Craigster- diver
07-05-2005, 12:20 PM
Observations from a Disneyland Holiday
Airport Bus : A clean, safe and on-time way to get from LAX to Anaheim hotels and back again. Coaches are not well marked – they’re white with only 8x11 signs in the front window advising of the destination. I was expecting the busses with Disney resort graphics as we had 2 years ago – maybe they’re still around but I didn’t see one anywhere. Big sign on the inside front window “Drivers rely on tips to supplement their wages”…not at all subtle. Drivers were very professional and in all honesty earned the $10 tip each way…you couldn’t pay me to drive those freeways or on the streets around Disneyland. There may be cheaper ways to get from point A to B, but in looking at the state of some of those vans, I’ll pay a bit more and ride the clean coach anytime.
Best Western Park Place Inn : As advertised, it’s right across the street from the entrance to Disneyland. Found the front desk staff to be exceptionally polite and accommodating. Room was ready when we got there, and it was clean. Booked a “mini-suite” – which really means a slightly longer (deeper) than normal room with space just inside the door for a sofa bed (double sized), a coffee table and a lamp. The room is separated by a half-wall between the sofa bed and the other 2 queen sized beds. Mattresses were newer and quite firm, no sag stories to report from our experience. There was a Serta mattress trailer in the back parking lot, perhaps they were in the process of swapping out old mattresses for newer ones ?? Furniture is “hotel bamboo” style…not fancy but not Salvation Army reject either. There’s a big full room-width mirror on the back wall in front of a sink and full width countertop (with the coffee maker)…lots of room for toiletry essentials and maybe a small suitcase. Bathroom is only a tub/shower and toilet…and yes, the showerheads are low, but certainly not on your knees to wash your hair low (I’m 6’ and had no problems, but did have to duck a bit). Lots of hot water. We had room #249 on the backside of the hotel, and found it very quiet. There’s no in-room safe, but the front desk will hook you up with a safe-deposit box at no charge (it’s big enough for passports, travelers’ checks, airline tickets….etc). If the front desk has brought in cash they’ll be happy to cash travelers’ checks. The pool is small (stated capacity 21 persons) and ranges from 3 to 6 feet deep. The kids had lots of fun splashing and jumping in “no diving allowed”, but I wouldn’t suggest it for lap swimming. The hot tub has a posted capacity of 8 or so, and was hot, and clean. I don’t know about economy (we just picked the hotel as part of a package), but the close proximity to Disneyland was much appreciated. The staff were polite and friendly, the rooms were clean and quiet, the beds were comfy, the pool was a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle across the street. I would stay here again.
Captain Kidd’s Restaurant : Adjacent to the BWPPI, and the place where the “free” continental breakfast is served for guests of the BWPPI (the continental is served upstairs, downstairs is the main restaurant space). Continental breakfast for those who don’t know, doesn’t imply that all the food on the continent is available or cooked to your pleasure, it means pastry – cereal – juice – tea – coffee – fruit. Since we weren’t expecting the Ritz breakfast buffet, we weren’t disappointed. We did hit the continental breakfast each day (one exception….later) and found the choice of danish pastry / muffin / Corn Flakes / Raisin Bran / apple juice / orange juice / milk / tea / coffee / oranges / apples was exactly what we’d expected…and it saved us on average $30 per day by not having to buy breakfast elsewhere. You could have as much breakfast as you wanted, we found that a bowl of cereal, a danish, an apple and a couple of orange juices was more than I’d normally eat at home and more than enough to get to lunch. Alternate to the continental breakfast, hotel guests could opt for a strawberry pancake platter at the “sit down” restaurant section. We tried the pancakes once….only once…..we wondered why pancakes would be served with a steak knife, until we tried cutting them, a chain saw would have been more appropriate. Drinks are not included in the pancake platter (3 medium sized pancakes). We also tried the dinner buffet once, the night we arrived in Anaheim…..we weren’t impressed and decided that there must be a better option (too much fried stuff, too many kids’ hands in the food…ick). Advice : go for the continental breakfast if staying at the BWPPI, but otherwise pass on the Captain Kidd’s experience. Mimi’s Café is only 2 blocks down the street……
Mimi’s Café : A beacon of service and tasty food in a sea of overpriced blah and bland. We found the portions huge, the service fast, and the prices reasonable (family of 4 never more than $35 including tip…2 kids ordering from the kids’ menu & 2 parents having a sandwich/burger, everyone drinking the wonderful strawberry lemonade). Found that you can call in a reservation, and can call ahead for take out. Mimi’s is about 2 blocks to the left of the BWPPI (if facing the hotel) past McDonald’s (there were a few tense moments passing McD’s when the kids didn’t want to walk the remaining half block, but they later agreed it was well worth it !!). We ate lunch and dinner here, and would recommend it to everyone !!!
