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View Full Version : Trip report 10-22 through 10-26 2006!



Boo's Mommy
11-01-2006, 05:11 AM
Me, 33 year old
DH, 35 year old
DD, 3 year old
DS, 22 months old
GM, 57 year old – Day 2 and 3 only
GP, 59 year old – Day 2 and 3 only

Trip date: 10/22 – 10/26, 2006

Just a forewarning….though it seems long, there are a lot of details I know I missed! Happy reading!

Day 1:
Sunday 10/22, early morning…and I mean EARLY…..3:30 a.m. DHand I woke to have coffee, showers and gather the last few things together for the drive down to Anaheim. I packed the car the day before so everything would be ready and accounted for (I’ve been planning this trip for 4 months and nothing was going to be left behind!). Around 4 a.m., little DD woke up too (so much for her sleeping in), but was happy to snuggle under a blanket in front of the tv while we got ready. After we were dressed, DD was dressed and DS was left for last thing to change and put in the car. 5:30 a.m. and on the road! It was sooo quiet and dark out, DH and DD weren’t sleepy, tooo excited to get to the Disneyland Resort (DLR). Not that we weren’t but still, DS and I fell asleep. DD was all too happy to keep DH awake while driving. From what he tells me, it was very, very, foggy too, which didn’t help.

We arrived at the DLR at 8:30 a.m. I was soo busy being in awe of the whole place (and mind you, it’s not our first time here, but still every trip is as magical as the first!), I only was able to snap a few photos as we tried to find our way to the Grand Californian Hotel (GCH). We were warmly greeted at the gates as we informed the CM we were checking in. That was a thrill for us to say we were going to stay at the GCH!!!!

The GCH did not disappoint, it is sooo GRAND! There is a beautiful huge lobby when you enter. Though our rooms obviously weren’t ready, we were allowed to check in early and was given our room keys so we can enjoy the hotel amenities right away. DD was given balloons to share with her brother and a wonderful autographed photo of Mickey Mouse! We were torn between touring the hotel and entering the park, but decided on the park to activate our Annual Passes!

We used the special entrance through GCH into Disney’s California Adventures (DCA), and high-tailed it to Monster’s Inc ride. This would be DD all time most favoritest ride of all (as proof, we rode this ride at least 50 times in the 5-day stay!!). After a couple of runs, we went across to Disneyland (DL) and got our Annual Pass cards. DD got her very first AP too! We headed straight to Adventure Land and rode the Jungle Cruise and were fortunate to have “ken” as our CM on the boat. He was Hilarious!! And …..***spoiler warning***……. When did they add the phiranah’s??????!! That was a cool surprise as I hadn’t ridden that ride in almost 10 years! DD asked the CM after the ride for her very special Jungle Cruise map! It’s a great addition for our vacation scrapbook.

Anyhow….off to get fast passes to the Haunted Mansion then DH and DD went to Splash Mountain while DS and I went to ride Pooh. After a turn at Pooh, I could not resist the call of the Pumpkin Fudge at Pooh’s Corner!! Mmmmmm it was soooo yummy, bought one square for me and one for DH . DS and I rode Pooh again, after we got off, we noticed DH and DD just got on, so we waited at the exit. At that point, Pappa was wonderfully surprised with some pumpkin fudge!! Off to Haunted Mansion we go! No lines at all with the fast passes! We had never ever seen the Haunted Mansion in all it’s holiday splendor and (forgive me for all the Classic ride people), but I LOVED it wayyy more than the original Haunted Mansion!! When we got off that ride, the park seemed very very packed. Soo much so, it was difficult to maneuver our stroller and wheelchair! Also, it had gotten very, very warm! It must have been about 90 degrees!! Heat plus wall to wall crowds, it was time to head back to DCA!

I know most people don’t care for DCA, but we love it, especially because it’s always more calm and laid back. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE DL, but I also like to be able to walk around and see the sights and not have to concentrate on how not to bump into people because it’s just soo crowded. Back to DCA and of course, back to Monster’s Inc! After several rounds of MI, we headed to It’s a Bug’s Life for a few rides there. It was just soo hot we decided to head back to the GCH for a swim at the pool. Unfortunately, our room was still not ready (1:30 pm), but the guys at the Bell desk were sooo helpful in finding our luggage so we can get all our swimming gear and enjoy the pool.

