rentayenta
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
Let’s just say we could all use a little Happiest Place on Earth Right now- a pre-trip report!
Hey there, hi there, ho there, you’re as welcome as can be! Without going into political talk, lets just say my family of 5 could use a much needed escape from reality and a little Happiest Place on Earth right now. to my pre-trip report.
Here is our cast of characters:
Joshua 15, me (Jenny), DH (Michael), Gabby 19, and Chloe almost 18. This photo was taken at DH’s retirement. He proudly served 22+ years as a Captain paramedic firefighter at a local FD here in Utah. He retired this past June. We could not be more proud of him. Currently both girls work for Starbucks and love their jobs! If you have teenagers looking for a quality company who will treat them well; look into Starbucks. I work as a crisis worker in ERs assessing pts for the ability or inability to be a harm towards themselves or others, psychosis, etc...DS is 15 y/o and wants a job but no one around here hires that young but a local amusement park. DH has a pretty sweet very part time side gig.
Here we are two years ago:
And a few favorites from when they were itty bitty:
We are current DAP holders living in Utah. We are up in air with regard to renewing our annual passes in December but we shall see. I have a feeling we will…..
This trip has morphed from 10 days, including driving, staying completely off site, to 8 days now flying with all of our Disney days staying on site. Funny how that happens.
Our current plans are:
Saturday 11/26: fly from SLC to LGB, rent a car for the next two days, and stay in Seal Beach. I have access to pretty great rates at Hilton so we try to stay there whenever possible. Fortunately I was able to grab a terrific rate at the Seal Beach Hampton Inn.
http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/ho...-inn-and-suites-seal-beach-LGBSBHX/index.html It’s by no means fancy but it’s got free parking, free hot breakfast, it’s right next to a Starbucks, and only a few miles from some of our favorite beach spots.
If you have not flown into Long Beach and it’s an option with your airline of choice, I highly recommend it. It’s small and wonderful with a few good places to eat.
http://www.lgb.org
We land midmorning and our first plan, after we drop off bags, is to visit my father who lives in Anaheim. I won’t go into a great amount of detail but he suffered a major stroke 9 years ago and lives in a care facility. He looooooves Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken and boysenberry pie. https://www.knotts.com/california-marketplace/mrs-knott-s-chicken-dinner-restaurant The chicken and pie are really that good; the rest is so-so.
After visiting with my dad and celebrating Christmas of sorts, we will head to the beach regardless of the weather unless it’s pouring rain.
Dinner could be at a number of places between Long Beach and Seal Beach but our favorites include Super Mex, Walt’s Wharf, and The Original Fish Company. There are about 10,000 good places to dine. Here are links though for our favorites if you are interested.
Super Mex: http://www.supermex.com/home Their red taco sauce is TDF! Seriously. This is my go-to meal:
Walt’s Wharf: http://waltswharf.com Their crab, fresh sourdough, and clam chowder.
The Original Fish Company: http://www.originalfishcompany.com I grew up going here and its as good as ever.
Sunday 11/27: morning will consist of more beach time, maybe shopping in Huntington Beach. A word about HB. It is fun and safe during the day but becomes much less so after dark.
https://www.surfcityusa.com
This is Main Street looking out at the beach and pier:
Monday 11/28-12/23: Its Disneyland Resort time!!! Boy did I have a helluva time trying to decide where to stay. Originally we were staying these next 5 nights at the new Homewood Suites in Anaheim- Convention Center.
http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/e...m-resort-convention-center-ANADLHW/index.html It looks pretty fabulous especially for off property and at the rate I secured.
I had also waitlisted two nights at the GCV. We are DVC members. SSR at WDW is our home report and over the past few years have used every single point at the DLR either staying at the GCV or using points to stay at the DLH. Live and learn. When we add on, it will be at the GCV.
But then came AP and Disney Visa rates….isn’t that how many of these stores begin?
By some short miracle both of our nights at the GCV came through! I could go on for days about why I love the villas so much. I will let this photo do the talking,
And then there’s my babies with the GCH lobby tree.
Both were taken in December. As I’ve aged I enjoy my downtime as much as our touring time and midday breaks at the GCH are the best thing ever! Between the pool areas, the Hearthstone, the service, and the views we have received while staying in the villas, it’s hand’s down our favorite place to stay at the DLR.
