The Disneyland, San Diego, and Vegas, oh my! Trip Report - COMPLETED!! 2/18/11 - Page 16 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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sounds like you had a great time on the west coast.
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I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report Marnie! Your stories are always so interesting and your pictures tell a story all by themselves Your children have gotten so much bigger just in the last year and I've enjoyed watching them grow with each trip report I will definitely look forward to hearing about your trip to Alaska. It's one of the places that I'd like to visit one day. Until then...thanks again for sharing your memories with us.
Great finish, Marnie! It sounds like it was a wonderful trip. My first visit to Las Vegas was in early August (yeah, 113 degrees ). Glad you survived the heat! And man, the pool closes at 7? Crazy! Thanks so much for sharing your TR with us and I'll be looking for your Alaska PTR.
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Marnie, sorry to hear Colin wasn't feeling well on your day to San Diego, but from the looks of it, San Diego, and your last day at Disneyland looked like so much fun. I'm sorry you endured a heatwave driving from California to Vegas and the heat got to you during your stay in Vegas. KA sounds like a great time and so does Circus Circus. Thank you so much for sharing your TR with us. It's given me a lot of insight too as we won't be living far from Vegas and Disneyland will become the closest Disney Park to us soon (and within driving distance) so thank you for your insight on Excalibur and what to do with Kids in Vegas in your TR, as well as your California Adventure. Your TR and Pictures didn't dissappoint one bit.
Marnie, I sure enjoyed reading your report, and looking at all your pics! Last year we went to DL then Vegas then back to Disney, and the year before that we did Disney & San Diego, so it brings back all kinds of memories! Our kids are a lot older than yours though, but thankfully we brought them to Legoland when they were a lot younger and we all enjoyed it so much, so I really loved looking at all your pics, miniland was my favorite part!! It looks like it's changed a lot, with the addition of the waterpark, etc. we also closed down the park, our kids went on a little water ride over and over (the one with billy goat's gruff?) What fun memories!
We stayed at the Flamingo in Vegas, took the Lux Bus from Anaheim, which was really nice and convenient. It was a 4 hour ride, in a nice air conditioned bus with comfortable reclining chairs with tv monitors that we watched movies on, and they offered drinks and snacks. It wasn't 1/2 as hot as you experienced though, but seeing as we are from Alaska, it was hot enough!
Speaking of Alaska, are you doing a cruise up here? We live in Southcentral Alaska, in the beautiful Matanuska Valley. We're about an hour out of Anchorage. I look forward to our rv trips this summer!!
Thanks again for sharing your experiences, although we've been to WDW, we haven't been since 2003, we look forward to going back. Our daughter, who's a freshman in college, is considering doing their college program next spring. Good excuse to go visit!
Speaking of Alaska, are you doing a cruise up here? We live in Southcentral Alaska, in the beautiful Matanuska Valley. We're about an hour out of Anchorage. I look forward to our rv trips this summer!!
Thanks for reading along! Yes, we're flying into Anchorage, doing a couple days in Denali, a quick hike on Matanuska Glacier with MICA, then to Seward for our cruise southbound! We can't wait!
Sounds like a great trip planned up here to my neck of the woods! Let's pray for better weather this summer than last...last year when we were in So. California, sadly that was the time when Alaska was having the best weather of the summer! Once we got home, it was gloomy and cold... ;( At any rate, I will put in a prayer for good weather!
Finally got a chance to finish your wonderful TR! I learned a LOT, as it's been 20 years since I visited Disneyland! It's changed a lot since then. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for finishing this up! I loved reading your thoughts. I have to agree with you on WAP vs. the Zoo (sounds like a boxing match). We loved WAP, but the Zoo was meh. I'm happy to see that Legoland is looking better. We were last there in December 2009 and much of miniland was in disrepair and the park was seriously understaffed (and ran out of food at lunchtime). We've always loved the attention to detail there. Uh, yeah, Vegas is yuck in the summer. Just too hot. I loved all your pics. You had some great photopass ones!
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I am really late to the party but just wanted to say I enjoyed hearing about your West coast adventures! I thoroughly agree with you on several points about Vegas - the smoke, blech (makes me feel like I'm coming down with a cold) and the heat - yikes! My last trip there was August of 2001 and it was a scorcher. We'd head out to go to another hotel thinking, "it's just two hotels down on the map" - yeah right, that can be a huge hike! My feet were killing me. Despite all that I do want to go there again with DH to see all the changes from the last decade.
We have not done DL with the kids yet. We lived in NorCal for ten years and did DL several times, but after moving back to Colorado and going to WDW, we don't see much of a need to do DL. Cars Land is my biggest reason I think. We will go for sure sometime. In and Out...you have to get the Animal Style burger. (for anyone else trying it). Plus Animal Style fries. That's what makes the place so good for me. If we go to Vegas, I get the rental car, hit IaO, then go to the hotel room.
Vegas.....yes, better with a car. I go for the buffets and the shows. I usually rest a Mustang convertible so I can cruise the strip and enjoy the lights and people watch while the wife gambles. Here is the trick to Vegas though. Get a good room if you won't be at the tables all the time. More money, but better experience. Paris, Venitian, and the Bellagio are some of our favs. In laws like Madalay Bay a lot, but we have not stayed there. Ok.... back to the trick of Vegas. If you like quality food, then you get what you pay for in the buffets. If you go to a ten dollar buffet, then you get ten dollar quality food, just a lot of it. If you pay 50 dollars for a buffet, then the quality is like getting a 50 dollar plate of food....just also with unlimited amounts. Bellagio has a great buffet with a couple guys rolling and cutting fresh sushi right there, beef wellington, Kobe beef, and just on and on. The Wynn is pretty good too, and I heard the Aria is really good although I have not ate there.
I spend more on the Mustang and the buffets, but I am having fun, not stressed about losing money. I ALWAYS win at the buffets! lol
Loved the trip report. I guess I am too lazy to make one up myself (we do WDW twice a year) but love to read about others experiences. Maybe I will try after this upcoming September trip We take the kids out of school to go at low seasons so we don't have lines. Works for us (plus DVC points go further and we can get one or two bedroom villas to have space there too!)
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Your children have gotten so much bigger just in the last year and I've enjoyed watching them grow with each trip report
I will definitely look forward to hearing about your trip to Alaska. It's one of the places that I'd like to visit one day. Until then...thanks again for sharing your memories with us.
). Glad you survived the heat! And man, the pool closes at 7? Crazy! Thanks so much for sharing your TR with us and I'll be looking for your Alaska PTR.
Yes, we're flying into Anchorage, doing a couple days in Denali, a quick hike on Matanuska Glacier with MICA, then to Seward for our cruise southbound! We can't wait! 
I do want to go there again with DH to see all the changes from the last decade.
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