California, Vegas & NYC - Dec 2008 - DAY 1

[kirst_al UK]

Day minus 1 & 0

Me - Kirsty (23) - planned, booked and organised the whole trip; itinerary boffin that loves America.

T'other half - Alex (23) - cause of my Disney addiction, planner of our Disney holidays, pretty much just left this one to me and just went wherever I told him to go... and oh yes... how can i forget - paid for the majority

Day 1 - the first proper day of our holiday !

December 14, 2008

So morning came, as excited as we were to be soon on our way we sooo didn't want to get out of bed. Check out was painless with no unexpected charges etc. Unfortunatley no bus waiting at the entrance for us on exit of the hotel like the night before but luckily it was no longer raining so the 5/10 minute walk to the nearest free flow bus stop wasn’t that bad with the exception of a little bit of fog & mist. Trip only took another 10 minutes directly into the Heathrow Central Bus Station. We’d already done online check-in 24 hours before the flight so even though we only need to be there 2 hours before we got there about 2 and a half – just to be on the safe side, we only really did it to secure our seats. Check in went smoothly – asked if there were any complimentary upgrades going to which they replied check in staff are ‘no longer able to offer complimentary upgrades’ – oh well worth a try. Asked how much it would be to upgrade – it was something along the lines of £400 – I said thanks but no thanks. Grabbed some breakfast from the cafe just upstairs before security, did our last bits and bobs on the tinterweb bit of the ol' facebook and just generally browsing to pass the time before we headed through security. One thing I was surprised at, but only after our internal flight in the US, was the fact that in the UK they pick and choose who they want to take off their shoes. In the US it’s compulsory for everyone – but as I said I didn’t really pay much attention to it or pick up on it until our internal flight a week or so later to Vegas. We checked out the duty free and weighed up the option and cost of getting an iPod touch but thought we’d get it cheaper either in LA, Vegas or NYC – we were wrong so for anyone else going soon with the exchange rate being around 1.45/50 buy your iPod here in the UK.

Really liked Heathrow - alot different to the likes of Humberside and even Manchester. Loads of shops, restaurants - the time passed really quickly.

We headed down towards the gates but had to wait for the screens to be updated to show what gate we were at before we could really go any further. That changed pretty soon after we got there and not long after that changed to boarding so we headed on down.

We were delayed a little, i'm unsure as to why, i think it might have been something to do with where the aircraft was parked as we had to get a bus out to it rather than walking along one of the 'jettys' or whatever you call them. There were only so many buses going at a time and i think it was the getting people on board which took the time. We weren't overly late but i think we headed off about 30minutes later than the scheduled time. I would've prefered to have not boarded as early as we did and chilled out in the airport for a while instead of having to be on the plane more than really necassary but never mind - we were on our way before we knew it... that was until the pilot came on and explained they were experiencing some 'traffic' -




T5 i think


I think this might have been Greenland


Rocky Mountains

Flight was a good flight (flew virgin) – was spoilt with the v-port though. Normally fly Virgin to Orlando on the older planes – we don’t even get games on there. Loved the v-port, was great - had some really cool films too – thought it was a bit ironic watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall whilst Mr Brand himself was up in first class ! We only noticed him whiles we were waiting for our baggage at the other end. Had beef for dinner and a really horrible sandwich thing mid flight. Was a very long flight (10-11 hours) – just seemed to go on forever. Was so glad that our flight on the way home from NYC was only going to be 6 and a half hours !


LAX - Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach & Torrance Beach


I spy with my little eye something beginning with H


Downtown LA



We arrived at LAX around 14.45. Considering we were at the back of the plane we were one of the first lot through customs. I think this was because, to my surprise, there wasn’t just Brits on the plane. Now I have no idea why I would be surprised at the fact there were people from so many different countries and cultures on our flight it’s a free country after all I think its just because of where I’ve been in the past on planes and those from England tend to have mainly Brits on them.

Very serious immigration officers - as in my opinion they should be... got told off for of both heading up to the desk - because we're not married we have to go separately... i'm sure we've not had to do that in Florida before but never mind we both got through fine. Took a while for the bags to come but whilst waiting noticed Russell Brand stood along side the carousel waiting for his too. Well obviously he wasn't waiting to get them off the carousel himself but as soon as he saw his coming off he stood there pointing 'thats mine thats mine' to this little old american gentleman who, as you can imagine, strugged his little backside off to get them all off before they went further and further around. He just stood there with his Russell Brand wannabe friend watching him struggle which i didn't think was right - i just hoped he tipped him what he deserved !

