HoJo is not booked to capacity and during slow times. But I will keep my fingers crossed that both our dates show up

As for the room, I always get the standard room. DBF and I are in the parks from opening to closing most of the time and do not find it necessary to spend the extra money. If you think you will be spending more time in the room, then it might be worth it

 

[Bassman2112]

Oy...you ordered it already? I hope it is clear that the Entertainment Rate is not guaranteed...it is only available if HoJo is not booked to capacity and during slow times. But I will keep my fingers crossed that both our dates show up

As for the room, I always get the standard room. DBF and I are in the parks from opening to closing most of the time and do not find it necessary to spend the extra money. If you think you will be spending more time in the room, then it might be worth it

Haha, don't worry - it wasn't a total gamble =) I read the thread that you linked me to and it said:

"If the dates that you are looking to stay with us are not listed, you are still entitled to a 15% discount off the best available rate for the room type you are booking."

That ends up being more of a discount than my AMA card =) Maybe I could even use some of the coupons someday =P I totally agree with the "spending more time in the park" view, I think it's very likely that we'll be out in the park almost the whole time so I'm sure a standard room will do us quite well =)

 

[reader]

Do not miss new Disney family museum in San Francisco! Fisherman's wharf is a horrid tourist trap worth 5 minutes.pick up a rental bike there ride down to and across golden gate bridge and take ferry back exploring Foodie haven ferry building on return. You will not forget the day! S.F. can be cold windy and foggy in summer. In San Diego yes wild animal park is great but the zoo is world class award winning beautiful experience. And cooler. Great gorillas pandas and more
Enjoy your stay

 

[Bassman2112]

Hey Everyone!

I just booked our room with HoJo today =) We got one of the "Deluxe" rooms with 2 beds for a very reasonable rate of $109 a night =) That works out to around 880 for our whole stay there and, honestly, I'm totally fine with that =) That is almost $1k cheaper than had we done it through AMA All that's left now is booking a flight, but that will be very easy =)

Thanks a ton for all your guys' help! It is really, honestly appreciated and I look forward to being in California! If any of you guys are there whilst we are there, feel free to send me a message or something =) Ashley and I love meeting new people =)


Eternal thanks!!!
-Alex

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Hey Everyone!

I just booked our room with HoJo today =) We got one of the "Deluxe" rooms with 2 beds for a very reasonable rate of $109 a night =) That works out to around 880 for our whole stay there and, honestly, I'm totally fine with that =) That is almost $1k cheaper than had we done it through AMA

Keep watching for the Entertainment rate to pop up, Hojos will keep adding dates and sometimes they even add them at the very last minute. We got our dates for June last year a fews days ahead of time!

http://www.hojoanaheim.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Keep watching for the Entertainment rate to pop up, Hojos will keep adding dates and sometimes they even add them at the very last minute. We got our dates for June last year a fews days ahead of time!

http://www.hojoanaheim.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14

I second this. On our first day there last August, the entertainment rate became available for the last two days of our stay. All I had to do was go to the front desk and show them my entertainment card, and they adjusted the rate for my last two days to the entertainment rate. Hojos is awesome!

 

[Flitterific]

Do not miss new Disney family museum in San Francisco! Fisherman's wharf is a horrid tourist trap worth 5 minutes.pick up a rental bike there ride down to and across golden gate bridge and take ferry back exploring Foodie haven ferry building on return. You will not forget the day! S.F. can be cold windy and foggy in summer. In San Diego yes wild animal park is great but the zoo is world class award winning beautiful experience. And cooler. Great gorillas pandas and more
Enjoy your stay

The Walt Disney Family Museum is located in the Presidio and is a little hard to find. Do note that it is truly dedicated to Walt Disney (from the day he was born all the way to the day of his death) and not Disney characters. However, it does go into the invention of technicolor and multipane animation and is very interesting. Be forewarned that it is a LOT of reading and you will need to spend at least 5-6 hours there to get through all of the exhibits. I personally loved it but I would not recommend it unless you are a true Walt fan.

Blazing Saddles and another bike rental company does offer full day bike rentals for around $30 per person. For another $20 or so per person, you can take the ferry back to San Francisco if you don't want to bike back. I believe it is about 8 miles each way from San Francisco to Sausalito, which is across the bridge...a very cute little town to walk around and have a meal.

 

[Bassman2112]

Hey guys!

It has been a long, long time since this thread has had an update!

Ashley (my girlfriend) and I are leaving in a few days and wanted to say a big thank you to all you guys who helped us out! We indeed are still booked at the HoJo and 4 days came up for Entertainment rate! That's exciting, it gives us a little more wiggle room whilst in the parks/out for dinner =) We are very much looking forward to the trip, even though the fellow I was to be having lessons with has seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth. That makes me a bit nervous, but I'll try to contact him to the best of my ability once we're down there!

=) I have one last question -> Which date(s) would you recommend we head to SD Zoo (or animal park, we shall pick when we are down there and do it through the hotel) and Universal from the August 19th - 26th range. AKA: Which days will be busiest at DLR?

Thanks a ton!!! Love this forum!
-Alex

 

[Flitterific]

Hey guys!

It has been a long, long time since this thread has had an update!

Ashley (my girlfriend) and I are leaving in a few days and wanted to say a big thank you to all you guys who helped us out! We indeed are still booked at the HoJo and 4 days came up for Entertainment rate! That's exciting, it gives us a little more wiggle room whilst in the parks/out for dinner =) We are very much looking forward to the trip, even though the fellow I was to be having lessons with has seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth. That makes me a bit nervous, but I'll try to contact him to the best of my ability once we're down there!

=) I have one last question -> Which date(s) would you recommend we head to SD Zoo (or animal park, we shall pick when we are down there and do it through the hotel) and Universal from the August 19th - 26th range. AKA: Which days will be busiest at DLR?

Thanks a ton!!! Love this forum!
-Alex

Oooh...how exciting! You guys are going to have an amazing time! I'm glad HoJo's worked out for you.

Anyway, it will be pretty busy during the time that you are there as the SoCal APs blockout dates are lifted. Aug 23-26 will definitely be the busiest days at the park since no APs are blocked out at that time and all those SoCal APholders will want to visit the parks one last time before school starts. So enjoy the first few days when some APholders are still blocked out and try to get as much done as possible

 

[HydroGuy]

Oooh...how exciting! You guys are going to have an amazing time! I'm glad HoJo's worked out for you.

Anyway, it will be pretty busy during the time that you are there as the SoCal APs blockout dates are lifted. Aug 23-26 will definitely be the busiest days at the park since no APs are blocked out at that time and all those SoCal APholders will want to visit the parks one last time before school starts. So enjoy the first few days when some APholders are still blocked out and try to get as much done as possible

I agree and would definitely front load your Disney days to Aug 19, 20 and 21. I would skip Aug 22 at DLR for sure as that will be the first day the blockout lifts and a Sunday. If you want more days and DLR do it Aug 23-26 - but those days will be more crowded than the first three days. See "Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

Sunday Aug 22 would be the best day to go to the SD Zoo as traffic should be more light - assuming you are day tripping it from DLR. As for Universal, any day Aug 23-26.