Mini TR for another Boston Road Trip - updated Nov 22

[Raeven]

Anyway...we went there and it was well worth the side trip. Views of cliffs and seals and sea lions so close we could get selfies with them! Did not touch them don't worry but they were just lounging around! and so so adorable!!

It was so pretty! I'm glad you got to see it too!

Driving to Anaheim, we stopped at In N Out because you have to when in the west. Although I still think Shake Shack is way better.

I agree

 

[KathyM2]

San Diego is my absolute FAVE!! So much to do and the weather is nearly perfect 365 days a year. La Jolla is my old hang out on days off from school when growing up. Our "gang" would shop at Seaport Village, beachcomb at La Jolla, etc....

Wow, how cool that you got to go to school there!! I don't know how I would have gotten any schoolwork done though being in such a beautiful place!!

It was so pretty! I'm glad you got to see it too!

I am glad - I didn't realize we'd get a chance, but with it being on the way to Anaheim we just had to stop there!

 

[KathyM2]

Gotta finish this TR before I forget it all! I didn't really take notes, but I'm hoping by going through my pictures I will remember what we did lol

Jumping back to July 8, our first day at Disney in Anaheim...we had just walked to our hotel from DLR for a break. Our feet were killing and it was getting warm. Though I have to say, the temperatures were very pleasant on the days we were there, I think we were super lucky because it was quite tolerable walking around, and mornings we even needed a sweater sometimes!!

We hung out in the hotel for a bit and had showers so we wouldn't have to the next super early morning. Then we headed back out for an evening at DCA. I hadn't been there in forever and my companions had never been, so we didn't really know what to expect for DCA. We walked on over at about 5pm. Unfortunately with the FP max pass system there, you can only book one FP at a time, and you have to be in the park to do it. So by the time we got to DCA, there were no FP's left for the most popular Carsland ride, the Radiator Springs Racers, and also all out for Toy Story Mania but we did manage to get one for Soarin' which was good. Now that I've seen the new WDW version of Soarin', I was trying to remember if this CA version was the same as the old one at Epcot or not. It seemed to me there were more smells involved, but maybe my memory is just failing. In any case, it was great and a good time was had by all. We grabbed some corn dogs for dinner and also tried their cheese sticks which was basically a corn dog but with cheese instead of the hot dog, really yummy.

We walked around and did a few more low key rides and got some pics with Lightening McQueen and a few others. We went on the Monsters Inc ride which was cute and the Zephyr - a lot like astro orbiters, and the swings. After that, we had snagged tickets to the World of Color Dessert party. We saw people starting to line up so we got in line, even though that was kind of the point to not have to wait in line lol! But we did snag prime seats. I was kind of expecting a buffet? But instead they brought out the food on plates so we each got a plate of goodies but there was no going back for anything or substitutions unless you had specified dietary restrictions upfront, which we didn't. The plate had some grapes and crackers and cheese, and then a bunch of desserts. Some were good, some just meh. Nothing spectacular about the food, but the real value here for our tired feet was the SEATS! and the view of course! We LOVED this show. My friend who who was travelling with, Tania, really doesn't like fireworks so she was a bit apprehensive about this, but I was pretty sure this one was a bit more like ROL with not a lot of loud bangs, and I was right. The show was really cool. It was more of a projection show but it was really cool how they did it. I think we all really enjoyed it and it was a nice end to the day!

After the show, we followed the hordes out of the park and strolled back to our hotel. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed just being able to walk out of both parks and a short walk right to our room. I mean, this was even closer than walking from the gates of MK to the Contemporary Resort, and our tired souls at the end of the night really appreciated this. Don't get me wrong, I love WDW, but this is a serious perk of DLR and DCA.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Where did you stay at DL? Andi and I may head there August of 2020.

I haven’t been there since 2002 and Andi has never been. We want to change things up next summer and skip WDW.

I would love to stay somewhere within walking distance like you did!

 

[KathyM2]

Where did you stay at DL? Andi and I may head there August of 2020.

We stayed at the Best Western Park Place Inn and Suites. It was your standard motel type construction, but clean and friendly, and free breakfast. It was across the street from a walkway that leads to the plaza where the entrance to both DLR and DCA is - less than a 10 minute walk. I'd say it is even closer than walking to the entrance to the Disneyland Hotel. And of course you can also walk to Downtown Disney. I'd highly recommend it.