Once we'd gotten our bags we headed for the exit - man that was insane ! There was the smallest exit for us all to get out it was just madness - i think this was the customs element as there was one guy standing there with his hand out to collect the white forms we all had to fill in - yes one guy collecting at least 200 pieces of paper from our flight alone ! Trolleys, buggies, wheelchairs, suitcases - you name it you were getting pushed in every direction possible by one of the above.

We eventually made it outside expecting the heat to hit us like it does in Florida... unfortunately it wasn't that hot - it was warm in the sun but not boiling - just like a nice sunny spring day here. Headed over to the centre island once exited the baggage claim and waiting under the overhead GREEN sign for the Grayline Anaheim Airport Shuttle

Was very much like the Disney Express - nice 45 minute trip really – was a proper ‘Disney-fied’ coach type vehicle with a really friendly driver. The coach only had two families on board us and another so it wasn’t packed and the driver was able to talk to us and give us some really good information on the area.

Arrived at our hotel (the HOJO) about 5.30pm.


Howard Johnson Anaheim

Check in went smoothly – had ordered an entertainment book to be delivered in time for our arrival in order to get a bargain of a rate ($59 p/n) which was there when we arrived. Check in area was very nice as was the grounds as we walked to the furthest way building that overlooked the main pool. Wasn’t overly impressed with the room – it was quite basic but I still think it was a bargain for $59 p/n even with the freeway noise !

Heres my Trip Advisor review of the HOJO -

I would say the HOJO is certainly a hotel to consider when planning a visit to Disneyland. I agree with a previous reviewer that it’s more like 10-15 minutes walk to the actual parks entrances – you can see the walkway to the parks from the Manchester Ave/Harbor Blvd. but with the crossing of the roads and the walk if you’re situated in the furthest building away it can add a few minutes onto the advertised 8 minutes.

We paid $59 per night c/o the entertainment rate. I think in all honesty I would’ve been a little disappointed if I had paid full price. The hotel itself is quite basic however it is clean and tidy and does the job you want it to. We were in the building located at the rear of the property on the top floor, along side the much talked about ‘noisy’ freeway. Ok it was kind of noisy and I think if we weren’t as tired as we were in an evening it would’ve affected us a lot more than it actually did. If you get a room actually over looking the freeway I’m sure again it would be a lot worse – we were over looking the pool.

The room itself was very spacious – it included a fridge, television, table and chair, wardrobe and a microwave. The bathroom was ideal and again very spacious with two sinks however it had an extremely small bath. Ok for showers but if you wanted a bath it wasn’t one you could soak in – they did however also supply you with plenty of amenities and towels.

The Staff were very friendly both before and during our stay. Lorelle in particular was great and helped me get an entertainment book delivered directly to the hotel – the entertainment group had let me down and not delivered it here in time for our stay.

Reception area is very nice as is the gift shop – sells just about anything and everything you could wish for. The Garden Pool area also looked nice – didn’t really see the new castaway cove area as both are in opposite areas of the site which I thought was a bit bizarre, they aren’t really located close enough in my opinion.


Castaway Cove

Overall, it’s a nice hotel. Don’t expect the Ritz but its clean, tidy and will do the job – don’t need much more than that. I also think it could do with a little bit of a spruce up – as you walk into the reception area you think you are going to be staying in quite a modern fashionable room same as you walk through the lovely gardens but not quite. I would stay again if I was able to get the same rate - if I couldn’t then I would probably consider looking elsewhere a little closer to Disneyland UNLESS by paying a little extra they could guarantee a room away from the freeway or with a Disney view again away from the freeway.

Continued below...

[kirst_al UK]

Anyway enough about the hotel - just one or two more pics for your pleasure - i hope you're still awake...


Howard Johnson Anaheim


Howard Johnson Anaheim


Howard Johnson Anaheim


Howard Johnson Anaheim - view from 'balcony'

Not long after our arrival we got a quick change and headed off to Disneyland – YEY !

