Disneyland vacation planning troubles...

[Macgyver91]

First off...I am a first time member here at Disboards, so please keep that in mind when I ask my questions. Everyone here seems so nice, so I am not really worried. Anyway to my questions...

We are planning a vacation to Disneyland for anytime between this July 2009 to next July 2010. I have read many of the threads and as helpfull as they are I have seemed to just confuse myself more. We took the kids to Disney World last year and did great on the money saving part of it. I have searched and searched for something that will help me plan our vacation and hopefully save us some money. I am not looking for just good deals but also things that we should or shoudn't do. You know...places we should go, where we should stay, how long to stay, meal packages, what time of year to go, is peak time even do-able with 12yr. and 8yr. olds (w/o to much headache), and that kind of stuff. I know that I am just rambling, but that is just how my thoughts have been ever since my husband and I talked about planning this trip. We (I) did so good finding deals and planning our Disney World vacation that it only cost us $800 a person and that was for flight, food and fun for 10 days. I guess I spoiled myself but I am looking to at least make the most of this vacation as well. I just don't really know where to start.... I don't even have an idea of what it would cost for the four of us.

We are also thinking about going to San Diego to the Zoo while we are in the area, and then stopping at LA too. We weren't going to rent a car...someone had told us that we could take the trains around and it would be just as easy as driving. Thanks for listening to my ranting mess of thoughts.

I am just in need of some serious guidance in the Disneyland and Southern California vacation departments. Thank you in advance for all of your help!!

 

[Tasscrapper]

I guess I'll start off with some answers and others can chime in.

1. Disneyland is doable in the summer with those ages. Go when the parks open, take a rest at the hotel in the afternoon and then come back for the evening. The rest makes staying late much more pleasant.

2. Use fastpass. Can't stress that enough.

3. There are not meal packages at DLR like there are at WDW. There are vouchers you can buy but are not a great deal because if you don't use a whole voucher in a single time you lose the remaining value. YOu would be much better off saving the money and using it directly or getting a gift card if you wanted.

4. Bring snacks and water into the parks. It will save you a huge amount. If you go back to your hotel for a rest plan on eating in your room for at least one meal.

5. Check out allears.net for current menus in the parks and DTD. It will give you an idea of how much food costs and where your family would like to eat.

6. Stay off site. There are tons of hotels nearby and several of them are just as close as the Disney hotels. Be aware if a hotel charges extra for parking. Find out if they have a breakfast. That can be a huge money saver too. If you get one of the walkable distance hotels it will save you on parking fees at the parks too.

7. I would say go for 3-5 days. Many people think that 3 is enough but I don't. I would feel like I had just gotten there and then had to leave. If you can afford take the extra day or two or three to make sure you can enjoy it and not have to rush to everything.

8. When you do book a hotel do it with the hotel so you can adjust the rate if a better one comes up or you can get a better deal somewhere else.

Not sure if this is the kind of thing you wanted but I hope it helps. If you haven't read HYdoguys tips yet read them. They are awsome.

 

[yngsj]

To take the train around to LA and San Diego is very expensive. We would go to WDW without renting a car but would never consider going to DL without a car unless we weren't going to leave Anaheim. You could rent a car for a few days for travel outside of Anaheim. We love the San Diego Zoo and if you have a daughter consider visiting American Girl Place in LA.

 

[prncssmel]

As far as an overall guide, I recommend the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. That book should answer almost all of your listed questions; it has a lot of info for DL beginners. Also, check out Hydroguy's tip thread that is stickied at the top of the forum. Lots of good info. And last, don't be afraid to ask questions. Like you said, everyone is really nice and likes to help.

 

[MichaelColey]

Probably the BIGGEST thing to realize is that there are some huge differences between Disneyland and DisneyWorld. (I'm not saying either one is better - they're both great, just different.) If you're familiar with DisneyWorld, you'll find HydroGuy's "DLR Guide for WDW Vets" extremely valuable.

Some of the most basic differences have to do with the park size, trip length, hotels, and dining. DLR/DCA is bigger than MK, but smaller and far more compact than the 4 Orlando parks combined, so getting around isn't a big deal at all. You can easily park-hop at DL. At WDW, I like to stay 8-14 days. At DL, a week is probably overkill. There are tons of other things to do in Southern California (look at a CityPass) if you want a longer vacation. There is almost no advantage to staying at Disney hotels. There are tons of non-Disney hotels within walking distance. There is no dining plan, so it can be far more economical to bring snacks and eat off-site for most meals.

