Just got back! (&park vue review)

[SpaceMania]

Just got back from my 3 day/4 night trip to Disneyland!

First off I will say that it was HOT & Crowded like i have never seen before. It was madness. But with the help of Fastpasses, I was able to get almost all the rides that I wanted to do, in the first day.

So day 1 we were in the parks at about 8:00 am, and left at 11pm. We made sure to get Star Tours in right off the bat, and it was AMAZING. I wasn't a huge fan of the old one, but this one was great. Anyways. Other rides we got in on the first day were: Space Mountain, Astro Blasters, Indiana Jones,Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Splash mountain (twice), Pooh, Pirates, Small World, Big Thunder, Soarin, Grizzly river run, Little Mermaid, Toy story mania and Monsters Inc.

Obviously not in that order, but i didn't think that we were going to get all that in, in one day. Especially since it was so crowded.

Over the next 2 days we just re-did the rides we had already done, and squeezed in Snow white, peter Pan, Roger Rabbit, train ride and Alice in Wonderland. We also watched the Aladdin show (Oh my gosh that was sooo amazing. A must see for all ages) and Fantasmic!, World of Color & the fireworks while walking to & riding big thunder (that was fun)

Now for my hotel review of Park Vue Inn. I am going to leave out what ruined the whole thing for me until the end of the review, since it happened during the last night and I'm sure it doesnt happen to everyone who stays there.

Pros:

The location was GREAT. Honestly, it is directly across the street and less than a 5 minute walk to the security. It couldn't have been better in terms of location.

The lobby is right on the way to your rooms, and they had fruit punch, and lemonade and cookies available at all times. i didn't see water or water bottles while i was there, but the punch/lemonade/cookies was enough to make it a stop every time we came back for a break.

The people at check in were very helpful, and made check in super easy (evern though we were early.)

Cons:

Do NOT sleep on the bottom floor if you can help it. It is SO noisy if anybody is walking above you. It woke me up multiple times during the night and mornings.

The breakfast was iffy. Some of the food looked like it had been sitting there for a while. Some of the food tasted funny to other people in my party. (I stuck to cereal, which tasted kinda stale)

The 'light dinner' was seriously light. Don't plan on it being enough for a meal if you have picky eaters. we have 3 vegetarians in our group and 3 of the nights, there was nothing available for their diet.

The pillows were rock hard. Obviously this is a preference, but the pillows were so stiff and thick that It was mor leaning my head against them than on top of them.

I never felt that the room was 'clean.' while it looked clean, it just didn't have a clean feeling. The air was stale, the toilet had a rusty spot under neath it. The shower curtain had hair on it from the people before us. The window in the bathroom had mildew growing on it. Just didn't feel clean. (i am hoever, VERY picky about cleanliness.)

The water STUNK. Every time I ran the water it smelled like farts. So bad that I had to spray frebreeze after using it. I would have switched rooms but the other half of my party had the same problem.

Now up to this point, i felt it was fine for this stay. Just an OK motel, nothing special. Then on our last night..... we had cockroaches. 4 of them actually. Now it was about 3 in the morning when we found them. & we were checking out in about 5 hours. So i didn't end up calling the front desk (I really didn't want to pack up all our stuff and move rooms at 3 am, just to check out in 5 hours) We just turned on all the lights, and slept for the remainder of the night (not very well I might add) by check out time i was just exauhsted and didn't want to deal with asking for money back and whatnot (i just wanted to get home) so i didn't say anything. But that was the final straw.

Would I stay here again? No. I would try the best western next door.

Congrats if you made it through this whole thing!!!
Overall i had a wonderful time and can't wait to be back!

 

[hookem81]

We are heading out there in a week as we do every year at the beginning of August, and I've been monitoring crowds. I've noticed through Mousewait that the crowds seem heavier than normal for this time of year. Any idea why?

Of course, we know it will be crowded in August, but we have usually found it to be manageable. I'm a little worried about this year though.

