Sherry E
Currently tag-less...
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2008
I totally agree. If I am going to spend that kind of money (even with 1 free ticket I would be paying for 3 or more fares), I am going over early and staying all day! I'd love to stay a night but I know from booking a hotel for DH etc. that many hotels have a two-night minimum during the summer, and I would need 2 rooms. Cha-ching. So one long day it is, for value.
PHXscuba
PHX -
Two nights for two rooms! Yikes. Even in the old days of my trip-taking to Avalon (where I stayed for weekends and more) I don't think I would have been able to swing 2 rooms.
Yes, you're absolutely right -- there does seem to be a 2-night minimum for the hotels over the summer now. As many of the Island's hotels are beginning to spruce up and modernize, I wonder if the 2-night minimum is also creeping into the off peak season as well? I know that in the past it was possible -- thought not always likely -- to get a room for one night, like maybe if there had been cancellations or something. I recall some friends of mine visiting Catalina for a day trip and then spontaneously deciding to stay overnight while there, but that was a long time ago. They walked up to one hotel and asked if there were any rooms available and there were.
I have to think that -- just as in the case of any hotel -- there are always cancellations at the last minute and people have to back out of their trips. So I would imagine that there are still occasions in which people can walk up and get a room at the last minute, and maybe just for one night, but it wouldn't be advertised or promoted beforehand. I guess it would just be one of those things that you (not you, specifically, but the general "you") "happen to discover" if you seek it out.
I completely agree -- paying the ticket prices for Disneyland or boat fare for Catalina Express almost demands that a full day is exactly that -- a fullllllllll day. Get your money's worth, everyone!
This is exciting! I'm actually going to be stateside on my birthday this year, so I'll technically be able to take advantage of the birthday offer. My birthday is on a Saturday too, and I was thinking of doing something to escape the Saturday crowds at DLR, so something like this could definitely work.
Will just have to see how much extra cost it's going to add by the time we add tours etc. The zip lining, semi-sub and flying fish all sound like great fun (although the flying fish may not be going in September )! We've got more days on our DLR tickets than we actually need, so spending the day there would really not cost us anything.
How would we get to the Catalina Express from the DLR area? We won't have a car for that part of the trip.
Hello, zanzibar138, and welcome!
I'm happy to see that you are considering using the free Catalina Express boat ride on your birthday! I hope you will enjoy it if you decide to go. I think it sounds like a perfect way to escape Disneyland's Saturday crowds.
This offer really is a great value -- frankly, it's such a great value that I cannot believe that they are extending the offer once again, although I still don't know if it is only being extended through the end of this year or into 2015 as well. Some folks will have gotten 4 free trips out of the deal if they choose to use the free ride again this year!
The Flying Fish tour should be over right after Labor Day, which is September 1st this year, so you will most likely miss that one. There are a lot of other tours to consider -- some land-based and some sea-based -- but not all are necessary for a first-time visit. I definitely recommend the semi-sub over the glass bottom boat (even though the glass bottom boat is synonymous with Avalon). If you enjoy architecture and history, the Casino walking tour is nice.
I think there is even some sort of scavenger hunt situation going on now -- I saw it mentioned in the Visitors Guide, if I am not mistaken (be sure to order your free guide -- the link to which is in the first post on page 1 -- or take a look at the digital version of it online). I may have even grabbed a brochure for the hunt (I will check my stash/stack of brochures and find it). I haven't done the hunt yet, but I think that participants have to buy a map and kit of some sort, and then can do the hunt in one of a few ways (via golf cart, via jeep or maybe on foot too?)
Even if you didn't do any of the tours -- or maybe only did one tour -- I think that renting a golf cart is the quintessential thing to do when visiting Catalina for the first time (and, in my case, every time!). If you go to the place that offers the "get 3 hours for the price of 2 hours" deal, you will pay $80 for one cart ($40 per hour), for the 3 hours, and they only accept cash. You may not need the full 3 hours -- and you may only want to pay $40 for one hour -- but if you plan to get out and walk around a bit or stop at certain locations it's good to have that extra hour or two. The golf cart is a good way to get up to certain scenic postcard-worthy spots nestled in the hills. Some of the roads are busier than others -- last year it seemed I kept ending up in front of a giant tour bus on a narrow road, and there was no way the bus could pass me -- and others are quiet and isolated. It's fun!
I think that one good way to get to the Catalina Express boat dock in Long Beach (that's the best terminal to use, I think, and it's maybe 20 or 25 minutes from Disneyland if you get on the freeway when it's not rush hour or something) is to take a shuttle. You could take a taxi as well, though you might not get a fixed rate for a taxi to take you to and from the boat. With a shuttle service you will know exactly what you are paying in advance.
There are many shuttle services that people seem to enjoy and stick with. I know that a few people have been using a service called DK Livery -- I have never used it so I don't have first-hand knowledge, but it has gotten some good reviews.
The shuttle service that I always use -- and I have used it to get to and from the Catalina Express terminal, as well as to and from DLR from home -- is a service called Sav-On Shuttle. It is a very small, no-frills company, but the drivers are prompt, friendly, and treat their customers well. I think there is a way to book on their website, but a lot of the reservations they take are over the phone. I always book over the phone. If you book on the phone you can speak to John -- the owner of the business and one of the main drivers -- to give you an exact rate, which you don't need to pay in advance. Unlike places such as Super Shuttle and similar services that require you to pay in advance, Sav-On Shuttle does not require that you do. I'm sure you can pay in advance if you want to, but they don't ask for it.