10 Mths of WDW Planning leads us to~~DISNEYLAND!! Report Completed~Pic Heavy!!!

[DizNee Luver]

We walked onto Buena Vista Street and headed towards the exit.



We sent Mike inside the Carthay Circle Restaurant to see if he could get a picture of the gingerbread house in there......it was a Snow White themed one.



And.....since he was in there, he got a couple more pics (unfortunately.....nothing from the actual restaurant)





The Christmas Tree~~











Goodbye Disney California Adventure Park.....until we see you again!!





We headed into Downtown Disney.



The tower on top of Tortilla Jo's.



We checked in for our dinner reservation at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. This is a restaurant Mike & I discovered during our anniversary trip. Love this place!!! Well.......that is until tonight. We were damp from being out in the rain and we are seated outside. They have heaters out there.....but most of the time, they turned off......so we sat shivering in our wet clothes in the cold. I can't blame the restaurant for us being damp.....I also think on a warm evening.....sitting outside would be nice for our group.......but on a cold night, when they seemed to be short staffed and had issues with the heaters......it made for a not very nice experience.



Shortly after being seated, our waitress came by and got our drink orders. We also said we'd need to talk with someone regarding food allergies. We also requested the heaters be turned on. The manager came by and spoke with us about Shy's allergies and gave us suggestions and we asked about certain things we knew she'd eat. He turned the heaters on and left. About 20 minutes later, our drinks show up. She tells us she'll be back in a minute to take our order. So we wait........ After about 10 minutes, she comes back and gets our food order. Then we wait & wait & wait & wait. I was ready to leave as my fibromyalgia wasn't liking me & I was in pain from the cold (the heaters were off most of the time we were there). I think about an hour after being seated......we get our food.

Shy's food:



Addy & Anthony:





I got the crab cake appetizer and the Soup 1-1-1:





I don't remember what Ty or Mike had:





I also ordered the fried green tomatoes for the adults to share.



Ok.....so the food is served & we all go to eat it and it's already getting cold. My soups were steaming, but I pull off a spoon full and it's cold by the time it hit my mouth. Everyone was having the same problem.....it was cold enough to be cooling off the food. One of the soups I had was burnt....tasted like eating charcoal....ick!

So now we're tired, cold, wet & our food is cold. We were done & ready to go. Finding our waitress so we could pay and go was also a long drawn out process. We finally had Tyler take the 4 kids back to the hotel while Mike & I waited it out. This was our MOST EXPENSIVE MEAL and not worth it!! Our poor waitress was running all over the place and I think the few of us banished to the patio were sometimes forgotten and ignored. Mike & I finally took our bill inside to be dealt with.

I can't tell you how disappointed we were this time.....it will be a long time before I go back. Seating people outside when the temp is in the middle to low 40's is not good business......especially if your heaters don't like to stay on and you're not having someone monitoring them. You also should have a waitress/waiter assigned to work just these tables. You're the furthest away from the kitchen and drinks.......so you need someone that can stay on top of that. I can't tell you if the food was decent or not......it was cold. Usually our meals here are worth the extra money.

PS: The Banana's Foster's is no longer on the dessert menu!!!

We headed back to the hotel.....but first stopping at Tortilla Jo's to get our dinner ressie the next night moved ahead & make sure it's noted NOT TO GIVE US AN OUTSIDE TABLE!!!! lol

We got back up to the room to watch the 2nd showing of WoC. Everyone was in PJ's, the heat was turned up in the room & we called it a night.

[kaoden39]

Laurie, did you send an email to Ralph Brennan's? I would. They need to know. They are in the hospitality business and that was not hospitable at all.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Laurie, did you send an email to Ralph Brennan's? I would. They need to know. They are in the hospitality business and that was not hospitable at all.

I didn't.....I should have, but had to deal with the wax museum tickets when we got home and since that's the one that had money tied to it.....that's where my energies went!!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DizNee Luver

I didn't.....I should have, but had to deal with the wax museum tickets when we got home and since that's the one that had money tied to it.....that's where my energies went!!

I might still do it if I was you. They survive on their reputation and word of mouth.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

I might still do it if I was you. They survive on their reputation and word of mouth.

