A Tale of Two Trips: Disneyland and Hawaii July 2014 Long Way Home: The End 9/13 p.40

[LongTimeFan]

LOVING your photos of the hotel! Very detailed of all areas. Thank you!
Now I can't wait for the rest of your trip report.

 

[jenseib]

I am loving all the shots!!!!
It makes me long to be back there. how awesome to see the fireworks from your room!

That resort is so lovely and nice. I really hope Skip still wants to go back to Cali next year as a family...of course I am not sure if I want to stay at the Grand or DL hotel...or maybve a split stay?

 

[gardengirl2790]

Hello,

I am new to your trip report, and am really enjoying reading along!

My husband and I are headed to the Hilton Waikoloa in October, so I was happy to read your thoughts on the resort. I don't have huge hopes for it. Do you have any recommendations for morning coffee (espresso) or restaurants there? We will be there a week for his work related conference. TIA

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Loving the virtual walk through the hotel. Awesome room, gorgeous view and just love the fireworks The pool and loungers look very inviting Always good to see nice short queues for entering the park!
And as for the sunset photos -just WOW !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[HockeyMomR]

Dee
Beautiful Hotel. It is Wilderness Lodge like with a Craftsman style flair. Love it. And nice job on the view upgrade. Wonderful!

Almost WDW time!

Rebecca

 

[natebenma]

LOVING your photos of the hotel! Very detailed of all areas. Thank you!
Now I can't wait for the rest of your trip report.

So glad you enjoyed the photos.

I hope to get started on the park part of the report in the next day or so.

I am loving all the shots!!!!
It makes me long to be back there. how awesome to see the fireworks from your room!

That resort is so lovely and nice. I really hope Skip still wants to go back to Cali next year as a family...of course I am not sure if I want to stay at the Grand or DL hotel...or maybve a split stay?

We really loved it!

We are all about location since we spend so much time in the parks which is why we prefer the GC in DL, Beach Club in WDW and the Hard Rock at US/IoA.

Oooh.... split stay sounds great. We were disappointed we didn't get over to the Disneyland Hotel. We really wanted to try some of the food at the lounge there. We have never been "split/stay people", but last July we did a Hard Rock/Beach Club split and this summer we stayed at 4 different resorts on our 2 week vacation, so I think that may have changed.



The fireworks view was a super treat.

Hello,

I am new to your trip report, and am really enjoying reading along!

My husband and I are headed to the Hilton Waikoloa in October, so I was happy to read your thoughts on the resort. I don't have huge hopes for it. Do you have any recommendations for morning coffee (espresso) or restaurants there? We will be there a week for his work related conference. TIA

and thank you for the kind words.

As you could probably tell from my comments, the Waikoloa was not our favorite resort of our stay, but I will readily admit that a lot probably had to do with our attitudes and exhaustion at that point at the end of the trip. We had trouble going with the flow and it was hard for us to deal with the size issues of the hotel and our fellow guests. Lots of families with young, unruly kids and parents not intervening. Perhaps there will be much less of that in October since kids are in school.

We dined at two places during our stay. Imari, which was an Asian-themed restaurant where you order a la carte dishes to share, was wonderful. Interesting menu, the food was great, the service was stellar. We also ate at Dona & Toni's pizza right before heading to the airport for our return home. The spaghetti and meatballs were really good (HUGE portion), the pizza was pretty bad and the service may have been the worst we have experienced anywhere. We had to ask the hostess for help, and another waiter kicked in to cover for our absentee waitress. We got pastries one morning at the Waikoloa Coffee Company (Lagoon Tower) and the food and coffee were decent. I am pretty sure they had espresso and other coffee offerings, but I just drink my coffee straight and black, so I can't comment on how that is. My son had a smoothie that he liked there.

What are you going to be doing for activities on the Big Island during any down time? A friend recommended visiting the petroglyphs near the resort, and I hear the snorkeling on the island is really spectacular. We didn't have time to check those things out.

