tinksdreamwishes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2009
- Messages
- 615
Just a quick report-
Who- Me, DH,DD12,DS9,DS3.....
When- Arrived Sat April 21-departed Tues 24th ...
Where we stayed- Park Vue Inn...
A little info abut Park Vue Inn- it was ok- room didn't smell like it did my first time, still was located on 2nd floor, thankfully we had our car and was able to store the stroller instead of lugging it upstairs. We had a queen room with bunks and a trundle under the bunks. It worked for us, but was crowded... I unpacked everything then stored all the luggage in the car to have more room. the room was odd shaped- meaning.... the kids could not see the tv from their bed. Which meant all 5 of us piled on the queen bed to watch something... no table and no couch in room. Very small room. With the trundle pulled out for the youngest at night- made nighttime bathroom trips difficult to not step on the kid- you had to skip over the bed to get to the bathroom. Shower was nice though- and the the sink was in the bathroom- ref was nice... the brought us 2 gift bags with balloons for the boys bday and a gift basket of wine with fruit for me! LOL... the food- well what can I say but it was free... they tried very hard, kept the place clean, was very friendly workers, they were always wiping tables and clearing the plate bins and re-stocking food items. Showed they actually cared. The food itself was bland, but filing if you can stomach it .. hehe... great for kids. Not so great for folks who like expensive eats- stay away- the room they serve the food in was clean but had this awful smell.... by the second day i wanted to not even go inside. Breakfast consisted on random days bacon, biscuits and gravy, eggs or eggs, sausage.... everyday had cereal, waffles you make, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, fruit salad, bread to make toast, bagels, pancakes and donuts. Plus several variety of juices like apple, passion fruit, cranberry, and oj. They had coffee, water, and tea and cocoa packets plus cold choc milk. They had cream cheese, syrup, peanut butter and jelly , butter , hot sauce, ketchup salt and pepper. Nice spread actually for free. Can't complain.
The light snack varied nightly- was served from 5 pm - 7:30- Sat night was chicken sliders with cheese slices ....was kinda weird... I was not sure it was even cooked- looked raw- but DH assured me it was cooked- like a frozen pattie the size of a half dollar. I ate 1. DH and DS9 ate 4!!! Geez! Sunday night was Chili dogs.... that was pretty good.... and Mon was Mac N cheese and chicken nuggets. Now that was a gross meal.... Again it was frozen nuggets- kids didn't mind and DH pigged out... I couldn't eat it... the mac was to be desired.... i have seen worse... was very bland but was creamy. I had a few spoons and was not feeling so good once we got to the park but handled it ok. DH is a Mac n Cheese lover- he was excited then was disappointed once he ate it. But heck it was free.... and for sides- it was the same every night- which seemed to be leftovers reserved- generic potato chips, macaroni salad, jello, chicken noodle soup and veg soup from a can... and they had crackers... salad with croutons and Italian or Ranch Dressing...water coffee and lemonade. So that was the free food- was decent for some of my family- mainly the boys but not for the females... LOL
They had a very nice gift shop onsite with a sweet old lady, nice prices, had everything you could need, pool and hot tub was great, lobby was nice- had the free cookies and water and drink.... check in staff was not as nice as the rest of the staff. Everyday you saw men driving around in golf carts with gift bags and balloons-delivering to guests- I think they like doing that! The housekeeping ladies are all so sweet and kind and very good at accomodating requests. And Coldstone was awesome and we also had 2 free birthday cakes for the kids!
The Weather disappointed me- I had been checking Acuweather daily for a month prior- to plan- and it was not very acu! LOL .... Sat was hot- expected- Sun was overcast and did not get as hot as was predicted- Mon- woke up to rain! That was so unpredicted! I was so mad at myself for not packing the stroller rain cover and rain coat for DS3.... ruined my morning. Turned out that by the time we arrived to the park- just sprinkles and light rain... cleared up by afternoon- and it was still pretty crowded with the rain! Tues was supposed to be cold- it was rather warm!
