Spring trip....

[Malcon10t]

So, I haven't done a trip report before but thought I'd make a few notes about our recent trip. My daughters were off for spring break, the week following Easter, so we decided to head down Wed-Sun. We planned ahead, and decided since our trip last year probably didn't give us enough time to properly evaluate the Grand, we thought we would give it another try. I got a killer rate through a friend, so it was only $209 a night. On Monday, we decided to head down Tues night after work so we could get a jump on Wed, so I booked a 1 night room at the Hilton. Tues, after I got off, my girls picked me up at work, we dropped my other daughter's car at the mechanic (needed a new oil pump) and we headed down about 3pm. We arrived at 845p and checked into the hotel. Since I had worked that day, and did more than half the driving, we ordered room service, and called it a night.

Wed morning we were up and ready to go by 9am. The girls headed to the Toy Story lot and grabbed the tram while I took the ECV and met them in Disneyland at Carnation Cafe. We had a 950am reservation. We browsed Main St, then met up at Carnation. It was funny as a we knew several of the servers, so we had a steady stream of visitors while having breakfast. Oscar was there also, and he stopped by to chat. While we were eating, I checked with the Grand, and they said our room would be ready by 11am. So, after we finished eating the girls went to ride the Matterhorn (single rider) then we headed back to the Hilton to pack up what little we had unpacked and had bell services repack to the car. We headed to the Grand, and pulled on at the gate to valet. Bell services got our bags and we were taken to our room. It was now about 1pm. We relaxed, got unpacked, got the pups situated. We had massages scheduled for 4pm, so we opted to just relax in the room for a bit. The room was a 2 queen room. It was nice, very pretty, but smaller than we were used to.

About 330, we headed down to Mandara Spa and had a nice massage. I really like their services. It is very relaxing. They have a sauna and steam room. By the time we were done, it was 6pm.

We headed back up to the room. There were cookies waiting for us!! We hit the concierge lounge for drinks and water. We just vegged in the room, something that was needed for all of us. At about 830p, we sent my younger daughter to the Tortilla Jo taquiara to grab nachos for us and a burrito for her. Then it was time to call it a night. We listened to WOC as it went off the second time.

THURS - Up and in the park somewhat early... I think we were there by 10a. We had had a light breakfast from concierge. We had a large dinner planned for the evening, so had planned to eat light during the day. We headed into DL. Girls rode Big Thunder 2x, then hit Matterhorn again, then Space and Star Tours. We went to grab pics of the updates going on in NOS and shop in the pin shop. Headed back to the room about 230 to rest and change for the evening. We had friends who had invited us and we met in the Hearthstone lounge about 430p. Our dinner wasn't until 630p. It was great to catch up. I couldn't believe how fast the time flew. Suddenly, we needed to pay the bill so we could head to Steakhouse 55 for dinner. We were part of a Coca Cola event that included dinner. Our party consisted of 8 of us. We really had a great time. The menu was great. Every dish incorporated a Coca Cola product. VERY imaginative!!

 

[Malcon10t]

There was a lot of information about the history of Disney and Coke. ANd a lot of props. Many of the pictures in Steakhouse had been removed and replaced with pictures of Walt or characters with Coca Cola products.

We ended up here until about midnight. It was a great event, the food was incredible. The drinks were fantastic. They gave us recipe cards for the drinks. A few a plan to try again in the future!! Off to bed for Friday!

 

[Malcon10t]

Friday we slept in. Well, at least til 9. My oldest daughter and I got up and hit DCA (Youngest slept longer..) Rode Racers a couple time, daughter rode Screamin', we both rode TSMM, then we went and saw the Maleficent preview. REALLY liked it. Youngest joined us for this. Then we had lunch at 1 at Carnation Cafe. The turkey sandwiches and burgers were great. Oscar was there again, and came and joined us for a bit. We had the baked potato soup with the sandwich. We visited with some of the staff, then hit Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. It was fun walking through Adventureland with Indy closed. There was no major bottleneck by Bengal BBQ. Never made it back to Pooh's corner.

We headed to DCA and grabbed an ice cream and some chocolate, and some Mickey head bread. The girls headed back to the room, while I shopped more, and about 5 I headed back. We were having dinner at Steakhouse again and headed there about 745p.

It was really good. The chef arranged a few dishes and the girls loved everything. The main course was filet mignon for me, prime rib for youngest, and a flat iron for the oldest. It was great meeting JC (sous chef) and he was really awesome. We have had great meals every time we have visited. Tonight, we were done by 1030p.

