Been to WDW numerous times newbie DL questions

[PiratesMansion]

I can't speak for Sea World but skip Universal. Other than the studio tour, chances are you've done everything in Florida already. If you like the idea of a Studio Tour, you can tour Warner Brothers for less than Universal admission and the tour is an hour longer.

I would recommend 4-5 days for Disneyland. I wouldn't book through Disney because IMO there's no meaningful incentive to do so and it's probably cheaper to do it separately.

Knott's is close and has some unique dark rides and Ghost Town, but the actual thrill rides are pretty mediocre, and if that's what you're looking for you'd be better off at Six Flags. That Six Flags has the most roller coasters of any park in the world, but they don't really have anything else.

 

[tiffjoy]

Just a suggestion, but you are coming all the way to CA and only doing theme parks (and universal and sea world are also in Fl). What about a beach day? Manhattan is our favorite, but Venice has a fun vibe and Huntington is pretty fun. Or maybe a visit to Griffith Park? There is so much to do in LA, and it could make for some fun down time between park days. We have family coming out to visit us for their first visit, and I have worked in several days of other LA activities besides DLR (before they come back to the Bay Area with us).

Enjoy your first trip to DLR! I'm sure you will have a wonderfully magical time!

 

[WDBRDWLK]

We have been going to DL once a year, for a week, for about 8 years now and love it! We use our DVC points and stay at the Grand Californian. I will not drive in LA, crazy traffic! So we have done the bus tours and for us, it worked out well. Been to LA, Hollywood, Santa Monica. Not a big fan of Universal and have only been to Sea World in Orlando, but that was 20 yrs ago.
Have a magical time at DL!

 

[Samandmom]

Just a suggestion, but you are coming all the way to CA and only doing theme parks (and universal and sea world are also in Fl). What about a beach day? Manhattan is our favorite, but Venice has a fun vibe and Huntington is pretty fun. Or maybe a visit to Griffith Park? There is so much to do in LA, and it could make for some fun down time between park days. We have family coming out to visit us for their first visit, and I have worked in several days of other LA activities besides DLR (before they come back to the Bay Area with us).

Enjoy your first trip to DLR! I'm sure you will have a wonderfully magical time!

Yes thanks! We are thinking a day for a beach or exploring the area. Have to look into it. Although my family is not a beach family would love to see a beach.

 

[Samandmom]

Thanks for all the great replies so far!!
We are now considering staying at Paradise Pier club level room with a view! Yes I know big difference from our first choice. Lol.
Anybody ever lodge near Universal Studios? Thinking of 2 nights near US and 6 nights at Paradise Pier. Would anyone recommend the U.S. First and then Disney? Or vice versa?
Any good hotels near US?
What car rental is near Disney that's also at LAX?
I'm a big planner for WDW but feel so lost at DL. I don't know which FP to get first and stuff like that.

 

[jfk4]

I typically spend 3 and half days at the Disneyland Resort. I stay at either the Grand Californian or the Disneyland Hotel, and having access to Extra Magic hour for three days makes it much easier to do everything. I don't generally spend much time at DCA. With Extra Magic I can hit most of the major rides in about five hours. That said, I go often enough that I don't need to see all of the shows. Also, be aware that some attractions open late and close early, especially during the off season. During the fireworks show a substantial portion of Fantasyland shuts down for safety reasons (they need to check for fires around the castle). They also commonly shut down the Monorail during fireworks.

If you're going to Universal you should consider the Hilton in Universal City. You can easily walk over to the park, and the hotel is decent. I think you can do pretty much everything in one day, especially if you start early.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I personally would save the money and stay somewhere else unless you really want to be on property. Paradise Pier started as a third party hotel that Disney bought a few decades ago. You could get a similar room for much less money offsite and potentially be closer to the parks. The walk from Paradise Pier is also longer now that guests can't cut through Grand Californian.

Park order: Universal is much much closer to LAX. I would do Universal first and then Disneyland unless you have a flight that leaves from LAX super early. In that case it might be better to end with Universal.

I think Alamo has a rental office near the Disneyland Hotel? That may be your best bet.

Don't worry about feeling lost. DL is a much, much easier, more spontaneous trip than WDW. Honestly I think getting there from LAX is the hardest part. If you're on property and you get EMH every day than start at that park; if not, start at the other park. I would get FastPasses run out for Hyperspace Mountain first in DL and RSR first in DCA (these are next to It's Tough to be a Bug). Decide what show(s) you want to see each night and get FastPasses and arrange yourself accordingly. You need a FastPass to see Fantasmic and/or World of Color. No need to rush for Show FastPasses, it will take awhile for them to run out, and they don't interfere with your ability to get ride FastPasses.

Park Hours and Entertainment schedules take FOREVER to be posted but somewhere on these boards is a historical park hours calendar and usually they are very consistent from year to year. Expect DL to be 8 AM to Midnight and DCA to be 8 AM to 10 PM. Haunted Mansion could possibly be closed to get ready for the Holiday overlay.

Dining Reservations are 60 days out. If you want to eat at Blue Bayou, get a dining package, or eat at the Chef's Table of Napa Rose, book those ASAP. Otherwise reservations aren't really a big deal and you can usually get walk-up availability. Don't feel like you have to eat Table Service all the time because there's much greater variety within CS than in WDW.

Get there at opening. The first few hours after opening are pretty quiet (many locals can't or won't make an 8 AM open), and it's easy to get a lot of things done. Once 11 AM or so hits, it will get crowded and it will be a long time before the crowd lets up. There's a bit of a drop off in the last hour but otherwise people stay late.

Very few rides are identical from resort to resort- only the very newest rides or attractions that involve films are identical.

Get a Parkhopper and you'll have the entire resort at your fingertips the entire length of the trip. Hopping takes less than five minutes.

Expect and embrace differences between Land and World.

I hope you enjoy your first DL trip!

 

[WDWNY]

Anyone happen to have a picture of the "freebies" you get when you book through Disney? We should be getting ours in about a month but I can't wait to see what they look like.