VegasMike21
<font color=blue>I couldn't stop laughing when the
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- Apr 16, 2007
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Here's a compact version of my trip to So Cal.
Hotel- TownePlace Suites by Marriott: A decent place to stay if you plan on staying for the week and if you want to do some of your own cooking instead of eating at a restaurant and inside the park, definetly saved us a bunch of money. We had a studio suite which was more then enough room for the two of us. The room was nicely appointed and just remodled as well with new furniture, bedding, etc. Rooms came equipped with stove, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, toaster, coffee maker, and all the pots, pans, dishes, and utensils you could wish for. The only downside to the hotel was they only cleaned our room twice in the week we stayed there, kinda a bummer but ohhh well. Room was free we couldn't complained but even the regular price is not bad at all at $99 per night! We also stayed one night at the Courtyard by Marriott in Rancho Bernardo/San Diego. Very nice rooms considering the price ($116 per night) all the other hotels were very expensive wanting over $150 a night. Comfortable room nice king size bed with coffee maker, fridge, and microwave.
Universal Studios- This park is very nice and different from the one in Orlando. But I like it better since on the studio tram you get to do a lot of stuff like King Kong, Jaws, Earthquake, etc...where in Orlando you have to stand in line seperetly for each attraction. Got to ride Jurassic Park and Mummy twice with minimal wait on a Saturday morning. Ate pizza for lunch at Louie's. They have some very good pizza here, but a bit on the oily side...but still very good. Also the Shrek 4D is not to be missed! Seen everything there in basically 8 hours. Left the park around 5 after being there since 9 in the morning. We then walked around City Walk for an hour or so before heading back to a long drive back to the hotel, wow I hate So Cal traffic!!!!
Sea World- Arrived shortly after 9...headed over to Journey to Atlantis where I got to ride it twice....I love this ride, one of my favorites on this entire vacation! We did just about every show here I believe except for the night shows as we left around 6 pm that evening. I enjoyed feeding the dolphins and the shark encounter as well. The tower ride was closed which bumed me out a little bit. The rapids ride at Sea World San Diego is simply awesome! You WILL get wet on this ride there's no way around it as you go through a waterfall!!! Very wet but fun as well! If your a beer lover make sure to stop by the hospitality center to get your two free 4oz samples of beer! Also make sure you wear a hat and but on sunscreen as I got a nasty sunburn on my face, neck, and arms!
Disneyland/DCA- YAY!!!!!! What can I say I love this place. Arrived the first morning a little before the park opened up at 8am. Headed straight for Indy rode it with maybe a 5 min. wait, next headed over to Splash and rode it twice with no wait then got a fastpass to return a little later. Then got to ride the Haunted Mansion and Pirates, I love how they changed the Pirates ride, very nice indeed! Next headed over to Big Thunder and got my favorite seat in the very back!!! Wooo hooo!!! Then headed back over to use our Splash fastpass but turned out that the ride was shut down so we came back later in the day to use them. Next headed over to get a Space Mountain fastpass and get some lunch at Pizza Port. Very good pizza here as well. Can't go wrong with lunch here. After lunch headed over to the matterhorn and rode the Tomorrowland side, my favorite side and then after that went to visit Mr. Toad and then on Snow White. We then headed back to the room for some rest and relaxation and then came back to the park later that night to use our Space Mountain fastpass and get a fastpass for Buzz and Big Thunder. Stayed at the park till around 10 or so right after the fireworks presentation which is simply awesome, a definate must see!!!
Day 2 was more of the same stuff we used our early entry admission and got into the park a little after 715. rode space mountain twice then headed to more of the fantasyland attactions that we didn't get to the day before. After that headed over to DCA where we rode Monters then the Sun Wheel and Mulholland Madness. Was kinda dissapointed in this park as there's not really a lot of rides to choose from. But it's a very, very nice park scenic wise but just not good as far as rides go. Headed back to the hotel to return later to Disneyland to go on some of the rides we haven't done like Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Autopia, etc.
Day 3- Basically went on all our favorites again like Splash, Pirates, Big Thunder, Buzz, Matterhorn, Peter Pan. We outside the park to Millies to eat lunch and I must say I love that place. Get the Monte Cristo and you can't go wrong! Simply love that thing! Went back to the park to use our fastpass for Space only to find out it was down. So we decided to wait for Nemo which was about a 90 minute wait. Not bad considering the line was over 2 hours the two previous days. I really enjoyed the ride and Disney did a real nice job with it and put a lot and I mean a lot of detail into the ride. Certainly a MUST SEE attraction, but after you go the 1st time it's not worth the 90 minute wait to me, but that's just me.
Santa Monica Pier- We were gonna go to Knotts this day but just decided to sleep in a bit and head out to Santa Monica for a day on the beach and at the boardwalk. We then headed over to the shops a few blocks from the pier and walked around there a bit. Very nice and relaxing day. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets at Santa Monica. If you haven't had a Johnny Rockets burger make sure to grab one...you'll love them!
San Diego Zoo- Wow I was really impressed with this place. So much to see and do here and every animal imaginable can be found here. Really enjoyed seeing the Panda's that was the highlight of the day at the zoo. Also enjoyed the polar bears where they were either fighting or playing with each other. Got a nice video of that. Ate lunch at Albert's which is really, really nice and had the Southerwestern Chicken Pasta spicy style. Wow, that was sooo yummy and very spicy as well. But definetly a nice place to have lunch and get a real meal instead of just a burger or pizza. Also with our So Cal City pass we were able to get on the Skyfari and tour bus for free and use them as much as we wanted with I thought was pretty cool.
