Mom of three
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 7, 2008
We were there from the 22-26th, stayed at HOJO's. 
We were very impressed with the hotel. After staying at DLR and PPH, we thought the walk from HOJOs was about the same, if not quicker than when we stayed on site. Everyone was very courteous and the hotel was exceptionally nice for the entertainment rate of $59/night!
Weather was okay. Sunny, warm, breezy. Not too hot but we managed to wear light jackets almost the entire time.
Crowds were good compared to our last trip this past October. Managed to walk on several of the attractions, Indy and Space Mountain were the worst but that was expected. We didnt even get a chance to hit Toy Story Mania due to time restraints and a 40+ min. wait time.
Didnt utilize FP very much at all, didnt feel the need to. However it was odd that after we had walked on to rides, the line seemed to grow on our way out, almost as if we had planned it perfectly avoiding the crowds.
Goofys kitchen was a blast, as usual. For some reason or another they thought we were celebrating a birthday and brought out a cupcake. We informed them there was a mistake and the CM still insisted we take it and sang Happy Birthday to dd, even though her birthday isnt until August.
That was unexpected, but fun.
VERY disappointed in Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen, food was excellent but the service lacked SEVERELY. So much we complained twice. To top it off, after we complained our server was overly nice and kept giving us dirty looks which made it even more awkward.
Had a couple line cutting incidents where we were being equally obnoxios and immature, conveniently resting our arms on the rail/rope trying to prevent them in getting by. This only worked for so long.
LOVED LOVED LOVED Disney Vault....in DTD!!
Tried pin trading for the first time, dd 11 wanted to purchase one and spent a great deal of time finding the perfect pin. Once she found it, she brought it to me to show me what she had decided on. I immediatly told her, "NO" and told her to choose a different one. Reason being is that she had opted for a rainbow Mickey head.
I delicately explained to her and she understood completely.
Bengal BBQ was delish! LOVED the jalepeno cheeze filled pretzels!! That accompanied with a banyan beef skewer was the perfect snack!
We did get lost from Long Beach airport to the hotel....ended up in COMPTON!! Evidently we got on the right freeway going the WRONG direction. Thought we would just get off and then try to get back on....umm no...didnt work out like that. That was the most stressful situation and the only thing that saved us was my Blackberry with the Google Maps application. 
Aside from that, everything went well. Glad to be home, looking forward to next time although I think it will be a few years before we go again. This is our third trip in 3 years. Im about Disney'd out.
DH stayed home with our 2 year old so the next time we go, we may just take the little guy and leave the older girls at home.
We were very impressed with the hotel. After staying at DLR and PPH, we thought the walk from HOJOs was about the same, if not quicker than when we stayed on site. Everyone was very courteous and the hotel was exceptionally nice for the entertainment rate of $59/night!
Weather was okay. Sunny, warm, breezy. Not too hot but we managed to wear light jackets almost the entire time.
Crowds were good compared to our last trip this past October. Managed to walk on several of the attractions, Indy and Space Mountain were the worst but that was expected. We didnt even get a chance to hit Toy Story Mania due to time restraints and a 40+ min. wait time.
Didnt utilize FP very much at all, didnt feel the need to. However it was odd that after we had walked on to rides, the line seemed to grow on our way out, almost as if we had planned it perfectly avoiding the crowds.Goofys kitchen was a blast, as usual. For some reason or another they thought we were celebrating a birthday and brought out a cupcake. We informed them there was a mistake and the CM still insisted we take it and sang Happy Birthday to dd, even though her birthday isnt until August.
That was unexpected, but fun.VERY disappointed in Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen, food was excellent but the service lacked SEVERELY. So much we complained twice. To top it off, after we complained our server was overly nice and kept giving us dirty looks which made it even more awkward.
Had a couple line cutting incidents where we were being equally obnoxios and immature, conveniently resting our arms on the rail/rope trying to prevent them in getting by. This only worked for so long.
LOVED LOVED LOVED Disney Vault....in DTD!!
Tried pin trading for the first time, dd 11 wanted to purchase one and spent a great deal of time finding the perfect pin. Once she found it, she brought it to me to show me what she had decided on. I immediatly told her, "NO" and told her to choose a different one. Reason being is that she had opted for a rainbow Mickey head.
I delicately explained to her and she understood completely.Bengal BBQ was delish! LOVED the jalepeno cheeze filled pretzels!! That accompanied with a banyan beef skewer was the perfect snack!
We did get lost from Long Beach airport to the hotel....ended up in COMPTON!! Evidently we got on the right freeway going the WRONG direction. Thought we would just get off and then try to get back on....umm no...didnt work out like that.
That was the most stressful situation and the only thing that saved us was my Blackberry with the Google Maps application. Aside from that, everything went well. Glad to be home, looking forward to next time although I think it will be a few years before we go again. This is our third trip in 3 years. Im about Disney'd out.
DH stayed home with our 2 year old so the next time we go, we may just take the little guy and leave the older girls at home. 
