BWPPI, Lines at Delta terminal at LAX, and other trip info about DL and Hollywood

RugMuppets

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 20, 2004
Messages
5
Hi,

Although we have not posted much on the DIS, we definitely have read the DIS a LOT and have found so many helpful suggestions!! We thought it is time to return the favor so we wanted to give some information on BWPPI, LAX and other miscellaneous tips.

We are 2 adults (ages 30 and 33) who just came back from our trip to DL. We are WDW veterans and this was our 2nd trip to DL. We stayed at BWPPI and would definitely stay there again!!! The short walk home after spending a full day at the park was amazing. We stayed at the Coast Anaheim during our last trip which now may be the Sheraton, and there was such a noticeable difference in the shorter walk. Overall we really liked the room. It was definitely big enough for us and clean. There was a couch/pull out bed and a king size bed. We liked having the refrigerator and microwave. We were on the first floor around the back and it was very quiet. Our one complaint, although minor, is that the TV did not have many channels and some channels would go in and out. However, as most of the vacation is spent outside the room, it really was not so much of a bother. As others have mentioned, the pool area is really small. There is a very small pool and a small hot tub. Because the pool area was so small, on our afternoon breaks, I brought a chair outside our room next to our car and I read my book in the parking lot (I kept an eye out for cars). For us, the free continental breakfast at Capitan Kidds was great because we do not like to eat heavy breakfasts. You have a choice of the continental breakfast upstairs or you can get pancakes downstairs. At the continental breakfast, they had bagels, toast (wheat toast or regular toast and grape jelly, apple jelly, and mixed berry jelly), hard boiled eggs, donuts, danishes, and cereal (raisin bran, cheerios, corn flakes), oatmeal (need to heat up yourself) and fruit (apples and oranges). They had skim milk and low fat milk and a juice machine with apple juice, orange juice and lemonade. We also think there was coffee although we are not coffee drinkers. You can carry anything out to the rooms. The staff at the hotel was very nice. About 20 minutes after we checked in, they called the room to make sure everything was ok.

As far as LAX, if possible, print your boarding passes at the hotel. Our flight was at 9:30 am. We rented a car from National and left the hotel at about 6:50am and stopped to get gas. After dropping off the car at National at about 7:35, we headed to the airport via the National shuttlebus. (Note, we filled up our gas tank near DL and our tank was still on full when we arrived at LAX. However, there are gas stations nearby the car rental drop offs if you need to fill up before returning your rental car). Although we only had a few carry on bags and no bags to check in, at the DELTA terminal in order to print your boarding passes, you still need to wait on the same line as everyone else who was checking luggage. So we waited in that line which was quite long, although it moved. Then because we had a manual voucher as a result of bumping flights during our last trip to WDW (for some reason they didn't give us an electronic voucher so we had to pick up the tickets in person), we waited in line for about 25 minutes and picked up tickets for our next trip to WDW :) (makes going home easier). Then we had to wait on another long line for security. We made the flight by about 10 minutes although we arrived at the airport about 1hr 45 minutes early. If you are using DELTA and can print your boarding pass at the hotel, it will be a timesaver (not sure about other airlines). Note we would have made the flight by about 35 minutes if we did not have to pick up our tickets for our next trip, but we just wanted to let you know our experience.

As far as dining, some of the places we ate at include Naples and Tortilla Joe's at DTD, Goofy's Kitchen at DLR, Subway on Harbor (there is also a great Italian Fat Free frozen yogurt place next to subway which is similar to pinkberry), and Mimi's (thanks to the Board for the Mimi's recommendation). We loved the veggie sandwich at Naples. Tortilla Joe's was ok. We love buffets, so Goofy's Kitchen for dinner was great for us. The desserts there are fantastic!!

We did the parks in the morning and evenings and took breaks during the day during the busier times. We had the 5 day park hopper so we were able to take our time going through the parks. We took advantage of fast pass and had one early entry day. We didn't feel like waiting for Nemo and during the first hour of the day we could pretty much walk right on anything. We are also avid pin traders, so we really enjoyed hunting for DLR cast lanyard pins since we mostly have WDW cast lanyard pins.

We also went to DSF which was small but cute, Hollywood (not as exciting as we would have hoped), and to the Dodgers game. We drove to Hollywood in the morning and although we left at about 11, we did hit traffic and got there around 12:30. The Dodgers game was a lot of fun. Dodger dogs, however, are overrated. From Hollywood, we were told to take Sunset all the way to Dodger Stadium. Although there were a lot of lights, there really was not much traffic at about 4:30 – 5:00pm. Parking at Dodger Stadium was expensive - $15, however, our tickets were really cheap so it was definitely worth it for the experience. The ride home from Dodger Stadium taking the highways was fairly quick. To avoid traffic, we left in the top of the 7th after seeing Bonds hit.

