IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BOWLING AT “300 ANAHEIM”

With the Happiest Place on Earth right across the street from our hotel, it’s easy to forget that there are other things Anaheim has to offer. I recently had the chance to visit 300 Anaheim with our good friends from MouseWait, and was very impressed with the place. It’s located within the Anaheim GardenWalk entertainment area just a 10-minute walk from the HoJo. Sure, it’s a bowling alley, but they also have pool tables, casual dining, and a full bar!  Not to mention the decor reminds me more of an upscale night-club than a bowling alley.

If bowling isn’t your thing, you can reserve your own pool table

They also have a private room that can be rented out for parties that includes lanes and a dedicated bar

Try not to get distracted by the loud music and the video screens! ;)

Thanks again to our friends at MouseWait for inviting us over and make sure to check out www.300anaheim.com for specials!  See you next time!

Tommy, King of the 7-10 Split!

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim Hotel for Families, the Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels & Resorts for Families in the United States -2012”

DISNEYLAND NEWS: FANTASY FAIRE PREVIEW AT BLUE SKY CELLAR

Hello again!  The always-changing Blue Sky Cellar has something new for you all.  I still remember the day I was writing about the closing of Carnation Plaza Gardens, and now we are weeks away from revealing what will take its place.  The Fantasy Faire is set to open it’s doors March 12, and I got the chance to take some photos of the preview center at the Blue Sky Cellar.  Enjoy!

The imagineering process is broken down, and the guests are taken through the creative process.  Step 1 is Research.  They have some great vintage photos on this board from when the park opened in 1955.  It’s amazing to see how much the park has changed since then!

Step 2 is the Blue Sky process, where the imagineers share all the ideas they have without limitations to see what the possibilities for their new project might be:

Next comes the Concept.  The ideas are narrowed down, and the vision becomes a little bit clearer.

Then there is Feasibility.  It’s almost like a reality check of sorts.  Ideas get even more refined and polished as they are nearing the final stages.  There is so much attention to detail that goes on throughout the whole process, it’s really fascinating to see how it all comes together when it’s finished.

Finally, Step 5 is Implementation.  Since Disneyland is always changing, attractions are always replaced.  One nice thing that the Imagineers do is they pay homage to what was there before, like the Eeyore parking lot sign in the queue of the Indiana Jones attraction.  From what this board suggests, there will be a medallion on a tower that will pay tribute to the Carnation Plaza Gardens.

Here is a Sample wall that was used to determine the look and finish of the facades

There is also a scale model of what the Fantasy Faire will look like once completed

Finally here’s a picture of the actual Fantasy Faire under construction:

That’s it for today folks!  Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

DISNEYLAND NEWS: NEW ORLEANS ‘BAYOU BASH’


Hello everyone! Tommy here again with more Disneyland goodness to share. In my humble opinion, New Orleans Square is one of the most beautifully themed lands at Disneyland. From the elaborately decorated stores, to the personality that each and every balcony has overhead, you feel that you’re really walking through the French Quarter. So it comes as no surprise that this corner of the park will be getting jazzed up for Mardi Gras - Disneyland style.


There are special events happening on select dates until February 12, 2013 so make sure to come by and experience the fun! Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen will be ringing in Mardis Gras and available for picture opportunities, while street performers and jazz music fills the air. The thing I’m most excited about, however, is the food!

The French Market, Blue Bayou, and Cafe Orleans all will have unique food offerings so you have plenty of places to pick from, but I cant guarantee that the choice will be easy. Would you like a Creole Mustard French Style Sausage Sandwich from the French Market? How about a
Bouillabaisse (seafood broth with lobster and red snapper) from the Blue Bayou? My personal choice would be the Fat City Snapper and the Royal Street Banana Foster Crepe from Cafe Orleans, but that’s just me! If the restaurants aren’t your thing, why not try some Bacon Cheddar Popcorn from one of the food carts? Nothing says Fat Tuesday better than that, right?

Photo By Mark De Leon
Photo By Mark De Leon

Here are the remaining dates of the 2013 Bayou Bash taken from the Disneyland Blog:

JANUARY 18, 19, 20, 21
JANUARY 25, 26, 27
FEBRUARY 1, 2, 3
FEBRUARY 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

That’s all for now hope to see you soon!

