vascubaguy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
Ok, we arrived at LAX right on time (around noon). We didn't check luggage so we went directly to the SuperShuttle check-in area. Let me just say... it was a chaotic MESS! I mean you have to go across 3 lanes of traffic to get to a curb where the shuttles pickup. There were probably 50-60 people standing there at the Super Shuttle area waiting. The guy with the clipboard was just rude. People were coming up to him to check-in and he would ask where are you going. They would tell them their last name and where they were going and he would just say, "I don't need your name". When a van would pull up, he would just yell out, Anaheim party of 2! Finally one of the drivers got out that was going to the Disneyland area and he asked me where we were going and he got us on his van. Took about 25 minutes. The guy was booking it and we were the third stop to get dropped off at the Carousel Inn. That took about an hour.
Well, we go in to check-in at the Carousel which we were excited about because it was really close to the cross-walk, McDonalds, Mimi's, IHOP, and Denny's! We thought we were set. When I tell them my name at check-in, the guy asks me to hold on and he goes back and gets the Assistant manager. When she came out... I just knew it was bad news. She told me they had overbooked the hotel and didn't have any rooms available. I tried to remain calm and politely mentioned that I booked this room almost 5 months ago and you are telling me NOW that after flying 6 hours across country that I don't have a room!!! Then she told me that they were able to find accommodations for us over at the Anabella Hotel over on Katella Avenue and would be the same rate. Again, I told her I didn't want to stay that far away because we had not planned or budgeted for other ground transportation since we were staying right across the street! She just says she's sorry and will pay for 1 night of our stay and cover a taxi ride over to the other hotel. After a few minutes I finally just said that I guess we have no choice, so we got in a taxi and headed over.
We arrived at the Anabella Hotel which was much larger and nicer looking than the Carousel. When we checked in our room wasn't ready so we checked our luggage with the bell hop and decided to walk over to Disneyland. We used the DCA side entrance to the parking lot, but the trams weren't running so we ended up walking all the way back to Harbour Blvd and around to the Entrance area. That took about 25 minutes.
We finally figured out that we could walk thru Downtown Disney to the Grand Californian and go down Disneyland Drive back to Katella and the Anabella was right there, so that cut it down to about a 15 minute walk.
They were supposed to call us to let us know when the room was ready, but they didn't. So we just stayed at Disney until it closed at 8pm. When we walked back over our room was, of course, ready. Oh, at the Anabella they offer a free breakfast buffet at the Tangariene Grill & Patio. The food was ok... nothing to rave about. Anyway, the room was nice and clean, but took a minute to figure out you had to put the card in the light switch at the door to get the bathroom light and heat/ac to turn on (all the other lights worked without it in). We had 1 queen bed and then a 2nd bedroom that had a daybed with TV. The room had a microfridge but not microwave. The bed was pretty comfy too. (I'd post a pic, but I didn't think to take a picture of the room!).
For those that do stay over at the Anabella or on Katella, whatever you do, DO NOT go eat at a place called Tiffy's!!!! That was the absolute WORST food I have ever had. I wasn't really that hungry but go the fried chicken special. The oil they used must have been days or weeks old. The chicken was just gross (I even tried a bite from 2 different pieces, a leg and a breast). It was overcooked and rubbery... yuk. The fries had that same old oil taste. The broccoli was ok but had no seasoning. The only thing that was decent about the meal was the split pea soup. That soup is also the only part that I ate (other than the 2 bites of the chicken and 2 french fries). The waitress never said a word just came and got the plate full of food and took it away. When she brought the bill I thought that she might have taken it off the bill, but she hadn't. So when she came back I was going to ask that she take it off and only charge me for the soup because the rest of it wasn't edible. We waited about 10 minutes and she didn't come back. So, I figured that if she took the cost of the chicken off the ticket, then added the soup, and then add in the normal 15-20% tip I would leave that it would have been about the same as just paying the total on the bill. So, I paid the bill and didn't include any additional for tip. (I blame this on the Carousel too... because if they hadn't forced us to move, we would have eaten at Mimi's that night!!!!).