Sat -
We were up early. We thought the park opened at 8am, so we were down to meet friends for breakfast at 830a, only to find DCA wasn't open yet. So, we all met at 9 at Flos. We sat watching Racers, eating, and chatting as we hadn't seen each other in a few months. We then followed my daughters through the park. They hit Maters, TOT, then headed to Monsters. We had other friends joining us there. After Monsters we hit Soarin', then everyone wanted pretzels, so we hiked back to the Hyperion, while my oldest daughter ran back to check on the pup. We had to hurry to DL as we had a 1pm appointment to tour Walt's Apartment. We all met up about 1250p outside the fire station with out second set of friends. The docent took us up to tour. This tour was different than the last one I took as we were not able to go on the patio. After the tour, we all headed to Coke Corner for the Mac and Cheese hot dog and several added Walt's chili to the dogs. (I had a plain hot dog...) While the older adults sat an dtalked, my daughters took their daughters (10 and 13) to Matterhorn, Space, and Stor Tours. They came back and got us then we all headed to BTMRR. Kids and the other mom rode while dad and I chatted. We are planning a possible WDW trip. Then we headed to POTC and HM. After this, everyone decided "Time for dinner" and we headed to Rancho, while dad took girls to Stage Door to grab food. More talking/planning... Then off to ride Jungle Cruise and Matterhorn. After everyone was off (they do single rider) we decided it was about 9pm, fireworks would be starting shortly, and we wanted ice cream, so we headed to DCA to Clarabelles. Got our ice creams and headed to the Carthay Lounge to relax (and talk)... The kids were having such a great time. We were all relaxed. It had been an absolutely great day. We waited out the crowds leaving from WOC then headed back to the hotel. It was about 11p. Bed time for me. My younger daughter took some papers to grade and went and sat in the lobby and graded for an hour or so.

SUnday-
We had a 130p check out. We were up and at breakfast at 9. We opted for Storytellers as we thought it had a menu option for one of our friends that was joining us on this meal. It didn't. She ate off the buffet but wasn't happy about it. It was the one downfall of the trip. But we enjoyed getting to talk with her and her husband. Then we headed into DCA for last minute shopping. I needed some chocolate from Ghiradelli. We did figure out that they open the line at 11 to non-hotel guests, and the line was very long at that point. We waited it out and headed in. Shopped for about an hour, headed back, packed up, and called bell services.

Overall a great trip. The Grand is very pretty, but for us, the rooms are too small. The distance from the room to the DL gates wasn't much different than the DLH (maybe 2 mins closer). For us, it isn't that much of a difference to offset the room size issue. I also missed my lighted headboards. Little things. But, it was a great trip and I am glad we got to try the GCH again.

 

[whoever]

This is GREAT. Love the pics and all the vintage Coke Tie-ins. I saw part of this elsewhere and wondered how I had missed your TR on The Dis. Thanks for posting!

 

[DizMe]

Amazing!! What a fabulous dining (and drinking) experience! That must've been a lot of fun. Very special, too!! You get to do all kinds of interesting things!

You know, I felt very much the way you did about the Grand the first time or two, and then suddenly it clicked in a new way for me. Part of it was that we adjusted our park visiting to better take advantage of the location, part was that we figured out where in the hotel to stay, and part was the fact that my youngest 3 were older. Another reason may be that my family liked DLH better before the remodel (except for the addition of Trader Sam's and Tangaroa, and the outdoor fireplace). We think the lobby is kind of sterile now and we miss the statues out front and the more "magical" feel of the storybook look; 60s modern has never been my style (maybe because that's what I grew up with). I also liked the pool area better before. I do love DLH still and it will always be first for me in many ways. I have mourned many of the changes to it over the years but there have been some great additions as well, and time does march on! But anyway, the Grand is now tied with DLH in my affections as I've come to appreciate things about it that I initially missed. We've also been fortunate to have been upgraded to larger rooms a few times!

 

[Malcon10t]

You know, I felt very much the way you did about the Grand the first time or two, and then suddenly it clicked in a new way for me. Part of it was that we adjusted our park visiting to better take advantage of the location, part was that we figured out where in the hotel to stay, and part was the fact that my youngest 3 were older.

