ekkhogge
10-02-2007, 01:20 PM
Who: My mom (DM, age 55), my fiance (DF, age 31), my daughter (DD, age 3) and me (age 29)
Day 1 9/22: We arrived at LAX early saturday (9/22) morning after taking the red eye from Honolulu. Picked up our car and headed to Paradise Pier Hotel. We left our bags with the bell desk and checked in at the concierge lounge since we wanted to grab some snacks and drinks and there was a line downstairs (about 3 groups deep only though) at the Front Desk. DF and I were impressed by the lounge. Our first time on property and first time concierge. We grabbed some waters and soda and headed back to the car where DD was still sleeping and DM was waiting. We headed over to Mimi's for breakfast (it was great as always, although service was so-so). After breakfast we went to the Disney Character Outlet since I forgot my jacket, and 74degreesF is comfortable to me anything colder is just too cold. Got a jacket for DD and me and some stuff to take back home. Finally went back to PPH and off to Disneyland. I was quite impressed by the Halloween decorations. I enjoyed them a lot. Although I still like the Winter/Christmas themeing best. DD started the day going on the horse/carriage up main street, back down on the bus (or the other way around?) and then back up again on the Fire truck. We then headed into Fantasyland. It did start raining as predicted which kept the lines short but the weather started getting to me, it was already too cold for my liking and now wet. So DF kept calling to see about our room. Finally it was ready and we headed back to see what it would be like, but of course we stopped at the concierge lounge to grab some snacks, DD really liked the uncrustables. DD napped a bit, DF and I went back to Disneyland to get our Fantasmic! and Segway tour tickets and stand in line for seating assignment. Got front row and was happy with that. I sorely missed the ease of Gallery though, showing up 15 minutes prior to F! for your seats vice standing in line for about 30 minutes waiting to get the seat assignments. We met up with DM and DD and rode some Fantasyland rides until it was time for F!. The desserts were good, I didn't realize the shortbread cookie had the raspberry filling inside so I was bummed at first thinking that I didn't get those but it was there, just incognito. (DM, DF and I didn't touch ours at all. DD had the biscottis in hers and the white chocolate face off the mickey rice cripsy treat. Sadly we did end up throwing out majority of them anyways as we just didn't get around to eating them all, ziploc baggied and all, oh well). DD didn't like F!, too loud for her. She watched it from the balconey 3 times but I guess it didn't seem as scary to her from up there? Not sure but that saved us from staking out spot Sunday night. Fireworks got cancelled, the one and only night they'd be showing for us. So we just headed back to the hotel, it was a LONG tiring day.
Day 2 9/23: Woke up early to make it to our 7:30 PS for Lilo & Stitch Character Meal. Originally we were going to order off the menu but instead we just got the buffet. We had Lilo, Stitch, Minnie, Max, and Pluto. DD didn't eat much because she was too excited about the characters. We had to check out of PPH and check in to GCH too. Planning we thought it wouldn't be a big deal. It turned out to be a big pain and decided that we will never hotel hop during the vacation again. We tried to get all 5 nights at GCH but was unable to with the AP4 rates so we settled for the 4 nights and the first at PPH with concierge. We stayed in Fantasyland again with DD since DM was spending time with her sister who lives nearby. DF, DD and I ate chicken and alfredo at Plaza Inn, I think one of my favorite meals at Disneyland. DM met up with us after and then DF went to spend time with a friend who drove in. So back to Fantasyland for DD and I (after our daily rest) but this time with DM in tow. Our highlight this whole day, the last ride of the night was on teacups. The CM operating the ride let them (DM and DD, and everyone else on the ride of course) ride twice, she was a very nice lady who obviously LOVES her job which makes it so much more enjoyable really. Back to the room for some pillow time.
