Any one stayed at the Annabella & recommend a character meal 4 me? bumbag @ D.L??

[liska67]

Hi - has anyone stayed at the annabella? it's pretty close to the park isn't it? we have a 6 yr old.

A friend suggested a character meal--they're pretty expensive though--anyone know if you can buy discounted ones or sales?

And finally--the bum bag! one site highly recommended wearing them--but? are they comfortable? wouldn't a big satchel type handbag be better??

Any tips are very appreciated....thanks Lisa

 

[DSNY4ever]

We have stayed at the Anabella and liked it. It is back behind the park about 10-15 minute walk depending on how fast you walk. We had a nice room- big TV, good beds, very clean. We cut through the Grand Californian in the mornings to go out to Downtown Disney then to the parks from there- so it would be easy for you to do the Storyteller's breakfast there if you decide to do one.

I have never heard of discounts for the character breakfasts...you are just stuck with their ridiculous prices , and sorry I don't know anything about the bag. Enjoy your planning though!

 

[L2S2C]

is a bum bag the same as a fanny pack? I hate them, my mom loves them. Its personal preference. I perfer a backpack.

 

[bumbershoot]

Anabella isn't as close as HoJo, but it's a nice motel. If you're on the first floor, they have wooden floors, and I tell you, staying there changed my mindset about carpets in hotel/motel rooms! Carpets seem so gross now!

If you'll be walking, go out to the sidewalk, turn left to cross at that big crosswalk. Go towards the PPH which you should see ahead of you on the left. The pathway is actually half of one giant "hidden" Mickey, if you look at the aerial view of the area. Pass PPH (though it's also a good way to get to the Mickey character breakfast at PPH's restaurant, PCH Grill), turn right into the Grand Californian area, go inside at the big doors, turn left down a hallway, and follow the crowds. You end up coming out into DTD with just a bit left to walk to the bag check area.


Plenty of people wear "waist packs" (I like that better..."bumbag" sounds naughty to Americans, and the phrase Americans use sounds absolutely filthy to those who say "bumbag"). I don't, but you'll see plenty of others that do.

 

[lucky1]

Mickey's Surf's up in PPH is a good character breakfast as it doesn't get as many people in there as Goofy's or Storeytellers, so you have longer Character interaction. They also have some additional games they play with the kids. Hula hooping, Surf pratice and dancing with Daisy. The food was good American Breakfast food with some additional items added like Fish and Smoked Salmon with capers for breakfast.

Character's we saw this past Saturday was Mickey upon entry.. Minnie, Daisy, Pulto, Stitch and Goofy. I am sure they brought out others but we decided to leave. We arrived at 8am on a rainy Saturday morning (The parks opened at 8am and early entry was at 7am) and there was possibly only about 10 other families there. By the time we left at 9am, there was maybe 15 families in there.

We always do our last character meal there on our drive home day as you can stay as long as you want and don't feel rushed and DD has a lot of interaction with the characters.

Minnie came to our table 3 times during our visit.

 

[liska67]

Another question--is it ridiculously expensive to eat at DL?? (poor Aussie Dollar )

I dont' know when American Schools finish for the year, in Canada it's the end of June. Didn't want to be in the park on a Saturday but cheaper to fly then on the Sunday.

Is the park still really busy from 9:00 pm onwards??

 

[bumbershoot]

Paradise Pier Hotel!

You can find menus with prices in the Disneyland Resort section of allears.net. There are also menus here, on wdwinfo, but I have found allears to be a bit more current and correct. They don't guarantee that there haven't been menu/price changes since they got the info, but it's a good place to start!

I would highly recommend checking out the food thread...I think it's a "sticky" thread on the main Disneyland page...

 

[Brady's Mom]

Another question--is it ridiculously expensive to eat at DL?? (poor Aussie Dollar )

I dont' know when American Schools finish for the year, in Canada it's the end of June. Didn't want to be in the park on a Saturday but cheaper to fly then on the Sunday.

Is the park still really busy from 9:00 pm onwards??

Our school finishes the end of May - schools in Cali. typically finish mid-June. There are schools in Cali. that go year-round and just have some big breaks, but no major 3 month summer vacation.

You may have better luck on Sat. than Sunday since Sat. is a blackout day for Annual Pass holders.

I have read about people spending a LOT of money on food at DLR, but we just can't bring ourselves to spend that much money. We've never done a character meal, either. We usually plan on spending about $60 US daily for our family of 5 (more if our oldest son goes with us) when we are at DLR. DH and I almost always share our food since we hate wasting food and we don't carry around leftovers at DL. DS13 gets his own entree and doesn't share with anyone. DS's 7 and 5 will eat the kids meals (usually) and those are cheaper. I plan on $12-15 US per "adult" meal and $7 for kid's meal. It works out to around $60. We usually spend less than that.

We have breakfast in our hotel and will bring lunch things into the parks with us - things we know our family will like. We bring carrots, celery, apple slices, grapes, sandwiches, granola bars, beef jerky, and maybe some goldfish crackers if I let my kids talk me into them. When we bring in our own food for lunch I don't worry if my kids only want chicken nuggets or cheeseburgers for dinner every night since I know they have had healthier choices for their other meals.