twinmommyks
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2005
- Messages
- 642
This was our 20th wedding anniversary trip (we went there on our honeymoon in 1986) and just returned last month with our ds10, dd5, ds5, dh 41, me 41.
Lodging - Candy Cane Inn (CCI) Simply Beautiful - Thank you DIS members for recommending this hotel - we were so pleased. Continental breakfast was great (and saved us lots of $$$ on food), shuttle was conveninent and dependable (when we needed it at the end of the day), staff was very nice, and the grounds were beautiful. Room was just alittle small for 5 of us and all our luggage, but very managable since we were gone all day and only there for a few hours of sleep. If returning to DL, I would pick this hotel again.
SW flight - Fly non-stop from MCI (KC) to LAX. I was fearful of flying out of LAX, but getting completely through checkin and security took less than 15 min. for our whole family. Getting through security at KC took alot longer and was more difficult. We got A passes and were sitting in rows side by side. Non-stop flight with children was a plus.
Golden West Express - Reliable & dependable, quick and very satisfied with their service. Cost was $75 for transportation from LAX to CCI for 5 and $75 for the return trip. Would use again.
Avis Car Rental (rented on-line with discount code) We were disappointed with the service - went to the Park Hotel across from DL (thinking that rental car would be there), but dh and ds10 had to take a shuttle to the actual Avis place. Staff seemed confused about discount code we had service was very slow. Took dh over an hour to get our rental van, which was already reserved. Then returning it was confusing. We were told to leave it at the Park Hotel and put keys in the drop box. Front desk clerk said we needed rental agreement signed and returned. So we went back to the hotel to get it, complete the form, took it in and handed it to the same front desk clerk, who indicated, "oh, you don't need to return that form." DH was not happy. I would not use the Avis car rental service through the Park Inn hotel again!
DL - GREAT - Used EE - rode 8 rides in the first hour and many many more throughout the day. Returned a 2nd day and hopped over to DCA and enjoyed that park also.
Restaurants: Red Rocketts - Loved the chesse ravoli with alfredo sauce, pizza was good, spagetti and meatballs good also - free refills on drinks a plus. Ate here twice.
Rancho: First meal at DL and was very pleased - my ds loved the kid's bean/cheese burrito and dd loved the chicken taco. Kid's meals came with a burrito or taco, baby carrots and ranch dressing, fruit snacks and drink all in a cute lunch box for about $6. Free refills also. One of my favorites.
Taste Pilot's Grill (in DCA) - Service in our line only was slow. Other lines seemed to be moving fast. Then the kid's hamburgers were at best lukewarm. Kid's popcorn chicked was great and so were the onion rings. Overall it was an okay place to eat, perhaps better if we were in a different line - I think a newer CM was helping us and seemed to be abit lost (and we had a big order). We liked the fixin's bar but miss the free drink refills we had at other places. I would try it again.
Hungry Bear Rest. - Great hamburgers!!!!!!! Good turkey sandwich and big enough for my ds10 and me to split. Kids liked the nuggets and a nice place to take a break - shady, plenty of tables, good view.
Bengal BBQ - Every time we passed by this, my dh would notice the smell of BBQ steak. He had one of the beef kabobs and said it was great. I had the bacon wrapped asparagus (took off the bacon); the asparagus was very good. Wish I would have tried the veggie kabob also. Kabobs were a great snack.
Other Snacks - We don't eat alot of junk food/snacks at home but we took full advantage of being on vacation at DL to do this.
Cotton candy - great, as usual
Hand dipped Corn Dogs from Main Street - DS and DD said they were awesome, large enough for both to share - came with chips also.
Tigger Tails from Candy Store by pooh ride - Delicious - wish I had one now- also had chocolate covered pretzels.
Dole Whip - My dh heard me talk about these and got one for us. DH and DD don't like pineapple so my ds10, ds5, and myself got to share it - let's just say we couldn't get enough of it.
Popcorn - ate this a couple of times - great butter popcorn, especially when you are very very hungry.
Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich, frozen banana, nestle cookie ice cream sandwich, chocolate chip cookie.
Keep in mind that each person did not get their own snack; usually we bought one or two things and we all shared. Yes, the 5 of us shared one Tigger Tail, but this way we were able to try alot of different things.
Denny's across from DL - actually was better than alot of other Denny's we've eaten at when traveling - the salads are huge and tasted great. Kids meals had alot of food and different choices besides just fries (grapes, salads, etc.) Only waited about 5 min. to be seated.
Legoland - My ds10 said the best pizza he has tasted was from the pizza place in Legoland - it had alot of cheese on it and even came with a larger cup for the drink instead of the little kid's cups. Kid's pizza meal came with a large piece of pizza, a fruit rollup, chips and larger drink in a cute bag for $7.
My dh and I ate hamburgers from the Burger Stand and these were very good. We tried the Apple fries and they were a bit "mushy". I think they had been sitting for ahwile and not too fresh. I think if they were just made we would have liked them better.
Cheapest and quickest lunch - PBJ sandwiches and chips that we took for our picnic lunch to to Newport Beach!!!! Best atmosphere - no waiting in line.
Favorite things: Fireworks for me and being at DL with my family - it was so great and I wish we were still there. Kids loved Block Party Bash at DCA and all the rides (especially not having to wait in line due to EE, fast passes, and short lines. We loved Newport Beach - so beautiful. Highlights - being able to ride on the golden dumbo, the golden horse on the carousel and the golden tea cup this trip. All five of us being able to ride the bigger rides together - twins were big enough and totally willing to ride the thrill rides.
DTD - thought it was beautiful at night - ate at RFC first night - food was good and we got seated on the patio right away. Kids were tired so we had to have a quicker meal than we wanted, but happy that we were able to eat there.
I think I've covered our entire trip, probably too much in detail, but it was an awesome trip. We were so sad on the return flight home because we still wanted to be at DL or DCA or the beach and look forward to our next trip, which we hope is next summer. I really have no complaints about anything because it was truly a magical one and I look forward to starting on the children's vacation scrapbooks.
Lodging - Candy Cane Inn (CCI) Simply Beautiful - Thank you DIS members for recommending this hotel - we were so pleased. Continental breakfast was great (and saved us lots of $$$ on food), shuttle was conveninent and dependable (when we needed it at the end of the day), staff was very nice, and the grounds were beautiful. Room was just alittle small for 5 of us and all our luggage, but very managable since we were gone all day and only there for a few hours of sleep. If returning to DL, I would pick this hotel again.
SW flight - Fly non-stop from MCI (KC) to LAX. I was fearful of flying out of LAX, but getting completely through checkin and security took less than 15 min. for our whole family. Getting through security at KC took alot longer and was more difficult. We got A passes and were sitting in rows side by side. Non-stop flight with children was a plus.
Golden West Express - Reliable & dependable, quick and very satisfied with their service. Cost was $75 for transportation from LAX to CCI for 5 and $75 for the return trip. Would use again.
Avis Car Rental (rented on-line with discount code) We were disappointed with the service - went to the Park Hotel across from DL (thinking that rental car would be there), but dh and ds10 had to take a shuttle to the actual Avis place. Staff seemed confused about discount code we had service was very slow. Took dh over an hour to get our rental van, which was already reserved. Then returning it was confusing. We were told to leave it at the Park Hotel and put keys in the drop box. Front desk clerk said we needed rental agreement signed and returned. So we went back to the hotel to get it, complete the form, took it in and handed it to the same front desk clerk, who indicated, "oh, you don't need to return that form." DH was not happy. I would not use the Avis car rental service through the Park Inn hotel again!
DL - GREAT - Used EE - rode 8 rides in the first hour and many many more throughout the day. Returned a 2nd day and hopped over to DCA and enjoyed that park also.
Restaurants: Red Rocketts - Loved the chesse ravoli with alfredo sauce, pizza was good, spagetti and meatballs good also - free refills on drinks a plus. Ate here twice.