McDonald’s : only getting a point to itself because it’s there (between Mimi’s and BWPPI), because the prices look “normal” for McD’s, and because they were serving “Dippin’ Dots” as my wife had seen / heard about on Oprah (not available in Canada…or at least not our part of Canada). As anticipated…under whelmed by both McD’s and Dippin’ Dots.
Water : Although this may be a strange topic to have to itself, for travelers not familiar with Anaheim water taste, it’s an important consideration. Tap water and water from drinking fountains is not filtered or altered in any way, and tastes like a baby’s diaper smells – at least compared to the water here in good ol’ Victoria, BC. Not wanting to spend $4 for each bottled water in Disneyland, we brought individual water jugs from home expecting to fill them daily and sip for free. Found out that “manufactured” ice cubes lack the Anaheim taste (my kids called it the Anaheim Tingle – for the sensation left in your mouth after drinking tap water). We took to filling our water jugs with ice from the hotel ice maker at night, setting them in the fridge to thaw overnight, then we’d top each jug off with more ice in the morning. By the time anyone was thirsty, the ice had melted sufficiently and lacked the Anaheim tingle taste. Also….found that any of the Disney food service facilities would happily provide a cup of ice water or point a thirsty traveler to the cold water dispenser. Not a single CM suggested that we pony up and buy bottled water, and no-one batted an eye when my wife would duck into Pizza Port or the Mexican place by BTMRR for a fill up. Seems that those who seek will find water without a Disney price tag, or the Anaheim tingle.
Disneyland :
*** Security – people move quite quickly through the promenade check points. CM’s are courteous and appreciate people removing bags / packs / pouches in advance and having them open for inspection. Not entirely sure what they’re looking for…..I suppose like all things post 9-11 it’s the illusion of real security that counts, not the reality of the security….’nuff said. Important note : Downtown Disney is OUTSIDE the secure area…if you leave DL or DCA and go to DD you’ll have to come back through a security checkpoint and have your bags re-searched. Not a big deal but I was surprised by the need to be “processed” again going back to DL after a walk to the Lego store in DD.
*** Food – we didn’t experience much of the headache we’d anticipated from reading food service threads in this forum. We did notice that the coffee shops along Main Street USA were under staffed at certain points of the day, but being Canadian, we just smiled and went along with the line. What seems to bog things down the most….coffee drinkers…..those of you who want a low-fat, no-foam, decaf, latte rather than a cup of coffee are to blame for slow moving lines in pastry / muffin / coffee venues – I’m not one of you so I can vent a little here. Prices for snacks and “impulse” eating seem high, so if you’re budget conscious avoid snacking – or bring your own. We found that a pouch full of granola bars and fruit leathers (all brought from home) each morning fought off the urge to snack-spend ourselves into the poor house. Meals (ate at Pizza Port one day and “that Mexican place by BTMRR another) seemed reasonable with our family of 4 running around $35 for a meal in the park (no soda pop and no dessert)…compare to $35 at Mimi’s which included bottomless drinks, a dessert for each kid, and a tip. We did make reservations before we left for lunch at the Blue Bayou, and were seated promptly at our reservation time (didn’t get a waterside table, but we weren’t willing to wait….wound up mid-room – still able to enjoy the ambiance). Service was fast, and friendly. I had the jambalaya, wife had quarter chicken, kids had chicken strips and pasta from the kids’ menu. Wife had a Mint Julep…I didn’t like it….if I’d wanted mouthwash I’d have ordered mouthwash. Food was very tasty and served hot. Dessert….we shared the deep-fried cheesecake in caramel sauce, and decided that we should have discovered that particular item much sooner….very yummy !!!! Bill for the 4 of us was $70 including a $10 tip.
