Disneyland Questions

Trying to decide if we should do WDW or DL this year. I love WDW but airfare is so much more expensive to fly to FL than CA right now for us. We will have a 4 year old and an infant plus my DH and I. We have done WDW twice now and I feel I know the "ins and outs" of how to get around and when to go. I've only been to DL once as an adult (many times as a small child) so trying to learn more. We would be staying at a "Good Neighbor Hotel" - Suggestions for an affordable one in walking distance?

- What time of year is best to go for low crowds/good weather? Is September or November good? Can you swim at the pool during Fall?

- What is the best/most affordable way for transportation to and from the airport? Car or shuttle?

- Are there many "counter service" in the park that are affordable? I know food is more at DL.

- Any tips and tricks for navigating DL that are different from WDW?

Thanks!!

Ill be there on the 11th for the first time. for me air is a lot more to CA since im in the east. i looked at a few diff motels and got some advice in accomadation thread. Best West had some AAA deals and I saw some good things about HOJO but i went w ParkVue since its right across and included parking and bfast.
my friend got a military DL pass for $99.
we are renting a car since we are going to drive to Vegas after DL.
Have to find some not overly exp places to eat.
hopefully Ill remember to post a trip report after

I've only stayed off site at Fairfield Inn. It was perfectly suitable, affordable with a sale, clean and a 5 minute walk away from the gates. We had no complaints.

The weather in Sept is very nice and you would be able to swim. The pools are always opened but the weather can cool off in November.

If you can afford it take a car service. The shuttle will not be fun with kids, it does a milk run.

There are lots of counter service restaurants.. plan to spend between 8 -10 for an adult and 5-6 for a child.
Personally, I prefer the Carnation Cafe for a couple dollars more. It will reopen in the summer of 2012. Worth a stop, even if it's only for a Mickey waffle. The beauty of Disneyland, is you can walk out the gate and eat somewhere else if you want to. You will see lots of choices when walking to the park.

As far as navigating.. You probably know that Disneyland is considered smaller, but has more attractions than the MK. I'd check a map and pick what you really want to see first. I will say the Nemo Subs lines up terribly as the day goes on and fastpass is not an option. With a small child you may want to get there early. Same goes for Little Mermaid at CA.

I'm not sure how many days you are planning on vacationing. If more than 4 and you decided on DL I would consider renting a car.

This would give you an option to visit other areas of CA. You really only need 3 to 4 days tops to do most of DL / DCA with Hopper passes. From there a 45 min to hour drive southish brings you to Legoland / SeaLife Aquarium parks in Carlsbad.

These parks are really geared towards kids under twelve ride wise, but can still be a great experience for all. We did all of Legoland in one day.

After that you could consider driving ~ 2-3 hours (?) south to San Diego. They have the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, & Sea World among other interests. You could explore a few days there. You could also plan your flight out of San Diego to avoid have to drive back up to the L.A. area for you flight home.

It's definitely a worthwhile trip. There are plenty of Good Neighbor Hotels (really, most of them are motels) that are adequate, but most of them don't have pools that are even worth swimming in. Most popular among families with kids is the Howard Johnson on Harbor. It has a pretty neat water play area with slides, fountains, and wading pools.

I think DL has some REALLY good CS food, much better than what you find at WDW, overall. The meals are, on average, $1-2 more than you'll see at WDW, but the quality and varied selection is far superior, so it evens out. Kids meals are around $6.49 each at CS, close to $9 at TS. But, DLR has some good buffets that are significantly cheaper than their WDW counterparts. Storyteller's at the Grand Californian is really good food and Goofy's Kitchen is a very popular (and good) character meal.

Getting around DL is much easier than WDW because you can walk everywhere. That's a huge plus.

I spent many years at DL with babies, infants, and then toddlers. DL has excellent baby care facilities in the parks and lots of nice little quiet nooks for in park napping! I think, as a whole, DLR is more "little kid" friendly. Fantasyland there has a lot of rides for the "under 3" crowd and DCA has lots as well.

My favorite time to visit DLR is the fall. I like mid-late September as well as early November.

What airport are you looking to fly into? There are various options to consider, but some are better than others from different airports. Renting a car isn't necessary if you don't plan to leave Anaheim, and MANY of the hotels in the area charge a daily parking fee, so you have to keep that in mind.

Thank you for the responses. We REALLY want to see the Christmas decorations either at WDW or DL. So our plan was to go somewhere around November 10-17, give or take. I know we wouldn't need as many days for DL.
- Is that week before Thanksgiving busy at DL? What is a good week to go to DL for Christmas decorations that is lower crowds?
- Are the Christmas events much superior at one park over the other? (We wouldn't be attending MVMCP due to cost. )
- We'd probably fly into Long Beach. Can get tickets for around $150 per vs. about $400 to Orlando. (boo!)

Also - what is the most affordable way with 2 small kids to get to the hotel (We'd probably do Howard Johnson) if we did not have car? Is there a place near by we could rent a car if we just wanted one for 1 or 2 days? We have family in the area we'd probably visit for a day.

Thanks!

Honestly, after having just visited WDW over Christmas (I really wanted to see the decorations too!) and having lived in So. Cal for over 10 years (moved away last summer...boo!), I can honestly now say that I think DLR does a better job celebrating the holidays. They do the Christmas Fantasy parade daily there, as well as Holiday fireworks with snow (no need to attend any special parties). They have stuff like cookie decorating and singing parties over at Big Thunder Ranch, where you can also see Santa and REAL Reindeer! They serve hot cocoa and have lots of special holiday treats available throughout the parks (not free, but very festive). I think DL looks prettier at Christmas too.

If you are flying into Long Beach, you can take a shuttle service to DLR. It's only about 20 min away. I like Prime Time shuttle. It's not expensive.

You can rent a car in Anaheim if you only need for one day. There are several locations not far from the Ho Jo. I know Enterprise, Budget, and Alamo all have locations around Harbor Blvd/Katella.

If Christmas decor is your main focus, that time you mentioned in November may be too early. They typically kick off the Christmas festivities the Friday following Veteran's day, give or take a week or so. It has been as late as the Friday prior to Thanksgiving on some years.

If you can, the first week of December is prime for DLR. That would be my choice.