eargal
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2005
- Messages
- 323
I thought I would post some of my thoughts. We were there Sept. 16-20.
Transportation:
We flew Jet Blue from Seattle to LGB. Jet Blue was great and LGB is always very easy.
Typically I use Priceline for a rental car but for some reason there were no good deals out of LGB this time. I refuse to pay $30 a day plus taxes and fees for an economy car. I used a towncar service thinking that it would be easier and less expensive than a taxi. It was easy, the drivers were friendly and on time. I had been quoted $55 each way which was what I was charged. There were some things I hadn't considered though:
-I asked to stop at a grocery store. They were happy to do so but it was an extra $25.
-With tax and auto-gratuity the trip there ran $97 the trip back was $64. A cab would have been slightly less but the stop at the grocery store would have run up the tab significantly. I figure it's a wash.
Hotel-
We stayed at the Grand Californian at a good rate through Expedia. Standard room. I had requested to be close to the main lobby and a bunkbed room if possible. We checked in late on Wed. the 19th. (around 9 pm) and were told that there was nothing left near the main lobby. We did get bunkbeds which my kids enjoyed.
Our room, 2249, was in the new wing of the hotel. It was quite a hike from anywhere and looked over the road the taxi's sit on waiting for a fare. To our left was Paradise Pier across the street. At first I was discouraged at how far away the room was but I got over it.
The room was spacious since the bunks leave extra floor space. The beds were very comfortable. The location of the hotel in general is amazing. One phone in our room did not work and the plug in the bath would not hold water (it was pulled out and laying in the tub). We called to request that they be fixed but it never happened. I called a second time hoping to give my DD6 a bath since it's hard to get her hair rinsed well in the shower but never got it resolved.
My kids went to Pinoccio's workshop (sp?) one night for 3 hours and were upset when we came to pick them up. I think it was one of their favorite things the whole trip.
Parks-
We had a lot of fun. Thursday was a light crowd day but starting about 11:00 on Friday it was pretty crowded. That was the first official day of Halloween. We used fastpasses and tried not to get too upset with managing the crowds.
Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy got mixed reviews from my family. DH and I loved it, DD6 thought it was a little too scary but handled it fine. DS9 ended the ride in tears. He tends to be over sensitive and wasn't expecting the ghosts to be so "evil". I had explained to him that it was meant to be scary but somehow he was expeciting Casper or Mickey with a sheet on or something. We ended up doing the ride two more times during the trip. DD6 thought it was o.k. DS9 covered his ears and closed his eyes.
We ate at the BBQ place in Frontierland. The kids loved it. We thought the food was pretty good. We did it for lunch and ended up with no need for a big dinner that day. Used our annual pass for a discount so with tip for 2 adults and two kids it came to around $65.
We ate at White Water snacks a number of times where we discovered that the kid's grilled cheese sandwich is good sized and delicious! It takes some time to get your food there so be patient. It is fresh and hot when you do get it!
DH and I split a Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans and found it was just as good as ever. I can totally understand why some people don't like it. It is really heavy/greasy/rich. We are by no means health food finatics but even we felt a little guilty eating this! I had read reviews of it being different recently with "no bread" just breading. This was not the case for us although the bread was hard to distinguish from the breading as it just becomes a hot mealting goey piece of guilty pleasure.
All in all a good trip. Feel free to ask specific questions if you have them.
Shannon
Transportation:
We flew Jet Blue from Seattle to LGB. Jet Blue was great and LGB is always very easy.
Typically I use Priceline for a rental car but for some reason there were no good deals out of LGB this time. I refuse to pay $30 a day plus taxes and fees for an economy car. I used a towncar service thinking that it would be easier and less expensive than a taxi. It was easy, the drivers were friendly and on time. I had been quoted $55 each way which was what I was charged. There were some things I hadn't considered though:
-I asked to stop at a grocery store. They were happy to do so but it was an extra $25.
-With tax and auto-gratuity the trip there ran $97 the trip back was $64. A cab would have been slightly less but the stop at the grocery store would have run up the tab significantly. I figure it's a wash.
Hotel-
We stayed at the Grand Californian at a good rate through Expedia. Standard room. I had requested to be close to the main lobby and a bunkbed room if possible. We checked in late on Wed. the 19th. (around 9 pm) and were told that there was nothing left near the main lobby. We did get bunkbeds which my kids enjoyed.
Our room, 2249, was in the new wing of the hotel. It was quite a hike from anywhere and looked over the road the taxi's sit on waiting for a fare. To our left was Paradise Pier across the street. At first I was discouraged at how far away the room was but I got over it.
The room was spacious since the bunks leave extra floor space. The beds were very comfortable. The location of the hotel in general is amazing. One phone in our room did not work and the plug in the bath would not hold water (it was pulled out and laying in the tub). We called to request that they be fixed but it never happened. I called a second time hoping to give my DD6 a bath since it's hard to get her hair rinsed well in the shower but never got it resolved.
My kids went to Pinoccio's workshop (sp?) one night for 3 hours and were upset when we came to pick them up. I think it was one of their favorite things the whole trip.
Parks-
We had a lot of fun. Thursday was a light crowd day but starting about 11:00 on Friday it was pretty crowded. That was the first official day of Halloween. We used fastpasses and tried not to get too upset with managing the crowds.
Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy got mixed reviews from my family. DH and I loved it, DD6 thought it was a little too scary but handled it fine. DS9 ended the ride in tears. He tends to be over sensitive and wasn't expecting the ghosts to be so "evil". I had explained to him that it was meant to be scary but somehow he was expeciting Casper or Mickey with a sheet on or something. We ended up doing the ride two more times during the trip. DD6 thought it was o.k. DS9 covered his ears and closed his eyes.
We ate at the BBQ place in Frontierland. The kids loved it. We thought the food was pretty good. We did it for lunch and ended up with no need for a big dinner that day. Used our annual pass for a discount so with tip for 2 adults and two kids it came to around $65.
We ate at White Water snacks a number of times where we discovered that the kid's grilled cheese sandwich is good sized and delicious! It takes some time to get your food there so be patient. It is fresh and hot when you do get it!
DH and I split a Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans and found it was just as good as ever. I can totally understand why some people don't like it. It is really heavy/greasy/rich. We are by no means health food finatics but even we felt a little guilty eating this! I had read reviews of it being different recently with "no bread" just breading. This was not the case for us although the bread was hard to distinguish from the breading as it just becomes a hot mealting goey piece of guilty pleasure.
All in all a good trip. Feel free to ask specific questions if you have them.
Shannon
, it just was too much for them.