The parks itself- we went Sun, Mon, and half day on Tues. Tues being the worst! As far as crowds go- it seemed as if nobody used MM- and waited till 9 am- then flooded Fantasyland. My guess is- locals go on maybe their days off with their kids who are not school age yet- they just hang out in Fantasyland... it was awful! I wanted to start off with PP- by the time i parked the stroller- the line was ridiculous! Skipped it... went right on Snow white... then moved the stroller over to Storybook canal... OMG the line was all the way too Malestroms teeth.... and this was the ride my son has to do !!!
I had a screaming young child in front of us and behind us for 45 min... then realized that one or maybe both of these kids would be screaming on the ride with us... 
but it was our last day- and he had to ride it... the plan was to do what the kids wanted to ride, then head out to CA then go home. So we waited and waited.... mind you the only reason he likes this ride is to go thru the whales mouth and still live... and to see all the ducks swimming. He could care less about the rest of the ride... 
we actually rode this 5 times in the 3 days. The big kid rides was mostly just a walk on.. and CA was nearly empty.
Sun and Mon- was great! DS3 was able to ride Star Tours and BTM and Splash! We was so excited he made the req to ride. He was able to ride Star Tours 3 times... and Spalsh 2x's. BTM once and didn't want to ride it again....
However on Tues... something must have happened because none of the big kids rides would let him on.... maybe the CM's had a lecture orsomething or maybe it was because he was not wearing his "It's My Birthday" Mickey ears.
Either way- he still got to ride em and was not expecting it. Which was pretty cool!
We had some special magic- from 2 folks- we had went to Tower of Terror and was going to do the baby swap and was up at the front near the CM's to get the pass- as me and DH was trying to see who would stand in line for the 45 min wait and who would ride after- we both was tired and just wanted to sit down- when all of a sudden this nice lady said- my family has room for 6 on our fast pass would your family like to come? I thanked her enormusly and pushed DH and 2 kids towards her... the cM's was laughing, DH was confused...
they still gave us a baby swap too so it was perfect!
Second Magic was from a random family we met at the pool from our motel... the were from Australia... They was the nicest family I have meet in a very long time! We had a great time at the pool and was able to meet their adorable very talanted boys! Anyways one of the days we saw them coming while we was going and the wife gave us their free pass for any front of the line ride- like a fast pass- apparently they was stuck on a ride that day but never used! How sweet was that?
as for food- besides the motel ... we had lunch at Cafe Orleans- ordered way too much- had the cup ofgumbp- was pretty good, pomme frittas, pretty good, 2 Monte Cristos- which we shared- ended up we could have shared just 1 order. also ordered the Mickey Beignets- awesome! We was so stuffed! Then the sweetest waitress ever brought over 2 birthday beignets for the boys! With candles and everything! I tipped her nice - she was the best we prolly ever had!
We went to Oggis' Pizza on Saturday- since it was around 12 when we arrived and our room was not ready till 3- the pizza was great! Pretty nice place to just eat and have some space with out crowds... staff was nice. Free Wifi... !!
Had Pilots Grill for the first time.... was good... not great... but satisfying. I had the ribs, DH and kids had burgers plus my ribs... LOL
We had WWS- seems to be our tradition for us- the chicken nachos are just sooo good! This time to me it seemed as if the chips were more crunchy, and the chicken had more pepper... DH said I was crazy and it was the same...
We also had corndogs- very good, caramel and reg popcorn super at CA- and I re-did my Gyro from Paradise Garden when DH took the older 2 on Goofys ... last time they screwed up my order... I was determined to get it right this time. I ordered the lemon chicken with tzitziki sauce... wonderful!!
Bought alot of souveniers... went way over my budget.... spent $60 at Pooh's Corner on sweets and a toy truck!
Over all it was a great trip... except for my DS9 who says he does not like Disneyland and to please not bring him back there.... which was a heartbreak for me... alot of frustrating conversations between me and DH talking to him about being grateful,appreciative, respectful etc... UGH... Lesson learned don't force a kid to go if he really doesn't want too... Funny thing is we even arranged him a sitter and he said he wanted to go. And he has been before- he didn't want to walk-he kept saying if Disneyland is so magical then why does he have to walk, why can't he fly... etc... whine, cry,complain...he just wanted to swim in the pool. Next time he will stay home!
Who- Me, DH,DD12,DS9,DS3.....