Day 3 9/24: I had cancelled our PS for Storytellers the day before since DF's friend drove in. I also moved our Napa Rose PS from tonight to tomorrow night because of DF's friend being in town. So this was a day with nothing planned. We got in for EE and rode some Fantasyland rides. We didn't think to attempt Nemo yet this whole trip because I just didn't like the looks of the line still. I think this was the day for Splash Mountain for DD, her first time and while we thought she'd love it....she cried. She's afraid of the dark and I think it was just too loud and dark for her liking. We did buy the photo just because she had the saddest little frown on and we knew she'd never get on again this trip. It was a nice slow day for us. We did end up going to the Princess Fantasy Faire because believe it or not my DD finally fell in love with the princesses and cried when the 4 were out front taking pics all together and we missed it, they set the cutoff family right when we got there. Finally, right before park closing we hopped into the Nemo line. Took us 45 minutes and I swear the line around closing on Sunday looked much shorter than the line we just hopped into. Such is life. DD cried on this one, the shark and the mine scared her the dark didn't help. Good thing is no more Nemo line for us.
Day 4 9/25: SEGWAY! YAY! The tour was AWESOME. DF and I want to buy one we had so much fun. Disney was nice enough to change the tour date from 9/26 to 9/25 for us. DM was flying out to Korea with her sister on 9/26 and couldn't watch DD for us. So I contacted Vacation Planning who was helpful BUT they couldn't help us since I booked them myself. But Disney tours line changed them for us for free! how nice of them. DM and DD went to Goofy's Kitchen and then headed to Disneyland for EE. I met up with them after the tour, DF and his friend stayed at DCA after the tour to get some rides in before the friend left. DM, DD and I ate at Carnation Cafe, I found another must have for me for Disneyland trips, the loaded potato soup. It was DELICIOUS. I read about it and read about it and was determined to try it. It was yummy. Oscar came by and brought my mom a to go container, so nice of him to go that extra mile, she thanked him with a smile, a thank you and a tip. We finally took DD to DCA, she played in Bug's Land and the puddle park and loved it. We headed back to Disneyland but left early to get ready for dinner at Napa Rose. Napa Rose...amazing. the Service...unbeatable. The food....well...some of it was GOOD, the rest was so so. Maybe it was what I ordered. I am not much of a knowledgeable wine person so i thought the fixed menu with the wine pairing would be great for me (to see how wines can really enhance the foods we eat, truth be told, I was never into wines other than they get me drunk faster and if I drink a red I usually don't have a mean hangover, as much as I do off shots and beer anyways, hey just being honest). I had a fennel salad with snapper sashimi, the raw fish was good the salad, not good. I think in some ways DF and I just cannot appreciate the food, and he felt uncomfortable while there, like we obviously didn't belong but they never treated us that way or anything although I am sure they thought so. DD couldn't sit still. she is normally a very well behaved child. Maybe it's trying to sit her down in restaurants at Disneyland she has trouble with, she did meltdown at yamabuki the previous trip too...hmm. only made the connection now. The best thing, the lobster lasagne. DF had corn chowder (not good), ceasar salad (GOOD) and the filet (good). My main course was pheasant which i knew i wouldn't eat anyways but DF and I were going to swap my pheasant for his filet but DD was being to naughty and I finally just took her back to our room. no sense disrupting everyone else's dinner just because she's tired. So they packed the phesant, DD's salmon and my dessert to-go. the fig cheesecake was not good IMHO. So while the service is top notch and something worth the price you're paying for the food, I think DF and I agree that we are more Plaza Inn, Yamabuki style people.
Day 5 9/26: We didn't get up in time for our PS at Ariel's Grotto. The travelling took its toll and we were one bunch of grumpy campers so we slept in. DF, DD and I were left since DM went to Korea. We spent the day slowly enjoying things at DD's pace. By far the BEST thing to ever happen to us at Disneyland EVER, DD was riding the Astro-orbitor (?) with DF when towards the end of the ride we saw the Madhatter, Alice and the White Rabbit head over to Fantasyland. DD was watching Alice in Wonderland everyday for a couple of weeks before we left so Alice became one of her favorites. We headed towards Fantasyland for yet ANOTHER picture with Alice. However, the 3 got in the queue for the tea cups so DF took DD to the line to hopefully snag a pic either in line or right before or right after (DD cries when she doesn't get the pic cause she says "because I love ______"). So they open the gates and people start getting into tea cups. The Madhatter was holding a child's hand looking for an empty tea cup and Alice stayed with the White Rabbit. DD was following them because she loves Alice and when they got into a tea cup DF asked if DD could ride with them. They said sure so DD got in and DF asked if he could too. DF got in and since he had the camera I was running off to a store to buy a disposable one to get pics of this only to realize shortly that I had the camcorder. Back to the side to video tape their ride, by far the best thing for DD to have happen to her. DD cried after cause she wanted to ride again with Alice. We tried explaining to her that all children need their turns too before she could have a turn so off to Princess Fantasy Faire to make those tears disappear.
