Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life for We Halloween *2012* PTR has begun!

[Sherry E]

Drat! I wish I could hurry up and get all my darn photos to load on Photobucket so I can show you! The reason I say this is because I have some photos from the PPH - and this is a tidbit I haven't revealed yet because I hadn't officially begun my TR, but I was upgraded for free at PPH from the standard room I reserved to a DCA park view room. I LOVED it!! I could see World of Color every night from my room! I was amazed at how good the view is. I am telling you this because I have a hunch that the rooms available at PPH right now (which you mentioned) are probably in the same general area where I was - I had an awesome DCA view, with just a bit of construction. Really, the construction in the view did not detract from the whole scene...which you will see when I can start posting photos. I took day and night photos from my PPH room. So if the room you could have at PPH is one of the ones I had - with just a bit of construction but a great view nonetheless - I would say to grab it!! I saw much more construction going on at DLH than what could be visible in my PPH view room!

 

[mvf-m11c]

You will be fine when you have your DL trip next week at the DLH. You and your family will have a magical time at the DLR and don't think about those things.

Have a great trip.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I have read so many horror stories from people who have stayed in the Wonder tower in the last few weeks that it is killing me. It isn't like the construction was unknown to me until now. When we originally started planning I didn't know but I have known for quite some time but it is just people that have stayed there the last couple of weeks that are upsetting me.
I have read everything from annoying to downright dangerous.

As a longtime lover of all things Disney with the rose colored glasses that entails I just assumed that construction would be blocked from affecting guests as much as possible just like they do inside the parks. Figured if we were up high we might see it but boards around the swimming pool due to the removal of the slides just sounds so UN magical to me.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Drat! I wish I could hurry up and get all my darn photos to load on Photobucket so I can show you! The reason I say this is because I have some photos from the PPH - and this is a tidbit I haven't revealed yet because I hadn't officially begun my TR, but I was upgraded for free at PPH from the standard room I reserved to a DCA park view room. I LOVED it!! I could see World of Color every night from my room! I was amazed at how good the view is. I am telling you this because I have a hunch that the rooms available at PPH right now (which you mentioned) are probably in the same general area where I was - I had an awesome DCA view, with just a bit of construction. Really, the construction in the view did not detract from the whole scene...which you will see when I can start posting photos. I took day and night photos from my PPH room. So if the room you could have at PPH is one of the ones I had - with just a bit of construction but a great view nonetheless - I would say to grab it!! I saw much more construction going on at DLH than what could be visible in my PPH view room!

Sherry- If there was any way I could have found another $100 I would have booked the PPH even with the construction view...part of the reason I called WDTC in the first place was because of your reviews of the PPH (minus the poopy water trip) figuring I could move there without any additional money, This trip is budgeted down to what penny machines my son REALLY wants to do, There is simply nowhere else to cut without cutting something that my son is really looking forward to like Goofy's breakfast. Thus the only two options I have is stay at DLH or move off site.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

WOC?

sry never been to the land just the world

WOC is the new world of color show in Disneys Caifornia Adventure

 

[Sherry E]

I have read so many horror stories from people who have stayed in the Wonder tower in the last few weeks that it is killing me. It isn't like the construction was unknown to me until now. When we originally started planning I didn't know but I have known for quite some time but it is just people that have stayed there the last couple of weeks that are upsetting me.
I have read everything from annoying to downright dangerous.

As a longtime lover of all things Disney with the rose colored glasses that entails I just assumed that construction would be blocked from affecting guests as much as possible just like they do inside the parks. Figured if we were up high we might see it but boards around the swimming pool due to the removal of the slides just sounds so UN magical to me.

I must get my DLH photos up too (I was all over the PPH, the GCH and the DLH on this last trip)! I passed much of the construction at the DLH. Yes, the one tower is heavily under construction. And there are big walls up around where the waterfalls used to be, sadly. I will miss those waterfalls and koi fish.

 

[skiingfast]

I wouldn't have so much concern about the hotel construction. For the vast majority of the time you are awake you will be in the parks and it won't even be in your view or on your mind.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I wouldn't have so much concern about the hotel construction. For the vast majority of the time you are awake you will be in the parks and it won't even be in your view or on your mind.

That is true morning til night thats me LOL Feeling much better this morning..the post that set me off yesterday (not here on DIS) was one where the poster had to actually lift her child over construction debris left right outside (and directly in the path of) the doors of the wonder tower to get to Disneyland that is ridiculous for the kind of money it costs to stay there not to mention dangerous. I do not want to give up one minute of our MMs or the mickey ears bath stuff or TTMM or any of the other perks of staying onsite. We are staying with the trip as planned. As with all the other things crowds, weather, etc the construction will just be another thing that has no power to ruin anything at DLR for us. HOWEVER that being said if I have to lift my DS6 over any debris to get to DL they better offer some magic perks to make up for it LOL

 

[Sherry E]

