Just got back from Newport Villas.... We did the presentation because (m)

they were offering $175 American Express Gift Card. Well, we got the cards and they failed to mention that they were for Fashion Island only. It was our last day there and I knew we wouldn't be able to use them there. They did end up giving us Nordstorm cards but I really wanted American Express cards.

Anyways, we didn't buy. We love the resort and we've traded there twice not in July or August but not sure if we'd want to go then anyways with the crowds. It was very gloomy weather as predicted by most on this board. But still nice as it is over 100 degrees where I live.

We did Disney two days and the carpool lane is awesome. Took us about 20 minutes to get there and you can use the carpool lane the entire way. We even paid the toll on 73 as well. We have a fast track card so it made it easier.

The only thing at the presentation I complained about was the new rental program. What the sales rep said to me bothered me a bit about it. I'll probably follow-up with Marriott on his comments. He said that most of the reps own MULTIPLE platinum weeks and rent them out. So I'm sure the sales reps are taking up the summer inventory. Their sales staff area looked HUGE.

They did mention the sales staff area would be converted to a 10,000 sq foot spa (not that I'm interested in that stuff). Also, they plan to open a sushi bar type restaurant soon. He also mentioned that once Pelican resort opens that this resort will be come the hot spot. The Pelican Resort will have rooms at $10,000 per night. I'm not sure how that would make Newport Villas more desirable as I wouldn't be hanging with that crowd. There will be 5 restaurants over there as well.

Any other questions let me know. Oh, we were in room 4014. We had full ocean view with the construction noise above us. We were on the ground floor. I liked the balcony over here better as it didn't have the wall. Nice room location.

I'll post pictures soon.

We're going July 17th. Hope the weather is nicer.
Any restaurant suggestions? Tours? We asked for rooms in the 3800 building based on things we heard here on the board. THANKS!

We took our gift card to Fashion Island, bought a small item and got cash back

Obvious question: Current price breakdown, including P+ and Xmas?

We rented our July interval so won't be coming down and I'm perpetually curious about what sales is up to there...

It'll be interesting to see how hard July and August intervals will be to get this year.

Pat

Zac495 said:

We're going July 17th. Hope the weather is nicer.
Any restaurant suggestions? Tours? We asked for rooms in the 3800 building based on things we heard here on the board. THANKS!

Click to expand...

We'll be there July 16 - 19, 2007
I was just thinking of requsting our room! We love it there!!

Disneyland is so busy! Was it bad when you went? Every time we go, it is like a crowd level of "9" at Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld. Disneyland makes me miss Disneyworld. It used to be our favorite place, but now it is about 3rd.

We stayed at Newport Coast Villas a few years ago over Memorial Day, and someone asked how far it was to Disneyland and I couldn't really remember enough about it to tell them how long it took, because it was just an impression to us that it was very close. I am glad to be able to tell them 20 minutes. The carpool lanes were amazing, even switching from one highway to another, we were still in a carpool lane. :whoopie:

Zac495 said:

We're going July 17th. Hope the weather is nicer.
Any restaurant suggestions? Tours? We asked for rooms in the 3800 building based on things we heard here on the board. THANKS!

Click to expand...

We ate at the Crab Cooker. It was good. Not excellant. It is the kind of place that serves food on paper plates, etc... It is located on Balboa Pennisula. We ate at a mexican taco stand near Dana Point. It was excellant. Then, we ate at Disney 2 nights. Once at the Blue Bayou. Very good. The other night at Napa Rose. We had to cut our trip shot by a few days. We ate in one night by getting stuff at the Trader Joe's down the road.

camachinist said:

We took our gift card to Fashion Island, bought a small item and got cash back

Obvious question: Current price breakdown, including P+ and Xmas?

We rented our July interval so won't be coming down and I'm perpetually curious about what sales is up to there...

It'll be interesting to see how hard July and August intervals will be to get this year.

Pat

Click to expand...

Wish I knew that. Oh well...

We didn't get to many prices. I didn't write them down as we weren't buying. He of course said that they were going up soon.

ciscogizmo1 said:

We ate at the Crab Cooker. It was good. Not excellant. It is the kind of place that serves food on paper plates, etc... It is located on Balboa Pennisula.

Click to expand...

I used to love the Crab Cooker. One of their claims to fame (years ago) was when they supposedly refused to let Richard Nixon go to the head of the line and made him wait just like everyone else. As I recall the fish was excellent, the side dishes mediocre.

rickandcindy23 said:

Disneyland is so busy! Was it bad when you went? Every time we go, it is like a crowd level of "9" at Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld. Disneyland makes me miss Disneyworld. It used to be our favorite place, but now it is about 3rd.

We stayed at Newport Coast Villas a few years ago over Memorial Day, and someone asked how far it was to Disneyland and I couldn't really remember enough about it to tell them how long it took, because it was just an impression to us that it was very close. I am glad to be able to tell them 20 minutes. The carpool lanes were amazing, even switching from one highway to another, we were still in a carpool lane. :whoopie:

Click to expand...

Omgosh... was Disneyland busy. I thought it was worst than WDW at Xmas. They had July 4th crowds on last Monday. Monday was opening of the Finding Nemo ride. It wasn't opening until 1 pm or so. But people lined up early. My guess was the line was at least 4 hours long. We just rode all the other rides. We got a lot done between 8 am and noon. After lunch it went downhill but we saw a lot. Then, we came back on Wednesday thinking the crowds would be less. OMGOSH.... I've never seen so many people in my life. We decided to try and ride Finding Nemo but the wait was over 2 hours at 9 am. So instead we did Autopia & Space Mountain. Then, we headed over to California side and did a lot over there. We had fun and it wasn't wall to wall people.

Last time we went to Disneyland was in November and the crowds were much better. The only super busy day we had was Thanksgiving day. But I think from now on if we go we'll do long weekends during slow season if there is such a thing. WDW can definitely handle the crowds much better.

A "MUST" place to eat that is only a down PCH a few miles in Laguna Beach is "Las Brisas". Fabulous food, service and location! Not too pricey either. It overlooks the ocean and has been there for awhile. A definite must eat for lunch or dinner. My husband took me for our Anniversary night dinner. I couldn't stop raving and they even brought us out a complimentary dessert after hearing it was a special occasion.