- Joined
- Dec 15, 1998
The Grand Californian is unique in that you can enter Disney's California Adventure right from the hotel. This picture is from the 5th level - there is a terrace out there, where you can relax as you watch the guests swim below, or have fun at DCA.
We were in room 4431, and had a view of Downtown Disney. The next two pics show our room and the balcony. Nick & Kelly are very relaxed in the room. When we opened our window, we could hear the Christmas music down below, and the people as they enjoyed their visit to the resort. I was tempted to sleep with the window open, but although it was warmish during the day, the nights were darned cold!!
Here are the views from the balcony. Looking east towards Disneyland, we could see Space Mountain. Looking west, we could see Downtown Disney. In the background is the Disneyland Hotel. Our room was right above the World of Disney.
After settling in, we decided to go to DCA and watch the Millionaire show. We had never seen it, and it was already after 4pm. We knew there was only one show left that day. As we entered DCA, we saw a little show with dancing, starring Miss Minnie Mouse. In the background, you can see the Grand Californian.
We continued on, and saw more entertainment - this time it was a car driving by, with a band on it playing music.
I wish I had taken pictures of the decorations around DCA - they were all gold (for California, the Golden State). We also couldn't take pics of the Millionaire game, though we had a lot of fun. We had a little over a half hour to wait for it, and decided to wait in line, even though no one was there yet. As soon as we went through the line, other people started following us. There was a CM there, who used to be a sports announcer and had a Dodger pennant ring on - pretty cool. He was nice, and even gave us a ticket to go in the "Ring of Fire" - since I had no idea what that was (and being how shy I am), I got my dd, Kelly, to go there. She got to sit down in front, and Nick & I were right behind her. It was so much fun playing along with everyone else, even though none of us got in the top 10 answers. I could get addicted to that game! Afterwards, the kids and I were really hungry, so we went to the Storyteller's Cafe (one of our favorites). The kids both had the buffet, and I had the chicken quesadilla - oh, was that good! Here we are, enjoying our meal together:
Afterwards, we walked back through the hotel, stopping in the lobby to listen to the beautiful piano music and admire the tree. Well, I admired the tree... the kids wanted to go back to DCA and ride Grizzly Rapids.