Back from Disney - some thoughts and reviews...

We're back from Disney. I've not had a trip go off without a hitch to the degree that this did. Expedia booked the itinerary, and everything went the way it was supposed to. Our return flight was cancelled, but we were rebooked to the next flight, and American seated us together. Desireé was lucky to draw the short straw, and she got the opposite aisle seat. Whether this was or wasn't a blessing is suspect, because she seemed to be sitting next to a couple of blondes who were coming back from, or going to a reunion of some sort, because they seemed to be rather tired. (Imagine Greedo after Han Solo handled him at the Mos Eisley cantina....now imagine a blonde 30-something in the same position, but with her head on the seat-back tray-table. For 2.5 hours.)

Dez and I have been married now for 8 years, and Charlie will be seven Tuesday, but this is the first "Family Vacation" we have taken. I feel guilty about that, because you can't make up for lost time. but you can can start history and memory now. So we did.

If you haven't followed me on Twitter or Facebook, please do. There are lots and lots of iPhone pictures of the family. You can follow what we did and when. On my little self-aggrandizing blog, I wanted to give you a review of some of the things that we did. Please note: The place and the people working the place will each receive a separate grade. If my opinions conflict with something that you have experienced in the past, please forgive me. They are just my opinions, after all, and there is a saying about opinions, right?

On with the review.

American Airlines:

Flights, to and from: A+

Personnel: C+

"We'll get you there". They did, and it was fine. Both flights were on time, and the gates at both DFW and SNA were easy to find. At both ends, it seemed as if the staff were bothered that we had bags, kids, whatever. It was obvious that we were inexperienced travelers, and the opportunity to win a loyal customer was never seized. BTW, if you're in customer service, please don't tell me about policies and procedures and how we have haven't followed the rules. If the check-in terminal is empty, and we go straight to the counter, don't tell me about how your helping me is an exception, and we should have done this. Boo. You may have a union, but next time if we can book on friendlier skies, we will.

Hertz Rental Car

Car, Check-in, Check-out: A+

Staff: A+

We got our car, we paid for gas, they didn't hassle me. They were friendly and were very attentive to the fact that we were on vacation. Getting the car was easy (a little far to walk...no big deal), and returning it was easy peasy. I will use them again.

Anaheim Park Hotel

Hotel and Accomodations: B+

Staff: B+

This was a nice hotel. It used to be a Wyndham, but it seems as if this franchise was sold or put under new management. The check in staff was friendly and attentive, and they were quick in getting us checked in. Our rooms were clean, and the management obviously put a lot of emphasis on making this an Urban Oasis. Management was putting a lot of emphasis on getting customer opinion and remodeling the rooms to meet customer expectations and provided satisfaction.

Our only hiccup: At the end of day 3 (Monday), we came back from the beach to hear what sounded like a percussion concert next door. Scraping and hammering. Turns out they were remodeling the room next to ours. We called the front office, and they gave us our options: We could move to a higher floor, or move across the hall. We took the option to go across the hall, and it gave us a really beautiful pool view. The hotel manager came down to help us move our bags (great gesture), and he gave me a tour of the remodeled (soon-to-be) room. He offered to comp us what I thought was a meal, but turns out he was willing to take 25% off of a $12 breakfast. This isn't the Ritz. Continental breakfast should not be $12. The hotel was in Fullerton, which is about 3 miles from the Park, and is located in what could be described as a more urban setting. For the money, I would recommend this hotel, but for next time, we will stay closer to the park - it would be nice to be within walking distance to the park.

In-N-Out Burger

Food: A+

Staff: A+

We ate there more than I care to admit. I would have eaten there every day. It's delicious. If you decide to go, I recommend the #1, animal style, fries well done, with a real ice cream shake. Animal style: Mustard, Lettuce, Grilled Onions, Pickles, Extra Sauce, Tomato. Have to stop typing. I'm drooling. If you are in CA (or west of here, where they serve In-N-Out, go get one. Don't be deceived by the small menu. They'll make your burger however you want it.

Disneyland Resort (Disneyland and California Adventure land):

Park, Food, Attractions, Shows, Rides: A+++

Staff: I'm going to float them an A double minus (--). because 2 out of three days of a great experience is pretty good.

The last time I went to Disneyland was in 19 and 87. It was just a park, and they had the main street parade nightly. I loved it then, and I was afraid that I would be disappointed. Where there used to be a parking lot, there is now an entirely new amusement park. We didn't spend enough time in California adventure land to really give it an accurate review, but what we did see was great.

Desiree's birthday was on Sunday, and she got a special pin to wear. Saturday and Sunday is the 1st string Staff day. Everyone there was attentive to Desiree's birthday (still 23) and wished her "Happy Birthday" at every available opportunity. We all wore matching shirts (so we could easily spot each other), and everyone took notice. The lines were still relatively short (no more than 30 mins) and the kids were able to handle the waits with minimal foolishness.

Tuesday (as I tweeted) is not the park's most happy day. I understand that everyone has an off day, but when I pay over $700 for 3 park hopper tickets, smile and say "How-do-you-do". My business is not going to make or break Disney, but, that's a lot of money to spend for "Grouchy-till-noon". If I want grouchy, I'll go ride the Snow White ride. :)

Friday was like Sunday. Everyone was great. The fireworks gala at the end of the day was worth the price of admission. Like the food critic at the end of Pixar's 'Ratatouille', I was transported back to being a wee tot. I love Disneyland and the Disney experience.

Like with any park, the prices for food and souvenirs was inflated. No big deal. In Fullerton (where we stayed), there was a Disney outlet shop. If you can handle 'Last Year's Disney' at the park, you can collect a lot of gear relatively inexpensively.

I CANNOT MAKE THIS RECOMMENDATION STRONG ENOUGH:

If you are going to go to Disneyland Or Disneyworld, there is a book called The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. It is 100% worth buying or checking out from your library. It was recommended to us (thanks Mary) and now we recommend it to you. Follow the suggested itinerary. It's good.

Our Picks:

Matt's Faves:

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, Mulholland Madness, and Splash Mountain.

Charlie's Faves:

California Screamin, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain

Desiree's Faves:

California Screamin, Big Thunder Mountain, Mulholland Madness

My Faves:

California Screamin, Splash Mountain, Toy Story Midway Mania

We didn't ride the Tower of Terror, and would have benefited from another day in the park. But, I had to get back to work. And blog. LOL.

We'll have the pics up on flikr of picasa, so say tuned. For those that encouraged us while we were, thanks for the kind words. I haven't even talked about the beach and the tide pools, and I won't even begin to opine on how I have a new understanding for how fragile our ecosystem is, and how big the human footprint is. I won't opine on that today. Maybe another day.

Thanks for reading this. Have a Magical Day!