Disney Mania

I am finally back from my trip.  This was my second time at the Disneyland Hotel - and I was happy to see that it is in the process of getting a makeover.  All of the rooms are/were renovated as was the pool area.  Only the hot tub and two of the pools were open, which was fine since it was a whopping 62 degrees and mostly cloudy.  The pool area was open until 10 pm and the water slide closed at 8. 

Part of the renovated pool area

The sleeping rooms have many Micky characteristics...

The headboard above lights up and also plays a little music when you turn it on which was really cute.  The room had a refrigerator, which is helpful for beverages/food...not many hotels these days give you that.  In the closet was a wall safe, which was an awkward size, but fit what I needed it to, a pack and play, an extra pillow, an extra blanket, and iron/ironing board.  Of course a hair dryer was in the bathroom...but it wasn't the best.  Speaking of bathroom...what I liked in my room was that the toilet/tub was in one room and the sink was near the closet; which is ideal when traveling with someone else. 

Since Disney is the "happiest place on Earth" it is no surprise that the customer service was amazing.  All the workers said hello and had big smiles. 

I was there for work...and one of our break refreshments was a tasty pretzel:

Our second night, my co-worker & I decided to try out Disneyland.  We were able to purchase a twilight ticket which was valid from 4pm - 9pm and was $34.  We rode the monorail over to Disneyland and found out that Thunder Mountain was closed for repairs, so we went to Splash Mountain...which also just so happened to close for mechanical issues just as we were getting in line.  Finally after walking for about 30 minutes, we ended up at Space Mountain.  It has been a while since I was in DisneyWorld...but I remember Space Mountain being a one-seat ride...in Disneyland it was a two seater, but of course the same great concept of riding in the dark.  Loved it.   That was the longest line we waited on...so in the 5 hours, we made it on 6 or 7 rides.  Some others included the Indiana Jones (which I don't remember from DisneyWorld - but was highly recommended by my friend Anne), It's a Small World, Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, & ___.  We skipped the parade and the fireworks to do as much as we could do in our short time.  Walking around a bit, we did not see any of the characters...I know we were in a bit of a rush, but we did pass the restaurants the central areas and no sightings which made my co-worker sad.

Let's talk a little about Downtown Disney.  We were here a bunch, since it was so close.  There is a movie theater which is good for the night or when it is rainy.  There was a nice variety of restaurants - Mexican, New Orleans, Pizza, ESPN, Rainforrest Cafe, a fancier place, etc.  The food prices seemed reasonable, then again I am from the NYC metro area.  I enjoyed our food and beverage the best at the Mexican place.  One night we stopped in the New Orleans place for their dueling piano show...but was highly disappointed by the quality of the show...but still happy it was something to listen to.  We never made it over to the House of Blues for their show.  They had a little cupcake stand and a confectionery shop where we picked up these:

 

A bit of a walk, but within walking distance, there is a place called Garden Walk on Katella Street.  There are a few restaurants there and a small outdoor-type mall with a movie theater.  We ate at McCormick & Schmidt one night, where I thought the soup I ordered was FABULOUS.

My one small negative about Disneyland Hotel was the Business Center.  Most people wouldn't use this area, but since I had to mail out 5 packages...the worker, the only one that did not have a nametag I might add, was so overwhelmed processing my shipment and making photocopies.  I was behind the counter helping him with the size of the packages and how to do a multiple shipment. He commented that no one has ever went behind the counter to help him, but since we were there for ONE FULL HOUR....I started to loose my patience at 20 minutes and couldn't help myself. 

more candy apples...YUM