Advice for a first-timer staying offsite

[marcais]

I live in Ireland and we're planning next year's holidays. There's 4 of us; me, my wife, 18-year-old daughter, 14-year-old son. It's going to be end of July/start of August. It's a big one with my daughter heading off to uni afterwards, and at the minute it looks something like this:

2 days in Toronto
3 days in Osaka
5 days in Tokyo
7 days in LA

We'll be flying into LAX (Currently planned for arriving on 31 July) and staying offsite in the vague LA area with probably only 2 (3 at a push) days in Disneyland. It'll be an Airbnb and rental car for the time in and around LA. We're still planning out what else we'll be doing during that week (Griffith Observatory, WB Studio tour, Mann's Chinese Theatre, a trip to the beach, all the usual touristy stuff), but I want some advice about our time in Disneyland as we've never been to California before.

• Is Anaheim a good place to base ourselves for the trip? We'll be driving to most of the places we go, and all I ever hear or read is that traffic in the LA area is a nightmare. Are there any good alternative areas that I should be looking at?
• Is 2 days enough time in Disneyland if we get Parkhopper and the Genie+/LLMP? Or should we push that out to 3? At the minute my plan has us in Disneyland on 4th & 5th August. That's a Monday & Tuesday. UT suggests these would typically be 6/10 days in terms of crowd sizes. We could add a third day either side and it would also be a 6/10 day.
• How essential is Parkhopper? I know that the parks are very close together and you can walk from one to the other, but it's and extra $60/$70 on the UT prices. As you can imagine, this trip is expensive, so the opportunity to save $250/$300 would be welcome. Would a 2-day (or 3-day), 1-park-per-day ticket with LLMP let us do all the things we want to do?
• If we took the 3-day 1-park-per-day option, which park should be the 2-day option, and which the 1-day option?
• If we're staying offsite, how far in advance can we book dining? I've been reading that getting dining is a good option for Fantasmic. That wasn't running on our last couple of trips to WDW, so we're keen to see that again, and with so little time in the parks it would be good to avoid having to spend a couple of hours staking out a spot when we could spend that time on rides instead.

I'm sure more questions will occur to me as I build out my plan, but that'll do for starters.

I'm off now to read the other threads on the board that ask similar questions!

Cheers in advance for your help!

 

[miksicnarf]

Wow, that's gonna be quite a trip! I live here and getting around boggles my mind much of the time. A few of my opinions: I would not stay in Anaheim the whole week. It seems like most of the stuff you're interested in outside of DL is in L.A. so I'd choose a spot on the Westside of L.A. or even in the San Fernando Valley (commonly referred to as The Westside and The Valley). I'd move to Anaheim when you want to do your beach day and choose a beach in Orange County, much nicer than L.A.
As for DL, yes, you can likely do most everything with 1 park per day tickets but it really seems a shame not to get hoppers when you've come this far and are already spending so much (easy for me to spend other people's money...LOL).
And speaking of crowds, I don't know where UT gets its info but in my experience Mondays are possibly the most crowded day of the week. I'd do Tues.-Thurs. if possible.
I think you can make dining reservations 60 days in advance.
Enjoy!

 

[Howry]

"Is Anaheim a good place to base ourselves for the trip? We'll be driving to most of the places we go, and all I ever hear or read is that traffic in the LA area is a nightmare. Are there any good alternative areas that I should be looking at?"

I would probably plan on staying in the LA area for a few days so you can hit the stuff closer to that area. Then stay in Anaheim for the rest of your trip . It is not a fun drive there and back from Anaheim. Do the Disney days and the beach from your Anaheim location

"Is 2 days enough time in Disneyland if we get Parkhopper and the Genie+/LLMP?"

Personally I would say three days but you can probably get away with two if you have Genie+. 1-1/2 days in Disneyland and half a day in California adventure but you will really be pushing it and you will feel like you missed things in my opinion.

"How essential is Parkhopper?"

If it were me, I would go for 3 days and spend 2 in Disneyland and 1 in California Adventure rather then doing park hopper. If you only do decide to stay 2 days I would probably get park hopper.

3 Day 1 Park per day is currently $1560 for 4 tickets. No Genie+/LLMP
2 Day Park Hopper is $1500, No Genie+/LLMP.

I would take that extra day over Park hopper for $60 more any day!

"If we're staying offsite, how far in advance can we book dining?"

60 Days

 

[Tinkaboo]

I would look up @BadPink Tink2.0 trip reports for some suggestions. She, too, is from Ireland and makes an annual trip to LA/Disneyland. She splits up her trips and is quite economical. She is quite the traveler!

