dwirtala
08-14-2008, 02:09 PM
Travel dates: 8/6/08-8/11/08
Travel method: Alaska Airlines from Seattle
Resort: Grand Californian
Accommodations: Standard room with 1 Queen and Bunkbeds
Ages Represented in Group:9,13, and thirty/forty somethings
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: 3rd time as a family
Comments: We just got back from a fabulous trip to the DL Resort. I wanted to share some highlights with you:
Grand Californian: This was our second visit to the GC. We enjoyed the hotel as much if not more than our previous visit. We love the location and convenience, the restaurants and just the whole experience. There were several fun activities each day that you could participate in if you wanted. It is expensive but really makes the trip enjoyable. The only thing I would do differently, would be to have two queen beds rather than the bunk beds for my kids ages. The top bunk was very hard to get on and off and the kids each preferred the bottom bunk.
Fantasmic: We paid extra to have special seating for the 9pm Fantasmic show on 8/6. The price included a desert box and assorted beverages. I hesitated several times when making the reservations but finally just decided it would be a one time thing and to go with it. We were so impressed! We got front row, center stage seats in a veranda type area under the big lighting area in New Orleans Square. The kids sat in the two front seats and we sat directly behind. We had a completely unobstructed view. We were expecting a small box with some sort of desert but what we got was amazing. It was a rather large box with crackers, cheese, grapes and several varieties of small deserts including cheesecake, truffles, chocolate covered strawberries, tarts, etc. We watched the Fantasmic show and then got to stay seated and watch the fireworks from a fantastic view point. This was one of our favorite parts of our trip and we were glad to have spent the extra money - well worth it!
Early Morning Walk through DCA: One of the GC special activities was an early morning brisk walk through Empty DCA with the Activities Director. I signed up on Friday, 8/8. We met at 7:25am and there were 10 guests. We took a 35 minute, 2 mile walk through the entire theme park. It was very fun to see the park without all the crowds and a great way to start the morning.
Lilo & Stitch Breakfast: We had 9:30am priority seating for the Lilo & Stitch breakfast. We waited less than 5 minutes to be seated. The food was fresh and excellent and replenished often. Our server was attentive and made sure we always had refills or milk for cereal. We got to visit and get pictures with Lilo, Stitch, Daisy, Max and Pluto. The official picture takers took the kids pictures with Max and Daisy but we got our own pictures with all of the characters. Everything about this experience was great - we used our AAA card to get a 10% discount which was nice.
Single Rider Passes: If you (or your kids) don't mind going solo, the single rider pass is a quick and easy way to enjoy a ride fast or multiple times. We used the single rider pass at least 10-15 times on Grizzly River Run and had a blast. You get the pass from the cast member near the fast pass station, then proceed up the single rider entrance and wait close to the beginning of the ride for an opportunity to ride. Often, two out of three of our group got to ride together anyways. We loved GRR so much and on hot days it is really fun to ride over and over (especially since we could just go to the GC room and change clothes). The single rider pass also worked great on California Screamin and OK on Soarin. We did do one fast pass ride on GRR for the whole family so we could all enjoy it together, but after that, the single rider pass was the way to go!
Napa Rose: My husband and I had our anniversary dinner at Napa Rose on Friday, 8/8. We had priority seating for 7:30pm and were seated immediately. The food was excellent, the server was very attentive. The only thing that surprised us was how very noisy the restaurant was. We were expecting something a bit quieter and a little more romantic but were seated close to another table and near the food prep area and it was very loud. Everything else was great though and we did really enjoy it.
Teen E-Ticket Experience: As one of their activities, the GC offered teens (13-17) an opportunity to go on 5 big name rides with one of the cast members with no waiting in lines (for a nominal fee). The group met at 12:30 and returned by 3:30. There were 4 teens and one CM in the group. This was a great experience for our daughter and let her have a little time away from the family and get to experience something different than the rest of us. The CM was great with the kids and told them all sorts of trivia and history that was very interesting and fun. They didn't have to wait for more than a couple minutes for any of the attractions and also were given a lanyard and cool E-ticket pin as a souvenir. If this had been offered a second time during our stay, we probably would have done it again. Very worth it.
Magic Mornings: My son and I got to DL at 7:10 on Sunday morning, I was able to take a picture of him in front of the castle without anyone else around. We rode every ride in Fantasy Land without a single wait and actually rode the Matterhorn twice. By 8:30 we were completely done with Fantasy Land. Normally, we might have skipped many of these rides but since there were no lines we got to enjoy them all. If nothing else, the Magic Mornings lines are much shorter and you could get in anytime between 7-8am as long as you showed your Disneyland Resort room key on one of the designated mornings.
Steakhouse 55: We had priority seating at 6:30pm on 8/10. We waited about 5 minutes and then were seated at a nice table in the back. The selections for kids and adults were nice. I had the fixed price item which was a small steak, smashed potatoes, a salad and desert. It was a perfect amount of food and a good deal at 29.00. We all enjoyed our meals which included T-bone, Salmon, Kids prime rib. The deserts were expensive but fabulous. We did get a 10% discount using our AAA card.
