ok, just one trip report for Sunday night, February 18 - Sunday morning Februay 25.
Sunday night, arrive LAX 8pm, takes until 9:30 to get out of the Avis parking lot (long baggage wait..). Arrive Disneyland 11:00pm (1 wrong turn, 15 minute delay). By this time, it's actually 1am (central time) for our bodies, so we are tired. Clerk tells us the ONLY ROOM they have is a wheelchair accessible room, and is that ok. I said that I really didn't want it, she said the only thing I could do was ask for a change in the morning. Room was 2208, and Resort view was a stretch. You had to lean out on the balcony to see the resort. Hungry, the only place open that late was Rainforest, so we ate there (review later in the report).
Got up at 6:00am, down to the front desk, and told them that the room was not acceptable, and KINDLY asked how they could help me out. The 2 people I talked to, obviously cared about my situation, as they promised that they would do whatever they could, but that they Hotel was either "sold out, or close to it". I firmly, but nicely said that my current room was not what I had asked for, and would appreciate whatever they could do.
Guess what, they came through!! So, went from being VERY mad with Disney, to quite pleased. Room number was 4302. You can see a picture of my room in this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1364119
So, to backstep just a little, after asking for a new room on Monday morning (President's Day), we grabbed a quick juice/coffee, and went straight to the park for the EE of 7am (regular opening 8am). THIS SURPRISED ME VERY MUCH - as WDW, early entry is a zoo - hundreds/thousands of people in line. When we got there at 6:55, only about 100 - 200 people spread over 4 or 5 lines. We go in within minutes, and sprinted to Rockin Space Mountain. No wait, rode it twice, and then headed over to Buzz, and road it twice. By this time, it was close to 8am, and normal opening. Went straight over to Adventureland, and rode Indy, Haunted, and Pirates. By this time, it was about 9/9:15, and we hit breakfast at River Belle Terrace. To me this is the best breakfast at Disney when you compare prices. 4 meals (panckages, bacon, saus, milk, egss,etc.) about $60 -70 compared to Story tellers $100+ for the 4 of us to eat. Saw the Johhny Depp/Capt. Jack look a like, signing autographs, a big hit with the older "girls".
We stayed in the area, hitting the shotting gallery, thunder mountain, and other time killers, and then had lunch/light snack at Cafe Orleans - my son loved the Caesar chicken salad, and I just had the Micket Beignets. Didn't want to eat too much, as we had reservations for Blue Bayou that night. Spent the rest of the day hitting all of the other attractions - small world, toontown, etc. Blue Bayou diner was ok, great atmosphere, just ok food. Although the dessert was great - brownie piled high with ice cream. Kind of pricy, but hey it's Disney, everything is pricey (about $120 plus tip). Finished Monday at Thunder Mountain, and then shopping for junk...
Tuesday:
Another early entry, but times changed for Tue, Wed, Thur (DL - 9am - 9pm, CA 10am - 6pm). I was surprised that CA was open for only 8 hours a day those three days. Hit Story Teller's at 7am, which cut it close for the 8am EE at DL. To me, this ranked with Blue Bayou for bad price/food benefit at DL. Over $100 for a breakfast buffet, with Chip and Dale, and other characters. Went to EE at DL (8am, got there around 8:15). No wait to get in, did the Rockin Space Mountain and Buzz trips again. I swear, if we just did Buzz and Space Mountain all day, I think the kids would have been happy with that. Later on did more of the same, Pirates (again), Indy again, and then Tikki lounge, and other attractions. By lunchtime, we decide to go to CA, and hit up snacks at Award Weiners (didn't do the dogs this time), and then ran around, and saw High School musical, hit some of the rides in the Paradise Pier area, and spent $$$$ at the boardwalk area. Came back with about 10 stuffed animals - at the bargain price of about $10 a piece! Seriously you can drop some big $$ at those arcade games, but the kids really enjoyed it. More snacks at the McDonalds in that area.
Late in the afternoon, went over to hit Muppets, Monster inc, and all the stuff over in that area of the park - NO LINES, WALK RIGHT IN. Great time to see that part of the park (late evening right before closing).
