Thinking about DL for the first time...

[Dsnygirl]

So, we were planning on surprising our girls with a Christmas gift of a trip to DW next June - it's been over 2yrs, and we're all ready.

Then Sherlock (the BBC show) announced their first USA convention in Los Angeles next year, in May. My 18yr old is OBSESSED with this show... knows every nuance of it, absolutely loves & adores it and all the characters, etc... I really wanted to take her to their 2nd convention in London this year as a graduation gift, but it was a month after she was starting college, and there was just no way. So instead, I was going to take her to NYC when she's home over the holidays for 2 or 3 nights, let her have her fill of touring the city and seeing a couple Broadway shows together... just a mom/daughter trip. (She's a theatre/performance/tv production major & LOVES NYC. ;))

So now we're considering changing it all up and offering her the Sherlock convention instead, and making it a family trip beforehand to go to DL for the first time, combined with some LA touring. Our girls have been BEGGING to visit California & DL, so we were thinking maybe this would be a way to kill 2 birds with one stone, and save some $$.

So!! Now that you have the whole story - thoughts on DL mid-May, whether or not 2 days or 3 is better, places to stay if you're not staying on property??

Go!! :mickey::thumbsup:

[BrerGnat]

Oh, mid May is a wonderful time to visit Disneyland! The weather is perfect, the flowers are everywhere and the crowds are low. You should plan at least 3 days, no less. Park hoppers are a MUST! There is a Run Disney race weekend over mother's day that will make it much more crowded from that Wednesday through Sunday of mother's day. Just so you can maybe plan around that.

As for places to stay, I really recommend staying on property for your first visit if at all possible. I'd recommend the Disneyland Hotel. But there are plenty of nice hotels in the surrounding areas that are good options as well. Many are new ish. There is a new Springhill Suites and a new Hyatt (Place or House, one of those) at the corner of Katella and Harbor, an easy walk to the parks. Directly across the park is Fairfield Inn, a new Courtyard Marriott, a new Holiday Inn Express...I would recommend any of those three. I assume you will have a car and if so, you can save quite a lot of money by going further south on Harbor towards Garden Grove. There are a couple hotels near the convention center that will offer really low rates IF there is no convention in town. You will have to pay for parking though, which is currently$18/day. There is a Disney lot on Harbor near the convention center with a shuttle to the parks from there.

I think you should definitely come to DL and that convention sounds so perfect for your daughter!

[BrowncatP]

I agree with taking 3 days. Make sure you go and see Carsland in DCA. Paradise Pier with the theme park view is nice. DL hotel is closer to everything then PP.

[BriarRose0708]

3 days is definitely better than 2! I did my first solo there over 2 days, and on my own I got to do and see just about everything. I know you guys like to hit WDW hard so I think you'd be able to get away with 2 days as a family if you get the park hopper, research, and pick and choose your priority stuff to do. But, if you spread it out over 3 days you won't need to go so fast and have more time to enjoy the atmosphere. When we took the kids last spring we went for three days because it was their first trip and we learned from our WDW experience with them that we can't push them too hard. Your girls are older than our kids so maybe they won't get so grumpy with earlier mornings, but the nice thing is if you stay close you won't need to get up 2 hours before the parks open just to make it to rope drop!

As seasoned WDW people, DL will feel familiar but so very different at the same time. The old FP system is still in effect, and the two parks are not linked so you can hold multiple FP for attractions in both parks on the same day if you have Park Hoppers. The parks are literally next to each other and hopping is such a breeze compared to WDW. You can go from Space Mountain to Radiator Springs in a matter of 15 minutes. The girls are going to LOVE it, and of course you and Dan will, too. It hearkens back to that simpler time at WDW and DL is literally the Park that Walt Built and you can just feel it so deeply!

[MNNHFLTX]

Just wanted to second the recommendation to stay on-site for your Disneyland days or at least stay off-site at one of the hotels very close to the entrance (the ones Natalie mentioned are good). My family stayed off-site and drove to DL on one trip and parking and taking the tram into the parks was a real hassle, compared with just walking over from a hotel anyway. Plus, it's so nice to be able to go back to your hotel in the middle of the day if you feel like it. :mickey:

[Genie1953]

Candy Cane Inn is an excellent hotel to stay at. It took us about 7 minutes to walk from our room to the security check lime at Disneyland. They have a great breakfast as well. It is on he same side of the busy street as Disneyland so is convenient. They have a shuttle that runs every 30 minutes. The hotel is family owned for the last 60 years. It is very clean and the staff are wonderful!


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