Other observations: For this trip I had definitely researched and planned out the restaurants and menus that would work best for our family. I had a list each day based on which park we would be in of restaurants that would fit into our budget and that we were likely to enjoy. This really worked to our advantage and the kids were happy with most of the meals. Fast pass worked great - especially if you got them early in the day. Sunday night in the park was really amazing - hardly any lines in most of the attractions we went on. From about 10:30 to 11:15pm we rode Splash Mountain 4 times in a row which definitely gave us our fill! Some of the park and resort restaurants offered AAA discounts but did not offer unless you asked so we asked at all and were often pleasantly surprised. This was a fabulous vacation and we enjoyed every bit of it.:cool:
Travel method: Alaska Airlines from Seattle
Resort: Grand Californian
Accommodations: Standard room with 1 Queen and Bunkbeds
Ages Represented in Group:9,13, and thirty/forty somethings
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: 3rd time as a family
Comments: We just got back from a fabulous trip to the DL Resort. I wanted to share some highlights with you:
Grand Californian: This was our second visit to the GC. We enjoyed the hotel as much if not more than our previous visit. We love the location and convenience, the restaurants and just the whole experience. There were several fun activities each day that you could participate in if you wanted. It is expensive but really makes the trip enjoyable. The only thing I would do differently, would be to have two queen beds rather than the bunk beds for my kids ages. The top bunk was very hard to get on and off and the kids each preferred the bottom bunk.
Fantasmic: We paid extra to have special seating for the 9pm Fantasmic show on 8/6. The price included a desert box and assorted beverages. I hesitated several times when making the reservations but finally just decided it would be a one time thing and to go with it. We were so impressed! We got front row, center stage seats in a veranda type area under the big lighting area in New Orleans Square. The kids sat in the two front seats and we sat directly behind. We had a completely unobstructed view. We were expecting a small box with some sort of desert but what we got was amazing. It was a rather large box with crackers, cheese, grapes and several varieties of small deserts including cheesecake, truffles, chocolate covered strawberries, tarts, etc. We watched the Fantasmic show and then got to stay seated and watch the fireworks from a fantastic view point. This was one of our favorite parts of our trip and we were glad to have spent the extra money - well worth it!
Early Morning Walk through DCA: One of the GC special activities was an early morning brisk walk through Empty DCA with the Activities Director. I signed up on Friday, 8/8. We met at 7:25am and there were 10 guests. We took a 35 minute, 2 mile walk through the entire theme park. It was very fun to see the park without all the crowds and a great way to start the morning.
Lilo & Stitch Breakfast: We had 9:30am priority seating for the Lilo & Stitch breakfast. We waited less than 5 minutes to be seated. The food was fresh and excellent and replenished often. Our server was attentive and made sure we always had refills or milk for cereal. We got to visit and get pictures with Lilo, Stitch, Daisy, Max and Pluto. The official picture takers took the kids pictures with Max and Daisy but we got our own pictures with all of the characters. Everything about this experience was great - we used our AAA card to get a 10% discount which was nice.
Single Rider Passes: If you (or your kids) don't mind going solo, the single rider pass is a quick and easy way to enjoy a ride fast or multiple times. We used the single rider pass at least 10-15 times on Grizzly River Run and had a blast. You get the pass from the cast member near the fast pass station, then proceed up the single rider entrance and wait close to the beginning of the ride for an opportunity to ride. Often, two out of three of our group got to ride together anyways. We loved GRR so much and on hot days it is really fun to ride over and over (especially since we could just go to the GC room and change clothes). The single rider pass also worked great on California Screamin and OK on Soarin. We did do one fast pass ride on GRR for the whole family so we could all enjoy it together, but after that, the single rider pass was the way to go!
Napa Rose: My husband and I had our anniversary dinner at Napa Rose on Friday, 8/8. We had priority seating for 7:30pm and were seated immediately. The food was excellent, the server was very attentive. The only thing that surprised us was how very noisy the restaurant was. We were expecting something a bit quieter and a little more romantic but were seated close to another table and near the food prep area and it was very loud. Everything else was great though and we did really enjoy it.
Teen E-Ticket Experience: As one of their activities, the GC offered teens (13-17) an opportunity to go on 5 big name rides with one of the cast members with no waiting in lines (for a nominal fee). The group met at 12:30 and returned by 3:30. There were 4 teens and one CM in the group. This was a great experience for our daughter and let her have a little time away from the family and get to experience something different than the rest of us. The CM was great with the kids and told them all sorts of trivia and history that was very interesting and fun. They didn't have to wait for more than a couple minutes for any of the attractions and also were given a lanyard and cool E-ticket pin as a souvenir. If this had been offered a second time during our stay, we probably would have done it again. Very worth it.
Magic Mornings: My son and I got to DL at 7:10 on Sunday morning, I was able to take a picture of him in front of the castle without anyone else around. We rode every ride in Fantasy Land without a single wait and actually rode the Matterhorn twice. By 8:30 we were completely done with Fantasy Land. Normally, we might have skipped many of these rides but since there were no lines we got to enjoy them all. If nothing else, the Magic Mornings lines are much shorter and you could get in anytime between 7-8am as long as you showed your Disneyland Resort room key on one of the designated mornings.
Steakhouse 55: We had priority seating at 6:30pm on 8/10. We waited about 5 minutes and then were seated at a nice table in the back. The selections for kids and adults were nice. I had the fixed price item which was a small steak, smashed potatoes, a salad and desert. It was a perfect amount of food and a good deal at 29.00. We all enjoyed our meals which included T-bone, Salmon, Kids prime rib. The deserts were expensive but fabulous. We did get a 10% discount using our AAA card.
Other observations: For this trip I had definitely researched and planned out the restaurants and menus that would work best for our family. I had a list each day based on which park we would be in of restaurants that would fit into our budget and that we were likely to enjoy. This really worked to our advantage and the kids were happy with most of the meals. Fast pass worked great - especially if you got them early in the day. Sunday night in the park was really amazing - hardly any lines in most of the attractions we went on. From about 10:30 to 11:15pm we rode Splash Mountain 4 times in a row which definitely gave us our fill! Some of the park and resort restaurants offered AAA discounts but did not offer unless you asked so we asked at all and were often pleasantly surprised. This was a fabulous vacation and we enjoyed every bit of it.:cool: