Disneyland and Southern California

[DawnCt]

I am taking my 14 year old son and my 14 year old nephew to S.Calf. in April. The tentative plan is to fly into L.A, spend three nights in Anaheim visiting DCA, Disneyland and Universal, and then head south to San Diego. Originally my sister in law and niece were going to go with us but now it looks like I am on my own. This is causing me to re assess my "costs" since I won't be sharing them and I am getting "cheap". Right now I am booked into the Sheraton Anaheim, Club room. I thought this would be a good choice because of the breakfasts and snacks...and boys eat a lot. I have a rate of about $130 Is there a suggestion that any could make that might be more cost effective? In San Diego, I booked two nights at the Hotel Del Coronado. It is pricey but I am sticking with this hotel because of the historical value, location and my son was hoping to see a ghost. The last three nights, we are booked at the Coronado Marriott for $240 ish. Is there a better and more affordable suggestion that two boys and a mom might enjoy? any thoughts on Paradise Pointe, etc. We plan to visit Sea World, Wild Animal Park and the Zoo, plus minor points of interest. As for the rental car. I must have been in the right place at the right time because I have a full size car for 8 days with taxes, etc for $137! So far it is my only bargain. Thanks so much!

 

[teri]

My first thought is that snacks at the hotel won't do you much good if you are at the parks all the time, and breakfast.... well, if you do early entry, will you take advantage of it? We did try concierge level service one time with our thoughts along the same lines as yours, but we didn't find it to be a good value. It is up to you. There are famous and wonderful places to eat breakfast on site - the River Belle Terrace was Walt's favorite. There are bakeries at Downtown Disney and on Main Street. Plus, the Sheraton Anaheim is kinda far from the main entrance and near the freeway, across busy streets. I have never tried it, it might be nice. There are other hotels right across the street from the main entrance that are pretty good values that serve continental breakfasts, and of course the Candy Cane serves a nice breakfast.

I have never really "done" San Diego, your plan sounds very interesting.

 

[dianedisney]

I don't know if you booked your hotel yourself or if you went through a travel agent and used package prices but here goes. If you did it yourself when resorts quote prices per night they usually don't include in the quote the hotel taxes or resort fees or if there is any parking fee for the property so be careful those extras can really add up. You might want to check out the prices in Anaheim at the Radisson Maingate they have a shuttle that goes to DLR and they also offer lunch and dinner at half price. It looks dated on the outside but it was totally redone last year and it wonderful inside. Yes the Del Coronado is pricey and they are not kid friendly but it is a cool resort. The remaining 3 nts I would check into The Catamaran Resort it is a nice property on the water. Plus is you book with an agent and use a tour company the prices include taxes and most include resort fees. But either way be sure check out all hidden costs that can ruin a vacation real fast.

 

[sueg]

When we went to DL in Aug., we stayed at the GC, but we drove into Anaheim one day early and wanted to see an Angels game. Someone on this BD. suggested the Hilton. It was walking distance to Anaheim stadium. For less than $100/nt., we had a family suite, which was a large corner suite. It had a separate sitting area w/ a pull-out coach & TV. The BD was large w/ 2 qns & another TV. It had a very lg. bath & a small working kitchen. A cooked yummy breakfast was included. We belong to HH (Hilton Honors) so I don't know if this affected our rate/rm, but it costs nothing to join HH. I can't talk about the shuttle to DL, since we didn't use it, but I did see a lot of families using it. I suggest you check it out.
After I posted this message, I saw several other posts about Anaheim Hilton. This is not the Hilton that I I stayed at. I believe we were at Hilton Orange. There was no charge to park, but I think it is a little further from DL than Anaheim Hilton.

 

[DawnCt]

I found a great rate for the San Diego Marriott Resort and Marina on line yesterday at their web site. The AAA rates, other discounted rates, etc still hover over $250 but I found a pre paid AARP rate, 14 day advance purchase, non refundable for $109. This will be a great location for us. It is on the bay, on the marina, lagoon type pool, a few blocks from Sea World and two miles from the zoo. I grabbed it for our last three nights.

 

[JenniferWooster]

Would you consider Priceline or not?

Jenn

 

[DawnCt]

Originally posted by JenniferWooster
Would you consider Priceline or not?

Jenn

For the Disneyland area, I might consider price line but I am concerned that they guarantee only a room for two adults. There will be three of us, maybe four. We stayed at the Hilton Anaheim years ago and thought it was a nice hotel and within walking distance to Disneyland. The kids are older now and both have been to WDW more times that I can count so we won't have to "see and do everything". We would want to focus on the things that are different, such as the Mattahorn, Small World, Alice in Wonderland and the Pirates of the Carribean (2 hills instead of one).

 

[Tink33]

Dawn - your San Diego choices sound great. You will love Coronado Island and the Del and also Mission Bay.

If you need any San Diego ideas, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

[DawnCt]

Originally posted by Tink33
Dawn - your San Diego choices sound great. You will love Coronado Island and the Del and also Mission Bay.

If you need any San Diego ideas, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks Tink, I am planning on stopping at Wild Animal Park en route to San Diego. Check into The Del in the late afternoon/early evening and enjoy Coronado Island and the hotel for a couple days. I would think that they would have some water sports, my son likes to surf and bicycling. Any other suggestions for Coronado. We are hoping to see a ghost. After we move to the Bay, we would go to Sea World and the Zoo. We check out on a Saturday but our flight doesn't head back to the East until almost 11 pm. I thought if we drove back to LA we may have time to head to Simi Valley and spend a couple of hours at the Ronald Reagan Library. What is the distance between Simi Valley and L.A? Also, any other suggestions for San Diego would be welcomed. Isn't there an Old Town district that has a lot of Mexican flavor so we won't be tempted to head to Tiajuana?

