We drove over to Anaheim on Thursday from Phoenix. It was a good drive. We took the 1-10 over to 57 South. No construction. A little traffic on the 57 in the later afternoon but nothing bad. From what we hear, even though it is 13 miles further, it took us about the same amount of time.
Arrived at the Hyatt Orange for one night prior to our check-in at the DLH. We should have stayed at the Hyatt. Check-in was a breeze. They were extremely friendly and welcoming. The lobby was clean and very nice. The restaurant on is open and cheery. The room itself was nice. We had a view of the tennis courts and pool. My DS9 really enjoyed watching the kids play tennis while we unpacked. The room was very clean. The beds were comfortable and there was plenty of room for the three of us. We heard no noise at night. I was a little nervous staying here at first but I will tell you for $125 a night which included two full adult breakfast buffets ... it was a great place to stay. The shuttle ran on time but did get crowded in the later evening towards park closing. They ran two of them and everyone waiting did get on a bus. The bus drivers were less than cordial but for a 8 minute ride it didn't matter. The Hyatt was the first stop to get on and the first stop to get off. All and all we had a very pleasant stay.
Friday we checked into the DLH. Check in was uneventful. Our room was not ready which was fine. We didn't return until about 6:30pm that night and it was ready then. We checked in to find the bathroom floor in serious need of cleaning. The rooms was so-so in regards to cleanliness. The linens, blankets, bedspread were all "well used" and definitely in need of being upgraded for the price one pays for the room. Those at the Hyatt -- all the way around -- were much nicer. The room was smaller than what we remembered and the TV horrible. One of the buttons was broken. We called and they sent someone up. He said it happens all the time, they just put tape over it to keep kids from putting their fingers in it. I told them our 9 yr old would be fine. Reception on the TV was horrible also. Guy said that was normal. The carpet in the room was well worn and needs to be replaced along with the drapes, etc. For what we paid for this room it was sub-par and way below expectations -- the cleanliness also needs to be looked at in regards to what they consider acceptable. There was a glitch in the system, as they told us, regarding one of the wake up calls, and we missed getting in line to get the collector pins for which we made the trip. Oh well - they were sorry - nothing they could do. They did end up giving us a credit on our room as a gesture of goodwill. It was appreciated but didn't do much for my DS disappointment regarding the pin. The grounds at the DLH were okay but we did notice that things are not "kept up" as nice as they were just two years ago. The pool was very cloudy. The lifeguards were grumpy. The seating was hard to figure out as many people just left towels when they left and the hotel staff did nothing to try to pick them up or anything. There is another pool over to the side that is much calmer and not very crowded. There is a playground beside it and I would highly recommend using this pool.
We ate at Goofy's for breakfast -- food was medicore -- service was horrible -- character interaction was disappointing.
Tortilla Joes was very good. We sat out on the patio and had a very nice dinner. It was fun to watch people and relax.
Carnation Cafe - for lunch - service was okay but we found the food expensive and gain disappointing. Portions were very small. My DH had a salad and the bowl was only 1/2 full -- I think they were very busy and trying to push too much out. My sandwich was okay but nothing spectacular. Overall it was just okay.
We also did the VIP Tour - worked out well for us. Had VIP seating for the fireworks and fantasmic. We missed the parade as we were enjoying the refreshments.
Arrived at the Hyatt Orange for one night prior to our check-in at the DLH. We should have stayed at the Hyatt. Check-in was a breeze. They were extremely friendly and welcoming. The lobby was clean and very nice. The restaurant on is open and cheery. The room itself was nice. We had a view of the tennis courts and pool. My DS9 really enjoyed watching the kids play tennis while we unpacked. The room was very clean. The beds were comfortable and there was plenty of room for the three of us. We heard no noise at night. I was a little nervous staying here at first but I will tell you for $125 a night which included two full adult breakfast buffets ... it was a great place to stay. The shuttle ran on time but did get crowded in the later evening towards park closing. They ran two of them and everyone waiting did get on a bus. The bus drivers were less than cordial but for a 8 minute ride it didn't matter. The Hyatt was the first stop to get on and the first stop to get off. All and all we had a very pleasant stay.
Friday we checked into the DLH. Check in was uneventful. Our room was not ready which was fine. We didn't return until about 6:30pm that night and it was ready then. We checked in to find the bathroom floor in serious need of cleaning. The rooms was so-so in regards to cleanliness. The linens, blankets, bedspread were all "well used" and definitely in need of being upgraded for the price one pays for the room. Those at the Hyatt -- all the way around -- were much nicer. The room was smaller than what we remembered and the TV horrible. One of the buttons was broken. We called and they sent someone up. He said it happens all the time, they just put tape over it to keep kids from putting their fingers in it. I told them our 9 yr old would be fine. Reception on the TV was horrible also. Guy said that was normal. The carpet in the room was well worn and needs to be replaced along with the drapes, etc. For what we paid for this room it was sub-par and way below expectations -- the cleanliness also needs to be looked at in regards to what they consider acceptable. There was a glitch in the system, as they told us, regarding one of the wake up calls, and we missed getting in line to get the collector pins for which we made the trip. Oh well - they were sorry - nothing they could do. They did end up giving us a credit on our room as a gesture of goodwill. It was appreciated but didn't do much for my DS disappointment regarding the pin. The grounds at the DLH were okay but we did notice that things are not "kept up" as nice as they were just two years ago. The pool was very cloudy. The lifeguards were grumpy. The seating was hard to figure out as many people just left towels when they left and the hotel staff did nothing to try to pick them up or anything. There is another pool over to the side that is much calmer and not very crowded. There is a playground beside it and I would highly recommend using this pool.
We ate at Goofy's for breakfast -- food was medicore -- service was horrible -- character interaction was disappointing.
Tortilla Joes was very good. We sat out on the patio and had a very nice dinner. It was fun to watch people and relax.
Carnation Cafe - for lunch - service was okay but we found the food expensive and gain disappointing. Portions were very small. My DH had a salad and the bowl was only 1/2 full -- I think they were very busy and trying to push too much out. My sandwich was okay but nothing spectacular. Overall it was just okay.
We also did the VIP Tour - worked out well for us. Had VIP seating for the fireworks and fantasmic. We missed the parade as we were enjoying the refreshments.
