TR- 10 yrs later, a trip back "home!" pg. 10. Complete w/ final thoughts.

[reyasmommy]

YAY!!! I'm SUPER excited! Can't wait to see and hear about your wonderful trip.

 

[travelmel]

Can't wait to hear about everything! This is gonna be good!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I figured you'd be getting back soon. Can't wait to hear about the rest of it.

 

[tofubeast]

Official Start of My Trip Report.........

TofuBeast flies back "home!"

That's me flying on my trusty Dumbo 747 over DL circa the late 50's. Thanks friends for your patience, I needed nearly a week to kind of recover, gather my thoughts, as well as get over my sadness that the long awaited trip is now over. I have lots of pictures to share, and I am awaiting my Photo Pass pics. So there will probably be a little delay before the actual park portion of my visit, but have no fear, I have some stuff to chat about before all that!

For those just joining my trip report now, feel free to peruse the first couple pages of this thread. I have pre-trip and planning posts that started off this thread. As a quick refresher, my DH and I flew out to Cali for nearly 10 days to go to a friend's wedding, enjoy DLR, see friends, and throw my SIL a baby shower. All in that order!!

As I kill a little time, I hope you will allow me to indulge in describing and posting pics from the few days BEFORE the DLR portion of our trip. So let's get to it!

We flew out of Ft. Lauderdale on Jet Blue to Long Beach. I am usually a nervous flier, but since I was so excited about this trip, I seemed at ease. For those of you who do not know, Long Beach airport has to be one of the easiest airports out there. You literally walk off the plane, down the steps, and the luggage area is right there. Grabs your bags, cross the street, and there are the car rental agencies. Within 20 mins from landing, we were in our car and driving up towards L.A. As it was a Friday night, there was no traffic on the 405. We checked into the Renaissance Montura Los Angeles which is actually by LAX.

The hotel was very nice and in a convenient spot for the first few days of our trip. The room was clean and has some nice amenities. If you find yourself staying near LAX I recommend heading South on Sepulveda Blvd. There are some nice places to eat in El Segundo and Manhattan Beach. For the veggies, I recommend a yummy placed called the Veggie Grill. We ate there our first night and found it just by chance. Walking around, I had forgotten how the fog can roll in at night and chill the air. It was in the 60s. Living in South Florida now, that is considered "cold" and I found myself wrapping up in my black sweater. Did I really live in Boston just 3 years ago?

Ok, on to the wedding! Our friends got married at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.

The wedding was one of those events that just makes your jaw drop at every turn. When we walked out of the hotel lobby to the outside grounds, we were greeted with this entry and a place to sign the guest book:

From there, we turned to left to see the ceremony site. It was so magnificent.

Our friends come from various backgrounds so their wedding included Indian and Jewish traditions. We teased them when they were going to open a lemonade stand due to all the lemons used as decor. Anyway, when the ceremony was over, it was time for the cocktail hour. This path led down to all the delicious food and drinks. They put in their own couches and pillows and flowers. That's my mommy on the right!

We surely enjoyed the martini ICE bar. Yes, the whole martini bar was carved out of ice. Here it is later in the evening, after it had done some melting.

The wedding reception was a ton of fun. The band was incredible, and I got a good chuckle seeing my parents dance to the band's cover of ACDC "You shook me all night long." The Four Seasons sure knows how to provide some wonderful meals. Before the cutting of the cake, we were all treated to an Indian "bollywood" style dance troupe.

Do you see the flowers in that room? I think my wedding's flower budget was about .0015% of their budget. The guest treat was a big candy bar full of jelly beans, candy apples, cotton candy and the like. It was nice to fill up a bag for us to enjoy the rest of our trip. What a wedding! The next day they had us back at the Four Season's for a Sunday post wedding brunch. It was amazing.

At this point, we had our only celebrity sighting of the trip. Growing up in L.A., I used to see people all the time, usually at the local super market or video shop. Now usually each trip I see someone as well. This time was no different. I instantly recognized his face and thought, "could it be?" When he turned around and I saw that his name was written on his football jersey, I knew for sure it was LL. We were waiting at the lobby elevators because I wanted to sneak a peak at the pool which is on an upper floor. An elevator came which was crowded with people about to get off. He stormed right in before they could. Not very polite, eh? On the whole elevator ride with him, I wanted to say something, but kept my mouth shut.