Well there's a compact version of my trip report. If you have any questions about anything feel free to send me a PM and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Hotel- TownePlace Suites by Marriott: A decent place to stay if you plan on staying for the week and if you want to do some of your own cooking instead of eating at a restaurant and inside the park, definetly saved us a bunch of money. We had a studio suite which was more then enough room for the two of us. The room was nicely appointed and just remodled as well with new furniture, bedding, etc. Rooms came equipped with stove, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, toaster, coffee maker, and all the pots, pans, dishes, and utensils you could wish for. The only downside to the hotel was they only cleaned our room twice in the week we stayed there, kinda a bummer but ohhh well. Room was free we couldn't complained but even the regular price is not bad at all at $99 per night! We also stayed one night at the Courtyard by Marriott in Rancho Bernardo/San Diego. Very nice rooms considering the price ($116 per night) all the other hotels were very expensive wanting over $150 a night. Comfortable room nice king size bed with coffee maker, fridge, and microwave.
Universal Studios- This park is very nice and different from the one in Orlando. But I like it better since on the studio tram you get to do a lot of stuff like King Kong, Jaws, Earthquake, etc...where in Orlando you have to stand in line seperetly for each attraction. Got to ride Jurassic Park and Mummy twice with minimal wait on a Saturday morning. Ate pizza for lunch at Louie's. They have some very good pizza here, but a bit on the oily side...but still very good. Also the Shrek 4D is not to be missed! Seen everything there in basically 8 hours. Left the park around 5 after being there since 9 in the morning. We then walked around City Walk for an hour or so before heading back to a long drive back to the hotel, wow I hate So Cal traffic!!!!
Sea World- Arrived shortly after 9...headed over to Journey to Atlantis where I got to ride it twice....I love this ride, one of my favorites on this entire vacation! We did just about every show here I believe except for the night shows as we left around 6 pm that evening. I enjoyed feeding the dolphins and the shark encounter as well. The tower ride was closed which bumed me out a little bit. The rapids ride at Sea World San Diego is simply awesome! You WILL get wet on this ride there's no way around it as you go through a waterfall!!! Very wet but fun as well! If your a beer lover make sure to stop by the hospitality center to get your two free 4oz samples of beer! Also make sure you wear a hat and but on sunscreen as I got a nasty sunburn on my face, neck, and arms!
Disneyland/DCA- YAY!!!!!! What can I say I love this place. Arrived the first morning a little before the park opened up at 8am. Headed straight for Indy rode it with maybe a 5 min. wait, next headed over to Splash and rode it twice with no wait then got a fastpass to return a little later. Then got to ride the Haunted Mansion and Pirates, I love how they changed the Pirates ride, very nice indeed! Next headed over to Big Thunder and got my favorite seat in the very back!!! Wooo hooo!!! Then headed back over to use our Splash fastpass but turned out that the ride was shut down so we came back later in the day to use them. Next headed over to get a Space Mountain fastpass and get some lunch at Pizza Port. Very good pizza here as well. Can't go wrong with lunch here. After lunch headed over to the matterhorn and rode the Tomorrowland side, my favorite side and then after that went to visit Mr. Toad and then on Snow White. We then headed back to the room for some rest and relaxation and then came back to the park later that night to use our Space Mountain fastpass and get a fastpass for Buzz and Big Thunder. Stayed at the park till around 10 or so right after the fireworks presentation which is simply awesome, a definate must see!!!
Day 2 was more of the same stuff we used our early entry admission and got into the park a little after 715. rode space mountain twice then headed to more of the fantasyland attactions that we didn't get to the day before. After that headed over to DCA where we rode Monters then the Sun Wheel and Mulholland Madness. Was kinda dissapointed in this park as there's not really a lot of rides to choose from. But it's a very, very nice park scenic wise but just not good as far as rides go. Headed back to the hotel to return later to Disneyland to go on some of the rides we haven't done like Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Autopia, etc.
Day 3- Basically went on all our favorites again like Splash, Pirates, Big Thunder, Buzz, Matterhorn, Peter Pan. We outside the park to Millies to eat lunch and I must say I love that place. Get the Monte Cristo and you can't go wrong! Simply love that thing! Went back to the park to use our fastpass for Space only to find out it was down. So we decided to wait for Nemo which was about a 90 minute wait. Not bad considering the line was over 2 hours the two previous days. I really enjoyed the ride and Disney did a real nice job with it and put a lot and I mean a lot of detail into the ride. Certainly a MUST SEE attraction, but after you go the 1st time it's not worth the 90 minute wait to me, but that's just me.
Santa Monica Pier- We were gonna go to Knotts this day but just decided to sleep in a bit and head out to Santa Monica for a day on the beach and at the boardwalk. We then headed over to the shops a few blocks from the pier and walked around there a bit. Very nice and relaxing day. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets at Santa Monica. If you haven't had a Johnny Rockets burger make sure to grab one...you'll love them!
San Diego Zoo- Wow I was really impressed with this place. So much to see and do here and every animal imaginable can be found here. Really enjoyed seeing the Panda's that was the highlight of the day at the zoo. Also enjoyed the polar bears where they were either fighting or playing with each other. Got a nice video of that. Ate lunch at Albert's which is really, really nice and had the Southerwestern Chicken Pasta spicy style. Wow, that was sooo yummy and very spicy as well. But definetly a nice place to have lunch and get a real meal instead of just a burger or pizza. Also with our So Cal City pass we were able to get on the Skyfari and tour bus for free and use them as much as we wanted with I thought was pretty cool.
Well there's a compact version of my trip report. If you have any questions about anything feel free to send me a PM and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
