First timer to Disneyland

[cdsmiler81]

Fabulous, thank you everyone.

One last thing for now - how far is it from LAX to Disneyland?? Did you hire cars? Or is there a shuttle? (@A Small World @saintrob but anyone else who has done that!)

@Jennisney - If you remember the name of the hotel, it would be lovely to know! Thank you!

C x

 

[originalkk]

It's usually been about an hours drive from LAX to DLR for us, with some traffic, but it can vary enomously depending on the notorious LA traffic. We always hire a car as we don't just visit Disneyland. There are various shuttles you can get from LAX to Anaheim; the Disneyland website shows Disney Resort Express, but others are available. Note quite a few hotels have parking charges.

There are lots of hotels along South Harbor Blvd next to Disneyland. Most are motels, but the Howard Johnson is popular with famiies for having a water play area for kids, and there is a new Marriott Courtyard which is very popular, but which seems almost as expensive as the Disney on-site hotels. We normally stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn, which is immediately across the street from the park, but there are lots within walking distance. Have a look at the newbies help thread in the Disneyland section on the DIS for lots of useful info.

 

[A Small World]

Fabulous, thank you everyone.

One last thing for now - how far is it from LAX to Disneyland?? Did you hire cars? Or is there a shuttle? (@A Small World @saintrob but anyone else who has done that!)

@Jennisney - If you remember the name of the hotel, it would be lovely to know! Thank you!

C x

We used Grayline shuttle for the trip from LAX to the hotel

Its the same company we used for other trips during the week (SanDiego zoo, Sea World, Knotts)

http://www.grayline.com/things-to-do/united-states/anaheim/

 

[Elise79]

We have been recommended http://www.supershuttle.com/ for transfers.

Just checking you do realise as well as the 11 hour flight time there is an 8 hour time difference to deal with?

 

[cdsmiler81]

Thanks all.

We have been recommended http://www.supershuttle.com/ for transfers.

Just checking you do realise as well as the 11 hour flight time there is an 8 hour time difference to deal with?

Yes, I know......great eh?! lol

C x

 

[saintrob]

We got a taxi. It took a while to clear immigration at LAX too. I'd read quite a bit about shuttles beforehand and several of them stop at the different terminals. I couldn't face the thought of a long journey and the taxi was great. The taxi rank is just outside of the terminal and it took about 60 minutes to the Disneyland Hotel.

We were on the 3.40pm flight from Heathrow and had flown down from Manchester on the 10am flight so it had been a long day!

 

[cdsmiler81]

We got a taxi. It took a while to clear immigration at LAX too. I'd read quite a bit about shuttles beforehand and several of them stop at the different terminals. I couldn't face the thought of a long journey and the taxi was great. The taxi rank is just outside of the terminal and it took about 60 minutes to the Disneyland Hotel.

We were on the 3.40pm flight from Heathrow and had flown down from Manchester on the 10am flight so it had been a long day!

Thanks for this! Was it very expensive?

C x

 

[saintrob]

Thanks for this! Was it very expensive?

C x

It was about $90 but we felt it was worth every cent as by this point we'd been awake for 22 hours!

 

[BusyP76]

We're doing three days at Disneyland later this year...nervous it's not going to be enough time but it was what we could fit in around other plans (we're spending time in LA and Santa Monica during that holiday too). We've booked the Desert Inn and Suites, just across the road from DL! So excited already!

I think 3 days is an adequate amount of time at DL. We did 3 nights and 4 days and I felt like it was plenty of time!

There are only 2 parks (Disneyland and California Adventure). Their entrances face each other and you could stand at the entrance to one park and shout at someone standing at the entrance to the other, they are that close. Adjacent to both parks is Downtown Disney and there are multiple hotels within walking distance or a short drive away. Everything (parks, hotels, dining, shopping, entertainment, nightlife) is right there together so there are no real transportation logistics to figure out. We stayed at the Grand Californian which I highly recommend for convienence alone. One of the cool features of this hotel is that you can step out of one entrance and you are in Downtown Disney. You can also step out of the back entrance of the pool area and you are inside California Adventure. We love WDW but Disneyland has such a cool vibe and the weather beats Florida weather almost half of the year! I would definitely make sure to catch World of Color. It's just jaw-dropping. I would also recommend snagging an ADR for Blue Bayou which is a themed restaurant inside of the Pirates of the Carribbean ride. We also really enjoyed our meal at Napa Rose (Grand Californian). Happy planning!!

