Just got back any questions?

[ballarinamom]

I will do my trip report soon but thought some of you may be leaving soon and might have questions. We stayed at the Desert Inn. It was great for the price! The only hotel closer was Park Vue.
We ordered groceries from Von's and we had no problem. DMIL ordered a ECV scooter and it was waiting the the lobby when we arrived.
We flew into LGB and LOVED it. I can't believe how fast we were out of there! We used a car service that was waiting for us at the luggage claim. It was $48 inclusive of the airport fees each way. We hit traffic coming back so we definately saved money on that one.
We did the Fantasmic viewing (check in early for best seat assignments), the Walking in Walt's tour and the Holiday tour (Hi Dizme! It was great meeting you!) I highly recommend this as we walked right onto HM, IASW and had front row seats for the parade with hot coco and gingerbread Mickies. As a bonus they gave us a front of the line pass for any ride!!
We ate at all 5 character meals. Minnie's was our least favorite as it always has been. The character rotation is not consistant and we missed Peter and Wendy which was a drag.
WE LOVED ARIEL'S GROTTO!! After 3 trips there for lunch/dinner, we loved the food! It was awesome!! Ate at Blue Bayou twice- great as always. (Monte Cristo and Ribs for our group).
We did not like Cafe Orleans. Aweful service and food was just ok for the price.
Churos and Dole Whips rocked as usual.
If you are at DCA before rope drop, I did get a fastpass 30 minutes before rope drop. The line for TSM was started on the Grizzly River rapids side and we were on and off the ride in 10 minutes after rope drop.
Nemo right at rope drop and were off and on in 15 minutes. On MM it took 20 minutes to get off and on.
Early in the mornings, most fastpass lines were chained. They were opened but unmaned. Don't make the mistake of thinking they are not open. They will let you in. We saw several wait signs saying 5 minute waits that turned into 20 minute waits.

That's it unless someone has some other questions!! Weather was awesome and had a celebrity sighting- Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters was hanging out in the Princess Faire with his daughter having fun and trying to make other kids smile for their parents photos! Got dreamed with a lanyard and pin coming into the castle at 10:00am!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Sounds like a great time ~ I can't wait to hear more. What car service did you use from LGB? What sort of vehicle did you have?

 

[ballarinamom]

We used Kim Sontha Transportaion after someone here recommended them. The same driver was with us on both to and from the airport. He drove a black Toyota Highlander with the full leather package. Very nice

 

[DisneyMomma81]

That's who we went with this past April ~ I highly recommend them as well. I need to call and get us scheduled for the 2nd week on Dec.! DD and I will be dining @ Ariel's our 1st night!

 

[pixiewings71]

Sounds like tons of fun so far!!! One quick question, did you book your tour before you got there or after? I think I would like to do it in Jan.

 

[ballarinamom]

We booked them 30 days out and paid with our reservations. Walking in Walt's included a meal

 

[Sherry E]

I will do my trip report soon but thought some of you may be leaving soon and might have questions. We stayed at the Desert Inn. It was great for the price! The only hotel closer was Park Vue.
We ordered groceries from Von's and we had no problem. DMIL ordered a ECV scooter and it was waiting the the lobby when we arrived.
We flew into LGB and LOVED it. I can't believe how fast we were out of there! We used a car service that was waiting for us at the luggage claim. It was $48 inclusive of the airport fees each way. We hit traffic coming back so we definately saved money on that one.
We did the Fantasmic viewing (check in early for best seat assignments), the Walking in Walt's tour and the Holiday tour (Hi Dizme! It was great meeting you!) I highly recommend this as we walked right onto HM, IASW and had front row seats for the parade with hot coco and gingerbread Mickies. As a bonus they gave us a front of the line pass for any ride!!
We ate at all 5 character meals. Minnie's was our least favorite as it always has been. The character rotation is not consistant and we missed Peter and Wendy which was a drag.
WE LOVED ARIEL'S GROTTO!! After 3 trips there for lunch/dinner, we loved the food! It was awesome!! Ate at Blue Bayou twice- great as always. (Monte Cristo and Ribs for our group).
We did not like Cafe Orleans. Aweful service and food was just ok for the price.
Churos and Dole Whips rocked as usual.
If you are at DCA before rope drop, I did get a fastpass 30 minutes before rope drop. The line for TSM was started on the Grizzly River rapids side and we were on and off the ride in 10 minutes after rope drop.
Nemo right at rope drop and were off and on in 15 minutes. On MM it took 20 minutes to get off and on.
Early in the mornings, most fastpass lines were chained. They were opened but unmaned. Don't make the mistake of thinking they are not open. They will let you in. We saw several wait signs saying 5 minute waits that turned into 20 minute waits.