Tommy the HoJo Cajun King

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Don’t miss the #1 Family Hotel in Anaheim on TripAdvisor: Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground, four-time winner of TripAdvisor’s BEST FOR FAMILIES IN UNITED STATES!

DISNEYLAND NEWS: NEW YEAR’S EVE RECAP

Happy New Year everyone! I had the chance to brave the parks during New Years Eve and had a blast! As expected, Disneyland was extremely busy, but surprisingly Disney California Adventure was manageable. I snapped a bunch of pictures so you guys can enjoy the parks and cringe at the massive amounts of people from the comfort of your own home. :)

This was the Esplanade area at around 4pm. It was empty, but there was masking tape on the ground just help manage the crowds later on that night. A lot of locals like to camp out here to get a decent view of the fireworks without going inside the parks:

I decided to drop by Disneyland first since I was planning to spend the evening at California Adventure. I expected it to be busy, but not like this. It was a mission just to get from the beginning of Main Street to the Castle!

This guy had the best seat in the house:

The best place to see the fireworks was right in front of the castle. People have marked their spots and have been camping out as early as 8 am!

Univision had broadcast locations right in the hub and over at California Adventure as well:

These people are dedicated!

Here are the other lands that I managed to walk through starting with Frontierland

Disney added multiple countdown locations to handle the overflow of people from Main Street. The Rivers of America was probably the second best place to ring in the New Year:

Tomorrowland was extremely crowded as well with waits for Space Mountain hovering around the 2 hour mark:

Over at It’s A Small World, there was a stage set up for yet even more overflow of people:

Here are some shots from Fantasyland:

Walking through and looking up at the Castle, it’s easy to forget about the crowds and it reminded me of what a nice day it was!

Although looking back down, I wish Monstro swallowed up these people. ;)

Normally, it would be a straight line to walk from the Castle to the exit, but they were re-routing outbound traffic through Frontierland out through Adventureland, so I decided to go on my only attraction in Disneyland that day: Tarzan’s Treehouse! There’s never a wait and you can get a nice bird’s-eye view of the park:

Unfortunately, they close it off before the night time shows, otherwise it would be a nice place to see Fantasmic and the Fireworks =)

Ok, let’s head to California Adventure shall we? In front of Carthay Circle, they had a stage set up for the festivities:

Here’s something you didn’t see on the other side: empty space! It felt nice not to be sharing my personal space with people =P

Cars Land was the most crowded place in this park, which was understandable, but it was nothing compared to Disneyland:

The Mad T Party was just getting ready for the crowds when I arrived:

When the party got started, it got crowded real fast, but that’s what a New Year’s Eve Party is supposed to be right?

Over at Paradise Bay, my party and I were lucky enough to get some Fast Passes to the Blue section for Countdown! I think it had something to do with our Glow With The Show Ears. :)

During the countdown, each number projected on the screen matched the color of the Glow Ears. I really like what Disney did with these ears!

Happy New Year!

My whole New Year’s Eve experience was a lot of fun. I didn’t really get to experience a lot of attractions, but that can be done on other days. That night was to simply be there for the countdown and celebrate in the Happiest Place On Earth. I hope you guys enjoyed reading and thank you all so much for dropping by! Disney has a lot of big things planned for 2013, and you can bet that I’ll be there to write about it! See you next time!

Auld Lang Tommy

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for Families, the Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels & Resorts for Families in the United States -2012”

INNSIDE SCOOP: THE EARL HAS ARRIVED

With Disney California Adventure and Disneyland getting all the buzz for all their new and shiny attractions lately, it’s nice to see Downtown Disney get some attention. And judging by the crowds that Earl of Sandwich draws on a regular basis, it looks like Downtown Disney has a hit! Earl of Sandwich has only been open for a few weeks and it’s already building a following of loyal customers, despite its long lines. I finally had a chance to visit this past weekend, so here is my quick review.