 

[pkondz]

Our feet were killing and it was getting warm.

Your feet were killing? Was it getting warm because you were standing in a pool of the blood of your victims?



Who are you???????????????

the temperatures were very pleasant on the days we were there,

Nice.

Unfortunately with the FP max pass system there, you can only book one FP at a time, and you have to be in the park to do it.

makes pre-planning a tad.... problematic.

So by the time we got to DCA, there were no FP's left for the most popular Carsland ride, the Radiator Springs Racers, and also all out for Toy Story Mania

That's too bad.

Now that I've seen the new WDW version of Soarin', I was trying to remember if this CA version was the same as the old one at Epcot or not. It seemed to me there were more smells involved, but maybe my memory is just failing.

interesting. I don't remember either.

But we did snag prime seats.

Good.

I was kind of expecting a buffet? But instead they brought out the food on plates so we each got a plate of goodies but there was no going back for anything

Really! Huh. I would've thought all the dessert parties would be buffet.

We LOVED this show.

It's quite good, isn't it.

 

[KathyM2]

makes pre-planning a tad.... problematic.

Yes, it was a big change for sure and took some getting used to, but I actually found it made for a more relaxing vacation, just being a bit more spontaneous after each FP is used being like "OK now what?" instead of like "what's next on the agenda?"

Really! Huh. I would've thought all the dessert parties would be buffet.

Yeah a buffet would have been better, but I guess we ate enough anyway lol

 

[KathyM2]

So I think I left off at Day 2 at Disney in CA....

Because I had discovered in my pre-planning, as much as one can pre-plan at the CA parks, that July 9 was EMH at the DLR park, we decided to use the strategy that I had found usually works in WDW for NOT going to the EMH park if you don't have access to EMH...so we headed over to DCA to finish up anything we had missed the night before. We got up way too early once again, and headed in to DCA. The crowds were not too bad and before 8am we were headed in and following the swarm towards Toy Story Mania which we had missed the day before. While walking, we were able to snag FP's for Radiator Springs racers. We got to TSMM and got in three rides before my companions had enough and wanted to head elsewhere. I could have stayed on for a few more rounds, but oh well. I just love this ride, more than Buzz, I find the shooting method so much easier and my hand doesn't get sore lol. I am by no means good at either game, but I bet my friend and daughter so that's all that matters, right? lol.

After our fill of that, we took a few turns on the swings which we all love, and the Zephyr, and then we headed over to Carsland for Radiator Springs Racers. Once again, I'm ashamed to admit, I chickened out . I have been on TT but not for years, and I was feeling a little queasy already that day, I'm not entirely sure why, so I decided to sit it out. But I could see from the queue that this ride was amazingly themed, and I kind of regretted not going, but what can you do. By the time my daughter and friend got off the ride, the line was ridiculous and there were no more FP's to be had. Que sera. I had wanted to do animation academy when it was at WDW but missed it and it was still at DCA, so I decided to hit that. My DD and friend weren't interested so they went to go try to ride single rider on something crazy like the Pluto coaster or some such lol.

We wandered around Carsland some more. We were going to go on Luigi's Rockin' Roadsters, but it was getting hot and much of this queue is out in the sun. We waited a bit but the line moves super slowly so we ended up cutting out of line and doing some more PP pics and other meanderings before heading out and hopping over to DLR for some more fun.

My DD and friend wanted to try to get on Hyperspace Mountain again, and as you know, I'm a big chicken so that wasn't happening for me lol. While they were doing that, I wandered in to Launch bay and found a whole lot of awesome with Darth Vader and Chewie taking pictures. I got in line for that and by the time my friends were done on Space they came in and joined me. We took our pics and then headed over to Nemo's submarine voyage. I really wanted to go on this because waaaay back at WDW I used to love 20000 leagues under the sea so I just had to do this one. The line said 20 mins...but it felt much longer. This line was SLOW. Interestingly at DCA and DLR, I didn't see any of those red cards being handed out. My DD said she saw one once, but it doesn't seem to be as frequent a practice to measure ride wait times here as at WDW. I don't know if I'm right or not, but to me it seemed like the posted wait times were less accurate at DLR and DCA than at WDW, and I don't know if that's the reason...but there you have it.