Who knows.....maybe I'll stop by there in a couple weeks and share my thoughts with a manager. I know we mentioned it to the gals on the way out......"ahh, I'm sorry......."

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DizNee Luver

Who knows.....maybe I'll stop by there in a couple weeks and share my thoughts with a manager. I know we mentioned it to the gals on the way out......"ahh, I'm sorry......."

Nothing like empty platitudes. It never fails to amaze me that apologies rolls off of some peoples tongues like it's nothing. Wouldn't hurt to stop by and see the manager.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Nothing like empty platitudes. It never fails to amaze me that apologies rolls off of some peoples tongues like it's nothing. Wouldn't hurt to stop by and see the manager.

It's not their business, so they don't care.......

[Trentmom]

Love all the pics of Cars Land. Looks so pretty at night

That stinks you had such an awful experience at that restaurant.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by Trentmom

Love all the pics of Cars Land. Looks so pretty at night

That stinks you had such an awful experience at that restaurant.

It is neat at night with all the neon glow!!!

It is a disappointment, especially since it's always been a highlight on our trip!

[DnA2010]

Sorry your meal was so crappy...I know what you mean about just wanting to get out of there...having worked in restaurants for so long I do to try to always talk to the manager if we have bad meals as, having been a restaurant manager as well as a server, I would have much rather known about the problem rather than have the customer go away unhappy...look at the side affects of your bad meal, now many of us will def think twice before going there

Looking forward to the next update

[Markie Mouse]

I would like to let you know, your TR has inspired me to switch to PPH instead of DLR due to the amazing view. I feel if I'm paying top dollar per night I don't want to be looking at a parking lot or a micro Matterhorn but get a view like yours. Did you have to request a view like that or if I pay for premium view will they all be like that?

[nicholaseck]

Originally Posted by Markie Mouse

I would like to let you know, your TR has inspired me to switch to PPH instead of DLR due to the amazing view. I feel if I'm paying top dollar per night I don't want to be looking at a parking lot or a micro Matterhorn but get a view like yours. Did you have to request a view like that or if I pay for premium view will they all be like that?

As long as you ask for park view, you will get a room with a nice view of California Adventure. That is what my mom (Diznee Luver) has booked for our trip at the end of the month. She said that the view is wonderful. You can watch the World of Color from your room and the music is piped in through the TV in the room.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by DnA2010

Sorry your meal was so crappy...I know what you mean about just wanting to get out of there...having worked in restaurants for so long I do to try to always talk to the manager if we have bad meals as, having been a restaurant manager as well as a server, I would have much rather known about the problem rather than have the customer go away unhappy...look at the side affects of your bad meal, now many of us will def think twice before going there

Looking forward to the next update

That's true, we really should brought it up right then & there.....but we were miserable and just wanted to get back to our room to warm up.

Originally Posted by Markie Mouse

I would like to let you know, your TR has inspired me to switch to PPH instead of DLR due to the amazing view. I feel if I'm paying top dollar per night I don't want to be looking at a parking lot or a micro Matterhorn but get a view like yours. Did you have to request a view like that or if I pay for premium view will they all be like that?

Originally Posted by nicholaseck

As long as you ask for park view, you will get a room with a nice view of California Adventure. That is what my mom (Diznee Luver) has booked for our trip at the end of the month. She said that the view is wonderful. You can watch the World of Color from your room and the music is piped in through the TV in the room.

Thanx Nick for answering........just book the Theme Park View rooms and you'll get to see that view every day (and night). The WoC show is simulcast on the tv, so you can watch from your room but also hear the music. (make sure you turn your lights off for the best viewing) I hope you'll love it as much as my family does!!!

[DizNee Luver]

I wanted to apologize for my absence.....my mom ended up in the hospital and it took us all off guard. She's got an infection in her intestines and also had a bad reaction to a medicine she was given. She's much better, but still has a few days in the hospital I'm guessing. I've been driving up to see her (she's about an hour away)......so I've been offline quite a bit.

[Trentmom]

No worries Laurie. I am glad she is doing better and hope she is out soon