Depending on when you visit, you can expect the lines to extend outside the restaurant and wrapped around the outside patio:

Grab a menu while you’re waiting in line- there are important decisions to be made and one shouldn’t take their sandwich choice lightly. ;)

The interior queue is decorated like a library with “books” all the way up to the ceiling. After a while we were hoping they were real books so we could read something while we were waiting!

Joking aside, the line to order moved pretty quickly. Just to give you a heads up, the first line is where you place your sandwich order. You then go to another line to pay and add chips, drinks, and dessert. Here is the part we did not expect: the wait for the food was almost as long as the wait to order! We were starving by this time but we were able to get some more chips to tide us over by just going directly to the pay line.

Here are some cast members hard at work making sandwiches for the hungry masses:

Here are some more interior details:

We had to sit outside on a cold night, but they have heaters on the ceiling which made the area pretty comfortable:

Patience is finally rewarded! I ordered their special Holiday Sandwich, which tasted great! To sum it up, it was a thanksgiving dinner wrapped up in a sandwich. They only have this sandwich for a limited time, so I would definitely recommend ordering it. Be warned though, it does sell out sometimes when they run out of ingredients for this sandwich, but there are plenty more to choose from. Also, being a new restaurant, they still have a few kinks to work out. They messed up on our order a little bit, but they were more than happy to fix it.

All in all, I would definitely visit again, but would probably pass if the line is too long. Here’s another tip: If youre in Disneyland and craving some Earl of Sandwich, take the monorail from Tomorrowland and it will drop you off right in front of the restaurant. Thats it for now! See you next time!

Tommy the Earl of Hojo ;)

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim Hotel for Families, the Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels & Resorts for Families in the United States -2012”

DISNEY FIX: HOLIDAY TIME AT DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

Wow this year just flew by! It seems like yesterday I was ringing in the new year in a very foggy showing of World of Color, now it’s the holidays yet again! California Adventure is celebrating its first holiday season since its grand re-opening this past summer, so I wanted to take a look at Buena Vista Street and Cars Land decked out for the holidays.

The tree at the end of Buena Vista Street is FULL of detail! There are plenty of unique ornaments and presents to look at:

The holiday merchandise is available throughout the park as well. That way, you can have fun at the parks while taking care of presents for people on your list! No better place to multi-task if you ask me. ;)

Cars Land is also celebrating its first holiday season and someone made a snowman (or snowcar?) by the entrance for a nice photo-op:

Each resident of Radiator Springs did their own decorating, and it shows. I love how each Christmas tree reflects the personality of the one decorating it! It shouldn’t be too dificult to guess which tree belongs to which car:

They also modified Stanley’s statue which I thought was a nice touch:

I leave you with a picture of our Christmas tree at the HoJo! Feel free to ask one of us to take your family photo by our tree and your picture might be featured on our Facebook page! That should be it for now. Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Tommy

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for families, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels and Resorts for Families in the United States - 2012”

INNSIDE SCOOP: TREASURES OF THE WALT DISNEY ARCHIVES

With traffic the way it is, I try to avoid traveling long distances. However, I am a pretty big Disney fan, so getting the opportunity to visit the Disney Archives Exhibit at the Reagan Library was something I could not pass up. The Reagan Library, by itself, is already a very nice destination. It sits on top of a quiet hill in Simi Valley California, which is about 60 miles/97 kilometers north of Disneyland. Admission was $21 a person and is well worth the price because it includes both the Museum and the Disney Archives Exhibit. The exhibit runs through April of 2013.

When you enter the museum, you are greeted by this grand Presidential Seal on the floor:

A little further down your tour, guests will get a chance to step into an extremely accurate replica of the oval office. Sadly, we were not allowed to sit at the desk to take pictures, but this is as close as I would probably ever get to the real oval office. One of the tour guides said that they no longer allow visitors in the real Oval Office.

The highlight of the Reagan Museum Tour for me was definitely the Air Force One Pavilion. Unlike the replica Oval Office, this is THE actual Air Force One that President Reagan used. In fact, this jet flew all the presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush.

The Pavilion is just massive! I spent most of my time here just staring at the plane.

Now for the Disney Archives Exhibit!