There are 3 pools at GCH, the 1st is a large rectangular pool, which surprisingly no one was at, then next was a 1’ deep kiddie pool, and last was the large pool with the super slide and a kiddie slide….that’s were everyone was and for good reason too! The slides were fun! Pappa decided to try the slide…once and only once…..while it was fun, he left the slide for the more nimble and able of folks. The kiddie slide was awesome though! DD and DS had a blast on it. DS was scared at first, but loved it after the first try!! Oh btw, GCH provides really nice life vests for all to wear, which was great for the kids. Pool weather was perfect and the lounge chairs at GCH were soooooooooo comfortable!!! I wanted to take a nap! But we had 2 small kids that were just sooo full of energy, I can’t believe all the fun and playing has not tired them out! Fortunately our room was finally ready around 2:30 pm and we headed up. We called the Bell desk for our luggage once we were there and they arrived in a few minutes!! Our refrigerator wasn’t there yet, so we called Housekeeping and it was up in a few minutes as well!

The room was decent sized (2 queens) and decorated in a “woods” theme, like in Snow White! And the view was great! We were facing Grizzly Run, you could see Soarin and the Holllywood Tower of Terror! Whenever we were in the room, we’d leave the slider open, to take in all the glorious noise of the park, but if you’d close it, there was not a single bit of noise! It must be like a million-paned glass!! While we unpacked, we heard a knock on the door and we received our Anniversary Gift Basket!!! It was a beautiful surprise, there were Mickey and Minnie dolls, and lots of different kinds of Disneyland Chocolates! Of course we didn’t open it, to keep the magic! A few minutes later, room service delivered a cart that had wine glasses, chilled sparkling cider and a bunch of chocolate covered strawberries and plain strawberries!! It’s a good thing I hid 2 chocolate strawberries for us to enjoy later as the four of us devoured them all! They were DELICIOUS!!!! After a little freshening up, it was time to hit the parks again! DL was still sooo crowded, we stayed at DCA. DH went on Grizzly Rapids and LOVED it. He went again while we walked around the shops. Then of course….can you guess where we went next? Yup, Monster’s Inc. We kept riding it until the park closed! DD new all the CM’s by name! We were headed to DL since they are open late, but apparently hundreds of people leaving DCA were thinking the same thing. Since it was still warm out, we decided to head back to the hotel to go for a swim! You gotta love the easy walk back to GCH! Dinner was a simple nachos and sandwhich and chicken fingers at Whitewater Snacks (drinks through refill of our mugs purchased earlier). Food was good, inexpense for Disney standards, but we waited an hour!!!! We were beat after this first day, but the kids were still wound up from all the excitement! We ate on the balcony and watched all the trick-or-treaters at Mickey’s Halloween Treat. Unfortunately, I decided too late that we wanted to go and all was sold out. I won’t make that mistake next year! The kids played and played in the room until they finally crashed…..10 pm-ish. So much for having some quiet adult time to take in all the ambiance…we crashed shortly after!

Boo's Mommy
11-01-2006, 05:15 AM
Day 2:
I’m not sure how, but I was wide awake by 4 a.m.!!! I took this quiet time to organize our stuff in the room and read through all the literature and menu’s we had collected on Day 1. I was going to wander around the hotel, but was afraid that with DH soo pooped out, he’d be in too deep of a sleep if either of the kids woke up and tried to wander out of our room. Of course, it was too noisy to order room service too, so at least I was able to shower and prepare myself in peace and was ready by the time everyone got up! GMand Grandpa were joining us today, which was greatly appreciated so that Pappa and I had a grown-up day just together sans kids at DLR (that was our Anniversary Treat).

While we waited for their arrival, we decided to head into DCA. Pappa and Alyssa took in Soarin’ then we headed for our usual spin at MI and IABL. We got the call and while DD and DH continued their ridefest, DS and I met Grandma and Grandpa at the GCH lobby. Grandma was checking in and I listened as they gave her the introduction to the hotel, amenities, etc. Great news, they were able to get the room directly across the hall from us, a great view of Downtown Disney! Of course it wasn’t ready, so off to our room to drop off their luggage and for Grandma and I to sort out everyone’s tickets and room keys and so on! Then we all headed back to DCA and met up with DH and DD in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. You know, we had never ever entered this area in all our other trips and it is actually great fun for the little ones! It’s like a maze with slides and rope ladders and tunnels and just a lot of stuff that is great to let the kids expend their energy in a contained area!! Good area to get Grandma and Grandpa started on their alone time with the kids! Thank you again Mom and Dad!!!