Day 6 9/27: Last day for Disneyland. We were planning to head out on the road right after lunch. We got in for EE only to sit on a bench so that DD could eat an orange. Although I must admit it was nice to just sit and enjoy. We then headed to the rope near Adventureland so that we could ride Pooh. DD liked the ride and I didn't mind so much since I was secretly hoping that we'd get dreamed at the exit since we saw people after people sporting dream ears, lanyards and fastpasses through the previous 5 days with no dreams for us. After going again and again and again, after the 5th or 6th ride DD has to go potty. AWWWW, oh well, potty break it is. While walking down to the country bear area to use the bathroom i noticed and pointed out to DF 2 dream team CMs in white vests. DF waited with the stroller while DD and I went potty. when we came out DF was standing there with dream fastpasses. YAY! we got dreamed and all because DD had to go potty. We saved them as memorablia for us (I know I should have passed them on cause they were meant to be used but I promise not to eBay them). We then headed to Fantasyland where on a whim we measured DD for Big Thunder and showed her the ride and she was game. She loved it. I couldn't understand it. Its dark but only parts are dark, its fast, but maybe because its a train? so we rode it 3 times and it quickly became her favorite ride. We had bread bowl chowder and gumbo for lunch before heading on our road trip.
Note: I was planning to write down things everyday so that my trip report could be more accurate. by the end of the day I was too tired to bother. One thing to note, I pre-purchased the photopass CD so we tried to take as many photopass pics as we could stand so that we can edit and get the disc. DD also tried the junior chef thing for the first time and enjoyed it. They did let her participate although i can understand why they make the cut off, she tended to not follow along and was sometimes in her own world. But i was glad they let her. F! riverside IMHO wasn't worth it. We still waited around, while not nearly as long as some sitting on the ground. Also, the people behind us seemed miffed that while we showed up to be seated after them we still got to sit in front of them. Staying on property, was also not worth it for us. EE was nice but the lines were not unbearably long during our visit anyways. Location wise I prefer the motels across the street. GCH was very nice but we never took advantage of the ambiance of the hotel. Even if paying rates similar to AP4 rates, I think from now on we'll be staying on Harbor.
Days 6-8 9/27 thru 9/30: We stayed at Santa Clara Hyatt. It was a nice hotel, especially for $51/night on priceline. Inconvenient though since we drove to Monterey for the aquarium (DD's too young to fully enjoy it so it wasn't worth it to us) and we ended up eat at Old Fisherman's Grotto (the food was GREAT but service lacking, being a former waitress I am a little more critical of service when dining) and we also rented a surrey which was a neat but tiring way to enjoy the area. We also visited Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante Gardens). DD enjoyed this park as there is a playground area and she really enjoys those and some small kiddie rides. DF and I espceially enjoyed the slow pace of everything there, no one seemed in a rush to do this or that. We went to Six Flags Vellejo, this place was great. The shows are not that great especially if you're used to the Shamu Show (Believe) their Killer whale (Shouka) show was not that good. but the rides were cute and DD got to ride a ride similar to Grizzly (too short for Grizzly, she's just 40" although not quite 40" for Soarin). She enjoyed that ride. She got to feed a giraffe and DF, DD and I rode an elephant. DF and I were staring at the roller coasters with longing but it was not to be. we packed up and got ready for our trip home early the next morning.