Rancho: First meal at DL and was very pleased - my ds loved the kid's bean/cheese burrito and dd loved the chicken taco. Kid's meals came with a burrito or taco, baby carrots and ranch dressing, fruit snacks and drink all in a cute lunch box for about $6. Free refills also. One of my favorites.
Taste Pilot's Grill (in DCA) - Service in our line only was slow. Other lines seemed to be moving fast. Then the kid's hamburgers were at best lukewarm. Kid's popcorn chicked was great and so were the onion rings. Overall it was an okay place to eat, perhaps better if we were in a different line - I think a newer CM was helping us and seemed to be abit lost (and we had a big order). We liked the fixin's bar but miss the free drink refills we had at other places. I would try it again.
Hungry Bear Rest. - Great hamburgers!!!!!!! Good turkey sandwich and big enough for my ds10 and me to split. Kids liked the nuggets and a nice place to take a break - shady, plenty of tables, good view.
Bengal BBQ - Every time we passed by this, my dh would notice the smell of BBQ steak. He had one of the beef kabobs and said it was great. I had the bacon wrapped asparagus (took off the bacon); the asparagus was very good. Wish I would have tried the veggie kabob also. Kabobs were a great snack.
Other Snacks - We don't eat alot of junk food/snacks at home but we took full advantage of being on vacation at DL to do this.
Cotton candy - great, as usual
Hand dipped Corn Dogs from Main Street - DS and DD said they were awesome, large enough for both to share - came with chips also.
Tigger Tails from Candy Store by pooh ride - Delicious - wish I had one now- also had chocolate covered pretzels.
Dole Whip - My dh heard me talk about these and got one for us. DH and DD don't like pineapple so my ds10, ds5, and myself got to share it - let's just say we couldn't get enough of it.
Popcorn - ate this a couple of times - great butter popcorn, especially when you are very very hungry.
Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich, frozen banana, nestle cookie ice cream sandwich, chocolate chip cookie.
Keep in mind that each person did not get their own snack; usually we bought one or two things and we all shared. Yes, the 5 of us shared one Tigger Tail, but this way we were able to try alot of different things.
Denny's across from DL - actually was better than alot of other Denny's we've eaten at when traveling - the salads are huge and tasted great. Kids meals had alot of food and different choices besides just fries (grapes, salads, etc.) Only waited about 5 min. to be seated.
Legoland - My ds10 said the best pizza he has tasted was from the pizza place in Legoland - it had alot of cheese on it and even came with a larger cup for the drink instead of the little kid's cups. Kid's pizza meal came with a large piece of pizza, a fruit rollup, chips and larger drink in a cute bag for $7.
My dh and I ate hamburgers from the Burger Stand and these were very good. We tried the Apple fries and they were a bit "mushy". I think they had been sitting for ahwile and not too fresh. I think if they were just made we would have liked them better.
Cheapest and quickest lunch - PBJ sandwiches and chips that we took for our picnic lunch to to Newport Beach!!!! Best atmosphere - no waiting in line.
Favorite things: Fireworks for me and being at DL with my family - it was so great and I wish we were still there. Kids loved Block Party Bash at DCA and all the rides (especially not having to wait in line due to EE, fast passes, and short lines. We loved Newport Beach - so beautiful. Highlights - being able to ride on the golden dumbo, the golden horse on the carousel and the golden tea cup this trip. All five of us being able to ride the bigger rides together - twins were big enough and totally willing to ride the thrill rides.
DTD - thought it was beautiful at night - ate at RFC first night - food was good and we got seated on the patio right away. Kids were tired so we had to have a quicker meal than we wanted, but happy that we were able to eat there.
I think I've covered our entire trip, probably too much in detail, but it was an awesome trip. We were so sad on the return flight home because we still wanted to be at DL or DCA or the beach and look forward to our next trip, which we hope is next summer. I really have no complaints about anything because it was truly a magical one and I look forward to starting on the children's vacation scrapbooks.
).
