Let’s just say we could all use a little Happiest Place on Earth Right now! Update 3/4

rentayenta

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Let’s just say we could all use a little Happiest Place on Earth Right now- a pre-trip report!

Hey there, hi there, ho there, you’re as welcome as can be! Without going into political talk, lets just say my family of 5 could use a much needed escape from reality and a little Happiest Place on Earth right now. :welcome: to my pre-trip report.

Here is our cast of characters:



Joshua 15, me (Jenny), DH (Michael), Gabby 19, and Chloe almost 18. This photo was taken at DH’s retirement. He proudly served 22+ years as a Captain paramedic firefighter at a local FD here in Utah. He retired this past June. We could not be more proud of him. Currently both girls work for Starbucks and love their jobs! If you have teenagers looking for a quality company who will treat them well; look into Starbucks. I work as a crisis worker in ERs assessing pts for the ability or inability to be a harm towards themselves or others, psychosis, etc...DS is 15 y/o and wants a job but no one around here hires that young but a local amusement park. DH has a pretty sweet very part time side gig.


Here we are two years ago:




And a few favorites from when they were itty bitty:












We are current DAP holders living in Utah. We are up in air with regard to renewing our annual passes in December but we shall see. I have a feeling we will….. pixiedust:

This trip has morphed from 10 days, including driving, staying completely off site, to 8 days now flying with all of our Disney days staying on site. Funny how that happens. ;)

Our current plans are:

Saturday 11/26: fly from SLC to LGB, rent a car for the next two days, and stay in Seal Beach. I have access to pretty great rates at Hilton so we try to stay there whenever possible. Fortunately I was able to grab a terrific rate at the Seal Beach Hampton Inn.

http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/ho...-inn-and-suites-seal-beach-LGBSBHX/index.html It’s by no means fancy but it’s got free parking, free hot breakfast, it’s right next to a Starbucks, and only a few miles from some of our favorite beach spots.

If you have not flown into Long Beach and it’s an option with your airline of choice, I highly recommend it. It’s small and wonderful with a few good places to eat.

http://www.lgb.org

We land midmorning and our first plan, after we drop off bags, is to visit my father who lives in Anaheim. I won’t go into a great amount of detail but he suffered a major stroke 9 years ago and lives in a care facility. He looooooves Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken and boysenberry pie. https://www.knotts.com/california-marketplace/mrs-knott-s-chicken-dinner-restaurant The chicken and pie are really that good; the rest is so-so.





After visiting with my dad and celebrating Christmas of sorts, we will head to the beach regardless of the weather unless it’s pouring rain. :scared:





Dinner could be at a number of places between Long Beach and Seal Beach but our favorites include Super Mex, Walt’s Wharf, and The Original Fish Company. There are about 10,000 good places to dine. Here are links though for our favorites if you are interested.


Super Mex: http://www.supermex.com/home Their red taco sauce is TDF! Seriously. This is my go-to meal:





Walt’s Wharf: http://waltswharf.com Their crab, fresh sourdough, and clam chowder. :cloud9:


The Original Fish Company: http://www.originalfishcompany.com I grew up going here and its as good as ever.


Sunday 11/27: morning will consist of more beach time, maybe shopping in Huntington Beach. A word about HB. It is fun and safe during the day but becomes much less so after dark.


https://www.surfcityusa.com


This is Main Street looking out at the beach and pier:





Monday 11/28-12/23: Its Disneyland Resort time!!! Boy did I have a helluva time trying to decide where to stay. Originally we were staying these next 5 nights at the new Homewood Suites in Anaheim- Convention Center.

http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/e...m-resort-convention-center-ANADLHW/index.html It looks pretty fabulous especially for off property and at the rate I secured.


I had also waitlisted two nights at the GCV. We are DVC members. SSR at WDW is our home report and over the past few years have used every single point at the DLR either staying at the GCV or using points to stay at the DLH. Live and learn. When we add on, it will be at the GCV.


But then came AP and Disney Visa rates….isn’t that how many of these stores begin? :lmao: :blush:


By some short miracle both of our nights at the GCV came through! :woohoo: I could go on for days about why I love the villas so much. I will let this photo do the talking,





And then there’s my babies with the GCH lobby tree.






