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View Full Version : Trip Report - warning: it's long!



Llisa
08-30-2005, 12:10 PM
Just returned from 10 days in California - since this board was so helpful to me in planning this trip, I thought it only right that I duly report back.....

Arrived at LAX on time - highly recommend WESTJET to everyone!!!

Picked up rental car from AVIS. Thanks to Priceline, we got a mid-size car with unlimited mileage for a TOTAL cost of $204.96, all taxes etc. included. Heck of a deal!!!! One thing - remember to check the vehicle for scratches, dents etc. Ours had some minor damage around the trunk (likely due to people being careless when loading/unloading suitcases) but, until we pointed it out, these weren't noted on our contract. Our "heck of a deal" could've been moot if we'd have had to pay for repairs.

Stayed at Fairfield Inn by Marriott on Harbor Blvd. Great staff, clean rooms, nice pool. It doesn't advertise itself as a luxury hotel and it's not - it's pretty basic but suited us very well. The location is GREAT - easy walking distance to the park and Mimi's Cafe right next door (more about that later). We were on the 8th floor facing south - excellent view of the pool and DL/DCA but we had to go to the west end of the building (all of 30 paces or so!!) to get a view of the fireworks. Fireworks can be seen (limited view) from the north side rooms but they face parking lots and the freeway. We all agreed that the south-side was the best. I've read that some people had problems with noise in this hotel but we didn't experience that at all. The only thing I could criticize (if I was being REALLY picky) is that although there are thick sheers on the windows, the drapes don't close. As a result, the rooms aren't totally dark (especially if there's a light right outside your window as there was in our case) and, of course, when it's dark outside and the light is on inside the room, any passers-by can see right in. Neither of these things were a big deal at all in our case and, as stated before, I'm being really picky here.

Food - for those trying to figure out a budget, it turns out that we spent an average of $105 per day (two adults and two kids aged 10 and 7). This includes EVERYTHING from the munchies and drinks for the room that we purchased from local dollar stores, Food4Less and Target, a "spendy" lunch at Goofy's kitchen, all snacks, ice-creams etc. purchased whilst in the park or out sightseeing and lots of meals at Mimi's. We found Mimi's Cafe to be outstanding. The food was consistently excellent, with huge portions, the service from good to great and the prices very, very reasonable. They also offer a take-out service that we used several times. Can't recommend Mimi's highly enough.

Shopping - Disney's Character Warehouse Outlet at Orangefair (??) Mall. Excellent deals on "old" Disney merchandise (mainly clothing).

Universal Studios - we went on a Saturday and so opted for the "front of the line" passes; money very well spent in our opinion. It was very hot and the park was quite crowded but the few attractions that we did have to wait for were limited to 10 minutes or so. The Mummy ride was like a cross between Indiana Jones and Space Mountain - but much, much, much shorter! Back to the Future appears to use similar technology to "Soaring" but you're in a fake DeLorean instead of whatever the Soaring thing is supposed to be. This ride was also reminiscent of Star Tours. The studio tour was a huge yawn except for the a total of about 2 minutes "excitement" during the King Kong, Earthquake and Jaws sequences. Both my kids were absolutely terrified by Van Helsing's Castle and it took a while (and some ice-cream) to calm them down. I'm glad we went to Universal but wouldn't bother going back again. The best part about the whole day for me was seeing the "Hollywood" sign from the freeway on the way there. If you go, take bathing suits and pool shoes or flip-flops for the kids (and towels too). Ours just LOVED the Splash Zone but would have had a very uncomfortable, squishy ride home if we hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes with us.

Aquarium of the Pacific - fun couple of hours and made a nice change to DL/DCA. Huge line up to buy tickets at 11.30 am and no shade provided to those waiting - not nice! When we left, around 2.30 pm there was no line at all.

King Tut Exhibit - if you haven't seen this, it's worth going; the artistry of these ancient peoples if simply fascinating. However, if you saw this Exhibit waaaay back in the 70's (as I did), don't go, you'll be really disappointed. The exhibit claims to be "over 50 artifacts" - I would guess that there are 51 or maybe 52 AND it doesn't contain the arguably most famous piece - the gold mask - but it does have one of the gilded coffins. Souvenirs are, of course, horrifically overpriced (but we succumbed anyway!!!). I would have liked to have visited some of the other LACMA collections that day but was out-voted by totally bored and museumed-out kids. Got caught in the infamous LA traffic on the way home (yikes!!!) and so ended up taking a detour through Beverley Hills and Santa Monica, Venice Beach etc. Pretty views (some great photos) and although it was a MUCH longer way home, it sure beat sitting on the freeway!

Didn't do San Diego this trip as we did all that 2 years ago but to anyone who hasn't been there, I'd recommend you include this in your itinerary.

