ABD Backstage Magic questions

[neckhardt]

I am contemplating taking this trip with my 18 yo daughter. Since we would be coming from the east coast, we would probably fly in a day or two early. My questions are for those of you that have done the same thing.

1. Did you have ABD book the early room, or did you do it yourself? If ABD, what was the approximate cost for the room?

2. What did you do during the "extra days", is there shopping for a teenager nearby?

3. Is a car necessary or is it easy to get around.

4. On the last day, what time does ABD get you to LAX. What is the earliest flight you could reasonably book?

Thanks,
Neal

 

[Chris931]

Hi.. My husband and I are from NY and we did this trip this past October.

1. We had ABD book the pre-trip room. We only came in a day early. I want to say it was about $400 for the night. Because they booked our room, ABD arranged pick up at the airport and it was just easier so we were happy with it even though it was pricey.

2 & 3. The hotel sits in a mall complex so there is some shopping right there. Other than that, whether you want a car or not, depends on how many days early you are there and what you want to do. You could rent a car one day if you want.. We only had a day so we just walked around the area by the hotel a little and then hung out by the pool.

4. We stayed a few days after.. but it seemed like ABD accommodated any flight time. There was a last breakfast around 8 or so but a few parties had left before that and our guides had met them in the lobby to see them off.

Hope that helps.
Christine

 

[neckhardt]

Thank you Christine,

I guess ABD can only book 2 days prior, and we may need more. For the other lurkers, what other hotels in the area have you used for prestay accommodations?

 

[kristilew]

Thank you Christine, I guess ABD can only book 2 days prior, and we may need more. For the other lurkers, what other hotels in the area have you used for prestay accommodations?

Neal, you may want to look under the Disneyland forum on these boards. There should be a lot of hotel discussion.

 

[neckhardt]

That makes complete sense. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[rchristiansen]

Thank you Christine,

I guess ABD can only book 2 days prior, and we may need more. For the other lurkers, what other hotels in the area have you used for prestay accommodations?

If you get a car, I would suggest staying in Burbank the few days before. It's only about 15 minutes north of the hotel that the ABD trip starts at. We LOVE the Best Western Plus Media Center in Burbank and have stayed there many times.

 

[neckhardt]

Thank you for your recommendation. It can be a pain picking fron online reviews so it's nice to get a personal recommendation. Yes, Burbank was the area I was looking at to get outside of LA and closer to attractions.

 

[scottmel]

We are talking my DD16 this June and decided to fly in a day early and plan to go to the WArner Bros. STudio Tour. Then we are staying an extra two day after DL and going to Newport Beach. I plan to use the free ABD transportation to get me from DL to John Wayne aiport and then take a shuttle to my hotel which is 6 miles away...and spend 2 nights in Newport Beach area before flying home.

 

[tstidm1]

I am contemplating taking this trip with my 18 yo daughter. Since we would be coming from the east coast, we would probably fly in a day or two early. My questions are for those of you that have done the same thing.

1. Did you have ABD book the early room, or did you do it yourself? If ABD, what was the approximate cost for the room?

2. What did you do during the "extra days", is there shopping for a teenager nearby?

3. Is a car necessary or is it easy to get around.

4. On the last day, what time does ABD get you to LAX. What is the earliest flight you could reasonably book?

Thanks,
Neal

1. I Didn't have ABD book the room. If you book through ABD, they were $429 for when I went in July. I found a room for $259 on Loews website during a deal, so I went for that and booked my own car there.

2. You have a mall attached to the place and really high end shopping is nearby such as Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. There's a Mall called the Grove a couple of miles away and . It's also on the red Line of LA's Metro if you want to see Universal Studios or Hollywood.

3. You don't need a car. The Hotel has a sedan service one way that's free. https://www.ridewithfiat.com/ for more information.

4. The tour ends with Breakfast, but people were already taking flights as early as 6 AM. The Breakfast starts at 8 AM and I booked a flight for Noontime when I came back. That was driven by prices more than anything else.

 

[BasilofBakerstreet]

1. Did you have ABD book the early room, or did you do it yourself? If ABD, what was the approximate cost for the room?

We did this trip this past June. We had ABD book the room for both a day early and two days after. If you book the room through ABD they arrange to pick you up at the airport and drop you off after if you add on any days at the end. If you book the trip as soon as the dates become available the cost of the trip with the additional days for us was approx the same as just the trip a few months before the trip date.

2. What did you do during the "extra days", is there shopping for a teenager nearby?

The hotel is located in a shopping mall. It is also close to the subway and Universal Studios is only one stop away on the subway. You can get tickets for Universal at the concierge desk at the hotel. I would also recommend seeing the movie at El Capitan across the street. We saw Malicificent and they had props from the movie on display downstairs. There is also walking around looking at the stars and finding the people you like.


3. Is a car necessary or is it easy to get around. Subway is close by and easy to use.

4. On the last day, what time does ABD get you to LAX. What is the earliest flight you could reasonably book?

I would recommend adding on a day or getting a late flight. The tickets you get for Dland/CA include the day the trip ends and everyone else leaves to go home.