mermaidfrCA
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2001
- Messages
- 3
Cast - myself, age 39; DH, age 40 (and world's oldest boy); DD's ages 12.
Where we stayed - Hotel Royal Plaza - nothing fancy, but clean and neat, and a good bargain for our length of stay.
This is our very first trip to DW (and my first trip report)! We're native Californians, so we've been to DL countless times. This trip was very impromptu, begun just a little over a month and a half ago when I accidentally found this great airfare on the net ($150.00 pp R/T- what a deal!!). So, I call my DH at work and say," hey, how'd you like to go to DW?". After a long, pregnant pause, he says..."uh...sure...why not?". I excitedly tell my DD's after school about the trip (expecting an equally excited response) and get instead "why are we flying all the way across the country when we just have to drive right up the freeway?" I guarantee you after this trip they will never say that again! (But don't get me wrong, we still love DL).
Since we didn't have the time needed to amass the fortune required to do the trip in grand style, we needed to follow a strict budget. The tickets were no problem. My DH's wonderful aunt works on a military base here and was able to purchase 4-day park hoppers at the MWR for us. That saved us about 75.00. Airfare was cheap, now to find whatever other deals may be out there. That's when I started my search on the net and found The Dis and other sites that proved to be invaluable. Thanks to you all!
Our flight left at 7:10 in the morning, requiring us to be at the airport at 4:30(!). I work nights (swing/latenight), so I got off my shift and gathered everything up (including DH and DD's) and off we went. Flew Southwest - left on time and arrived early (both coming and going). Arrived at the hotel. We had a non smoking room, but just to warn you, the hotel does have a very faint (but pervasive) smell of smoke about it. Also, the hotel buses service ALL of the DD hotels. So if you are staying at BW or the Grosvenor, you are the last two stops and the bus (note BUS, singular) is usually packed by then (at peak hours) and those guests could not get on. Grosvenor guests especially, it's probably worth your while to walk around the corner to the DD Marketplace bus stop and take Disney Transport. You'd probably get there faster.
We spent our first night at DD and Disney Quest. My DH, and DD's are gamers, so they thought it was a blast. My DH especially couldn't get over the "old school" video arcade games they had (Galaxian, Galaga, and Empire Strikes Back). Ah, it practically brought tears to the old boy's eye's, reminiscing about the hours he spent in high school, playing games and not doing homework. (I can call him old now, 'cause he's forty, and I'm not...yet!)
As for me, I made the big mistake of doing the coaster simulator first. DH and I gleefully made a very hairy coaster and then rode it. I love coasters (the real thing, that is), but virtual rides make me sick. So, of course, I came out feeling green. I didn't help that I'd already gone 36 straight hours without sleep. I usually live in a state of perpetual sleep deprivation, but that is a little too sleep deprived! So I crawled off to a bench in the corner and dozed while my "three" kids played. Then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep for all of us.
Part 2 - the Parks - to follow.
Where we stayed - Hotel Royal Plaza - nothing fancy, but clean and neat, and a good bargain for our length of stay.
This is our very first trip to DW (and my first trip report)! We're native Californians, so we've been to DL countless times. This trip was very impromptu, begun just a little over a month and a half ago when I accidentally found this great airfare on the net ($150.00 pp R/T- what a deal!!). So, I call my DH at work and say," hey, how'd you like to go to DW?". After a long, pregnant pause, he says..."uh...sure...why not?". I excitedly tell my DD's after school about the trip (expecting an equally excited response) and get instead "why are we flying all the way across the country when we just have to drive right up the freeway?" I guarantee you after this trip they will never say that again! (But don't get me wrong, we still love DL).
Since we didn't have the time needed to amass the fortune required to do the trip in grand style, we needed to follow a strict budget. The tickets were no problem. My DH's wonderful aunt works on a military base here and was able to purchase 4-day park hoppers at the MWR for us. That saved us about 75.00. Airfare was cheap, now to find whatever other deals may be out there. That's when I started my search on the net and found The Dis and other sites that proved to be invaluable. Thanks to you all!
Our flight left at 7:10 in the morning, requiring us to be at the airport at 4:30(!). I work nights (swing/latenight), so I got off my shift and gathered everything up (including DH and DD's) and off we went. Flew Southwest - left on time and arrived early (both coming and going). Arrived at the hotel. We had a non smoking room, but just to warn you, the hotel does have a very faint (but pervasive) smell of smoke about it. Also, the hotel buses service ALL of the DD hotels. So if you are staying at BW or the Grosvenor, you are the last two stops and the bus (note BUS, singular) is usually packed by then (at peak hours) and those guests could not get on. Grosvenor guests especially, it's probably worth your while to walk around the corner to the DD Marketplace bus stop and take Disney Transport. You'd probably get there faster.
We spent our first night at DD and Disney Quest. My DH, and DD's are gamers, so they thought it was a blast. My DH especially couldn't get over the "old school" video arcade games they had (Galaxian, Galaga, and Empire Strikes Back). Ah, it practically brought tears to the old boy's eye's, reminiscing about the hours he spent in high school, playing games and not doing homework. (I can call him old now, 'cause he's forty, and I'm not...yet!)
As for me, I made the big mistake of doing the coaster simulator first. DH and I gleefully made a very hairy coaster and then rode it. I love coasters (the real thing, that is), but virtual rides make me sick. So, of course, I came out feeling green. I didn't help that I'd already gone 36 straight hours without sleep. I usually live in a state of perpetual sleep deprivation, but that is a little too sleep deprived! So I crawled off to a bench in the corner and dozed while my "three" kids played. Then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep for all of us.
Part 2 - the Parks - to follow.
