Who's Gonna Have More Fun? Two PTR's for the Price of One!

[Lil'Mermaid75]

When we went we stayed at the Marriott Fairfield right next door to the HoJo. I was not impressed at all.
It was loud and people were obnoxious.
You are right about being able to see the fireworks-- we walked to the end of our hallway and watched them one night.

If I ever go back and can spend the $$, I'll stay at the Grand Californian. It is beautiful in there, but I love dark dark DARK interiors.
If I can't swing that, then we will use Mariott points and stay at the Mariott convention hotel.

Shelly--- I think we decided at one time that you needed to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Didn't we? Or did I dream that???


Well shoot. Now I want to go to Cali!!!!!!

I really would love to stay at the DLH! But the price difference is quite significant! Maybe someday....

It's like a sickness--- the closer you get to your trip the more frenzied you become with all consuming thoughts of it. Then when you think it is just about gonna kill you, you're off.
And then before you know it you're back on the way home and you're left saying "What the heck just happened?"
And after you come up for air from the laundry pile you start planning another one.


Wicked, vicious circle.

Heck, I'm at best 18 months away from a possible trip....and I can't stop. My poor DH. He is constantly telling everyone that I would make a great TA..... Really, half the fun of a trip for me is the planning! And you're right...the closer you get, the more all-consuming it because. And then it's over.

5 WEEKS until Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are all very close. But dang the Disney hotels are expensive. [/COLOR]

[/FONT]

YEAH for 5 weeks!!!

And you're right....the good neighbor hotels are all VERY close to the parks (I think they might even be closer than the DL parking lots! )! Check out the pool at the Howard Johnson...it's pirate themed! I didn't have any problem with noise or anything there. The rooms were clean and quite large. Ours even had a small balcony.

 

[seacrestpromo]

Me too Me too! I know when we went DLH and Paradise Pier were about the same in price and the Grand Califorian was top dollar. But they could have offered the others to me for free and I still would have stayed at DLH, when you wait to stay someplace since you were about five years old there was no contest!

I do agree the GC is beautiful although I do wonder if it is noisy since it is right there in the park area?

No, the rooms are pretty quiet and very nice! The only time you can hear anything is when the fireworks go off (around 9:30 p.m.) Fantasmic! (9 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.) and World of Color's last show is at 10:15 p.m. or at 11:15 p.m. (if they pass out all the FP's for the show by noon.) I think the GCH is one of the nicest Disney hotels I have ever seen.

They are all very close. But dang the Disney hotels are expensive.



E

I just might have a few (hundred) questions for you Sea!!

I think the Good Neighbor hotels are very nice. If you want to know more about anyone of them, let me know and I will personally go over to the hotel and check it out for you and take pictures of the place.

Fire away with your questions!

I will definitely try to help you and anyone else out to help plan their DL / California vacation. Here are some pictures I took last week of the 56th birthday celebration and lunch at the Blue Bayou. Warning: Food porn ahead: http://www.discussionkingdom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2434

BTW - Happy 5 Weeks!!! You are going to have a awesome vacation with your family!

Sea

 

[seacrestpromo]

I was over at another board today and read about another poster's recent trip to WDW and remembered your story about the tour groups.

They were in over at Test Track and the group was getting out of hand and rowdy and the girls starting began flashing people -the girls were 12-14 years old! It really caused a stir (DUH!) and security was called in - about 15 showed up to deal with the situation.

What is up with that??? WDW needs to clamp down on these people!

Sea

The trip was fantastic!
It was most definitely hot and humid. We took it very slow (hey, it's not like we haven't been there before) and drank LOTS of water. Water is crucial (as I'm sure you know), since the heat takes so much out of you. It was very, very crowded, worse than we went over spring break IMO. I think the heat made it feel that much more crowded. There were TONS of tour groups. And the tour groups all seemed very large. I normally have no problem with tour groups, but the tour groups were very rude. They would literally push my nine year old daughter out of the way to get in line. I lost it when at Toy Story Mania (at park opening), one young man from a Brazil tour group SHOVED my DD9. And I am not exaggerating. I tried to talk to the young man about how rude he was, but he didn't understand English.
So, I hear that these tour groups will be gone in August, so you will have nothing to worry about with them.
To manage with the heat, take breaks, drink lots of water, and enjoy the indoor shows (like Philharmagic, etc.) Those shows are great in the heat of the day!
Talk to you soon!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

5 WEEKS until Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!! 5 week dance!

 

[JoBird]

Okay what did I miss???

I didn't end up shopping-- well not clothes shopping at least. I bought some stuff to go into "The Box"!!!! Empty 3 oz containers and those Purex wash sheets and a small first aid kit. It's on the way to being not filled up. Yet.

