disneyrand
08-23-2005, 11:33 AM
Well, we're finally back......and thoroughly depressed. I love that place so much!
We arrived on Wednesday (the 17th) at around 2:00 pm at John Wayne and were pleasantly surprised at the short wait for our luggage (about 10 minutes). We stepped outside the airport and at that minute I could "smell it". Being unhip to the airport to hotel shuttle process, we head to an area where we see a herd of shuttle buses and inquire about a shuttle to our hotel (the Laquinta Inn and Suites), without batting an eye this guy hails a shuttle bus and the driver is taking our luggage to load it into the back of the van. About a block from the airport I ask the driver what the ride will cost. "$48.00" the driver announces, as I choke on my own spit. (we took a cab from the hotel back to the airport for our ride back home that cost $35.00 and was TWICE as fast as the shuttle. Moral of the story: beware of any shuttle that is not a complimentary service of your hotel!). We arrived at our hotel and were thrilled to find that our room was ready to be checked into (it was about 2:35 and check in wasn't officially until 3:00) We got up to our room and were impressed by the overall look and setup. We reserved the kids suite, which had a "master room" and a room divided by a sliding glass door and curtains which led to the "childrens' room" complete with their own tv and bunk beds. The room wasn't large by any means, but the only thing we really used it for was to wind down and go to sleep, so it served it's purpose well. The staff was very friendly and courteous. I will also add that I had read many reveiws of this hotel and many were unfavorable. Many complained about the noise level and run down conditions. I couldn't disagree more. Maybe we were on a floor (5th) that didn't have many guests (though I find that hard to beleive considering the fact that I left my room a grand total of ONE TIME without encountering another hotel guest), but I had absolutely no problem with the sound level. As far as "run down" goes, I just didn't see it. Now, don't get me wrong, this was no five star hotel, but it seemed pleasant and the staff was VERY accomodating (to the point that they brought our room two extra pillows at 1:00 am!). I also read a concern in a review about this paticular guest being creeped out by the fact that hotel had "switched the remotes" in their room while they were out (this creeped them out becuase they didn't like the idea of someone being in their room while they were gone (I'm not sure how they expected their room to get clean). As a testimonial to the professionalism of the housekeeping crew: We had gone to the pool in the middle of our day before our room had been "serviced". While at the pool our room was cleaned, and the beds made, etc. My first reaction was one of panic because I realised that I had left my wallet in the room while we swam. I rushed to the counter to find my wallet EXACTLY where I left it with all my money completely intact (over $2000.00 in cash). From that point on I was sold (to the point of tipping my maid $20.00 when I caught up with her the next day)! Just a little price info, too: I booked the room through Expedia and paid $565.00 for 5 nights (all inclusive i.e. tax, surcharges, etc.) and was thrilled when I checked out that there were NO INCIDENTAL CHARGES DUE at checkout. Easiest checkout I have ever had. The hotel was about a 1/4 mile walk to the park (on Clementine) which isn't bad in the morning, to get you up and moving, but semingly endless after a long day in the park. Do yourself a favor and get the Anaheim resorts shuttle pass. We only used it twice in the morning (prefering to walk) but it was godsend at the end of the day.