Dinner was offsite - the PCH grill over at PPH. Not a bad dinner, the kids enjoyed the pizza, I had a ok burger, and price was not too bad. No characters for dinner, and the dinning room was under construction. Quiet dinner, though as only about 40-50 people were eating at that time. Finished the night walking around Downtown Disney.
Wednesday - PCH LILO Breakfast at PPH. Good time with everyone, but several tables never got to see LILO, so they actually stayed an extra 30 minutes to see her again when she came out for the next "shift". You know Disney, move 'em in, move 'em out... Food was ok, the kids really enjoyed the characters. After that, it was spend more time at CA. Early entry for those staying at Disney hotels, it only gave us a 15 minute lead time, although they say it's supposed to be 30 minutes early. Went straight to Soarin, and rode it, and got a fast pass after riding it. From there it was to the ropes!! Get ready, set, go - walk as fast as you can, and head straight to the roller coaster. Seriously, some people ran, we just walked fast, and got there in plenty of time, and had about a 5 minute wait. All of us (wife excluded) enjoyed the roller coaster. Once was enough for the wife. Kids wanted to do the Mailboomer, so mom and dad watched DS13 and DD8. They enjoyed, I said more power to ya! Some more time at the arcade area, and then hit Mullholland Madness, Jumpin Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, and Sun Wheel (minus wife).
Lunch was at the Pilot's grill over by Soarin. You order via computer, and then pickup. We did the ribs, and enjoyed it very much. Rest of the day was spent in CA, had a couple of Margurita's (sp?), and hit bug's life, and everything else. The only thing we didn't do was Aladdin! (we did that Saturday). We felt this was probably the big day at CA, and didn't go back very much - in fact, only 1 more time (more about that later).
Thursday was another EE day at Disney, so just a quick juice/coffee to start the morning, and then Rockin space mountain and Buzz, and then Mattterhorn, followed by breakfast at River Belle Terrace (do you see a pattern??). Spent most of the day at the park, shopping, hitting all of the attractions/rides that we could, as the trip was winding down, and Friday was to be our Hollywood day. Lunch was supposed to be at the Bengal Barbecue, but the kids decided they didn't want that, so we decided to do Hot Dogs at Award Weiners. Ok hot dogs, but Award Winners they are not. Great place to grab a quick meal. Walked around a little while, then decide to finish up shopping for friends/family, and hit Downtown Disney, as Rainforest cafe was the Dinner option for the night. Kids loved the Ribs (they got them on Sunday night, as well), and I got a steak, and my wife got an ok salad. Dessert was something called a Volcano, and everyone enjoyed that.
Finsihed shopping in DD, and then called it a night.
Friday - HOLLYWOOD DAY! Ok, keep it quick, becuase nothing to do with Disney. Oscar weekend was that weekend, so we went down to the Kodak theatre, saw where the Oscar's were going to be held (saw the red carpet), and got to hold an actualy Oscar! Did the whole Hollywood tour thing, and didn't see anyboday real famous - just the DJ from WRKP in Cinncinati.
BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK - Johnny Rocket's - reminds me of Camelia Grill here in New Orleands. Great shakes and burgers. Friday night was at USC to see a baseball game against Tulane.
Saturday - EE day, last one. 7am start time - same song and dance - Rockin Space mountain, buzz, and Matterhorn. Followed by last breakfast at Terrace. Lunch was back at the baseball park to see USC and Tulane play again. After baseball, spent the last night in the parks. Went to CA, and did Aladdin, and it was GREAT. Kids and Wife especially loved it. On the way out, had the kids take a picture, and they laser engraved it into key chains - great, cheap souvenoir.
Didn't have any dinner plans, so we just walked around, went back over to DLand the kids wanted to try ribs at the Terrace, and they weren't that good - wife had bowl of stew, and again, just ok. Rounded the corner, and did the funnel cake. Rode on the pirate ship, just a quiet time to unwind and relax a little. One more time on thunder mountain, and hit the Pirates again.
Sunday was checkout early in the morning, and head back to New Orleans.
Quite a wonderful trip. We enjoyed it so much more than WDW - no buses, smaller crowds, and just a quiet wonderful trip.
YOAMD - the only time we saw people giving out prizes was in the Haunted Mansion, and we missed it by about 10-15 minutes.
DID THE PHOTPASS THING (picture is in signature). They are everywhere, so do it, it's only $99 or $125 for the CD.
