Disney world Veteran lost at Disneyland!

[Disneyaddictz]

so we are finally making our way to Disneyland! I am the Disney world guru who everyone goes to for info on all things Disney! But I am completely lost! With everything! The bad news is we won't have but one month to plan once I get word I'm going to cali for work, but the good news seems to be that one month might be enough!

What I need is two things hotel and dining ideas!


What are the top two must do character dines food and interaction and top two quick service/counter Meals!

I see Paradise pier might be in our budget but I've also noticed really nice rooms outside propertY, at Disney World we always down property but there's a lot more options what are the pros and cons to staying on property at Disneyland?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

This is a very helpful superthread. In particular, items 10-12 cover some of the basics that you're asking about:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/

 

[Skyegirl1999]

For character dining, breakfast at Minnie's Plaza Inn breakfast is by far the most character interaction. If you're into princesses, Ariel's Grotto at DCA does breakfast and lunch. The hotels have character dining, too.

Quick service will really depend on what you like - lots of options (more variety than DW), many are comparable "quality" but it just depends on preference.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Check out Fairfield inn right across on harbor.

Quick service faves: plaza inn & French market at night

Agree with OP about Minnie breakfast.

Also check out the brand new Marriott. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/snadt-courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance/

 

[Donalyn]

Off-site is a great option at DL. Do not discount it. The DL for WDW Vets thread is majorly helpful. Hydroguy was a godsend when I was planning my first trip to DL as an adult. (And I really like his points about DL being different. It is. Be prepared and love it anyway.)

The planning experience is much more relaxed at DL. Old fastpass system!!! Hoping is super easy (and highly recommended), as the parks are about a football field away from each other. Transportation is not an issue like it is as WDW (no waiting for buses to and from the parks if you are staying onsite or at the close Good Neighbor Hotels, which I would recommend). You just walk over.

Dining isn't as big of a thing at DL. We aren't doing any TS reservations for this trip (to be fair, we don't do that many at WDW either), but did plan on a WOC dessert party. (That was mostly just for the convenience. WOC was a must do for us this trip, as last trip the kids couldn't stay up for it with our time change. This way, we get a great view, get to sit down, I get a cocktail or two and don't have to stand in line for as long. Lots of pluses for us.)

We did Ariel character meal last trip - it was a huge hit with the kids (3 three year olds, 6 six year olds and a 9 year old in our party that time).

 

[GatorChris]

I love answering these types of posts. I was you 3 years ago. 7 trips and ove 50 park days to WDW - I like to think of myself as a veteran. Except I left right before FP+ started. Yuck. Just the thought of all the extra planning ruins the magic for me. Anyway.....

DL is waaaayyyy different than WDW. First, no FP+, so no planning for rides each day. You just come in and play it by ear. It's soooo nice this way. You have freedom to go wherever you want, whenever you want.

Second, as a WDW vet, I HAD to stay onsite for our first trip. To do anything else just didn't click in my mind. So we stayed at Paradise Pier. And while it was a nice hotel, it really never had that Disney feeling you get at a Moderate in Orlando. No escape feeling. And then you have to walk across a city street to get to the parks...certainly no bubble there. We've even stayed at the DL Hotel....still couldn't get that "magic bubble" feeling you get at a WDW resort hotel. I've heard that the Grand Cali gives you that bubble feeling because of it's Disney World-esque feeling and proximity to the parks. But for the price, we've never tried it and probably never will. It's just too much money.

We've stayed in a few "off-site" hotels on Harbor Blvd. Some were OK and one was great. And that ONE is the HoJo Anaheim. First, we love getting the superior rooms because you get a view of the parks. You can see right into Tomorrowland, have a view of the Matterhorn, and watch the monorail go by all day. And I've never seen this room for over $200 night. Plus it's about the same distance to the parks as the Paradise Pier and some of the rooms at DL Hotel. So the walk isn't bad at all. Plus it has indoor hallways in the tower rooms. On top of all that, it even has a mini-water park that's great for kids 10 and under.