O.K. on to the resort report (hey that rhymes!). After setting into our rooms and freshening up we headed to the park at around 4:00. Not wanting to break our tradition of hitting the Disneyland Railroad frist thing in the morning and taking the loop around back to New Orleans Square for our inaugural first ride (The Haunted Mansion), we head over to DCA. We are all starving at this point so we stop in at the Taste Pilots Grill. It's at this point that I realise that this will be a VERY expensive trip. 5 cheeseburgers, 4 cokes, a water bottle, and $58.00 later we are seated for our first meal in the park. The sticker shock slowly subsides and we're off to get our first fast pass (Soarin over California). After that we head down to the wharf and look, lamentingly, at the ride we love the most, but will not get to ride (California Screamin). At this point the kids cannot wait a second longer to ride something, so we hop on the first ride the the kids pass at this point (Orange Stinger). While waiting in line I'm thinking to myself, "man this sure is a short ride". After actually riding, I've come to realise that another 30 seconds on that thing would have been 30 seconds too long. I don't usually get queasy on rides, but this one (for some reason) had me on the verge of losing about $11.00 worth of lunch! After collecting my stomach we start to make our way to Bug's Land, and wouldn't ya know it we are just in time for the Block Party Bash. I've heard mixed reveiws about this particular "show" and I have to say I absolutley LOVED IT! This thing is so high energy and peppy that you would almost have to have no pulse to not in some way enjoy this show. Hell, I was even dancing (and I DON'T DANCE, people). I felt like such a child that it literally almost brought a tear to my eye. I had to make a conscious effort to keep that salty raindrop from trickling down my face. It was at that point point that an overwhelming sense of youth and pure happiness completely enveloped me. It was just a sense of "Oh my god, we're finally here!" I was so happy to be....well.......11 again! (and I promptly stayed that way for the next 5 days). After that we headed over to watch one of my favorite attractions in the park (It's Tough To Be a Bug). Although it didn't have the same "awe" effect that it had the first time I saw it, it was still "all good". From there we goofed around to look at some shops and headed over to Tower of Terror. I didn't even get to "look kids there's To....." and they were already in line. "Come on, Dad. The wait's only 15 minutes" and away we went. I must say that the first time of riding this ride, for me, was absolutely terrifying! Maybe it was the point when I saw my sunglasses float out of the front of my shirt and rise above my head only to come crashing to the floor and back up again, but the "weightless feeling" of this ride for the first time was completely unnerving. An absolute blast! The wife would never ride again on our trip. She TRULY deserved the "I survived the Tower of Terror" T-shirt (which my daughter later bought). The wife has asthma AND high blood pressure (not a real good combination for this particular attraction), it literally took her about 45 minutes to collect herself afterward (although all the "thrill rides" have a disclaimer concerning high blood pressure on the ride, this was the only one that pushed the wife to the limits). After getting the wife back into sorts, we head to Soarin for our first of many trips to the attraction. There is only ONE WAY to ride this ride. FRONT AND CENTER! We were lucky enough to get these seats for the first ride and never got them again. This attraction completely sucks from the middle or back rows. Nothing kills the feel of this ride more than being able to see the end of the screen at the bottom and people's feet from the top. Absolutley hated this ride from any other vantage point than the front (rant over). From there it was the get Mom wet ride (Grizzly River Rapids). It doesn't matter what configuration we sit in on this ride, the wife gets completely soaked! It's fun for us to laugh at, but miserable for Mom who always nds up the "drenched rat". O.K. gotto go for now, but I'll post more once I get some things done around the house and running around town. TTFN.
DR
We arrived on Wednesday (the 17th) at around 2:00 pm at John Wayne and were pleasantly surprised at the short wait for our luggage (about 10 minutes). We stepped outside the airport and at that minute I could "smell it". Being unhip to the airport to hotel shuttle process, we head to an area where we see a herd of shuttle buses and inquire about a shuttle to our hotel (the Laquinta Inn and Suites), without batting an eye this guy hails a shuttle bus and the driver is taking our luggage to load it into the back of the van. About a block from the airport I ask the driver what the ride will cost. "$48.00" the driver announces, as I choke on my own spit. (we took a cab from the hotel back to the airport for our ride back home that cost $35.00 and was TWICE as fast as the shuttle. Moral of the story: beware of any shuttle that is not a complimentary service of your hotel!). We arrived at our hotel and were thrilled to find that our room was ready to be checked into (it was about 2:35 and check in wasn't officially until 3:00) We got up to our room and were impressed by the overall look and setup. We reserved the kids suite, which had a "master room" and a room divided by a sliding glass door and curtains which led to the "childrens' room" complete with their own tv and bunk beds. The room wasn't large by any means, but the only thing we really used it for was to wind down and go to sleep, so it served it's purpose well. The staff was very friendly and courteous. I will also add that I had read many reveiws of this hotel and many were unfavorable. Many complained about the noise level and run down conditions. I couldn't disagree more. Maybe we were on a floor (5th) that didn't have many guests (though I find that hard to beleive considering the fact that I left my room a grand total of ONE TIME without encountering another hotel guest), but I had absolutely no problem with the sound level. As far as "run down" goes, I just didn't see it. Now, don't get me wrong, this was no five star hotel, but it seemed pleasant and the staff was VERY accomodating (to the point that they brought our room two extra pillows at 1:00 am!). I also read a concern in a review about this paticular guest being creeped out by the fact that hotel had "switched the remotes" in their room while they were out (this creeped them out becuase they didn't like the idea of someone being in their room while they were gone (I'm not sure how they expected their room to get clean). As a testimonial to the professionalism of the housekeeping crew: We had gone to the pool in the middle of our day before our room had been "serviced". While at the pool our room was cleaned, and the beds made, etc. My first reaction was one of panic because I realised that I had left my wallet in the room while we swam. I rushed to the counter to find my wallet EXACTLY where I left it with all my money completely intact (over $2000.00 in cash). From that point on I was sold (to the point of tipping my maid $20.00 when I caught up with her the next day)! Just a little price info, too: I booked the room through Expedia and paid $565.00 for 5 nights (all inclusive i.e. tax, surcharges, etc.) and was thrilled when I checked out that there were NO INCIDENTAL CHARGES DUE at checkout. Easiest checkout I have ever had. The hotel was about a 1/4 mile walk to the park (on Clementine) which isn't bad in the morning, to get you up and moving, but semingly endless after a long day in the park. Do yourself a favor and get the Anaheim resorts shuttle pass. We only used it twice in the morning (prefering to walk) but it was godsend at the end of the day.