Here is an early sketch of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit:

The prop story books at the beginning of Walt’s feature films were on display also:

This is the sketch that Imagineer Herb Ryman drafted up to show the bankers. This essentially sold the idea for the financing of Disneyland! I would have definitely said yes! ;)

There is also a replica of Walt’s Office on display:

The exhibit just had one priceless item after another! Check out this parking permit and admission ticket from opening day belonging to Walt’s brother, Roy:

Disney’s opening day ceremonies are also shown on a small tv screen:

Those well acquainted with Disney Classics Should be familiar with these props:

Over at the annex, they have some of the more contemporary movies featured. Here is a scene from the live action version of 101 Dalmatians:

Those of you that are missing ElecTRONica, or just fans of the movie TRON in general will appreciate this section of the exhibit:

More modern props from some movies you may have heard of:

The crown jewel of the exhibit is this massive production model of the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. This was one of the models used for filming, so needless to say it is incredibly detailed:

Some other props and costumes from the Pirates franchise:

If you’ve never had a chance to get up close and personal with a dragon, here is your chance:

There are also some hitchhiking ghosts that might need a ride:

There are plenty more things to see in both the Museum and the Archives exhibit, so it would be worth the drive for Disney fans. Allow yourself 3-5 hours to see everything, depending on your pace, and be prepared for traffic on the way back if you’re visiting during the week. I visited on a Saturday, and left Anaheim around 11am and drove back around 5pm with no trouble at all.

That’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for families, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels and Resorts for Families in the United States - 2012”

INNSIDE SCOOP: WALMART NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET NOW OPEN

Family holidays can be expensive, especially when you’re in a resort area! Well, a new grocery store has opened about a mile away from our hotel that we think you need to know about! If you are up for a walk and in need of some groceries for your trip, this is a great place to start. The prices are muchcheaper than anywhere in the resort area, and you don’t have to go too far to get it. You can also take a short cab ride if you plan on getting a lot of groceries. Now just to clarify, this is a Walmart Neighborhood Market and not a regular Walmart, so they focus on grocery items ONLY. The store itself is pretty sizeable for a grocery store so unless you’re looking for something pretty specialized, you are sure to find it here. 

The Walmart Neighborhood Market is located at 1120 S. Anaheim Blvd. Anaheim CA on the corner of Anaheim Blvd. and Ball Rd. Directions from the Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground are HERE. This is a great place to stock up on groceries for your family so you can save a bundle while visiting us in Anaheim. Your room has a fridge and plenty of storage space for dry goods so fill ‘er up and use your cash where it counts - the Disneyland Resort!

Happy shopping and happy SAVING! :)

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for families, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels and Resorts for Families in the United States - 2012”

INNSIDE SCOOP: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS VIP EXPERIENCE

It has come to my attention that there are other theme parks in Southern California other than Disneyland! :) Wishing to expand my narrow theme park horizons, I got the chance to take a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. Thanks to our friends at Coach America Tours (Gray Line), I was able to see Universal Studios through their VIP experience! This is a package you can pay extra for that includes unlimited front-of-the line privileges, a private tour guide for you and a small group, and a buffet lunch. I got a little picture happy with this post, so I hope you all enjoy!

We started off the day in the VIP lounge by the park entrance. They had some complimentary bottled water and some light breakfast items for us before we started our tour.

One of the coolest things about this VIP experience is the Back Lot tour. You and your group get to walk around and explore real sound stages and prop departments, while getting great insight into the other side of the entertainment business. Here is the Staff Shop, where they work on the textures of exterior pieces:

All the textures you see are made of lightweight styrofoam!

Here’s your transportation for the Back Lot Tour:

This is how most people would see the set pieces on the regular tour:

And this is what the VIP Experience can get you :)

This was dubbed “The Scary Alley” and our tour guide recited a long list of movies that filmed here, Captain America was one of them

This whole area was where they filmed “Back To The Future”. They have changed a lot of the facades so that the area can be used for other movies but the original structures remain.

This was a pretty cool moment when the people in the tram just started snapping away thinking we were celebrities!