While in the elevator, I noticed there was a press junket going on for "Tropic Thunder." It would have been much cooler to see Ben Stiller, Robert Downey or Jack Black. Oh well!

Coming up next: We take a visit to my ol' neck of the woods... Hollywood & the Disney Soda Fountain Shop!

 

[mommaU4]

Welcome back!

Love the wedding pics. Wow, they really went all out. I also love the idea of a candy bar/buffet. I hadn't heard of those until recently and I think they are a great idea for weddings and other parties.

I was cracking up over your parents dancing to that song! I love that song but cannot imagine my parents ever dancing to that.

Anyway, looking forward to reading more!

 

[travelmel]

Those wedding pictures are AMAZING! I, for one, LOVE weddings and wedding pictures (I know it's hard to tell after reading my TR ) so thank you SO much for adding those!

I am super excited to hear more.

Good job!
Melissa

 

[julezdisney]

Wow! I've never been to a wedding like that- how beautiful! V. excited for your TR!!

 

[sydangel68]

Just discovered you TR and am I am hooked. Awesome leadup to the trip itself. Can't wait to here about all things Disneyland.

That wedding looks like it was amazing. WOW!

I will check out the Renaissance too, do they have a shuttle to/from LAX? We have 2 nights at LAX before our trip back to Australia at the end of our trip and really want somewhere to just layback, relax and regroup. We currently have a booking at the Hilton by LAX, but I am not convinced. Would like to see some pics or thoughts on the Renaissance.

Cheers
Angela

 

[MA pigletfan]

subscription made!
Love the start of this TR!!! Those wedding pics are great! I am getting married next year so i am currently obsessed with all things wedding !
My fiance' and i are going to the west coast for the first time in October..spending 5 nights in L.A. with my friend and her boyfriend then DL for 4 nights..this report is going to come in handy i think!

 

[tofubeast]

I will check out the Renaissance too, do they have a shuttle to/from LAX? We have 2 nights at LAX before our trip back to Australia at the end of our trip and really want somewhere to just layback, relax and regroup. We currently have a booking at the Hilton by LAX, but I am not convinced. Would like to see some pics or thoughts on the Renaissance.

Cheers
Angela

Hi Angela,

The hotel has a very high rating on trip advisor. The rooms were quite nice and we could not hear the planes at all. We got a good rate actually via their website. They have a shuttle to the airport, but we didn't use it as we flew in and our of Long Beach. However, we stayed at another "lax area" hotel at the latter part of our trip which is in El Segundo. It is the Hilton Garden Inn. It is just South of the airport, but very close. They also have a great reputation on tripadvisor and have a dedicated shuttle. Click the link for more info:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32341-d224346-Reviews-Hilton_Garden_Inn_LAX_El_Segundo-El_Segundo_California.html

The rate there was even cheaper than the other place and parking is free. Honestly, if I had to choose between the two, I would go again with the Hilton because the rooms were very nice and cheaper. But both places were lovely. Just giving you another option to think about!

 

[tofubeast]

Those wedding pictures are AMAZING! I, for one, LOVE weddings and wedding pictures (I know it's hard to tell after reading my TR ) so thank you SO much for adding those! I am super excited to hear more.
Good job!
Melissa

Hi Melissa, it was because of your TR that I decided to go off topic and post some of the wedding pics. I love weddings, so it is fun to take a peak at them.

 

[tofubeast]

subscription made!
Love the start of this TR!!! Those wedding pics are great! I am getting married next year so i am currently obsessed with all things wedding !
My fiance' and i are going to the west coast for the first time in October..spending 5 nights in L.A. with my friend and her boyfriend then DL for 4 nights..this report is going to come in handy i think!

Yay congrats on your engagement! Your wedding will be here before you blink. Hope you do a TR for your upcoming trip.

Wow! I've never been to a wedding like that- how beautiful! V. excited for your TR!!

Thanks. I have been to a few big weddings, but this one topped the cake so to speak!

Welcome back!

Love the wedding pics. Wow, they really went all out. I also love the idea of a candy bar/buffet. I hadn't heard of those until recently and I think they are a great idea for weddings and other parties.

I was cracking up over your parents dancing to that song! I love that song but cannot imagine my parents ever dancing to that.

Yes, my parents are more "old school" so to see them dancing to ACDC was quite a shock! I guess you only live once!

I loved the candy buffet too. My type 1 diabetic husband wasn't as big a fan as me though. I guess I can understand. I was most excited about the cotton candy. That has to be one of my favorite treats to indulge in...that I only have once in a blue moon. Here is a VERY blurry pic of the candy bar.

Yum. And since we are talking about sweets, and we have some wedding fans out there, a nice shot of the cake. That was quite good too.

 

[travelmel]

Yay!... more wedding pics! What a phenomenol party that was (and I know it's not cooth but OUCH for the pocket book! ) I'm glad my TR helped inspire you to post. If you get anymore pics and want to share that would be great... also if you don't want to add them to your TR but have a kodak or shutterfly account open to the public you can PM me with a link

That candy bar was amazing.... it's funny how I never heard of one and then bing-bang two in a row!

Melissa

 

[MAH4546]

Awesome trip report so far, really enjoying it!

 

[heatherleigh]

Thanks for the wedding cake pic. It looks beautiful and tasty! I haven't ever been to that large of a wedding. Actually, I haven't ever been to a wedding in the lower 48.

I am invited to one in Seattle in September, but it's a little to close to the date of our DL and my LV trip w/ the girls. If I had extra $, I'd do it, but not this time.

 

[MA pigletfan]

droooooool i love the candy buffet and cake !!! i have a major sweet tooth..i am afraid if i had that at my wedding i would ignore my guests and be in total sugar shock!!! lol!
I do believe i will be doing a TR for my trip..wheeee

 

[mommaU4]

droooooool i love the candy buffet and cake !!! i have a major sweet tooth..i am afraid if i had that at my wedding i would ignore my guests and be in total sugar shock!!! lol!
I do believe i will be doing a TR for my trip..wheeee

If you do a TR I want the link!!

I love the cake pic and the candy buffet. I read about those on the DIS of all places but when I Googled it, lots of pics came up of different ones. http://images.google.com/images?q=c...F-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBS&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

A friend of mine did one for her DD's 8th grade graduation and the kids loved it.

 

[tofubeast]

Awesome trip report so far, really enjoying it!

Why thank you! Nice to have you on board!

Yay!... more wedding pics! What a phenomenol party that was (and I know it's not cooth but OUCH for the pocket book! ) I'm glad my TR helped inspire you to post. If you get anymore pics and want to share that would be great... also if you don't want to add them to your TR but have a kodak or shutterfly account open to the public you can PM me with a link
Melissa

Hi Melissa, I don't really have any more wedding pics from this wedding. But in honor of your TR and our other bride to be reading this TR, I give you two pics of DH and I from our wedding 3 yrs ago! We got married in Cape Cod.

Ok from here on out I vow future pics will be disney'ish!

droooooool i love the candy buffet and cake !!! i have a major sweet tooth..i am afraid if i had that at my wedding i would ignore my guests and be in total sugar shock!!! lol!
I do believe i will be doing a TR for my trip..wheeee

Yay, share that link with us when you do one!! And I agree about the candy bar. I know if I didn't have that visit to DLR (with all the sweets and yummy food there), I would have been tempted to hit up that candy bar more! lol


New DISNEY RELATED update coming this weekend!

 

[travelmel]

Ok from here on out I vow future pics will be disney'ish!

QUOTE]

Come on! In a tribute to Walt it is our duty to honor things non-Disney whilest showing our affection for Disney by being here on the Disboards

That sounded more preachy than I meant it to, but ... you know what I mean!? Walt loved lots of stuff w/o Mickey.

Thanks SO much for sharing your wedding pics for me!

You are beautiful and happy and all a flutter with blushing innocence Very sweet!

 

[tofubeast]

Only a Nobody Walks in L.A.!

Alright, time to move on with this trip report! So the day after the wedding (Sunday), the wedding parents of the couple treated out of town guests to a lovely brunch at the Four Seasons. Now I have never been to the brunch there, and was I "wow'd." If you ever want to treat yourself to something real special, and there is a Four Seasons where you live, go there for Sunday brunch. Yum...yum...oh and yum again!

After we bid farewell to my parents, the bride and groom, and friends... it was time to move on! As we were in Beverly Hills, we thought we would head on over to the 'Wood... Hollywood that is! For me, it is bittersweet to go back to this area, as I grew up in the hills above it. I used to drive down Hollywood Blvd. every day to get to high school. I never used to walk around the street back when I lived there unless some out of town relative was visiting us on vacation. Not too long ago, Hollywood Blvd. was kinda sketchy. In the last 10-15 years, it has been slowly changing and in the last few years, that change has sped up. So as a former resident, it was fun to come back and play the role of tourist.

DH and I parked the car and walked over to the Chinese Theater area.

It was quite crowded, but still fun to peak at the footprints in the concrete. I was especially happy to come across this concrete block:

I just love ol' Blue Eyes! I am still in awe of just how small people's feet and hands were back in the day...as seen in the concrete prints from the 30's and 40's. Have we just evolved into some huge giants or what? Some of those female stars back then looked like they had size 4 shoes. What will we be like in another 50 years? Moving on..

We walked around the Kodak Theater area. Seems like the bad economy is hitting the mall there kinda bad because there were many empty store fronts. I didn't remember it being like that when I was last in the area a few years ago. We then walked around checking out some of the stars and found two that seemed quite appropriate for an L.A. DIS TR!

Just WHO is the leader of the Club? I digress. So when walking around in the hot California sun, what does one become hungry for? What I ask? ICE CREAM. And when at the Chinese Theater where does one go for such a treat? Well the Disney Soda Fountain Shop, of course!

We were promptly seated and provided with the menu. There are so many ice cream concoctions to choose from that it took me forever to decide. Finally, I just went with the classic sundae. I mean you can't go wrong with that! DH had a Diet Coke float. My sundae came with mint chip ice cream, and I was surprised when I saw the color of the ice cream was pink, as I am used to the standard green. It was yummy! My DH laughed at me as I took a picture of our treats. I said, "Get used to it, I need it to make the people on the DIS happy!" He rolled his eyes, in a playful way of course. So here is the first of the foodie pics to come...

Based on descriptions I had read of the restaurant, I thought it would be a lot bigger, so I can now see why some people face some decent waits for a table. Back when I used to go to the El Capitan, the soda fountain was not there. It sure is a nice addition. The servers were really nice and helped me get a preview of the Disney spirit we would experience down in Anaheim.

There is also a small shop that is a part of the overall soda fountain. The offerings are rather meager, but the space is small. As a pin collector, I had to get something to mark my visit so this is what I ended up with:

Here are my thoughts about the Disney Soda Fountain Shop. It is a nice experience if you are already going to be touring Hollywood and/or catching a film at the El Capitan. However, if you are just going there for the sake of the Soda Fountain (i.e. driving up from DLR just for it), than I would not bother. It sure was fun though and helped us beat the heat.

See, the main reason we were in the Hollywood area was to make my DH happy. Like me, he is an avid enthusiast of music. However, he has a much larger obsession with collecting records and such. So every time we make it out to L.A., the trip has to involve a stop at Amoeba records.

I found that picture online for you to see the outside of the store on Sunset Blvd. For those of you who do not know, Amoeba is a very very VERY large record store that actually started in San Fran. A few years ago, they opened another location in Hollywood. In an era where record stores (especially independent ones) are quickly becoming a thing of the past, it is nice to know that there are still some out there that are thriving. Here is just a small glimpse of how big the store is, but it is way bigger than this picture alone. DH took this pic from the 2nd floor.

We spent an hour or two in here perusing all the genres of music and checking out the dvds and such. My husband was in heaven. There aren't many good records stores in South Florida, so he had to get his fill. In fact, a week later we spent some more time at Amoeba.

After contributing to the local economy, we headed over to Santa Monica to meet friends. There are some real nice restaurants and bars on Main Street (bridging Venice and Santa Monica). I recommend checking out this area when visiting L.A. After we enjoyed a few beers and a good meal with friends, we headed towards our hotel. Just as we were about to turn on the street of our hotel, I decided to surprise my hubbie and take home to Manhattan Beach. It was a nice, crisp night with a full moon. A perfect setting for walking down the M.B. Pier and listening to the Pacific waves. This was to be the last real quiet moment of our whole vacation...even though it had still only just begun. At least it was romantic!


Stay tuned...

Next installment will include my review of the Candy Cane Inn, Downtown Disney, and a lovely meal at Napa Rose!