2020 Curious Constance Trip Preparation/Report

[DrAlice]

That reminds me...

I-84 in Portland is called the Banfield Freeway. And relatives in Oregon call it "taking the Banfield" to get to the airport. The phrase "the Banfield" is used often by Portlanders in conversation, traffic reports, etc. Do we vilify Portlanders for that localism? No!

And thus, that sheds some light on why those of us in SoCal call freeways "the 5", "the 405", or "the 57". Because historically those freeways all had names, and all still do. Some of us old timers even still call the freeways by their proper names; "the Santa Ana Freeway", "the San Diego Freeway", "the Hollywood Freeway". In the past few decades those names have fallen out of favor in news reporting and thus casual conversation, but the naming format remains as "the" and then the number of the freeway instead of the name.

I have no idea what the point of this was. I was just happy to type something after pouring myself a glass of post-dinner Cabernet.

I grew up with "the Embarcadero" and "the Nimitz", but we still don't say "the" in front of highway names. Just sayin.

 

[chadwpalm]

That reminds me...

I-84 in Portland is called the Banfield Freeway. And relatives in Oregon call it "taking the Banfield" to get to the airport. The phrase "the Banfield" is used often by Portlanders in conversation, traffic reports, etc. Do we vilify Portlanders for that localism? No!

And thus, that sheds some light on why those of us in SoCal call freeways "the 5", "the 405", or "the 57". Because historically those freeways all had names, and all still do. Some of us old timers even still call the freeways by their proper names; "the Santa Ana Freeway", "the San Diego Freeway", "the Hollywood Freeway". In the past few decades those names have fallen out of favor in news reporting and thus casual conversation, but the naming format remains as "the" and then the number of the freeway instead of the name.

I have no idea what the point of this was. I was just happy to type something after pouring myself a glass of post-dinner Cabernet.

Up here in the Bay Area, it's pretty much only the newscasters reporting traffic that still use the proper names of the freeways like "the Nimitz". Maybe because a single freeway can have multiple sections with different names, so it helps to know which location they are talking about. Us normal people just use the numbers...without the "the" of course.

 

[Practical Pig]

Here in Humboldt a commercial has started running on TV referring to "the 101."

It's an instant tip-off that the perpetrator is not a local.

 

[TP2000]

Here in Humboldt a commercial has started running on TV referring to "the 101."

It's an instant tip-off that the perpetrator is not a local.

They must have contracted an LA recording studio to do the voiceover work. Seriously.

Here's a 1955 advertisement for Disneyland. Note that it opens July 18th. Also note that it's address is simply noted as "Santa Ana Freeway in Anaheim". They didn't even bother mentioning to exit at Harbor Blvd. But it's missing a "the" in front of Santa Ana Freeway. Hmm...

I don't know that I have a point to any of this any longer.

I just want @Curious Constance to be confident when she instructs her driver on what to do. She shouldn't try and be a SoCal'er, but instead should come off as a confident and savvy Oregonian who doesn't need to pander to anyone.

 

[DrAlice]

"Parking for 12,000 cars". So, you know, not much has changed.

 

[Curious Constance]

Does anyone know why on the Lyft app (and sort of does the same thing on Uber app too) it will allow me to choose a drop off location after indicating that my pick up location is “Burbank airport North AV line” (I think that’s the train station nearby the airport) but when I choose the actual airport as my pick up spot it doesn’t allow me to choose a drop off destination or tell me how much the ride will be, etc. Is there some kind of weird rule I’m not aware of?

 

[Curious Constance]

Has anyone used Omar Sand’s private driving service in Southern California? Have been hearing good things just curious if anyone has had any personal experience. Thanks!

Also @TP2000 gonna need to know how much of a tip I need to give each way soon. Almost time to set up the chairs in the living room to rehearse the drive

 

[Sailor310]

They must have contracted an LA recording studio to do the voiceover work. Seriously.

Here's a 1955 advertisement for Disneyland. Note that it opens July 18th. Also note that it's address is simply noted as "Santa Ana Freeway in Anaheim". They didn't even bother mentioning to exit at Harbor Blvd. But it's missing a "the" in front of Santa Ana Freeway. Hmm...

I don't know that I have a point to any of this any longer.

I just want @Curious Constance to be confident when she instructs her driver on what to do. She shouldn't try and be a SoCal'er, but instead should come off as a confident and savvy Oregonian who doesn't need to pander to anyone.

Of course, the ad neglects to mention that the $1 only gets you in the door. Rides are extra. Standard Disney-speak.

 

[Curious Constance]

Has anyone ever reloaded Disney Visa reward dollars at Disneyland? Is it easy? Pain in the butt? Instantly available to use?

