PTR: And now for something completely different - a WDW Family does DLR *(new October 9th)*

[MEK]

I've gotten pretty far behind over the past month. Having a Disney trip and playing catch up at work will do that to you.

San Diego - NICE! I really want to visit there. Clearly I have no advice on where to stay. Cynthia gave me the name of a great B&B, but that usually doesn't work all that well with kids.

Happy planning. I'm very excited to see what you decide. I think Seaworld is a great idea. I've heard the zoo is fabulous as well.

 

[Dugette]

I can't claim to know a lot about San Diego, but I think you have some good options for everything. That Pacific Coast Grill view is amazing! And the food sounds great too. I will fully endorse the triple-brunch plan!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I have no info on San diego personally, but i do think I've heard the zoo is great. I'm sure any notes you've gotten from anchorman are accurate and insightful!

Do they have anything like the city pass in Chicago? One price and you can go to lots of places? Maybe you're not staying long enough to make that worth the money though.

And seriously--I think you should just have brunch for every meal. Those all sound fantastic!

 

[hokieinpa]

I have no advice to offer since the entirety of my West Coast experience is a quick trip to Santa Barbara and camping in the Sequoias.

I know the San Diego Zoo is supposed to be amazing, but I know admission can be pricey. I think your San Diego plans sound very relaxing - a great prequel to your time at Disneyland!

The views and food at the Pacific Coast Grill look amazing. And I love the sign to the parental units at the brewery!

 

[missangelalexis]

I unfortunately can be no help when it comes to advice about San Diego!

But I think it's awesome that you can use points for your hotel!

The Pacific Coast Grill looks like it has a spectactular view. And Churo waffles?! That would have me instantly sold! But Snooze sounds great too. Anything on a pretzel roll sounds appetizing to me

 

[Li Li]

Brunch really is the best meal, isn't it?!

By the way, Troeg's offers Sunday brunch at the brewery...just saying!

 

[MarbleBob]

Like a lot of the others, I've never been to San Diego either. Looking forward to see how your planning plays out here, and then reading about your actual experiences this fall!

 

[Marsheliz]

You do love your beers!! Haha!

October 13th is my bday.. You will have to drink for me!

Food choices look yummy! View from Pacific Grill looks so beautiful

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Subscribing! My family are vets of both coasts, but our heart is in DL. Your family will love it! And you are going during the best time of year, IMHO!

The Halloween party might return to DCA this year. I can't wait to hear if there will be new event additions.

My family enjoyed Hojo. Just make sure you have stroller space for each kid. The walk back for naps or after a full day can be a haul!

What makes a DL trip so fun is not having to micromanage every minute and make touring plans, spreadsheets, etc. Some of my favorite meals have actually been CS. Much of DL's dining is outdoors and even the most casual places have tables with incredible views!

The best character meal for characters is breakfast at the Plaza Inn! We make sure to get reservations on an non extra magic day and enjoy walking down a deserted Main Street! Plaza Inn is very similar to Crystal Place in decor. The buffet is ordinary, but we have never seen less than a dozen character there! The character interaction is incredible!

Photopass is a must. So less expensive than WDW! Something to consider at the pre-purchase price. I bet there will be a price increase when the 60th celebration starts.

Looking forward to reading more plans about your adventure!

 

[princessbelle2015]

I love your plans for San diego. I think it would be fine to skip the San Diego zoo and go to Seaworld. When I went to San Diego I loved SeaWorld.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Oh trust me I saw that!!!! It doesn't look like its the same sadly (i.e. not laying horizontal) but I bet it's still great!

yeah, definitely doesn't have you lying down - but still, excited to check it out!

I will tell ya, there are TONS of hotel/motel options we stayed at Park Vue Inn with free breakfast, free parking and wifi and it was right across the street from the entrance HoJo is a little bit further of a walk and they have a 2 room suite with 3 queens for 220 but also have 2 queens and bunk beds for 150

yeah, there were almost too many options that it made it hard. I think the water park they have at the HoJo and the fact that it is overlooking DLR (even if a bit further walk to the entrance) won out for me. Oh well - it will be an adventure!

I have never been to San Diego, but I hear it's wonderful.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those breakfast places. I have been to Snooze (in Denver!) and it was great.

Do you do any homebrewing? Michael is a craft beer snob as well, and has gotten into homebrewing over the last 5 years or so. After some really terrible first brews, he's pretty good at it now!