We finally got into our sub...and it kinda smelled like diapers. But I loved this ride. If the wait time wasn't long I'd have wanted to go again, and I checked times throughout both days and this ride always had a significant wait, so sadly we never got to repeat that. We found Minnie out taking some pics so we had to do that too. After a day and a half of touring we were starting to get tired and decided an afternoon break was in order. If our hotel hadn't been so close, we may not have done this, but we were glad that it was. We showered and lay down and hung out a bit in the room. We weren't sure what to do about dinner, so we decided to see what dining reservations we might be able to get. We didn't plan anything in advance because we weren't sure if we would feel like TS meals or not, but by this point, we were pretty tired and decided a nice sit down meal would be the perfect thing. We settled on Wine Country Trattoria in DCA. It had a menu with something for everyone and a nice outdoor patio to sit at.

After our break we headed back to DCA to see if there was anything we wanted to do before dinner there. We got pictures with Sully which was fun, and then walked around a bit because we wanted to see Carsland at night. This was really cool. We just loved the way it was all lit up. We had a lovely dinner at Wine Country. The bread was amazing, drinks were amazing!! We had salads and pasta which were just perfect! We sat there for quite a while as we didn't feel like doing much more walking!

After dinner we strolled back over to DLR - I just loved how easy that was, so we could see that at night too. We took another spin on Pirates and HM, and my daughter got in one more ride on Space, and then we called it a a night. It was a packed two Disney days, but so much fun! I really want to go back now and wish the CA parks weren't so far away!!!

 

[Raeven]

I am glad - I didn't realize we'd get a chance, but with it being on the way to Anaheim we just had to stop there!

I wasn't sure we'd get the chance either with our flight being pushed up a day and some plans being cut but I'm glad we did! We did the same thing and headed over on the way to Anaheim.

Unfortunately with the FP max pass system there, you can only book one FP at a time, and you have to be in the park to do it.

I also didn't like the Maxpass system. A lot of people seem to prefer it, but it was harder to get Fp's for what we wanted, and I didn't like the one at a time thing.

I just love this ride, more than Buzz, I find the shooting method so much easier and my hand doesn't get sore lol. I

Same lol

After our fill of that, we took a few turns on the swings which we all love, and the Zephyr, and then we headed over to Carsland for Radiator Springs Racers. Once again, I'm ashamed to admit, I chickened out

As someone who has chickened out of relatively tame rides and gets sick too, RSR was fine for me, and I think you'd be okay if you tried it next time!

My DD said she saw one once, but it doesn't seem to be as frequent a practice to measure ride wait times here as at WDW.

I got one in DL! I've actually only gotten one ever in WDW too so I'm not sure if that's it.

 

[pkondz]

Yes, it was a big change for sure and took some getting used to, but I actually found it made for a more relaxing vacation, just being a bit more spontaneous after each FP is used being like "OK now what?" instead of like "what's next on the agenda?"

Yeah, I can see that. I felt like that over at Universal. You just... go.

July 9 was EMH at the DLR park, we decided to use the strategy that I had found usually works in WDW for NOT going to the EMH park if you don't have access to EMH..

And do you feel it made a difference?

While walking, we were able to snag FP's for Radiator Springs racers.

Nice!

We got to TSMM and got in three rides before my companions had enough and wanted to head elsewhere. I could have stayed on for a few more rounds, but oh well.

I'm worn out after two. My arm gets too sore!

I just love this ride, more than Buzz, I find the shooting method so much easier and my hand doesn't get sore lol.

I am by no means good at either game, but I bet my friend and daughter so that's all that matters, right?

That's all that matters.

we headed over to Carsland for Radiator Springs Racers. Once again, I'm ashamed to admit, I chickened out .

Oh, that's too bad. It's such a fun ride.

While they were doing that, I wandered in to Launch bay and found a whole lot of awesome with Darth Vader and Chewie taking pictures.

Well, that's pretty cool, though!

We took our pics and then headed over to Nemo's submarine voyage. I really wanted to go on this because waaaay back at WDW I used to love 20000 leagues under the sea so I just had to do this one.

Yes! That was exactly me! I wanted to ride Nemo for that reason. I miss 20,000 Leagues.

We finally got into our sub...and it kinda smelled like diapers.

Well that's the sh*ts...

We settled on Wine Country Trattoria in DCA. It had a menu with something for everyone and a nice outdoor patio to sit at.

Glad you enjoyed it so much.

we wanted to see Carsland at night. This was really cool. We just loved the way it was all lit up.