Both were taken in December. As I’ve aged I enjoy my downtime as much as our touring time and midday breaks at the GCH are the best thing ever! Between the pool areas, the Hearthstone, the service, and the views we have received while staying in the villas, it’s hand’s down our favorite place to stay at the DLR.


Once our two nights were secured at the GCV, I was feeling pretty good about our plans; 3 nights in Seal Beach, 3 nights at the new Homewood Suites, and the last two nights at the GCV. We would either snag another night near the beach somewhere or drive home Saturday. That was still in the air.


Then Jet Blue came out with an amazing deal. I found it here on the boards. :woohoo: With a promo code, it was additional % off. I searched our dates, knowing we could not leave before Dec 3rd as we could not cancel the GCV; who would want to anyway?! Well Dec 3rd popped up with $52 per person one way fare from SLC to LGB. That’s a crazy good price. I booked that immediately knowing we could cancel for a full refund within 24* without a penalty and with a full refund. Love Jet Blue. I searched for dates leaving SLC for both Friday and Saturday and Saturday came up at $80 each one way. I was sold! The cheap flights coupled with realizing the kids would all have to sit in the same row during the 11 hour drive made it a no-brainer. If you have ever traveled with teenagers, a major factor to consider is will they be able to sit independent of one another and not touch? If the answer is no; fly! LOL! We have a vehicle that would have made it possible but we also have a Prius and prefer to drive that due to spending less money on fuel and leaving less of a carbon foot print.


AP and Disney Visa rates. :teeth: After much humming and hawing, and I mean a lot of booking and canceling, like a crazy person actually, we decided to stay 3 nights at the PPH; one of those being concierge. Changing rooms doesn’t bother us in the least and I am not a fan of house keeping/Mousekeeping coming in daily, so this is perfect for us.


We have stayed at the PPH twice before. Once was over a decade ago and then while scrolling through Photobucket, we stayed for 2 nights about 6 years ago as well. I had totally spaced off this stay until very recently. :blush:


I recall slow elevators and just okay service. But I do have a few cute photos. I would be lying if I said I did not have reservations about staying there again but have read some very positive reviews as well as received some great info here on the DIS. I am really looking forward to our concierge night. Here are a few photos of the lounge I found on Google. DH will be over the moon that they have a Nespresso machine.










We could all eat our weight in these:

















Our hotel recap looks like this:


2 nights in Seal Beach

3 nights at the PPH

2 nights at the GCV




I will it leave it here for now. :thanks: for joining and :welcome:


Up next- Disney day by day itinerary…….
 
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I'm here :) This sounds like a fabulous trip!!!

When did Josh get so tall!?

Love the itty bitty pictures :love:

Too awesome about your waitlist coming through. And those flights are fantastic prices!

Congrats to DH's retirement. That is a huge accomplishment.

PPH was my least favorite of the three, but I still liked it a lot. Concierge looks yummy.

Oh Super Mex, I've been dreaming of those tacos popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn::

This is coming up fast :cool1:
 
Yay for your trip! I can't wait! If you decide on Walt's Wharf or the Fish Co. for Saturday night, you might be able to find some folks to tag along and bring some nice bottles of wine! :rolleyes1

OK ETA: I talked with Fran and she said she was even willing to go to Super Mex. The food poisoning she got there was 35 years ago, so she decided they could have a different chef now and she's willing to give them a second chance. :lmao:


The concierge offerings at PPH look similar to GCH. We eat our weight in those chocolate covered strawberries! (Well almost).
 
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I hear ya on needing a getaway to Disneyland! Last week, in fact, we booked another trip to Disneyland in early spring because we needed some fun things to look forward to. I love the Disney magic and just being able to get away from it all and not think about what's going on in the world one bit! The most stressful part of a Disney day is trying to make it in time for rope drop! lol

You have a lovely family! The pics from when your kids were young are super precious!

Sounds like a wonderful and relaxing trip! Can't wait to hear more!
 
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Here as well! I need to take a leaf out of your book. A pre-trip report is exactly what I need to take my mind off things.
 
I'm here :) This sounds like a fabulous trip!!!

When did Josh get so tall!?

Love the itty bitty pictures :love:

Too awesome about your waitlist coming through. And those flights are fantastic prices!