 

[mickEblu]

Has anyone ever reloaded Disney Visa reward dollars at Disneyland? Is it easy? Pain in the butt? Instantly available to use?

You can do it right on the Chase app on your mobile phone and they re added instantly.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Has anyone ever reloaded Disney Visa reward dollars at Disneyland? Is it easy? Pain in the butt? Instantly available to use?

Is the Disney Visa worth getting?

 

[mickEblu]

Is the Disney Visa worth getting?

If you were an AP not really as you couldn’t double dip and only get 10% off if you spend 50$ or more. The only perk I can see is that you can charge an expensive WDW vacation and get 6 months interest free to pay it off.

 

[Curious Constance]

You can do it right on the Chase app on your mobile phone and they re added instantly.

I know, but I was trying to avoid getting the full value of my points added at the same time in case it gets lost or stolen or something.

 

[Curious Constance]

Is the Disney Visa worth getting?

It’s $50 a year for the card that accrues Disney dollars. But I usually accumulate an average of about $50 a month in free Disney money. You can use that money for basically anything Disney related. I have everything charged to that card to maximize the money earned and pay it off at the end of the month so no interest is charged. If you use it like I do, you can earn lots of Disney money to use at the parks on our trips

 

[mickEblu]

Is that really a perk though? Capital One for example gives you $ back that you can “use anywhere.” Meaning you can erase any purchase you made anywhere. With Disney rewards you have to use them at Disney parks or Disney stores. I was surprised I couldn’t even use my Disney Rewards card at a Box Lunch store. Much less flexibility.

 

[Curious Constance]

Is that really a perk though? Capital One gives you $ back that you can use anywhere. With Disney rewards you have to use them at Disney parks or Disney stores. I was surprised I couldn’t even use my Disney Rewards card at a Box Lunch store. Much less flexibility.

Did I mention I have a castle on my credit card????

 

[mickEblu]

Did I mention I have a castle on my credit card????

Lol so does my wife. I went for classic Mickey

 

[chadwpalm]

Is the Disney Visa worth getting?

There are two levels of cards. The standard has no annual fee, but you only earn 1% in Disney dollars for all purchases. The other is the Premier card which has the $49 annual fee, but you get 2% in Disney dollars for groceries, restaurants, and gas....otherwise 1% on everything else. So basically, like with any card with an annual fee and rewards you'd need to earn more than your annual fee for you to actually get free money.

mickEblu made some good points on the perks. You could earn the same amount of money on any rewards card, and there are limitations on the benefits in the parks, but I saved 10% in merch on my last visit, so that was nice, and it's hard to say what the future holds on APs or memberships and what discounts there could be in the future.

There is the special character meet and greet perk that allowed me to hang with Darth Vader a few years back.

I'm like Curious Constance in where I pay off my balances every month. I usually earn enough to help out with tickets or parking or food while I'm there. I have the premier card.

Learn About Disney Visa Cards

creditcards.chase.com

I know, but I was trying to avoid getting the full value of my points added at the same time in case it gets lost or stolen or something.

Be aware that the minimum amount you can add is $10. Meaning, if you have $20 worth of dollars, put $11 on a rewards card (leaving you with $9 left) you won't be able to put that last $9 on a card until your available dollars are $10 or more again. One of the things I don't like about this card is that rewards are only issued once a month at the end of the billing cycle, not as the transactions clear like other cards.

Lol so does my wife. I went for classic Mickey

I have you both beat with Baby Yoda.

 

[Stevek]

It’s $50 a year for the card that accrues Disney dollars. But I usually accumulate an average of about $50 a month in free Disney money. You can use that money for basically anything Disney related. I have everything charged to that card to maximize the money earned and pay it off at the end of the month so no interest is charged. If you use it like I do, you can earn lots of Disney money to use at the parks on our trips

We are putting everything on our card and paying it off monthly to accumulate as much Disney cash as possible for our WDW trip late this year.

 

[Curious Constance]

Well the 2020 trip ended up being 2021, but we just got back today and had an amazing time! The weather was mild and the wait times were almost non existent! We counted our first day how many attractions we experienced (counting each ride however many times we experienced it) and we did 37 attractions!!!! That’s definitely a record for us. It helped having older kids and a son who literally never wanted to leave the parks (and I have the sore body to prove it) hahaha but come on, that’s pretty amazing right!!? We never waited more than 30 minutes for anything and I think that was only one time we waited that long for Radiator Springs. Everything else was between a walk on to 15 minutes on average all day long. Got to do both Rise and Webslingers but once was enough for us on both of those. We made it a point to do things we hadn’t ever done before so we did the canoes which were a lot of fun, Goofy’s Sky school which my daughter loved, among others.
Missed the Haunted Mansion a lot since it’s closed and my son’s favorite attraction, but it was just a really fun week.