HoJo Anaheim

Hello everyone! Tommy here again with another trip report for you. If any of you are Star Wars fans like me, it would be well worth it to make a half-day trip to the Discovery Science Center in neighboring Santa Ana. “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” has something every Star Wars fan can appreciate.

The exhibit features some interactive stations where you can build your own droid, levitate a small cart using magnets, and float on air. However, my favorite part of it all was the props and costumes from the actual movies. They have scale models of the X-Wing, Y-Wing, the Millennium Falcon, and many others.

Its amazing to think that these are the exact models flying across the screen from the earlier movies, long before computer graphics were popular. They had to make the ships with an incredible amount of detail because they put the camera real close to give the illusion of size. I could stare at these for hours!

In addition to the small scale models, there was also the Landspeeder that Luke Skywalker rode in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to hop in and take a picture inside it.

Apart from the parking fee and the general admission price, the Star Wars exhibit requires an additional ticket, but it’s still worth seeing. I would suggest arriving earlier in the day so that you can experience the rest of what the Science Center has to offer then take your journey into a galaxy far, far away! :)

Until next time…and may the Force be with you! ( Sorry I couldn’t resist )

Tommy Wan Kanobi

The Discovery Science Center is just five miles south of the HoJo! A quick cab ride or these directions will get you there within about 5 minutes. Exhibit runs now through April 15, 2012.

*Planning a trip to The Disneyland Resort? The Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel @ Disneyland would love to be your homebase for adventure! Check out our HoJo Innsider Forums for videos, special discount rates and expert trip planning advise.

Another day, another Disney bar to review! Tommy here with another place for you to visit while at the Disneyland Resort . Trader Sam’s - Enchanted Tiki Bar is located in the Disneyland Hotel Complex near their pool area. It’s about a 15 to 20-minute walk from the HoJo. The walk back to the hotel will certainly be “enchanted” if you have had one too many. ;)

Trader Sam’s Entrance

It’s a relatively small place with a cozy bar and some tables scattered around the room, but it’s the little details that make this place a lot of fun. If you ever wondered what it would be like to have a drink in the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, this would be the closest you would get. When you enter Trader Sam’s you are transported to a tropical hut overlooking a volcano. Sitting at the bar is quite an experience for the uninitiated because the bartenders love playing tricks on unsuspecting guests. They have the ability to control the height of your barstool, so they can go up or down while your in the middle of a conversation! It’s pretty funny to see the reaction on peoples faces when their seat starts rising. Their first instinct is to look at their drink and wonder whats in it. :)

Since this is a bar, the food selection is limited to appetizers, but it is still worth a try. Some of the menu items included Tamarind-Glazed Island Pork Wings, Fish Tacos, and Panko-Crusted Chinese Long Beans. The Kalua Pork Flatbread with pulled pork, red onion, cilantro, barbecue sauce, and mozzarella was just what I needed. The serving could have been bigger, but if I wanted a feast I would have gone somewhere else, right?

Now for the drinks! The two I would definitely recommend is the Krakatoa Punch and the Uh Oa. The Krakatoa Punch has spiced rums, tropical juices, almond syrup, and Hibiscus Grenadine. The Uh Oa is large enough for 2 or more and has light and dark rums, orange, passion fruit, guava and grapefruit juices, cinnamon and lime. Each one of these drinks not only taste great but also trigger certain events around the entire room! Remember that volcano I told you about when you entered the bar? Order a Krakatoa Punch and the volcano starts erupting as your drink is served! Pay a little extra and you can keep the cup as a souvenir.

Krakatoa Punch!

All in all, Trader Sam’s is a fun little bar worth a visit the next time you’re around. Now I know I’ve said that before, and I might be overloading you with too many places to go, but you weren’t planning on visiting us just once, were you?

Cheers,

Tiki Tommy

*Planning a family trip to the Disneyland area? The Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel @ Disneyland would love to be your homebase for adventure! Join us on our HoJo Innsider Forums for video tours, special discount rates and expert trip planning advice!

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It’s beginning to look a lot like…  (photo by Tommy at HoJoAnaheim)

Hidden Gems: The Cove Bar

After a long day at the parks, there’s nothing quite like a refreshing adult beverage. If you can’t wait that long and want your drink while you’re there, Disney California Adventure has plenty of options. A hidden gem that is popular among the locals is The Cove Bar, located by the Ariel’s Grottoentrance. Not to be confused with Castaway Cove at our hotel, The Cove Bar caters to more grown-up tastes. There is minimal signage pointing to its location, so the bar is not as crowded as other places in the park. Add the fact that you are overlooking Paradise Bay with unobstructed views of Mickey’s Fun Wheel, California Screamin, and the Boardwalk; its easy to see why this place would be worth a visit.