That's it unless someone has some other questions!! Weather was awesome and had a celebrity sighting- Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters was hanging out in the Princess Faire with his daughter having fun and trying to make other kids smile for their parents photos! Got dreamed with a lanyard and pin coming into the castle at 10:00am!

Now, Dave Grohl is a celebrity I would LOVE to see at DLR! He is an awesome talent! I have seen him on TMZ recently with his daughter. Suddenly, there is a lot of father-daughter bonding time happening! Was Goofy's Kitchen great as always? I mean, I have rarely had a negative experience there, but I like to keep tabs on what is happening and make sure they are not slipping!

Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

What ride did you use your Front of the Line pass for? I wonder if we'll get one of those (we'll participate in the Holiday Tour Tues 12/9).

Who did DMIL rent the ECV from? My grandma is coming with us next month and she doesn't think she'll need one ~ I'm thinkin' she will.

 

[PrincessSitka]

Sounds like you had a great time! I have some questions if you don't mind.

Have you stayed at the Disneylad Hotel before?
How close is Disneyland hotel from the hotel you stayed at?
The hotel that you stayed at, is it closer to the park than Disneyland Hotel?
What accomandations do they have at the hotel you stayed at?
Are they better than Disneyland Hotel or the same?
The cost at Disneyland Hotel nightly is around 400.00 a night now.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Now, Dave Grohl is a celebrity I would LOVE to see at DLR! He is an awesome talent! I have seen him on TMZ recently with his daughter. Suddenly, there is a lot of father-daughter bonding time happening!

Did you see him on TMZ and he was putting his daughter into the car and the daughter yelled out "Obama!" . She's probably like 3 or 4?? I saw it on TMZ the TV show and I was cracking up. Even the camera guy was laughing. Dave Grohl didn't say anything like he didn't hear her.

 

[DangerMouse]

Wow, sounds like quite a full Disney trip! Every character meal, F! special seating and 2 Tours? Lucky you!

 

[Sherry E]

Did you see him on TMZ and he was putting his daughter into the car and the daughter yelled out "Obama!" . She's probably like 3 or 4?? I saw it on TMZ the TV show and I was cracking up. Even the camera guy was laughing. Dave Grohl didn't say anything like he didn't hear her.

Yes! I saw that! And the camera guy was asking Dave about which rock stars should be president or something like that, and, thankfully, Dave said none of them (it would be mass chaos if a rock star were president). Actually, I think his response was a bit more witty than "none of them" but I can't recall the exact words. And I remember thinking, Oh how sweet, he is taking his little girl to the mall (that is where they accosted him - in the mall parking lot). And I wondered where mommy was. I haven't heard of them getting divorced or anything. I wonder if mommy was with them in DLR at the PFF! The image in my mind of grunge rocker extraordinaire Dave Grohl waiting on his daughter to hob-knob with the Princesses cracks me up!!!

Why do I NEVER see anyone famous at DLR? I haven't even been lucky enough to see Corey Feldman!

 

[ballarinamom]

Now, Dave Grohl is a celebrity I would LOVE to see at DLR! He is an awesome talent! I have seen him on TMZ recently with his daughter. Suddenly, there is a lot of father-daughter bonding time happening! Was Goofy's Kitchen great as always? I mean, I have rarely had a negative experience there, but I like to keep tabs on what is happening and make sure they are not slipping!

Sounds like you had a great time!

Goofy's was great as usual. It has always been our second fav behind BB. But I must say that Ariel's Grotto beat it with the new menu!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Wow, sounds like you really had a great trip! You did a lot during your stay.

So, what was your favorite character breakfast?

 

[ballarinamom]

What ride did you use your Front of the Line pass for? I wonder if we'll get one of those (we'll participate in the Holiday Tour Tues 12/9).

Who did DMIL rent the ECV from? My grandma is coming with us next month and she doesn't think she'll need one ~ I'm thinkin' she will.