Loving the virtual walk through the hotel. Awesome room, gorgeous view and just love the fireworks The pool and loungers look very inviting Always good to see nice short queues for entering the park!
And as for the sunset photos -just WOW !!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

Aren't the colors in the sunset pictures gorgeous? Funny- a running theme during our trip is that Mark refused to look at pictures of sunsets because the colors usually are enhanced through the lens of a camera and don't depict reality. I'll hand over the camera and push the playback button, but he says

"It doesn't look like that!"

Dee
Beautiful Hotel. It is Wilderness Lodge like with a Craftsman style flair. Love it. And nice job on the view upgrade. Wonderful!

Almost WDW time!

Rebecca

It definitely does have a WL vibe (says someone who has never been there)

We were so pleased with the upgrade! We loved the views in that room and the location was great.

SO EXCITED!!! Let me know if there is anything you need me to do. I'll text you once I am on the Magical Express but I will try not to disrupt you with my arrival.

:

 

[jmskinner]

I made it to your TR!!!!

Seeing that you already have your TR planned out and chapters names, yes it is shocking that more things weren't scheduled.

I'm still laughing that there are instructions out there to change a Grandfather clock in the lobby. I'm sure they just want anyone to do that.

Loving all the pics. Too funny that you never used the DSLR. I'm currently trying to upgrade mine, but life keeps getting in the way.

One of my coworkers just returned from DL and loved it, she is a huge WDW fan like us. I have suggested it to my BFF since I can't get the hubby to go near CA. Think I will send her a link to follow your TR. Hey, she started my addiction by sending me my first Disney Parks planning video.

Looking forward to more!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

The GCH reminds me of Wilderness Lodge. What a great view you had even though you didn't get the day bed
My boys also HATE sleeping in the same bed. We try to avoid that as much as possible. I don't know how you were able to stay awake for the fireworks, but it was rewarding!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[itr452]

nice write up, im a first timer going to GCH in September and this has helped alot

Just a note, how much were the jugs of milk, I can't quite make it out from the picture

 

[natebenma]

I made it to your TR!!!!

Seeing that you already have your TR planned out and chapters names, yes it is shocking that more things weren't scheduled.

I'm still laughing that there are instructions out there to change a Grandfather clock in the lobby. I'm sure they just want anyone to do that.

Loving all the pics. Too funny that you never used the DSLR. I'm currently trying to upgrade mine, but life keeps getting in the way.

One of my coworkers just returned from DL and loved it, she is a huge WDW fan like us. I have suggested it to my BFF since I can't get the hubby to go near CA. Think I will send her a link to follow your TR. Hey, she started my addiction by sending me my first Disney Parks planning video.

Looking forward to more!

Melissa!

Maybe I had the illusion if I didn't have much scheduled, it would be a relaxing, go-with-the-flow kind of vacation. Nope! Not us!

It was so weird when the instructions and info about the Grandfather clock came up.

I think I will be taking the DSLR with me to the Beach Club/Disney tomorrow. Maybe this time it will make it out of the case!

We really enjoyed DL, but WDW is still home!

The GCH reminds me of Wilderness Lodge. What a great view you had even though you didn't get the day bed
My boys also HATE sleeping in the same bed. We try to avoid that as much as possible. I don't know how you were able to stay awake for the fireworks, but it was rewarding!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

You can't help but compare the two resorts. I haven't really looked into the ways they are connected- I don't know if both resorts had the same architect or builders, but they must be related in some way.

I think at all of the places we stayed, renting a rollaway cot was an option, but for $25-$35 a night, for 13 nights, we let Nate know he could "Suck it up, Buttercup!"

I did, literally, fall asleep in the chair on the balcony waiting for the fireworks, but I perked right up when they started!

nice write up, im a first timer going to GCH in September and this has helped alot

Just a note, how much were the jugs of milk, I can't quite make it out from the picture

and thank you!

I was able to zoom in on my photo- the milk was $3.29 for a half gallon. And then I could see the price tag on the juice, which was $6.49. I don't remember paying that much, but clearly I did since it was in my photo of the fridge. We got breakfast items/pastries from White Water Snacks the day or night before and kept them in our room for an early pre-park breakfast.