Feel free to ask questions.
Sunday night, arrive LAX 8pm, takes until 9:30 to get out of the Avis parking lot (long baggage wait..). Arrive Disneyland 11:00pm (1 wrong turn, 15 minute delay). By this time, it's actually 1am (central time) for our bodies, so we are tired. Clerk tells us the ONLY ROOM they have is a wheelchair accessible room, and is that ok. I said that I really didn't want it, she said the only thing I could do was ask for a change in the morning. Room was 2208, and Resort view was a stretch. You had to lean out on the balcony to see the resort. Hungry, the only place open that late was Rainforest, so we ate there (review later in the report).
Got up at 6:00am, down to the front desk, and told them that the room was not acceptable, and KINDLY asked how they could help me out. The 2 people I talked to, obviously cared about my situation, as they promised that they would do whatever they could, but that they Hotel was either "sold out, or close to it". I firmly, but nicely said that my current room was not what I had asked for, and would appreciate whatever they could do.
Guess what, they came through!! So, went from being VERY mad with Disney, to quite pleased. Room number was 4302. You can see a picture of my room in this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1364119
So, to backstep just a little, after asking for a new room on Monday morning (President's Day), we grabbed a quick juice/coffee, and went straight to the park for the EE of 7am (regular opening 8am). THIS SURPRISED ME VERY MUCH - as WDW, early entry is a zoo - hundreds/thousands of people in line. When we got there at 6:55, only about 100 - 200 people spread over 4 or 5 lines. We go in within minutes, and sprinted to Rockin Space Mountain. No wait, rode it twice, and then headed over to Buzz, and road it twice. By this time, it was close to 8am, and normal opening. Went straight over to Adventureland, and rode Indy, Haunted, and Pirates. By this time, it was about 9/9:15, and we hit breakfast at River Belle Terrace. To me this is the best breakfast at Disney when you compare prices. 4 meals (panckages, bacon, saus, milk, egss,etc.) about $60 -70 compared to Story tellers $100+ for the 4 of us to eat. Saw the Johhny Depp/Capt. Jack look a like, signing autographs, a big hit with the older "girls".
We stayed in the area, hitting the shotting gallery, thunder mountain, and other time killers, and then had lunch/light snack at Cafe Orleans - my son loved the Caesar chicken salad, and I just had the Micket Beignets. Didn't want to eat too much, as we had reservations for Blue Bayou that night. Spent the rest of the day hitting all of the other attractions - small world, toontown, etc. Blue Bayou diner was ok, great atmosphere, just ok food. Although the dessert was great - brownie piled high with ice cream. Kind of pricy, but hey it's Disney, everything is pricey (about $120 plus tip). Finished Monday at Thunder Mountain, and then shopping for junk...
Tuesday:
Another early entry, but times changed for Tue, Wed, Thur (DL - 9am - 9pm, CA 10am - 6pm). I was surprised that CA was open for only 8 hours a day those three days. Hit Story Teller's at 7am, which cut it close for the 8am EE at DL. To me, this ranked with Blue Bayou for bad price/food benefit at DL. Over $100 for a breakfast buffet, with Chip and Dale, and other characters. Went to EE at DL (8am, got there around 8:15). No wait to get in, did the Rockin Space Mountain and Buzz trips again. I swear, if we just did Buzz and Space Mountain all day, I think the kids would have been happy with that. Later on did more of the same, Pirates (again), Indy again, and then Tikki lounge, and other attractions. By lunchtime, we decide to go to CA, and hit up snacks at Award Weiners (didn't do the dogs this time), and then ran around, and saw High School musical, hit some of the rides in the Paradise Pier area, and spent $$$$ at the boardwalk area. Came back with about 10 stuffed animals - at the bargain price of about $10 a piece! Seriously you can drop some big $$ at those arcade games, but the kids really enjoyed it. More snacks at the McDonalds in that area.
Late in the afternoon, went over to hit Muppets, Monster inc, and all the stuff over in that area of the park - NO LINES, WALK RIGHT IN. Great time to see that part of the park (late evening right before closing).
Dinner was offsite - the PCH grill over at PPH. Not a bad dinner, the kids enjoyed the pizza, I had a ok burger, and price was not too bad. No characters for dinner, and the dinning room was under construction. Quiet dinner, though as only about 40-50 people were eating at that time. Finished the night walking around Downtown Disney.
