Notices
Disneyland California and West Coast Trip Reports Trip Reports

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 3 Dec 18, 11:33 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
Pumba75
Imagineer
 
Pumba75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 09

Pumba75's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 6
Restaurant Reviews: 23
DIBB Villa Reviews: 2
4 go La La in La La Land - Day 17: The Long and Winding Road

Friday August 17th 2018

So, here it was, the day no-one ever wants to arrive. Travelling home day. We woke up to something we hadn’t seen at all during the previous 16 days - cloudy, overcast skies, which barely cleared all day. California obviously didn’t want us to go. There is not a huge amount of detail in today’s report as there wasn’t really much to report!

After showering and coffee, we packed the last few bits, did a last sweep of the suite to check for anything we had missed, and checked out of Hotel Indigo. This had been a great base for our Anaheim stay, so handy for Disneyland, with plenty of food options nearby and plenty of space.

It was now around 7.30am, and our flight home was at 3.30pm. We had planned to visit Santa Monica Beach and Pier en route, but first it was time for breakfast. There was only one option really…... a final trip to Panera Bread. I’ve failed here as I didn’t make notes of what we all had - well, apart from me, obviously. As the Beautiful South once sung “Give me one last Bear Claw” (note: this may not be strictly true, but I think my version scans better). Ah, what I’d give to be eating one now.






Breakfast eaten, we jumped back in the car to head across town, and immediately hit traffic. All in all the roughly 45 mile journey took about 1hr 45 mins. Actually, not bad by LA standards.




Around about 9.45am we were pulling up in a parking lot by the pier - the skies were still grey and there were a few “interesting” characters around.




I commented to Melissa that I didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the area - we’d seen it so much on tv and in films and had been really excited about coming here, but to be totally honest... it was really disappointing - the pier itself felt very seedy and like a very rundown and tired British seaside town. Southend felt like Buckingham Palace! The final straw for me was when we stopped to use the loos - I was followed in by one of the many homeless people in the area, who started hassling me for money, he’d positioned himself across the doorway, but there was enough room for me to force myself past him. I took Melissa and the girls and we headed back to the car - we’d been there less than 10 minutes. We must be in the minority as all the research said it is a must do iconic landmark and everyone seems to love it, but hey ho! Ticked off the list.






We had also originally discussed driving round to see some of the houses featured in Modern Family, but they were a little way apart, and I was concerned about the traffic. So we decided to head back to the airport straightaway, stopping to fill the car up on the way. It was now about 10.15am and Melissa did comment that the airport was only “around the corner” (it was about 6 miles away) and we promptly hit traffic! In fact it was really bad traffic - it took about 90 minutes to do the final mile or so to the airport, and loads of people were getting out of their cabs etc with cases as they were running late.

This was our view for a while...




There were a lot of police vehicles around and we later discovered that the airport had been locked down after a vehicle was found with weapons in the boot and a guy had been arrested trying to take guns through security - apparently he worked in the film industry and it turned out they were all props - obviously the police/security services weren’t to know this though and had reacted accordingly - what a complete tool!

We did manage to catch a very quick glimpse of the LAX sign. This reminded us of one of our favourite Christmas films - "Nativity"




By the time we got back to the rental return area it was absolute chaos - there was obviously a backlog from the delays, and the process of checking the cars back in had descended into some kind of post-zombie apocalyptic anarchy. I was ignored by one Avis rep who checked the car in front of me, walked past me and then started to check in the one behind, I complained to another who told me just to leave the car, and then got shouted at by another for trying to walk away from the car before it had been checked in!




It then took about three attempts to get on one of the buses back to the terminal. Once that bit had been dealt with, it was around 12.30pm and we were all a bit peckish - we got through check-in, which was a breeze as we were about the only people at the BA desk and decided to eat before we went through security as we had discovered there was an Earl of Sandwich. Melissa, E and I all had a Holiday Sandwich, which made everything right with the world, and M had Tuna. It was so so good and as we enjoyed our last Californian meal, we reminisced about our experiences of the last two and a bit weeks.






Once we’d finished we headed through security with no drama, found some seats near the gate, grabbed a Starbucks and set about passing the relatively short time before our flight home.




We settled into our seats near the back in a row of 4 with no problems.






The flight itself was uneventful, other than a surprising addition to one of the meals! Yuck. The air steward was very apologetic.




