Planning help!

[tinksmom02]

I am considering a 2015 trip to CA with DD. I know NOTHING about CA. We obviously want to visit DLR and to see another ocean, but I'm not sure what else. :blush: I'm finding it a little more difficult to find DLR planning resources than WDW. Do you have any suggestions for me? Is there a better time of year to go? (I do have to take DD's school schedule into account) I'm so confused about the on-site or near--but not really Disney--hotels--do you have a recommendation? How do the costs compare to WDW? We typically stay at moderate resorts when we visit WDW, although I think DLR doesn't have those categories?

I think I'll want to rent a car but maybe not for the whole trip...:confused:

Any help that you want to toss my way would be appreciated!

[chefmickey3]

We have the same problem. We are going this summer after 12+ years of WDW trips. We bought a Birnbaums which has been very helpful. Youtube has a lot of great videos of the hotels and walkthroughs of the parks. You can also order a planning video from Disney. I know there is a rental car for Alamo at Downtown Disney so that is convenient. We are looking for a family friendly beach to visit for a day. I will be checking back for responses to your post for more ideas.

[tinksmom02]

We have the same problem. We are going this summer after 12+ years of WDW trips. We bought a Birnbaums which has been very helpful. Youtube has a lot of great videos of the hotels and walkthroughs of the parks. You can also order a planning video from Disney. I know there is a rental car for Alamo at Downtown Disney so that is convenient. We are looking for a family friendly beach to visit for a day. I will be checking back for responses to your post for more ideas.

;) I'm just so confused. I've heard that some of the Good Neighbor hotels are closer than some of the DLR hotels but still offer a lot of the same perks, so can I save money, or should we splurge? I will check for the Birnbaum's book, thanks.

[cohoman]

My family usually stay at the Grand Californian Hotel (just West of California Adventures) and walk through Downtown Disney to the DL and CA park entrances. It's a really short and pleasant walk. Now, staying at the GC is very pricey, but there are more affordable hotels on the East end of the park within the same walking distance. If I wanted to stay at a moderately priced hotel within the same walking distance, I would probably choose the Fairfield Inn just across the street from DL. They have lots of restaurants in that area, and it's safe to walk at night.

No worries about finding a good place to seat with all the restaurants near the hotel and in Downtown Disney.

I suggest taking a taxi from the airport (I'm assuming you're arriving at Orange County) to your hotel and not renting a car while you're visiting DL. If you need a car for a day or two, you can get one at the Alamo office at the West end of Downtown Disney (we did that for one day to drive to the beach. Cost was $37/day).

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time at DL and CA.

[tinksmom02]

My family usually stay at the Grand Californian Hotel (just West of California Adventures) and walk through Downtown Disney to the DL and CA park entrances. It's a really short and pleasant walk. Now, staying at the GC is very pricey, but there are more affordable hotels on the East end of the park within the same walking distance. If I wanted to stay at a moderately priced hotel within the same walking distance, I would probably choose the Fairfield Inn just across the street from DL. They have lots of restaurants in that area, and it's safe to walk at night.

No worries about finding a good place to seat with all the restaurants near the hotel and in Downtown Disney.

I suggest taking a taxi from the airport (I'm assuming you're arriving at Orange County) to your hotel and not renting a car while you're visiting DL. If you need a car for a day or two, you can get one at the Alamo office at the West end of Downtown Disney (we did that for one day to drive to the beach. Cost was $37/day).

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time at DL and CA.

Thank you. Yeah, I have no idea how we're actually *getting* to CA LOL or if this is even a feasible trip, but I like planning!

[tinkwest]

If you have the time to browse, take a look at some of the previous topics in this forum and in the Disneyland archives forum. Some of the information may be outdated (parades, shows, hours) but references to hotels, beaches, and other attractions should be helpful.

Assuming you are flying, I would look in to getting a shuttle from whichever airport you choose to the Disneyland Resort area in Anaheim. Then if you plan an excursion for a day or two, rent a car for that time period.

Huntington Beach or Newport Beach are easy driving distance from DLR. I would choose either one of those for a Pacific Ocean visit.

It is wonderful to stay at a Disney hotel. I would choose that every time if money was no object. I have no preference between Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian Hotel. They are both excellent in their own right. If you want more of a Disney feel go for the DLH. I've watched it go through many changes over the years and though I've been sad to see things I'd grown to love disappear, I have been equally happy with the new results. The GCH has a very cozy feel, IMO. And you can't get closer to the Parks! One of my favorite perks is that if you go on Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure and get soaking wet, you simply walk to the GCH entrance directly across the way and go dry off in your room. I've stayed at Paradise Pier Hotel the least and the most recent was probably ten years ago. It is a bit more of a walk than the other two, but not much. The rooms are large but the pool is nothing special.

