pumpkinfish
<font color=blue>Clothing Expert and Magic Giver o
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
- Messages
- 3,736
Say what what!?!? Oh yeah, I'm baaaaaacccckkkk!
Well gang, we are home! We had a wonderful vacation with lots of memories and good times. I told DH (okay, you might as well know now his name is Bob) that I didnt want to do a day-to-day report because that would seem repetitive. Instead I want to give a synopsis on individual areas. To begin with, our flight to California was decent. We arrived at the airport around 4:30 am for our 5:40 am flight. We have a smaller airport so I never have to worry about check-in or security check. Especially not at that early in the morning. The morning before I did have problems with printing our boarding passes so I had to do that from work. Well, dont you know I ended up leaving the ones I printed at work! Figures I was all the way home when I realized. And I was not about to drive another 2 hours round-trip to come back and get them. I told Bob that we will have to advise the person at the AirTran counter we need the boarding passes.
So, we get to the counter Saturday morning and I told him we needed the passes. The man helping us seems very impatient and robotic. We were at security check when we realized he never gave us our boarding passes. So back we walked over to the counter. Needless to say, he put a sour taste in my mouth. And I can say I have never had a problem with flying AirTran before.
The ladies that took our tickets once we got to Atlanta were a complete turnaround from the previous employee. They were in great moods and GASP SMILING! Also, the gentleman who passed out beverages and snacks on board from Atlanta to LAX was really nice as well. I think he was sweet on Bob if you know what I mean
We arrive in LA and felt good to feel stable ground since there was an abundance of wind turbulence flying in. Our luggage arrived and I felt good all three pieces were there. That is one thing that has not happened yet- lost luggage. I would hate for that to occur. Usually when we fly to WDW we only check one piece of luggage and take two smaller suitcase carry-ons. But once again, that is the nice thing about taking tanks and capris and flip-flops!
Ok, so now it comes to the DL bus. We walked outside and the heavens shone down on us because they were still loading guests! Yipee! Bob and I walked quickly over to see if we could get on. There was plenty of room. We discovered we would pay once we got to the DL Hotel. The drive through LA was quick with minimal back-ups. We first stopped at the DL Hotel and Bob whipped out the debit card. I asked the man who gladly took our money what the next hotel will be but he said he didnt know and to ask the driver. Well the driver didnt announce it but we saw the bus eventually pull into our hotel! Yippee again! I also didnt know that the bus went to non-Disney hotels as well. When we were at the DLH only one family got off. At PP only Bob and I got off. That left several families. I thought that GCH must be really popular since that is where everyone was heading. Bob said he overheard a woman say that next trip they should stay at a Disney hotel. So I guess it isnt just for us. I am glad we got dropped off second though. I was anxious to get checked in and head to the park!
Hotel: The Paradise Pier Hotel is wonderful! I love the theming involved, even though it is minimal to what we are used to. At WDW, Bob and I usually stay at POFQ and love the New Orleans feel. The PPH had wave-like detail along the outer edge at the top of the hotel. Beach-type music was playing outside. Check-in went smoothly. We asked to upgrade to park-view but were told the hotel was sold out at that level. She asked what floor preference we had and I said whichever was the best
She gave us room 1345. Bob was happy with that since 13 is a lucky number for him. I was also given a bundle of balloons and a birthday button to celebrate my birthday. The CM said to wear it all week since this was a celebration! It didnt take long for the elevator to arrive. I didnt like how cold they keep the halls though. I swear there were icicles forming along the window once we got in our room. After searching for 10 minutes, and an unsuccessful phone call to the front desk (they never answered) we discovered the temperature control hiding next to the desk.
Our view was of a parking lot, and the pool area. The color scheme was on point with the California/surfing theme- yellows and blues. The artwork was of California Adventure. The TV stand held our refrigerator and safe, along with 2 small and 2 large drawers. There was a coffee pot off to the side on its own counter. The sofa/sleep bed looked comfy but we never used it more than putting our shoes on, and throwing our bags on at night. The bathroom was awesome. It was the first hotel I have been in where the shower curtain curved outward. This gave a seemingly greater amount of room while showering
Very nice touch!
Also, the little Mickey soaps and shampoo were situated on a cute surfboard to keep with the themeing. I did miss trying to find the hidden Mickeys that we are used to finding at our WDW hotels. We did have a few mold/dirt spots in the shower. Other than that the hotel room and bathroom were quite clean. It also felt larger than our usual POFQ room. The window was oversized and gave us a lovely sunset view of the mountains in the background. I would give the hotel 4 out of 5 stars.
