The nonstop flight to John Wayne Airport from Seattle on Alaska Airlines was on time and pleasant despite being filled to capacity – the airline even substituted a good warm cookie for the usual bag of pretzels. John Wayne airport has a very slow baggage carousel – the bags come out one every 10 seconds or so one at a time. The rental cars are found within the garage of the airport directly across the street so picking up the car was fast and easy. Armed with Mapquest directions, the car ride to the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland took less than half an hour. Disneyland is well labeled on highway signs but finding the Grand Californian is more difficult since signage is poor.
Disney did an excellent job with the Grand Californian – the exterior suggests a mountain ski lodge but the interiors are quite luxurious complete with relatively spacious rooms with refrigerators, plasma TVs and DVD players. Although the ambient noise level is high for a luxury hotel, it is probably unavoidable in a resort that caters to families. The lobby level gives the “lodge” feel with many sofas and chairs, a bar area, a fireplace – many places to lounge around. Disney’s Brother Bear character roams around and scares young children. The hotel is quite long rather than high and finding your room can be a challenge. Located adjacent to the California Adventure Park, the hotel contains a special entrance gate. Other parts of the Disney complex – Disneyland and Downtown Disney are within easy walking distance of the Grand Californian.
On Friday morning, disappointing rain greeted Ray and Traci – they started by having breakfast at a nearby Coco’s restaurant since the character buffet at the hotel had a long line. They met Traci’s sister Kristi and daughter Maya and headed to a rain drenched Disneyland – not always the happiest place on earth. Thanks to Mickey Mouse rain ponchos Traci and Kristi stayed somewhat comfortable. Ray had a complete REI gortex rain suit on so he was fine. Maya refused to wear her poncho and became quite soaked. The journey began at “Small World” followed by “Dumbo”, “King Arthur’s Carrousel” and Peter Pan’s Flight. A much drier and more comfortable Ray left the group to see relatively new attractions – Space Mountain with music by the Hot Chili Peppers, Star Tours and Indiana Jones Adventure. Space Mountain which previously seemed like a rather pedestrian roller coaster indoors, was immensely better when set to better light effects and the Red Hot Chili Peppers Music. This quite dated attraction was so much more enjoyable with the upgrades although it really doesn’t qualify with today’s “thrill” rides. Indiana Jones is an attraction not to be missed – like most good Disney features, the experience begins in line with the décor and atmosphere. Artifacts and signs warning patrons of things not to do (or face a lifetime of blight and desperation) resulted in, of course, people doing the exact opposite. The ride can best be described as a 2007 version (with a much higher thrill factor) of the Haunted Mansion. Patrons ride around in jeep like vehicles thru various Indiana Jones type scenes including one where the huge boulder comes right toward your vehicle. The ride is somewhat rough and quite spooky in places but one not to be missed. The biggest surprise of the day was the (relatively) long lines – For a weekday immediately after Spring Break with the most rain, perhaps for the entire year, the 35-45 minutes at Disney’s most popular features was quite surprising. From their last experience at Orlando, where weekday visits at all of the parks immediately after winter break found virtually no line more than 5 minutes, Ray and Traci were surprised at the wait at Disneyland. Perhaps the 13 million citizens surrounding Disneyland, the fact that only 2 parks are operating and the relatively cheap annual passes available to Southern California residents all contribute to the lines-even on a post spring break rainy weekday. Perhaps the powers at Disney will start throwing in “Fastpasses” with hotel packages as one has to question how much of Disneyland can be enjoyed by a regular tourist visiting during peak traffic days.Ray met up with Traci, Kristi and Maya at the California adventure park. Maya was now thoroughly soaked so Kristi headed home. The rains that made the morning so miserable largely subsided so Ray and Traci waited in a 35 minute line for the best Disney feature – California Screamin! Like Space Mountain, Screamin was set to music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The relatively new roller coaster features silky smooth steel construction, a complete 360 loop, and an exhilarating launch up the first hill from an impressive electrical propulsion system. Riders begin at a dead stop followed by an incredible multi-G climb directly up a huge hill. Of the coasters Ray and Traci have ridden, only the Rock n Roll Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith (at Disney-MGM Studios) can compare and that particular indoor experience is less thrilling. If you like coasters you will love Screamin!