When- Arrived Sat April 21-departed Tues 24th ...
Where we stayed- Park Vue Inn...
A little info abut Park Vue Inn- it was ok- room didn't smell like it did my first time, still was located on 2nd floor, thankfully we had our car and was able to store the stroller instead of lugging it upstairs. We had a queen room with bunks and a trundle under the bunks. It worked for us, but was crowded... I unpacked everything then stored all the luggage in the car to have more room. the room was odd shaped- meaning.... the kids could not see the tv from their bed. Which meant all 5 of us piled on the queen bed to watch something... no table and no couch in room. Very small room. With the trundle pulled out for the youngest at night- made nighttime bathroom trips difficult to not step on the kid- you had to skip over the bed to get to the bathroom. Shower was nice though- and the the sink was in the bathroom- ref was nice... the brought us 2 gift bags with balloons for the boys bday and a gift basket of wine with fruit for me! LOL... the food- well what can I say but it was free... they tried very hard, kept the place clean, was very friendly workers, they were always wiping tables and clearing the plate bins and re-stocking food items. Showed they actually cared. The food itself was bland, but filing if you can stomach it .. hehe... great for kids. Not so great for folks who like expensive eats- stay away- the room they serve the food in was clean but had this awful smell.... by the second day i wanted to not even go inside. Breakfast consisted on random days bacon, biscuits and gravy, eggs or eggs, sausage.... everyday had cereal, waffles you make, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, fruit salad, bread to make toast, bagels, pancakes and donuts. Plus several variety of juices like apple, passion fruit, cranberry, and oj. They had coffee, water, and tea and cocoa packets plus cold choc milk. They had cream cheese, syrup, peanut butter and jelly , butter , hot sauce, ketchup salt and pepper. Nice spread actually for free. Can't complain.
The light snack varied nightly- was served from 5 pm - 7:30- Sat night was chicken sliders with cheese slices ....was kinda weird... I was not sure it was even cooked- looked raw- but DH assured me it was cooked- like a frozen pattie the size of a half dollar. I ate 1. DH and DS9 ate 4!!! Geez! Sunday night was Chili dogs.... that was pretty good.... and Mon was Mac N cheese and chicken nuggets. Now that was a gross meal.... Again it was frozen nuggets- kids didn't mind and DH pigged out... I couldn't eat it... the mac was to be desired.... i have seen worse... was very bland but was creamy. I had a few spoons and was not feeling so good once we got to the park but handled it ok. DH is a Mac n Cheese lover- he was excited then was disappointed once he ate it. But heck it was free.... and for sides- it was the same every night- which seemed to be leftovers reserved- generic potato chips, macaroni salad, jello, chicken noodle soup and veg soup from a can... and they had crackers... salad with croutons and Italian or Ranch Dressing...water coffee and lemonade. So that was the free food- was decent for some of my family- mainly the boys but not for the females... LOL
They had a very nice gift shop onsite with a sweet old lady, nice prices, had everything you could need, pool and hot tub was great, lobby was nice- had the free cookies and water and drink.... check in staff was not as nice as the rest of the staff. Everyday you saw men driving around in golf carts with gift bags and balloons-delivering to guests- I think they like doing that! The housekeeping ladies are all so sweet and kind and very good at accomodating requests. And Coldstone was awesome and we also had 2 free birthday cakes for the kids!
The Weather disappointed me- I had been checking Acuweather daily for a month prior- to plan- and it was not very acu! LOL .... Sat was hot- expected- Sun was overcast and did not get as hot as was predicted- Mon- woke up to rain! That was so unpredicted! I was so mad at myself for not packing the stroller rain cover and rain coat for DS3.... ruined my morning. Turned out that by the time we arrived to the park- just sprinkles and light rain... cleared up by afternoon- and it was still pretty crowded with the rain! Tues was supposed to be cold- it was rather warm!
The parks itself- we went Sun, Mon, and half day on Tues. Tues being the worst! As far as crowds go- it seemed as if nobody used MM- and waited till 9 am- then flooded Fantasyland. My guess is- locals go on maybe their days off with their kids who are not school age yet- they just hang out in Fantasyland... it was awful! I wanted to start off with PP- by the time i parked the stroller- the line was ridiculous! Skipped it... went right on Snow white... then moved the stroller over to Storybook canal... OMG the line was all the way too Malestroms teeth.... and this was the ride my son has to do !!!