 

[saintrob]

I agree that you could easily do DCL in four days. We've got six nights again only because we want an extra day to go offsite into Santa Monica. We also want a couple of afternoons of downtime around the pool.

 

[Garrie the Unicorn]

We also took a shuttle to the Harbour Blvd Hotels. We stayed at the Ramada Maingate, which was close to the main gates of Disney (about a five minute walk). There were plenty of restaurants to eat at along that road as well. One warning is that the portion sizes we found to be HUGE and neither of us are small eaters. For example, one sandwich at the Jolly Holiday Bakery in the park fed both of us for lunch without being hungry. It is something to keep in mind if you are not big eaters!

 

[disneyholic family]

i agree that WDW is probably easier with kidlets than disneyland...
we're going to WDW next year with the 1 and 3 year old grandkids.....
over the years, we've done WDW with every age, starting from infant on up..
it's a very user friendly place with lots of things to do for different ages...

 

[eeyorefanuk]

It's usually been about an hours drive from LAX to DLR for us, with some traffic, but it can vary enomously depending on the notorious LA traffic. We always hire a car as we don't just visit Disneyland. There are various shuttles you can get from LAX to Anaheim; the Disneyland website shows Disney Resort Express, but others are available. Note quite a few hotels have parking charges.

There are lots of hotels along South Harbor Blvd next to Disneyland. Most are motels, but the Howard Johnson is popular with famiies for having a water play area for kids, and there is a new Marriott Courtyard which is very popular, but which seems almost as expensive as the Disney on-site hotels. We normally stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn, which is immediately across the street from the park, but there are lots within walking distance. Have a look at the newbies help thread in the Disneyland section on the DIS for lots of useful info.

Just booked BEPPI on lots of recommendations

 

[Ware Bears]

DL is my absolute favourite but I think I'd choose WDW over it for a first visit with young children, not only is it a shorter flight from the UK but there's just so much more there and it's all set up as an 'easy vacation'.

However if you decide on DL there's no shortage of (more reasonably priced than Disney) hotels along Harbor Boulevard and near vicinity, we have stayed twice at the Candy Cane Inn which is a fabulous place, has it's own private shuttle bus every half hour or an eight minute walk to the parks. Although we always have a car in Orlando, we didn't bother for Anaheim, the first time we booked private shuttles to/from LAX with PrimeTime Shuttle, the second time we booked with Zippy Shuttle because we were coming into Union Station on the train and they were the cheapest pick-up there. Would go with either again but Zippy would always be my first choice.

First time to DL we spent five days at the parks on a 7 night trip, the second time was just me and DH and we had three days. We've also visited the beaches, Universal, Warner Bros Studios and a lot of LA, and last time did a special tour visiting Walt Disney locations - love the area and can't wait to go back and see much more but still think I'd recommend WDW for the first visit from the UK.

Happy planning!

 

[cdsmiler81]

DL is my absolute favourite but I think I'd choose WDW over it for a first visit with young children, not only is it a shorter flight from the UK but there's just so much more there and it's all set up as an 'easy vacation'.

Thanks Elaine, I think we are thinking WDW first now, but this thread is still invaluable!!!!!

C x

 

[disneyholic family]

i forgot to write anything about DL in my response.
The logistics of DL are somewhat more difficult i think.
We took the kids when they were teenagers.
i remember finding certain aspects of getting there etc difficult even with teens.
I suggested taking the family there next summer, rather than WDW - but everyone said they prefer WDW.
Actually they said DL is awesome, but they'd rather go to WDW. For what it's worth.