Disneyland Trip... Maybe..?

[Petit_Rose]

Hi Guys!

I'm considering taking my young family on a trip to California, but I've been doing my usual reading around trip planning and I'm still on the fence.

Can you help give me your pros and cons of intercontinental travel with kids (3 + 5 at time of travel), the best hotels (onsite, offsite or private rental?) and any other info that can help?

I'm so on the fence just because I've never been to California (I've been to Florida, but DH hasn't) before, and for the potential cost I want to make sure it'll be an awesome holiday.

TIA

 

[smartlabelprint]

Where are you coming from? What time of year?

 

[GatorChris]

Sounds like you're crossing the pond! First, Disneyland is not like WDW. It's much smaller. You won't see a giant castle, tree, or golf ball, but you will walk a lot less. There's a lot more attractions per square inch and lots of great stuff to do that's not at WDW. A fun experience for sure.

Second, staying at a Disney hotel at WDW is a must. It's definitely NOT a must at DL. It's very pricey and only the most expensive hotel has really good theming. We often stay at the HoJo across the street on Harbor. We get the upgraded Superior room that overlooks DL park. And it's not a long walk to the front gate. Not much longer than the walk from the bus stop at Epcot to it's park entrance.

Third, if you want to make a CA trip special, you need more than just Disneyland. Otherwise you should go ahead and return to WDW. California has plenty of beautiful sites to see, but it'll require a van rental and some extra days for travel time. First off, there's the beaches along the coast. Should you come late Spring/Summer/Early Autumn, you'll love the beaches between Ventura and San Francisco. You get a constant cool breeze off the ocean that keeps it in the 60s and 70s. The water is chilly - not like the Atlantic.

There's also Hollywood, if you're into the movies and stuff. You can see a lot of neat things there.

But for me, if you come all the way to CA, you need to get a vehicle and take it far north to a place called Yosemite National Park. THIS is the place that will make your trip worth it. You can look up pictures and video, and those are great. But when you actually see it yourself, you will be amazed at this Creation! Simply amazing. If you do come that way, you'll want to come between late-March and early-June to experience the best of the waterfalls. They also have an amazing grove of sequoia trees, some aging over 2000 years old. Here's a pic of Yosemite Falls. Yes, the same one featured in Soarin'!!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

With kids that age, I would ask you how well they handle travel? Especially long distance travel? Schedule changes? Food changes? Strange beds? etc. Our oldest was a great traveler from infancy. He loved changes of scene and interesting places. Flying long distances was no problem. Since he wasn't a big eater anyway, it was easy to accomodate his picky eating habits. Youngest was a totally different story. Not good at all with schedule changes and strange places. Flying even short distances was a big problem. He didn't become a good traveler until he was about 8 or 9, then things really changed for the better. If your little ones would be more exhausted than uplifted by a trip like this, it might be better to wait until they are a little older. If you do decide to take the plunge, I would suggest that you get 5 day parkhoppers to make the most of your park days. That way you'll be able to take things at a much more relaxed pace, enjoy the little things wtih the kids, and repeat rides and shows that are the kids' favorites. Staying on site is fun, but very expensive. Staying off site can be fine (and fun, too) and much less expensive. There are suite hotels that will give you the flexibility of more space and a kitchenette/full kitchen. There are hotels with great pool areas for the kids (HoJo's and the new Marriott Courtyard).
​

 

[smartlabelprint]

If you're coming from Australia or new zeal and you may be eligible for a 10 day Disney pass through a local travel agent. Awesome deal! You don't need to spend 10 days straight. Come and go at your leisure.

If you're coming from Canada there are specific tickets you can purchase which make the exchange rate not as bad.

 

[Petit_Rose]

Thanks everyone.

The plan would be to fly in August from the UK @smartlabelprint

We were thinking to do a road trip San Fran - Yosemite - LA, @GatorChris so it's really positive to hear someone say what I was already thinking

@theluckyrabbit this is where the fun starts since having our Littlest a few months ago we haven't travelled, next year we will be going to DLP which will be a huge factor in deciding if we decide to do a long haul flight (DLP is a 7hr road trip for us), our Biggest is a good flyer as long as he's got something to do.

 

[chickapin parterre]

so what are your interests in UK? California is a very consolidated geography of the US.

 

[Petit_Rose]

@chickapin parterre we do a lot of hiking and mountain biking, we like all the usual tourist traps like beaches, aquariums and museums.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

August will be hot and humid in Anaheim. And busy, crowded.