*** Rides – or attractions as many refer to them….Loved Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Often we’d hit this first, do a couple runs through before the lines formed and would grab a fast-pass for later in the day. I don’t know how anyone can get scores of 200,000+ points……there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the ride to rack up those scores. We had a couple of rides interrupted by momentary shut downs, and quickly learned that the scoring and guns remain active…amassed our best scores those times….one of the few times in DL that you’d hope the ride shut down while you were on it. Space Mountain was closed…but we knew that going in. Still love Big Thunder. Finally rode Splash Mountain (twice), very cool….enjoyed the trip through the briar patch….the anticipation of getting soaked on the drop was worse than the actual dampening. Lines would build gradually through the day so we’d normally leave the park around 2pm and head back to the hotel for a swim and dinner out somewhere…return to the park about 6 or so and stay until closing. We’d usually run around in the morning getting as many fast passes as we could collect before our break time, and then we’d spend the evening fast-passing around and scooting into whatever rides looked to have short lines. We did notice that during fireworks, parades, and Fantasmic lines would thin down quite a bit…but because of the masses of people all in one place watching parades, fireworks, or Fantasmic moving from one area of the park to another was challenging…best to decide where you’d like to be stuck for an hour and make the best of what ever is closest. Won’t go into more details about rides here…..in 6 days (6 day park hoppers) we did everything in Disneyland.
*** Shows – Fantasmic – a must see. A helpful CM pointed out to us that the stairs between the upper and lower promenade (causeway) are roped off and become seating areas (and the non-seating area of the lower promenade is a no-stopping, no standing zone). We had perfect centre stage seats. If my brief description of the seating area we “found” isn’t clear….ask a Fantasmic CM (they’re the ones in the way-cool yellow Fantasmic jackets)….they start to mill around and set up at least a couple hours in advance of the shows. Remember – we saw this show twice, once from New Orleans’s Square looking over towards BTMRR and once from in front of the castle. I much prefer the castle show….more effects are visible and it’s just cooler. Again, had a friendly CM point us to a spot that would be roped off and create a private viewing area. Seems that if you ask nicely where the “choice” spots are (sometimes they’re not obvious unless you know the eventual traffic flow restrictions and roped off areas) they’re only too happy to show you. Character Parade – not too much different than 2 years ago….worth seeing once in a visit. Sleeping Beauty – a nice way to spend 30 minutes out of the heat of the day under the cover of the outdoor theatre, another once a visit experience.
Pin Trading : It took us a bit to catch on to the rules of the game. The kids had each got a "starter set" of trading pins from the travel agency and didn't know what to do to trade. We'd thought that only guests would trade, and didn't know how to approach someone to trade a starter pin for a 50th anniversary special edition pin...yeah, like that was going to happen. Found out that CM's wearing yellow pin lanyards are there to trade with. They can't refuse a trade unless the pin being traded is damaged or not tradeable, and they must be "official" Disney pins...no trading a Mickey Mouse for an Expo '86 pin. Approach a CM wearing the yellow lanyard (they're issued a lanyard with 10-12 pins when coming on duty and must return a lanyard with the same number of pins when coming off duty so there's no "freebies") and ask to trade....ask if they have any pins of special value...they'll tell you !! Kids got some limited edition pins, and eventually settled on a theme...son: Stich daughter: Tinker Bell (an underappreciated character in daughter's eyes). The pin trading became part of the day's adventures....the kids spent some (most) of their spending money on pins to augment their traded ones (keeping with the theme), and didn't whine (too much) about wanting the disposable trinkets (like spinning lights, lightsabers, mouse ears, etc). Even me and the Mrs. found that we'd be watching CM's for trading lanyards...hunting out the elusive "Stich as Elvis" my son desperately wanted to find. Cudos to Disney for making this pin trading "thing" a part of the adventure this year. (BTW --- we found that CM's in DCA had better pins to trade, and there were more CM's trading in DCA than DL some days.........your mileage may vary).