HAPPY 5 WEEKS, SHELLY!!!!!!!!!!!

​

​

Yay for Jack being a trooper at the vets office. Did he even feel his shot? Beau Gator is so fat he doesn't even realize he gets them. He sort of snorts and rolls over and sighs. He loves the vets office! They give treats.

As far as DL and the hotels go--- maybe you could book both a good neighbor AND the DLH. They don't give out deals there until about 3 months out, so that way if you don't get a good deal you could cancel the DLH and just go with the Goood neighbor. Or you could say the heck with it I'm staying in the DLH and pay the extra!!!

Sea-- that story about the tour group is insane. It sounds like it's getting worse and worse, not any better. Disney is going to have to do something about it. But what????
Okay so here's my question for you about DL -- is it crowded in March for spring break like it is in WDW and how is the weather? If we ever get back there it will probably be 2013 too - but possibly for Spring Break. My kids REALLY want to go to California and that's the year MC is graduating---- so I'm tentatively planning it.

 

[JoBird]

Um, oooooooooooookay.

My apologies to anyone offended by the Naughty Naners. I know that they shouldn't but they made an appearance unbeknownst to me. I thought it needed to be closer for them to show.

Obviously, I was WRONG.

 

[JoBird]

Touring plans Crowd Calendar!!


Fri, August 26, 2011 5 out of 10 HS AK MK (Shelly's Arrival Day)

Sat, August 27, 2011 5 out of 10 EP AK MK

Sun, August 28, 2011 2 out of 10 MK EP AK HS

Mon, August 29, 2011 4 out of 10 EP HS

Tue, August 30, 2011 2 out of 10 MK AK HS

Wed, August 31, 2011 4 out of 10 MK EP


Thu, September 1, 2011 4 out of 10 EP AK HS (Jo's Arrival Day!)

Fri, September 2, 2011 4 out of 10 HS EP

Sat, September 3, 2011 4 out of 10 AK HS

Sun, September 4, 2011 5 out of 10 EP HS (Shelly's Departure Day )


Mon, September 5, 2011 6 out of 10 EP HS Labor Day

Tue, September 6, 2011 3 out of 10 MK HS AK

Wed, September 7, 2011 4 out of 10 MK EP

Thu, September 8, 2011 4 out of 10 EP HS

Fri, September 9, 2011 3 out of 10 AK EP Night Of Joy*

Sat, September 10, 2011 1 out of 10 AK HS (Jo's Departure Day )

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

Those are some pretty good touring numbers!!!

 

[sjs314]

Yeah, I think we did decide that once. But holy cow I priced out the end of Aug 2012 to get an idea for Aug 2013 and apparently that is not value season out there like it is at WDW. I could save well over $1000 by staying at a Good Neighbor hotel and possibly even in a suite. So IDK what to do. The pools would worry me. Disney always has the best pools.


Yeah, we've heard that one before.......




Yes, you need to count down in weeks. It seems so much closer and goes much faster that way!!

I am worried about the heat down there. DS12 doesn't care for it and doesn't last too long outside in it. I just know he is going to be whiny. Hopefully we can make it thru and still manage to have fun.

Our very first trip was in October and it was very hot. In the 90's all week. But that was the first week of the month. I guess you never know. Last November we froze part of the trip.

The only other time we visited in October was the first week also but for the life of me I can not recall what the weather was like just that the parks were busier than we had expected with quite a few school groups (american) which made lines for attractions longer.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

YEAH for 5 weeks!!!

And you're right....the good neighbor hotels are all VERY close to the parks (I think they might even be closer than the DL parking lots! )! Check out the pool at the Howard Johnson...it's pirate themed! I didn't have any problem with noise or anything there. The rooms were clean and quite large. Ours even had a small balcony.

I just looked at the Howard Johnson Anaheim website. Wow it does look very nice!! That one just went on the list of possibilities! How long is the walk to DL? Their website says 8 minutes, does that sound right?

I think the Good Neighbor hotels are very nice. If you want to know more about anyone of them, let me know and I will personally go over to the hotel and check it out for you and take pictures of the place.

Fire away with your questions!

I will definitely try to help you and anyone else out to help plan their DL / California vacation. Here are some pictures I took last week of the 56th birthday celebration and lunch at the Blue Bayou. Warning: Food porn ahead: http://www.discussionkingdom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2434

BTW - Happy 5 Weeks!!! You are going to have a awesome vacation with your family!

Sea

Thanks Sea, that would be awesome!! I was looking at the Doubletree Suites, but now I'm looking at HoJo's too! Do you have any other suggestions?

Like I said, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. DH is more into this idea than the cruise idea.

I was over at another board today and read about another poster's recent trip to WDW and remembered your story about the tour groups.