 

[CalifLynn]

August will be hot and humid in Anaheim. And busy, crowded.

Definitely hot and crowded! September is my favorite time at DL if you can swing it, way fewer crowds. Also, if you can stay at the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian they are literally right next to the parks and makes it easy to go back to the room for a quick nap or swim.

 

[smartlabelprint]

It's cheaper to stay offsite. We like best western park place inn motel.

I hear good things about hojo water park.

There's a new water park hotel across the street.

Theres a new Homewood suites down the street.

 

[Kindermouse]

Agreed on August is HOT-i'm talking upper 90's and 100's is par for the course.

It would be a nice side trip to San Francisco and Yosemite.

August in San Francisco on the other hand is warm for the most part. 70-80 with occasional days that hit 90. I love San Francisco and there is no shortage of things to do there-Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, the Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park, walking the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, The SF Giants

But keep in mind that San Francisco and Yosemite are very far from Disneyland by most people's standards in the U.K. SF has to be close to a 7 hour drive and Yosemite would be at around 5 and a half hours drive. That is a long ride for little ones.

 

[chickapin parterre]

...so if you do a lot of hiking and it defines you with your peers, and you want a been there, done that moment, then east of Disneyland is a great desert full of easy to access geology, of course in the August heat there will be little hiking, but great world known hiking destinations.

Joshua Tree National Park, great for rock exploration, earthquake fault and fun stacked rock photography, And inspiration for U2 album, joshua tree.

Palm springs tram unlike any other in the world

The view east of Palm Springs is sea of date palms as far as the eye can, this can be viewed above the art musuem though not a good path for toddlers, so you could take turns hiking up the short path to the view point

Big Morongo Canyon preserve, unlike any other

Maybe someone who live san Francisco can revamp my view of august, but every time i visited the last week of august, it was foggy and cold

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Maybe someone who live san Francisco can revamp my view of august, but every time i visited the last week of august, it was foggy and cold

You are correct. I never wear shorts there unless I know for sure it's going to be hot, which will only be a handful of random days throughout the year. T-shirt/jeans/sweatshirt or windbreaker during the summer. Long sleeves/heavier jacket during the winter. the east side of SF (the more touristy side) is warmer than the west, though, which is perpetually foggy and 50 degrees.

To OP, sounds like a great trip, definitely worth it IMO. The one problem is that driving from SF to Yosemite is a bit out of the way if you ultimately want to end up in Southern California. Driving directly down the coast on Highway 1 would be a bit more direct and also a great trip, but obviously you would miss Yosemite. If you do want to go to Yosemite, make sure to plan enough driving time.

 

[Petit_Rose]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. It's been a massive help.

Unfortunately we really only have the option of the Easter or Summer holidays since in the UK you get fined for the days your child spends out of school (plus I'm a stickler for education), sounds like we might try and go during the Easter holidays if August has unbearable heat.

Again, thank you so much

 

[GatorChris]

Unfortunately we really only have the option of the Easter or Summer holidays since in the UK you get fined for the days your child spends out of school (plus I'm a stickler for education), sounds like we might try and go during the Easter holidays if August has unbearable heat.

You get FINED for taking your kids out of school?!?!?! Wow! And I thought my USA/California government was oppressive.

 

[Petit_Rose]

@GatorChris if it's an unauthorised absence (i.e. you haven't informed the headmaster and received their permission) you can be fined up to £180 per child per absence period. Honestly though, there's lots of breaks in the school calendar (Year starts in Sept, one week holiday in Oct, two weeks at Christmas, one week in Feb, two weeks in March, one week in June and 6 week between July-August), so the schools see it as you have plenty of opportunity to take your kids away.

 

[chickapin parterre]

the good news is that April 16 if far out from traditional west coast and USA spring breaks. Plus you have better weather access to the desert. Sierrra nevadas you might want to checks weather history

 

[GrandBob]

Maybe someone who live san Francisco can revamp my view of august, but every time i visited the last week of august, it was foggy and cold

As someone who lived in The City for 3 years, and now has lived along the Monterey coast for 30 years, I can assure you that you're right. It's extremely rare for it to get hot in August. We used to joke that the favorite entertainment of SF residents was to watch tourists in Bermuda shorts turning blue. The sidewalk vendors that sell sweatshirts do a tremendous business in the summer time. September and October, on the other hand, can occasionally get very hot. The hottest months of the year.

Bob