1st Disneyland Trip... a few questions

[Lightshield]

Hello everyone! I'm Jared, and my wife Cassie and I are taking our first trip to Disneyland this November. She has been to Disney World several times, and I've been twice... our Honeymoon in 2008 and our Anniversary last September.

I am a planner, so even though our trip is 80+ days away I am in overdrive trying to make plans and learn as much as I can about the Anaheim area (since we live in Alabama).

I just have a few general questions for you folks that have gone before. I hope you don't mind!

1. We will be going November 2-5. Do you think we will be able to see the Christmas decorations that soon after Halloween? How long does it usually take to convert Space Mountain back from Ghost Galaxy? Do you think it'll be up for us to ride before we leave?


2. We are flying into Vegas Halloween night, and then debating on either renting a car and driving to Disneyland from there or getting a cheap flight to get to CA. So here is my question: If you were flying in (either John Wayne or LAX) and staying in a "Good Neighbor" hotel, do you think it's better to rent a car from the airport for your time at Disney or rely on Shuttles / Bus transportation?


3. We are currently planning a stay of: November 2nd: Disneyland, 3rd: California Adventure, 4th: Disneyland.

We don't think we'll need the park hopper option. My question though is: Is it possible to stay in California Adventure open to close without running out of things to do? I figure it's easier to stay a whole day there now that they have opened Cars land, but I've always heard there wasn't as much there as Disneyland.


Thank you so much for any help or information! Can't wait to join in on the board now that I've found it.

 

[sasywtch]

If you get a cheap flight, definitely do John Wayne airport over LAX. I would do a shuttle or taxi instead of renting a car as most motels/hotels now charge for parking.

You could drive if you would like to see a lot of desert.

I'm not sure of the decorations.

 

[honeylove]

1. Unfortunately not, they will still have the Halloween up. They usually start the Christmas decor around the 10th or thereafter.

2. The drive from Vegas to Anaheim can be anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on traffic. If you are okay with seeing the desert, it's not a bad drive. There is food stops on the way, with a giant thermometer and the first Del Taco in Barstow, also, a cool McDonald's that's in a train car and outlets to stop at. The flight from Vegas to John Wayne is a good option, especially since lately the prices have been really good!!

3. You can definitely stay a whole open to close, we always could! There's lots to do and see and lines always exist, especially with the new Cars Land. Lots of food to eat, I actually like the take your time approach of to CAA.

Have fun and enjoy your trip!!!

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

Hello everyone! I'm Jared, and my wife Cassie and I are taking our first trip to Disneyland this November. She has been to Disney World several times, and I've been twice... our Honeymoon in 2008 and our Anniversary last September.

I am a planner, so even though our trip is 80+ days away I am in overdrive trying to make plans and learn as much as I can about the Anaheim area (since we live in Alabama).

I just have a few general questions for you folks that have gone before. I hope you don't mind!

2. We are flying into Vegas Halloween night, and then debating on either renting a car and driving to Disneyland from there or getting a cheap flight to get to CA. So here is my question: If you were flying in (either John Wayne or LAX) and staying in a "Good Neighbor" hotel, do you think it's better to rent a car from the airport for your time at Disney or rely on Shuttles / Bus transportation?

By the time you pay for the rental and all of the gas, it's not going to be a huge savings over a flight from Las Vegas to John Wayne or LAX. I'd fly into John Wayne. The flights can be as cheap as or slightly more expensive than LAX, but you don't have to pay as much for a shuttle. You could look into flying into Long Beach as well. If you don't plan on leaving the resort, there's no need for a car.

3. We are currently planning a stay of: November 2nd: Disneyland, 3rd: California Adventure, 4th: Disneyland.

We don't think we'll need the park hopper option. My question though is: Is it possible to stay in California Adventure open to close without running out of things to do? I figure it's easier to stay a whole day there now that they have opened Cars land, but I've always heard there wasn't as much there as Disneyland.

Yes, there is absolutely enough to do in CA Adventure for a full day, but I do recommend the park hopper. The parks are SO CLOSE it's super-easy to go from one park to another. If you find that one park is more crowded than the other, or you have extra time to kill in between Fast Passes, you have a lot of flexibility with park hoppers. Additionally, if you're interested in riding the Cars Land rides, park hoppers give you 3 chances to do it, rather than spending the whole of one day trying to get those in.

I honestly think the single biggest mistake WDW veterans make on their first DLR trips is not getting park hoppers.

 

[IBLarsen]

I would agree on the recommendation of Park Hoppers. I always try to explain it from my childrens point of view.... they say DCA is "The other side of Disneyland". They don't even realize it's a totally separate park, because it does feel like you are just going to the other side of the park. Being able to go anywhere in the two parks you want any given day is a huge bonus over WDW.

