I'll be working on a full trip report with pictures in the coming weeks, but wanted to give some hi-lites of our trip.
1. Stayed at BWPPI. We stayed in a QQ mini-suite...room 305 at the front of the hotel. Room was comfortably large enough for us and our 2 grown sons. The queen beds seemed more like a large double...I guess they're not a California queen.
The sofa-bed was more comfortable than most (didn't feel any bars under the mattress,) but DH and I always found ourselves lying in the middle of the bed because the mattress sunk in the middle. Nice and cozy, but....
The room was always nice and clean...the staff at the front desk were helpful and friendly. The walk to the gate was abt. 5 minutes. Pool was small, but our grandkids enjoyed it. Hot tub was enjoyed by DD's family, but was being worked on during our last 3 days.
The free breakfast at Captain Kid's was ok...mostly carbohydrates so I didn't eat there, but DD's family did. Menu: boiled eggs, toast, muffins, cold cereals, oatmeal, pastries, milk, juice & coffee.
Not a fancy hotel, but I would stay there again. I'll have lots of pics in my upcoming trip report.
DL...although I considered the park to be crowded on Saturday and Sunday, the standby wait times for most rides ran about 15 minutes except for Space, Splash and Indy. We went to DCA for a few hours on Sunday...loved that park! There was so much more room to walk around...didn't feel nearly as crowded as DL. Wednesday and Thursday...crowd level much more enjoyable at DL.
"Remember" fireworks...loved what I saw of them, but were cancelled just as the Star Tours segment began due to high winds.
"Believe" fireworks...just my opinion, but I liked "Remember" better.
The new light show on the castle is superb! Worth the trip to DL during the holidays just to see this presentation.
Universal Studios: Won't waste our money going there again. Music was so loud throughout the park, I lost my voice trying to talk above it. Still can't talk.
Mummy ride and Jurrasic Park were fun, but not worth the time, nor the money for us.
Knott's: The younger generation enjoyed themselves...DH and I will skip it if it's just the 2 of us going next time.
Eating at any of the theme parks was very spendy. Our favorite place we ate was at a joint you can find just about anywhere in the country...Johnny Rockets!
We ate there while at Knott's and found that although their prices were comparable to all the other theme park burger places, their service and quality and quantity of food you get, were far superior to any of the others. I wish Disney had one in their parks.
Most important lesson learned: Don't go on Splash Mountain after dark unless you have a complete change of clothes. I got drenched and had to leave the park just before the fireworks on Sat. night. I was so cold that my teeth were chattering.
Lesson #3: I don't like HMH. I only went on it once, but that was enough. My impression...I thought it was silly. To each his own, I guess.
Lesson #2: Won't go to DL on holiday opening night again. The park was absolutely packed. In fact...I've pretty much made up my mind that when we go again next year, we'll fly down on Sunday and leave Friday. Just don't care for that "packed in like a sardine" feeling.
There's much more to tell, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
1. Stayed at BWPPI. We stayed in a QQ mini-suite...room 305 at the front of the hotel. Room was comfortably large enough for us and our 2 grown sons. The queen beds seemed more like a large double...I guess they're not a California queen.
The sofa-bed was more comfortable than most (didn't feel any bars under the mattress,) but DH and I always found ourselves lying in the middle of the bed because the mattress sunk in the middle. Nice and cozy, but.... The room was always nice and clean...the staff at the front desk were helpful and friendly. The walk to the gate was abt. 5 minutes. Pool was small, but our grandkids enjoyed it. Hot tub was enjoyed by DD's family, but was being worked on during our last 3 days.
The free breakfast at Captain Kid's was ok...mostly carbohydrates so I didn't eat there, but DD's family did. Menu: boiled eggs, toast, muffins, cold cereals, oatmeal, pastries, milk, juice & coffee.
Not a fancy hotel, but I would stay there again. I'll have lots of pics in my upcoming trip report.
DL...although I considered the park to be crowded on Saturday and Sunday, the standby wait times for most rides ran about 15 minutes except for Space, Splash and Indy. We went to DCA for a few hours on Sunday...loved that park! There was so much more room to walk around...didn't feel nearly as crowded as DL. Wednesday and Thursday...crowd level much more enjoyable at DL.
"Remember" fireworks...loved what I saw of them, but were cancelled just as the Star Tours segment began due to high winds.
"Believe" fireworks...just my opinion, but I liked "Remember" better.
The new light show on the castle is superb! Worth the trip to DL during the holidays just to see this presentation.
Universal Studios: Won't waste our money going there again. Music was so loud throughout the park, I lost my voice trying to talk above it. Still can't talk.
Mummy ride and Jurrasic Park were fun, but not worth the time, nor the money for us. Knott's: The younger generation enjoyed themselves...DH and I will skip it if it's just the 2 of us going next time.
Eating at any of the theme parks was very spendy. Our favorite place we ate was at a joint you can find just about anywhere in the country...Johnny Rockets!
We ate there while at Knott's and found that although their prices were comparable to all the other theme park burger places, their service and quality and quantity of food you get, were far superior to any of the others. I wish Disney had one in their parks. Most important lesson learned: Don't go on Splash Mountain after dark unless you have a complete change of clothes.
I got drenched and had to leave the park just before the fireworks on Sat. night. I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. Lesson #3: I don't like HMH. I only went on it once, but that was enough. My impression...I thought it was silly. To each his own, I guess.
Lesson #2: Won't go to DL on holiday opening night again. The park was absolutely packed. In fact...I've pretty much made up my mind that when we go again next year, we'll fly down on Sunday and leave Friday. Just don't care for that "packed in like a sardine" feeling.
There's much more to tell, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
We spent most of the day at Cal Adventure, and I agree with you, it was nice to be able to move around more.