Now for grown-up ride time! I have to say, all the grown-up rides at DCA will be my first time, so it was plenty adventuresome for me! First was Grizzly Run, we got DRENCHED! Not only did we both get soaked at every turn and bump and fall, but we got hit with the mid-river guyser in full force!! Thank goodness it was another hot day! Then, off to Mullholland Madness. I’m not too fond of this ride, very difficult to get in and out quickly for those of us not as able and nimble and sadly, the CM’s there were very sarcastic as it took us a few extra seconds than most other people. This was probably our only bad experience the whole 5 days. Neither of us cared much for the ride as it just jolted us on hairpin turns. Off next to the Big Roller Coaster!! DH assures me that this is just the most awesome of roller coasters, what can go wrong, right? Well, nothing went wrong, except for the fact that it totally and completely scared the bejeezies out of me!!! I was holding on sooo tight, my eyes were shut sooo tight, I lost my voice screaming, and tears were already coming out of my eyes. Of all the rides that were “long” why, oh why was it this roller coaster ride????!!! DH loved the ride immensely. I had to ride it, I did ride it, I won’t be riding it again. My head was hurting soooo badly, I felt nautious, my knees were wobbly. We had to sit down and rest and have some juice. To take it easy for a bit, we did the Bread Tour and the Tortilla Tour (yummy fresh tortillas!!).

After the nausea left, we decided to have lunch at Café Orleans in DL. The park was still crowded but we were dead-set on having their Monte Cristo (and getting our coin!). Walk-in wait wasn’t too bad, 15-20 minutes and I think we were called in by 10 minutes. We were seated inside, which was perfectly fine because it was extremely noisy outside. We ordered the pomme frites to start, as well as the monte cristo and seafood crepes. Oh and of course I ordered my mint julep!!! I was worried that we ordered too much food, but since there was a “back-log” in the kitchen, starting on the pomme frites (which were very very very delicious) helped keep our blood-sugar in check until we got our food. When we did, the food was EXCELLENT. I had never had seafood crepes and the portion was surprisingly small, but once I started eating, it was very, very filling indeed. DH thoroughly enjoyed his monte cristo! The service was excellent, the CM’s were very attentive to keep our drinks filled (I must have had about 5 refills on my mint julep!!).

Ok, back on track and tummies filled, we hit the shops on Main Street, but didn’t see anything that just absolutely grabbed us, so we headed back to DCA. We headed straight for the Hollywood Tower of Terror. I’ve always wanted to ride this ride, but always stayed with the kiddies as I didn’t want to ride it alone, so this was very exciting for me. The line moved quickly, almost too quickly as I didn’t really get a chance to let the ambiance sink in! All Pappa would tell me is that it is scary and to hold on. We were set on row 6, which lucky for us meant the front row!! The story was scary (never really saw the whole movie) and OMG!!! The free fall was scary!!! And yes, I hung on soooo tight. I sure hoped the lap belt worked properly! But I refused to close my eyes on this ride and thoroughly enjoyed the thrill!!! Wow, I would definitely ride it again!! Next we took a nice leisurely stroll towards Grizzly Rapids via the Pier side. We didn’t get too wet at all on the Grizzly Rapids, so DH decided we needed to go again! We go so-so wet, but wet enough for me, so I suggested we head up to the room to refresh ourselves and check in on the grandparents and the kids.

Grandma/pa time….The four of them spent a lot of good time in Fantasy Land, which is great because Grandma and Grandpa can fit in the rides with them! Plus the kids love time with Grandma and Grandpa and what better place than at DLR! DD was pretty good at listening to Grandma/pa, but DS is starting on his own mind….and running off at every possibility. He definitely kept Grandpa on his toes as he weaved in and out of people’s legs.

They were happily playing in Grandma/pa’s room, which has a great view of Downtown Disney! We thought DD was tall enough to ride Grizzly Rapids as we saw a lot of other really small children on it, so we picked her up and headed back down (we had all changed to swimsuits underneath so we could stop at the pool). She passed at the front sign so she was thrilled to go on “DH ride”. But when we got to the loading area, they measured her again and she was just shy of the height!! They made us stand off to the side. DH went ahead and rode anyway, thinking we’ll just switch afterwards. I was a little annoyed because as other small children got off the rafts, they were the same height as hers. When DH got off, I was too annoyed and decided to go back to the pool. DD still got to splash and play in the slide, so she was content for now.