Here’s an example of the versatility of the sets. All these buildings are just around the corner from each other, but they seem like they’re worlds apart:

On a side note, we know you have plenty of choices when it comes to hotels, but this is an example of our competition, so it’s better to just stay with us at the HoJo! ;)

Plus our staff are a lot more welcoming than this guy:

The set designers here use every inch of material they can, so if a back side of a building has a bare wall, they paint it so it can be used as a backdrop:

Or they can just use computers to digitally create the backdrop of their choice:

This cabin will be the setting for numerous Christmas commercials this season. It was also featured in the movie “Shooter” starring Mark Wahlberg

One of my favorite stops on the tour was the Prop Warehouse. They’ll have everything a movie or a TV show will need. This place is massive!

Here are some of the props up close:

For all the Desperate Housewives fans out there, our tour guide let us walk down Wisteria Lane and take as many pictures as we wanted. We could only go as far as the curb, but nobody was complaining:

Our tour wouldn’t be complete without these familiar stops:

It was so hot that day we were all thinking about jumping in! But then our tour guide said that all that water gets re used again and again.

The newly re vamped King Kong section of the tour got rid of the huge animatronic primate, and substituted it for a digital 3d version. The 3d screens were huge and were on either side of the tram which made you feel like you were actually in the jungle. Since it was dark and in 3d, pictures wouldn’t really make much sense. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself! :)

After the tour, we got to put our shiny VIP Pass to use. It gave us preferred seating at shows we attended like Water World:

After the show, our group was treated to a Q and A with some of the cast, where they talked about the show and passed around some props:

The ride I was looking forward to the most was definitely Transformers. We walked right up to the front of the line so quickly I only got a chance to take this one photo:

The ride itself was incredible! I’ve never been on anything quite like it and I can see why people are talking so much about it. It’s a mix between the Indiana Jones ride and Star Tours, but the screens are gigantic. Up to this point on my trip, I thought riding Transformers was the highlight of the tour - until they served us lunch!

The food selection and quality was outstanding! My only gripe was that we couldn’t stay longer. Im not sure if they change the menu all the time but we had New York Roasted Sirloin, Penne Alfredo with shrimp, Chicken Marsala, and Salmon among other things:

All the food and drinks were paid for including the beer and wine, which was a nice touch. The food and the atmosphere was so well done, it’s easy to forget that you’re inside a theme park. This was without a doubt the best part of the day! In fairness, I did feel we were rushed a bit because we had a show to catch, but we all definitely had our fill.

Overall, I thought the VIP Experience is well worth the money. Granted it is quite a bit of money and the cost can add up quickly for a bigger family, but it’s the best way to see and experience Universal Studios by far. You’ll definitely get to do everything that’s worth doing in the park and then some, plus you get a lunch buffet while being treated like a VIP all day. You can book this tour directly through Southern California Grayline or with us at the HoJo once you arrive. Just ask any one of us at the front desk and we’d be happy to help you!

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Tommy

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for families, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels and Resorts for Families in the United States - 2012”

HOTEL UPDATE: ALL NEW HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISIONS

Hello HoJo Fans!

As you may or may not know, the HoJo is constantly working to better our product for your enjoyment. Sometimes the projects are behind the scenes and hard to recognize, but sometimes it’s as obvious as adding new amenities to our already great rooms. We’ve recently upgraded the TV’s in our guest rooms to shiny new 37”, LED, High Definition televisions! The high definition crisp picture is much clearer than before, and most of them are wall mounted to give the rooms even MORE space! Check them out:  :)

More importantly, we’ve enhanced our channel selection to give everyone even more to watch! Here’s the fantastic new lineup:

We hope you enjoy the new TV’s! We’ll keep you updated on new projects, upgrades and additions but in the meantime, we hope to see you soon at the ever-improving HoJo Anaheim!

See you next time!

Tommy (now in High Definition) :)

Visiting Disneyland and want the perfect hotel for your family? Look no further than TripAdvisor’s #1 Anaheim hotel for families, the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground! 2012 award winner in the category “Best Large Hotels and Resorts for Families in the United States - 2012”