 

[Wood Nymph]

You can't help but compare the two resorts. I haven't really looked into the ways they are connected- I don't know if both resorts had the same architect or builders, but they must be related in some way.

The WL and AKL have the same architect. I don't know about GC. It might be based on the lodges of the national parks. But you should stop over at the WL on Tuesday to check it out. The boat ride over there is only about 12 minutes long, and it is a lovely ride over there. Then you can grab the MK bus for the 5 minute bus ride to the bus depot for your trip back to the BC. Or you can hop on another boat and go to the Contemporary to catch the monorail to Epcot. That boat ride is about five minutes long. There is a reason why we split our trips now between the YC/BC and WL, and it becomes obvious when you're seen the resort.

I think at all of the places we stayed, renting a rollaway cot was an option, but for $25-$35 a night, for 13 nights, we let Nate know he could "Suck it up, Buttercup!"

That was our attitude, too. We have a son and two daughters. The son never complained about the daybed. And the girls never complained about sharing a bed. After all, they were at Disney and that was all that mattered.

 

[emmysmommy]

Ahhhh such a lovely (and convenient) resort! I love the snail lamps at the registration counter. For some reason I always take a photo of those since they are so unique. I suppose you can put me in that light fixtures fixated category as your other pal!

When I first saw the view from your balcony I was thinking "tram stop traffic" but then thought FIREWORKS view! That was the perfect location and the evidence with your photos is awesome!

That was the first hotel that I had seen freshly laundered linens lined up in baskets down the hallways in the morning and laundry baskets in the rooms. Very nice.

I'm looking forward to reading all the details!

BTW, I finally got around to posting about our meet up in my TR.

 

[itr452]

Thank you the milk price I was going to be lugging around milk in my suitcase I guess not I'll just buy from whitewater

Great report and looking forward to more pictures!

 

[MEK]

We noticed that the time was about an hour and twenty minutes off. We could not figure out how to change the time setting on the clock. We even tried googling "Setting clock at Grand Californian Hotel" and we got instructions on setting the time on the Grandfather Clock in the lobby,

Funny! You never KNOW when you might need that particular bit of information!

Leave it to you to photograph every square inch of the property. Just lovely. Your room is really beautiful and the view is phenomenal. Great trade off for the boys having to sleep together. How did THAT go? I remember when my kids where that age and having to do sleeping arrangements.

What an even better bonus to get to see the fireworks! COOL!

Great update Dee!

 

[JanetMom]

Just caught up... The GCH is beautiful, so similar to WL. Your views were amazing, how great to see the fireworks from the comfort of the room.

Normally pictures like the ones from your report would have me longing for a trip to WDW, but not tonight!!

We can talk more about your trip soon!

 

[saintstickets]

I have no idea how I missed the link to this TR in your previous TR but here I am and caught up in one single reading! As usual, a great TR with loads of information for your fellow DISboard readers. Keep it coming Dee!

 

[natebenma]

Brenda and Bill!

Ill be taking a break from this report for a few days while I go play with my beach club friends. At airport. Should be home at the BC by 7 tonight. Kouzzina tonight and again for breakfast on Tuesday.

 

[jenseib]

Brenda and Bill!

Ill be taking a break from this report for a few days while I go play with my beach club friends. At airport. Should be home at the BC by 7 tonight. Kouzzina tonight and again for breakfast on Tuesday.

Dee how long are you staying for? I am heading down Friday night.

 

[natebenma]

Dee how long are you staying for? I am heading down Friday night.

Have a fantastic time!!! Villains Party?

Already home

It was a quick drive-by trip, just for the Beach Club FAQ meet. Arrived Sunday night (Kouzzina), Monday (Stormalong Bay, EPCOT, DISMeet) and Tuesday (MK, SAB). Home by 11 pm Tuesday.

I originally didn't have park tickets and was going to fly out Tuesday morning, but I was given a couple of tickets, so I changed my flight to later in the day.

Had a BLAST!!!

Lots of stories to share.

 

[dadof2boys]

Following along. Thanks for all the detail. I'm loving it!