Any budget disneyland advice would be appreciated!

[mdkelkenberg]

This is my first time on this board so just learning how everything works!
I am beginning planning our first family trip to DL and really am on a budget! There will be 4adults and 2 kids age 4 and 8. We would like to do two days in DL/CA and two days in San Diego sea world/Legoland. We plan on staying in a neighbor hotel in a suite so we can share hotel cost, that is close to walk and want continental breakfast. We will have a rental car so would love to know of close places we can buy snacks and lunch stuff to keep our food cost down.


Any advice on best places to look for airfare, hotel and tickets/passes

When is the best time to go for best price? We were thinking end of April/ first of may?

best hotels/price within walking distance.

How long do you think is necessary at DL and CA ?

Good and cheap places to eat dinner

Any experience with a handicap at DL? My mother will not last real long on her feet at a time, I was told they have lil scooters and separate lines? Does it cost for the scooters?

Any tips on beachfront or walking distance to beach in san diego between sea world and Lego land?

Pretty much any info and direction would be appreciated. Sorry if I rambled off to much, my brain is in DL overload! Lol

TIA

 

[Marionnette]

This is my first time on this board so just learning how everything works!
I am beginning planning our first family trip to DL and really am on a budget! There will be 4adults and 2 kids age 4 and 8. We would like to do two days in DL/CA and two days in San Diego sea world/Legoland. We plan on staying in a neighbor hotel in a suite so we can share hotel cost, that is close to walk and want continental breakfast. We will have a rental car so would love to know of close places we can buy snacks and lunch stuff to keep our food cost down.


Any advice on best places to look for airfare, hotel and tickets/passes

When is the best time to go for best price? We were thinking end of April/ first of may?

best hotels/price within walking distance.

How long do you think is necessary at DL and CA ?

Good and cheap places to eat dinner

Any experience with a handicap at DL? My mother will not last real long on her feet at a time, I was told they have lil scooters and separate lines? Does it cost for the scooters?

Any tips on beachfront or walking distance to beach in san diego between sea world and Lego land?

Pretty much any info and direction would be appreciated. Sorry if I rambled off to much, my brain is in DL overload! Lol

TIA

My first piece of advice is to go over to the Disneyland forum for answers to specific questions about DL/DCA. They are much better equipped to help you than this board. They can direct you to places for good offsite meals, cheaper tickets and comfortable accommodations within walking distance of the parks.

For cheaper airfare, stalk websites like kayak.com or Bing's travel section. Plug in your home airport, your destination and your dates and they will tell you what current fares are and whether they are expected to rise or fall.

I think that 3 days is more than enough time to experience DL/DCA. There just isn't as much to do there as there is in WDW. One day for each park and an additional day to go back and hit your favorites should be plenty.

The best time to go would be whenever kids are normally in school. Otherwise, you deal with bigger crowds and higher rates. Weekend hotel rates will be higher than weekday rates. Tickets cost the same regardless of whether you get them for a weekday or weekend.

DLR is revamping its Guest Assistance program and effective 10/9/13, there will no longer be GAC cards that act like a FOTL pass. You can read about it in this thread:
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3174093

The "scooters" are generally referred to as ECVs and they are not free. In WDW, they rent for $12/day in the parks and cannot be removed from the park from which it was rented. I don't know the price in DLR. I do know that they can be used between DL and DCA, but cannot be taken into DtD or the Disney hotels. There are several places from which you can rent an ECV for your mother and considering that you want to be within "walking distance" of the parks, it would be a good idea to rent from one of them so that she can scooter her way back to the hotel when you are finished with the parks. Again, check the Disneyland forum for help locating reputable rental companies.

For other SoCal theme parks, you might want to take a look at this forum:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=129

 

[dpswift]

We had good luck with Hotwire for San Diego. All hotels in San Diego and most good neighbor hotels charge for parking. We stayed on hotel circle so we were not close to the beach. My father stayed at the Grand Hyatt that was close to the beach. Parking was $40 a night. He paid $129 a night for the room. He said the breakfast buffet was expensive but he found a place in walking distance where he bought a continental breakfast and brought it back to his room.


We stayed at The Candy Cane Inn in Anaheim and it was great. The shuttle ran on time and it was just a quick walk to Disneyland. The parking was free at CCI. We would go back.

 

[mrsklamc]

I believe you can get discounted tickets at Costco in CA, but that it HAS to be in CA.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Have you gone to the Disneyland and/or Southern California Forums on DisBoards yet? These are much better than this Forum for the West Coast.

 

[TLuvsD]

Some random thoughts:

Sea World and Legoland are not near each other. And San Diego is almost 2 hours from Disneyland (I live here, I've driven it many times). Do not try to drive to San Diego on a Friday afternoon, traffic is crazy.

There is a large Walmart near Disneyland (short drive). It has a Disney section--lots of tshirts, etc. Much less expensive than Disneyland.

Check Restaurants.com for on sale Gift Certificates that you can use in Downtown Disney. Or check the Disneyland Forum for help. We either eat in the park or at home.
There are several meals in the park that easily feed two people (we love the fried chicken--and it's more than enough for DH and I.

Most public schools will be in session end of April/first of May. And Grad Night should not have started then, but check the Disneyland calendar.

There is a lot of information in the Disneyland Forum and the Southern California Forum.

HAVE FUN!

 

[tvguy]

I have never been to Disneyworld, but it is my perception that the big difference with Disneyland is that Disneyland has hundreds of hotel and motel options that are less expensive than the 3 Disney hotels.

We have stayed at all 3 Disney hotels, we have stayed at Best Westerns, we have stayed at Suite hotels, the Hilton at the convention center, I even stayed at the KOA Campground (not an option now, they built the parking structure where it was). If you have a car, you can save a lot by picking a hotel a little further away, although many of those hotels have a free shuttles so you don't HAVE to drive if you don't want to. Your options are almost endless.
Hotels.com would be a good place to look.

 

[mdkelkenberg]

TLuvsD,

We plan to stay in a hotel in DL for three nights and then in San Diego for two. Any ideas on beachfront hotels or short walk to beach?

Tvguy,

Would love to hear any info on the best western. Have you stayed at the park vue inn? We need somewhere that allows 6 in a room.

TIA for all the info!

 

[sunflare]

TLuvsD,
We need somewhere that allows 6 in a room.

If you need close to the parks, I liked the Desert Inn & Suites - it's right across the street and has many room options.

As for EVCs, we rented from Apple Scooters the last time we were there, and were very pleased, with both the price and the service. I'd use them again.

 

[TLuvsD]

Check the Bahia Resort on Mission Bay. Lots of fun, beautiful location.

 

[SplashMo]

Hit DCA and Carsland first. Riding RRS while someone also fastpasses it. Arrive 45 minutes before opening for DCA and 30 min for DL. In DL have an order of rides figured out. Park Hoppers let you jump between the parks and it is very easy to do. I would prefer 3 days but two will work great. T-W-Th are sometimes slower. But during the off season fireworks and shows sometimes only happen on weekends. Ask on the Disneyland board about your dates and they will get you all squared away. Bring two waters per person into the park each day and a granola bar to get you past the first drink and Snack. A case of 24 waters is at least 72 dollars in the parks. We buy Dasani (not necessary but they match the ones in the parks.)

 

[mitchwebb]

i'd check out the southern calif pass, it has 3 days disney, 1 universal and one sea world. there also are legoland coupons often, check the so calf board.