Once our two nights were secured at the GCV, I was feeling pretty good about our plans; 3 nights in Seal Beach, 3 nights at the new Homewood Suites, and the last two nights at the GCV. We would either snag another night near the beach somewhere or drive home Saturday. That was still in the air.
Then Jet Blue came out with an amazing deal. I found it here on the boards. With a promo code, it was additional % off. I searched our dates, knowing we could not leave before Dec 3rd as we could not cancel the GCV; who would want to anyway?! Well Dec 3rd popped up with $52 per person one way fare from SLC to LGB. That’s a crazy good price. I booked that immediately knowing we could cancel for a full refund within 24* without a penalty and with a full refund. Love Jet Blue. I searched for dates leaving SLC for both Friday and Saturday and Saturday came up at $80 each one way. I was sold! The cheap flights coupled with realizing the kids would all have to sit in the same row during the 11 hour drive made it a no-brainer. If you have ever traveled with teenagers, a major factor to consider is will they be able to sit independent of one another and not touch? If the answer is no; fly! LOL! We have a vehicle that would have made it possible but we also have a Prius and prefer to drive that due to spending less money on fuel and leaving less of a carbon foot print.
AP and Disney Visa rates. After much humming and hawing, and I mean a lot of booking and canceling, like a crazy person actually, we decided to stay 3 nights at the PPH; one of those being concierge. Changing rooms doesn’t bother us in the least and I am not a fan of house keeping/Mousekeeping coming in daily, so this is perfect for us.
We have stayed at the PPH twice before. Once was over a decade ago and then while scrolling through Photobucket, we stayed for 2 nights about 6 years ago as well. I had totally spaced off this stay until very recently.
I recall slow elevators and just okay service. But I do have a few cute photos. I would be lying if I said I did not have reservations about staying there again but have read some very positive reviews as well as received some great info here on the DIS. I am really looking forward to our concierge night. Here are a few photos of the lounge I found on Google. DH will be over the moon that they have a Nespresso machine.
We could all eat our weight in these:
Our hotel recap looks like this:
2 nights in Seal Beach
3 nights at the PPH
2 nights at the GCV
I will it leave it here for now. for joining and
Up next- Disney day by day itinerary…….
Hey there, hi there, ho there, you’re as welcome as can be! Without going into political talk, lets just say my family of 5 could use a much needed escape from reality and a little Happiest Place on Earth right now. to my pre-trip report.
Here is our cast of characters:
Joshua 15, me (Jenny), DH (Michael), Gabby 19, and Chloe almost 18. This photo was taken at DH’s retirement. He proudly served 22+ years as a Captain paramedic firefighter at a local FD here in Utah. He retired this past June. We could not be more proud of him. Currently both girls work for Starbucks and love their jobs! If you have teenagers looking for a quality company who will treat them well; look into Starbucks. I work as a crisis worker in ERs assessing pts for the ability or inability to be a harm towards themselves or others, psychosis, etc...DS is 15 y/o and wants a job but no one around here hires that young but a local amusement park. DH has a pretty sweet very part time side gig.
Here we are two years ago:
And a few favorites from when they were itty bitty:
We are current DAP holders living in Utah. We are up in air with regard to renewing our annual passes in December but we shall see. I have a feeling we will…..
This trip has morphed from 10 days, including driving, staying completely off site, to 8 days now flying with all of our Disney days staying on site. Funny how that happens.
Our current plans are:
Saturday 11/26: fly from SLC to LGB, rent a car for the next two days, and stay in Seal Beach. I have access to pretty great rates at Hilton so we try to stay there whenever possible. Fortunately I was able to grab a terrific rate at the Seal Beach Hampton Inn.
http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/ho...-inn-and-suites-seal-beach-LGBSBHX/index.html It’s by no means fancy but it’s got free parking, free hot breakfast, it’s right next to a Starbucks, and only a few miles from some of our favorite beach spots.
If you have not flown into Long Beach and it’s an option with your airline of choice, I highly recommend it. It’s small and wonderful with a few good places to eat.
http://www.lgb.org
We land midmorning and our first plan, after we drop off bags, is to visit my father who lives in Anaheim. I won’t go into a great amount of detail but he suffered a major stroke 9 years ago and lives in a care facility. He looooooves Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken and boysenberry pie. https://www.knotts.com/california-marketplace/mrs-knott-s-chicken-dinner-restaurant The chicken and pie are really that good; the rest is so-so.
