Hi everyone,
I wanted to start this by saying I was so thankful for this web site while in Disneyland because the information I received saved me alot of time and heartache.
This is a first timer's view with young children so I hope all of you that are going for the first time with young children find this trip report helpful.
Cast of character:
Me, 33; DH 33: DS 6 1/2 and DD 41/2
Sun. Aug 24
We woke up at 4:30 am as our flight left at 6:50 am. We stayed at the Fairmont in Vancouver airport. That was a great way to start as we only had to go down the stairs to check in for our flight.
Tip: For anyone who is leaving from the Vancouver Airport and you have to purchase your Airport Improvement Fee, wait until you check in and go past the airline desk. There is an AIF machine on the other side with no one in line or else you can purchase from the Airport staff on the US side. The line up in the airport for the AIF was HUGE.
When we pulled into the Seattle Airport, we pulled right up beside the "We are going to Disneyland" plane. However, we didn't get to go for a ride on that plane. The flights went well and my kids did real well for their first flight. It was fun as there were a whole bunch of kids going to Disneyland.
We flew into Orange Co. and the first thing we noticed was the heat. We had to wait 1/2 hour for the Airport Bus. We had pre purchased our transfers and that was very handy to not have to pay right away. I was really glad that we flew to John Wayne Airport in Orange County instead of LAX. It was very quick to get to our hotel. Taking the Airport bus was really a great and easy way.
Tip: The airport bus is just that... a bus. We weren't sure if we were getting on a shuttle or what. The driver was great because he was funny and great with the kids and even poked at us being Canadian. There was only our family and one other man on the bus. I would use that again.
We arrived at the Paradise Pier and we were pleased upon arrival. I knew that we probably wouldn't be able to check in because it was only 2 pm. I checked in and submitted my vouchers and we got our tickets and everything that we needed at the time. We weren't assigned a room because it wasn't ready yet. When you arrive early you can check your bags with with the Bell desk and they will give you a tag with a number on it and then you can redeem the bags when you return to check in. So at the desk we got our room information and our "personal itinerary" from Vacation Planning and our F! tickets. We checked our bags and we were off to the parks.
We had planned to go to White Water snacks in the GC to have a bite and get our refillable mug and then we were going to just check things out.
The first thing I noticed was "Is this the happiest place on earth?" I have never seen so MANY miserable people in my whole entire life. It seemed every one was angry and short and had no patience. However, it was hot and people were just so tired I guess. I am not referring to the cast members but rather the guests. N
White water snacks is great. You can get some good food there and a refillable mug. The man at the counter told me it was good in any restaurant in a Disneyland hotel. This is not the case, the refillable mug from White Water snacks is only to be used at the Grand Californian hotel. I tried to use it at the PPH and they wouldn't fill it. I called white water snacks to confirm and the cast member was very nice, said he had made a mistake and that I could get a refund if I wanted. The cup was 7.95 and we didn't return it because we decided we would still use it. Because my kids are younger, I bought two meals and we shared them. We still had waste.
We made quite a few more visits to the GC White Water snacks to refill our mug.
I had a schedule for our trip of what rides we wanted to do and what was happening on each day that I had made with the help of ride max, before I left home. It proved to be very useful and I would recommend it. Ride max doesn't provide an itinerary for Sundays so, we used this as our "getting aquainted day".
We then walked through DownTown Disney to start our "checking out Disneyland". The monorail "Downtown Disney" station is in DownTown Disney and it is close to the Disney hotels. So we thought we would ride that to check out the area and see where we wanted to go.
PROBLEM: YOu must get off at Tomorrow land if you board the monorail at DTD. It wasn't what we really wanted, we sort of wanted to check out all of the area. It was okay that we boarded the monorail in DTD because the cast members there explained how our park passes worked and some other useful information.
TIP: If you want to take a trip of DL to check it out, take the railroad. It was our favourite mode of transportation and you never had to wait very long and you can drive all around Disneyland. There are Rail stations in Mainstreet Disneyland, New Orleans Square, and Tomorrowland. It was perfect for us.
We arrived at Tomorrowland and saw Buzz and rides and walked through Disneyland and then checked in at 4:30 pm. We found out what room we were assigned and headed up to our room. Once we got to our room we called down to the bell desk and they sent up our bags.
I had pre arranged with Vacation Planning to have surprises for the kids in the room. A set of ears, an autograph book and a pen. When we got into our room.... Nothing. I was very, very disappointed.