After eventually finding the entrance (don’t ask how we didn’t see it but we had started to walk into where the buses ‘live’!) we walked down towards the entrance taking in the Christmassy music as we went. Had our bags searched and walked over to the gates on the right. We had a voucher we needed to exchange from attractiontix.co.uk which, once we found out where we needed to be, they exchanged with no problem at all. We got a 3 day park hopper due to the fact that evening we got here was the only night Fantasmic was on. it was open until midnight and with the 3 day hopper ticket you got in an hour early in specific mornings which made I worth our while paying that little bit extra and upgrading from a 2 day to a 3 day.

We entered and noticed that the Christmas parade was going on so instead of trying to get through the crowds we just jumped on the train and took it right around to Tomorrowland. Our first ride was on Space Mountain – enjoyed this more than the one in Orlando to be honest but notice that they are in fact refurbishing theirs as we speak to make it more like the CA. one.


Space Mountain


Space Mountain

Ended up seeing the end of the It’s a Small World ‘light show’ – that was really cool ! Didn’t really go on many rides that night – the park was rather busy obviously because it was open late and it was weekend so plus we had just had a 10 hour flight so we just walked around taking it all in. Have never done Disney over xmas so was lovely to see everything all lit up.


Cinderellas Castle

Grabbed something to eat at a café near Splash Mountain and decided to get a seat/place to watch Fantasmic. Didn’t think this was as good as the one in Orlando though – we found it difficult to watch because of the layout and the limited viewing - the one in Orlando is in like an outdoor theatre and wherever you sit you can see everything - this one you might as well have all been on one level. That said the pirate ship was really cool and could certainly see that !


Fantasmic!

Was shattered come the end of Fantasmic – we were exhausted and had been awake by then for about 24 hours however still managed to stop off at Main Street so we could watch the fireworks which were awesome. Thought the snow was really cool too – brought a tear to my eye in fact and being away from my baby Hutchie started to hit me more as he loves the snow – anyhow couldn’t stay awake any longer…. was time for bed and off we popped !

Day 2 - Disneyland!

:pop:

[purple myra]

Oh you are making me sooooo excited with this trippy!
Glad you had a nice smooth journey, we will be getting that grayline disney bus too...glad to hear you had a good opinion of it.
Fab photos...looking forward to more

[Sarah84]

wow you did well to head into DL on the day you got there, i don't think we would have found the energy for that we had trouble staying awake till about 10.30

Great update and can't wait to read more and see more lovely photos now am i mistaken but did you post this on trip advisor? as it seems really simular just without the lovely photos

[kirst_al UK]

Originally Posted by Sarah84

wow you did well to head into DL on the day you got there, i don't think we would have found the energy for that we had trouble staying awake till about 10.30

Great update and can't wait to read more and see more lovely photos now am i mistaken but did you post this on trip advisor? as it seems really simular just without the lovely photos

See more...

Yes i did post it on there - well before this place had a west coast forum - am using that TR as the backbone & adding to it as i write...re-living it all in effect it wasn't as in depth on there as i have been on this one.

[Mazzy]

Wow, what a fantastic report, very relevant to us, because next June we're hoping to be flying into LAX with VA and also staying at the HOJO for part of our stay, so thanks for the review. We've booked the kids suite which is brand new, they look really nice in the video on the hotel website. Lorealle is great isn't she, thanks for the tip about having an Entertainment book delivered to the hotel, didn't know you could do that, I'm keeping a check on the rates for next year, in case it becomes available for your dates. At the moment we have a kids suite, which is two rooms with two bathrooms for $129 plus tax, which I think is really good.

Love the Christmassy photos of DL, wow, would love to go there at Christmas!

Oh, and Russell Brand at the carousel, just what I'd have expected of him.

Great report, keep them coming!

[Guest]

Another great report with lovely photos.

[Guest]

Great journey! You must have been shattered by night time!

[Guest]

Just starting out reading your trip report as we are flying to LAX in October this year. Super photos, I am definitely going to book two window rows on the right for the four of us, those views were fantastic! We're not looking forward to the long flight either!
Looking forward to reading more...

[Ado]

Fab report! I love the Hollywood sign..you got some great shots landing in LAX! The pic you say may be Greenland - I think that's Northern Canada, it looks like the wide expanse of "square" fields (covered in snow) that you sometimes see as you're crossing Canada. Our photos of Greenland are pure snow/ice rocks - but that looks like fields. But anyway..sure does it matter?!

Fab photos!

Looking forward to seeing more!