They were in over at Test Track and the group was getting out of hand and rowdy and the girls starting began flashing people -the girls were 12-14 years old! It really caused a stir (DUH!) and security was called in - about 15 showed up to deal with the situation.

What is up with that??? WDW needs to clamp down on these people!

Sea

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hello!! 5 week dance!

Thanks!!

Okay what did I miss???

I didn't end up shopping-- well not clothes shopping at least. I bought some stuff to go into "The Box"!!!! Empty 3 oz containers and those Purex wash sheets and a small first aid kit. It's on the way to being not filled up. Yet.

HAPPY 5 WEEKS, SHELLY!!!!!!!!!!!

​

​

Yay for Jack being a trooper at the vets office. Did he even feel his shot? Beau Gator is so fat he doesn't even realize he gets them. He sort of snorts and rolls over and sighs. He loves the vets office! They give treats.

As far as DL and the hotels go--- maybe you could book both a good neighbor AND the DLH. They don't give out deals there until about 3 months out, so that way if you don't get a good deal you could cancel the DLH and just go with the Goood neighbor. Or you could say the heck with it I'm staying in the DLH and pay the extra!!!

Sea-- that story about the tour group is insane. It sounds like it's getting worse and worse, not any better. Disney is going to have to do something about it. But what????
Okay so here's my question for you about DL -- is it crowded in March for spring break like it is in WDW and how is the weather? If we ever get back there it will probably be 2013 too - but possibly for Spring Break. My kids REALLY want to go to California and that's the year MC is graduating---- so I'm tentatively planning it.

I need to get some of those purex laundry sheets too!

I think Jack felt his shot a little, he's not fat yet!! But he didn't cry or bark. He is very sore now though. Poor little guy, we can hardly touch him.


That's a good idea about booking both hotels!!

So you took my idea of the CA/DL graduation trip in 2013!!! I knew I could persuade you. Hey maybe we will even be going at the same time!!

I really don't know when to go. Obviously summer would be best with school and all, but if it is going to be super crowded then IDK. When is the best time to go Sea???

Um, oooooooooooookay.

My apologies to anyone offended by the Naughty Naners. I know that they shouldn't but they made an appearance unbeknownst to me. I thought it needed to be closer for them to show.

Obviously, I was WRONG.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Touring plans Crowd Calendar!!


Fri, August 26, 2011 5 out of 10 HS AK MK (Shelly's Arrival Day)

Sat, August 27, 2011 5 out of 10 EP AK MK

Sun, August 28, 2011 2 out of 10 MK EP AK HS

Mon, August 29, 2011 4 out of 10 EP HS

Tue, August 30, 2011 2 out of 10 MK AK HS

Wed, August 31, 2011 4 out of 10 MK EP


Thu, September 1, 2011 4 out of 10 EP AK HS (Jo's Arrival Day!)

Fri, September 2, 2011 4 out of 10 HS EP

Sat, September 3, 2011 4 out of 10 AK HS

Sun, September 4, 2011 5 out of 10 EP HS (Shelly's Departure Day )


Mon, September 5, 2011 6 out of 10 EP HS Labor Day

Tue, September 6, 2011 3 out of 10 MK HS AK

Wed, September 7, 2011 4 out of 10 MK EP

Thu, September 8, 2011 4 out of 10 EP HS

Fri, September 9, 2011 3 out of 10 AK EP Night Of Joy*

Sat, September 10, 2011 1 out of 10 AK HS (Jo's Departure Day )

Thanks Jodi!!

Those are some pretty good touring numbers!!!

Not too bad!

The only other time we visited in October was the first week also but for the life of me I can not recall what the weather was like just that the parks were busier than we had expected with quite a few school groups (american) which made lines for attractions longer.

Yeah, it was really crowded on our (first week of) October trip as well.

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

I just looked at the Howard Johnson Anaheim website. Wow it does look very nice!! That one just went on the list of possibilities! How long is the walk to DL? Their website says 8 minutes, does that sound right?:

8 minutes from the hotel to when you're ready to walk into the partk through securty is probably pretty close! It's really close!!!

 

[danceintherain]

I don't even want to think about when I come back. Especially since I know this trip is it, there won't be another one for at least 4-5 years, if not more. We just can't afford to go each year, especially with the price of airfare leaving from Canada. The taxes are crazy! 300$ of taxes on a 200$ tickets!!

So only focusing on the now trip. Even if my house cleaning suffers a bit...

I feel your pain...well kinda...
International travel is crazy expensive. Tokyo is like a 2 1/2 hour flight from here, and the plane tickets cost $400 at the very LEAST! It's putting a huge damper on my Tokyo Disney plans, especially since we want to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka, which is, of course, more expensive.
That's another reason why Hawaii isn't on our list for while we're here. It's not super close or anything, but the flight is twice as much from here as it is from the States.