 

[sonnyjane]

I'm booked here for two nights next month, but because of the location, I don't really plan on cancelling, especially since Best Western PPI doesn't have any double rooms available for my dates. Hopefully my room will be okay. Thanks for the review!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I am so sorry but the running the water smelling like farts part made me ROFL

DH is a plumber and really there's not much you can do for that. We stayed in a ritzy hotel in Vegas and had to cover up one of our double sinks that had that problem. Bleh.

Maybe the cockroaches are why the food tasted horrid. hehe.

I'm glad the good time in Disney made up for it!!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I am so sorry but the running the water smelling like farts part made me ROFL

Me too!

I would freak out about the cockroaches, simply because I would not want to bring any of them home in our luggage as souvenirs. I can imagine you didn't get much rest that last night.

I've noticed MouseWait times have been off the hook this past week. It seems that there were WAY less crowds during the 4th of July weekend. I see you still accomplished seeing everything you wanted to and still had a great time! Thanks for the report!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Thanks for the review. We always bring water bottles with us for the parks AND hotel because we don't like the water down there. But thank goodness it didn't smell bad! That must have been miserable. About the only thing worse than cockroaches in the room would be mice.

I don't think you were being pickey about the bathroom. I'm not extremely pickey that way and it sounded dirty to me.

We were there last week and I'm sure the crowds were about the same as when you went. We go every summer and I noticed that last summer and this summer were much more crowded than before. I remember in 2009 walking down that path in DCA by the Grizzly and it was wide open. Now it is one of the most crowded areas. I believe WOC and all the changes to DCA have increased the crowds at both parks. However, I didn't find it intolerable. I have seen it much much worse. If I can see pavement as I walk, I'm good.

Glad you fun at DLR and were able to do a lot.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I am sorry it was so uncomfortable! I would have been very uncomfortable. I saw your last line about next time staying at the Best Western next door (I assume this the Best Western Park Place Inn) and I will tell you with all honesty that my stay there was very much like what you are describing. I was pretty bad, actually! We also had the hair issue (other peoples) and my girls were afraid to walk around an touch things in the room because nothing really felt "clean". It was also painfully loud (you could hear people in the other rooms flushing toilets, fighting, babies crying all night, and generally stomping around). So buyer beware! I know other people don't mind the BWPPI, but I found it very lacking in many ways. I have stayed at Hojos on Harbor and while the walk was further, it seemed much quieter and cleaner to me.

Where you stay is pretty important! You are on vacation, afterall.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[SpaceMania]

I have no idea why the crowds are so heavy. in Ca adventures i think it just felt heavier because of all the construction (felt like half the park was closed down)
But in DL it was just totally crazy. I mean they had the crowd control people out even when there werent shows/parades going on. This was the busiest it has ever been in my whole life.

depending on which part of the month, August might be better though cause most of California will be back in school by the second week of August.

We brought drinking water, so i didn't have to drink the fart water. I did have to shower in it. But the shower water didn't stink, so i brushed my teeth and stuff using that water. Maybe I won't stay at BWPPI either. I'll just save up for the DL hotel or Grand CA. The cockroaches thing really freaked me out. -_-

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

It wasn't in the shower because the smell is from the overflow hole in the sink most likely. It's 'dry' down there and allowing sewer smells in. Sometimes letting the sink 'overflow' (so pushing water down that hole) will help..just for future fart reference LOL

 

[SpaceMania]

I am sorry it was so uncomfortable! I would have been very uncomfortable. I saw your last line about next time staying at the Best Western next door (I assume this the Best Western Park Place Inn) and I will tell you with all honesty that my stay there was very much like what you are describing. I was pretty bad, actually! We also had the hair issue (other peoples) and my girls were afraid to walk around an touch things in the room because nothing really felt "clean". It was also painfully loud (you could hear people in the other rooms flushing toilets, fighting, babies crying all night, and generally stomping around). So buyer beware! I know other people don't mind the BWPPI, but I found it very lacking in many ways. I have stayed at Hojos on Harbor and while the walk was further, it seemed much quieter and cleaner to me.

