Can sure use your expertise :) First Trip

[Anessa]

Hi, I am new to this site..so forgive me if I have managed to be in the wrong place with posting this.

My family of 4 are taking our first trip to DisneyLand! Finances and situations have prevented us from going every year, but I finanlly made a dicision to make a couple of sacrafices.

We are looking at going on May 18th, we were blessed with 4 3-day hopper tickets, but can only use them on the last day (May 18th).

Here's is my question...we have saved $1,000 for this trip. Planning to spend 1 day. Is this a reasonable about of money to take and to have a nice time?

Also, what about hotels? Most are full the day we want to go...except for those further away from the park.

There is just soooooooooooo much information out there, I need help from the best.

I know one day at Disneyland is not enough time to see it all, but it is the right time for my family. My daughters are happy for just the chance to go.

Please email me privately or respond on this forum.

Thank you kindly.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Are you looking for a hotel the night before (May 17) or the night of (May 18) or both? I have lots of info, but want to get the hotel recomendations out of the way first!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Ok, so I went looking for hotels. You have a couple really good options. I looked at both May 17-18 not knowing which night you wanted or if you wanted both. Orbitz.com has Hojo's (howard johnson) for $114 a night, and Fairfield for $109. Both on about a 10 minute walk from the gates. They are both rated as a "moderate" hotel, and are both "Disney good neighbor" hotels. Hojo's is a favorite with people that travel there often and gets great reviews. I havent stayed there yet. I have stayed at the Fairfield, and wouldnt hesitate to recomend it or stay there again. If you want to spend the money to stay on site, you can book at Paradise Pier through Getawaytoday.com. For two nights you are looking about about $415 (so roughly double the other two I recomended). I have stayed at PP. It is a nice property, but its going to be twice the money and just as far of a walk. Personally, I wouldnt choose that.

So, lets say you spend $250 on a couple nights hotel. That still gives you $750 for food and souviners. That is plenty for a family of 4, unless you eat big and want lots to take home with you! Our family of 4 went on a budget last year. We spent $600 in 3 full days in the park. That was food, sourveniers and my husband took a $50 tour. We didnt buy tons of stuff to take home, but we also didnt have keep saying no to the kids. They got some fun stuff, treats, and we fed them! LOL

Because you have 3 day hoppers you get a day of early entry. Works perfect because you are going on a Thursday, and EE is offered on Thursdays. The park is scheduled to open at 9, so you can get in at 8. I would be there about 7:30-7:45. Go straight to Fantasyland and get those rides out of the way. Peter Pan and Dumbo get long lines early and stay that way all day. Then go to Tomorrowland and get Fastpass for Space mountain. There are lots of threads on this board for how to get the most of fast pass and daily schedules. Read around a bit, you'll learn a lot!

 

[Anessa]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I will look into the Howard Johnson's..I heard some good things about that hotel. We would be arriving on Thursday, planning to get there at 7:30am. Thanks for the info on being able to get in early, I never would have known that.

Regarding the fast pass apparently the tickets have the fast pass associated with them already. I will look into using that service.

The hotel $$$ is seperate from the $1000 spending allotment. And my daughter's both have $100 each that grandma gave them. So I figure, If I tell my daughters to spend their money on gifts, sourveniers, etc.

Thanks for the places to head to first...this is much needed! Can you obtain a Disneyland Map from their website, to get a jump start on where things are located?

 

[hlbtimes2]

Map http://adisneyland.disney.go.com/media/dlr_v0200/en_US/map/images/DLPLowbandMap.pdf

Your ticket will help you get fast pass, but it is not a fast pass by itself. Some of the rides have fast pass machines( of the top of my head: space mountain, autopia, Buzz astroblasters, Roger R. cartoon spin, Splash mountain, Indy, big thunder mt. for DL). You can get a FP every two hours, or after the starting return time. They do not enforce the ending return time. So, say you get a FP for space at 10 am, with a return time of 1pm. Anytime after 12 you may get a FP for any of the rides that offer them. Anytime after 1 you may ride space mt. Cartoon spin is on connected to the network, so you can get one for that ride at any time. DCA is also not connected to DL. Within DCA, Grizzly river is not connected to the rest of the machines. DCA offers FP for screamin', soarin, tower of terror, Grizzly River, and I can't remember what else! LOL

 

[hlbtimes2]

Another thought on fast pass: On our last trip we didnt need FP for Big thunder. The line was never long. So, dont waste your FP time on one from there. Space mt runs our early in the day. Indy and splash might run out. So, make sure those are three that you get early in the day.

You might also consider paying for www.ridemax.com. It will cost you about $16, but you will get the most rides in a day possible! It does make it hard to enjoy little shows, character meetings, etc as you find them, but if you are looking for the most rides if a great tool!

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

If you want to get the most out of a day at Disneyland, search for HydroGuy's touring plan in this forum. It's a masterpiece!

 

[Judy from Boise]

with $1000 to spend.....I would bring lots of food from home and look to putting the money toward an extra day in the park!

 

[eargal]

If you want to get the most out of a day at Disneyland, search for HydroGuy's touring plan in this forum. It's a masterpiece!

I'd like to see this but havn't been able to locate it. The search function doesn't seem to work very well for me. Any suggestions?

 

[Anessa]

We are considering that....as we would purchase a day pass, which would you consider? Disneyland or California Adventure? Duaghters are ages 6 and 10?

 

[blackjackdelta]

Click on Hydroguy's link in any post and that will bring up a section for all his posts. Click on that, it will give you a description for those posts. When searching for things, make it simple.

Jack

 

[Judy from Boise]

I would plan on 2 days at DL, but if you wait to buy the single admission till after your first day, you could still be flexible. If your kids are into Pixar characters DCA is a great idea, as they have the Monstor's ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, and the Block party.You could then plan on seeing the Alladin show as another highlight.
I would give up sit down meals and lots of souvies in a heartbeat to finance a second day. Remember there are many good food options on Harbor blvd that are much cheaper than DLR.

 

[Anessa]

Thank you. There is just so much information...we are going to invest in two days.

Thanks for your help.

 

[mshrm]

While your doing your checking also look into getawaytoday.com for some ideas/options. You can get your room and a couple of the tix you need for under $400. If you choose the Holiday Inn express it has a shuttle as well as free breakfast. Just an idea...

 

[dornen]

make sure if you're staying off property and quite a way away from dlr to find a hotel with shuttle service to and from dlr and if you're flying in make sure you get one with airport service too. these little perks can raise the hotel price but it will save you money on car rentals. and you might want a hotel with jacuzzi. a nice hot soak is nice after a full day of disneyland.

 

[cyjmhill]

I just got a travel book on Disneyland it has alot of great info in it...It is "Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort 2006" I got it off of Amazon really cheap. The book appears to have a lot of helpful information.

If you want to stay on property the Disneyland Hotel is a great place - off property I recommend the Embassy Suites (there is 3 in the area).

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[Anessa]

Thanks all for your help. Everyone has so much valuable information here.