 

[marcais]

I hadn't considered splitting the CA time into two separate Airbnbs. That's a good idea.

So now it's something like:

31 July - Arrive at LAX, get car, head to Airbnb, chill
1-3 Aug - Touristy stuff around LA
4 Aug - Leave LA Airbnb, head to beach, go to Anaheim Airbnb in late afternoon/early evening
5-7 Aug - 3-day DLR ticket
8 Aug - Fly back home to the rain

Does that seem reasonable?

 

[Howry]

Looks fantastic, that is how I would do it!

 

[Tinkaboo]

Also, keep in mind lower tier Magic Keys are just coming unblocked from summer..I echo what someone said about Mondays being the worst. Just be prepared to deal with crowds/people, rope drop as much as possible as locals tend to show up around 11or so. You’ll have a marvelous time…just be prepared.

Oh…and the weather is likely to be quite warm so make sure you’re prepared for that. I’d really recommend finding one of the Harbor hotels that works for you so you take a midday break…not likely to do that with a BNB. This can help immensely if you plan to spend all day on the park. I recommend rope drop til early afternoon, go to hotel for break for few hours then return about 5 until close. The summer evenings/nights at the parks are magical!

Also, ditto on the park hoppers. CA always closes at 10, I don’t know why…DL is open until midnight in summer. If you really can’t afford it, I would make CA my middle day anf finish up closing DL on my last day.

 

[NewbieMouse]

I would second the advice about getting park hoppers, particularly for shorter stays. Park hopping is so easy and makes things so much more flexible. I'd also second staying in a different spot when doing the LA stuff - we go almost every year and always have an Anaheim stay and an LA stay. Anaheim is not well placed for much of the other LA stuff you listed.

As for the Anaheim stay, a walking distance hotel is ideal. Maybe you want/need to do Airbnb as you have a large group or something like that, but if that's not the case, I would consider a walking distance hotel to Disneyland for that part of your vacation.

Sounds like a fun trip! I'm originally from Toronto, so happy to see some Canadian content in there...

 

[ter-moo]

Are you planning on doing Disneyland Tokyo while you are in Japan? If so, that might change how many days you need to spend at Disneyland in CA. The Japan parks are pretty impressive and cheaper than the CA ones, although I do have a soft spot for the original Disneyland, and it's where I spend most of my "Disney" time!

I agree with previous advice about moving down to Anaheim (hotel within walking distance preferably) for the Disneyland days. L.A. is SPRAWLING and, even without traffic, it takes quite a while to get anywhere. You might do well to find an airbnb in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills or even near the beaches in Santa Monica/Venice for your L.A. time. Yes, they aren't as "nice" as the beaches farther south (like Laguna or Huntington) but I think your teens would love them. I do think you could do the parks in two days, although they would be VERY full days, but without a park hopper, it might be difficult. I would spend the money on a hopper and not on getting Genie+ for all three days. You can buy it just for one day when you get to the parks. CA Adventure doesn't really require an entire day, although there are a few rides there that your kids would love.

My advice above everything: While at Disneyland, stay close and get there EARLY--like at least 30 minutes before it opens, if not 45. It is always less crowded first thing in the morning, and you can do quite a lot without having lines that are TOO long, and without needing Genie+. That's one reason I would suggest staying close--you have way more control about what time you get to the gates.

Last, can I just tell you how much I LOVE your country?!?!?! If I could live anywhere, it would be Ireland. Every time I've been, I've not wanted to get on the plane and go home. You are truly blessed.

 

[irlandaise]

I hadn't considered splitting the CA time into two separate Airbnbs. That's a good idea.

So now it's something like:

31 July - Arrive at LAX, get car, head to Airbnb, chill
1-3 Aug - Touristy stuff around LA
4 Aug - Leave LA Airbnb, head to beach, go to Anaheim Airbnb in late afternoon/early evening
5-7 Aug - 3-day DLR ticket
8 Aug - Fly back home to the rain

Does that seem reasonable?

Yes, that sounds like a good plan now, although I agree with the posters who've suggested that you get a hotel on Harbor Blvd. rather than staying at an Airbnb and having to drive to Disneyland. You really will appreciate being able to take a break during the day and then coming back to the park refreshed in the evening.

I recommend DL-DCA-DL for your parks schedule. As others have said, don't get hung up on the supposed crowd level calendars. They've been wonky ever since DL reopened after the pandemic. With three days, and especially if you buy Lightning Lane passes, you'll be able to do the attractions you want even if crowds are heavy.

 

[marcais]

Are you planning on doing Disneyland Tokyo while you are in Japan? If so, that might change how many days you need to spend at Disneyland in CA. The Japan parks are pretty impressive and cheaper than the CA ones, although I do have a soft spot for the original Disneyland, and it's where I spend most of my "Disney" time!