We really like both (and already have trips planned to both later this year).

 

[MichaelColey]

Just to expand on the CityPass suggestion in my last post...

The Southern California CityPass includes 3 days at Disneyland (including one early entry day), 1 day at Universal, 1 day at SeaWorld, and 1 day at either the San Diego Zoo or the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This pass costs $259 for adults or $219 for kids, and can be bought for even less at Costco.

Because some of these are in the LA area (Disneyland and Universal) and others are 90 miles away in the San Diego area (SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo), it might make sense to stay in San Diego one or two nights. You could even fly into either city, or even into one and back home through the other.

If you want a bit longer of a vacation, another nice add-on in the San Diego area is Legoland (and Costco has a 3-month pass for about the same price as a one-day admission at the gate). A nice add-on in the LA area is Knotts Berry Farm.

If you want to spend more time in Disneyland, you can exchange your 3 day Disneyland pass for a Season's Pass for $90 (for the adult pass) or $120 (for the kids pass). (They give you $149 credit for the 3 day kids pass and $179 credit for the 3 day adult pass, and a season pass is $269.) MAKE SURE TO LOOK AT THE BLOCKOUT DAYS FOR THE SEASON PASS. The blockout days are very minor, other than during the summer, but you do want to double-check. Schedule your vacation so that the extra days (beyond the 3 included in the CityPass) that you spend at Disneyland are't blocked out. Any blocked out days can be good days to go to Universal or Knotts Berry Farm.

So, for under $350 each (less than $100 more than a Season's Pass), you can spend as much time as you want at Disneyland, 1 day at Universal, 1 day at the San Diego Zoo, and 1 day at SeaWorld. Plus, the 3-day pass lets you go on blocked out days (if they're during your first 3 days) and get one early entry day.

If you do something like this, I would recommend 10-14 days.

Another advantage to this is that you now have a Season's Pass that's good for a year. If you can come again later in the year, you just have to pay for airfare, hotel, and food (as long as the days aren't blocked out). Or, schedule next year's vacation a couple weeks earlier than this year's, and you get your Disneyland admissions for two yearly vacations for the price of one.

 

[charmama4]

To take the train around to LA and San Diego is very expensive. We would go to WDW without renting a car but would never consider going to DL without a car unless we weren't going to leave Anaheim. You could rent a car for a few days for travel outside of Anaheim. We love the San Diego Zoo and if you have a daughter consider visiting American Girl Place in LA.

Amtrak is doing a deal where kids are 1/2 off. For my family of 6 round trip to Anaheim from San Diego was $176. If you aren't renting a car, riding the train and jumping in a cab from Union Station (in SD) would def. work out. There are cabs waiting at the station and the Zoo all the time.

 

[mystic_path]

Yep look into Amtrak or the Southern California Gray Line Bus. The bus company sells tickets to Sandiego Zoo and they even do day Shopping tours (shopping tour your not in a group, your on your own all day till you need to meet your group at a designated area for bus pickup). For both the bus picks you up at your hotel, takes you to LA or to Sandiego Zoo, and picks you up at the end of the day and drives you back to your hotel. Its really great. I do this every trip.

 

[Macgyver91]

Thank you so much for all of your help...I really appreciate it. When I don't have all of the little eyes around I will look into it all more, but I wanted all of you to know that you have been a great help. Keep it coming...lol

 

[LuvEeyore]

We are from Virginia and went last Summer and yes I am at WDW vet. I loved Disneyland!!!!
My trip report still isn't finished but you can find some of it '1000 Places I Want to Go Before I Die' Hopefully it will be finished in the next week or so.

We flew into Burbank and Spent 1 night in ventura, 2 nights in San Diego, and 3 nights in Anaheim. I looked at using trains vs renting a car and rented a car because of times going from place to place. It was also cheaper to rent a car. I have GPS on my cell phone so that helped and we bought a good map.

The San Diego Zoo was fun. The teen girls loved Horton Plaza in San Diego and Coronado. We also the morning before we left in Hollywood.