Spent a total of 4 days at DL/DCA - which was plenty to see and do it all. Kids hated Tower of Terror but husband and I loved it. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters was a lot of fun too. LOTS of rides went down throughout our visits (although were up again later the same day) - Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain and the DL railroad. In DCA, we noticed that Soaring was down too. I have no idea what was going on - when we visited DL/DCA two years ago, nothing went down except the rides that were undergoing scheduled maintenance. Took in the Snow White musical - my ten year old, who attended this show under protest, was enthralled!

One thing I simply couldn't understand though were all the people waiting in the sometimes unbelievably long standby lines at DL and DCA. By getting to the park early (8.30 ish) and using Fastpass, I think our absolute longest wait was less than 15 minutes. However, we did plan each day with different rides/attractions prioritized - being somewhat organized really made a difference.

Well, that's about it - feel free to ask questions if I've missed anything.

DLFan
08-30-2005, 03:01 PM
Sounds like you had a great time Llisa!

So Westjet was good? We have flown Air Canada and Alaska Air, but haven't yet tried Westjet.

disney jones
08-30-2005, 06:07 PM
Thanks - nice report, i enjoyed reading it.

What didn't your kids like about ToT - was it just scary for them?

MermaidHair
08-30-2005, 07:44 PM
I enjoyed your report. I was quite interested in your daily food costs as the estimates I have seen vary quite widely. Your first-hand experience was helpful! :)

coronado_g
08-30-2005, 08:02 PM
Good trip report...and it really wasn't too long. Too bad you were out-voted on doing the rest of the museums because some of them are awesome!

I'm very interested to hear more details as to why your two kids hated ToT.

TowerofTerror
08-30-2005, 09:08 PM
nice report sound too me it was a very good trip

Llisa
09-03-2005, 03:42 PM
DL Fan - this was the second time I've flown Westjet. What makes them so terrific is their staff - they're friendly, funny, helpful and have actually grasped the concept of good customer service.

Re: Tower of Terror - OK, we did this ride the day after the Van Helsing incident at Universal and both kids were still feeling somewhat traumatized. I guess they were a little creeped out by the "pre-show" and didn't enjoy the sensation of the actual ride.

As for food costs - both my husband and I found ourselves eating a LOT more than usual. Rather than eating too much "junk" we'd take the kids to a restaurant when they got hungry and thus felt obliged to eat ourselves. After a day or two of feeling totally stuffed, I clued in and starting order appetizers only (especially at Mimi's where their appetizers are huge anyway). Even so, I gained almost 5lbs in one week!

chickyb
09-03-2005, 07:33 PM
Great trip report, sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'd make one suggestion to you, next time bring four or five clothespins to keep the drapes closed in your room. I always have a problem with the drapes not meeting in the middle and this has worked well for me. Thanks for the great report!



Just returned from 10 days in California - since this board was so helpful to me in planning this trip, I thought it only right that I duly report back.....

Arrived at LAX on time - highly recommend WESTJET to everyone!!!

Picked up rental car from AVIS. Thanks to Priceline, we got a mid-size car with unlimited mileage for a TOTAL cost of $204.96, all taxes etc. included. Heck of a deal!!!! One thing - remember to check the vehicle for scratches, dents etc. Ours had some minor damage around the trunk (likely due to people being careless when loading/unloading suitcases) but, until we pointed it out, these weren't noted on our contract. Our "heck of a deal" could've been moot if we'd have had to pay for repairs.

Stayed at Fairfield Inn by Marriott on Harbor Blvd. Great staff, clean rooms, nice pool. It doesn't advertise itself as a luxury hotel and it's not - it's pretty basic but suited us very well. The location is GREAT - easy walking distance to the park and Mimi's Cafe right next door (more about that later). We were on the 8th floor facing south - excellent view of the pool and DL/DCA but we had to go to the west end of the building (all of 30 paces or so!!) to get a view of the fireworks. Fireworks can be seen (limited view) from the north side rooms but they face parking lots and the freeway. We all agreed that the south-side was the best. I've read that some people had problems with noise in this hotel but we didn't experience that at all. The only thing I could criticize (if I was being REALLY picky) is that although there are thick sheers on the windows, the drapes don't close. As a result, the rooms aren't totally dark (especially if there's a light right outside your window as there was in our case) and, of course, when it's dark outside and the light is on inside the room, any passers-by can see right in. Neither of these things were a big deal at all in our case and, as stated before, I'm being really picky here.

Food - for those trying to figure out a budget, it turns out that we spent an average of $105 per day (two adults and two kids aged 10 and 7). This includes EVERYTHING from the munchies and drinks for the room that we purchased from local dollar stores, Food4Less and Target, a "spendy" lunch at Goofy's kitchen, all snacks, ice-creams etc. purchased whilst in the park or out sightseeing and lots of meals at Mimi's. We found Mimi's Cafe to be outstanding. The food was consistently excellent, with huge portions, the service from good to great and the prices very, very reasonable. They also offer a take-out service that we used several times. Can't recommend Mimi's highly enough.