Hotels on S. Harbor Boulevard are just that - a typical hotel. Most are your bare bones rooms without much if any theming, a pool to cool off in but not beckoning you to stay, a small check-in lobby with gift shop, and usually a continental breakfast (with offerings you could probably find at Costco). BUT the price will be quite a bit less than staying on site. And if you choose a hotel between Disney Way and W. Manchester you will actually have the same, if not less of a walk to the Park entrances than if you were staying at DLH or PPH. One perk of being a DLR Hotel guest is that early Park admission is offered every day during your stay. Other guests purchasing a three day or longer ticket will receive early admission one day during the duration of the ticket.

Time of year? - Do you have a preference of how you would like to see the Parks (decorated for a certain season or in it's natural state)? What's more important to you, longer hours or fewer crowds? Which weather conditions would bother you most - rain or heat? Do you like to take in shows & parades or are you more about the rides?

[tinksmom02]

Thanks for the food for thought, Tinkwest! I would LOVE to stay at a DLR hotel, especially the GCH, but that just may not be in the budget (this whole trip is looking to be out of my budget, honestly). Was wondering if the early entry *every day* we're there is really needed, or if the one day we'd get staying at a Good Neighbor hotel would suffice? I guess it depends on the crowds...

As for time frame, I was thinking probably late August. I would love to see Christmas time, but I have to factor in DD's school schedule so I was thinking right at the end of summer, before she heads back. I know that's a slower time at WDW, but not about DLR!

[tinkwest]

Regarding early entry - You'll get a different answer from different people. When I stayed at GCH last June I think we used it once. But we visit the Parks often and don't feel the same urgency that occasional visitors might. Visitors from the east coast may use it more often due to the fact that body clocks may have them getting up early anyways so why not go to the parks!

The end of August will still have some good sized crowds, especially on the very last weekend when Disneyland hosts a half marathon event. Hours will still be generous, but cut down some from earlier in the summer. If Haunted Mansion is important to you, keep in mind that it could be down at the end of the month as it gets ready for the Nightmare Before Christmas version that begins in September.

If you come during the first 3/4 of that month the summer crowds will still be around but you'll have 15 or 16 hours each day to spend at the Parks. And that's without the early morning entry. There should be few or no refurbishments taking place and all entertainment (parades, fireworks, etc.) should be on the schedule daily.

[NewDVCowner]

There are a lot of decent hotels on Harbor. I would do a street view search to see what's close. The Tropicana is right across the street and doesn't charge for parking. They have breakfast but it's all Danishes and there is no protein or fruit. I've stayed at the Cortona several times and it's a nice hotel. Clean and it has a better breakfast with some sort of protein, sometimes just hard boiled eggs, and fruit as well as the expected cereal and donuts. The nice thing about theCortona is that it's right across from the Disneyland parking lot. It's very easy to walk across the street and jump I their free buses. The Candy Cane Inn is always highly recommended but I haven't stayed there myself.

I did want to tell you to avoid the 'dining plan' at Disneyland. Basically it's just vouchers for the amount you pay. If you don't use all the money on the voucher then you don't get the difference back, if you are spending more than the amount if the voucher you need pay the difference.

The counter service restaurants are better at Disneyland than at disney world, however if you want to save money there are plent of restaurants on a Harbor that are close by. There's actually an IHOP right across the street from the park enterence. There are not very many table service restaurants, as compared to WDW.

The parks are only a couple hundred yards across from each other. I would very much recommend getting park hoppers. It's very easy to go to the other park if the park you're in gets crowded.

I would recommend getting to the early entry if you can. You can easily get to all the fantasy land attractions before it gets crowded. They only have fantasy land and tomorrow land for the early entry so be aware of that. If you can't do the early entry then get there at park opening. The fantasy land rides don't have fast passes.

Radiator springs racer does have both fast pass and single rider lines. If you're ok standing in line together but are okay not riding in the car together I would recommend the single rider over the fast pass. The fast passes go fast. If you want them get there early. The line for the fast passes can take forty minutes to get through, probably depending on how busy the parks are, but that's been my experience.

Grizzly River Run is a much better ride than Kali River Run.

The fast pass to spash mountain will probably save you the most time of anything .

The single rider line at Indiana used to save a lot of time but not anymore, so I don't recommend that.

The one time I flew down there I flew into SNA. The cost for a cab was about $40 to Disneyland. That was a few years ago but it might be a better price than the Disneyland shuttles. They don't have anything like magical express that's free to use.

Something special that I always do when I'm down there is get a mint julep and bignettes in New Orleans square.

[tinksmom02]

Thanks for all the tips!!:mickey:

[LVT]

We just went thru the Orange County/SNA/John Wayne airport. It was great. It did cost a little more than LAX, but it was small and easy to get around. We rented a car there from Alamo.
We did PP hotel and loved it. $$$ tho.