Just a few days in Disneyland

Nickylv

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 7, 2021
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646
Today we drive to Disneyland from Las Vegas.

Day 1:



Well last week we returned from our 18 day multi destinational trip from Disney World, St Augustine and Hilton Head Island. This was a really relaxing trip and we had a lot of fun.

We found some really great restaurtants to enjoy. We returned home for a week and now we are driving not flying to Disneyland. Its only 269 miles from Las Vegas. While we are also going to spend a week in Newport beach I will not be adding that to this report. If you read my report I did in the trip report section, I felt it was just too long to hold anyones attention even mine, so this will not include the second part of our trip, however if you have any questions or comments about Newport Beach feel free to respond. Okay enough said….



The SUV is packed and we were only 1/2 hour later than we expected to leave. It is bad when you finally get into California and your stuck in rush hour traffic and a 4 hour trip takes 6 hours. But if anyone is from or have been to Southern California I am not sure there is anytime of day or night that it is not rush hour.

The ride was comfortable, I am going to go off subject for a minute. Last year I had a one year old Jeep Grand Cherokee L, 3 row seats SUV. I really liked it alot and since I am retired I was not crazy about 13 miles to a gallon. I looked at alot of electric vehicles and felt when we travel we would have to keep stopping to recharge and felt that was not a good option for us. Then the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Hybrid came along. A three row seated SUV, and for such a large vehicle it got over 30 miles to a gallon because the SUV would switch from Electric to Gas when needed. The great part it does not plug in, the batteries regenerate themselves. We went down to the dealership, test drove it and we were hooked. Drives great, very comfortable and great gas mileage which is what I was looking for. You may be thinking why such a big vehicle when you are retired, well we have two Great Grandsons that are in car seats and when our grandson and his wife all go out together we needed a vehicle that would be able to handle all of us. I traded my new Jeep Grand Cherokee L in and bought the Hyundai and I am very happy I did it. And yes I love it when I fill the tank (around $40) and my gage says over 600 miles to empty, you just can’t beat it. NO this is not an advertisement. The only drawback was giving up my 900 watt Macintosh stereo system for a Bose system that does not compare. Music is important to me.



Well the drive was long and we did hit a few spots with traffic but we made it to The Disneyland Hotel and checked in. We are staying in the Discovery Tower which is a new DVC building. We are on the 12th floor and the room is beautiful. We have stayed here a few times already. We unpacked and were ready to go to dinner. We had 5:30 reservations at the GCH Craftsman Bar in the Grand Californian. We were seated right a way. I got the Crispy Chicken Wings, something I normally do not eat but I heard they were great and guess what, they were great. Came with sticky rice and coleslaw and both were great too. My wife got the Salmon and it came on top of a salad and she could not stop saying how good it was.

I had read on one of the blogs that the quick service was number one rated so we figured we would see if the restaurant side is good too. It was.

At first glance we thought it to be a little pricey for a bar but after our food arrived we realized it was worth every penny. I guess if you want quality it all evens out. I have paid more and thought it was not good at all so this was definitely worth the price.

We were supposed to go into the park but we were exhausted from the drive so we headed back to the room.

At 9:30 when the fireworks went off we stood by our window in our room and saw the whole thing. Bummer no balcony but we can live with that.

Well great room, great dinner and great view. Looks like we are off to a great start. Till tomorrow thanks for reading.
 

Enjoying your report!

Am I imagining things, or does your third picture look like they cut out a section of the ceiling in the entryway and replaced it?
 
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Enjoying your report!

Am I imagining things, or does your third picture look like they cut out a section of the ceiling in the entryway and replaced it?
Ha ha you are right. Yes looks like they did some patch work that they never finished. However the room is so nice I never even noticed it until you brought it up. While I do agree they should have finished that before renting the room, but it is in the hallway and I really don’t see it at all when we are in the room itself. Great catch.
 
Enjoying your report!

Am I imagining things, or does your third picture look like they cut out a section of the ceiling in the entryway and replaced it?
They have that in all of the rooms we have stayed at in VDH. I'm 99% sure it's an access panel for engineering to get to plumbing/electrical stuff for the room if needed.
 
They have that in all of the rooms we have stayed at in VDH. I'm 99% sure it's an access panel for engineering to get to plumbing/electrical stuff for the room if needed.
They need to do a bit better finishing work, it looks like a tiny piece of something (nail? drywall tape?) is hanging down from the edge of the panel.
 
Day 2:

Well this morning started out great, at our age we woke up…. All jokes aside, we got ready and took the elevator down to the lobby. We struck up a conversation with a cast member who was a hostess at the DVC area. Her name is Raylean and she could not have been nicer. She made sure we got our DVC welcome gift (we didn’t even know it was a thing) she was just so pleasant we had a nice time talking with her.

We walked over to the Grand Californian Hotel. We figured it would be alot easier to get into the California Adventure park. It was.