My first trip report, thanks for reading. long-winded and scatterbrained much like myself. I will write reviews later.
Day 1 9/22: We arrived at LAX early saturday (9/22) morning after taking the red eye from Honolulu. Picked up our car and headed to Paradise Pier Hotel. We left our bags with the bell desk and checked in at the concierge lounge since we wanted to grab some snacks and drinks and there was a line downstairs (about 3 groups deep only though) at the Front Desk. DF and I were impressed by the lounge. Our first time on property and first time concierge. We grabbed some waters and soda and headed back to the car where DD was still sleeping and DM was waiting. We headed over to Mimi's for breakfast (it was great as always, although service was so-so). After breakfast we went to the Disney Character Outlet since I forgot my jacket, and 74degreesF is comfortable to me anything colder is just too cold. Got a jacket for DD and me and some stuff to take back home. Finally went back to PPH and off to Disneyland. I was quite impressed by the Halloween decorations. I enjoyed them a lot. Although I still like the Winter/Christmas themeing best. DD started the day going on the horse/carriage up main street, back down on the bus (or the other way around?) and then back up again on the Fire truck. We then headed into Fantasyland. It did start raining as predicted which kept the lines short but the weather started getting to me, it was already too cold for my liking and now wet. So DF kept calling to see about our room. Finally it was ready and we headed back to see what it would be like, but of course we stopped at the concierge lounge to grab some snacks, DD really liked the uncrustables. DD napped a bit, DF and I went back to Disneyland to get our Fantasmic! and Segway tour tickets and stand in line for seating assignment. Got front row and was happy with that. I sorely missed the ease of Gallery though, showing up 15 minutes prior to F! for your seats vice standing in line for about 30 minutes waiting to get the seat assignments. We met up with DM and DD and rode some Fantasyland rides until it was time for F!. The desserts were good, I didn't realize the shortbread cookie had the raspberry filling inside so I was bummed at first thinking that I didn't get those but it was there, just incognito. (DM, DF and I didn't touch ours at all. DD had the biscottis in hers and the white chocolate face off the mickey rice cripsy treat. Sadly we did end up throwing out majority of them anyways as we just didn't get around to eating them all, ziploc baggied and all, oh well). DD didn't like F!, too loud for her. She watched it from the balconey 3 times but I guess it didn't seem as scary to her from up there? Not sure but that saved us from staking out spot Sunday night. Fireworks got cancelled, the one and only night they'd be showing for us. So we just headed back to the hotel, it was a LONG tiring day.
Day 2 9/23: Woke up early to make it to our 7:30 PS for Lilo & Stitch Character Meal. Originally we were going to order off the menu but instead we just got the buffet. We had Lilo, Stitch, Minnie, Max, and Pluto. DD didn't eat much because she was too excited about the characters. We had to check out of PPH and check in to GCH too. Planning we thought it wouldn't be a big deal. It turned out to be a big pain and decided that we will never hotel hop during the vacation again. We tried to get all 5 nights at GCH but was unable to with the AP4 rates so we settled for the 4 nights and the first at PPH with concierge. We stayed in Fantasyland again with DD since DM was spending time with her sister who lives nearby. DF, DD and I ate chicken and alfredo at Plaza Inn, I think one of my favorite meals at Disneyland. DM met up with us after and then DF went to spend time with a friend who drove in. So back to Fantasyland for DD and I (after our daily rest) but this time with DM in tow. Our highlight this whole day, the last ride of the night was on teacups. The CM operating the ride let them (DM and DD, and everyone else on the ride of course) ride twice, she was a very nice lady who obviously LOVES her job which makes it so much more enjoyable really. Back to the room for some pillow time.
