First Trip to DL - solo (COMPLETE) new link p.43

[Pinkocto]

I started off my journey leaving BWI at 9:50 and arrived to CA at 12:55 which was 25 minutes ahead of schedule. I jetted out of the airplane and down to baggage claim. I had rented a car so needed to find the rental counter. Found out all the rental companies are offsite so needed to grab a bus to the Budget center. Of course it felt like ages but I had my bag by 12:30 and was in the Budget transport van at 12:39. The rental lady tried to convince me to add the insurance and prepay the gas which took my $125 rental to over $250. I didn’t think I needed the insurance so had her take that off, and prepaying the gas was $50 which seemed outrageous. I had thoroughly assessed the car and was driving away at 1:20. I was really making good time.

I hit some traffic on the way but it only slowed me down by 15 minutes.







But was soon on Disneyland Drive



And caught sight of the gorgeous Grand Californian!





They let me leave the car in the valet area while I checked in so I took the bags in with me. I was absolutely blown away by now gorgeous the hotel was.





While waiting I overheard a CM say that 600 people had checked out the day before which was Labor Day. I don’t know if that was 600 rooms or 600 actual people, but either one is impressive. I think at least. My room wasn’t ready so I left my bags with bell services and went to find my fruit and soda for the week. Josh, the absolutely wonderful CM who checked me in, directed me to Food4Less which was less than 5 minutes away. I was overjoyed to find 2 liters for $0.98. They texted me that my room was ready while I was at the store so I excitedly headed back.

Absolutely loved all the gorgeous palms lining the roads.



They let me leave the car in the valet area again while I took the groceries in. I took the fruit in first and collected the suitcases from bell services. Quickly took those up to the room, emptied the little suitcase so I could use it to bring up the sodas and hustled back down to the car. My plan was to go park the car and bring the suitcase of sodas back from the parking lot but a kind CM said to feel free to take the sodas up before taking the car over. I quickly did that and then drove the car over to the self park lot. I saw that DTD was within view of the parking lot and I decided to walk over and find some lunch. As soon as I turned the corner I saw the delicious EoS! No need to go any further. Amazingly there was no line, I was shocked.



My beloved veggie sandwich was taken off the menu but I wanted to at least ask if they could make me one. She said no problem, they can still do it. I went outside in the cute little seating area





And patiently waited for my scrumptious treat. My pager went off, I went in to collect my treasure, and when I unwrapped it I noticed some odd innards. Apparently the veggie in CA is made differently than the veggie in FL. This one came with red peppers, jalapenos, and beans. It was ok, I was still left with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and Italian dressing. It was so good!



I went on the Dis for a little bit while eating my delicious sandwich but my phone was very near the end of it’s battery life and quickly shut off on me. After eating I headed back up to the room to charge the phone.

 

[franandaj]

Yay! You made it! Your pictures of the traffic cracked me up. I'm in that right now.

 

[Pinkocto]

Yay! You made it! Your pictures of the traffic cracked me up. I'm in that right now.

Traffic that late in the day!? I hope it didn't last. I think a lot of what I hit was people not knowing how to merge, it was bad for a little bit and then cleared right up.

 

[MEK]

Yay! Arrival! Perfect flight times, I must say!

Love the traffic pics. So something I would do!

Love the GC. It looks so gorgeous. I can't wait to stay there someday.

I always say no to the gas and the insurance on the rental car. If you charge the rental car your credit card will pay any deductible you have if you do need to use your own insurance for an accident.

The sammie looks pretty darn good. I do think its interesting how California has different "food rules" compared to the East Coast. I think there are certain ingredients they are not allowed to use by law. Not sure how that factors into a veggie sandwich, but so glad you enjoyed. I can't imagine an EOS with no one in it! Wow!