To be continued……California Adventure…….
Airport Bus : A clean, safe and on-time way to get from LAX to Anaheim hotels and back again. Coaches are not well marked – they’re white with only 8x11 signs in the front window advising of the destination. I was expecting the busses with Disney resort graphics as we had 2 years ago – maybe they’re still around but I didn’t see one anywhere. Big sign on the inside front window “Drivers rely on tips to supplement their wages”…not at all subtle. Drivers were very professional and in all honesty earned the $10 tip each way…you couldn’t pay me to drive those freeways or on the streets around Disneyland. There may be cheaper ways to get from point A to B, but in looking at the state of some of those vans, I’ll pay a bit more and ride the clean coach anytime.
Best Western Park Place Inn : As advertised, it’s right across the street from the entrance to Disneyland. Found the front desk staff to be exceptionally polite and accommodating. Room was ready when we got there, and it was clean. Booked a “mini-suite” – which really means a slightly longer (deeper) than normal room with space just inside the door for a sofa bed (double sized), a coffee table and a lamp. The room is separated by a half-wall between the sofa bed and the other 2 queen sized beds. Mattresses were newer and quite firm, no sag stories to report from our experience. There was a Serta mattress trailer in the back parking lot, perhaps they were in the process of swapping out old mattresses for newer ones ?? Furniture is “hotel bamboo” style…not fancy but not Salvation Army reject either. There’s a big full room-width mirror on the back wall in front of a sink and full width countertop (with the coffee maker)…lots of room for toiletry essentials and maybe a small suitcase. Bathroom is only a tub/shower and toilet…and yes, the showerheads are low, but certainly not on your knees to wash your hair low (I’m 6’ and had no problems, but did have to duck a bit). Lots of hot water. We had room #249 on the backside of the hotel, and found it very quiet. There’s no in-room safe, but the front desk will hook you up with a safe-deposit box at no charge (it’s big enough for passports, travelers’ checks, airline tickets….etc). If the front desk has brought in cash they’ll be happy to cash travelers’ checks. The pool is small (stated capacity 21 persons) and ranges from 3 to 6 feet deep. The kids had lots of fun splashing and jumping in “no diving allowed”, but I wouldn’t suggest it for lap swimming. The hot tub has a posted capacity of 8 or so, and was hot, and clean. I don’t know about economy (we just picked the hotel as part of a package), but the close proximity to Disneyland was much appreciated. The staff were polite and friendly, the rooms were clean and quiet, the beds were comfy, the pool was a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle across the street. I would stay here again.
Captain Kidd’s Restaurant : Adjacent to the BWPPI, and the place where the “free” continental breakfast is served for guests of the BWPPI (the continental is served upstairs, downstairs is the main restaurant space). Continental breakfast for those who don’t know, doesn’t imply that all the food on the continent is available or cooked to your pleasure, it means pastry – cereal – juice – tea – coffee – fruit. Since we weren’t expecting the Ritz breakfast buffet, we weren’t disappointed. We did hit the continental breakfast each day (one exception….later) and found the choice of danish pastry / muffin / Corn Flakes / Raisin Bran / apple juice / orange juice / milk / tea / coffee / oranges / apples was exactly what we’d expected…and it saved us on average $30 per day by not having to buy breakfast elsewhere. You could have as much breakfast as you wanted, we found that a bowl of cereal, a danish, an apple and a couple of orange juices was more than I’d normally eat at home and more than enough to get to lunch. Alternate to the continental breakfast, hotel guests could opt for a strawberry pancake platter at the “sit down” restaurant section. We tried the pancakes once….only once…..we wondered why pancakes would be served with a steak knife, until we tried cutting them, a chain saw would have been more appropriate. Drinks are not included in the pancake platter (3 medium sized pancakes). We also tried the dinner buffet once, the night we arrived in Anaheim…..we weren’t impressed and decided that there must be a better option (too much fried stuff, too many kids’ hands in the food…ick). Advice : go for the continental breakfast if staying at the BWPPI, but otherwise pass on the Captain Kidd’s experience. Mimi’s Café is only 2 blocks down the street……
Mimi’s Café : A beacon of service and tasty food in a sea of overpriced blah and bland. We found the portions huge, the service fast, and the prices reasonable (family of 4 never more than $35 including tip…2 kids ordering from the kids’ menu & 2 parents having a sandwich/burger, everyone drinking the wonderful strawberry lemonade). Found that you can call in a reservation, and can call ahead for take out. Mimi’s is about 2 blocks to the left of the BWPPI (if facing the hotel) past McDonald’s (there were a few tense moments passing McD’s when the kids didn’t want to walk the remaining half block, but they later agreed it was well worth it !!). We ate lunch and dinner here, and would recommend it to everyone !!!
