Need planning help

[missouridisney]

I am a veteran WDW tripper, but we are planning our 1st DL trip in May for daughters college grad. present. Can't even decide best place to fly into because we aren't renting a car.
So far we plan to stay near DL, do Disney 2 days, then get some sort of tour to Hollywood and the beach if possible. I guess my 1st question is are the hotel prices better thru the DL site for Good Neighbor Hotels or AAA? At this point I am so confused about it all.

[frozman]

Best airport to fly into is John Wayne/Orange County (SNA). It's a smaller airport, but most major airlines serve it. From there you can either take a Super Suttle type service or the Disneyland Resort Express. I believe it's cheaper to use the Super Shuttle type services (Super Shuttle and Prime Time Shuttle are the two major companies out there), however the disneyland resort express (which is operated by a 3rd party company) ONLY services Disneyland area hotels (on site and "Good Neighbor"), so you won't have to worry about a scenic tour around Los Angeles. I think the prices for DRE are around $30/RT/Person and the shuttles run about $10-$15 each way/person.
You should also compare LAX though, there are times when it's insanely cheaper to fly there, and insanely more expensive to fly there. Shuttles will probably run you about $10 more per person. LAX is much easier to get a direct flight to if that's important.
Now, the same company that runs DRE (Gray Line) has a tour service that will pick you up from your Disneyland area hotel. They have a multitude of tours, including Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal. The way it works is all tours have the same departure times, so when you make your reservation, they tell you a pick up time from your hotel, a bus takes you to their small bus station nearby, and then you get on the proper bus. If you are looking for a little more freedom (and a cheaper route) for your Hollywood trip, take an OCTA bus from your hotel (the local city bus) to any metrolink station (probably Anaheim, Orange, or Buena Park), and take a train to LA Union Station (all inbound trains end up there), and then take a Metro Redline train to one of the several Hollywood Stations.

As for hotel bookings... Can't help you there. I've always shopped around. It's been my experience that if you check the major travel sites (Priceline/Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz), along with the website of your prefferred hotel often one will have an insanely better deal. I recently booked a southern California trip (not Disneyland) for 11 nights for $927 on priceline. The hotels website wanted $93.55 + Tax per NIGHT. And that $927 includes my [cross country] Airfare and all taxes. Everyone else wanted $1200-$1400 for that same package.
Basically, set aside a couple hours and compare. It also helps to check with your airlines hotel bookings service when you book your flight, I've gotten good deals through American Airlines Vacations in the past for Disneyland.

[missouridisney]

Thanks so much for all your great helpful information, I am sure we will put it to good use.

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Definitely agree with the other post. John Wayne Airport rocks.. It is so easy to get in and out of. Also southwest is there and we love southwest.. We like to hire towncars when we are there to get from the airport and one day we took one to the beach for 100 dollars they dropped us off in the morning and came back to get us early evening. I actually still have them on speed dial for our next trip. Have a great time.