Congrats to DH's retirement. That is a huge accomplishment.

PPH was my least favorite of the three, but I still liked it a lot. Concierge looks yummy.

Oh Super Mex, I've been dreaming of those tacos popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn::

This is coming up fast :cool1:



Hi friend, I'm glad you are here. Would you mind sending me a signal when you update your report? I get email notifications for some threads but not for others. Its the strangest thing.

Isn't he tall? He's got her learner's permit too. :faint: When looking through photos for this reports, I ran across all of our Disney Wonder cruise pictures. Wasn't that a fabulous time!! It was only 2+ years ago but it seems like much longer. He was so little too.

Super Mex! I agree. I can't wait. We may have to uber there one more time before leaving CA. I can't imagine eating there just once. :blush:

The flight prices are awesome and because we just got our first snow last night (which you won't ever have to worry about again :woohoo: ) I am even happier that we are flying. There are some rough areas to be driving through in Utah when it snows. Some patches of little towns in the middle of nowhere and they don't take care of the roads.

PPH is not my favorite but I am going in with an open mind. Its on property which was the goal and it was so much less expensive than the DLH. I do enjoy the beach theme and concierge looks fun!







Yay for your trip! I can't wait! If you decide on Walt's Wharf or the Fish Co. for Saturday night, you might be able to find some folks to tag along and bring some nice bottles of wine! :rolleyes1

OK ETA: I talked with Fran and she said she was even willing to go to Super Mex. The food poisoning she got there was 35 years ago, so she decided they could have a different chef now and she's willing to give them a second chance. :lmao:


The concierge offerings at PPH look similar to GCH. We eat our weight in those chocolate covered strawberries! (Well almost).



:hug: Wine? :cloud9: Sounds fabulous to me. I forgot she got food poisoning there. I remember you telling me. Its been 35 years? I think she'll be okay. :lmao: But we can't bring wine.

The PPH concierge hours are less by two hours in the evening. I believe they close at 8 instead of 10. Concierge at the GCH for your birthday was ah-mazing. If its even 1/4 that cool, I'll be a happy girl.




I hear ya on needing a getaway to Disneyland! Last week, in fact, we booked another trip to Disneyland in early spring because we needed some fun things to look forward to. I love the Disney magic and just being able to get away from it all and not think about what's going on in the world one bit! The most stressful part of a Disney day is trying to make it in time for rope drop! lol

You have a lovely family! The pics from when your kids were young are super precious!

Sounds like a wonderful and relaxing trip! Can't wait to hear more!



Hi and :welcome: I agree about rope drop being the most stressful thing at Disneyland and I welcome that stress too. Fun that you have a trip planned for Spring. I love Spring and Fall at Disneyland.





Here as well! I need to take a leaf out of your book. A pre-trip report is exactly what I need to take my mind off things.





:wave: and :welcome: My book is your book. :hug: Glad you are here.
 
I'm here. Sounds like a great moral boost trip! I enjoyed the photos.

How cool scoring the waitlist at VGF. I feel as a DVC member that is my new fruit slot machine when it comes in I hit all the cherries in a row.

Great plans. Yeah re getting Jet Blue flights! Nice accomodation booked. This looks like it will be a great one. Cingrats DH on his service and retirement. I hope that DD's get a good Starbucks discount!
 


I'm here. Sounds like a great moral boost trip! I enjoyed the photos.

How cool scoring the waitlist at VGF. I feel as a DVC member that is my new fruit slot machine when it comes in I hit all the cherries in a row.

Great plans. Yeah re getting Jet Blue flights! Nice accomodation booked. This looks like it will be a great one. Cingrats DH on his service and retirement. I hope that DD's get a good Starbucks discount!



:welcome: friend! Happy to have you.

I will pass along the warm wishes to DH.

The girls get an awesome discount at Starbucks. We have not paid for our Keurig pods, Verismo pods, or bagged coffee in 2 years. :woohoo: They each get one free per week. I have coffee coming out the wazoo. LOL! They normally get a 30% discount on everything but last week was partner week when it was 40% off. Gabby is attending ASU online through the College Achievement Plan. Starbucks pays 100% of her tuition. I am not sure I could love Starbucks anymore than I already do. :love:

I love the slot machine fruit analogy! Thats perfect and exactly how it feels. :yay::yay::yay:
 
:welcome: friend! Happy to have you.

