Our Castle Inn and Suites 5 Day Trip!

[OhioTony]

We flew to LA from Ohio Sat morning.
Effortlessly picked up a rental, and drove to Temecula for our 1st night.
We hit Wilson Creek Vinyard and Briar Rose Vinyard. We then checked into
The Inn at Churon Winery
This place was beautiful!
Later we went to Europa Vinyard.
Sunday we checked out, and met for a Cable Car Winery Tour.
We hit 3 very nice Vinyards.
It was nice, but I had to taste responsibly, as we were driving to Anaheim afterward.
Torrential Downpours on the 80 minute drive, but we made it to The Castle Inn and Suites around 6:30.
I booked everything through the DL website...and they didn't have our registration on file!

I didn't think I would have to confirm THIS reservation!
It's show on the DL App for months!
They fixed the situation, and we checked in.
We walked the 15 minutes to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Tortilla Joe's.
Back by 9:30pm, and to bed for rope drop the next morning.

Our 1st day in the Parks went brilliantly for rides!
Not so much food and service
Rope dropped DL Park.
Purchases Genie +
Selected LL for Indiana Jones.
Knowing it wasn't open yet.
Rode:
Toad
Peter Pan
Received a LL Select for Indiana Jones as it ws still down.
Reselected Indiana Jones for 9:30.
Hopeful for a 2nd LL Select to use, but we were OK to ride it if it opened.
We Rode:
Snow White
Alice
Storybook Boats.
We were done in Fantasy Land.
Indiana Jones was working then, so we so we used our LL for it.
Then
Big Thunder LL
Booked Haunted LL for after lunch at Blue Bayou and rode Pirates standby before lunch.
Blue Bayou was ok.
The desserts however were great.
We shared one entree then ate 2 desserts.
That's how we roll!
No mention at all of our 34th anniversary or 1st trip to DL, as they had been told.
We were hoping for a little Pixie Dust.

Just a shuffling of customers.
We did Space Mountain LL, Small World LL, Smugglers Run LL
Then drinks at Oga's Canteena.
We had so been looking forward to this!
We were not impressed in the least.
We were put at a large table where three people were finished up.
Told to order up to four, drinks.
We ordered two beers, and two overpriced specialty drinks.
The fuzzy Taunton was the best drink we had.
We had 45m to finish them.
We were then told that another party would be seated at our table.
Why would you sit people with kids with an adult couple drinking at a bar?
There was absolutely NO themed interaction with any Batuu cast members that we noticed. Bar staff or Service.
Only the business like shuffling of the tourist "credit spenders".
No Disney Magic to be had here at all.
Drink your experience and get out!
I had another reservation for Friday.
I just canceled it.
Earlier we purchased a LL+ for Radiator Springs Racers at 8:30pm at DCA, I also booked a LL for Soarin while in Oga's, so we crossed to DCA.
Rode Soarin
We used our LL Select for Incredicoaster.
We scored front seats.
It's just stunning at night!
We explored Radiator Springs, used our Racers LL+.
again... stunning at night!
We then dragged our tiredness back to our room at Castle Inn and Suites.
We're loving the proximity of our hotel to the parks!
We were quite productive on our 1st of 5 days in the parks.
Tomorrow we'll open DCA with Genie + and hop to DL later. We'll slow down and do more Photo Pass opportunities.
Good Night.

 

[OhioTony]

Our DL Resort Second Day.
Tuesday.

Starting at DCA with Genie+
We rope Dropped Spider-Man
we were on in 5 minutes.
Glad I didn't pay for it.
It's like...ok.
It's just missing something.
Monsters was down, so I booked a LL for it waiting in Web Slingers in hopes of getting a LL Select.
It opened, and is close to Guardians, so we just used it, and immediately booked Guardians upon checking in.
Guardians LL immediately followed.

Explored Avengers Campus a bit.
Midway Mania LL
Incredicoaster LL
Pixar Pal Around (swinging)
Goofy's Flight School LL

Shared a Mac n Cheese bread bowl and a beer for a light lunch.
Little Mermaid ❤
Shopping and photopas pix.
The Photopas Photographers were great!
We have some fantastic pix!
I filled out Cast Compliments on the DL App for several.
Mater"s Graveyard Jamboree
Luigi's Honkin' Halloween
Early ?dinner? at Lamplight Lounge at 3pm
Shared a Lobsta Nachos and a Potato Skins with a couple beers.
Food and service were great here!
Another Cast Compliment for our waitress.

Oogie Boogie guests are arriving and we didn't buy tickets.
So back to our Hotel by 4:30 for some downtime.
We'll be back in Disneyland park tonight for night time rides and the Halloween Screams projection show.
I already have a Haunted Mansion LL set for our return.

More to come...

 

[OhioTony]

Our DL Resort Second Day...part 2.

While eating at Lamplight before our afternoon break, I monitored Haunted Mansion LL return times, and at 4pm booked a return for 7:25pm.
We left DCA being overtaken byt the Oogie Party Crowd for our room at The Castle Inn and Suites for about a 2 1/2 hour break.
I'm still not happy that I bought the tickets and booked the trip months in advance. Booked the parks when told to do so. Booked restaurant reservations. Then your told...oh by the way, the park you booked now closes at 6pm, unless to pay for a special event. Oh wait...it's immediately sold out!
Oh by the way...the restaurant you got up early and specifically booked so you could as for the Fantasmic seating package...we're not not having Fantasmic when you're there now afteryou followedour rules.
You know, as a cost saving measure.
I'm a little salty about that still.
Salty also when I also found out you could get Oogie tix the day of...if you stayed at one of their high price resorts.
It's almost as if I also am undesirable.

