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Thread: neverlander ~ 8/28-9/2/10 ~ GCH

  1. #1

    neverlander ~ 8/28-9/2/10 ~ GCH

    Travel dates: Aug. 28 - Sept. 2, 2010
    Travel method: Alaska Air direct from PDX to Orange County.
    Resort: Disneyland.
    Accommodations: Grand Californian Hotel
    Ages Represented in Group: My family: 47, 46, 11, 9. My sister's family: 52, 51 & 10. My nephew & his daughter: 31 & 6.
    Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Varied.
    Comments: This was my family's fifth August DL trip in six years. It was a new experience to vacation with extended family... Some close friends were also staying at the GCH during our visit.
    Cast of characters: Including our family and friends, there were 17 people in our group ranging in age from 3 to 70.

    Transportation: Early this year, we reserved Alaska Air tickets direct from PDX to Long Beach for less than $200 RT (including fees and taxes). When our flight schedule was changed to include a layover in Seattle, I called to request a direct flight to SNA instead. They accommodated everyone in my family's travel groups (nine in all) and switched us for free. Our flights were timely and smooth, and the attendants were extremely friendly. My sister's family took earlier flights than us, so we were able to utilize van taxis for the six individuals in our group. They were about $43 each way before tip.

    Accomodations: We reserved a theme park view room for ourselves and a standard view for my nephew and great-niece. My sister's family also reserved a standard view.

    This was our fourth stay at the GCH. We really enjoy the ambience of the hotel and appreciate the access to DCA. Overall, we were very pleased with our accommodations and the service. However, check-in was a bit frustrating.

    I had called about 10 days before our arrival to request that our room be located anywhere but the 400 wing. Initially, we were assigned a pool view room. When I explained that I had reserved a park view, the clerk kind of chuckled and said, "Well, they're the same price. It really is a lovely room." I explained that we definitely preferred a park view, so she then assigned us #34__ (can't remember the last two digits). I apologized and let her know that I had called with one request - not to be in the 400 wing. There was no record of that. She claimed that was all they had to offer. I then agreed to take the pool view. Too late; it was gone. She then excused herself and spent about five minutes in the back. When she returned, she said that something had been arranged for us. She assigned us 5244 in the new wing. It overlooked Mulholland Madness and gave us a view of the pier. We were content with that location, but I don't understand why it seems like such a challenge to get what you reserve and pay for at the GCH. We did know the risks ahead of time and still chose to stay there. (I was glad that I was willing to be assertive enough to push for what we wanted.)

    My nephew's room wasn't ready, so she asked for my cell number. That was at 3:00. By 6:00, we still hadn't heard anything so my husband and nephew went back to the hotel. The room was ready, but they admitted no call was made.

    We really were happy with our rooms. My nephew and sister both had courtyard rooms with a view of the fireworks between the buildings. Our friends coincidentally ended up across the hall from us! Our location afforded us a gorgeous nighttime view of DCA. We could see the water (but not the complete images) in World of Color.

    Food: Thanks to MP recommendations, we tried a few restaurants for the first time. We had some really good eats this trip!

    Cafe Orleans. We all had French Onion Soup and split Monte Cristos and Pommes Frites. Yum. We experienced a scary episode when our daughter choked on the cheese in the soup. I was pretty shaken and lost my appetite, but, really, the food was excellent. The waiters and staff were so kind; they kept checking back, offering to call a nurse.

    Pacific Wharf Cafe. Turkey sandwich and brocolli cheese soup. Fresh and delicious. I can't believe we hadn't tried the soup before. Perhaps it was because prior August visits were much hotter than this year.

    Napa Rose. Soooo good! Hubby and I sat on the patio adjacent to the lounge. It was our 26th anniversary, and we had the section to ourselves. It was absolutely perfect.

    We also returned to a couple of our regular stops.

    Carnation Cafe. That was a must. Had to have the potato soup at least once!

    Rainforest Cafe. We think the food and drinks are fine. It's a tradition for our family. Our extended family really enjoyed the whole atmosphere - it was fun to take them there!

    We ordered beverages and a few groceries from Von's. We were happy with their delivery service. It was cost-effective and convenient to have our own breakfast items and water. We'll most likely utilize that service on our next visit.

    We also stopped into Whitewater Snacks a few times. We're always pleased with their offerings.

