We are home...thank you!

[erinbharris]

Thanks to everyone for their help with planning, we had a wonderful vacation!

 

[PinkBudgie]

We just got home Friday night. Must have been there around the same time.

Would love to hear a few details. What were your highlights?

 

[blackjackdelta]

Had wondered if you had returned yet. Do you have any stories to tell?

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

Erin, I just thought of you yesterday. I remembered that you had other places you were visiting in SoCal besides just DLR, but I couldn't recall the actual length of the full SoCal trip and when you would be back!! I was wondering how things were going.

I'm dying to hear how the Kitchen Sink went over...as well as all the other dining choices and rides/activities in the parks!!!

Will you be doing a Trip Report?

 

[erinbharris]

As soon as I regain some energy I will do a bit of a trip report!

Here's a quick version...

Flying in and out of SNA was like a dream--so easy!!

Legoland was a disappointment, and I'm very glad we did it at the beginning. Carlsbad was beautiful, we stayed at the West Inn and Suites which worked perfectly for us. We got into a car accident on our 2nd day...boo...but everyone was fine (except our rental car) and it wasn't our fault. Get this though...the woman who backed into us asked if we could just say it was a hit and run because...she was late for a tee time!!! I shook my head and then laughed. Onto Sea World...Sea World shows were great, but I was surprised at the overall aquarium part--I thought it would be different/better. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I've been to Vancouver Aquarium? At any rate the Shamu show was worth the price of admission, the kids were so excited! San Diego was amazing. I could live there in a heartbeat. We stayed at the Omni and had a room on the 20th floor with an amazing view of the water. So pretty. We went to a Padres game, spent an afternoon on Coronado Island, and took the Old Town Trolley tour. We did the Zoo...and we all loved it. We're definitely going back to SD one day.

Then Disney...

How amazing is that place? Completely magical. We got there around late (5pm) on our first day after checking in at the Hyatt. Great hotel, had a perfect view of the Disney fireworks from our room. We ate breakfast at our hotel every day because we got some vouchers when we came in--it was really busy and apparently it pays to not complain. I guess everyone was giving the girl at the front desk a hard time and when I walked up and told her to take a breath before helping us she looked at me and smiled...said thank you...and told us that she was going to talk to her manager. When she came back she said she'd like to offer us breakfast for the week for being so patient and nice.

We had so much luck that first evening. We walked onto 4 rides. No lines. Our daughter got pulled into the parade, and Mickey shook our son's hand. That was our first hour!! Then we walked over to Princess Fantasy Faire...and waited 5 minutes. That was it. Our daughter was jumping up and down she was so excited. Met Belle, Ariel, and Tiana. Our daughter was beaming.

We were supposed to go to Goofys Kitchen but moved it to Friday and moved PCH grill to Tuesday and got rid of our reservation at CC...just didn't have the time. I think of everything the food impressed me the least...it was just ok. The snack stuff was decent, and the bakery items were very good. For restaurants... I'd say PCH grill had the best food for the kids (they enjoyed making the pizzas)...but...no kitchen sink . We tried to order it but they said it wasn't available that day?!?!?! Oh well, we survived. The food at RFC was good--fresh and not greasy. Goofy's Kitchen.....blah....it was pretty terrible. We all thought so. Maybe we hit it on a bad day?? My husband found a hair in his potato salad and that sort of ended all of our appetites. There weren't many characters either--we met Minnie, Goofy, the Mad Hatter and Aladdin. We saw Chip and Dale too but they said they couldn't come to our table. In hindsight I wish I had done AG for lunch instead of GK for dinner...but that's ok.

World of Color....amazing. So incredible. I have to say that I was less than impressed with the way Disney handles that crowd though. Completely out of control with pushing and running...my husband commented that it didn't seem very Disney-like. I agreed. We had the picnic meals which worked out great, and had FP for the yellow section. We managed to get to a railing and were sort of right in the middle of the 2nd level. We could see everything, but I wish I had brought my notes because I had noted that we should go on the top level at the railing...I think that spot would have been perfect. It was a great show.

Other highlights...

Aladdin
The Queen...she was hilarious.
Pixie Hollow...we waited for 7 minutes, and then Tink and Fawn spent about 5 talking with our daughter. She was so excited.
POTC...my son actually did it our last day, I was proud of him--he's a scaredy cat!
Our daughter meeting Minnie...she was all teary because she was so excited.

