Originally Posted By mickeynewe Hi all~ Well, now that we have our reservations rescheduled, we will be staying one night at Hojos and the rest at Disneyland Hotel. We got the Premium Disney View at Hojos. Can anyone tell me if the view is that good? What do you actually see? Can we see the fireworks? Our first night's reservation is for the 26th so I thought maybe it might be too crowded to go into the park that night, plus I'm not sure if we will want to spend the extra $90.00 for the blackout days. So, we will probably just drive up Saturday morning and then "hang-out". Any laid-back ideas what we can do that day? I was going to go over to the Movieland Wax Museum but I just found that they closed as the 31st.
Originally Posted By Pirate Pete You will see over ther berm a bit, Matterhorn, Big Thunder tops are visible, you will see the fireworks. I stay there everytime we get the same view room etc...
Originally Posted By 5150-4-Disney Hi Mickeynewe- I'm posting 'cause this is just weird.... We're staying for one night at Hojo's on the 26th in a Premium room also, then the next 4 nights at the DL Hotel (taking advantage of those great AP rates). Plus, we were planning on hitting the Wax Museum too, and just found out it's now closed! So, we've decided to drop a few bucks and go see Medieval Times. I should've just hired you as my travel agent. Have a great trip!
Originally Posted By 2girls2disney We were at Hojo's over the weekend in a Premium Disney View room. The trees block some of the view, but you can see most of the fireworks. It's a nice view of the park. We enjoyed counting how many car alarms were set off by the fireworks . It was at least 10. As far as what to do the 26th, I'd recommend walking around Downtown Disney and checking out the shops, and maybe even watching the fireworks from the plaza between the 2 parks. We love hanging out in DD each time we visit.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe ROTFL....hey you know what they say about great minds!! Maybe we'll run into you there! Just look for a trio of 3 My hubby and I and our daughter. We thought about maybe going to Medieval Times also, but I'm just afraid to pay that much and not being able to eat the food (I have an extremely "touchy" stomach and I don't want to risk ruining the rest of my trip). My best friend has gone before and she says it is a great show tho!! So I think we are just going to really hang about Downtown Disney and the hotels. We really haven't done that before since we normally go straight into the parks. Since its a block out date tho, I think we will just explore all the shops. Check out all the grounds and be lazy tourists for the day. LOL..if we do get bored, we can always catch a movie at the AMC. How many of you are going? How old are your kids? We have just the one 12 year old. I was glad to get Hojos! I've been wanting to "try" it out for a long time. We haven't stayed there since before the remodel when our daughter was a baby and the room rates were around $44 a night. I tried doing some comparision shopping for hotels as well and I found it difficult to find any vacancies and prices were high for the same date. I just made the reservation last night. May I inquire what room rate you were able to receive? [I know its really rude to ask, my apologies, and please don't hesitate to tell me to jump off into the nearest lake] but I like to price compare. We are paying $109 a night.
Originally Posted By markcanada I think there is supposed to be a good Children's Museum in the Orange County area, according to the AAA guide, but I can't remember the details.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe *choking sounds, gasping for air* Okay, trying to kill me are ya Mark? Okay, so I admit it. I am totally lacking in the culture and arts deparment and have no desire to enlighten myself. Taking me to a museum is a complete waste of time unless it has some really good architecture to the building itself, and then you might have my attention. *sigh* Yes, I know...I'm backwards...I just never found the appeal to it all. I'm like a little kid myself the few times my hubby and I have taken our daughter into San Francisco and have toured about the museums and such.... "Aw, are we done yet? Do you guys want to go to the park? How about Fisherman's wharf?" LOL...thanks for the suggestion Mark! Its appreciated!
Originally Posted By jnemo Take your daughter to Build-a-Bear. We will be at Hojo's also when you are there.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe Yeah, she really likes Build A Bear. I'm sure we'll get dragged in there! LOL..its probably one of the few stores (besides Hagen-Daz) that we have actually been into! LOL...we all need LP t-shirts to identify ourselves once we are there or at least a big sandwich board sign slung over our backs! *grin*
Originally Posted By 5150-4-Disney Mickeynewe- Not rude to ask - always good to find out what rates people are paying. We made the ressies a little over a week ago when the AP rates came out. I linked through Mousavers.com to Hojo's and clicked on the AP discount button, and we're getting the amazing rate of..... $109 for the premium view. Like you, we've never stayed at Hojo's before. We usually stay at Park Place Inn just because' it's close. I've always read all the ranting (yes, it's ranting) about Hojo's on these boards, so we thought we'd try it out before checking into the Disneyland Hotel. By the way, take your daughter to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner while your in Downtown Disney. It ought to be packed so make a reservation (714-772-0413). And since you asked, we're a family of five: mom & dad, 2 girls & a boy ages 8, 5 & 18 months. Mind if I ask where you're traveling from, since we seem to have everything else in common? See you there! (PS: with 3 kids, I've found that Build-a-Bear can be almost as expensive as Medieval Times!)
Originally Posted By mickeynewe 5150-4-Disney~ Thanks for answering my "rude" question. I really like comparing! So, it looks like their rates have stayed steady over the past week since I am paying the same! Our daughter loves the Rainforest Cafe. That would be a great choice for our arrival night since we always seem to eat in the park the rest of the time. They make yummy potato skins, at least they used to! Thanks for the phone number, I will definitely call! Wow, you've got quite a little group there! I bet they keep you on your toes!! LOL...my "one" keeps me on mine! ºoº We are traveling from Northern California so its about a 7-8 drive depending on traffic. We usually drive at night, but this time we will be driving up in the morning on a Saturday. We haven't done this before so we'll see how it goes. I figure we will leave around 5 am and get there around noon. I HOPE this itinerary works for us! If so, maybe I'll be able to say "hey!" *grin* I'll have to keep a look out for a party of 5.
Originally Posted By 5150-4-Disney Northern California - OK, it just keeps getting weirder..... Driving from Mt. Shasta here. I'd call that northern.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe LOL...a little more Northern than me!! We're from the Bay Area...but this is getting a little "creepy". *strange music starts to play in the background* hehehehe
Originally Posted By velo oh heck, there's lot's of us Bay Area-ens on the boards! Watch the LP Meets section for Bay Area Meets!
Originally Posted By 2funwith3 I'm staying @ Hojos on the 26th before moving over to DLH for the $109 rate. Haven't stayed there before, but I really want to try it out. Hope I like it since we are used to staying at fairly nice hotels.
Originally Posted By 2funwith3 Ok. So I just made a ressie for Candy Cane for $124 for the standard room on 11/26. I can't decide which hotel to stay at. The Candy Cane gives us bfast, but I don't know if we will eat $15 worth of food. It will be me, dh, 4 yo ds, and 6 yo dd. Anyone have any input?
Originally Posted By mickeynewe Well, if you have stayed at the Candy Cane before, why not try something new so you have more than one "backup" in the future. That is why we are staying there. I would rather "risk" one night than my whole vacation in the future. Everyone seems to like it so much that I wanted to give it a try. Candy Cane is "already" on my backup list. If I like Hojos, I will now have 3 off-site backup properties.
Originally Posted By 2funwith3 I've never stayed at CCI. I guess I didn't make that clear. I'm starting to lean toward Hojos because of the food thing.
Originally Posted By AZDisneyDan I keep hearing about the great AP rates @ the DLH. We are trying to book a trip there from 11/27-11-30 and Disney Reservations says that the AP rate and the AAA rate are the same @ $212 per night plus tax. Doesn't sound like much of a discount for Value Season. What kind of rates is everyone else getting??