It's really pretty, isn't it?

It was a packed two Disney days, but so much fun!

Good!

I really want to go back now and wish the CA parks weren't so far away!!!

Yeah... they need to build a Disney by my house. I've offered a bit of my backyard, but so far, no response.

 

[KathyM2]

I also didn't like the Maxpass system. A lot of people seem to prefer it, but it was harder to get Fp's for what we wanted, and I didn't like the one at a time thing.

I don't think it's the "one at a time" thing that bugged me as much as the fact that they just didn't offer FP's for some really popular rides where wait times were ridiculous (I'm looking at you Nemo subs and Peter Pan...***? Peter Pan is always busy!)

As someone who has chickened out of relatively tame rides and gets sick too, RSR was fine for me, and I think you'd be okay if you tried it next time!

Yes that I regretted a bit as the theming was just so cool and immersive.

And do you feel it made a difference?

I do, DLR with EMH that day was extra busy, so getting there at actual park opening without EMH would be stupid because lines would already be long. With going to DCA that day, we got to hit rope drop and at least have an hour or so of lower wait times.

Yes! That was exactly me! I wanted to ride Nemo for that reason. I miss 20,000 Leagues.

Same. I guess today's kids don't get it as much though lol But still they could have re-themed the ride and still had subs at WDW...oh well...

 

[pkondz]

I do, DLR with EMH that day was extra busy, so getting there at actual park opening without EMH would be stupid because lines would already be long. With going to DCA that day, we got to hit rope drop and at least have an hour or so of lower wait times.

Ah! Glad it worked out for you.

Same. I guess today's kids don't get it as much though lol But still they could have re-themed the ride and still had subs at WDW...oh well...

Re-do the movie.
It was one of the first movies I ever saw.

 

[KathyM2]

Re-do the movie.
It was one of the first movies I ever saw.

That is a seriously brilliant idea! It's not like Disney isn't remaking every other animated movie ever made, so why not that one lol I like the way you think.

 

[Raeven]

I don't think it's the "one at a time" thing that bugged me as much as the fact that they just didn't offer FP's for some really popular rides where wait times were ridiculous (I'm looking at you Nemo subs and Peter Pan...***? Peter Pan is always busy!)

That was definitely annoying too. My problem with the "one at a time" was if you saw one you wanted more you had to go in and cancel before you could make it, and then sometimes when you backed out it was gone and then you were left with nothing at all.

 

[pkondz]

That is a seriously brilliant idea! It's not like Disney isn't remaking every other animated movie ever made, so why not that one lol I like the way you think.

I am a gifted genius.


Just ask my mom.

 

[Steppesister]

World of Color Dessert party. We saw people starting to line up so we got in line, even though that was kind of the point to not have to wait in line lol! But we did snag prime seats. I was kind of expecting a buffet? But instead they brought out the food on plates so we each got a plate of goodies but there was no going back for anything or substitutions unless you had specified dietary restrictions upfront, which we didn't. The plate had some grapes and crackers and cheese, and then a bunch of desserts. Some were good, some just meh.

HUH. That doesn't seem nearly as nice as what they do at WDW.

The show was really cool. It was more of a projection show but it was really cool how they did it.

I adore this show! WAY better than ROL.

Don't get me wrong, I love WDW, but this is a serious perk of DLR and DCA.

Yes, for sure!

But I could see from the queue that this ride was amazingly themed,

It is. I think one of the best themed queues of any park. Loads of amazing detailing for sure!

I had wanted to do animation academy when it was at WDW but missed it and it was still at DCA

I really miss that and am super excited to try the new thing they have over at Conservation Station.

We finally got into our sub...and it kinda smelled like diapers.

EW, but isn't this ride great?

we wanted to see Carsland at night. This was really cool. We just loved the way it was all lit up.

I still want to see that. I've missed it during both of my last visits. Maybe in Sept!

 

[KathyM2]

EW, but isn't this ride great?

It was indeed. I really liked the way they made it seem like the sub was going deep down. I definitely would have wanted a re-ride had the wait not been so ridiculous and hot.

I still want to see that. I've missed it during both of my last visits. Maybe in Sept!

Yeah, for sure worth it to see it all lit up. I especially loved Flo's.

 

[KathyM2]

So now we are entering the non-Disney portion of my CA trip TR...if anyone is still here.....so I will make it a bit less detailed, but I really loved CA so I won't skimp too much just in case anyone is reading.