Good to know you liked Snooze (even if in a different location)

I do homebrew - though I haven't done it that many times. Just ordered some more kits (haven't committed enough to buy everything needed to do full grain brewing). So far they have been surprisingly drinkable

I've gotten pretty far behind over the past month. Having a Disney trip and playing catch up at work will do that to you.

San Diego - NICE! I really want to visit there. Clearly I have no advice on where to stay. Cynthia gave me the name of a great B&B, but that usually doesn't work all that well with kids.

Happy planning. I'm very excited to see what you decide. I think Seaworld is a great idea. I've heard the zoo is fabulous as well.

Dang work - always getting in the way of DISing

Judi and I used to love going to B&Bs but yeah, they don't work so great with kids.

I can't claim to know a lot about San Diego, but I think you have some good options for everything. That Pacific Coast Grill view is amazing! And the food sounds great too. I will fully endorse the triple-brunch plan!

Yeah, there are so many places with great views from my research so far - makes me question why I live where I do (moreso as it is snowing AGAIN this morning).

Maybe we should just try to see how many brunches we can do in one day

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I have no info on San diego personally, but i do think I've heard the zoo is great. I'm sure any notes you've gotten from anchorman are accurate and insightful!

Do they have anything like the city pass in Chicago? One price and you can go to lots of places? Maybe you're not staying long enough to make that worth the money though.

And seriously--I think you should just have brunch for every meal. Those all sound fantastic!

I mean, Will Farrell hasn't done be wrong yet

They do have this southern california pass but my research has shown it only really makes sense if you go to at least 3 places and generally has to include Universal Studios Hollywood for the passes that really provide a financial break - so just not worth it with only having a few days

Big fan of breakfast foods later in the day - we do breakfast for dinner some times

I have no advice to offer since the entirety of my West Coast experience is a quick trip to Santa Barbara and camping in the Sequoias.

I know the San Diego Zoo is supposed to be amazing, but I know admission can be pricey. I think your San Diego plans sound very relaxing - a great prequel to your time at Disneyland!

The views and food at the Pacific Coast Grill look amazing. And I love the sign to the parental units at the brewery!

The zoo does look good and it isn't crazy expensive if doing a full day but that plus Sea World I think would be too much to cram in and combined price would be a bit much - so I think it will be one or the other, but we shall see

Love the views - and I love any breweries/wineries that have a sense of humor like that. I mean, as much of a beer snob as I am you can't take it too seriously ... it is still just beer

I unfortunately can be no help when it comes to advice about San Diego!

But I think it's awesome that you can use points for your hotel!

The Pacific Coast Grill looks like it has a spectactular view. And Churo waffles?! That would have me instantly sold! But Snooze sounds great too. Anything on a pretzel roll sounds appetizing to me

We are trying to be a bit "cheap" with this trip as it wasn't necessarily something we were planning so using points for the stay in San Diego helps a lot with that.

I am a huge fan of pretzel rolls. Give me a good juicy burger with cheddar cheese on a pretzel roll and I am a happy camper

Brunch really is the best meal, isn't it?!

By the way, Troeg's offers Sunday brunch at the brewery...just saying!

Brunch really is great - just kinda symbolizes a lazy / relaxing day

Not that I need another reason to go to Troegg but am aware of brunch there ... haven't done it yet though - some day though

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Like a lot of the others, I've never been to San Diego either. Looking forward to see how your planning plays out here, and then reading about your actual experiences this fall!

I'm looking forward to it too I think as long as we have a few good options for food and take it easy, we will enjoy San Diego

You do love your beers!! Haha!

October 13th is my bday.. You will have to drink for me!

Food choices look yummy! View from Pacific Grill looks so beautiful

Ok, but only because it is your birthday, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have anything to drink

Yeah, a lot of places in San Diego seem to have great views ... slightly better than my current view of the snow coming down AGAIN outside *sigh*

Subscribing! My family are vets of both coasts, but our heart is in DL. Your family will love it! And you are going during the best time of year, IMHO!

The Halloween party might return to DCA this year. I can't wait to hear if there will be new event additions.

My family enjoyed Hojo. Just make sure you have stroller space for each kid. The walk back for naps or after a full day can be a haul!

What makes a DL trip so fun is not having to micromanage every minute and make touring plans, spreadsheets, etc. Some of my favorite meals have actually been CS. Much of DL's dining is outdoors and even the most casual places have tables with incredible views!

The best character meal for characters is breakfast at the Plaza Inn! We make sure to get reservations on an non extra magic day and enjoy walking down a deserted Main Street! Plaza Inn is very similar to Crystal Place in decor. The buffet is ordinary, but we have never seen less than a dozen character there! The character interaction is incredible!