Ok, I guess that got longer than I thought it would--so there's my mini trip report!!

I would definitely go back. I would schedule more break days and would eat off site more (I think). The Hyatt was a great hotel for us and the view of the fireworks from our room was pretty incredible. San Diego was beautiful, I really fell in love with that city. Carlsbad made for a good start...we were able to unwind and just relax before the busy began!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the recap, Erin! Sounds like, overall, aside from Legoland being disappointing, the car accident, the crowd control issues at WoC and the DLR food, the trip was a general success!

That's so weird that the Kitchen Sink was not available? Maybe they ran out of the tons of ice cream needed to make the darn thing!!

So you cancelled Carnation Cafe? That's too bad - I wonder if you would have liked it.

See, it's so funny how subjective the whole subject of restaurants and food quality is - you said you liked Rainforest Cafe (well, liked it enough anyway). I like it too! Meanwhile there is a whole other thread currently going about how terrible RFC is!!! Restaurants (all of them) do have off days, but so much of it is subjective and based on personal opinions and tastes, too. You and I like RFC while other people think it's the worst thing ever.

Goofy's is my favorite place to eat in DLR and I have been there on off days but I have never had anything that was terrible (to my taste) - but I eat there only for breakfast, not dinner.

However, you're not alone in your review of GK - there have been at least a few reviews of GK lately that were less than favorable (more than usual). So it is entirely possible that they may have gotten some new chefs or some new staff, and that could have affected the overall quality of service and food. The number of characters doesn't surprise me - they generally have about 5 - 8 onsite (including at the entrance), and that's essentially what you saw (6). It's just that Chip and Dale didn't make it over to your table. Minnie & Friends has the most characters by far - but consistently mixed reviews of food (and no lunch or dinner options - only breakfast).

If you had done Ariel's for the Princess meal, you would have only seen 5 Princesses (maximum) and that's it. But you may have had better service and enjoyed the food more than at GK.

Aladdin is a great show!

 

[disneydreamer74]

Thanks for the report! I really liked Hyatt too! Great rooms, nice views, and the food at the restaurant??Yummy!! You really scored with the free breakfasts there! Good for you!

 

[erinbharris]

Thanks for the recap, Erin! Sounds like, overall, aside from Legoland being disappointing, the car accident, the crowd control issues at WoC and the DLR food, the trip was a general success!

That's so weird that the Kitchen Sink was not available? Maybe they ran out of the tons of ice cream needed to make the darn thing!!

So you cancelled Carnation Cafe? That's too bad - I wonder if you would have liked it.

See, it's so funny how subjective the whole subject of restaurants and food quality is - you said you liked Rainforest Cafe (well, liked it enough anyway). I like it too! Meanwhile there is a whole other thread currently going about how terrible RFC is!!! Restaurants (all of them) do have off days, but so much of it is subjective and based on personal opinions and tastes, too. You and I like RFC while other people think it's the worst thing ever.

Goofy's is my favorite place to eat in DLR and I have been there on off days but I have never had anything that was terrible (to my taste) - but I eat there only for breakfast, not dinner.

However, you're not alone in your review of GK - there have been at least a few reviews of GK lately that were less than favorable (more than usual). So it is entirely possible that they may have gotten some new chefs or some new staff, and that could have affected the overall quality of service and food. The number of characters doesn't surprise me - they generally have about 5 - 8 onsite (including at the entrance), and that's essentially what you saw (6). It's just that Chip and Dale didn't make it over to your table. Minnie & Friends has the most characters by far - but consistently mixed reviews of food (and no lunch or dinner options - only breakfast).

If you had done Ariel's for the Princess meal, you would have only seen 5 Princesses (maximum) and that's it. But you may have had better service and enjoyed the food more than at GK.

Aladdin is a great show!

The trip was definitely a success, we had so much fun!

It's funny, I read that thread about RFC and was so confused. I had a chicken sandwich that was so tender and delicious, and my husband had a burger that he said was cooked perfectly. They made my daughter penne and our son had mini hot dogs (not so exciting but he was happy) and a banana that he said was so good that he wanted a second (so we got him another). Goofy's really was terrible...blah...I would have complained had we paid for it (it was included in our package). But, that's ok, live and learn! I was said about CC, I really wanted that soup!! I found that most days we were better snacking over full meals--the kids just weren't hungry. We lucked out with the weather, it was beautiful and there were only moments of too hot in the park.

