Can you look at my plan?

[waydownunder]

Hi All
I am in the early planning stages for our trip to Disneyland for Me(45) DH(48) DS(19) DD(22) DSIL(20) DM(81) and she is very active.

We have booked our Airfares and arrive at Lax on 11/13 at 10.10am and depart 11/26 at 7.45pm.

Have booked accommodation at Anaheim Plaza Hotel (2 Rooms).

We have 10 day Disneyland hopper passes.

We will have no car as my husband and I do not want to drive over there.

Anyway this is my first draft plan (probably the first of many over the next several months)

11/13 Thu - Arrive in morning, Disney Character Warehouse in afternoon, Dinner Downtown Disney.

11/14 Fri - Disneyland

11/15 Sat - Disneyland

11/16 Sun - California Adventure

11/17 Mon - Anaheim Plaza (Walmart) in morning, Disneyland rest of day

11/18 Tue - Knotts Berry Farm, Anaheim Gardenwalk in the evening

11/19 Wed - Farmers Market and The Grove (American Girl ) Will use a private shuttle, Evening DTD

11/20 Thu - Buena Park Downtown, Relax

11/21 Fri - Block at Orange in morning, finish day at DL/CA

11/22 Sat - DL/CA

11/23 Sun - DL/CA

11/24 Mon - Westfield Main Plaza, DL/CA in Evening

11/25 Tue - DL/CA

11/26 Wed - DL/CA and last minute shopping DTD then head to Lax late afternoon

We are planning on using ART to get around will this work?

Any one know how we can get to Character Warehouse?

What do you think of my plan any comments and suggestions appreciated.


Thank you so much, I love these boards!!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wow it doesn't look bad at all. Nice long trip and I hope you will all have fun. I will be there some of the same time you will.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I guess looking at this, the first thing that jumps out to me is that I think the Disney Character Warehouse permanently closed. Even if I'm wrong, it has been a long time since it had much of worth and it wasn't even focused on Disney particularly anymore near the end, so it's not a great loss.

 

[cinder-ellah]

Looks like fun !

Does Disneyland offer 10 day passes ?

 

[Rubygoose]

The only thing that jumps out at me is that on your shopping days you have planned shopping first and then spending the rest of the day in the parks. I would suggest starting off in the parks instead, since they will be less crowded in the morning. I'm not sure what time the parks will open on weekdays in Nivember or what time the shopping centers open, but I'm guessing they probably both open at 10am on weekdays. So, I'd suggest starting off at DL/DCA until 1pm, take ART to the shopping centre around noon or 1pm, then at around 5 or 6 pm return to your hotel to drop off your purchases and then return to the parks for dinner and evening entertainment. I would never schedule going to Walmart over going to rope drop, but that's just me. On Fri 11/21 the park may open earlier. Maybe 8 or 9am.

 

[Rubygoose]

Looks like fun !

Does Disneyland offer 10 day passes ?

Only to Australians.

 

[cinder-ellah]

Oh, okay. I was wondering. Thanks for your quick reply.

 

[cinder-ellah]

And I agree that going to the parks first and then shopping later in the day is a good idea. Take advantage of the parks not being as busy in the morning.

 

[perez921]

I was also interested in the character warehouse according to yelp it has closed

 

[waydownunder]

The 10 day passes are only available for Australians and us New Zealanders.

Thanks for the idea of parks in morning and shopping in the afternoon, will swap around.

Wondering if someone can confirm about character warehouse. A friend suggested we look here for souvenirs before hitting the shops in the parks and DTD.

Thanks for all the great feedback. Keep it coming.

 

[SMD]

Character Depot, as it is now known, was supposed to close about 6 months ago, but there were reports a few months ago that it's still open. Disney stopped sending park merchandise there years ago, as they now sell it at their own outlets. So any park items they still have is the crap people have been picking over for years. They don't specialize in Disney anymore, so they have licensed character items and other stuff and the prices aren't that great, like $14 for a $16 Elmo plushie. Not worth the effort to get there without a car.

 

[jemilah]

The one here in Vegas is bad too , not worth the time to walk in the door .

 

[kitayama]

Not sure how much the 10-day pass costs, but the Deluxe Annual Pass is only $500 USD. I believe it is only blocked on Thanksgiving (a holiday here in the US) and possibly the weekend after that holiday in November. There is also a 10% discount that this pass gives you on merchandise and food. If at least one of you gets this pass, that person can buy everything for the group. With the amount of people you have going, and with how long you are staying, this discount may end up saving you quite a lot of money. I think spending $2000 on six adults over 10 days at Disneyland is a conservative estimate (food, drinks, gifts, etc.), and so you would save $200 which would effectively make one of these passes cost $300.

 

[gogo65]

Kityana, the ten day passes are only around $350aud, so pretty good value.
Waydownunder come and visit us on the Australian/NZ section of the disboards, lots of great advice

 

[kitayama]

Kityana, the ten day passes are only around $350aud, so pretty good value. Waydownunder come and visit us on the Australian/NZ section of the disboards, lots of great advice

That is an amazing value!!!
One thing that is actually cheaper in Australia.

 

[Crittsmom]

the Character Warehouse is definitely closed, it has gone down hill in recent years, so you aren't missing much.
You can shop at the Grove when you go to the American Girl store.
There are a lot of store about 3 miles from DLR, I think the ART bus line goes there. There is an In and Out Burger there that you should try, also next door is a Costco. Walmart and Target are nearby.

 

[georgiesmum]

We travelled from Australia in March last year and found that the first day we were exhausted by late afternoon! Exhausting flight. So I wouldn't have my heart set on eating at DTD that first night - you'll probably be sound asleep. We'll be there for some of the time that you are too. Can you tell me which shuttle you are using to go into LA for your shopping? We can't find one that's reasonably priced but would love to do a private trip to some specific places we want to see. You haven't specified how you plan to get from LAX to Anaheim but if you haven't arranged anything yet, I highly recommend DK's Livery, we've used them before and won't hesitate to use them again. Have a great trip.

 

[jacs1234]

I'm glad you aren't going to the parks on that first day. It is suchhhhhhhhhhh a long trip and if you go that first day you end up being so tired that you feel drunk. Be prepared to have a nap that day. Character warehouse was a waste of time, honestly, we hired a car to go there and it was rubbish so you aren't missing out on much.

I did hear that there was a disney factory outlet at the citadel. We liked the citadel, bought heaps of stuff. Better off going there than the old warehouse anyway.

11/24 Mon - Westfield Main Plaza, DL/CA in Evening
This day. If you get to this day and you don't feel like shopping you aren't missing out on much either. It wasn't nearly as nice as the westfield shopping centre 15 minutes from my home. Everything here, you will see at the discount centres anyway and they are pretty nice. You could always go visit a beach instead.

 

[waydownunder]

We were planning on having a early dinner at DTD and going to bed early on our first night. The shuttle companies we are looking into for our day in LA were recommended by some other helpful disers. They are Sav-on Shuttles and DK Livery. I have not got prices yet. As to our transport to and from LAX I am still trying to work out the best way to do this as we will have a lot of luggage especially going back to the airport (12 large suitcases and 6 carry ons. Not sure if the shuttle vans can fit all this luggage so may have to look at the Disneyland Express bus even though we would prefer a shuttle. Any suggestions on this would be great. Will definately look at going to Citadel outlets, maybe Greyline tour.

 

[waydownunder]

Just found out there is a shuttle to Citadel for $14.00 each return think we will use this.