Disneyland trip planning ???

[K P & J's Grandma]

We are at the beginning stages of planning our first trip to California with 2 grandchildren who are both 8 yrs old . We have been to Disney World many times - so are looking forward to this new venture.
At this point we are leaning toward staying at Residence Inn Anaheim Maingate ---- taking the Disneyland Resort Express to the hotel & then using the bus service (ART)to & from Disneyland. We are planning on going to Knott's Berry Farm - does the ART provide transportation to there?? We might rent a car for a day & head to the beach also.
Questions ---
Is the Residence Inn a good choice?? They have breakfast & a manager social time in the late afternoon --- has anyone taken advantage of this & how was it??
Is the Disneyland Resort Express the best way to get to & from the airport (LAX)? Any idea of what a taxi would cost? (there are 4 of us traveling)
Would 3 days be enough at Disney or should we plan on 4??
Any info would be helpful --- thanks

 

[hlbtimes2]

If you have an option for airports, I would recomend SNA (orange county) or Long Beach. They are both much closer. If you need to use LAX a taxi will run you about $85-100 each way- not a great option! The bus is a bit slow, because of all the stops it makes at the various hotels, but a much more affordable option. YOu might check into www.supershuttle.com Cost and time would be between a tax and bus.

I'm not sure about the hotel. The most recent reviews at www.tripadvisor.com are not great, but seem to be sort of petty compaints.

Depending on the season you may have enough time in 3 days, but 4 would give you a more relaxed pace and chance to your fav's more then once.

 

[K P & J's Grandma]

Thanks hlbtimes2 ---
We are using Delta vouchers ( we took a bump on our last trip) ---
Flying from MSP into SNA on Delta is running around $600 a person YIKES!! That is why we are looking at LAX or BUR which are in the same price range of $350. Other airlines are cheaper- but we want to use the 'free' vouchers.
We are planning our trip for Aug. 27th - Sept 3rd. So - we have time to keep our eye on the airfare. SNA would be our first choice.
Don't know what to expect in the way of crowds at that time -- do you have any idea?? I think that we will decide on the 4 day - that is our main reason for going there!!

I have read the reviews on tripadvisor --- like you said, some are petty. But is is always good to get other opinions!!!

Any other infor would be great!!!!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Is that labor day weekend? If so, its going to be pretty busy. See the chart at this LINK to get an idea of what to expect for crowds. As you'll see, labor day is still part of the peak summer crowds.

 

[K P & J's Grandma]

hlbtimes 2
Yes, it is Labor Day Weekend!!! We are hoping that the crowds won't be so bad earlier in the week -- what do you think?? Makes it tough to find the 'right time' to take them on vacation with us. It is either they 'can't' miss school for a vacation or they are in sports. Thought that trying to take them places during their 'early' years would be easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for the link.

 

[disneyholic family]

hlbtimes 2
Yes, it is Labor Day Weekend!!! We are hoping that the crowds won't be so bad earlier in the week -- what do you think?? Makes it tough to find the 'right time' to take them on vacation with us. It is either they 'can't' miss school for a vacation or they are in sports. Thought that trying to take them places during their 'early' years would be easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for the link.

it will probably be crowded the whole time, though more crowded over the weekend itself. Disneyland gets much more crowded than the Magic Kingdom. The lines in Disneyland make the ones at the MK look like a walk in the park. You REALLY need to use FPs when you're at Disneyland.

As for transportation from LAX, we used super shuttle. It was fine.

We stayed at the Grand Californian (one of the Disney hotels). It's a beautiful hotel and has an entrance straight into Disney's California Adventure. However, the Disneyland Hotel (also one of the Disney hotels) has a nicer pool and is less expensive. If we go to DL/DCA again, we'll stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

I like staying in the Disney hotels for the convenience of proximity to the parks and Downtown Disney.