I called to the main desk and they called Vacation Planning and then John called me in our room. I assumed (never assume) that they would keep the information handy and know who we were and when we were arriving. Especially since I had received a "Personal Itinerary" . I thought they would have record of us because of the emails and telephone calls, because I had confirmed things with them. But John wasn't sure of who I was or where the stuff was etc. I found him to be quite 'short' with me when explaining that "deliveries were not made between 4 & 5 pm and that they were very busy" See, in my mind, I thought because I contacted them one month prior, they will have the items ready, leave them at the hotel and have the hotel staff place them into our room after 3 pm. I knew there were no deliveries between 4 and 5 but check in time was 3 pm so that left from 3-4 pm for deliveries. It only got worse with Vacation Planning.
BUT... I want to say that John personally delivered the items for my kids. Another woman, not Valerie, called me and was apologetic. I almost cancelled the treats that were to be delivered to our room but I decided to keep them. I wasn't angry, just disappointed. But I was pleased with the personal itinerary from Vacation Planning and it was great to have them make our PS reservations and have them order our F! tickets but I would never get the treats through them again. I would just look after treats myself. It is considered room service and is looked after by the hotel. It is a very confusing story but the end result was I cancelled the treats after a few nights because I would speak to Vacation Planning one day and they would say the bill was looked after and charges were taken care of, then the hotel would say there were charges outstanding and that went back and forth at least once a day until Thursday. When on Wednesday we didn't receive anything in our room and the kids had gotten used to the treats, I cancelled the service because it was become too confusing and problematic.
Next time, I would ask Vacation Planning to do the planning services and not the treats. The people there are great and the concept is great but the treats were too much hassle for us.
So back to the fun... we spent that night at Toon Town. My husband and son went on the Go Gadgets roller coaster and my daughter and I checked out the houses and saw Mickey the first night in his house and we got his autograph. Toon Town was great for the kids, especially the bounce house. The only time they could ever bounce on the furniture and not get into trouble.
Then we ventured over to California Adventure and saw the Electric Parade and then up to our room. The PPH invites their guests up to the 3 rd floor where they pipe the fireworks music in and the pool bar is open on Fri, Sat and Sun nights to enjoy the fireworks.
The end of day one. Sorry it is so long.
I wanted to start this by saying I was so thankful for this web site while in Disneyland because the information I received saved me alot of time and heartache.
This is a first timer's view with young children so I hope all of you that are going for the first time with young children find this trip report helpful.
Cast of character:
Me, 33; DH 33: DS 6 1/2 and DD 41/2
Sun. Aug 24
We woke up at 4:30 am as our flight left at 6:50 am. We stayed at the Fairmont in Vancouver airport. That was a great way to start as we only had to go down the stairs to check in for our flight.
Tip: For anyone who is leaving from the Vancouver Airport and you have to purchase your Airport Improvement Fee, wait until you check in and go past the airline desk. There is an AIF machine on the other side with no one in line or else you can purchase from the Airport staff on the US side. The line up in the airport for the AIF was HUGE.
When we pulled into the Seattle Airport, we pulled right up beside the "We are going to Disneyland" plane. However, we didn't get to go for a ride on that plane. The flights went well and my kids did real well for their first flight. It was fun as there were a whole bunch of kids going to Disneyland.
We flew into Orange Co. and the first thing we noticed was the heat. We had to wait 1/2 hour for the Airport Bus. We had pre purchased our transfers and that was very handy to not have to pay right away. I was really glad that we flew to John Wayne Airport in Orange County instead of LAX. It was very quick to get to our hotel. Taking the Airport bus was really a great and easy way.
Tip: The airport bus is just that... a bus. We weren't sure if we were getting on a shuttle or what. The driver was great because he was funny and great with the kids and even poked at us being Canadian. There was only our family and one other man on the bus. I would use that again.
We arrived at the Paradise Pier and we were pleased upon arrival. I knew that we probably wouldn't be able to check in because it was only 2 pm. I checked in and submitted my vouchers and we got our tickets and everything that we needed at the time. We weren't assigned a room because it wasn't ready yet. When you arrive early you can check your bags with with the Bell desk and they will give you a tag with a number on it and then you can redeem the bags when you return to check in. So at the desk we got our room information and our "personal itinerary" from Vacation Planning and our F! tickets. We checked our bags and we were off to the parks.
We had planned to go to White Water snacks in the GC to have a bite and get our refillable mug and then we were going to just check things out.