Photopass is a must. So less expensive than WDW! Something to consider at the pre-purchase price. I bet there will be a price increase when the 60th celebration starts.

Looking forward to reading more plans about your adventure!

Thanks for joining! Definitely welcome any other tips you have - and thanks for the ones you have already offered up!

I think the fact that you don't really need to micromanage the planning for Disneyland is throwing me off a bit for now ... I am hopefully that once there though we will enjoy that aspect and "go with the flow" a bit

Definitely think we are going to do the Plaza Inn character breakfast. Wow, a dozen characters?!?!? that's great! So they do the pre-park opening ADRs at Disneyland as well? I think that would be great to do

The photopass is one thing I haven't looked into much yet - but good thought about getting it before a price increase. Do you find there are enough photographers around to make it worth it?

I love your plans for San diego. I think it would be fine to skip the San Diego zoo and go to Seaworld. When I went to San Diego I loved SeaWorld.

I definitely think we want to hit Sea World - I haven't been in years even to the one in Orlando and I think the kids would like it. Though tough to pick between that and the zoo

 

[Scoobymoons]

Hi!
Found this PTR from Rob's TR so pootled over to have a read - really enjoying it so far - always encouraging (read 'a relief') to see other obsessive planners
Looking forward to more

 

[courtneybelle]

We also stayed at the Howard Johnson! We didn't try the water park, but the rooms are great and you can't beat the walk to Disneyland. You'll love it.

I'm glad you added the Minnie and Friends breakfast to your list of contenders, we really loved it! And Bengal Barbecue is my LIFE. Love it so much. Meat on a stick is the best kind of meat. Also I'm sure you saw that Trader Sam's is open at WDW...I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time there over the six months I'm at WDW.

I am VERY intrigued by Churro Waffles. We did both the zoo and SeaWorld and both are great, but I think SeaWorld might be a bit more manageable with little ones. The zoo is a LOT of walking, whereas SeaWorld has shows where you can sit down and relax for a bit.

 

[amberg93]

All caught up.Sorry, I don't know why I wasn't watching this thread before.

I admire your dedication to food is so strong that you are actually planning a first and second lunch.

Hey having enough points to cover the stay is reason enough to stay anywhere, if you ask me.

I have never been to Sea World but I think that doing both it and the zoo will be great activities

All the food options look great, I'm sure if you get to them you'll have lots of awesome meals.

 

[Imagineer5]

San Diego sounds like it'll be a nice start to the trip. If you have enough points to cover your stay at either hotel then I'd do that! I love using AirBnB for rentals - esp with 3 kids you could maybe find a beach side home for pretty inexpensive, but obv not free! So that'd be my suggestion to look into just as an idea if budget permits.

My last foray to SD was with work in 2009, I think. I was there for a week by myself and had a lot of time to myself because I am not a mix n mingler type so didn't really hang out with any co-workers (though none I knew went, either). Anywayy I just looked up the name of a place I went that I would def return to on another trip - Old Town San Diego. At least when I was there, there was a local winery with some really good wines, along with some fun shops and great history. I did the Zoo (yes by myself). It's expensive, esp for a family of 4, but very nice.

 

[KatMark]

Finally back on the DIS after almost two weeks of craziness at work and our trip to Phoenix.

San Diego looks lovely. I've heard great things about it and would really like to visit sometime. I can't offer advice; I can say that the pictures of the food you posted are making me totally drool everything and it is not a pretty site when you work for a prestigious law firm.

I think you are right that the Zoo and Sea World might be too much, especially if you want a beach day. You can go to a Zoo anytime; I'd go with the Sea World option. Our kids always enjoyed it when they were young.

 

[lauraleh]

Joining in! I'm thinking of a very similar SD/DL combo trip for us next year. We are doing WDW this Sept again and I think it might be time to change it up.

 

[horse11]

Just checking back in. OMG!!!! I would have to do BOTH Pacific Coast Grill and Snooze an AM Eatery!!! The relaxing veiw from Pacific Coast Grill plus Churro waffles and Creme brulee brioche french toat looks AMAZING!!! Yet the pancakes at Snooze also looks AWESOME!!! Gosh how do you choose. Don't really think you can go wrong with either of these. Love how you added the link for each one. This is very helpful to anyone whom may want to plan a simular trip. LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of the Manta ride at Sea World. This alone would make me want to go there. So excited for you guys!!! Can't wait to see your plans in action. Just think your trip is really just around the corner and will be here before you know it. Just seems once it hits that 6 month period everything starts to take shape and the excitment really builds.