Now getting close to lunch time we went right over to the Lamplight lounge and put our names in for a table. After about a 20 minute wait we were seated at the bar. We ordered Lobster Nachos which obviously is their biggest seller since they came out of the kitchen one right after the other. Yes they were delicious.

After lunch we walked over to Toy Story Midway Mania. This is different than the one in Disney World, both are fun. Of course my score was in the 100’s. After a steller win (me) we walked for a short time and decided to go back to the hotel to enjoy the pool and hot tub.

First we went in the hot tub, once we got used to the really scortching hot temperature it was very relaxing. We walked over to the pool and there were so many loud kids playing Marco-Polo, we decided to let them have there fun without us, so we walked back to the quiet area of the hot tub. I have nothing against screaming kids, I have two Great Grandkids and love them more than anything, but start screaming at the top of your lungs….well not enjoyable for me.

Then we decided to try the pool in the back of the tower and that was quieter. After a nice relaxing afternoon we thought it best to head back to our room and get ready for dinner at Centricos in Down Town Disney,

My wife ordered the Huarache De Adada, and said it was alright, she was asked how she wanted the steak, she said medium. It came out well done. I ordered the Fish Tacos and they were so dry and the crunch was so hard I thought I was going to break a tooth. I sent them back and the waiter who was so gracious asked me for another choice. I got the Ribs. Well I did not have the heart to tell him the ribs tasted like the only flavor to them was vinegar. I ate a few bites and left the rest. No I am not a picky eater, nor do I have a habit of sending anything back. (I don’t trust what they will do to the food) it was really not good at all. Well chalk that up to the never again list. I think it may have been hard to come close to the meal we had last night at the Craftsmen bar but I must admit our waiter Mando was great though.

Afterwards we walked over to California Adventure and once we got inside we realized that the temperature was going down by the minute and soon it was in the 60’s and since we were in tee shirts it was very cold. We walked back to the Grand Californian and then to the Disneyland Hotel and back to the room. We decided to call it a night, both writing our trip reports and soon after sleep. Can not believe tomorrow is our last day here. Guess next time we will make it a longer stay at Disneyland. Till tomorrow….
 
Day 3:



Got ourselves together at our leasure and walked over to the Disneyland Park. For some reason we really felt like having a hotdog which is funny because we never eat hotdogs. So this will be the first hotdog in many years. We walked over to the refreshment corner snack bar and ordered a chilli dog. We shared it just for the taste and it hit the spot.

What will we do first….oh I know The Haunted Mansion. This is a little different from the Haunted Mansion in Disney World but both are a must do when we are in Disney.

Next was the Jungle Cruise which is always entertaining. Then Pirates of the Caribbean. Now this ride is much longer in DL and a lot more to see than in Disney World.

Afterwards we decided to check out the DVC lounge in Disneyland Park. This is called Star View Station which is a members only lounge. This is located on the second floor of the Star Wars Launch Bay. I will admit it is a very nice place to just sit back and relax from the crowds. There are soda’s, coffee’s, hot chocolates, and some snacks, pretzels, potato chips. Well done Disney for making a nice relaxing place for your loyal DVC members.

So how many of us started off with one property as our home resort and then decided to get another contract and then another one. Help we just can’t stop. We are under contract for a fourth one.

As I have said in other blogs I wrote, Disney has other properties that do not include parks such as Vero Beach, what a better way to spend a vacation, just relaxing on a chair with the waves of the ocean crashing infront of you.

Taking a hike or a bike ride at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. You can enjoy the beach, boatrides, golf, comedy club, a play at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina and much more. And who could forget Aulani a Hawaiian Gem. Not to mention the Cruises river and ocean.

After leaving the lounge we walked over to Carthay Circle. We had reservations at the Carthay Circle Alfresco Dining but my wife really felt like being in the dining room so she asked if we could change our reservation and they said yes and we were seated immediately. Dinner was really good and we had a nice time talking to the two girls that sat at the table next to us. Something to remember WDW and DL resorts and restaurants keep their temperatures just above freezing ice cubes. Be sure to bring a sweater or sweatshirt with you no matter how hot it is outside.

Well this is our last day here, tomorrow after we check out we will be heading to Newport beach. We have a week at Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas, but we will not stay the whole week. I think we will head back to Vegas Thursday night or Friday early morning. When it comes to friday afternoon in California there are thousands of visitors heading to fun filled Las Vegas, the highway to LV is bumper to bumper. You also don’t want to (if it can’t be helped) go from Vegas to California on a Sunday or Monday if it is a holiday. Well we had a month of vacationing and we enjoyed every minute of it. The summer is coming and it is time to stay home and indoors away from the heat. I know we will be traveling in the early fall but not sure where yet. Hope you all have a great summer, stay happy and healthy. Well until next time. Now its time to say goodbye to all our company, M.I.C. See you real soon, K.E.Y. Why because we like you. M.O.U.S.E… thanks for reading.
 



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