I will pass along the warm wishes to DH.

The girls get an awesome discount at Starbucks. We have not paid for our Keurig pods, Verismo pods, or bagged coffee in 2 years. :woohoo: They each get one free per week. I have coffee coming out the wazoo. LOL! They normally get a 30% discount on everything but last week was partner week when it was 40% off. Gabby is attending ASU online through the College Achievement Plan. Starbucks pays 100% of her tuition. I am not sure I could love Starbucks anymore than I already do. :love:

I love the slot machine fruit analogy! Thats perfect and exactly how it feels. :yay::yay::yay:

Wow that is great re Starbucks discount and paying tution. Nice to study and get a coffee to keep awake! Go Starbucks.
 
Hi friend, I'm glad you are here. Would you mind sending me a signal when you update your report? I get email notifications for some threads but not for others. Its the strangest thing.

Update done last night. Very bizarre about the notification strangeness!


Isn't he tall? He's got her learner's permit too. :faint:

Too cool!

When looking through photos for this reports, I ran across all of our Disney Wonder cruise pictures. Wasn't that a fabulous time!! It was only 2+ years ago but it seems like much longer. He was so little too.

It does seem so much longer. That was such an awesome trip! I hope one day we can do that again.


Super Mex! I agree. I can't wait. We may have to uber there one more time before leaving CA. I can't imagine eating there just once. :blush:

You MUST go more than once! popcorn:: Next year when we're at DL I hope I can take mom there. I know she'll love it!


The flight prices are awesome and because we just got our first snow last night (which you won't ever have to worry about again :woohoo: ) I am even happier that we are flying. There are some rough areas to be driving through in Utah when it snows. Some patches of little towns in the middle of nowhere and they don't take care of the roads.

That's even better that you're flying. Get there much faster and safer.


PPH is not my favorite but I am going in with an open mind. Its on property which was the goal and it was so much less expensive than the DLH. I do enjoy the beach theme and concierge looks fun!

It's quite close to the parks too. I love staying onsite, just feels more like vacation for me. The beach theme is super cute, and the pool was not busy at all. I'd stay there again.
 
:hug: Wine? :cloud9: Sounds fabulous to me. I forgot she got food poisoning there. I remember you telling me. Its been 35 years? I think she'll be okay. :lmao: But we can't bring wine.

What Super Mex do you go to Belmont Shore? I know they're all over. Yeah I didn't think super Mex did corkage, but the other two do! Will you guys have a car at all?

The PPH concierge hours are less by two hours in the evening. I believe they close at 8 instead of 10. Concierge at the GCH for your birthday was ah-mazing. If its even 1/4 that cool, I'll be a happy girl.

I forgot we had concierge for that weekend. Yeah it saved our butts on breakfast and snacks!
 
They're all over??? :hyper:

Well all over Southern California...

Jenny.....Have you ever been to California Fish Grill? There's one just north of LGB on Lakewood Blvd. It's so good! You get the quality of the pricey fish places without the prices. We just got fish & chips there and a battered fish taco for lunch today. Really good and a lot of food. They also have beer and wine. Great selection and you can have it grilled, fried or in a salad. There's even chicken for the non fish eaters.
 
Wow that is great re Starbucks discount and paying tution. Nice to study and get a coffee to keep awake! Go Starbucks.

Exactly! :lmao: Though the girls drink much less caffeine than when they started but still love it.




Update done last night. Very bizarre about the notification strangeness!

It does seem so much longer. That was such an awesome trip! I hope one day we can do that again.

You MUST go more than once! popcorn:: Next year when we're at DL I hope I can take mom there. I know she'll love it!

That's even better that you're flying. Get there much faster and safer.

It's quite close to the parks too. I love staying onsite, just feels more like vacation for me. The beach theme is super cute, and the pool was not busy at all. I'd stay there again.


I know! I will check it out. I am ready 3 reports and only get emails for Alison's.

Its our favorite. I wish they would come to Utah. In n Out finally did so I won't give up hope. LOL!

