Disneyland

[dblr]

Thinking of trying to go to Disneyland in late June, anyone know what the weather is like then,also where to stay on DVC and maybe why. And also what else to do if there for about a week. I was out there about 25 years ago and I'm sure it is a lot different now.
I did Knotts Berry Farm and the SanDiego Zoo but now I have 2 boys 18 &14 so need something for them.

 

[Raivyn]

The nicest resort is the Grand Californian, but its pricey. However, it has its own entrance into California Adventures. Paradise Pier is the value hotel. These hotels are so close together that it is not a big deal to stay at any of them. The Disneyland Hotel is the oldest. Some friends stayed there a few months ago and said its showed its age.

You could do Disneyland one day and CA Adventures another day, and Knotts Berry Farm a 3rd day. I don't know if you want to do theme parks the whole time or not.

The drive from Disneyland to the San Diego Zoo is too far IMO. You would be better off leaving Anaheim and spending a few days in San Diego to visit those attractions (Zoo, Legoland, Sea World, Wild Animal Park).

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thinking of trying to go to Disneyland in late June, anyone know what the weather is like then,also where to stay on DVC and maybe why. And also what else to do if there for about a week. I was out there about 25 years ago and I'm sure it is a lot different now.
I did Knotts Berry Farm and the SanDiego Zoo but now I have 2 boys !8 &14 so need something for them.

We are going to DL in mid-June (in fact, I'm heading over to the DL boards to start reading up!). We're using DVC points to stay at the Disneyland Hotel - we stayed there in 1999. We chose it because of point-value.

We are planning a day trip to San Diego to do a couple of things - one, to go to Coronado Island so the boys can see the Hotel del Coronado (since the Grand Floridian is based on it) and possibly to go to Legoland. We plan to take a day trip to Catalina Island as well, and also to have one day where we do the whole Hollywood tourist thing.

We're celebrating our older DS's 13th birthday while we're out there, so we made sure to sign up for the birthday celebration thing for him.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Post your requests over on the DL boards. They will tell you everything they know. Be aware that in Southern California, May and June are known as May Gray and June Gloom. We went in early June a few years ago and had many cool days and night. The water temp at the ocean was COLD.

 

[La2kw]

I live in the L.A. area, and June can be sunny and warm or cloudy and rainy. As previously mentioned, we call it "June Gloom". It's really hit and miss. It won't be too hot yet. The GC is the resort which is most the the WDW resorts and is a great hotel. We have an attachment to the Disneyland Hotel as it was the only official Disney hotel for many years. The PP hotel is okay. Be aware that the GC is the only hotel built by Disney. The other two were built by other companies and refitted by Disney. They are nothing like the WDW resorts, but still very nice.

Universal Studios is a good trip if you are interested in movies and TV. It is an actual working studio, unlike the amusement parks in Orlando that want you to believe they are real studios. If you like Desperate Housewives, CSI, Jurassic Park, Psycho, The Grinch, War of the Worlds, and many other shows, they were/are filmed, or have had scenes filmed right at the studios. You can take the tram tour and visit many of the sets- the backlot is huge.

You can also see the real Hollywood (take in a Disney movie at the El Capitan Theater and have a meal at the Disney Soda Fountain).

Depending on when you visit, you can also see a show at the Hollywood Bowl, the famous outdoor ampitheater.

The Getty museum, the Griffith Park Observatory (cafe is catered by Wolfgang Puck), the beaches, Sea World, Magic Mountain, and Catalina Island are all easy day trips as well.

 

[DebbieB]

Weather can really fluctuate. I went the last week of April last year and on my arrival day it was over 100! I was in line at the ticket booth getting my AP and literally could not stand still because of the heat rising from the pavment onto my bare legs. Later in the week it was in the 70's.

I stayed at Paradise Pier and really liked it. I stayed there again last month. Here are pictures from my theme park view room.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b...GTFq4ZtAe3nwQ/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b...GTFq4ZtAe3nwQ/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/

 

[La2kw]

Post your requests over on the DL boards. They will tell you everything they know. Be aware that in Southern California, May and June are known as May Gray and June Gloom. We went in early June a few years ago and had many cool days and night. The water temp at the ocean was COLD.

Good advice. The ocean temps in California and most of the Pacific is typically cold, compared to the Florida and gulf beaches. Cool air temperatures don't help much either.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

I'm normally very stingy with my points. But for DLR - especially if it's a short stay - I'd splurge and go for the Grand Californian. I'd stick to standard view to save points, but I would take it over the other two hotels.

 

[dblr]

Thanks for all the info so far alot to check into. Are the the places to stay on DVC just hotels, or do they do not have any condos? Might seem like a strange question but we have gotten used to having the extra room, great @ night when the kids like to stay up late.

 

[marshmallow]

There are timeshare resorts in the area, Dolphins Cove is nearby and a new Wyndham WorldMark resort recently opened a coupld of blocks away. To use DVC points you would have go for an RCI exchange.

 

[kerickson]

...that's the problem until next year when VGC opens, it's tough to stay in a regular hotel room after being spoiled in 1BRs... We had to cancel our WDW Jan trip due to health reasons and rebooked for DL in May. Since we had to use or lose our points, I decided to splurge and go for Concierge at the Grand. Figure the lounge gives us an extra place to hang out and free breakfast and water to take into the parks will be great. They also have storytelling at night which my little ones will love! Normally I wouldn't wouldn't pay extra points for the different views. We usually stay in the standard room and it's perfect.

Stayed at the Del Coronado last Oct on Developer points. The hotel is beautiful and the beach is gorgeous. If the weather is nice you could spend quite a bit of time at the beach. If not, then I'd visit the island to walk around the Del and for lunch (lots of good little places to eat, there's a great little Mexican restaraunt across the street from the Del if you like mexican food - or Mexico's only 15minutes away ). Only takes 10 or so minutes to get to the island from San Diego/Sea World.

The Wild Animal Park (affiliated with the San Deigo Zoo but in a different location- in between DLR and Coronado) is a great place to go too. It's huge. They have some typical zoo type exibits (except the animals are all very rare) and a huge savanna area you can explore by tram. We met a monther/daughter who had just done the Segway Savanna Tour. They couldn't say enough good things about it, sounds perfect for some teenagers (have to be 13 or older). Here's the link: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/calendar/wap_segway.html

Edit: Sorry, just noticed you have an 8 year old so the Segway tour won't work, but the other tours are great too.
Have fun!