After pool time, we headed up to change for dinner, Grandma/pa were resting in their room and they all (even DS was asleep, comfortably with Grandma!!) Of course, he must have smelled me because he still woke up as quiet as we were. But need not worry, as soon as DS got up, DD quickly claimed the comfy spot next to Grandma and fell right asleep!! Fortunately, I gave DS his snacks and we were able to sneak back out for our wonderful quiet Anniversary dinner. We hadn’t had a quiet dinner alone in 3 years!! We decided to go to ESPN Zone and had some drinks and played a few rounds of table hockey (4 games to 2 – DH ). But we started to miss the kids anyway and decided to just take out food and eat back at the room. It took an hour wait for our “to-go” food, so it was pretty late by the time we got back to the room, both kids were asleep and so was Grandma/pa. We took DS and put him in his crib in our room and DD happily slept all night with Grandma (she was still asleep from after swimming!).

Grandma/pa and kids’ dinner event….Grandma decided to order take-out from Storyteller’s since it was just downstairs. I can’t remember what she ordered, but it took over an hour’s wait also!!! (what the heck was going on everywhere?) To top it off, she got someone else’s order. Fortunately, the lady who got Grandma’s order came back upset also. The CM’s said they would credit some money to their rooms to compensate. Not much, but what else can you do when you are hungry?

Boo's Mommy
11-01-2006, 05:16 AM
Day 3:
No early risers today, I finally got up at 8 am and DH woke up after me. We hurried to get ready because it was early entry into DL and we were late!! Fortunately Grandma was getting DD ready, so it was only DS I had to take care of, plus we were going to do the final “grown-up” morning with rides at DL. So dropped off DS with Grandma/pa and we high-tailed it to DL. Lots of people already there for early entry!! We went straight to Space Mountain which we hadn’t ridden in 11 years! The first part of the ride was different, cool, but made you dizzy. The rest is as I remembered…dark, fast and super cool! Then we waited patiently for the rest of the park to open, resting on some benches near the entrance to Adventure Land. It was horrible how people pawed and pushed. Mind you, my husband is in a wheelchair and we literally got run over by young and old alike when they dropped the rope. I wish they didn’t drop the rope like that. In DCA, they “walk” the rope open, so they don’t have all the running and pushing. We headed towarDS Indiana Jones. I forget how long the queueing area is!! I love this ride! We were with this lovely lady Gwen, who apparently rides this ride first thing every morning! It’s her favorite ride! She was nice and very knowledgeable and shared some neat information about the ride! After this ride we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean, then Thunder Mountain, then over to Splash Mountain right before lunch.

We had Priority Seating at Blue Bayou for 11:30 and fortunately everyone was there already. They called us all within 5 minutes and we were able to be seated by the water! We haven’t been here since the “changes”, though aside from some items and the prices on the menu, I didn’t really notice anything different. The kiDS had chicken and pasta, DH had the Monte Cristo, Grandpa had the Jambalaya, Grandma had the Crab Cakes, and I had the Mahi Mahi (and of course my mint julep!). The food was served pretty quickly. I didn’t get to taste any one else’s food, though everyone said it was good and tasty. I wasn’t particularly fond of my Mahi Mahi though and won’t order it again. But service was wonderful and prompt. We even got carDS and chocolate mousse for our celebrations! The nice part, in addition to the chocolate coins is that you were allowed to keep the menu! Nothing fancy, but still a nice addition to our scrapbook!

Ok, tummies filled, it was time to leave the strollers for a family ride through Pirates of the Caribbean! This is such a cool ride, and always fun to see the “anticipation” on Grandma’s face before the drops, which of course prompted DD to tighten her grip on Grandma/pa’s hanDS. Little DS missed out as he fell asleep (grumpily) at the end of lunch. Off to the Haunted Mansion for a family ride. The kiDS love this ride with all the bright neon colors from the Holiday Overlay! Then off to Pooh! The park started to get very crowded again, so we were headed to DCA, but not before a quick stop to get Dole Whips for everyone! YUMMMY!! We were on the way out when we noticed a CM chef holding chef hats by the Nestle area. She said the baking class was for 4 years and older, but would take DD if she was attentive enough. Lucky her! So DH and Grandma watched DD learn to bake cookies with all the other kiDS. She got to take a cookie home, plus the CM’s gave her an extra super large cookie as well! She had a blast! During this, Grandpa, DS and I headed back to our room to refresh.