It would be fine if my oldest daughter wasn't with us, but it is a lot more work for her taking the dog to the bathroom. She has to go to the elevator, take it down, then cross the lobby to get to the outside, where it is less populated. Even then, she encountered a LOT of people wanting to pet the pup and even one guy who tried feeding the pup yogurt. (WEIRD!!) At the DLH they have our preference to be Adventure Tower, in the 50 or 60 stack, so we are near the far elevator (seldom used) and no one is ever in the elevator with her, and it is about 20 steps to the grass outside where few people are. My kids are 24-28 yos, with a 3yo granddaughter.

The hotel is gorgeous. Both hotels have their pluses. Oh, and another stupid reason I like DLH? Faster run to the taquira when I want nachos or a burrito!!

 

[DizMe]

It would be fine if my oldest daughter wasn't with us, but it is a lot more work for her taking the dog to the bathroom. She has to go to the elevator, take it down, then cross the lobby to get to the outside, where it is less populated. Even then, she encountered a LOT of people wanting to pet the pup and even one guy who tried feeding the pup yogurt. (WEIRD!!) At the DLH they have our preference to be Adventure Tower, in the 50 or 60 stack, so we are near the far elevator (seldom used) and no one is ever in the elevator with her, and it is about 20 steps to the grass outside where few people are. My kids are 24-28 yos, with a 3yo granddaughter.

The hotel is gorgeous. Both hotels have their pluses. Oh, and another stupid reason I like DLH? Faster run to the taquira when I want nachos or a burrito!!

Ha ha!! That's a very good reason! In a similar vein, I like that I can grab beignets from Jazz Kitchen on my way past My kids are 34, 31, 13 (for a few more weeks), and 11 (twins). I also have grandsons age 12 and 4, so I'm all over the place It's usually just dh and I with our 3 youngest kids, but it varies. My 31-year-old dd loves to go with us and sometimes just she and I will take a trip. My oldest (son) and his wife rediscovered DLR on their honeymoon and they regularly take their 2 kids now, too. My dream is to all go one Christmas season, but that's pretty tricky to arrange (and pay for).

I get it now about the pups and their needs--makes perfect sense. DLH has nicer grounds, too.

 

[Girimama33]

Great report Malcon10t! The Coca Cola Dinner sounds like it was such a wonderful experience! Thank you for all the great pictures.

 

[Escape2Disney]

It would be fine if my oldest daughter wasn't with us, but it is a lot more work for her taking the dog to the bathroom. She has to go to the elevator, take it down, then cross the lobby to get to the outside, where it is less populated. Even then, she encountered a LOT of people wanting to pet the pup and even one guy who tried feeding the pup yogurt. (WEIRD!!)

We found this to be the biggest issue with GCH as well. Thankfully my daughter often helped me by taking my pup out in the mornings, since I'm generally pretty sick when I first wake up.

 

[Malcon10t]

Ha ha!! That's a very good reason! In a similar vein, I like that I can grab beignets from Jazz Kitchen on my way past My kids are 34, 31, 13 (for a few more weeks), and 11 (twins). I also have grandsons age 12 and 4, so I'm all over the place It's usually just dh and I with our 3 youngest kids, but it varies. My 31-year-old dd loves to go with us and sometimes just she and I will take a trip. My oldest (son) and his wife rediscovered DLR on their honeymoon and they regularly take their 2 kids now, too. My dream is to all go one Christmas season, but that's pretty tricky to arrange (and pay for).

I get it now about the pups and their needs--makes perfect sense. DLH has nicer grounds, too.

For the large family, we have been doing the 3 bedroom suite and find it works great (for us.) And for the pups, at the DLH even I can take them out to help my daughter, but I can't at the GCH as it is harder with the number of people she runs into.

Great report Malcon10t! The Coca Cola Dinner sounds like it was such a wonderful experience! Thank you for all the great pictures.

You are welcome, and thank you for looking!!

We found this to be the biggest issue with GCH as well. Thankfully my daughter often helped me by taking my pup out in the mornings, since I'm generally pretty sick when I first wake up.

It is a little trickier when we run with the pups. It would be easier if people ignored the pups, and I do understand people wanting to ask questions, but the ones who 1. grab at the dog 2. offer food or distractions while they are trying to potty or 3. challenge you (what does you dog do, why don't you just stay home, how do I know that is really a service dog... (None of your business, it is between me and the GCH...))

OK, off my soapbox...

 

[Escape2Disney]

Wow, I thought it was just me! I'm sorry you hear all of that too. Unfortunately my dog had to retire early (age 9) because he developed a respiratory issue, but when he came along, people really felt that he was fair game.

I'm on a 2 year waiting list for another dog right now, so the trips in the foreseeable future will be without a dog. :-(