Overall, we really had a great trip and can't wait to go back!!! If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks again to the DIS for all the helpful hints and moneysaving tips throughout the years!!!

RM
 
Glad you had such a great vacation. Bummer about problems at LAX though. Personally, I hate flying into that airport. We have always used John Wayne except our first trip when we didn't know any better. ;)

We're staying at BWPPI this trip too. You mentioned that you could take the Continental breakfast back to your room...did you mean to say that you couldn't? Just asking cause I've heard others say that you can't. :confused3

Do you know if the BWPPI has a printer in the office so I can print out our airline boarding passes the day before we return home?

Good to hear that the Nemo lines are keeping the wait times for the other areas of the park down to a minimum in the mornings.

Thanks for the informative trip report. :thumbsup2
 
For the continental breakfast, we were able to take whatever we could carry out. We only did this twice. Once on our non DL day when we went to breakfast late (close to 9:15) and there were no tables and the second time before going to the airport. We didn't ask for a tray or box to go, we just carried a bowl of cereal, some eggs, toast and a glass of juice out. No one was at the door when we were there so we just walked out without a problem. Also, I didn't notice anyone really watching at the door the whole week. Not sure if that is usually how it goes or not. I had read the boards prior to the trip and when we checked in and they gave us our breakfast vouchers, I asked the front desk if we can take a bagel or toast out to eat on the way to the park and she said that was fine. I think they don't want you taking tons of items out but if you are just taking what you need for breakfast, it seemed to be ok for us.

I'm not sure if the BWPPI has a printer for use, but you should definitely ask. Also, you could probably go to Kinko's or somewhere else to print out for a minimal fee to save the hassle. Also, we were just carrying on bags and did not check luggage. For those who need to check luggage, you still need to wait on line anyway, however, printing the boarding pass beforehand would help ensure you are checked in and hopefully guarantee your seat. I guess it would also be helpful for Southwest so you can get in an earlier boarding group. I'm not sure how the other airlines work at LAX. We were surprised because when we fly home from Orlando, we usually just go to the kiosks to print the boading passes and don't need to wait on lines. Usually just the people checking bags have to wait which is why if we can, we avoid checking bags. Whenever we leave from home, we always print our boarding passes before we leave. Also, there is a Target right on Harbor about 3-5 minutes away (it would be a left out of the hotel, go straight on Harbor and then the Target shopping center will be on your left), so you can pick up travel toiletries there and throw them out when you leave. (If you take I5 North an exit or 2, you will also see a Walmart on your right when going North). The last time we were there which was 2 years ago, we flew out of Long Beach and we loved it. The airport is small, car rental drop off is easy and it was really a pleasure. I tried for John Wayne or Long Beach this time, but the rate for LAX was a lot cheaper. I am glad we had a morning flight since there was no traffic.

You should have no problem getting on the rides early in the morning as everyone rushes to Finding Nemo. We pretty much did everything in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland during our EE day and then went over to Adventureland and Frontierland when it opened at 8 to do Pirates, HM, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise etc and there were really no to minimal lines. I did Space Mountain on the EE day so I'm not sure what that line is like b/w 8-9 but it probably shouldn't be too bad. On Friday, Big Thunder Mountain had no line at about 9:20 and I walked right on. On Non EE days, we also did some Fantasyland rides and Buzz between 8-9:30 and there really were no lines except the Peter Pan line seemed to get a little long so you probably would want to do that one first.

Have a great trip!!! :)
 
Thank you for posting your trip report! I just booked 7 nights at BWPPI for next June and I really appreciate your feedback on your stay there! We have never stayed there before.

I'm glad, over all, you had a great trip!
 

No problem. You will definitely enjoy it!!! In the next week, I am going to book our trip next year at BWPPI as well.

Just another thought. I have stayed at other Best Westerns and the rooms at the BWPPI definitely have a more "upscale" feel compared to the other BWs we have stayed at. I also thought the rooms are nicer than the value rooms at WDW and have more of a moderate feel although the grounds, pools, themeing etc. are not as nice as WDW.
 
I also forgot to mention earlier that prior to going to DL/CA, we went to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) for a few days. Although crowded, it was a lot of fun. Our highlight was meeting Chris Sanders, who is the writer/director of Lilo & Stitch. Chris was there signing sketchbooks and I believe he had designed some toys of a woman in a hula skirt which they were also selling. We are huge Lilo & Stitch fans and because we didn't realize Chris was going to be at SDCC, it was a real bonus for us!!! Luckily, we brought our Lilo & Stitch DVD with us for the plane ride, so after we found out Chris was at SDCC, we brought the DVD the next day for him to sign and he was willing to sign it for us without compensation. We want to frame our signed DVD and now we will have to buy another one to watch.

For anyone interested in going to SDCC and then to DL (or vice versa) it was really worth the trip. It actually felt like 2 different vacations in one!! We are definitely going to do this again next year.
 












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