Well gang, we are home! We had a wonderful vacation with lots of memories and good times. I told DH (okay, you might as well know now his name is Bob) that I didnt want to do a day-to-day report because that would seem repetitive. Instead I want to give a synopsis on individual areas. To begin with, our flight to California was decent. We arrived at the airport around 4:30 am for our 5:40 am flight. We have a smaller airport so I never have to worry about check-in or security check. Especially not at that early in the morning. The morning before I did have problems with printing our boarding passes so I had to do that from work. Well, dont you know I ended up leaving the ones I printed at work! Figures I was all the way home when I realized. And I was not about to drive another 2 hours round-trip to come back and get them. I told Bob that we will have to advise the person at the AirTran counter we need the boarding passes.
So, we get to the counter Saturday morning and I told him we needed the passes. The man helping us seems very impatient and robotic. We were at security check when we realized he never gave us our boarding passes. So back we walked over to the counter. Needless to say, he put a sour taste in my mouth. And I can say I have never had a problem with flying AirTran before.
The ladies that took our tickets once we got to Atlanta were a complete turnaround from the previous employee. They were in great moods and GASP SMILING! Also, the gentleman who passed out beverages and snacks on board from Atlanta to LAX was really nice as well. I think he was sweet on Bob if you know what I mean
We arrive in LA and felt good to feel stable ground since there was an abundance of wind turbulence flying in. Our luggage arrived and I felt good all three pieces were there. That is one thing that has not happened yet- lost luggage. I would hate for that to occur. Usually when we fly to WDW we only check one piece of luggage and take two smaller suitcase carry-ons. But once again, that is the nice thing about taking tanks and capris and flip-flops!
Ok, so now it comes to the DL bus. We walked outside and the heavens shone down on us because they were still loading guests! Yipee! Bob and I walked quickly over to see if we could get on. There was plenty of room. We discovered we would pay once we got to the DL Hotel. The drive through LA was quick with minimal back-ups. We first stopped at the DL Hotel and Bob whipped out the debit card. I asked the man who gladly took our money what the next hotel will be but he said he didnt know and to ask the driver. Well the driver didnt announce it but we saw the bus eventually pull into our hotel! Yippee again! I also didnt know that the bus went to non-Disney hotels as well. When we were at the DLH only one family got off. At PP only Bob and I got off. That left several families. I thought that GCH must be really popular since that is where everyone was heading. Bob said he overheard a woman say that next trip they should stay at a Disney hotel. So I guess it isnt just for us. I am glad we got dropped off second though. I was anxious to get checked in and head to the park!
Hotel: The Paradise Pier Hotel is wonderful! I love the theming involved, even though it is minimal to what we are used to. At WDW, Bob and I usually stay at POFQ and love the New Orleans feel. The PPH had wave-like detail along the outer edge at the top of the hotel. Beach-type music was playing outside. Check-in went smoothly. We asked to upgrade to park-view but were told the hotel was sold out at that level. She asked what floor preference we had and I said whichever was the best
She gave us room 1345. Bob was happy with that since 13 is a lucky number for him. I was also given a bundle of balloons and a birthday button to celebrate my birthday. The CM said to wear it all week since this was a celebration! It didnt take long for the elevator to arrive. I didnt like how cold they keep the halls though. I swear there were icicles forming along the window once we got in our room. After searching for 10 minutes, and an unsuccessful phone call to the front desk (they never answered) we discovered the temperature control hiding next to the desk. Our view was of a parking lot, and the pool area. The color scheme was on point with the California/surfing theme- yellows and blues. The artwork was of California Adventure. The TV stand held our refrigerator and safe, along with 2 small and 2 large drawers. There was a coffee pot off to the side on its own counter. The sofa/sleep bed looked comfy but we never used it more than putting our shoes on, and throwing our bags on at night. The bathroom was awesome. It was the first hotel I have been in where the shower curtain curved outward. This gave a seemingly greater amount of room while showering
Very nice touch! Also, the little Mickey soaps and shampoo were situated on a cute surfboard to keep with the themeing. I did miss trying to find the hidden Mickeys that we are used to finding at our WDW hotels. We did have a few mold/dirt spots in the shower. Other than that the hotel room and bathroom were quite clean. It also felt larger than our usual POFQ room. The window was oversized and gave us a lovely sunset view of the mountains in the background. I would give the hotel 4 out of 5 stars.
I want more!!! Loving your report so far. As a DL vet, we went to WDW last year for the first time. It's always fun to hear everyone's story!! 