McDonald’s : only getting a point to itself because it’s there (between Mimi’s and BWPPI), because the prices look “normal” for McD’s, and because they were serving “Dippin’ Dots” as my wife had seen / heard about on Oprah (not available in Canada…or at least not our part of Canada). As anticipated…under whelmed by both McD’s and Dippin’ Dots.
Water : Although this may be a strange topic to have to itself, for travelers not familiar with Anaheim water taste, it’s an important consideration. Tap water and water from drinking fountains is not filtered or altered in any way, and tastes like a baby’s diaper smells – at least compared to the water here in good ol’ Victoria, BC. Not wanting to spend $4 for each bottled water in Disneyland, we brought individual water jugs from home expecting to fill them daily and sip for free. Found out that “manufactured” ice cubes lack the Anaheim taste (my kids called it the Anaheim Tingle – for the sensation left in your mouth after drinking tap water). We took to filling our water jugs with ice from the hotel ice maker at night, setting them in the fridge to thaw overnight, then we’d top each jug off with more ice in the morning. By the time anyone was thirsty, the ice had melted sufficiently and lacked the Anaheim tingle taste. Also….found that any of the Disney food service facilities would happily provide a cup of ice water or point a thirsty traveler to the cold water dispenser. Not a single CM suggested that we pony up and buy bottled water, and no-one batted an eye when my wife would duck into Pizza Port or the Mexican place by BTMRR for a fill up. Seems that those who seek will find water without a Disney price tag, or the Anaheim tingle.
Disneyland :
*** Security – people move quite quickly through the promenade check points. CM’s are courteous and appreciate people removing bags / packs / pouches in advance and having them open for inspection. Not entirely sure what they’re looking for…..I suppose like all things post 9-11 it’s the illusion of real security that counts, not the reality of the security….’nuff said. Important note : Downtown Disney is OUTSIDE the secure area…if you leave DL or DCA and go to DD you’ll have to come back through a security checkpoint and have your bags re-searched. Not a big deal but I was surprised by the need to be “processed” again going back to DL after a walk to the Lego store in DD.
*** Food – we didn’t experience much of the headache we’d anticipated from reading food service threads in this forum. We did notice that the coffee shops along Main Street USA were under staffed at certain points of the day, but being Canadian, we just smiled and went along with the line. What seems to bog things down the most….coffee drinkers…..those of you who want a low-fat, no-foam, decaf, latte rather than a cup of coffee are to blame for slow moving lines in pastry / muffin / coffee venues – I’m not one of you so I can vent a little here. Prices for snacks and “impulse” eating seem high, so if you’re budget conscious avoid snacking – or bring your own. We found that a pouch full of granola bars and fruit leathers (all brought from home) each morning fought off the urge to snack-spend ourselves into the poor house. Meals (ate at Pizza Port one day and “that Mexican place by BTMRR another) seemed reasonable with our family of 4 running around $35 for a meal in the park (no soda pop and no dessert)…compare to $35 at Mimi’s which included bottomless drinks, a dessert for each kid, and a tip. We did make reservations before we left for lunch at the Blue Bayou, and were seated promptly at our reservation time (didn’t get a waterside table, but we weren’t willing to wait….wound up mid-room – still able to enjoy the ambiance). Service was fast, and friendly. I had the jambalaya, wife had quarter chicken, kids had chicken strips and pasta from the kids’ menu. Wife had a Mint Julep…I didn’t like it….if I’d wanted mouthwash I’d have ordered mouthwash. Food was very tasty and served hot. Dessert….we shared the deep-fried cheesecake in caramel sauce, and decided that we should have discovered that particular item much sooner….very yummy !!!! Bill for the 4 of us was $70 including a $10 tip.
