Adventures in Public Transport:The Return - Day 17 - Time to fly home :(

Disney Wishing · 30 Sep 17, 08:09 AM

Well here it was the dreaded last day and time to fly home. We woke up around 9am to the sounds of whistles. A peek out the window showed the lifeguards were in the middle of a training session at the pool. We were all in a really quiet mood while we got ready and started the task of packing thing up. We were finished with this around 10.40am and didn’t really have a plan of what to do. It was forecast 36 degrees today so something out the heat was going to be preferable. We ended up over at the Disneyland Hotel where we grabbed an early lunch in Tangarola Terrace and sat looking throughout photos and discussing all we had been up to during the holiday. We stayed here for a while before heading over the lobby area by Steakhouse 55 where they have a history display with lots of old photos of the hotel and old memorabilia. We also had a final wander around the gift shop there where we picked up two new travel pillows with some cool disney prints. We headed back over to the Paradise Pier around 1.15 pm and retrieved our bags from bell services. The boys got changed into some travelling clothes and then we just hung out in the lobby for a bit waiting to catch the Disneyland Express back to the airport.

The bus pulled up on time at 1.58pm and we loaded our cases and got onboard. Although the service had changed from Greyline to Coach USA in the past year it was the service ticket agent onboard. Really nice chap, although if I lived live near Disneyland i’m sure I be in a good mood too. We paid our $60 and off we went.

We got to the airport just before 3pm and headed to a very empty bag drop line. I’d already checked in on the Virgin app early that morning so it did take very long to gets bags sorted and then we headed into the very chaotic security area. They were checking nearly every bag after it was coming though the scanner but didn’t really have much space to do it and there were people and bags and shoes all over the place. The Security officers were being very grumpy telling people to move out the way but there wasn’t really anywhere for people to go. Luckily our bags didn’t get stopped so we quickly grabbed our stuff and escaped the chaos, putting our shoes and things back on once we exited the area.

We really had nothing more to do but wait for our flight. Terminal 2 is such a small terminal and there’s nothing really to do unfortunately. Our flight left on time at 5.50pm. All very smooth and uneventful (which isn’t a bad thing). I watched The Founder on the plane which was really interesting. It’s all about the start of MacDonalds and some very sly dealings. I managed to get a few hours sleep before watching Moana again before coming into land.

So there was end of another great trip to California. We have decided that we have done all we wanted to see in LA and don’t have much interest in returning there but loved San Deigo and will definitely return. We have also completely fallen in love with Disneyland and decided we currently prefer in over WDW. The fact that its was so much more relaxed, less building work going on and doesn’t require decisions on what to eat 6 months in advance appeals to us. We also love that you can combine it with all the other great places in California. So what the best remedy for the post holiday blues…..planning the next one! So with that said we have decided to changed our plans to go to WDW at Easter next year and have instead decided to return to California in August. I managed to pick up some good priced flights yesterday so the new countdown can begin.

Melbatb · 30 Sep 17, 03:07 PM

Thanks for sharing your trip! We are off to San Diego at Christmas (and Joshua Tree) so it is great to hear how much you liked it!

Have fun planning!

mrsdjh · 23 Dec 17, 12:42 AM

Thanks for doing another informative report. Hopefully I will manage to get us on a trip to California one day - I think I have managed to convince my husband it can be done with no car - just to get over the flight time now! ( and find the school holidays to fit it in!)

Disney Wishing · 23 Dec 17, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by mrsdjh

Thanks for doing another informative report. Hopefully I will manage to get us on a trip to California one day - I think I have managed to convince my husband it can be done with no car - just to get over the flight time now! ( and find the school holidays to fit it in!)

Thanks for reading along. The flight isn't too bad, I've learnt now to not watch too many movies in the months leading up to the trip to keep me entertained on the flight.

liz-paul · 20 Mar 18, 05:17 PM

Just finished reading your trippie and just wanted to say thanks for writing it. Looks like you had a great trip, your pictures are lovely.

23 Dec 17, 12:42 AM	#3
	23 Dec 17, 12:42 AM mrsdjh Imagineer
mrsdjh Imagineer Join Date: Jun 13	Thanks for doing another informative report. Hopefully I will manage to get us on a trip to California one day - I think I have managed to convince my husband it can be done with no car - just to get over the flight time now! ( and find the school holidays to fit it in!)

20 Mar 18, 05:17 PM	#5
	20 Mar 18, 05:17 PM liz-paul Very Serious Dibber
liz-paul Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Sep 15 Location: Northern Ireland	Just finished reading your trippie and just wanted to say thanks for writing it. Looks like you had a great trip, your pictures are lovely.