Shopping - Disney's Character Warehouse Outlet at Orangefair (??) Mall. Excellent deals on "old" Disney merchandise (mainly clothing).

Universal Studios - we went on a Saturday and so opted for the "front of the line" passes; money very well spent in our opinion. It was very hot and the park was quite crowded but the few attractions that we did have to wait for were limited to 10 minutes or so. The Mummy ride was like a cross between Indiana Jones and Space Mountain - but much, much, much shorter! Back to the Future appears to use similar technology to "Soaring" but you're in a fake DeLorean instead of whatever the Soaring thing is supposed to be. This ride was also reminiscent of Star Tours. The studio tour was a huge yawn except for the a total of about 2 minutes "excitement" during the King Kong, Earthquake and Jaws sequences. Both my kids were absolutely terrified by Van Helsing's Castle and it took a while (and some ice-cream) to calm them down. I'm glad we went to Universal but wouldn't bother going back again. The best part about the whole day for me was seeing the "Hollywood" sign from the freeway on the way there. If you go, take bathing suits and pool shoes or flip-flops for the kids (and towels too). Ours just LOVED the Splash Zone but would have had a very uncomfortable, squishy ride home if we hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes with us.

Aquarium of the Pacific - fun couple of hours and made a nice change to DL/DCA. Huge line up to buy tickets at 11.30 am and no shade provided to those waiting - not nice! When we left, around 2.30 pm there was no line at all.

King Tut Exhibit - if you haven't seen this, it's worth going; the artistry of these ancient peoples if simply fascinating. However, if you saw this Exhibit waaaay back in the 70's (as I did), don't go, you'll be really disappointed. The exhibit claims to be "over 50 artifacts" - I would guess that there are 51 or maybe 52 AND it doesn't contain the arguably most famous piece - the gold mask - but it does have one of the gilded coffins. Souvenirs are, of course, horrifically overpriced (but we succumbed anyway!!!). I would have liked to have visited some of the other LACMA collections that day but was out-voted by totally bored and museumed-out kids. Got caught in the infamous LA traffic on the way home (yikes!!!) and so ended up taking a detour through Beverley Hills and Santa Monica, Venice Beach etc. Pretty views (some great photos) and although it was a MUCH longer way home, it sure beat sitting on the freeway!

Didn't do San Diego this trip as we did all that 2 years ago but to anyone who hasn't been there, I'd recommend you include this in your itinerary.

Spent a total of 4 days at DL/DCA - which was plenty to see and do it all. Kids hated Tower of Terror but husband and I loved it. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters was a lot of fun too. LOTS of rides went down throughout our visits (although were up again later the same day) - Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain and the DL railroad. In DCA, we noticed that Soaring was down too. I have no idea what was going on - when we visited DL/DCA two years ago, nothing went down except the rides that were undergoing scheduled maintenance. Took in the Snow White musical - my ten year old, who attended this show under protest, was enthralled!

One thing I simply couldn't understand though were all the people waiting in the sometimes unbelievably long standby lines at DL and DCA. By getting to the park early (8.30 ish) and using Fastpass, I think our absolute longest wait was less than 15 minutes. However, we did plan each day with different rides/attractions prioritized - being somewhat organized really made a difference.

Well, that's about it - feel free to ask questions if I've missed anything.

Llisa
09-04-2005, 11:29 AM
Great idea Chickyb but, in this case, even clothes pins wouldn't have worked. The drapes were purely decorative panels that hung either side of the window - it wasn't a case of them almost-but-not-quite meeting in the middle. I want to stress though that this REALLY wasn't an issue for us at all; it would only be a problem if you're one of those unfortunate souls who need TOTAL darkness in order to sleep.

Something that I always take on vacation are a couple of suction hooks, some clothes line and clothes pins. I've stayed at very few hotels that provide a place to hang bathing suits to dry (why is that????).

Other things I never leave home without are a chopping board, sharp knife and a bottle opener/corkscrew (make sure the latter two items are NOT in your carry-on luggage!!). These facilitate in-room snacks and drinks (we usually buy plastic cutlery and plates from a dollar store once we arrive).

nickbrown2k2
09-04-2005, 03:22 PM
Great trip report!

Minnie66
09-04-2005, 06:25 PM
Sounds like such a wonderful trip (I'm a little jealous). We also found Mimi's cafe but unfortunately not until on our way home. I second that they have wonderful service and fair priced meals. We plan to use them a great deal on our next trip. Thanks for sharing.