After visiting with my dad and celebrating Christmas of sorts, we will head to the beach regardless of the weather unless it’s pouring rain.
Dinner could be at a number of places between Long Beach and Seal Beach but our favorites include Super Mex, Walt’s Wharf, and The Original Fish Company. There are about 10,000 good places to dine. Here are links though for our favorites if you are interested.
Super Mex: http://www.supermex.com/home Their red taco sauce is TDF! Seriously. This is my go-to meal:
Walt’s Wharf: http://waltswharf.com Their crab, fresh sourdough, and clam chowder.
The Original Fish Company: http://www.originalfishcompany.com I grew up going here and its as good as ever.
Sunday 11/27: morning will consist of more beach time, maybe shopping in Huntington Beach. A word about HB. It is fun and safe during the day but becomes much less so after dark.
https://www.surfcityusa.com
This is Main Street looking out at the beach and pier:
Monday 11/28-12/23: Its Disneyland Resort time!!! Boy did I have a helluva time trying to decide where to stay. Originally we were staying these next 5 nights at the new Homewood Suites in Anaheim- Convention Center.
http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/e...m-resort-convention-center-ANADLHW/index.html It looks pretty fabulous especially for off property and at the rate I secured.
I had also waitlisted two nights at the GCV. We are DVC members. SSR at WDW is our home report and over the past few years have used every single point at the DLR either staying at the GCV or using points to stay at the DLH. Live and learn. When we add on, it will be at the GCV.
But then came AP and Disney Visa rates….isn’t that how many of these stores begin?
By some short miracle both of our nights at the GCV came through! I could go on for days about why I love the villas so much. I will let this photo do the talking,
And then there’s my babies with the GCH lobby tree.
Both were taken in December. As I’ve aged I enjoy my downtime as much as our touring time and midday breaks at the GCH are the best thing ever! Between the pool areas, the Hearthstone, the service, and the views we have received while staying in the villas, it’s hand’s down our favorite place to stay at the DLR.
Once our two nights were secured at the GCV, I was feeling pretty good about our plans; 3 nights in Seal Beach, 3 nights at the new Homewood Suites, and the last two nights at the GCV. We would either snag another night near the beach somewhere or drive home Saturday. That was still in the air.
Then Jet Blue came out with an amazing deal. I found it here on the boards. With a promo code, it was additional % off. I searched our dates, knowing we could not leave before Dec 3rd as we could not cancel the GCV; who would want to anyway?! Well Dec 3rd popped up with $52 per person one way fare from SLC to LGB. That’s a crazy good price. I booked that immediately knowing we could cancel for a full refund within 24* without a penalty and with a full refund. Love Jet Blue. I searched for dates leaving SLC for both Friday and Saturday and Saturday came up at $80 each one way. I was sold! The cheap flights coupled with realizing the kids would all have to sit in the same row during the 11 hour drive made it a no-brainer. If you have ever traveled with teenagers, a major factor to consider is will they be able to sit independent of one another and not touch? If the answer is no; fly! LOL! We have a vehicle that would have made it possible but we also have a Prius and prefer to drive that due to spending less money on fuel and leaving less of a carbon foot print.
AP and Disney Visa rates. After much humming and hawing, and I mean a lot of booking and canceling, like a crazy person actually, we decided to stay 3 nights at the PPH; one of those being concierge. Changing rooms doesn’t bother us in the least and I am not a fan of house keeping/Mousekeeping coming in daily, so this is perfect for us.
We have stayed at the PPH twice before. Once was over a decade ago and then while scrolling through Photobucket, we stayed for 2 nights about 6 years ago as well. I had totally spaced off this stay until very recently.
I recall slow elevators and just okay service. But I do have a few cute photos. I would be lying if I said I did not have reservations about staying there again but have read some very positive reviews as well as received some great info here on the DIS. I am really looking forward to our concierge night. Here are a few photos of the lounge I found on Google. DH will be over the moon that they have a Nespresso machine.
We could all eat our weight in these:
Our hotel recap looks like this:
2 nights in Seal Beach
3 nights at the PPH
2 nights at the GCV
I will it leave it here for now. for joining and
Up next- Disney day by day itinerary…….
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