LukenDC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 4,938
I treated my father to three days at Disneyland at the end of January 2006. We spent two nights at the Anaheim Hilton, where I was able to get two rooms for $99 apiece per night on the AAA website. We used park hopper tickets purchased through the Disneyland web site under the "play at the kids price" promotion. The tickets cost $119 each.
We took the train from San Diego to Anaheim, which was not only convenient but also a beautiful trip. Most of the journey was along the coast and we could see surfers riding the early morning waves. At some points the ocean was mere feet from the train! I purchased upgrades to business class and the enhanced service was very pleasant and different from business class service offered on the East Coast. Amtrak's West Coast business class is definitely superior! The Anaheim train station is a ten minute taxi ride from Disneyland and surrounding hotels.
Hotel We arrived at the Anaheim Hilton at 10:15 AM. The line at the front desk was very slow (only two desk agents working) and AAA made a mistake with the arrival dates for one of our reservations. The desk clerk was able to fix the problem and assigned us to non-smoking rooms on the 13th floor with king sized beds. Just what we wanted!
My father's room overlooked the convention center while mine had a view of a sun deck and Anaheim Stadium in the distance. I was a bit worried about the Hilton given the mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but I was very pleased. The rooms were attractively decorated in pastel colors and well maintained. Dad and I agreed that the beds were very comfortable and I enjoyed sleeping with the curtains open so that I could enjoy the twinkling lights of the city.
I had only one meal at the Hilton---Sunday buffet brunch at the Oasis. The cooked food was mediocre, but the fruit was fresh and delicious.
I would gladly stay at the Hilton again.
Anaheim Transport The Anaheim Hilton is located behind the California Adventure park. On the morning of our arrival, we decided to walk to Disneyland. Unfortunately, we walked the LONG way. We followed the signs for vehicles and walked from the Hilton in the direction of Disneyland Hotel and through Downtown Disney. It took approximately forty minutes! I later learned that by walking down Harbor Blvd. that we could have been at Disneyland in fifteen minutes.
We used the Anaheim Resort Transit and it was an efficient and inexpensive way to travel. One way costs $3, but a two day pass for unlmited travel costs $6. The Hilton was always the first stop on the route. One complaint that I have about Anaheim Resort Transit is that they changed their schedule twice while we were visiting and did not put up any signage alerting visitors to the changes. For example, one morning a driver handed us a map stating that service to the Hilton was on Route E. After waiting at the E loading zone for a half hour without being picked up, we asked one of the drivers if there was a problem and he said that Hilton was being served from Route C. That was frustrating.
The Parks We visited the parks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Disneyland was moderately crowded, but California Adventure had light crowds. On Friday we were able to get on most rides at Disneyland. Space Mountain was the most crowded, so we used a Fast Pass. Matterhorn was terribly jostley, so much so that we dubbed it Whiplash Mountain. My ticket allowed for an early admission, which I used on Saturday. Disneyland opened an hour early for ticket holders with the early admission privilege. Boy, what a deal that was! I was able to ride Peter Pan twice, Snow White, Pinocchio, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain all in the space of an hour. I also took dozens of pictures unencumbered by crowds. Overall Disneyland looked great and was just as charming as ever.
California Adventure was new for me and I did not know if I would like it. Thankfully, I enjoyed it and spent many hours there. California Screamin' is terrific and I rode it at least ten times. I also enjoyed the impressive Aladdin show and mustered the courage to ride Tower of Terror. ToT was disappointing. I thought that the elevator would stop at several floors for visual treats, but it stopped at only two floors before falling. I'll have to try ToT at MGM to see if I like that version better.
If I had bought a seperate admission for California Adenture, then I probably would not have liked it as much. There is not nearly enough to do there to warrant charging the same price as Disneyland. I liked California Adventure in part because I could always leave for Disneyland when I ran out of things to do.
Dining We ate several counter service meals which were only OK, but that was to be expected. I had a large breakfast one morning at Carnation Plaza---cheddar cheese eggs, bacon, home fries, grapes, large orange juice, and coffee---for $13. It was a great deal for a lot of food. We went to Downtown Disney once for dinner and ate at the New Orleans themed restaurant. I selected that restaurant because it was profiled on Great Hotels with Samantha Brown and I was particularly interested in trying the banana fosters that Samantha ate. The food was good, but the service was terribly slow. Twenty minutes for our soup to arrive! I don't know if the kitchen or the waiter was to blame. I ordered the banana fosters for dessert and after twenty-five minutes of waiting I cancelled the order. The waiter said something about not being able to find the ingredients.
I complained to the manager and she took $10 off the check.