I had a screaming young child in front of us and behind us for 45 min... then realized that one or maybe both of these kids would be screaming on the ride with us... but it was our last day- and he had to ride it... the plan was to do what the kids wanted to ride, then head out to CA then go home. So we waited and waited.... mind you the only reason he likes this ride is to go thru the whales mouth and still live... and to see all the ducks swimming. He could care less about the rest of the ride... we actually rode this 5 times in the 3 days. The big kid rides was mostly just a walk on.. and CA was nearly empty. Sun and Mon- was great! DS3 was able to ride Star Tours and BTM and Splash! We was so excited he made the req to ride. He was able to ride Star Tours 3 times... and Spalsh 2x's. BTM once and didn't want to ride it again....
However on Tues... something must have happened because none of the big kids rides would let him on.... maybe the CM's had a lecture orsomething or maybe it was because he was not wearing his "It's My Birthday" Mickey ears.
Either way- he still got to ride em and was not expecting it. Which was pretty cool!
We had some special magic- from 2 folks- we had went to Tower of Terror and was going to do the baby swap and was up at the front near the CM's to get the pass- as me and DH was trying to see who would stand in line for the 45 min wait and who would ride after- we both was tired and just wanted to sit down- when all of a sudden this nice lady said- my family has room for 6 on our fast pass would your family like to come? I thanked her enormusly and pushed DH and 2 kids towards her... the cM's was laughing, DH was confused...
they still gave us a baby swap too so it was perfect! Second Magic was from a random family we met at the pool from our motel... the were from Australia... They was the nicest family I have meet in a very long time! We had a great time at the pool and was able to meet their adorable very talanted boys! Anyways one of the days we saw them coming while we was going and the wife gave us their free pass for any front of the line ride- like a fast pass- apparently they was stuck on a ride that day but never used! How sweet was that?
as for food- besides the motel ... we had lunch at Cafe Orleans- ordered way too much- had the cup ofgumbp- was pretty good, pomme frittas, pretty good, 2 Monte Cristos- which we shared- ended up we could have shared just 1 order. also ordered the Mickey Beignets- awesome! We was so stuffed! Then the sweetest waitress ever brought over 2 birthday beignets for the boys! With candles and everything! I tipped her nice - she was the best we prolly ever had!
We went to Oggis' Pizza on Saturday- since it was around 12 when we arrived and our room was not ready till 3- the pizza was great! Pretty nice place to just eat and have some space with out crowds... staff was nice. Free Wifi... !!
Had Pilots Grill for the first time.... was good... not great... but satisfying. I had the ribs, DH and kids had burgers plus my ribs... LOL
We had WWS- seems to be our tradition for us- the chicken nachos are just sooo good! This time to me it seemed as if the chips were more crunchy, and the chicken had more pepper... DH said I was crazy and it was the same...
We also had corndogs- very good, caramel and reg popcorn super at CA- and I re-did my Gyro from Paradise Garden when DH took the older 2 on Goofys ... last time they screwed up my order... I was determined to get it right this time. I ordered the lemon chicken with tzitziki sauce... wonderful!!
Bought alot of souveniers... went way over my budget.... spent $60 at Pooh's Corner on sweets and a toy truck!
Over all it was a great trip... except for my DS9 who says he does not like Disneyland and to please not bring him back there.... which was a heartbreak for me... alot of frustrating conversations between me and DH talking to him about being grateful,appreciative, respectful etc... UGH...
Lesson learned don't force a kid to go if he really doesn't want too... Funny thing is we even arranged him a sitter and he said he wanted to go. And he has been before- he didn't want to walk-he kept saying if Disneyland is so magical then why does he have to walk, why can't he fly... etc... whine, cry,complain...he just wanted to swim in the pool. Next time he will stay home!
That must be so disappointing for you. I'm sure next time will be much better 
. As for the family trip in 2 years. Wait until it gets closer and see what he wants to do. I think the idea of getting a vacation home sort of thing might be good, you cold let him say there for some of the trip rather than dragging him to do everything.