Grandpa stayed in the room to rest while DS and I headed down to meet the everyone. It was just about 4 pm so we decided to have DD do the GCH Quest. She had to go to various places in the hotel to gather clues and answers to the puzzle and bring back the missing treasure. It was cute as she ran back and forth of the hotel. As her prize, she got a coupon for a free Mickey Cookie! DS got to have one too! Then Grandma headed up to rest while DH, DD, DS and I headed to MI and IABL! We closed the park again. It’s sooo peaceful and such a neat experience to see DCA and all it’s lights at night with no one there! DH was particularly tired, so he stayed to enjoy the room and quiet while we joined Grandma/pa in shopping at Downtown Disney. And boy did we shop (it’s me and Grandma’s FAVORITE thing to do! We hit the Crystal Arts (got such cute jewelry and matching rings for Grandma and me), World of Disney, Anne Geddes and House of Blues. We got dinner to-go at House of Blues…..EXCELLENT food! We’d eat there, but only outside seating was available and it was COLD. Plus the kiDS started to get cranky, so it was back to the room we go. It was present time and Grandma/pa handed out the presents they got us…the most memorable…a beautiful collage frame for our special Disney Vacation! We all ate dinner and tried to get Grandma/pa to stay one more night with us, but they had to go home. DD and I walked with them to the lobby and wished them a safe trip. It was such a wonderful time with them there!

Boo's Mommy
11-01-2006, 05:17 AM
Day 4:
This time I was up bright and early at 6 a.m. I got all ready to go, then headed down to order breakfast and fill up on drinks and coffee and cocoa at White Water Snacks! DD was the first to wake and she was anxious to get dressed and ready. DH and DS were happy food was already waiting for them! DD drew a picture for Mickey while she waited to go. She dropped it off with Guest Services on the way in for our early entry into DCA. A quick stop at Soarin’ for DD and DH’s morning ride, then we headed to MI for our ritual of 5 times on this morning ride, then we tried to do some shows…Talk with Crush in particular. DD was excited, but DS is just not in the sit still and enjoy stage, so he and I walked out and looked around while DD and DH watched Crush. She didn’t get to talk to Crush, so she was a bit disappointed. It’s ok, off to IABL for some quick rides.

We decided to head to DL for our usual ride on Autopia. Fortunately it was open as it was closed for almost a month! DS loved driving the car….he’s obsessed with cars. Next we had to try out the Princess Faire. I had heard soo much about it and DD loves all the princesses. But I won’t go into this much as it was a big disappointment and I had a separate piece I wrote to vent. But we tried it and that’s that. The kiDS got some neat paper crowns to play with later. Next to Toon Town for a ride on Roger Rabbit. DS really liked that except that our buggy kept spinning and was difficult to control it. We decided to stop at Buzz Light-Year on the way back to DCA. DS didn’t want to get off the ride…he just was holding on to the gun and the rail saying “no, no, no”.

We missed our priority seating at Blue Bayou so we decided to head to the Rainforest Café for lunch. DS was asleep so they let us bring in our stroller. We’ve been to the Rainforest Café many times before (though not this one) so we knew DD would be entertained. Service was quick and friendly and we were seated near the empty patio area so it was nice and calm.

As usual, we headed back to DCA and DH made another run on Grizzly RapiDS while we shopped next door. Finally, a store with 3X!! So the CM pulled all their 3X merchandise for my DH to try after his ride! Then we went to spend some time at the Pier side. We let the kiDS play the fishing game at the Pier since it’s a guaranteed prize. DD got a cool yellow angel fish and DS won a large blue angel fish! Then we saw the Jumpin’ jellyfish ride. DD was tall enough so she and I got on. Boy did she enjoy this ride. She kept her hanDS in the air and enjoyed screaming! I think we found her second favoritest ride as we rode it probably 10 times in a row. DH and DS got our Giant Corn Dog and shopped nearby. It was near closing time, so of course it was back to MI and IABL! This time we got some great family photos in our park!

We stopped by our room to pick up our jackets and found a wonderful surprise, Mickey had left a bouquet of balloons and an autographed photo for the kiDS! Next it was off to Downtown Disney and the Build-a-Bear Workshop. We promised DD that she can make a bear. She got to make her Hello Kitty and got her a special mickey outfit, complete with ears, shirt and gloves! DD was hogging the “wash” station and the only way to get her out so the line could move was drag her kicking and screaming until the CM found a similar wash brush for our package as well. DH and DS were waiting for us outside by the fountain as he was talking to a nice couple who’s son was playing with DS. DS had fallen into the fountain and the wife was nice enough to go grab him! The kiDS all played well together around the fountain as the four of us chatted. It’s soo nice to meet other nice happy families on vacation! Since they were just starting theirs, we shared some secrets and tips we learned on the trip! We window shopped, but DS and I headed back to the room for a quick change of clothes (he was wet from his spill into the fountain). DH and DD got their first Wetzel’s Pretzel…good pretzels, bad service….moving on…. We met them again and got our Jambalaya and Beignet’s at the Jazz Kitchen and slowly made our way back to the Hotel. The kiDS crashed and we finished our dinner. I was going to start putting stuff away, but was too beat myself. DH and I sat on our patio to take in the last wonderful night of our stay.