O.K. on to the resort report (hey that rhymes!). After setting into our rooms and freshening up we headed to the park at around 4:00. Not wanting to break our tradition of hitting the Disneyland Railroad frist thing in the morning and taking the loop around back to New Orleans Square for our inaugural first ride (The Haunted Mansion), we head over to DCA. We are all starving at this point so we stop in at the Taste Pilots Grill. It's at this point that I realise that this will be a VERY expensive trip. 5 cheeseburgers, 4 cokes, a water bottle, and $58.00 later we are seated for our first meal in the park. The sticker shock slowly subsides and we're off to get our first fast pass (Soarin over California). After that we head down to the wharf and look, lamentingly, at the ride we love the most, but will not get to ride (California Screamin). At this point the kids cannot wait a second longer to ride something, so we hop on the first ride the the kids pass at this point (Orange Stinger). While waiting in line I'm thinking to myself, "man this sure is a short ride". After actually riding, I've come to realise that another 30 seconds on that thing would have been 30 seconds too long. I don't usually get queasy on rides, but this one (for some reason) had me on the verge of losing about $11.00 worth of lunch! After collecting my stomach we start to make our way to Bug's Land, and wouldn't ya know it we are just in time for the Block Party Bash. I've heard mixed reveiws about this particular "show" and I have to say I absolutley LOVED IT! This thing is so high energy and peppy that you would almost have to have no pulse to not in some way enjoy this show. Hell, I was even dancing (and I DON'T DANCE, people). I felt like such a child that it literally almost brought a tear to my eye. I had to make a conscious effort to keep that salty raindrop from trickling down my face. It was at that point point that an overwhelming sense of youth and pure happiness completely enveloped me. It was just a sense of "Oh my god, we're finally here!" I was so happy to be....well.......11 again! (and I promptly stayed that way for the next 5 days). After that we headed over to watch one of my favorite attractions in the park (It's Tough To Be a Bug). Although it didn't have the same "awe" effect that it had the first time I saw it, it was still "all good". From there we goofed around to look at some shops and headed over to Tower of Terror. I didn't even get to "look kids there's To....." and they were already in line. "Come on, Dad. The wait's only 15 minutes" and away we went. I must say that the first time of riding this ride, for me, was absolutely terrifying! Maybe it was the point when I saw my sunglasses float out of the front of my shirt and rise above my head only to come crashing to the floor and back up again, but the "weightless feeling" of this ride for the first time was completely unnerving. An absolute blast! The wife would never ride again on our trip. She TRULY deserved the "I survived the Tower of Terror" T-shirt (which my daughter later bought). The wife has asthma AND high blood pressure (not a real good combination for this particular attraction), it literally took her about 45 minutes to collect herself afterward (although all the "thrill rides" have a disclaimer concerning high blood pressure on the ride, this was the only one that pushed the wife to the limits). After getting the wife back into sorts, we head to Soarin for our first of many trips to the attraction. There is only ONE WAY to ride this ride. FRONT AND CENTER! We were lucky enough to get these seats for the first ride and never got them again. This attraction completely sucks from the middle or back rows. Nothing kills the feel of this ride more than being able to see the end of the screen at the bottom and people's feet from the top. Absolutley hated this ride from any other vantage point than the front (rant over). From there it was the get Mom wet ride (Grizzly River Rapids). It doesn't matter what configuration we sit in on this ride, the wife gets completely soaked! It's fun for us to laugh at, but miserable for Mom who always nds up the "drenched rat". O.K. gotto go for now, but I'll post more once I get some things done around the house and running around town. TTFN.
DR