As for dining, this is another big difference. I actually miss the DDP at WDW, where I'd eat at a TS everyday at awesome places like Tony's, Tusker House, Crystal Palace, Le Cellier, Prime Time 50s, Chef Mickey's, and my personal favorite Liberty Tree Tavern. Disneyland just doesn't seem to have places like these. My favorite TS places at DL are Rainforest Cafe and Ralf Brennen's Jazz Kitchen, if that gives you an idea of what Disney itself actually offers. The one TS place you have to try if you're doing DL only once is the Blue Bayou. Think San Angel Inn, only inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and it actually has good food. It's pricey, but it's worth the experience.

As for counter service, this is about all we do when we're there. There's a pretty good variety of food. Definitely try Flo's V-8 (50s style restaurant) and Pacific Wharf Cafe (clam chowder bread bowls) at DCA. At DL, Plaza Inn has some great fried chicken and Village Haus has a good pastrami burger and kraut dog.

My best advice to all WDW vets, I know you won't be able to take....because I couldn't take it until maybe my third trip. Relax. It's a different pace at DL.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

so we are finally making our way to Disneyland! I am the Disney world guru who everyone goes to for info on all things Disney! But I am completely lost! With everything! The bad news is we won't have but one month to plan once I get word I'm going to cali for work, but the good news seems to be that one month might be enough!

What I need is two things hotel and dining ideas!


What are the top two must do character dines food and interaction and top two quick service/counter Meals!

I see Paradise pier might be in our budget but I've also noticed really nice rooms outside propertY, at Disney World we always down property but there's a lot more options what are the pros and cons to staying on property at Disneyland?

Thanks in advance!!

I think the two best character meals are Minnie's breakfast at Plaza Inn and the Surfs Up Buffet at Paradise Pier hotel. We've done all of them and these two really stood out as the best for us. If you don't want to do two breakfast character meals I would substitute Surfs Up with Goofy's Kitchen for a dinner meal.

Best CS for me really depends on what I'm hungry for.....
Great meatloaf, beef stew and hand tossed salads at French Market. Beignets are right next door for dessert!
Good burgers with grant toppings bar at smoke jumpers in DCA
Good pasta and Greek food at the Boardwalk in DCA

My two favorite TS (non character) meals are Carnation Cafe (mmmmmmm loaded potato soup) and of course Blue Bayou.

 

[chaysmom]

Agreed - I grew up in Southern California going to DL, however we now live in CO and had more opportunities to go to WDW with my husband's job. So we have done both, regularly. You need to plan like WDW, but it's a different planning experience and way more laid back.

I kind of like that they have the old paper FP system, for some of the rides. For example, we were able to ride Radiator Springs twice in one day (both off of FP's). You would not be able to get 2 FP to 7DMT in the same day! We prefer to stay on property with WDW, but I don't think it's needed at DL. We have stayed at the Camelot Inn & Suites for under $170/night and it's a 5 minute walk to the parks. We will be staying at the Howard Johnson listed above on our next trip, and again we got a great rate and it will be within walking distance. That is one thing I like about DL - is it is easier to get to/from your hotel and both parks.

We have done Ariel's Grotto, but as far as atmosphere it is not the same as Cinderella's Royal Table or some of the other princess meals at WDW. I only recommend it for people that are making the once-in-a-lifetime Disney trip with little girls that want to meet princesses. We have done Minnie's breakfast at Plaza Inn and liked it - compatible to Crystal Palace experience, but there were a lot of characters and a few that aren't common at WDW.

The restaurants are themed as well as WDW, however Blue Bayou is compatible and a cool experience and the food is great! Definitely recommend it, but I've also heard great things on Cafe Orleans.

One difference, is because DL is in the heart of everything - if restaurants are crowded in park, it's very easy to step off the park grounds and hit a restaurant down the street - still in walking distance!

Not that you have asked for attraction feedback, but make sure you do Indiana Jones. It's one of our favorites among all Disney rides, period. If you're going in the next month or so, which it sounds like you are, you'll be able to see the Haunted Mansion themed out for the holidays which is a fun experience. Enjoy!

 

[BrianL]

As a WDW vet, the first time I want to DL I felt like I was in a "bizzarro" version of the Magic Kingdom. It was familiar enough to feel similar, but then you'd realize something was out of place, like the Haunted Mansion and BTTMR almost switching places.