 

[erinbharris]

Thanks for the report! I really liked Hyatt too! Great rooms, nice views, and the food at the restaurant??Yummy!! You really scored with the free breakfasts there! Good for you!

I thought it was great. The shuttle worked out perfectly except for one night...it was too crowded so instead of waiting for the next one we decided to walk. It was actually a nice walk and both kids were sleeping in the stroller so it was the most quiet my husband and I had had in a week! The food in the restaurant was sooooooooooo good. Right up my alley--healthy, fresh and waiting for me when I got there . I know, we completely lucked out there--I figure it saved us over $80 a day because breakfast would have been $60 for the 4 of us, plus eating a big breakfast like that meant we ate really small lunches.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Did you mean Snow White's Queen? One day Snow White went running past us yelling about the Queen chasing her. Then the Queen followed in a fast walk waving her arms and clapping her hands for people to move out of her way. She was hilarious. Don't know where they went. Probably to their picture spot.

 

[erinbharris]

Did you mean Snow White's Queen? One day Snow White went running past us yelling about the Queen chasing her. Then the Queen followed in a fast walk waving her arms and clapping her hands for people to move out of her way. She was hilarious. Don't know where they went. Probably to their picture spot.

Yeah, it was Snow White's Queen. Our daughter is still talking about her. It was hilarious.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Yeah, it was Snow White's Queen. Our daughter is still talking about her. It was hilarious.

We saw her alot this trip. She even appeared all by herself by Snow Whites wishing well with no one around, but my boys wouldn't go take a picture with her.

 

[fidoprincess]

Nice to hear you had a good trip Erin. We love San Diego too and all the fun stuff there like Seaworld and the zoo. I'm glad you had a good time at Disneyland too and it's fun to read that you had good karma getting the free breakfasts!

 

[HydroGuy]

Yah, we just got back from a week in Oceanside (north of SD) last night. We actually had sunshine - GASP! - while there. Locals incluing my aunt and uncle who visited us one day said the sun did not come out very much this summer and we got lucky with our arrival on July 31 when it finally did. We had zero sunny mornings but usually saw the sun by 10-11AM each day. And the air and water temperatures were much cooler than usual so we spent less time in the water (ocean and pool) than usual.

How was the weather for you?

You are right - San Diego is a beautiful city. I do not miss living there - DW and I met there in 1989 and moved in 1992 - but we love to visit.

Glad you got to put all your info from this forum to good use and a good trip!

 

[munchkinsmom]

You are right - San Diego is a beautiful city. I do not miss living there - DW and I met there in 1989 and moved in 1992 - but we love to visit.

I, on the other hand, wouldn't live anywhere else, LOL!

Glad you had a great time on your trip, Erin.

 

[Queen Elisabeth]

We saw her alot this trip. She even appeared all by herself by Snow Whites wishing well with no one around, but my boys wouldn't go take a picture with her.

She is one of my favorite characters at DL. She's so perfect! We took pictures with her by the wishing well and my daughters didn't quite know what to make of her, lol. My cousin and his girlfriend were with us and while he was fumbling with the camera, she asked his girlfriend, "WHERE did you get THIS?" and pointed at my cousin with a look of distain. I <3 her!

 

[Funball]

Glad you had a great trip!!! I am glad we all could help with your trip in some way or another!

 

[erinbharris]

Yah, we just got back from a week in Oceanside (north of SD) last night. We actually had sunshine - GASP! - while there. Locals incluing my aunt and uncle who visited us one day said the sun did not come out very much this summer and we got lucky with our arrival on July 31 when it finally did. We had zero sunny mornings but usually saw the sun by 10-11AM each day. And the air and water temperatures were much cooler than usual so we spent less time in the water (ocean and pool) than usual.

How was the weather for you?

You are right - San Diego is a beautiful city. I do not miss living there - DW and I met there in 1989 and moved in 1992 - but we love to visit.

Glad you got to put all your info from this forum to good use and a good trip!

The weather was great...perfect actually. The sun shone every single day we were there, and not a drop of rain (although I hear rain isn't so common). When we got to Carlsbad on the 27th it was cloudy and we woke up the next day and it cleared and we didn't have another cloudy day. The guy working the front desk at the hotel said it was the first sunny day they had had in weeks. So, I guess we got lucky!