That is true morning til night thats me LOL Feeling much better this morning..the post that set me off yesterday (not here on DIS) was one where the poster had to actually lift her child over construction debris left right outside (and directly in the path of) the doors of the wonder tower to get to Disneyland that is ridiculous for the kind of money it costs to stay there not to mention dangerous. I do not want to give up one minute of our MMs or the mickey ears bath stuff or TTMM or any of the other perks of staying onsite. We are staying with the trip as planned. As with all the other things crowds, weather, etc the construction will just be another thing that has no power to ruin anything at DLR for us. HOWEVER that being said if I have to lift my DS6 over any debris to get to DL they better offer some magic perks to make up for it LOL

I wouldn't worry about debris and construction. Sometimes people exaggerate in what they post on message boards, and I think one person's exaggeration or frustration may have planted a seed of worry in your head. You can't get into Disneyland directly from the Disneyland Hotel, anyway. You have to walk the length of Downtown Disney or take the monorail from Downtown Disney to get into the park. And there is no construction happening in Downtown. So the only construction this person whose post you read would have encountered was specifically on the DLH premises (unless we are talking about what is happening in California Adventure). It's very easy to get to Downtown Disney.

I walked all around the DLH last week - and I mean, I was in and around every single one of the towers, looking for trees and wreaths - and I saw all of the construction going on, but there are clear paths and signs you are supposed to follow to get in and out of the tower. Maybe one of the construction workers had to temporarily put supplies or something in the path that this woman had to take. Otherwise, there is no reason anyone should have been lifting their child over debris - and, of course, Disney wants to make sure their guests are safe, and that doesn't sound safe. I saw nothing that would have been a concern, other than being an eyesore. Don't go on the trip with the attitude like 'This is going to be a disaster; they better give me perks if it is.' That starts you off on a bad foot.

Just get there and let the magic of the Christmas season envelop you!

What day are you leaving? If I can get the DLH portion of my photos posted in time, you will see that there is still plenty to enjoy at the DLH.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Don't go on the trip with the attitude like 'This is going to be a disaster; they better give me perks if it is.' That starts you off on a bad foot.

Not really my attitude was trying to be funny guess it didn't come off that way.

We leave at 5am Christmas Day and arrive in Anaheim at 245pm same day. Hope at least some of your pics get up before then but I will have the laptop with me in case I have any energy left at the end of the day or need something to do while Colton naps in the afternoon.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

We just looked at the pics of Goofy's ballroom and we are sticking with our reservation there even though only review we have read so far wasn't favorable. Figure if a bunch of people cancel we will just have more character time. We will take loads of pics for those who will have this experience after us.

Laundry is driving us crazy (the reason there is so much is because all the clothes we will want for Calif winter were already stored for the Montana winter and smell stored) packing is not so bad starting to come together.

Our desktop suitcase says 3 days 13 hours and 23 minutes until we get in the car and start our adventure, For some reason when it hit 3 days Colton (DS6) got way more excited I guess that is the magic number that makes it seem close when you are 6.

All around the pre trip stuff is going well despite my melt down earlier this week.

Thanks to funball we are having a great time with our maps (Don't you think they should include these when they mail you your package?) Planning our days.

So short-timer countdown not much more time to wait but the days seem to get longer & longer.

Went out about 11 am to get some last minute stuff for the trip and some stocking stuffers it was -2 degrees cannot wait for some CA sun or even some CA rain LOL

Stay tuned

 

[TheColtonsMom]

How often do you frequent DISers see the Toy Story Green Army men out and about? Suddenly a pic with these guys is on Colton's must list. We will check in with guest services when we get there but just wanted to gauge our chances of finding them.

 

[kaoden39]

I think that the laundry and all of the little things that we have left to do before the trip are always the things that keep me sane while I am waiting.

I love that your DS is excited now that it is 3 days. Kids are so funny.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Well we ended up changing hotels and not due to the construction well not directly the actual construction but the fact that due to the construction all laundry facilities at DLH are closed. Guests of the DLH are "welcomed" to do their laundry at the facilities at the PPH. I just could not see me hauling a bag of laundry across the resort and back.

So being that the trip is so close and it is the busiest week of the year our choices for changes without a jump in the $ were limited.

We are now staying in a suite at the Anabella Hotel which does not get much talk here on the DIS but what I did find were all positive reviews so we decided to go for it.

There was a huge difference in the price so in order to not have to pay the $50 change fee we bought a 5 day dining plan (yes we only have 4 day park hoppers but I will explain in a minute) and the $30 change left after buying that was put into additional food vouchers so when we go over our dining plan amount (the BB for example) we can use these for the difference. Next post the dining changes.

 

[kaoden39]

Honestly I don't blame you. One thing nice about staying away from the parks is that you get away from the action and are therefor able to relax a little more after the park. In December 2005 we stayed at the DLH and we had a view of DTD. Now the view was wonderful because we could see the fireworks from the room, but at night we could here the outdoor bands playing. So at night we would go to sleep hearing the noises of DTD.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

So 5 day dining package with a 4 day park hopper..The dining plan does not include DTD but does include all 3 hotels so we will go have lunch/a snack at Whitewater snacks when we get in and then we cancelled our reservation for a Chinese dinner on Christmas Day and are going to have Christmas Dinner at Goofy's instead of the breakfast we had originally planned.