View from The Cove Bar (photo by Tommy)

I had the chance to finally visit The Cove Bar this past week and all the reviews I heard from friends were true. It was easy enough to find a table, and the ambience was casual yet quiet. The food menu highlights include Buffalo Wings, Barbecue Chicken Pizza, and the very popular Lobster Nachos. They also had a decent beer and wine selection along with specialty drinks like the Godiva Chocolate Martini and the Antioxidant Cocktail. I didn’t have the time or the liver to sample the entire drink catalog, so on good authority, I ordered the Black Pearl. It’s not on the menu, but the bartenders will be more than happy to make it for you. My server described the drink as a Long Island Iced Tea with 3 more alcoholic ingredients I can’t recall, along with some raspberry. It was so good, I didn’t even get a chance to take a picture with it :).  I’m really not sure why they would remove this drink from the menu, but it’s nice that they still make it upon request.

The next time you make your way to Disney California Adventure and are looking for a place to sit and relax, give The Cove Bar a try. Even if you aren’t thirsty or hungry, the view from the patio allows you to get away from the theme park for a little bit while you recharge your batteries.

Til next time!

Tommy a.k.a. Mr. Black Pearl

*Planning a family trip to the Disneyland area? The Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel @ Disneyland would love to be your homebase for adventure! Join us on our HoJo Innsider Forums for video tours, special discount rates and expert trip planning advice!

*Got MouseWait yet? It’s the most downloaded Disneyland app for iPhone and Android. Support our partner and find out the wait times on all the rides, message boards and more!

Whoa, did anyone else just see that??? #disneyland #halloween #hojoanaheim #ghost

Hey everyone! Time for another blog entry with your resident Disney fanatic and HoJo family member.

Timmy in Alice-land?

Since it’s Halloween Time at the parks, it seemed fitting for this entry to be dedicated to something a little more spooky. Let me first say up front that I have not personally experienced these events and that the views expressed in this article are a matter of opinion and in no way reflect the views ofHoward Johnson Plaza Hotel. :)

Now that we got that out of the way, there are plenty of Disneyland ghost stories and videos out there, but we will focus on one in particular. One you may not have heard about before. This ghost, supposedly a 10 year-old boy named Timmy, haunts the Alice in Wonderland ride in Fantasyland. Searching through the thousands of posts on the Mousewait Lounge, I came across two people who seemed to have the closest encounter with this ghost to my knowledge. Their names have been changed to protect their identity (Cue the Law & Order sound effect).

Mark has had a fascination with paranormal activity since childhood, and knows about several of the ghost stories regarding Disneyland. As far as Timmy is concerned, Mark had mentioned to me that he has tried to make contact numerous times while on the Alice in Wonderland ride. “While I have never personally seen Timmy, I have attempted to make contact numerous times on Alice in Wonderland during late night rides. I have taken hundreds, if not thousands of pictures, and had many of the Tulgey Woods parts of my picture never appear or show up pitch black. I have also felt extreme sadness (while in that area)“.

Tulgey Wood

Jamie, a Disney cast member, has also had an encounter with Timmy earlier this month: “The first time we rode it (my friend) was gonna tell me what room he was in, but I didn’t want her to tell me until after the ride to see if I felt anything. I did! As soon as we entered Tulgey Wood I felt really worried and kind of sad.” She took some pictures but, after several failed attempts of uploading them online, deleted them. “I guess it was a sign that something, or someone did not want those pictures uploaded, so I just deleted them out of respect - not to mention I was genuinely freaked out!”

Well, I had to go see for myself what this was all about so I decided to ride Alice in Wonderland…at night. I must say if Timmy does exist, he might have been shy that night because I didn’t feel or see anything unusual. But I was told if you yell out his name, he may show up. Good luck and happy hunting!

BOO,

Tommy

During this week of creepy fare, villains abound to create despair. There are many to name in Walt’s collection, who is the SPOOKIEST to your recollection?? 

This is a spookerific and fitting story for this week. The Anaheim White House Restaurant is haunted. It’s been on several “Most Haunted Sites” type of television shows. We love to eat there on a quite night and keep our eyes and ears peeled…Eeeeeeek!

http://www.anaheimwhitehouse.com/about/article.php?id=8