Day 3 9/24: I had cancelled our PS for Storytellers the day before since DF's friend drove in. I also moved our Napa Rose PS from tonight to tomorrow night because of DF's friend being in town. So this was a day with nothing planned. We got in for EE and rode some Fantasyland rides. We didn't think to attempt Nemo yet this whole trip because I just didn't like the looks of the line still. I think this was the day for Splash Mountain for DD, her first time and while we thought she'd love it....she cried. She's afraid of the dark and I think it was just too loud and dark for her liking. We did buy the photo just because she had the saddest little frown on and we knew she'd never get on again this trip. It was a nice slow day for us. We did end up going to the Princess Fantasy Faire because believe it or not my DD finally fell in love with the princesses and cried when the 4 were out front taking pics all together and we missed it, they set the cutoff family right when we got there. Finally, right before park closing we hopped into the Nemo line. Took us 45 minutes and I swear the line around closing on Sunday looked much shorter than the line we just hopped into. Such is life. DD cried on this one, the shark and the mine scared her the dark didn't help. Good thing is no more Nemo line for us.
Day 4 9/25: SEGWAY! YAY! The tour was AWESOME. DF and I want to buy one we had so much fun. Disney was nice enough to change the tour date from 9/26 to 9/25 for us. DM was flying out to Korea with her sister on 9/26 and couldn't watch DD for us. So I contacted Vacation Planning who was helpful BUT they couldn't help us since I booked them myself. But Disney tours line changed them for us for free! how nice of them. DM and DD went to Goofy's Kitchen and then headed to Disneyland for EE. I met up with them after the tour, DF and his friend stayed at DCA after the tour to get some rides in before the friend left. DM, DD and I ate at Carnation Cafe, I found another must have for me for Disneyland trips, the loaded potato soup. It was DELICIOUS. I read about it and read about it and was determined to try it. It was yummy. Oscar came by and brought my mom a to go container, so nice of him to go that extra mile, she thanked him with a smile, a thank you and a tip. We finally took DD to DCA, she played in Bug's Land and the puddle park and loved it. We headed back to Disneyland but left early to get ready for dinner at Napa Rose. Napa Rose...amazing. the Service...unbeatable. The food....well...some of it was GOOD, the rest was so so. Maybe it was what I ordered. I am not much of a knowledgeable wine person so i thought the fixed menu with the wine pairing would be great for me (to see how wines can really enhance the foods we eat, truth be told, I was never into wines other than they get me drunk faster and if I drink a red I usually don't have a mean hangover, as much as I do off shots and beer anyways, hey just being honest). I had a fennel salad with snapper sashimi, the raw fish was good the salad, not good. I think in some ways DF and I just cannot appreciate the food, and he felt uncomfortable while there, like we obviously didn't belong but they never treated us that way or anything although I am sure they thought so. DD couldn't sit still. she is normally a very well behaved child. Maybe it's trying to sit her down in restaurants at Disneyland she has trouble with, she did meltdown at yamabuki the previous trip too...hmm. only made the connection now. The best thing, the lobster lasagne. DF had corn chowder (not good), ceasar salad (GOOD) and the filet (good). My main course was pheasant which i knew i wouldn't eat anyways but DF and I were going to swap my pheasant for his filet but DD was being to naughty and I finally just took her back to our room. no sense disrupting everyone else's dinner just because she's tired. So they packed the phesant, DD's salmon and my dessert to-go. the fig cheesecake was not good IMHO. So while the service is top notch and something worth the price you're paying for the food, I think DF and I agree that we are more Plaza Inn, Yamabuki style people.
Day 5 9/26: We didn't get up in time for our PS at Ariel's Grotto. The travelling took its toll and we were one bunch of grumpy campers so we slept in. DF, DD and I were left since DM went to Korea. We spent the day slowly enjoying things at DD's pace. By far the BEST thing to ever happen to us at Disneyland EVER, DD was riding the Astro-orbitor (?) with DF when towards the end of the ride we saw the Madhatter, Alice and the White Rabbit head over to Fantasyland. DD was watching Alice in Wonderland everyday for a couple of weeks before we left so Alice became one of her favorites. We headed towards Fantasyland for yet ANOTHER picture with Alice. However, the 3 got in the queue for the tea cups so DF took DD to the line to hopefully snag a pic either in line or right before or right after (DD cries when she doesn't get the pic cause she says "because I love ______"). So they open the gates and people start getting into tea cups. The Madhatter was holding a child's hand looking for an empty tea cup and Alice stayed with the White Rabbit. DD was following them because she loves Alice and when they got into a tea cup DF asked if DD could ride with them. They said sure so DD got in and DF asked if he could too. DF got in and since he had the camera I was running off to a store to buy a disposable one to get pics of this only to realize shortly that I had the camcorder. Back to the side to video tape their ride, by far the best thing for DD to have happen to her. DD cried after cause she wanted to ride again with Alice. We tried explaining to her that all children need their turns too before she could have a turn so off to Princess Fantasy Faire to make those tears disappear.