We landed on time and met up with Paul again in the terminal at Heathrow and he drove us home, albeit with a few delays on the M25. We got back to find that Melissa’s Mum and Dad had done some shopping for us to make sure we had some basic supplies. It meant Melissa could have a cup of tea and start on her Coconut Patties!



My new mug was unpacked!



And the girls new pins, along with lots of other shopping!




And that was that. After all the planning and excitement it seemed unreal to think it was all over. Sitting here now and looking back it seems like a long while ago! We had an absolute blast.

Our highlights were as follows:

Me - San Diego
E - Warner Brothers Studio Tour
M - Knott’s Berry Farm
Melissa (apparently gets to pick more than the rest of us!) - Joshua Tree, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and her birthday in California Adventure!




We’ve all said that we LOVED every moment and so glad we ticked everything off we wanted to do.

And so the report comes to an end - thanks so much for reading along, I hope you’ve enjoyed it.



Future Plans


As for future plans, well…..we have a little trip to Disneyland Paris coming up at New Year, including New Year’s Eve.




And beyond that, a return to Florida next summer - we’ll be travelling with friends who are going for the first time and flights are already booked. BA again, this time into Tampa - rough plans are for a couple of nights at St Pete Beach, a couple onsite at Universal, and then a villa for 10 nights. We’ll be doing Universal, possibly KSC, but unlikely any Disney parks will be involved.




Thanks for reading all!

Edited at 08:10 AM.
Pumba75 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 3 Dec 18, 11:48 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Twilight Nerd
slightly serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Apr 10
I’ve really enjoyed reading your reports. Thanks for taking the time to do them and happy planning for next year.
Twilight Nerd is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 Dec 18, 08:52 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
Goldia
VIP Dibber
 
Goldia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 16

Goldia's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 43
I'm sad this is the end. We will have to make it over to the west coast one day. I went as a teenager back in 1994! I stayed with friends in San Diego and we managed to go to Seaworld and also to Disneyland and universal...anyway it's been fun reading along. My kids would have loved to have seen the houses from modern family! Also, we're clearly on the same tv schedule as we watched Nativity on Saturday afternoon! It's a movie we watch every year!

I hope you have fun in DLP and you enjoy your holiday next summer with your friends. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for future trip reports.
__________________
Abby
New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
Goldia is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 4 Dec 18, 08:54 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
i love jack
Apprentice Imagineer
 
i love jack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 07
Such a fantastic trip thank you, I’ve really enjoyed reading your report.
__________________
Emma
i love jack is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 5 Dec 18, 07:44 AM  
Link to this Post
#5
Melbatb
Imagineer
 
Melbatb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 13
Thanks for a great report. Bought back lots of memories of our SoCal trip last Christmas!

Enjoy DLP!
Melbatb is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 5 Dec 18, 02:18 PM  
Link to this Post
#6
slow.jo
Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Nov 10
Shame about Santa Monica - from your experience it's not our cup of tea either!

Such a fantastic report, thanks so much for writing it up!

Jo xx
__________________
IG: joannesear

Stewboy's Trip Reports
slow.jo is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 6 Dec 18, 09:23 AM  
Link to this Post
#7
liz-paul
Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Sep 15
Location: Northern Ireland
Mobile

Great trippie, thanks for sharing 😀
liz-paul is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Dec 18, 07:43 AM  
Link to this Post
#8
Nesbits
Very Serious Dibber
 
Nesbits's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 06
It’s been a great trippie. I’ve really enjoyed your holiday. I must try a bear claw.
Nesbits is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Dec 18, 09:40 AM  
Link to this Post
#9
Cutiepie
Imagineer
 
Cutiepie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 09
Fantastic trippie as usual We really must do the West Coast some day before the kids no longer want to come with us!

Thanks for sharing.
Cutiepie is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 24 Dec 18, 06:56 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
mrsdjh
Imagineer
 
mrsdjh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 13
Mobile

Im glad I’ve finally managed to find the time to sit and read the rest of your report eventually. I’ve added lots of notes to my planning book ready for when we can go. I think for us California would be a one off trip (although given your experience Santa Monica won’t be top of my to visit list!)

Thanks for the report and fab photos. Enjoy your trip to DLP - what a great way to see in the new year.
mrsdjh is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:05 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2366
CaxtonFX  $1.2318
Covent Garden FX  $1.2545
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2357
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 17:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1447
CaxtonFX  €1.1407
Covent Garden FX  €1.1514
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 17:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X