Boo's Mommy
11-01-2006, 05:18 AM
Day 5:
Woke up relatively early to try and start with as much organizing and packing as possible before we try to make the most in the park. The hotel was booked solid so the latest check-out we were able to do was 12:00 pm. I filled out drinks at White Water and we ate left-overs for breakfast. WE all got dressed and ready for our entry into DCA. It was a pit stop at Soarin’ then straight to MI and IABL. Then we headed to Jumpin’ Jellyfish, then Grizzly RapiDS for DH. DS and I went back to the room to finish packing while DH and DD sprinted around the park for last minute rides (another 4 times on MI from what I understand) and a stop at the Ice Cream Bar for a super duper Ice Cream Cone with the works! I finished packing and with a tear in my eye, called Bell Services to hold our luggage while we made one last trip into the park. We met outside of Grizzly RapiDS where there was a mini music show. Got there just in time to see DD participating and snap a few photos (I got very few photos on this trip, fortunately Grandma got a lot more!). One more run on Grizzly RapiDS for DH and it was time to leave.
The kiDS were not happy at all that we were leaving and DD begged to sleep at the park again. But we promised to come back soon. After all, we had our AP’s and should use them!

yellowrosedtxn
11-01-2006, 05:21 AM
Your trip sounds wonderful so far! I'm glad you had such a good time. Thanks for writing and KEEP IT COMING! :-)

ShirleyFilms
11-01-2006, 11:37 AM
I really enjoyed reading your report. Thanks!

Kricky
11-01-2006, 08:46 PM
We were there from 10/21-25, also at GCH. We probably passed in the halls! I also wondered about the piranhas on JC - they made me jump! :D Sounds like you had a really fun trip.

Boo's Mommy
11-02-2006, 09:48 AM
I'm sure we saw each other Kricky! I saw several people and families that i've seen throughout the trip. Everytime I ran into someone again, I felt like...hey, i know you! We shared this vacation! I hope you had a wonderful time on your trip also!!

mjjpower
11-02-2006, 11:19 AM
Sounds like GCH was very nice...we are debating about changing our reservation to stay there since we saved so much on our airfare. We have three kids so it would be awesome to be so close. Did you order all the extra's ahead of time? Such as the balloons and cookies...or is that just something they do?

Boo's Mommy
11-02-2006, 01:04 PM
I ordered the basket and the sweet endings and strawberrries in advance, you can call Vacation Planning, you tell them what you want, give them the credit card, tell them when you want it and they take care of all the rest. They were very very accommodating and very helpful indeed. They are at 714-781-7290. They include cards with messages and everything.

The balloons you don't have to do ahead of time, if they don't give you some when you check in (I've read other posts where first timers at the resort got the balloons automatically), you just ask and they come out with a bunch on a nice mickey weight and even a really, really nice autographed photo!

The second time we got balloons left in our room with a photo, I'm not sure if it was a result of my daughter drawing and sending a picture to Mickey or if the turn down people were just pleased because we left a little tip?

Either way, the balloons and photo were at no cost!

I think you'll like the GCH. I decided that we would just experience it's luxury and it was worth it. We plan to vacation again, maybe try out one of the other 2 Disney hotels, but I'm glad the GCH was our first so on the next trip, I'm not walking through there saying "geez, i wish we could try this place". I definitely would stay there again in a heartbeat...I just want to give all the Disney hotels a try. I hear each is very unique.

Boo's Mommy
11-02-2006, 01:06 PM
Sounds like GCH was very nice...we are debating about changing our reservation to stay there since we saved so much on our airfare. We have three kids so it would be awesome to be so close. Did you order all the extra's ahead of time? Such as the balloons and cookies...or is that just something they do?


Oh and you're kids will love it also. My oldest is 3 and because the park rides were clearly visibly from our balcony, she thought she was really sleeping in the park and she loved that!

I'm still high overy my vacation...can you tell?! :D