I don't know much about character meals at DLR, but for quick service meals, I like French Market a lot. Also, make sure to grab a corn dog from the Little Red Wagon on Main Street. At DCA, the Pacific Wharf cafe with the fresh-baked sourdough bread it an excellent stop for lunch.

 

[Sagginit]

So I was a WDW vet and ended up with two DL trips under my belt in a year (thanks Zika ). Things not mentioned yet...

At the 3 DLR hotels you get an extra hour each day in the parks in the morning. In DCA this is only hotel guests whereas in DL this is for hotel guests and those with park hopppers over a few days(they get one day that they can use it though). In DCA this is several of the major rides in DL it goes by land that alternates on the different weekdays. If you are an early morning family this can be a great advantage. On our first trip we were offisite and totally had to hustle it a bit to get to major rides in a touring plan and get FP at machines as we went. On our last trip staying onsite meant we could do several big rides in DCA before everyone else, and then walk on the smaller rides while everyone hit up those at park opening. We did about 9 rides including 20 minutes spent at Soaring in less than 2 hours one morning. Since the parks were closing down around 8 each most nights of our trip and there were no fireworks in DL the entire trip, we just kept on an early schedule (it helps we came from east coast so we stayed on NY time).

As for food we chose to not eat TS at all on our last trip and only did on TS our first trip for a character meal. We instead ate at DTD and even at a mall like area (garden walk I think?) as we felt it was a better value and better food. We had no car on our last trip and we found the walk one afternoon to the gardenwalk area wasn't bad (although we did use Uber a second time as it was after a long day). We also ate all our QS meals in DCA as we felt the food/options were better for us. If you have a hopper you can plan to just hop over there for lunch. If you stay at a DLR hotel you have an entrance/exit in the Grand California that is in the back of DCA, so we would hit up a lunch spot in DCA on our way back for an afternoon break. Dinner was then done in DTD a few nights as the parks were closing at around 8 on our last trip.

As for the bubble the whole area is built up nicely, I was really impressed on my last trip when we walked about a mile to lunch and then back to PPH. So no it's not all Disney all the time, but the hotels within walking distance keep that area feeling like a nice resort town as the sidewalks and landscaping is well maintained. Part of our onsite stay was I am preggo so we wanted to be able to quickly get me to a room to rest without a lot of walking, we also got a nice last minute discount. Last time we stayed at Camelot which was a short walk too, but the room was just basic so we would not have been as happy there on this trip as we took 3-4 hour afternoon breaks between the room and pool area. PPH also had a great water slide and pool, although some resorts as other mentioned have entire mini-water parks for the little ones. Before you book just found out how close you are and if you need transportation to the parks such as a shuttle to see if the amenities and low price are worth it to you. Also worth noting in PPH the lobby was very straightforward and although there was a lounge it was not at all like a foodcourt but more like a bar that served food, which is a huge difference from the WDW resorts.

 

[marivigi]

Agreed - I grew up in Southern California going to DL, however we now live in CO and had more opportunities to go to WDW with my husband's job. So we have done both, regularly. You need to plan like WDW, but it's a different planning experience and way more laid back.

I kind of like that they have the old paper FP system, for some of the rides. For example, we were able to ride Radiator Springs twice in one day (both off of FP's). You would not be able to get 2 FP to 7DMT in the same day! We prefer to stay on property with WDW, but I don't think it's needed at DL. We have stayed at the Camelot Inn & Suites for under $170/night and it's a 5 minute walk to the parks. We will be staying at the Howard Johnson listed above on our next trip, and again we got a great rate and it will be within walking distance. That is one thing I like about DL - is it is easier to get to/from your hotel and both parks.

We have done Ariel's Grotto, but as far as atmosphere it is not the same as Cinderella's Royal Table or some of the other princess meals at WDW. I only recommend it for people that are making the once-in-a-lifetime Disney trip with little girls that want to meet princesses. We have done Minnie's breakfast at Plaza Inn and liked it - compatible to Crystal Palace experience, but there were a lot of characters and a few that aren't common at WDW.

The restaurants are themed as well as WDW, however Blue Bayou is compatible and a cool experience and the food is great! Definitely recommend it, but I've also heard great things on Cafe Orleans.