The first thing I noticed was "Is this the happiest place on earth?" I have never seen so MANY miserable people in my whole entire life. It seemed every one was angry and short and had no patience. However, it was hot and people were just so tired I guess. I am not referring to the cast members but rather the guests. N
White water snacks is great. You can get some good food there and a refillable mug. The man at the counter told me it was good in any restaurant in a Disneyland hotel. This is not the case, the refillable mug from White Water snacks is only to be used at the Grand Californian hotel. I tried to use it at the PPH and they wouldn't fill it. I called white water snacks to confirm and the cast member was very nice, said he had made a mistake and that I could get a refund if I wanted. The cup was 7.95 and we didn't return it because we decided we would still use it. Because my kids are younger, I bought two meals and we shared them. We still had waste.
We made quite a few more visits to the GC White Water snacks to refill our mug.
I had a schedule for our trip of what rides we wanted to do and what was happening on each day that I had made with the help of ride max, before I left home. It proved to be very useful and I would recommend it. Ride max doesn't provide an itinerary for Sundays so, we used this as our "getting aquainted day".
We then walked through DownTown Disney to start our "checking out Disneyland". The monorail "Downtown Disney" station is in DownTown Disney and it is close to the Disney hotels. So we thought we would ride that to check out the area and see where we wanted to go.
PROBLEM: YOu must get off at Tomorrow land if you board the monorail at DTD. It wasn't what we really wanted, we sort of wanted to check out all of the area. It was okay that we boarded the monorail in DTD because the cast members there explained how our park passes worked and some other useful information.
TIP: If you want to take a trip of DL to check it out, take the railroad. It was our favourite mode of transportation and you never had to wait very long and you can drive all around Disneyland. There are Rail stations in Mainstreet Disneyland, New Orleans Square, and Tomorrowland. It was perfect for us.
We arrived at Tomorrowland and saw Buzz and rides and walked through Disneyland and then checked in at 4:30 pm. We found out what room we were assigned and headed up to our room. Once we got to our room we called down to the bell desk and they sent up our bags.
I had pre arranged with Vacation Planning to have surprises for the kids in the room. A set of ears, an autograph book and a pen. When we got into our room.... Nothing. I was very, very disappointed.
I called to the main desk and they called Vacation Planning and then John called me in our room. I assumed (never assume) that they would keep the information handy and know who we were and when we were arriving. Especially since I had received a "Personal Itinerary" . I thought they would have record of us because of the emails and telephone calls, because I had confirmed things with them. But John wasn't sure of who I was or where the stuff was etc. I found him to be quite 'short' with me when explaining that "deliveries were not made between 4 & 5 pm and that they were very busy" See, in my mind, I thought because I contacted them one month prior, they will have the items ready, leave them at the hotel and have the hotel staff place them into our room after 3 pm. I knew there were no deliveries between 4 and 5 but check in time was 3 pm so that left from 3-4 pm for deliveries. It only got worse with Vacation Planning.
BUT... I want to say that John personally delivered the items for my kids. Another woman, not Valerie, called me and was apologetic. I almost cancelled the treats that were to be delivered to our room but I decided to keep them. I wasn't angry, just disappointed. But I was pleased with the personal itinerary from Vacation Planning and it was great to have them make our PS reservations and have them order our F! tickets but I would never get the treats through them again. I would just look after treats myself. It is considered room service and is looked after by the hotel. It is a very confusing story but the end result was I cancelled the treats after a few nights because I would speak to Vacation Planning one day and they would say the bill was looked after and charges were taken care of, then the hotel would say there were charges outstanding and that went back and forth at least once a day until Thursday. When on Wednesday we didn't receive anything in our room and the kids had gotten used to the treats, I cancelled the service because it was become too confusing and problematic.
Next time, I would ask Vacation Planning to do the planning services and not the treats. The people there are great and the concept is great but the treats were too much hassle for us.
So back to the fun... we spent that night at Toon Town. My husband and son went on the Go Gadgets roller coaster and my daughter and I checked out the houses and saw Mickey the first night in his house and we got his autograph. Toon Town was great for the kids, especially the bounce house. The only time they could ever bounce on the furniture and not get into trouble.
Then we ventured over to California Adventure and saw the Electric Parade and then up to our room. The PPH invites their guests up to the 3 rd floor where they pipe the fireworks music in and the pool bar is open on Fri, Sat and Sun nights to enjoy the fireworks.
The end of day one. Sorry it is so long.
