At DL right now!! Love HoJo's

[carinv]

Hi All,

We have just finished our 2nd day at DL and are having a ball.
It is much more family friendly than I expected and the rides are beautiful.
The crowds are great, wait times are minimal 0-20mins at most (most 10 mins).
The only downer is that due to the wind (which was nothing tonight!) the fireworks have been cancelled 2 nights in a row.

We are from Australia and this is our first time in USA. It is so weird that so much is the same, but so much is different from Australia.

We are staying in a home office suite at Howard Johnsons Hotel and love it. Our room is in building 2 and is extra large(which is great for 5 of us) and everything is so clean. The grounds are very well kept Beds are really comfy. Last night I had my best nights sleep since flying in on the 11/10!

HoJo's really is everything everyone says!

 

[iceskatejen]

Glad you're having a good time.

About the wind--just because it's not windy near the ground doesn't mean that it's not windy higher up. Santa Ana winds (that's what the wind conditions that are going on right now are called) are strange. It can be quite calm from the ground to however many feet up, but above that the wind is blowing like crazy. I've been there on evenings where it's quite breezy and the fireworks still go off because it's calmer up higher and nights where it's calm at ground level and they're cancelled because of winds. Wind direction is important too (Santa Anas would blow the fireworks towards the audience). There's a set "fallout zone" and if the wind might push even one spark beyond that, they have to cancel.

 

[Janomi]

Happy to hear you're having a great time at DL, carinv. Sorry to hear about the fireworks. How are the crowds?

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

I think HoJo's is the TA's favorite destination for Australians and Canadians. I was there two weeks ago and virtually everyone in the jacuzzi the three days we were there was from Australia or Canada. My wife and I enjoyed the conversations we had with all of them. Hope you have a great time.

 

[carinv]

I think HoJo's is the TA's favorite destination for Australians and Canadians. I was there two weeks ago and virtually everyone in the jacuzzi the three days we were there was from Australia or Canada. My wife and I enjoyed the conversations we had with all of them. Hope you have a great time.

I tend to agree, although I booked direct with the hotel due to recommendations from DISboards and tripadvisor.com!

The crowds are great. We have seen a few wait times of 45 mins mid arfternoon, but then we could walk around the corner and get straight on something else. Mostly wait times are 15mins or less.

I realise that tomorrow and Saturday will be busier, we are enjoying it while it lasts!

 

[disney-super-mom]

It's so good to hear you are having such a good time. I hope that the rest of your stay here in the states will be wonderful and special for you and your family.

We like HOJO too. It is a bit further of a walk, but the pool, grounds, and even the people are just so nice compared to many other hotels/motels in the area.

Let us know how the crowds are this weekend, and I'll send a little pixie dust your way so hopefully the fireworks will go off during the rest of your stay.

 

[Disney Fans]

Sounds like for the the most part you are having a Great trip! Thanks for sharing with us and hope you get to see the fireworks!

 

[spazzyjazzy]

We love the Ho-Jo also. We stay there every summer. Glad you are having a good time. I will be there soon! Can't wait!

 

[carinv]

The fireworks were on tonight. They were delayed by about 10-20mins, but the happened!

They were brilliant, but you could tell that it was windy way up.

We were dog tired, but really enjoyed them.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Hi carinv,

We were at Hojo's the 14th-16th in building 2 as well! We also loved it and were very happy with our stay. Glad you were able to see the fireworks! (We caught them on Monday night).