Completely last minute surprise trip!!!

[Marssiful]

I needed to share my excitement with somebody… I booked a very last minute reservation at the Grand Californian for next weekend. It’s my husbands 40th birthday and I’m going to surprise him with a Disneyland weekend!!!!

Life has been one kick in the backside after another lately, so we are both extremely in need of some Disney fun.
I haven’t been able to get any restaurant reservations yet… but that’s okay. We’ll figure it out as we go.

Any suggestions for an adults only 40th birthday celebration weekend?

 

[DLgal]

Yay!

Have brunch at Lamplight Lounge in DCA. Its AMAZING! They will take walk ups if you arrive right before they open.

 

[ishbit92]

I found it pretty easy to get last minute Craftsman Bar reservations before my last trip. They may not pop up until closer to before but it was a super chill and relaxing vibe there, nice to go and unwind with a few drinks and appetizers after a hectic day in the parks. And convenient since it's right in your hotel.

 

[Pluto468]

That sounds wonderful! You will have a magical time Club level would be a really fun treat for an adults only weekend!

Maybe choose a restaurant or 2 you want to try to get into and get on their wait lists. Also, I bet there will be cancellations as the days get closer, so keep checking the reservation page.

 

[ktlm]

You could try setting dining alerts with mouse dining or touring plans. I had a lot of luck with that. A lot of cancellations were popping up in the week before our trip and during our trip.

Oga's takes walk-ups and we saw them doing it when the app said the wait list was full, especially in the evenings. Not really "dining", but a very fun place!

Have a great trip!

 

[Marssiful]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m going to try and get reservations for brunch at Lamplight.

I think it’s unlikely- but I’m also going to try for the Napa Rose. I’d like to do a dress up dinner to celebrate.

 

[Geemo]

You could try setting dining alerts with mouse dining or touring plans. I had a lot of luck with that. A lot of cancellations were popping up in the week before our trip and during our trip.

Oga's takes walk-ups and we saw them doing it when the app said the wait list was full, especially in the evenings. Not really "dining", but a very fun place!

Have a great trip!

Are there any sites that have free dining alerts?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Are there any sites that have free dining alerts?

Mouse Dining has free alerts.

Honestly, the day before will be a free for all. You can probably find a lot if you keep checking throughout the day. I have noticed that the reservations system “turns off” at 9pm PST. No idea why but it’s sad! So check starting in the morning and all day and especially in the few hours leading up until 9pm.

To second comments from previous posters, Lamplight Lounge brunch is one of my favorite things to do! It’s soooo good! I also really like Lamplight lunch and dinner, but brunch is extra special!

We had the most enjoyable dinner at Craftsman Bar on a Saturday night. It’s casual yet the food is outstanding! And they had live music. It was so very relaxing and tasty and we didn’t want to leave! Craftsman Bar reservations are usually available the day before so don’t hesitate to snag one!

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

Last min trips are wonderful. Our first was last August. Had a trip to Monterey booked, woke up that morning to go, decided to cancel and go to Disneyland instead. Tons of fun!

 

[Marssiful]

Thank for all of the suggestions. I was able to get a Craftsman bar reservation for our first day. I’m going to keep hoping for a Napa Rose opening.

It feels a bit like we are running away from home for a few days. All of the adult nonsense will still be waiting for us when we get home. Hopefully we’ll have a few days of laughs, drinks, sunshine, and fun!

 

[blabbermouth]

Enjoy! We are approximately that age and very jealous of an adults only trip, ha! But at least we get to stay at GCH too? I guess we will spend a lot of time on our balcony while DD4 sleeps. Good luck getting ressies, and let us know how it went when you're back!

 

[pharmama]

Agree with others- keep checking for dining (or set up alerts), especially the day before as cancellations will surely come in. We got LLL Brunch (which was FANTASTIC- another BIG vote for this!) and BB this way on our December trip. I also saw several NR openings come up, just wasn't something we were looking for on that trip.

 

[Marssiful]

This weekend has been wonderful. The Grand Californian has been a dream and we’ve had so much fun in the parks. I can’t wait to do a trip report when we get back.
We’ve had one hiccup- a VERY disappointing meal at the Napa Rose, but you can’t win them all.
Over all, I’m so happy I decided to plan this trip last minute!

 

[Britrawr]

Just decided today to go in two weeks it’s crazy exciting!

 

[smartlabelprint]

This weekend has been wonderful. The Grand Californian has been a dream and we’ve had so much fun in the parks. I can’t wait to do a trip report when we get back.
We’ve had one hiccup- a VERY disappointing meal at the Napa Rose, but you can’t win them all.
Over all, I’m so happy I decided to plan this trip last minute!

Do you have a short version of what went wrong?

 

[fly girl]

Do you have a short version of what went wrong?

Not OP, but we were sorely disappointed with Napa Rose on our last visit.

Appetizer was excellent, scallop. However, the main courses were not good - fish was dry and sauce was flavorless, pork chop was mostly fat. Huge bummer. For the price point, it was a rip off. Service was ok, they were friendly but not as attentive as previous visits.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Not OP, but we were sorely disappointed with Napa Rose on our last visit.

Appetizer was excellent, scallop. However, the main courses were not good - fish was dry and sauce was flavorless, pork chop was mostly fat. Huge bummer. For the price point, it was a rip off. Service was ok, they were friendly but not as attentive as previous visits.

That sounds so disappointing. I’ve never eaten there. Not really my style.

 

[Marssiful]

The short version - service was absolutely awful. It started bad and just kept getting worse. Genuinely don’t know what the issue was- maybe the server was having a bad day, maybe they were short staffed… but it wasn’t a nice experience.

I should also mention that we didn’t complain and maybe we should have. At the time we just wanted to leave!

**I just wanted to add that my husband runs a restaurant, and we are generally very forgiving when it comes to issues. Cause we get it, stuff happens. But in this case, I wish we would have complained. It made both of us feel bad and we were supposed to be celebrating. BUT the rest of our trip was wonderful and we had really nice encounters with so many cast members. Overall it was an awesome trip.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The short version - service was absolutely awful. It started bad and just kept getting worse. Genuinely don’t know what the issue was- maybe the server was having a bad day, maybe they were short staffed… but it wasn’t a nice experience.

I should also mention that we didn’t complain and maybe we should have. At the time we just wanted to leave!

**I just wanted to add that my husband runs a restaurant, and we are generally very forgiving when it comes to issues. Cause we get it, stuff happens. But in this case, I wish we would have complained. It made both of us feel bad and we were supposed to be celebrating. BUT the rest of our trip was wonderful and we had really nice encounters with so many cast members. Overall it was an awesome trip.

It's not too late to send in a comment to Disney. Use the "contact us" link at the bottom of the DLR webpage. Be as detailed as you can be in describing what happened, e.g. date, time, NR reservation #, server's name (should be on your receipt), what you expected vs. what actually happened, how the experience affected your trip, etc. Fill out the contact information on the form. It is not unusual for someone to get back to you.