Wednesday - PCH LILO Breakfast at PPH. Good time with everyone, but several tables never got to see LILO, so they actually stayed an extra 30 minutes to see her again when she came out for the next "shift". You know Disney, move 'em in, move 'em out... Food was ok, the kids really enjoyed the characters. After that, it was spend more time at CA. Early entry for those staying at Disney hotels, it only gave us a 15 minute lead time, although they say it's supposed to be 30 minutes early. Went straight to Soarin, and rode it, and got a fast pass after riding it. From there it was to the ropes!! Get ready, set, go - walk as fast as you can, and head straight to the roller coaster. Seriously, some people ran, we just walked fast, and got there in plenty of time, and had about a 5 minute wait. All of us (wife excluded) enjoyed the roller coaster. Once was enough for the wife. Kids wanted to do the Mailboomer, so mom and dad watched DS13 and DD8. They enjoyed, I said more power to ya! Some more time at the arcade area, and then hit Mullholland Madness, Jumpin Jellyfish, Golden Zephyr, and Sun Wheel (minus wife).
Lunch was at the Pilot's grill over by Soarin. You order via computer, and then pickup. We did the ribs, and enjoyed it very much. Rest of the day was spent in CA, had a couple of Margurita's (sp?), and hit bug's life, and everything else. The only thing we didn't do was Aladdin! (we did that Saturday). We felt this was probably the big day at CA, and didn't go back very much - in fact, only 1 more time (more about that later).
Thursday was another EE day at Disney, so just a quick juice/coffee to start the morning, and then Rockin space mountain and Buzz, and then Mattterhorn, followed by breakfast at River Belle Terrace (do you see a pattern??). Spent most of the day at the park, shopping, hitting all of the attractions/rides that we could, as the trip was winding down, and Friday was to be our Hollywood day. Lunch was supposed to be at the Bengal Barbecue, but the kids decided they didn't want that, so we decided to do Hot Dogs at Award Weiners. Ok hot dogs, but Award Winners they are not. Great place to grab a quick meal. Walked around a little while, then decide to finish up shopping for friends/family, and hit Downtown Disney, as Rainforest cafe was the Dinner option for the night. Kids loved the Ribs (they got them on Sunday night, as well), and I got a steak, and my wife got an ok salad. Dessert was something called a Volcano, and everyone enjoyed that.
Finsihed shopping in DD, and then called it a night.
Friday - HOLLYWOOD DAY! Ok, keep it quick, becuase nothing to do with Disney. Oscar weekend was that weekend, so we went down to the Kodak theatre, saw where the Oscar's were going to be held (saw the red carpet), and got to hold an actualy Oscar! Did the whole Hollywood tour thing, and didn't see anyboday real famous - just the DJ from WRKP in Cinncinati.
BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK - Johnny Rocket's - reminds me of Camelia Grill here in New Orleands. Great shakes and burgers. Friday night was at USC to see a baseball game against Tulane.
Saturday - EE day, last one. 7am start time - same song and dance - Rockin Space mountain, buzz, and Matterhorn. Followed by last breakfast at Terrace. Lunch was back at the baseball park to see USC and Tulane play again. After baseball, spent the last night in the parks. Went to CA, and did Aladdin, and it was GREAT. Kids and Wife especially loved it. On the way out, had the kids take a picture, and they laser engraved it into key chains - great, cheap souvenoir.
Didn't have any dinner plans, so we just walked around, went back over to DLand the kids wanted to try ribs at the Terrace, and they weren't that good - wife had bowl of stew, and again, just ok. Rounded the corner, and did the funnel cake. Rode on the pirate ship, just a quiet time to unwind and relax a little. One more time on thunder mountain, and hit the Pirates again.
Sunday was checkout early in the morning, and head back to New Orleans.
Quite a wonderful trip. We enjoyed it so much more than WDW - no buses, smaller crowds, and just a quiet wonderful trip.
YOAMD - the only time we saw people giving out prizes was in the Haunted Mansion, and we missed it by about 10-15 minutes.
DID THE PHOTPASS THING (picture is in signature). They are everywhere, so do it, it's only $99 or $125 for the CD.
Feel free to ask questions.
