Four Moretons Go West EASTER 2018 - Day 10 - Solvang, Dojo Boom and Knottsberry Hotel

**LLKJDisney** · 2 Mar 20, 04:02 PM

Day 10 - Tuesday 2nd April 2018 – Solvang, Do-jo Boom and Knottsberry Farm Hotel

It must have been a comfortable bed as I didn’t get up until 8am today

, the boys were very sleepy and had to be woken up at 8.30am.
Lee as always was up at 7am! It was a lovely morning, not a cloud in the sky. We all had showers before packing up the car again.

Thankfully I had researched a place for today’s breakfast. It was a place called Ellen’s Pancake House which was reported to be very popular with locals. It was very busy and we waited 10 minutes for a table. I think we definitely stood out as tourists but everyone was very friendly and the food was excellent, well worth the wait for a table! Lee had some pancakes with scrambled eggs and ham, which was actually a large piece of gammon. I was sick of eggs so just had some cereal and cinnamon toast, Jacob must have been hungry as he went for bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and toast. Lucas went for a blueberry pancake and bacon, although he didn’t like the pancake. The bill was $55 including tip, we would definitely recommend it, if you like somewhere a bit different for breakfast, a real traditional American Cafe.

We put $40 fuel in the car before driving onto Solvang. The drive to Solvang was a lovely scenic drive.

This was another place I had researched in advance, in fact we nearly stayed in Solvang instead of Santa Ynez. It is a lovely little town with lots of quirky gift shops and coffee places. We especially liked Mr Moles gift shop. We had a good look round and spotted the hotel we nearly booked and I was glad to see I had made the right choice.

I love this photo!

After taking a few photos and a good wander round we were on the road again.

I loved this road sign and thought it would be a lovely place to visit, only today we didn't have time

Our next destination was Do-Jo Boom. This was a place the boys had seen on You Tube and were desperate to go. It is a large trampoline park which also has a zip wire, climbing wall and a ninja warrior course. It is located in a place called Janns Market in Thousand Oaks, LA. After missing the entrance a few times, we managed to get parked up. The place was huge (and very loud). The boy’s face lit up when we got inside, they couldn’t wait to get going. It cost $20 each for a 1-hour session including the socks which are mandatory.

They loved the socks!

Parents are allowed to go into the park and take photos, we had to wait ½ an hour for our slot which was 2 till 3pm. That gave the boys chance to explore and scope out what they wanted to do, which was basically everything. They had a great time in there and they were gutted when their hour was up. The staff were really friendly and helpful and they made sure everyone followed the rules without ruining the experience for people. The boys were super sweaty when they came out, but had literally had the time of their lives!

Luckily there was a Coldstone Creamery right opposite so we went had an ice cream although amazingly they had no waffle cones of any description, so we just had our ice cream in bowls. We spotted a Toys ‘r’ Us, which was closing down (they went bust) so we popped in to see if we could get any bargains. We managed to pick up a Shimmer and Shine Set for our nieces upcoming birthday. Lucas also grabbed a Ben 10 figure and 2 more WWE figures, everything was ½ price or less, so we were happy.

The plan now was to drive to the Knottsberry Farm Hotel via Downtown Disney for a little bit of a Disney fix. You may have noticed that there is NO Disney involved on this trip, the thing with the West Coast is you cannot fit everything in over 2 weeks. This trip it came down to a choice between San Diego or Disney and we went for San Diego having loved it so much on our last trip and the constant hike in Disney prices we couldn’t justify. Anyway, LA traffic put pay to our hopes of visiting Downtown Disney as it took us over 3 hours to travel 60 miles!

Everywhere was rammed, even though it was a 6-lane highway. We saw lots of homeless people with camps set up under bridges.

We eventually got to Knottsberry Farm Hotel at 7pm. We got checked in and went up to our room (725), but when we got there it smelt musty and damp

and I wasn’t particularly happy but we were all very hungry as we had not eaten since our big breakfast, we didn’t want to drive again so we decided to go to the hotel restaurant. We were given a 20% off voucher when we checked in so that was even better. On the way to the restaurant the boys spotted Snoopy in the lobby of the hotel so we had some pictures with him before being seated.

The restaurant was only half full, our server told us it was only her 3rd day. The portions were huge, I had a Tay Cob Salad which I couldn’t finish, Lee had a chicken pot pie which he did finish but not sure how, Jacob had a Bacon and Chicken Pizza (8 slices) half of which he boxed up. Lucas plumped for the chicken strips and broccoli which he polished off. I haven’t written down how much it was but I am sure it was normal restaurant prices and not overpriced.

On the way back to the room we saw Snoopy again but this time he was dressed in his pyjamas which meant we had to have some more photos.

We went and checked out the pool area which looked brilliant but it was just about to close, the boys were gutted as it didn’t open until 9am and we would have checked out to go to the park by then.
Jacob then realised he left his boxed pizza in reception and when we went back to retrieve it, it wasn’t there.

When we got back to the room there was water dripping through the ceiling from the room above. This probably explains the damp smell we detected earlier. Maintenance came and immediately put the room out of action and we had to move rooms. We were given room 826 by reception who I have to say were less than sympathetic to our problem and barely even offered an apology.

Our new room had a fantastic view of the car park

We were not impressed with the hotel; the rooms were dark and dingy and in need of a refurb. We were only there for 1 night but it was still one of the most expensive hotels on this trip. Needless to say I won’t be going back and would not recommend it. We watched TV for a bit before trying to get a good night’s sleep before visiting KBF tomorrow.

KayLouise · 3 Mar 20, 11:04 AM

Oh no, what a shame about the hotel not being up to scratch! Very cute pics with Snoopy though 😊 fingers crossed the park is better than the hotel!

**LLKJDisney** · 3 Mar 20, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by KayLouise

Oh no, what a shame about the hotel not being up to scratch! Very cute pics with Snoopy though 😊 fingers crossed the park is better than the hotel!

Oh the park is a thousand times better! we loved the park as you will see in our next day - when i get it posted

Thanks for reading along

Pussycat Doll · 3 Mar 20, 07:50 PM

That hotel sounds a bit grim! Lovely day up till then though x

Tinkermom · 6 Mar 20, 06:15 PM

Oh dear not a positive hotel experience 😔

**LLKJDisney** · 13 Mar 20, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Tinkermom

Oh dear not a positive hotel experience 😔

Not at all, we certainly wouldnt stay again

**smithlane** · 27 Mar 20, 10:24 AM

Such a shame about the hotel, especially when it’s one of the most expensive ones.
Sounds like the boys had a great day at the trampoline park though!

**LLKJDisney** · 27 Mar 20, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by smithlane

Such a shame about the hotel, especially when it’s one of the most expensive ones.
Sounds like the boys had a great day at the trampoline park though!

Oh they loved it - some You Tube Family visit it a lot and that's where they got it from, hence why it is back in the itinerary for this year

6 Mar 20, 06:15 PM	#5
	6 Mar 20, 06:15 PM Tinkermom Apprentice Imagineer
Tinkermom Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Aug 14	Oh dear not a positive hotel experience 😔 __________________ Dreams are forever - Tinkerbell