For transportation, we used to always rent a car, then last trip we booked the Disneyland Express bus service and said in the future we won't rent a car that isn't actually needed.

 

[abooch]

I would like to add to this. I will be staying in Anaheim and want to go to Universal Hollywood one day, with no car. Around How much would a taxi cost to and from Disney to Universal?

 

[krispin41]

I would like to add to this. I will be staying in Anaheim and want to go to Universal Hollywood one day, with no car. Around How much would a taxi cost to and from Disney to Universal?

Not sure how much a taxi would cost, but my DH and I went on our last trip and we took the Greyline. The trip took a bit over an hour, so I'm thinking a taxi would be on the expensive side. The only downside is the fixed time that Greyline picked you up.

 

[Steamboat Philly]

1. Have to agree with the others, gonna miss out on the Christmas decorations by about a week unfortunately.

2. I would definitely fly into John Wayne, closer to the park as well as more than half the traffic flying into that airport. Will be a much quicker stop than LAX.

3. I used to live in SoCal about 15 from DLR, and now vacation their with my family every summer. 5 years in a row and we have yet to buy Park Hoppers. I doubt you'd run out of things to do at DCA with all the work they've done. And if you do, it's always a good idea to spend a family afternoon/evening in Downtown Disney. Plus I've been told you can always change your mind and upgrade to hoppers for the price difference whenever you'd like.

Hope this helps!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

i would look into flying with jetblue from las vegas to long beach. They often have flights for $47 taxes included and one bag free. Long beach is closer than lax and an easy cab ride to disneyland.

 

[rtfelt]

Fly Southwest to John Wayne or JetBlue to Long Beach. They both have great, cheap commuter flights. I have taken JetBlue, which is great for one way trips.

In my opinion you need at least a full day in DCA. Most would agree that now you could use 2, but it really depends on whether you want to see EVERYTHING or just the main things.

 

[Lightshield]

Thank you for the responses everyone!

One of the things I Google said, though it hasn't been announced, that they may film the Disneyland Christmas TV special sometime between November 2-6. Have any of you been there during the taping of that? How disruptive is it?

I'm hoping that rumor is true cause it means we'll get at least a few Christmas decorations!

 

[Lightshield]

We have some cheap flights we could take with Southwest from Las Vegas to John Wayne. I guess the main thing I'm worried about with flying is how much extra we'll have to shell out in shuttle fees getting to/from the airport, and possibly to/from the resort if we can't get a hotel in walking distance.

 

[pikaboo27]

You will likely get to see some of the decorations, but not to their full effect. Where we were there for Halloween last year, the castle already had "snow" on it. It was actually kind of disruptive to the whole Halloween experience actually. We are going much earlier in October this year to avoid it. I only like my holidays to collide at HM.

I would fly and not rent a car. A cab from SNA (John Wayne) to the Disney Resort area is about $30-35. Or you can get a shuttle for less (though it will have some other stops).

I would get hoppers. The parks are so close together, it's better to flexible. But you are wise to plan your DCA day on the 3rd. Saturdays are now the best days to go with the AP blackouts.

 

[DisMike]

I'd have to agree with the PP. We've been there as early as Nov. 5 and they had some of the Christmas decorations up. The castle was almost complete. HM had its decorations. They had the tree up in the square on Main St.

Absolutely DO get park hoppers. Check out Google Earth. The parks are only about 100 yards apart.

The other stuff I agree with the others who posted.

 

[Mickeyflower]

I'm going to against the popular opinion of flying. I look at it as a time factor as well as a hassle factor.

When you fly, you need to get to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight departure. The flight from Vegas to Disneyland is roughly an hour (give or take) If it's on time. Then you have the whole baggage claim process, and hope your bags are in the first load off, not the last. Then, find your taxi, shuttle, whatever your choice was. Your total time is now about 4 hours, same amount of time it was to drive. And probably, not much cheaper and MANY more head aches.

I live in Northern CA and would much rather drive to DL than fly. Cheaper, less headaches, and I get to sit in a nice quiet car blaring my own music! IMHO, since they are so close, it's just not worth the hassle to fly.

Food for thought

As for the Christmas parade and decorations, all of the PP have touched on it. You may see a few (Small World Holiday, Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion Holiday) and maybe a few in New Orleans Square.

I've never had a park hopper anytime I've gone to DL or WDW. I enjoy focusing on a single park each day. I've never kicked myself for not having a hopper. Just my 2 cents

Whatever you choose to do, it's going to be a BLAST!