I bet you've had your fair share of long flights Becca!!

I wonder if my kids are too big/old for Legoland....I'll have to look into that.

If they like Legos, they'd probably enjoy it. Of course, my sister took a picture of my nephew climbing into a giant bin of legos, and they'd probably be too big to do that...
It is expensive - around the same as a ticket to Disneyland. I tried to convince my sister to save her money and not drive down there, but she went anyways, and I think they had a good time. Her in laws paid for their Disneyland tickets, and my sister thought that Legoland would be more fun for my nephews. Since they didn't have to pay for both, I guess it was a good choice.

Thanks!!



I need to get some of those purex laundry sheets too!

I think Jack felt his shot a little, he's not fat yet!! But he didn't cry or bark. He is very sore now though. Poor little guy, we can hardly touch him.


That's a good idea about booking both hotels!!

So you took my idea of the CA/DL graduation trip in 2013!!! I knew I could persuade you. Hey maybe we will even be going at the same time!!

I really don't know when to go. Obviously summer would be best with school and all, but if it is going to be super crowded then IDK. When is the best time to go Sea???

My baby boy has to go in for his shots next week. Poor kid gets to celebrate his birthday with pain and sickness. He's enrolled in Baskin Robbin's birthday club, so I might take him for his free scoop of ice cream to dull the pain. In reality, he'll probably be super cranky that day, so we might not do his actual birthday stuff until the weekend.

 

[T*Bird]

Shelly, Jack's pics are precious! What a cute little stowaway in your carry-on! And the one of him sleeping is too sweet! If he was that good at the vet's office, then I would take that as a sign of good things to come. I think you've got a winner!

I have no idea what the crowd numbers were for us on any of our trips, but those numbers Jodi posted sound very good! I would think anything 5 or below is very manageable.

So you girls are already planning a trip out to California (or further ) and you haven't even taken this trip yet! To say I'm jealous is putting it mildly. I think I need a chocolate ice cream bar to get me through this night. My beach vacation seems so long ago. I need to start planning something!!

 

[JoBird]

Good Morning!!!

Those are some pretty good touring numbers!!!

I thought they were very good too! Labor day is the biggest crowd- and even at a '6', that's not bad AT ALL. I think when we go in May a lot of times is between 4-6 on their scale. So I'm happy.

I need to get some of those purex laundry sheets too!

I think Jack felt his shot a little, he's not fat yet!! But he didn't cry or bark. He is very sore now though. Poor little guy, we can hardly touch him.


That's a good idea about booking both hotels!!

So you took my idea of the CA/DL graduation trip in 2013!!! I knew I could persuade you. Hey maybe we will even be going at the same time!!

I really don't know when to go. Obviously summer would be best with school and all, but if it is going to be super crowded then IDK. When is the best time to go Sea???

Poor little Jack Jack. IS he better today???

California/graduation......... You push me, I push you. It's what we do.


I'm thinking now though that Spring Break might not be a good idea--- we want to go to Laguna again and I think it would be too cold.
Summer time looks better to me now. After July 4th or either June. but I don't want to get into June Gloom.... that was BAD.

8 minutes from the hotel to when you're ready to walk into the partk through securty is probably pretty close! It's really close!!!

Yep- I think we timed ours from the Fairfield at 6 minutes so 8 min from HoJo is probably right on.

Shelly, Jack's pics are precious! What a cute little stowaway in your carry-on! And the one of him sleeping is too sweet! If he was that good at the vet's office, then I would take that as a sign of good things to come. I think you've got a winner!

I have no idea what the crowd numbers were for us on any of our trips, but those numbers Jodi posted sound very good! I would think anything 5 or below is very manageable.

So you girls are already planning a trip out to California (or further ) and you haven't even taken this trip yet! To say I'm jealous is putting it mildly. I think I need a chocolate ice cream bar to get me through this night. My beach vacation seems so long ago. I need to start planning something!!

It's not too late to join us, Teri.

how was your chocolate bar???

 

[JoBird]

40 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sjs314]

40 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

40 Days ​

 

[T*Bird]

It's not too late to join us, Teri.

how was your chocolate bar???

40 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, I can at least start my brain rolling on a future trip. And in the meantime, I can go on virtual trips with you and Shelly.

That chocolate bar was dee-lish, thank you! In fact, I just had another one. But before you start to thinking that I have this wild and crazy side that I never told you about, I will admit that they are Sweet Freedom 100 calorie chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars. And I highly recommend them!

T-Minus 40 days and counting!!! Unbelievable!!

 

[ronnmel]

Now you guys are making me want to go to DL, but it's even more expensive flight wise than WDW!