 

[Pinkocto]

Some other vacation news:

I know some of you already have read this in Jenny's PTR sorry if this is a repeat. I've had a cruise booked in January for quite a while now. Later I found out that Jenny, Rentayenta, was going on the same cruise with her DS. We've been chatting/planning for months now and planned to go to Palo for at least one meal together. I was so excited. And then yesterday we got an email that DCL canceled our cruise and the one after it for unscheduled maintenance. I didn't want to seem like a stalker but I was really looking forward to cruising with Jenny and her DS, so I checked with her if it was ok that I switch to the same cruise she switched to. She was totally game with it so I did that last night. Great thing out of this whole mess is that the new cruise is March 30 which is two days after my birthday. in birthday mode already I upgraded myself to an ocean view stateroom instead of an inside with only 1 bathroom. I love the split baths. DCL did give us 25% off rebooking but that's off the current price, not what we booked for originally. Both cruises leave from Miami and I had planned to drive up to WDW and stay at OKW post cruise. Now I need to cancel the rental car and decide what to do about OKW. Potentially I could still fly down to FL that week because I'm not canceling my requested time off. I also need to change airfare to March. I feel like I need to scramble before prices get any higher. Most of the SW flights are sold out for the day before the cruise so I need to change my flight today. Since bad weather shouldn't be an issue late March I could always fly in the day of the cruise but the earliest flight SW has is 9:00-12:00. With a 45 minute drive to Miami I don't see getting to the ship before 1:30 and that would really stress me out. I did book BCV for post cruise so that's taken care of.

 

[Pinkocto]

Yay! Arrival! Perfect flight times, I must say!

I was quite pleased, couldn't believe we got there that early. 5 hours in the plane was quite torturous though. Very very glad to be out of there!

Love the traffic pics. So something I would do!

I do believe I thought of you when I took them. Not sure why but I'm pretty sure I did

Love the GC. It looks so gorgeous. I can't wait to stay there someday.

I couldn't get over how gorgeous it was. Lots more pictures to come I assure you.

I always say no to the gas and the insurance on the rental car. If you charge the rental car your credit card will pay any deductible you have if you do need to use your own insurance for an accident.

I remembered you said that on your TR. I called my dad before leaving the lot to make sure I did the right thing and he agreed.

The sammie looks pretty darn good. I do think its interesting how California has different "food rules" compared to the East Coast. I think there are certain ingredients they are not allowed to use by law. Not sure how that factors into a veggie sandwich, but so glad you enjoyed. I can't imagine an EOS with no one in it! Wow!

Not allowed to use? How very bizarre. Despite the removal of ingredients it was fabulous! I got a different sandwich later in the week and wasn't as pleased.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that your travel day went mainly smoothly. What a shame about the traffic though. The sandwich looks delicious. Is Grand Californian now absolutely gorgeous? I can't wait to go back next year.

It stinks that they cancelled your cruise, but I am glad that you manage to find an alternative date that works for you. That answers a question though. I knew that due statutory requirements the Wonder had to go into dry dock before the end of September 2014 or risk losing the operating license. I was on the second cruise after dry dock in 2011 and they have to have two dry docks in every 5 year period with the maximum length between two dry docks being 3 years. I wondered what they were going to do about this.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Traffic that late in the day!? I hope it didn't last. I think a lot of what I hit was people not knowing how to merge, it was bad for a little bit and then cleared right up.

Actually traffic like that is pretty much common during most times of the day. I find myself surprised when we move at 50 mph, I just expect traffic to be like that unless it is late at night. Otherwise, I expect to travel at a snails pace for at least half of my journey.

I do think its interesting how California has different "food rules" compared to the East Coast. I think there are certain ingredients they are not allowed to use by law. Not sure how that factors into a veggie sandwich, but so glad you enjoyed. I can't imagine an EOS with no one in it! Wow!

The only ingredient that I know of that is prohibited here is that restaurants can not put duck's liver on the menu and charge you for it. It is possible that they serve it, but they ask you not to tell anyone and it is a "freebie" on prix fixe menus at high end restaurants. I only know this because my parents got this freebie at a French restaurant their realtor treated them at.

But we do have very different food rules. Our food police are much more stringent and that is one of the reasons that we can't have kiosks like at the Epcot F&W festival. I got to know the director of the CA F&W festival the last year we had one and he said that the food police showed up at every signature event to make sure that they were complying with every regulation. They have to be so careful out here I think that is one of the reasons we have lost our F&W festival.