I'm in negotiations with the family. We'll probably end up doing it. Their logic is "we're already in Tokyo, we may as well do it." and I'll probably give in.

 

[marcais]

We're going for Airbnb over hotel for the DLR part because we would need two rooms. I tell myself it's because my 18-year-old daughter isn't comfortable sharing a room with hr 14-year-old brother, but I think really it's because I snore like I've been possessed by the spirit of a wild boar and the rest of the family won't get a good night's sleep.

They tell me I have a snoring problem, but it sounds to me more like it's them who have the problem. I'm fine with it.

 

[China Expat]

I hadn't considered splitting the CA time into two separate Airbnbs. That's a good idea.

So now it's something like:

31 July - Arrive at LAX, get car, head to Airbnb, chill
1-3 Aug - Touristy stuff around LA
4 Aug - Leave LA Airbnb, head to beach, go to Anaheim Airbnb in late afternoon/early evening
5-7 Aug - 3-day DLR ticket
8 Aug - Fly back home to the rain

Does that seem reasonable?

THat sounds much better!

 

[SFMommy]

We're going for Airbnb over hotel for the DLR part because we would need two rooms. I tell myself it's because my 18-year-old daughter isn't comfortable sharing a room with hr 14-year-old brother, but I think really it's because I snore like I've been possessed by the spirit of a wild boar and the rest of the family won't get a good night's sleep.

They tell me I have a snoring problem, but it sounds to me more like it's them who have the problem. I'm fine with it.

Look into the Family Parlor Suites at the Desert Inn & Suites. It is a short walk and they have 2 or 3 rooms to solve the snoring problem.

 

[LKing]

4 Aug - Leave LA Airbnb, head to beach, go to Anaheim Airbnb in late afternoon/early evening

You might do well to find an airbnb in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills or even near the beaches in Santa Monica/Venice for your L.A. time. Yes, they aren't as "nice" as the beaches farther south (like Laguna or Huntington) but I think your teens would love them.

If you are thinking of staying on the beach, I would choose Manhattan Beach over Santa Monica or Venice. MB is a clean beach and nice community. It is close to LAX as well as the 105 freeway. With warm August weather and the sun not setting until close to 8 pm, you can enjoy the beach in the late afternoon/evening, opening August 4 for something else.

If you decide to stay at an Airbnb near Disneyland, realize that Disney parking is $35/car/day. Save your receipt and you can go in and out of the Disney owned parking lots same day without having to pay a second time. That said, it is a trek (tram or shuttle bus) to get from the parks to a car. It might be cheaper and easier to take a rideshare to the parks.

 

[sophy1996]

I'm in negotiations with the family. We'll probably end up doing it. Their logic is "we're already in Tokyo, we may as well do it." and I'll probably give in.

If you are Disney people, don’t skip TDR. It’s super fun to compare/contrast.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Your family is very fortunate to be traveling so many places and if I had the opportunity, I would definitely take in TDR. it’s supposed to be a very beautiful and unique park.

 

[farmfresh2]

What a great trip you have planned!
Take everyone's advice here and split your trip up. I would definitely consider basing yourself around Santa Monica (or another beach) for the 'LA' part of your trip, then staying somewhere a short walking distance to DL. Definitely not worth the driving parking hassle if you can avoid it. You could even consider returning your rental in Anaheim, and taking a ride share to LAX. Saves the rental car drop off/bus to the terminal hassle. And could be cost effective too - no parking fees, fewer rental days.
When in LA: Universal is not on your list - is that because you've done enough in Florida?
Depending on your interests, I'd also look into Paramount tours versus WB. If you can wangle VIP it's very worthwhile.
Be aware that the Walk of Stars, Chinese Theatre area is pretty grungy. You'd be done in a hour or two max. Perhaps look at the Grove for shopping whilst there. If you have a car you can do a self drive tour of Sunset Boulevard, Beverley Hills etc.
I'm lukewarm on TDR, but it is close to the airport and the new extensions to Disney Sea (which is separate from TDL) might make it worthwhile. For teenagers there are fewer thrill rides. But you have 5 days in Tokyo so why not? Maybe plan out all the unique Tokyo adventures first, then see if you have time.
Parkhoppers will be important if you only have two days. But with three you could do without them. Maybe make a plan again and see how it looks with and without. One thing to consider is nighttime entertainment. You may want to catch the fireworks, but they can be tricky with the Santa ana winds. Having a parkhopper means you could try on another night. (On that subject, if you want to see fireworks from the best locale, and F! you may want to go on separate nights).