    Shows and attractions: We were fortunate to hit the parks at a time when the lines were quite managable. With our six-day hoppers, it was easy to see almost everything we wanted to see.

    Our biggest challenge was trying to coordinate with so many other people. One evening, there were 13 of us trying to go on rides together! It was a first-time for all of us to see Jungle Cruise at night. We had a couple of great skippers this trip. That night was probably the best!

    Prior to our trip, we ordered picnic lunches with World of Color fastpasses. We were all satisfied with the lunches. Not great, but not bad either. The bags and bracelets were cool. We showed up right at the end of our FP time frame and found a fine viewing area on the bridge. Yes, the effects are spectacular. No, I won't spend the time to see it in duration again.

    We passed by DCA's parade and through the crossings a few times. It was fun to watch from a distance, but a lot of people looked surprised and annoyed at being squirted. Some folks with cameras were ducking; some babies in strollers were crying.

    My daughter enjoyed dancing the parade at DL.

    Turtle Talk and the Animation Building are favorites of ours. I'm not sure why we waited until our day of departure to make it there, but we were definitely wishing we had reserved more time for that area.

    We love traditional DL, but we also really enjoy DCA. I can't tell you how many times we hit Soarin' and Screamin'. It was so easy to walk through DCA to and from our hotel and pick up FPs along the way. I'm optimistic about the direction of development in that park.

    It was so fun to return to DL. Though not without challenges, our experience was enhanced by witnessing the magic through the eyes of our nephew and niece (first-timers). Because their cousins were there, our girls claimed this was their best Disney vacation yet. We left with some great memories.

    Thanks to all of you who provide such great tips and resources.
     

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  3. #2
    Registered User tinksmygirl's Avatar
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    May 2008
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    Great trip report! I appreciate your comments on staying at GCH as we will be staying there for the first time in Oct. Why did you not want to stay in the 400 wing? Should we avoid this?

    Disneyland '81, '03, '05, '07, '08, '09, Oct '10, May '11, Nov '11, Mar '12, Nov '12, May '13, Oct '13
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  4. #3
    Scruffy-looking nerf herder DisneyIndy's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing your trip report! Looks like you all enjoyed it.

    If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones ... and Disneyland

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  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by tinksmygirl View Post
    Why did you not want to stay in the 400 wing? Should we avoid this?
    I don't think the wing itself is horrible. The standard and DTD view rooms are probably great. However, I don't believe they should sell some of the others (indicated by even numbers) as 'park view'. When we were assigned #4408 a few years ago, we immediately called for a different location. We could see the roof of Soarin', the peak of Grizzly, and lots of trees.
    This link does not show the room we had, but it's in the same area. We were down a little lower, and I think the trees pretty much blocked the view of the walkway if I remember right.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYcla...eature=related
    In contrast, we had enjoyed the view over the DCA the two previous years. Although there wasn't a lot of action, it was fun to at least people watch and see the folks on GRR. We would have been fine with that view again this time.
    The following video looks similar to our view this trip. It was much louder than the 300 wing, but not too loud with the doors closed.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCXCn...eature=related
     

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by neverlander View Post
    In contrast, we had enjoyed the view over the DCA the two previous years.
    Oops, I meant to write the GCH entrance into DCA...
     

  7. #6
    Registered User tinksmygirl's Avatar
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    May 2008
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    Vancouver, BC Canada

    Thanks for the info. We have reserved a standard view so I guess we will get what we get! It's our first time there so it doesn't really matter as I am just excited to even be staying there

    Disneyland '81, '03, '05, '07, '08, '09, Oct '10, May '11, Nov '11, Mar '12, Nov '12, May '13, Oct '13
    MouseAdventure ToT 2010, MA Card games 2012, MA Musical 2013 - Team Canaduck

  8. #7
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    Southern California

    So, I am curious, what WOULD be a standard view at the GCH? Obviously not the pool or DTD . . . is there a parking lot view from this hotel? Or can you see PPH? I'd love to see any part of DCA from a room . . . but I doubt DCA views are considered standard, right? One time we stayed in WDW at the Wilderness Lodge and had a view of trees and a narrow walkway -- we were off the side of the main building, on a lower floor. We were happy because at least it wasn't a parking lot!!!!!


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