 

[Pinkocto]

I am glad that your travel day went mainly smoothly. What a shame about the traffic though. The sandwich looks delicious. Is Grand Californian now absolutely gorgeous? I can't wait to go back next year.

It was my first time renting a car on my own so it was really an adventure driving in a different state. Loved the sandwich, wish I had another one during the trip. I fell in love with the GC, it was gorgeous!

It stinks that they cancelled your cruise, but I am glad that you manage to find an alternative date that works for you. That answers a question though. I knew that due statutory requirements the Wonder had to go into dry dock before the end of September 2014 or risk losing the operating license. I was on the second cruise after dry dock in 2011 and they have to have two dry docks in every 5 year period with the maximum length between two dry docks being 3 years. I wondered what they were going to do about this.

Corinna

I thought they had a dry dock planned for September already, so since they're doing this in January they don't need to do the September one. I could be wrong though, it's nothing official I've read, just others' posts.

I couldn't believe it when I first saw the email thankfully the rearranging of flights and the cruise itself were very easy. And the huge bonus is that it has become a birthday present to myself

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Loved your updates great shots of the traffic lol. Bumper to bumper! Like London! You can't get a credit cards between cars lol. The biggest car park in Europe...


Oh I didn't realise they had an Earl in CA! Deep joy! Love the Earl that sourdough is just the best. Yum! Sorry your cruise got cancelled. That happened to us too. Our cruise we go on next week was suppose to be so I had my birthday during it but it's not now we had to Rebook the one that sails before. Ours turned into a dcl member cruise but we didn't fancy that ( or the price they added to it! ) . How nice you have your birthday on the cruise! Does it go to CC? Love CC. Miami great!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I thought they had a dry dock planned for September already, so since they're doing this in January they don't need to do the September one. I could be wrong though, it's nothing official I've read, just others' posts.

I couldn't believe it when I first saw the email thankfully the rearranging of flights and the cruise itself were very easy. And the huge bonus is that it has become a birthday present to myself

There was never any time slotted in for a dry dock. I am glad that you did not have any trouble rearranging things.

Oh I didn't realise they had an Earl in CA! Deep joy! Love the Earl that sourdough is just the best.

The Earl of Sandwich has not been there very long. I am pretty sure in spring 2012 it was still a book shop. Sourdough sounds great. I am yeast intolerant so sourdough is a real treat for me.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Loved your updates great shots of the traffic lol. Bumper to bumper! Like London! You can't get a credit cards between cars lol. The biggest car park in Europe...


Oh I didn't realise they had an Earl in CA! Deep joy! Love the Earl that sourdough is just the best. Yum! Sorry your cruise got cancelled. That happened to us too. Our cruise we go on next week was suppose to be so I had my birthday during it but it's not now we had to Rebook the one that sails before. Ours turned into a dcl member cruise but we didn't fancy that ( or the price they added to it! ) . How nice you have your birthday on the cruise! Does it go to CC? Love CC. Miami great!

I've been to London several times but never noticed the traffic. Two trips someone else drove and the other I always took the train in. Love the U.K., one of my top favorite places I've been to.

Bummer about your cruise I'm glad rebooking worked out besides the price. And now you get your birthday at AKV. I won't have my actual birthday on the cruise, mine is the 28th and the cruise sails the 30th, but I will definitely still be celebrating.

Yes, that bread at Earl is seriously the best!

 

[rentayenta]

Is that new 196 countdown badge for the cruise?



Love the GCV. Weren't you just blown away? It's magnificent.

 

[Pinkocto]

Is that new 196 countdown badge for the cruise?

It is indeed!

Love the GCV. Weren't you just blown away? It's magnificent.

I couldn't get enough, it was so gorgeous. My favorite though was the pool area. Those loungers were absolutely fabulous.

 

[kmedina]

Glad you had relatively easy travels. Traffic in that area can be a bear. I have been wanting to try Earl of Sandwich for a while now.