Day 6 9/27: Last day for Disneyland. We were planning to head out on the road right after lunch. We got in for EE only to sit on a bench so that DD could eat an orange. Although I must admit it was nice to just sit and enjoy. We then headed to the rope near Adventureland so that we could ride Pooh. DD liked the ride and I didn't mind so much since I was secretly hoping that we'd get dreamed at the exit since we saw people after people sporting dream ears, lanyards and fastpasses through the previous 5 days with no dreams for us. After going again and again and again, after the 5th or 6th ride DD has to go potty. AWWWW, oh well, potty break it is. While walking down to the country bear area to use the bathroom i noticed and pointed out to DF 2 dream team CMs in white vests. DF waited with the stroller while DD and I went potty. when we came out DF was standing there with dream fastpasses. YAY! we got dreamed and all because DD had to go potty. We saved them as memorablia for us (I know I should have passed them on cause they were meant to be used but I promise not to eBay them). We then headed to Fantasyland where on a whim we measured DD for Big Thunder and showed her the ride and she was game. She loved it. I couldn't understand it. Its dark but only parts are dark, its fast, but maybe because its a train? so we rode it 3 times and it quickly became her favorite ride. We had bread bowl chowder and gumbo for lunch before heading on our road trip.
Note: I was planning to write down things everyday so that my trip report could be more accurate. by the end of the day I was too tired to bother. One thing to note, I pre-purchased the photopass CD so we tried to take as many photopass pics as we could stand so that we can edit and get the disc. DD also tried the junior chef thing for the first time and enjoyed it. They did let her participate although i can understand why they make the cut off, she tended to not follow along and was sometimes in her own world. But i was glad they let her. F! riverside IMHO wasn't worth it. We still waited around, while not nearly as long as some sitting on the ground. Also, the people behind us seemed miffed that while we showed up to be seated after them we still got to sit in front of them. Staying on property, was also not worth it for us. EE was nice but the lines were not unbearably long during our visit anyways. Location wise I prefer the motels across the street. GCH was very nice but we never took advantage of the ambiance of the hotel. Even if paying rates similar to AP4 rates, I think from now on we'll be staying on Harbor.
Days 6-8 9/27 thru 9/30: We stayed at Santa Clara Hyatt. It was a nice hotel, especially for $51/night on priceline. Inconvenient though since we drove to Monterey for the aquarium (DD's too young to fully enjoy it so it wasn't worth it to us) and we ended up eat at Old Fisherman's Grotto (the food was GREAT but service lacking, being a former waitress I am a little more critical of service when dining) and we also rented a surrey which was a neat but tiring way to enjoy the area. We also visited Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante Gardens). DD enjoyed this park as there is a playground area and she really enjoys those and some small kiddie rides. DF and I espceially enjoyed the slow pace of everything there, no one seemed in a rush to do this or that. We went to Six Flags Vellejo, this place was great. The shows are not that great especially if you're used to the Shamu Show (Believe) their Killer whale (Shouka) show was not that good. but the rides were cute and DD got to ride a ride similar to Grizzly (too short for Grizzly, she's just 40" although not quite 40" for Soarin). She enjoyed that ride. She got to feed a giraffe and DF, DD and I rode an elephant. DF and I were staring at the roller coasters with longing but it was not to be. we packed up and got ready for our trip home early the next morning.
My first trip report, thanks for reading. long-winded and scatterbrained much like myself. I will write reviews later.