Overall, it was a great trip. I will admit, however, to missing WDW. Disneyland is wonderful, but I missed the excitement of the many resorts, fine dining, and larger parks.
We took the train from San Diego to Anaheim, which was not only convenient but also a beautiful trip. Most of the journey was along the coast and we could see surfers riding the early morning waves. At some points the ocean was mere feet from the train! I purchased upgrades to business class and the enhanced service was very pleasant and different from business class service offered on the East Coast. Amtrak's West Coast business class is definitely superior! The Anaheim train station is a ten minute taxi ride from Disneyland and surrounding hotels.
Hotel We arrived at the Anaheim Hilton at 10:15 AM. The line at the front desk was very slow (only two desk agents working) and AAA made a mistake with the arrival dates for one of our reservations. The desk clerk was able to fix the problem and assigned us to non-smoking rooms on the 13th floor with king sized beds. Just what we wanted!
My father's room overlooked the convention center while mine had a view of a sun deck and Anaheim Stadium in the distance. I was a bit worried about the Hilton given the mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but I was very pleased. The rooms were attractively decorated in pastel colors and well maintained. Dad and I agreed that the beds were very comfortable and I enjoyed sleeping with the curtains open so that I could enjoy the twinkling lights of the city.
I had only one meal at the Hilton---Sunday buffet brunch at the Oasis. The cooked food was mediocre, but the fruit was fresh and delicious.
I would gladly stay at the Hilton again.
Anaheim Transport The Anaheim Hilton is located behind the California Adventure park. On the morning of our arrival, we decided to walk to Disneyland. Unfortunately, we walked the LONG way. We followed the signs for vehicles and walked from the Hilton in the direction of Disneyland Hotel and through Downtown Disney. It took approximately forty minutes! I later learned that by walking down Harbor Blvd. that we could have been at Disneyland in fifteen minutes.
We used the Anaheim Resort Transit and it was an efficient and inexpensive way to travel. One way costs $3, but a two day pass for unlmited travel costs $6. The Hilton was always the first stop on the route. One complaint that I have about Anaheim Resort Transit is that they changed their schedule twice while we were visiting and did not put up any signage alerting visitors to the changes. For example, one morning a driver handed us a map stating that service to the Hilton was on Route E. After waiting at the E loading zone for a half hour without being picked up, we asked one of the drivers if there was a problem and he said that Hilton was being served from Route C. That was frustrating.
The Parks We visited the parks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Disneyland was moderately crowded, but California Adventure had light crowds. On Friday we were able to get on most rides at Disneyland. Space Mountain was the most crowded, so we used a Fast Pass. Matterhorn was terribly jostley, so much so that we dubbed it Whiplash Mountain. My ticket allowed for an early admission, which I used on Saturday. Disneyland opened an hour early for ticket holders with the early admission privilege. Boy, what a deal that was! I was able to ride Peter Pan twice, Snow White, Pinocchio, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain all in the space of an hour. I also took dozens of pictures unencumbered by crowds. Overall Disneyland looked great and was just as charming as ever.
California Adventure was new for me and I did not know if I would like it. Thankfully, I enjoyed it and spent many hours there. California Screamin' is terrific and I rode it at least ten times. I also enjoyed the impressive Aladdin show and mustered the courage to ride Tower of Terror. ToT was disappointing. I thought that the elevator would stop at several floors for visual treats, but it stopped at only two floors before falling. I'll have to try ToT at MGM to see if I like that version better.
If I had bought a seperate admission for California Adenture, then I probably would not have liked it as much. There is not nearly enough to do there to warrant charging the same price as Disneyland. I liked California Adventure in part because I could always leave for Disneyland when I ran out of things to do.
Dining We ate several counter service meals which were only OK, but that was to be expected. I had a large breakfast one morning at Carnation Plaza---cheddar cheese eggs, bacon, home fries, grapes, large orange juice, and coffee---for $13. It was a great deal for a lot of food. We went to Downtown Disney once for dinner and ate at the New Orleans themed restaurant. I selected that restaurant because it was profiled on Great Hotels with Samantha Brown and I was particularly interested in trying the banana fosters that Samantha ate. The food was good, but the service was terribly slow. Twenty minutes for our soup to arrive! I don't know if the kitchen or the waiter was to blame. I ordered the banana fosters for dessert and after twenty-five minutes of waiting I cancelled the order. The waiter said something about not being able to find the ingredients.
I complained to the manager and she took $10 off the check.Overall, it was a great trip. I will admit, however, to missing WDW. Disneyland is wonderful, but I missed the excitement of the many resorts, fine dining, and larger parks.
