Disneyland and San Diego 8-6 to 8-15

[Elk34]

We just got in last night from a weeklong trip to DL and San Diego. We arrived on Friday August 6th at about 3 o'clock and our room was ready. I asked about a Concierge level upgrade and nothing was available. That ended up being ok because one of the reasons we like concierge is for breakfast and as it turned out we did some Character breakfasts instead. Our room was very nice with bunk beds and looking over the CA right above the Napa Rose patio. We were right by the elevator so it was VERY easy to get to the parks or run down for a drink refill from Whitwater. The refill cups worked great. I was amazed at how few people used them.

We had a 5 day Park Hopper and were set to be at the park for 4 full days so we went ahead and used our 5th day on the day we arrived. We did a few rides at CA and then went to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner.

Our first full day we went to DL. We got there at open. It is amazing how much you can ride before the crowds get there. We did more by 11 than we did the rest of the day. We rested during the day and then went back to DL for the evening.
This was on Saturday night and I thought that after the fireworks DL would clear out and we would be able to get a lot done. WRONG. The park was still crowded when we left at 11:00. Lesson learned is go early and don't try to go back.

Sunday we went to CA. I really enjoyed a lot of the big rides here like TOT, Soarin, Cali Screamin, River ride. WWTBAM was fun. I usually hate shows but Alladin was actually good. CA was a pleasant surprise.

Monday we went back to DL to ride favorites and have the character breakfast at Plaza Inn. We also saw fantasmic. I like the show but the seating at MGM sure is more convenient. We rode everything that we wanted to and the crowds weren't as bad as Saturday but there were still people stupid enough to wait 120 minutes for Splash Mtn. I don't get it. The longest that we ever waited for any ride was 20 minutes. Use the Fastpasses people!!

Tuesday I woke up and knew I had a problem. The little envelope from the front desk had been slid under the door. You know the one that you get on your last morning. But, this was supposed to be our NEXT to last morning. I quickly checked and we did indeed have a problem. They had me checking out on the 10th and I had wanted through the 10th, checking out the 11th. I obviously screwed up when making the reservations. And despite checking things 8 thousand times I never caught it. Frantically, I went to the front desk where Linda treated me like a king. Unfortunately, GC was booked but she was going to try to get us into Paradise Pier. Well, my kids were already up and dressed and ready for their last day to be in the parks, not packing dirty clothes and moving to another hotel. I think Linda could tell my anxiety because she and Barbara (the Lead) worked things out and we were able to stay in our room and still make park opening, Great Service!!

Our last day we did some DL and some CA and had dinner at Ariels Grotto because the girls never got her autograph previously. All in all they got about 40 autographs.

Wednesday we got up and checked out, finished some DD shopping and drove to San Diego. We checked in to the Pacific Terrace hotel in Pacific Beach. This is a very nice 3 story hotel with a family run type of feel to it. They have a huge continental breakfast in the morning and a free wine hour from 4-5 and tea, lemonade and cookies all day. The pool/spa is nice and the view is incredible. We just hung out on the beach our first day.

Our 2nd day we went to the San Diego Zoo. It is a really nice zoo obviously. I was surprised that they didn't charge to park. Seems like it would be a good way to raise funds. The zoo is like any other high quality zoo where the animals appear to be fairly free roaming and not in cages. The Polar bears were great,. Pandas were intersting, Koalas sleeping, the gondola was fun and the bus tour was good.

Our last day was also our oldest daughters 9th birthday so she got to set the schedule. Luckily it was pretty laid back. We had a big breakfast at an oceanside cafe, bought a kite for the beach and hung out on the beach all day trying to fly the kite and playing in the surf. In the evening she really wanted to just watch the olympics so I went and picked up Pizzas and we had cake and pizza in the same room where the hotel has the breakfast. They even brought us ice and plastic plates. It was a fun night and a great trip.

Sunday morning we drove back to LA and flew home. By the way, flying into LongBeach is great. It is a very small airport but the big jets come in there. No lines and close to DL. I highly recommend flying in there. When I saw the news about Hurricane Charley I felt bad for the people at WDW but was happy that we were at DL instead.