One difference, is because DL is in the heart of everything - if restaurants are crowded in park, it's very easy to step off the park grounds and hit a restaurant down the street - still in walking distance!

Not that you have asked for attraction feedback, but make sure you do Indiana Jones. It's one of our favorites among all Disney rides, period. If you're going in the next month or so, which it sounds like you are, you'll be able to see the Haunted Mansion themed out for the holidays which is a fun experience. Enjoy!

Thank you for all this info!!

Super helpful for me, planning our first trip in December

 

[agamble]

In DCA this is several of the major rides in DL it goes by land that alternates on the different weekdays.

Not sure what was meant by alternate lands. At DCA the rides that are open for EMH can vary, but generally include Carsland and other popular rides. At Disneyland the only areas open during Magic Morning/EMH are Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, and some Fantasyland rides won't open (usually the storybook canal). If you are going for at least 3 days you will get one Magic Morning at Disneyland. The extra morning hour is more useful at Disneyland and DCA than at WDW because there are less people staying on site with only 3 hotels and the two parks are easy to hop between so people don't stay at the EMH park all day. The extra hours for Disneyland are Tues, Thurs, and Sat, the rest of the week is extra hours at DCA. Sometimes during busy seasons like Christmas they'll offer extra hours at both parks on the same day, but it's rare.

If you want more than one early morning then staying on site will have that benefit. Many offsite hotels are closer, but in reality all 3 Disney hotels are walkable so the distance shouldn't be a deterrent. It is weird to me that the PPH is across the street, it's really doesn't seem on property and the easiest way to get to the parks from there is to walk through the Grand CA hotel. This is the same strategy many people use when staying at offsite hotels in that area. Disney hotels also have restaurants in them, most of the nearby hotels do not.

We like Rancho Del Zocalo for a quick meal, it's decent Mexican style food with a nice atmosphere. We've never done a table service meal at Disneyland, though we've eaten at several places in Downtown Disney. Generally speaking the quick service food is better at DCA than Disneyland as there is more variety.

 

[SplashMo]

Just adding a few things to all of the posts...

Arrive 30-45 min early each day. Get Parkhopers. You can hop parks very easily. You can have FP in both parks at the same time. They are separate.

 

[tzeitel]

With only a month to plan the only crunch is with accommodations. Check out this map (and Google is great if you want to see the actual walk from different places) to give you an idea of what places are around - http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/Default.asp We have stayed at Desert Inn & Suites, Tropicana, and HoJo - all were great and super close to the entrance.

We try to go for things we cannot get in WDW. For TS, on your first trip I would do Blue Bayou. It is a bit like the San Angel Inn in Epcot, except it has the POTC ride going by it instead of the Gran Fiesta. For cs, in DCA we love the Cozy Cones in Carsland. In DL, Plaza Inn is a huge favorite for the fried chicken. We also like Rancho del Zocalo, and be sure to get beignets at the Mint Julep bar.

Get park hoppers unless you only have 2 days. It will blow your mind how close the parks are (or maybe it is just my mind that is easily blown ).

 

[GenGen22]

I wouldn't waste money staying onsite at DL like I do at WDW as there isn't much benefit to it besides EMH as you don't get free transportation or perks like free dining. So this depends if your family will utilize EMH or not. A few sites I would recommend would be mousesavers.com which I learned a lot from also allears.net for dining options with menus for all restaurants and last but not least getawaytoday.com which is a travel site where you can book your hotel or hotel plus tickets. I've found a lot of good deals on here like 3rd & 4th night free deals. Also look for free breakfast deals and free shuttle to the parks this will save on parking costs.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If the OP wants a MM, make sure to buy the tickets ahead of time. MM does not come with tickets purchased at the booths.

 

[DLfan4]

We really liked Ariels Grotto for lunch. if you can, sit outside on the patio.

 

[DavysMama]

We went this past summer and absolutely LOVED it! We splurged on the Grand Californian and could probably not go without. It was amazing to walk right into CA, or right into Downtown Disney.

We did the character breakfast there and it was really cute.

 

[marivigi]

We really liked Ariels Grotto for lunch. if you can, sit outside on the patio.

Are the princesses there for lunch and dinner?

 

[mom2rtk]

Are the princesses there for lunch and dinner?

Just lunch. Not dinner.