Ray and Traci picked up some fastpasses for repeat visits and then went to ride the Sun Wheel – a huge Ferris wheel which is OK for photos of the coaster but otherwise a waste of time and then the Soarin’ Over California Adventure. Soarin’ is the second don’t miss attraction in California Adventure – it combines beautiful Imax photography of California with a Disney ride complete with special wind & scent special effects to give you the sensation of flying over the Golden State. After Soarin, Traci went back to the hotel and Ray decided to partake in a few more adventures. The Tower of Terror (previously ridden at Disney-MGM studios) is the third can’t miss attraction in California Adventure. Great features provide thrill by incredible anxiety provoking visuals like speed, huge drops, upside down loops or by making riders fear the unknown. Tower of Terror takes a relatively common drop ride to a whole new level with the Rod Serling Twilight Zone theme and doing much of it in the dark with unexpected and seemingly unending motion. Ray finished his California adventure by riding the unremarkable water raft ride (in his gortex suit) and then using both fast passes for the Screamin rollercoaster – riding twice in 15 minutes is a good way to lose one’s appetite. Ray returned to the room to get Traci and both headed back to Disneyland to see the amazing “Dreams” Fireworks show. Disney puts on a fireworks extravaganza like none other – great pyrotechnics, wonderful choreography, music, an aerial “Tinkerbell” and laser lights all add up to one amazing show – don’t miss it! Now, completely exhausted, Ray and Traci went to the ESPN zone to find out how much the Seattle Mariners lost by and enjoy two quite surprisingly good salads – a Shrimp Caesar and a Southwest Cajun Chicken Salad.
Saturday was the LA adventure day. It started by Ray and Traci both remembering why they no longer live in Los Angeles – weekend driving took over an hour and a half to go from Anaheim to Santa Monica. Fortunately, the weather was better with more sunshine. They parked (for free!) in the Santa Monica 3rd street garage and wandered down the famous promenade. National chain stores mixed with local restaurants, theatres and street artists (some were quite good). A Frank Sinatra sound a like showed talent but probably would be better advised to move to Las Vegas. Ray and Traci had lunch at the Santa Monica Mall Food Court – California Crisp enjoying salads and sandwiches. They then went down to the Santa Monica Pier to meet the Pacific Ocean, take some pictures and listen to more street artists. An Elvis singer who somehow got on the Jimmy Kimmel show made listeners long for William Hung’s American Idol performances. Two brothers provided much more entertainment with a smashing rendition of “Stand By Me” – perhaps Simon Cowell should visit the pier when looking for the next American Idol.
After leaving the pier, Ray and Traci went to the UCLA campus where Ray negotiated with an “unofficial” merchant to get a deal on a Bruin Sweatshirt. They then walked up campus, saw the new (but not opened) Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and went into the UCLA bookstore for some “official” memorabilia. Traci got some cookies at “Diddy Riese” – unfortunately it was nearing the dinner hour or both would have gotten the $1.25 ice cream sandwiches. If you want a cheap lunch complete with dessert – go no farther than Diddy Riese. After leaving Westwood, Ray and Traci traveled to meet Kristi, her husband Dil and their kids Jay and Maya. The whole party went to the Topanga Mall for dinner at The Farm. Before dinner, Traci marveled at the amazing Nordstrom store. Jay and Maya got to ride the double high merry go round inside the mall before the whole group sat down for dinner. Ray and Traci both enjoyed their chicken dishes (Ray had the fried chicken, Traci had the baked). The night ended with a somewhat less frustrating drive back to Anaheim.
On Sunday, Ray and Traci picked up breakfast from La Brea Bakery Café supplemented with beignets from Jazz Kitchen – both in Downtown Disney adjacent to the Grand Californian. Ray previously purchased tickets for the Seattle Mariners game against the Angels and Traci’s brother Kevin brought Kristi’s son Jay to join Ray and Traci. Obviously pessimistic from a 5 game losing streak, Ray had little patience with the Mariners poor performance, eventually losing 6-1.
Anaheim has a well decorated although somewhat dated stadium complete with something Seattle doesn’t have in their $525 million playpen: a World Series Trophy.
After the 7th inning stretch, the four baseball fans left to go back to Disneyland for some games at the ESPN zone. With some mini-bowling and air hockey entertainment completed, Kevin took Jay back home while Ray and Traci satisfied a Pizza craving at Mama Cozza’s (an Italian restaurant located about 3 miles from Disneyland. The pizza (a “Hawaiian”) was quite good, the menu was complete with many Italian and sandwich dishes, and the prices couldn’t be beaten. Ray and Traci returned to the Grand Californian with appetites cured of pizza cravings.
Monday was getaway day, and we planned on going to the South Coast Mall in the OC (Orange County) before returning home. The weather dramatically improved and California’s famous sunshine appeared. After checking out from the Grand Californian, they headed toward the mall which has a wide range of stores – from Sears Auto Shop to Tiffany’s. Also, an unusually large number of security guards wandered the halls for an obviously sparse Monday morning crowd. Ray and Traci had lunch at Traci’s favorite out of town lunch chain – The Corner Bakery. (Should the Corner Bakery come to downtown Seattle they will have at least one regular client). Traci enjoyed some oatmeal and Ray had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. During the window shopping, Ray found a Haagan Daaz and enjoyed a vanilla chocolate chip ice cream treat. Traci was impressed with the very successful Nordstrom location. A short drive later, the travelers boarded an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle and completed another adventure.