 

[Emolly]

We are also planning this trip, but over Easter break. First to San Diego - 3 days, then LA. We are from the east coast and have never been to CA. I have reservations at Pacific Terrace hotel in Pacific Beach. Looks interesting. if anyone cares to comment..... It is right on the beach - I think we got $178 per night. Also checked out Paradise Point. We hope to take a day trip to Mexico. We are traveling with 2 teen girls. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We will stay at Grand Californian for LA portion because we are Disney Vacation Club members and will use the points.

Can't wait!

Amy

 

[Tink33]

<center>Hotel Del Coronado</center>


The Hotel Del Coronado is located in Coronado, California. It was opened in the late 1880's and soon became popular as a refuge from the problems that plagued San Diego, and many other cities, at the time. Gambling, drunken brawls, etc. were not uncommon, and E.B. Babcock sought to build a place to get away from it all. His dream became the HotelDel Coronado, a splendid 399 room mecca of relaxation. Why, then, do the rumors persist that this hotel is haunted?

Well, to answer that we have to go back in time and tell the sad tale of young Kate Morgan, who is the hotel's main, and some say only, specter. Kate was the wife of Tom Morgan, and together they made a living riding the trains and scamming people out of money. They were quite good at it and made a very decent living. They used false names and pretended to be siblings. Kate was very attractive, and she used her womanly charms to get men interested in her. When they expressed this interest, she would inform them they needed her "brother's" approval if they wanted to woo her. The way to gain this approval was to play cards with Tom, who would
swindle every bit he could out of the hapless suitor. Kate would then move on to the next victim. They went on like this for a time until Kate discovered she was pregnant and decided she wanted to settle down. Tom did not wish to do this. They had a fight when Tom dicovered she was pregnant, and he left the train, while Kate continued on to San Diego.
Tom was to meet her at a later time, around Thanksgiving.

Kate checked into room 302 at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is now room 3312. Thanksgiving came and went, but her husband never came. Around this time she began looking ill. She was probably suffering the effects of quinine poisoning, as a bottle was found in her room after her death.
Quinine was a substance commonly used to make a woman miscarry. Kate had probably wanted to abort the baby to please her husband.

She reportedly made a trip to San Diego to buy a gun, and shortly after the 24-year-old beauty was found dead on the steps of the hotel that lead to the beach from a gunshot wound to the head. The death was immediately ruled a suicide, but in 1990 Alan May published a book with
evidence to the contrary. In The Legend of Kate Morgan: The Search for the Ghost of the Hotel Del Coronado, he claims that she was shot by her husband. One of his key pieces of evidence is that the bullet found in her head was not the same caliber of the gun that she bought, which was a .44.

There is the story behind the haunting, but what of the haunting itself? It's pretty basic haunting stuff. Electrical devices with odd quirks, cold spots, odd feelings, phantom whispers and even some claims of
seeing Kate's ghost comprise the majority of experiences. The light over the steps where Kate's death, suicide or otherwise, occurred will not stay lit, according to an electrician's report to Alan May.

Room 3502 is also considered haunted, with events similar to Kate Morgan's room occurring on a smaller scale. It apparently belonged to a maid who might have lived there around the same time as Kate Morgan.

</font>

Link to the Hotel Del Coronado www.hoteldel.com

Other things to do on Coronado

www.gothere.com/coronado.htm

www.mootime.com

travel.discovery.com/convergence/beachweek2001/americasbest/coronado.html

 

[sueg]

Emolly,
We are DVC members and used pts. to stay at GC. After much debate on this Bd. & DVC Bd., I was alittle concerned about using the pts. But I am so glad that we did. GC is a beautiful hotel & sooo convenient. Since our CA trip replaced our summer HH trip, we really just used our HH pts. in a different way. I fully understand why members feel that using pts. for hotels is not cost efficient, but as a rare splurge, I loved our time at GC & wouldn't have stayed there w/o using pts.

 

[Tink33]

Dawn,

I saw this site and thought of you:

San Diego Ghosts

Happy Haunting

 

[DawnCt]

Thanks, Tink, What a great site.

 

[Another Voice]

For something that might appeal to two fourteen year old boys, remember that Coronado is surrounded by all the Navy facilities in San Diego. There’s a large air station just north on Coronado, the Navy SEALS train just south of the hotels and the anchorage is just south of the Coronado Bridge – miles of aircraft carriers, submarines and other ships. I know the Navy has contracted with some private operators to provide tours of the facilities, there are some boat tours through the port and the Navy itself offers tours of any aircraft carriers in port at the time (I went on one when I was twelve and I still remember that trip to this day). Given that all fourteen year old boys like things that are loud and big, seeing the real people and the real equipment they’ve seen on the nightly news might be of even more interest these days.

For L.A. – Simi Valley is about an hour or so north of Los Angeles (depending on traffic). It’d be a long drive from San Diego and a long drive to LAX. As for Universal Studios, if you want to see a real studio and less of a theme park, try the tour of the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank. It’s about a mile from Universal but a very different experience. The tours are limited to just a van load and focuses on whatever production is happening that day on the lot. You’ll see real sets and are more likely to see “real stars”.