I had researched all sorts of ways to get us from Anaheim to LA, since we had dropped off our rental car when we arrived in Anaheim since we wouldn't need it at Disney. If you've been reading you may know that I really am not a fan of driving, not even at home when I know the roads, so I wasn't that keen on the idea of driving into LA. I knew we'd need a car for some, if not all of our stay there since, it's LA and I'm not an idiot...but I was hoping to at least avoid the stress of having to find our hotel from the get-go.

After some searching I found that the most reasonable option for the three of us and our luggage, to get from our hotel in Anaheim to our hotel in West Hollywood, was via Super Shuttle. I had never used this service before, and I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into, but I gave it a shot. You enter your info and where you want to go and when. Then, depending on if there is anyone else wanting the same trip at the same time, you can be put in the same van type thing with others, or end up with a private car, you don't know until the day. So we waited in our hotel lobby until a minivan showed up and the driver said he was from Super Shuttle, and told us to hop in!! Turns out we got our own driver and minivan to drive us door to door! Perfect! The driver was a nice enough guy, not very talkative but did the job and got us to LA safely and in good time. Luckily we had timed it to not arrive during the worst of rush hour, even though traffic is always bad, it wasn't terrible. We arrived at our hotel around 2pm but unfortunately our room was not yet available for check-in.

We decided to go out for a walk to explore the area and find some food. We found a Trader Joe's nearby - man they are everywhere in CA! and picked up some snacks. Then we found a new to us place called Tendergreens which we loved. It's not cheap, but it's a reasonably healthy quick service type place with a lot of salads and sandwiches and the like. I got some chicken with a side of salad and rice and it was delish and I felt good about it after eating Disney for a few days! We wandered back to our hotel after that and alas, our room was ready, so we hauled our bags up there and got settled in.

A little later we had booked a little Hollywood open top bus tour to get us oriented a bit more. LA is huge but this tour was a nice 2 hr introduction that at least took us up into the Hollywood Hills and showed us where the other half live. We were a bit early for the tour, so we wandered down Hollywood Blvd. to see some of the walk of fame and of course the Chinese Theatre. Man it was hot. This was the hottest weather since we had arrived in CA and we realized how crazy lucky we had been to have had cooler weather at Disney. I wish I could share the miserable looking pic I got of my daughter who didn't really care that we were on Hollywood Blvd because she just wanted to go in an air conditioned room.

We did a quick walk and then went back to the tour start where we boarded our bus. Luckily it was cooler once we were moving.They pointed out some celebrity homes and of course THE SIGN. We enjoyed the tour, but it may have been a bit overly ambitious to do that right after arriving! We were pretty wiped out after the tour. We decided to grab a bite at a diner and then we grabbed an uber back to our hotel and called it a day!

 

[pkondz]

So now we are entering the non-Disney portion of my CA trip TR...if anyone is still here.....

just in case anyone is reading.

It may take me a day or three to get to any particular TR, but I'm still here.

I had researched all sorts of ways to get us from Anaheim to LA,

This always strikes me. Anaheim to LA... or Long Beach to LA... To me they're all part of LA.

I really am not a fan of driving,

Me neither.
Oh! Wait! Yes I am! I may have done a road trip in my life. Or two... dozen... or more...

I knew we'd need a car for some, if not all of our stay there since, it's LA and I'm not an idiot...

No. You're not.

you can be put in the same van type thing with others, or end up with a private car, you don't know until the day.

Interesting concept. Kinda like a cross between a shuttle, an Uber and a cab.

Turns out we got our own driver and minivan to drive us door to door! Perfect!

Nice!

Tendergreens which we loved. It's not cheap, but it's a reasonably healthy quick service type place with a lot of salads

With a name like "Tendergreens", I expected nothing less.

we had booked a little Hollywood open top bus tour

I very seriously contemplated doing that... both times we were there.

I wish I could share the miserable looking pic I got of my daughter who didn't really care that we were on Hollywood Blvd because she just wanted to go in an air conditioned room.

Is it on your computer? If so I'd be happy to walk you through posting it.

 

[KathyM2]

Is it on your computer? If so I'd be happy to walk you through posting it.

Yes it is indeed on my computer!! I am so fed up with photobucket and those types of shenanigans...is there an easy way?