We used it for Small world as our last ride before leaving the park. At that point, the wait was over 1 hour long!

The ecv came from a company the Desert Inn recommended. We did everything over the phone and the scotter was waiting for us at the hotel when we got there and they were there to pick it up at 5:00 on our last day. I think it's called electric mobility but I do know the number is714-978-2333

 

[ballarinamom]

Sounds like you had a great time! I have some questions if you don't mind.

Have you stayed at the Disneylad Hotel before?
How close is Disneyland hotel from the hotel you stayed at?
The hotel that you stayed at, is it closer to the park than Disneyland Hotel?
What accomandations do they have at the hotel you stayed at?
Are they better than Disneyland Hotel or the same?
The cost at Disneyland Hotel nightly is around 400.00 a night now.

We have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel twice before. We do love it. But we decided to take DMIL for her 67 birthday. She's never been before. We figured we would save some money- which paid for te extra tours and Fantasmic viewing. Plus, we only sleep and shower there.
The Desert Inn was actually a shorter distance from the park entrance. That's because you don't walk through DTD. We paid $149 for two adjoining rooms the first three nights and $209 for the last three nights. MUCH cheaper than DLH. They had an indoor pool so DD could swim on the nights when DLR closed at 8:00. There was a fridge, micro and coffee maker. Cont Breakfast but we were out of the hotel before it started.
The main difference is that DLH gives you unlimitede MM entries. With a regular parkhopper you would only get 1 by staying at the Desert Inn. But we bought ours from Getaway today which gave us 2MMs which worked great for our schedule

 

[ballarinamom]

Wow, sounds like quite a full Disney trip! Every character meal, F! special seating and 2 Tours? Lucky you!

DH is a keeper!

 

[ballarinamom]

Yes! I saw that! And the camera guy was asking Dave about which rock stars should be president or something like that, and, thankfully, Dave said none of them (it would be mass chaos if a rock star were president). Actually, I think his response was a bit more witty than "none of them" but I can't recall the exact words. And I remember thinking, Oh how sweet, he is taking his little girl to the mall (that is where they accosted him - in the mall parking lot). And I wondered where mommy was. I haven't heard of them getting divorced or anything. I wonder if mommy was with them in DLR at the PFF! The image in my mind of grunge rocker extraordinaire Dave Grohl waiting on his daughter to hob-knob with the Princesses cracks me up!!!

Why do I NEVER see anyone famous at DLR? I haven't even been lucky enough to see Corey Feldman!

There was a woman there that I think is his wife. He had a paper crown on and sat on the side of the stage and just let his little girl run and decorate her crown. Loved it! He is DH's FAVORITE and it took all he could to keep from talking to him! They did make eyecontact and DH gave him the thumbs up sign and Dave gave him a nod and a smile back.

 

[ballarinamom]

Wow, sounds like you really had a great trip! You did a lot during your stay.

So, what was your favorite character breakfast?

I think Lilo and Stitch was the best. They had hula lessons and a conga line and an island lesson. The characters gave us tons of attention and the food selection was different from the standard fare. They had the omeletes. waffles and bacon, etc. But they also had flautas, grilled salmon, pineapple coconut scones and bananas foster french toast- yum!
And at either Storytellers or Lilos you can get the yummy eggs benedict with the best hollandaise in the world!

 

[Sherry E]

There was a woman there that I think is his wife. He had a paper crown on and sat on the side of the stage and just let his little girl run and decorate her crown. Loved it! He is DH's FAVORITE and it took all he could to keep from talking to him! They did make eyecontact and DH gave him the thumbs up sign and Dave gave him a nod and a smile back.

I think what your DH did is a good way to acknowledge a famous person in a public place like that, where they are obviously enjoying family time and don't want to be bothered (I mean, Dave was all into it, with the crown on his head and everything!!!). Give them a thumbs up and a smile. That kind lets them know you know who they are, you like them, but you respect the fact that they are with family and are not going to intrude. I could restrain myself from talking to most famous people, but if I saw anyone who I have been a lifelong fan of or have always admired, it would be tough to keep away!!! I have a male friend who also LOVES Dave Grohl, and he would have probably gone and decorated a crown himself and dressed like a princess just to be in Dave's presence!!