*** Rides – or attractions as many refer to them….Loved Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Often we’d hit this first, do a couple runs through before the lines formed and would grab a fast-pass for later in the day. I don’t know how anyone can get scores of 200,000+ points……there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the ride to rack up those scores. We had a couple of rides interrupted by momentary shut downs, and quickly learned that the scoring and guns remain active…amassed our best scores those times….one of the few times in DL that you’d hope the ride shut down while you were on it. Space Mountain was closed…but we knew that going in. Still love Big Thunder. Finally rode Splash Mountain (twice), very cool….enjoyed the trip through the briar patch….the anticipation of getting soaked on the drop was worse than the actual dampening. Lines would build gradually through the day so we’d normally leave the park around 2pm and head back to the hotel for a swim and dinner out somewhere…return to the park about 6 or so and stay until closing. We’d usually run around in the morning getting as many fast passes as we could collect before our break time, and then we’d spend the evening fast-passing around and scooting into whatever rides looked to have short lines. We did notice that during fireworks, parades, and Fantasmic lines would thin down quite a bit…but because of the masses of people all in one place watching parades, fireworks, or Fantasmic moving from one area of the park to another was challenging…best to decide where you’d like to be stuck for an hour and make the best of what ever is closest. Won’t go into more details about rides here…..in 6 days (6 day park hoppers) we did everything in Disneyland.
*** Shows – Fantasmic – a must see. A helpful CM pointed out to us that the stairs between the upper and lower promenade (causeway) are roped off and become seating areas (and the non-seating area of the lower promenade is a no-stopping, no standing zone). We had perfect centre stage seats. If my brief description of the seating area we “found” isn’t clear….ask a Fantasmic CM (they’re the ones in the way-cool yellow Fantasmic jackets)….they start to mill around and set up at least a couple hours in advance of the shows. Remember – we saw this show twice, once from New Orleans’s Square looking over towards BTMRR and once from in front of the castle. I much prefer the castle show….more effects are visible and it’s just cooler. Again, had a friendly CM point us to a spot that would be roped off and create a private viewing area. Seems that if you ask nicely where the “choice” spots are (sometimes they’re not obvious unless you know the eventual traffic flow restrictions and roped off areas) they’re only too happy to show you. Character Parade – not too much different than 2 years ago….worth seeing once in a visit. Sleeping Beauty – a nice way to spend 30 minutes out of the heat of the day under the cover of the outdoor theatre, another once a visit experience.
Pin Trading : It took us a bit to catch on to the rules of the game. The kids had each got a "starter set" of trading pins from the travel agency and didn't know what to do to trade. We'd thought that only guests would trade, and didn't know how to approach someone to trade a starter pin for a 50th anniversary special edition pin...yeah, like that was going to happen. Found out that CM's wearing yellow pin lanyards are there to trade with. They can't refuse a trade unless the pin being traded is damaged or not tradeable, and they must be "official" Disney pins...no trading a Mickey Mouse for an Expo '86 pin. Approach a CM wearing the yellow lanyard (they're issued a lanyard with 10-12 pins when coming on duty and must return a lanyard with the same number of pins when coming off duty so there's no "freebies") and ask to trade....ask if they have any pins of special value...they'll tell you !! Kids got some limited edition pins, and eventually settled on a theme...son: Stich daughter: Tinker Bell (an underappreciated character in daughter's eyes). The pin trading became part of the day's adventures....the kids spent some (most) of their spending money on pins to augment their traded ones (keeping with the theme), and didn't whine (too much) about wanting the disposable trinkets (like spinning lights, lightsabers, mouse ears, etc). Even me and the Mrs. found that we'd be watching CM's for trading lanyards...hunting out the elusive "Stich as Elvis" my son desperately wanted to find. Cudos to Disney for making this pin trading "thing" a part of the adventure this year. (BTW --- we found that CM's in DCA had better pins to trade, and there were more CM's trading in DCA than DL some days.........your mileage may vary).
To be continued……California Adventure…….