I'll do a better "trip report" later, but just another note about the Carousel Inn. On the 2nd day when we got back to our room at the Anabella after spending the day at the parks, we found a Ottis Spunkmire bag with a few cookies and a note from the Asst Manager at the Carousel Inn apologizing again. Although it was a nice gesture, my feet still don't thank them!
Well, we go in to check-in at the Carousel which we were excited about because it was really close to the cross-walk, McDonalds, Mimi's, IHOP, and Denny's! We thought we were set. When I tell them my name at check-in, the guy asks me to hold on and he goes back and gets the Assistant manager. When she came out... I just knew it was bad news. She told me they had overbooked the hotel and didn't have any rooms available. I tried to remain calm and politely mentioned that I booked this room almost 5 months ago and you are telling me NOW that after flying 6 hours across country that I don't have a room!!! Then she told me that they were able to find accommodations for us over at the Anabella Hotel over on Katella Avenue and would be the same rate. Again, I told her I didn't want to stay that far away because we had not planned or budgeted for other ground transportation since we were staying right across the street! She just says she's sorry and will pay for 1 night of our stay and cover a taxi ride over to the other hotel. After a few minutes I finally just said that I guess we have no choice, so we got in a taxi and headed over.
We arrived at the Anabella Hotel which was much larger and nicer looking than the Carousel. When we checked in our room wasn't ready so we checked our luggage with the bell hop and decided to walk over to Disneyland. We used the DCA side entrance to the parking lot, but the trams weren't running so we ended up walking all the way back to Harbour Blvd and around to the Entrance area. That took about 25 minutes.
We finally figured out that we could walk thru Downtown Disney to the Grand Californian and go down Disneyland Drive back to Katella and the Anabella was right there, so that cut it down to about a 15 minute walk.
They were supposed to call us to let us know when the room was ready, but they didn't. So we just stayed at Disney until it closed at 8pm. When we walked back over our room was, of course, ready. Oh, at the Anabella they offer a free breakfast buffet at the Tangariene Grill & Patio. The food was ok... nothing to rave about. Anyway, the room was nice and clean, but took a minute to figure out you had to put the card in the light switch at the door to get the bathroom light and heat/ac to turn on (all the other lights worked without it in). We had 1 queen bed and then a 2nd bedroom that had a daybed with TV. The room had a microfridge but not microwave. The bed was pretty comfy too. (I'd post a pic, but I didn't think to take a picture of the room!).
For those that do stay over at the Anabella or on Katella, whatever you do, DO NOT go eat at a place called Tiffy's!!!! That was the absolute WORST food I have ever had. I wasn't really that hungry but go the fried chicken special. The oil they used must have been days or weeks old. The chicken was just gross (I even tried a bite from 2 different pieces, a leg and a breast). It was overcooked and rubbery... yuk. The fries had that same old oil taste. The broccoli was ok but had no seasoning. The only thing that was decent about the meal was the split pea soup. That soup is also the only part that I ate (other than the 2 bites of the chicken and 2 french fries). The waitress never said a word just came and got the plate full of food and took it away. When she brought the bill I thought that she might have taken it off the bill, but she hadn't. So when she came back I was going to ask that she take it off and only charge me for the soup because the rest of it wasn't edible. We waited about 10 minutes and she didn't come back. So, I figured that if she took the cost of the chicken off the ticket, then added the soup, and then add in the normal 15-20% tip I would leave that it would have been about the same as just paying the total on the bill. So, I paid the bill and didn't include any additional for tip. (I blame this on the Carousel too... because if they hadn't forced us to move, we would have eaten at Mimi's that night!!!!).
I'll do a better "trip report" later, but just another note about the Carousel Inn. On the 2nd day when we got back to our room at the Anabella after spending the day at the parks, we found a Ottis Spunkmire bag with a few cookies and a note from the Asst Manager at the Carousel Inn apologizing again. Although it was a nice gesture, my feet still don't thank them!