 

[lulubelle]

Elk34-
Thanks for the great trip report. Glad you got to see everything you wanted at DL/DCA. GC is so huge and spread out that from most parts of the hotel, WW Snacks is a bit of a hike so many guests not only pass on the refillable mug (we did cause we were basically over the parking area where you check in), but don't even make it to WWS! And you are so right, between FP, entering right at opening time and single rider lines, we never wait more than 20 minutes, but many clueless travelers do. As far as SD goes - It was perfect beach weather, wasn't it? Makes me want to go again and we were just there at Christmas!

Happy belated birthday to your DD

 

[VW31]

Elk34,

Thanks for the report.

How long was the drive from DL to San Diego and from the Pacific Terrace hotel to the zoo?
Were did you rent the car from?

Thanks.

 

[JC Butterfly]

So if you returned to Disneyland, would you stay at the Grand Californian again? Is this the "only" place you would stay now? They obviously took great care of you, good for them!

How much were the refillable mugs? And they are good for the entire length of your stay?

What is your review of the Plaza Inn character breakfast?
Where else did you eat?

Did you explore Downtown Disney much?

How did you pass the time out of the parks?

How far was it from Long Beach airport to Disneyworld?

 

[Elk34]

JC

I would definitely stay at GC again and don't really think that I would consider any place else. It's not cheap but nothing about the trip is.

I think the mugs were like $8-10. I can't remember exactly. But, I do know that it was well worth it. We bought 2 mugs. The girls shared 1 and my wife and I shared one.

The Plaza Inn character breakfast was very good. We were there late in the morning at around 10:00 so we were able to get a lot of rides done early in the morning and then grab a Star Tours FastPass before we ate. When we were done with the meal it was time for the FP so that worked out well. My family really likes the Pooh characters and they were all at Plaza Inn.

We also had a character meal at Goofy's Kitchen that was fun. basic Disney buffet food but great atmosphere.

We did the character buffet at Ariels in paradise Pier and it was good a la carte food. The girls were glad to get Ariels autograph as it is one of the harder ones to get. Cotton candy with the check instead of mints was a fun change of pace.

The French Cafe in the New orleans part of DL was really good. Much better than normal park food with a live Jazz band. It is right next to the train station. We also liked the restaurant in DL over by the Pooh ride. I can't remember the name. It is basic park food but it is nice to look out over the river at the boats and canoes.

The Test Pilots cafe(?) in DCA has better than average food (burgers especially). We ate dinner one night at Storytellers in GC and it was very good.

We ate at the Italian food place in DD and it was very good. We ate on the upsatirs patio and that was a very nice atmosphere.

Our time out of the parks was mainly just resting in the room or at the pool. That was when it was really nice to be in a hotel that is so centrally located. I did spend a couple of early mornings wandering around the GC or sitting in the lobby. It is a really nice atmosphere and you can use the mugs for coffee too. But, really we spent a lot of time in the parks.

It was only about a 15-20 minute drive to GC from the Long Beach airport and that included me missing the highway entrance once. I highly recommend flying into Long Beach if at all possible.

VW,

On the way down to San Diego we took PCH 1 for a lot of the way and that was just a lot of stop lights. You get to go through some quaint towns but it is not worth the slow travel. You really don't see much of the ocean. I guess that I had the impression the we would be driving right by the ocean and that wasn't the case.

On the way back we did highway the whole way and it was about 1 hour 45 minutes but that was on a Sunday morning so there was no traffic. But, we went down on a Wed afternoon and didn't have traffic then either.

The Zoo is about 15 minutes from the Paciffic Terrace Hotel. It was a very easy drive. The Wild Animal park is a lot further away, but we never made it there so I don't know exactly how far, but I think it would be about a 45 minute trip back towards LA.

We rented from Enterprise. I had reserved a full size car but they upgraded us to the Dodge Magnum station wagon thingy. It is a strange looking vehicle that we dubbed the Batmobile. If you see one you'll understand. All of the rental car places at Long Beach are right across from the baggage claim so you don't have to mess with shuttle busses.

Hope I answered all of your questions.