Just Back from CA/DL - long

[Toby]

Just got back two days ago from DL/CA and San Diego area. Spent 9 days total in Calif. 5 days at the Grand Californian, 3 days in San Diego Bahia Resort, on Mission Bay, and 1 day at the Mariott, Laguna Beach Cliffs...Some observations:

1. Grand Californian is a gorgeous hotel - beautiful, towering lobby with Mission-style influence. Huge stone fireplace, lots of comfy chairs and couches to watch the world go by!! Stained Glass entrance doors are a sight!! Pool is very nice, with padded lounge recliners. Plenty of towels, and snack bar nearby. Rooms again done in Mission-style, with stained glass lamps. Very roomy - 2 queen beds, balcony with table and chairs, bathroom good size with Bambi shower curtain...You really feel as though you're in the woods there! Pine trees all around. Only complaint - I swear we were a 1/2 mile walk from the elevator...the first time we walked it, it was ok - no one was tired yet, but boy what a hike...Room 3150 fyi... Storyteller Cafe Restaurant was very good - great morning buffet, but very pricey!! 2 adults, 2 teenagers - $100.00 for breakfast...bring your wallet.
Hotel entrance into CA was SO convenient - you bypass all the lines and walk right in. I found CA was a lot of fun, but it looks so much better at night with all the lights on - really exciting atmosphere in the dark. Now my 15yo son, who loves DW, thought the Paradise Pier area was kind of "honky tonk"..He felt you could get that kind of entertainment at any amusement park - not up to Disney standards, he felt...I thought the food was good - but while the cost of food in the park was not too out of line, - $2.50 for Water, and $2.00 for a cup of tea was rather steep...what big costs are incurred pouring hot water and handing you a tea bag!!

Major complaint: No where in the park can you get half & half for coffee - it's all this non-dairy crap...even for tea..I was told a few times - "Sorry, no milk or cream" All this for $2.00 per cup!
It's things like that that make me crazy!!

Disneyland - Again Grand Californian hotel just about a 10 minute walk from DL gates...when you're tired, though, it can seem like ten miles....We've never been to DL - it was fun, but everything, naturally, is condensed because of space...Both my kids thought the castle was a joke!! Compared to DW, I guess, it looks rather small...Matterhorn was fun, Indy ride - great!! Jungle Cruise - same as always...Haunted Mansion - wonderful, loved the whole New Orleans area and theme...Storyland Canal ride -relaxing. My kids loved Space Mountain, thought it better than DW...Small World - different because it starts outside...

CA could use a few more "fast-paced" rides in the Hollywood section! All the rides like Calif. Screaming, Mullholand Madness, were pretty squashed together...make for difficult moving around...Too little to see at the other end of the park...Soaring over Calif. - wonderful!! Star Limo ride was rather lame - even for a chicken like me!! No one ever in line for that one.

Downtown Disney

Good variety of restaurants - but again bring your wallet!! $5.00 for 4 small beignets!!! For four people, we spent an average of $100 - 150 for food, drinks every day!! Adds up fast!!
Nice shops, though!

San Diego:

Beautiful beaches, restaurants, and especially weather!! Bahia Resort, very nice, right on Mission Bay...plenty to do and see there...took a side-trip to Tijuana, Mexico - less said about that the better...what a pit!! We couldn't wait to get out of there...Customs agents - scary!

Side trip to Universal Studios - Great Time - they really give Disney a run for their money!! Lots of fun.

Tour of Hollywood, Mann's Chinese Theater - What a dump - but see it at least once...
Rodeo Drive - fun to window shop! Lunch at Hard Rock - Great burgers! Beverly Hills - wished I lived there!! Does everyone own a Lexus?

Laguna Beach
Lots of fun! Nice beaches, and areas to shop and browse...gorgeous Wyland Studio building. Lots of fun watching the surfers!!

Final thoughts"

For our first time ever to CA, we felt Los Angeles was smoggy, dirty, and on every corner a fast food restaurant...
The Freeways are a nightmare...no matter what time we drove on them - early morning and late at night they were always packed....try cutting over 4 lanes of highway to get off at your exit that just came up...I thought our Boston highways were bad...these were nothing but cement roads that were bumpy and rough! Only thing that saved any time was driving in the carpool lane... Weather all the 9 days was wonderful, though!!

I know this is very long, but I thought people might want to hear about our family excursion!!

 

[Minybear]

Toby

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Its almost simular to our trip in September. We are going to Universal Studios the first day. On the 2nd day we are going to tour Hollywood and see Manns Chinese Theater and then later on that evening we will see the Lion King Broadway Show. Then the next day go to DL/DCA and spend 2 nights at the GC.

Besides looking forward to going to DL/DCA, we are also looking forward to going to the Universal Studios. Is there any attraction that is a must see? I have not been there for at least 5 years. When you bought your tickets to Universal Studios did you see something like add another $6 to the ticket and you can use the ticket for 333 days (or something like that), While I am writing this my husband is thinking about doing Universal Studios for 2days and skip the tour of Hollywood.

Can you also suggest a must see in Hollywood?

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

Thanks for the great report Toby! I enjoyed hearing your observations.

 

[Toby]

We took a tour package - USA Coach - booked it right from Grand Californian. It included a tour of Hollywood & Vine - Mann's Chinese Theater, and then right on to Universal. You rode a tram for a tour of Universal, showcasing JAWS, Earthquake, King Kong, etc. That was great!Then they let you off and you could do other rides. We had about 8 hours at Universal, which was more than enough! It was so convenient, picked up at the hotel, dropped off at the hotel. No driving the crazy freeways. And, you saw the attractions of Hollywood, etc. It was the way to go for us...hope this helps...

 

[TheLionKing]

Very nice trip report Toby.

Southern California is a nightmare to drive. About the only time the freeways are clear is between 2AM and 5:30 AM in the morning.

But we take the freeway congestion and the multitude Mini Mall mentality to live in the beautiful weather.

Hope you can return again soon. San Diego is gorgeous. You might try coming up to the central coast like Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo for a slightly different take on California, or Napa Valley.... gorgeuos!!!!!

I hear we have some good wine here........ both in Napa and the Central Coast.

 

[Bob O]

Toby we are thinking of going to Disneyland in Dec of 2002 and i waswondering about your trip to universal hollywood. Did you do this on your own or did you do this via disney travel as ive seen in their travel brochure that if you stay a certain amount of days they have features where you can go to Knotts Berry farms or Universal Studios and we would want to go to both. If this something you plan way a ahead of time of just when you get dwon there. Did you go to the disneyland hotel as that is where we may stay.Any info on the transfers would be appreciated, how often are they, when do they start and stop etc.

 

[Toby]

Bob O

We did not have the package with Disney, where one of the bonus features included
Universal or Knotts. What we did was get info from the Guest Services, who gave us a detailed booklet re: all kinds of tours in So. Calif. We then booked the Universal one, which was a good 12 hour day, but it included a stop at Mann's Chinese, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,the Hollywood Sign area, and then on to Universal for the day. You are picked up directly at Grand Californian at about 8:30am, brought to a central location; board a much bigger bus, and then proceed. You are also dropped off at your hotel at about 8:30 at night. We found it to be very convenient, about $250 for the four of us for the day. It includes admission to the park, though...If you have a package with Disney though, that might be the way to go...Don't feel you have to book way in advance for these sightseeing trips. We booked it the day before with the company...hope this helps...

 

[Bob O]

Thanks for the info Toby! Im looking forward to going at x-mas time in Dec 2002.