I agree. Theres not snow in the forecast but last year there was also no snow and we hit a HUGE storm. :headache:

I agree that staying onsite feels much more vacation like.



What Super Mex do you go to Belmont Shore? I know they're all over. Yeah I didn't think super Mex did corkage, but the other two do! Will you guys have a car at all?

I forgot we had concierge for that weekend. Yeah it saved our butts on breakfast and snacks!


How could you forget? It was amazing! :cloud9: The weekend was awesome! party:

We will have a car from Sat-Mon. We will drop it at the Alamo in DTD. We won't need to take advantage of our free DVC parking.


They're all over??? :hyper:


http://www.supermex.com/locations I guess so! I knew about the few in Long Beach. Sunset HB, and Cypress but had no idea Riverside had one. Crazy, there are way more than I thought.

Jenny would know that better, I just went grocery shopping and there's one in the parking lot near one of my grocery stores.


See link above. :woohoo:




I am working on my itinerary and will post it soon!


8 sleeps!!!!!!
 
Our Disney itinerary…….:woohoo: After 2 hopefully semi-warm days at the beach we will be changing gears and starting our Disney portion of the trip. Truth be told, if we don’t end up visiting Disneyland or at least DTD that Sunday night, I’ll be surprised. :blush:

Monday 11/28: I am so excited for this day! Through some major pixiedust a VIP tour was booked for our family. pixiedust: This is also the day I planned to spend with my dear friend Alison so I invited her to join us. I am so excited because now we are 6; an even number; no need to smash on BTMRR, POTC, and no one has to ride solo. Originally we had Carnation Café reservations for today for breakfast but who wants to spend the first hour eating? I am guessing we will do a later breakfast, snacks/drinks midday, light dinner/drinks, and then fireworks.

We will be staying at the PPH. I just read a thread about the new and unimproved elevator service at the Paradise Pier Hotel. :faint: Hopefully their stairs are totally accessible.

Tuesday 11/29: Still staying at the PPH and am elated to be staying on property! We have Carnation Café reservations for breakfast and Naples in DTD for dinner. No special plans other than to hit the Festival of the Holidays in DCA.

Wednesday 11/30. Still at the PPH but we will be staying concierge today! I am super-duper looking forward to this and planning on eating my weight in chocolate covered strawberries.

Thursday 12/1: We move to the GCV. We have a 1 bedroom booked for the next two nights. :cloud9: This is, hands down, my most favorite place to stay at the Disneyland Resort and the GCV come in a close second to my favorite DVC resort, AKV at WDW. Tonight we have reservations at Napa Rose.

Friday: 12/2: Still at the GCV. If weather permits, we will surely take a nice long cocktail infused midday break. I so enjoy their pool and being that we live in Utah, it only needs to be 70* for us to enjoy the pool area. We do have dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou but there is a good chance we will cancel those. Gabby has some local friends meeting us that day so we will see. We also have Carnation Café breakfast reservations in case we don’t make it on Tuesday. Breakfast at CC.

Saturday: late late late check out at the GCV, like the latest I can maneuver. ;) Because we won’t have a car and our flight doesn’t leave until about 8 pm we will most likely see Moana. Our original plan was to see it the day after Thanksgiving but Gabby works and we want to see it as a family. WE also have reservations for the Chip and Dale character meal at Storyteller’s at the GCH and a late lunch reservation for ESPN. Saturday is a big day for European football aka soccer. My fellas are BIG soccer fans.


Sorry there are no pics in this update. :daisy::daisy:
 
I'll be following along as well on your report. Hope you and your family have a great time in SoCal. You have a nice schedule during your trip and nice to see that you are able to stay on-site. I had a hunch that you will be eating at Super Mex during your visit which you got me hooked on this restaurant in Cypress.
 
Those sound like perfect plans. How nice to see Alison and also to stay on property plus score a night of club.

Then onto VGF! That looks like such a nice resort. Pam's photos of it look delightful. Those tiffany lamps! I would be there to eek it out until the flight also. Once we actually booked an extra day at SSR to use our room until our evening flight. That was bliss!

Nice to go to the movies. Look forward to reading. Not long now!
 
Sounds like some nice plans that you have, enjoy the strawberries. I will enjoy having a day of fun at the park.
 

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