So now with the dining plan paying for our meals instead of the money we had set aside for eating (yea more souvineers!) We have changed almost all of our plans for food in order to make the most out of the dining plan. We want to use every penny. Now the point about using all of each voucher, you do not get change if you do not use all the money on the voucher. However WDTC confirms you can use any change in amount of your choosing to tip your waitstaff. So although tax & tip are included in the bill you can reward your server (if warranted) with additional tip for example if you had $10 left on your voucher you could choose to give it all to your server as a tip or $5 tip and the remaining money lost to WDTC or all lost if you so choose but you have to designate it as an additional tip when you pay for your meal or they won't get it. So hopefully we will have wonderful CMs and every one of them will get an extra tip to help out with all those after holiday bills.

Now here is what you actually get in the 5 day dining plan per person

1 premium dining choice (the only 2 premium dining choices are Goofy's & Ariels)

4 resort dining options (all other character meals, most of the sit down restaurants)

5 meal vouchers in the amount of $15 per adult and $10 per child (can be used at any sit down or counter service restaurant in the park)

5 snack vouchers (can be used at any snack cart like churros, ice cream,popcorn as well as being used toward things like the snacks at pooh corner that may end up having additional $ due depending on what you buy)

The 4 day plan has 1 premium, 3 resort,4 meal vouchers and 4 snacks if anyone wanted that info.

So in order to get the most "bang for our buck" on the meal plan we had to change where/how we were going to eat. Our original plan was Goofy's and BB as our splurges, breakfast from our fridge before the park and mostly counter service beyond that. Well heres the new plan.

25th snack/ light lunch Whitewater snacks
dinner at Goofy's Ballroom(None of us have the desire to do the princess thing at Ariels so regardless of his location we are going with Goofy)

26th 1st park day and MM

Character breakfast at Plaza Inn
Lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace (will use the 30% off if necessary but if not I will pass it on to someone that didn't know about it)
Dinner at Carnation (couldn't get a lunch PS does anyone know if the Baked Potato soup is on the dinner menu?)

27th DL

River Belle for breakfast
Troubador for lunch ( an old favorite we never miss)
and Dinner by the water at Blue Bayou

28th DCA

Character breakfast at Storytellers
Our lost chinese fix for lunch at
Taste Pilots for dinner (any "leftover" voucher $ at this meal will be used to buy those little snack boxes with the string cheese & crackers & yogurt etc to take over to DL for the 1015 Fantasmic show)

29th DL

Character breakfast at PCH Grill
Hungry Bear for lunch(30% off coupon in hand to use or give)
Cafe Orleans for dinner (have to get that little statue)

So as you can see we will be attending EVERY Character meal except Ariel's
so I promise reviews, lots of pics and comparision of all of them. This is something we would never have been able to do if we hadn't switched hotels and a little something "extra" to make Colton's first trip to DLR extra special.

On the downside it appears 13 miles a day walking around DLR will not be enough to keep us from coming home with a few extra pounds on board as we now have a ridiculous number of choices and less of a be careful what we spend atttude all around. For example I have never eaten at BB so for the experience we were planning on just having dessert by the water now it may be the surf & turf.

 

[kaoden39]

What about riding the transit bus that goes to the hotels. You can get a five day pass for everybody and it really cuts down on the walking and most hotels have a stop at their hotels?

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Funny you should mention it because though I forgot about mentioning it the 5 day ART pass was also something I ordered with the "extra" money we had due to the change. Probably won't use it every time but it will be nice when the feet are tired.

 

[kaoden39]

Funny you should mention it because though I forgot about mentioning it the 5 day ART pass was also something I ordered with the "extra" money we had due to the change. Probably won't use it every time but it will be nice when the feet are tired.

We used it once when we were there in June. You know it isn't bad at all.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well we ended up changing hotels and not due to the construction well not directly the actual construction but the fact that due to the construction all laundry facilities at DLH are closed. Guests of the DLH are "welcomed" to do their laundry at the facilities at the PPH. I just could not see me hauling a bag of laundry across the resort and back.

Back in '07 the PPH didn't have a laundry room. PPH guests got to take their clothes over to the DLH laundry room. It can be done. And because hubby worried about me going over there at night (only time we had for laundry), he did the laundry.


I've stayed at the Anabella. I liked it! The walk is weird. You want to go towards PPH, then walk on through the Grand. It adds more walking, but it makes for a nice start to the day (I like the lobby of the Grand, as long as the big dark tree isn't there (I have vision issues thanks to Lasik and dark spaces are difficult for me)).

I don't know where ART picks you up, though. I assume it drops you in the bus area for the esplanade though, so that is nice.

Food at the Anabellas restaurant was fairly OK, and they let me order a drink to go, and take it to our room (OK so hubby got it and brought it back) instead of doing the room service thing. And Coco's is right there; they had a nice veggie burger and chocolate cake.


Just be sure you know what you're doing with the food plan. It's not going to be the table service meals where the change thing is a problem, but with the snacks and counter service meals...do your homework so you don't come back sad!