During our break, I booked a 7:45pm LL for Big Thunder at the 2hr mark.
Setting us up for 2 evening rides.
At 7pm, we walked to DL.
WoW was it packed!
I guess everyone booted out of DCA was let in to DL.
Luckily I had set us up with planning ahead.
DL did such a poor job controlling crowds, you couldn't even find the end to the lightening lane lines. They had no staff at the end to guide people, so it blended in with people randomly walking.
It was frustrating!
We did Haunted in about 30m with the LL.
Made the Big Thunder LL.
I immediately booked Splash for 9:55pm, after the Halloween projection show.
We rode Pirates standby in about 20m. After we figured out where the damned line started!
Then we found a spot for the Halloween Projection Show.
I don't think that I have EVER attended one of these shows where I didn't witness a huge man look directly in the eyes of a woman with a good view whereshe has been standingfor a stretchoftime, and then proceed to stand directly in front of her.
I JUST don't understand this???
She got after him hard though, and he moved far away from her!
After the show, we let the crowd die down, then made our Splash LL.
Pooh was a 5 minute wait, so who wouldn't do Pooh?
We did!
Back at our room by 11:10pm.
Even though DL was way too crowded, we managed with a little smart planning.

I'm trying to keeping positive as much as I can. I'm planning smartly, but DL is making it hard for me to want to come back for another visit anytime soon after this trip.
Day 3 of 5 tomorrow.
Rope Dropping DL park again.
We have World of Color Dessert Party reservations as well.
Good night!

 

[OhioTony]

Our Castle Inn and Suites 5 Day Trip!

Day 3 part 1...

We rope dropped DL
Rode:
Rise of the Resistance (rope drop)
35 minutes
Millennium Falcon LL
Crushed a Dole whip!
Tiki Room
Rode the Railroad

We had a Cafe Orleans reservation for 11:50
We shared a Cesar Salad and a three cheese Monte Cristo.
Again...service was and food was meh. We were seated on the patio.
Park patrons tend to congregation en mass along the fence of the Patio, and the noise of parents yelling at kids made the atmosphere unpleasant.
Again...Disneyland takes your money and tells you to move on.
We decided to cancel our other sit down reservations forthe week, as they have been uneventful to date.
We'll do counter service and not have the expectation of Disney Magic.
So I did so on the App.

We then rode:
Buzz Lightyear LL
Star Tours LL
Small World LL
We decided to Monorail to Downtown Disney to shop and go back to our Hotel for a... rest.

We always buy Christmas ornaments on our vacations.
We thought Word of Disney would be our best option.
We noticed Ballast Point Brewery was not crowded, so we stopped in.
Ballast Point Brewery was excellent.
The best service we have had all week. The bartender acknowledged our anniversary and didn't charge us for a flight samplin, he was lind and personal.
We in turn ordered pints and tipped him the cost of our sampling.
Good service is just not that hard!
While sitting at Ballast Point, I checked my DL App prepping for tonight...and to my surprise the restaurants I canceled were still listed on the App.
Our reservation for the Word of Color Dessert Party WAS NOT!!!
We are now freaking out!
We rush through Downtown. Disney trying to find Customer Relations. Find out you have to enter the park to get to them. The CR Kid asks for the reservation #, looks at his laptop and says...I don't see any WoCDP reservation here...are you sure you didn't book it for the wrong day"?.
!!!
NO! It's been on my App plans for months!
He then checks with someone else.
Meanwhile our blood is boiling!
The someone else says "I don't see the reservation here, log onto the DL website using your password".
I do so...and there is the reservation.
The someone else then says "Well if it's there, then it should be OK, sometimes the App just screws up"
No apologies!
No sorry for your inconvenience!
No gesture to right the stress they created.
Our hearts are still racing and I'm PISSED!
We leave for our room to calm the hell down and regroup!

Part 2 to follow...

 

[OhioTony]

Our Castle Inn and Suites 5 Day Trip!

Day 3 Wednesday part 2...

The Someone Else customer relations guy had told us "The World of Color Dessert Party starts at 8pm, show up around 7:30 to check in.
We planned on getting the an hour early because of the App fiasco.
We returned to our Hotel for pool, hot tub, a drink to settle down, and a cat nap.

We left for the DCA and found we didn't need any bag. Good!
We'll get in quickly through the no bag line!
EXCEPT...
Apparently Disneyland doesn't have a no bag security line.
You have to stand there forever while they frisk stroller families.
Then they say to you "WoW no bag! go right through"
Like THEY just did you a favor!
???
We got to the Word of Color Dessert Party check in at 7pm
30 minutes before Customer Relations told us to.
There was a line of about 20 people already ahead of us.
We stood there for 30m, and a lady with a pad check us in. She said she would get us a front row table since we were a Party of 2. "Wait here until I come get you".
So instead of waking around, we stood there for another 30m.
Uggg!
Standing in one place so long is the worst!
I looked to see if we had any ride options for after the 9pm show, and every Lightening Lane option was gone.
So around 8, we followed her to our table. It WAS a great view! and we had a married female couple join us.
They were so nice to talk to.
We had a lot in common.
That was perfect.
The staff was slow to get us our desserts and drinks.
One person asked of we were finished with our plates like 5 minutes after they brought them!
Are you kidding me?
They brought us to go boxes before the show started, and stressed that we exit immediately after the show.
Ahh the Magic here!
We noticed all the roped off viewing areas for various dining payment options, and wondered how a common park attendee is supposed to view the show?
Oh well...undesirables!
The show was sweet!
It didn't grab me emotionally like some from Disney World.
But it was a nice show and a perfect way to end the unnecessary stress that led up to it.
We retired to our hotel.

Day 4 Thursday up next...

 

[Weber Prof]

Thank you. I wish I would have seen this before we left because of good information.