I just heard about the two cancelled cruises. Bummed that one was yours. Even with the 25% discount, it is not fair that they did not offer the original booking prices. There should be a way to research that, since they do it for upgrades on the same cruise. Glad you get to cruise with your friend despite the setback and that the new cruise is so close to your birthday.

 

[Pinkocto]

Glad you had relatively easy travels. Traffic in that area can be a bear. I have been wanting to try Earl of Sandwich for a while now.

I just heard about the two cancelled cruises. Bummed that one was yours. Even with the 25% discount, it is not fair that they did not offer the original booking prices. There should be a way to research that, since they do it for upgrades on the same cruise. Glad you get to cruise with your friend despite the setback and that the new cruise is so close to your birthday.

I thought about that after getting off the phone from rebooking, they should have given the same prices from when we booked the first one... What do you mean they do it for upgrades on the same cruise? You think I should call and complain?

 

[Leshaface]

I'm very impressed at the pictures you got while driving. What a multi-tasker

Ick, about the beans. That's very odd to have those in a sandwich. I get a salad, but not a sandwich.

Can't wait to see 'large' pictures of the room!

I can't believe our birthdays are only a few days apart. Mine's the 31st I'm glad you got everything rescheduled though and that you're still able to cruise.

 

[kmedina]

I thought about that after getting off the phone from rebooking, they should have given the same prices from when we booked the first one... What do you mean they do it for upgrades on the same cruise? You think I should call and complain?

I probably would at least inquire and possibly complain depending on the results of the inquiry. Let's say for example you booked a cruise on January 15th for December 15th in an inside room. On August 15th, you now decide to upgrade to an ocean view room still sailing December 15th. The price difference between the two rooms would only be what it would have cost to book the ocean view room on January 15th. If they charged you the difference between the two rooms based off August rates, you would pay a lot more. If you booked the original cruise a while ago, even a 25% discount, the rate you are paying now may be higher than if you booked this specific cruise when you first booked rather than the one cancelled. I booked my first cruise far out and checked the price again just prior to sailing and the cost nearly doubled. That means people who booked last minute paid almost 100% more than I paid for the same room and number of people. You did not book last minute, so I doubt it doubled. It is possible it went up by more than 25%.

Because Disney is able to look up original rates for all room categories on the same ship, they should easily be able to find out what the prevailing rate for your sail date was on the original date you booked. Now, it is possible Disney already did that as they realize it was not your fault the cruise sail dates were cancelled. Then, they gave you an additional 25% off on top of that. If you find that to be the case upon inquiry, great! Your original cruise was in a January (low season) whereas the replacement one takes place during Spring Break season (most of March and April). The price jump is usually big, so that may explain why the price still went up. However, if you only got a 25% discount off the current rate, I would at least want to know what the rate would have been on your original booking date. If it was less than $100 cheaper, I probably would not complain. If it was more than $100 cheaper, I probably would. Good luck.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I thought about that after getting off the phone from rebooking, they should have given the same prices from when we booked the first one... What do you mean they do it for upgrades on the same cruise? You think I should call and complain?

When this happened to us re the member cruise they didn't honour the cheaper price I think the term they used was grandfather the cost? ( we don't use that here ). They gave us obc for the new cruise and offered to refund flight amendments for the change in dates but no deal on price. We weren't happy but gave up in the end. Too stressful. We did get good obc ( shortly to enjoy ) so we thought that pays for the tips, drinks and palo brunch on them. So we will eat as much as we can lol..

 

[Pinkocto]

When this happened to us re the member cruise they didn't honour the cheaper price I think the term they used was grandfather the cost? ( we don't use that here ). They gave us obc for the new cruise and offered to refund flight amendments for the change in dates but no deal on price. We weren't happy but gave up in the end. Too stressful. We did get good obc ( shortly to enjoy ) so we thought that pays for the tips, drinks and palo brunch on them. So we will eat as much as we can lol..

Did they also give you 25% off or just the OBC? I am not familiar with that phrase either.