Where you stay is pretty important! You are on vacation, afterall.

Take care,
Lisa

LOL. thats how i was! I was walking around with my shoes on in the motel, and i would use wipes or hand sanitizer everytime i had to touch anything in the room! I mean i even had to rip off a peice of toilet paper to flush the toilet because i was about 99.9% sure that it was never cleaned. & thank god i brought my own blanket. Cause the bed wasn't too promising either. yuck.

Thanks for mentioning that you didn't like the best western though. I'll cross that one off my list for next time. I think i will just hold out and save for the disney hotel. That one is always clean for me.

 

[SpaceMania]

It wasn't in the shower because the smell is from the overflow hole in the sink most likely. It's 'dry' down there and allowing sewer smells in. Sometimes letting the sink 'overflow' (so pushing water down that hole) will help..just for future fart reference LOL

LOL!!!! If I ever encounter another farting sink ( I sure as heck hope i don't, though) I will def. keep this tip in mind.

 

[RedRosie]

We stayed at Desert Inn (next door to Park Vue) last year and had the smelly water from the sink too. Shower didn't smell, but it was awful to brush my teeth with the smelly water. I have smelled it in other hotels too, so not sure what that means. Will definitely bring bottled water for teeth brushing next time.

Thanks Emmers (and your DH!) Just saw your explanation of the sink smell.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

*shudder* it really is awful, isn't it? We had a townhome a few years ago that had this sometimes. It was AWFUL. I used to bleach it every three days.

Anyway, You're probably safe from most of your issues at DLH hahaha. I've never stayed there but..man, now I wish I were ROFL

 

[PinkBudgie]

Try Candy Cane Inn next time. We just had our third stay there last week and we still love it. You can see pics in my review in my sig. They also give you a coupon for $10 off per night on your next stay. Between that and the AAA discount we felt our price for a summer room next to DLR was very reasonable. I'd love to stay at the DLH sometime but we can stay alot more days for the same price as just a few days on property.

 

[spacemermaid]

The water smelled like farts? Ewwwwwww!

You *should* try the Best Western next door on your next trip...the rooms are clean & the water doesn't have a smell to it. (Water shouldn't have a smell )

Sorry you had to deal with that.

 

[rentayenta]

Cockraoches? Did you fall back to sleep? Just thought of it, while I sit here in my clean living room, makes me itch all over. Noise and smelly water? I would have complained my behind off, demanded a refund, and found another hotel.

 

[Dobie]

Fart water! OMG!

 

[SpaceMania]

Cockraoches? Did you fall back to sleep? Just thought of it, while I sit here in my clean living room, makes me itch all over. Noise and smelly water? I would have complained my behind off, demanded a refund, and found another hotel.

No, I didn't really fall back to sleep. :/ It wasn't pleasant thats for sure. I probably would have too if the rest of my family wasn't staying with us. I had to stay with the group. & the morning of check out i just wanted to leave so i stayed quiet.

 

[aroseinwintr]

We stayed there in 2008 or 2009 not sure which year but we were in a room on the bottom floor (handicap room we didn't ask for, bathroom was awful....water everywhere due to the shower being the entire bathroom with a drain in the middle of the floor...) right next to the laundry room ( for housekeeping ).
It was so noisy from housekeeping way early in the morning and I discovered a cockroach in the light fixture in the bathroom on the 2nd or 3rd day ....I thought it was dead but it moved a day later to the other side of the fixture, It seems like DH complained at check out but I don't recall them caring... And yes the water in the sink stank! DH thought we just had a unlucky room and maybe the rest of the hotel was ok but I on the other hand would never stay there again!

 

[curiouslittleoyster]

Cockraoches? Did you fall back to sleep? Just thought of it, while I sit here in my clean living room, makes me itch all over. Noise and smelly water? I would have complained my behind off, demanded a refund, and found another hotel.

Exactly. Cockroaches is not acceptable. I don't sleep with them here in my own home and I won't pay to sleep with them while I am on vacation. That's just terrible.