DL First Time Visit Question

[can]

Would like to take my 15 year old daughter to DisneyLand week of 7/29/07. She has had many trips to WDW and this will be her first trip to DisneyLand. I haven't been to DisneyLand for many many years. Would leave on Fri., 8/3/07. Any suggestions as to where to stay, off property or on property (suggestions, please)? Is it best to rent a car, is it better to fly into Orange County or Long Beach. Is there transportation from hotels to the park? Any advice on character dinners (she's still a kid at heart) or where to eat? Thanks so much for your help. It's been so long for me, it's like the first time all over again! I'm sure there has been many changes in the area........

 

[Kae]

I went to DL for the first time last spring. We flew into Ontario, CA so I can't help ya there. I see you have stayed onsite at WDW for most your trips, so I would start looking for rates on site first www.mousesavers.com had a expedia link that said they were offering good rates try that. We stayed off site & I was a little sad about, once we got there. I would try the Hojo, Candy Cane,Marriott on Harbor Blvd.

Good Luck
Kae

 

[druidia]

We took a trip last May for our first anniversary. We flew into LAX because it was really the least expensive and offered the best choice of flights from home. Once at LAX, we walked out to the shuttle area and took the Disneyland Resort Express bus to the Paradise Pier Resort. It was quick, efficient and a nice ride. We were at PP in 30-40 mins after leaving LAX. When we left to go home, it actually got us to the airport so early we were able to take an earlier flight home. We knew we would only be going to DL and DCA, so no car would be needed.

Disneyland Express

We got a good AAA rate at PP and a free upgrade to a DCA theme park view, and it was a short walk to DTD and the parks, no shuttle needed (it's directly across the street from the GCH and DCA). I would rather have stayed at the GCH, but we weren't interested in paying those rates when we knew we would spend a lot of time in the parks. We did want to stay at a Disney resort rather than offsite, because we are familiar with their quality. We weren't disappointed and I'm happy to pay a little more for the known. PP was the least expensive of the 3 and we were very happy with it.

We ate at the Storyteller's Cafe in the GCH for breakfast a few times and it was really good. We ate dinner in Downtown Disney at a few places; you can book reservations for some of those online here. Tortilla Jo's was good and everyone was really nice; Naples was the exact opposite - a total waste of money.

OpenTable

I think their DTD is nicer than the WDW version, but then it was new to me.

It was our first time and we really loved Disneyland. It was so charming!

 

[texdisneygal]

If you want to do anything besides Disney (there are so many options!), you will probably want a car. [Although you should note that many LA drivers drive very fast - and traffic is really bad around rush hour].

It does not really matter which airport you fly into if you have a rental car. Like the previous poster noted, some airports have much better airfare sales on any given day.

www.tripadvisor.com often has good information about lodging (including "candid" traveler photos).

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Would like to take my 15 year old daughter to DisneyLand week of 7/29/07. She has had many trips to WDW and this will be her first trip to DisneyLand. I haven't been to DisneyLand for many many years. Would leave on Fri., 8/3/07. Any suggestions as to where to stay, off property or on property (suggestions, please)? Is it best to rent a car, is it better to fly into Orange County or Long Beach. Is there transportation from hotels to the park? Any advice on character dinners (she's still a kid at heart) or where to eat? Thanks so much for your help. It's been so long for me, it's like the first time all over again! I'm sure there has been many changes in the area........

Regarding Flight.
1. I would book the one in the LA area that is significantly cheaper than the others. And that changes periodically. If none are all that much cheaper, then I would fly into Orange County.

2 Right now, Delta is having a fare sale into Orange County. We got a fare that Southwest won't be able to match.

3 Are your travel dates flexible? You're likely to see a lower fare if you can travel 7/30-8/4. That's just one day's difference. Fridays and Sundays are big business travel days. Business travelers tend not to be flexible. So they stick it to em on those days. We halved the price of our flight by moving the flight out and back each one day.

My advice to you is to get on expedia right now, put in your airport, and for your destination put in Disneyland, Anaheim. It will ask you what airport. Click on one of em, then use the back arrow on your browser to check on another one. Note that you must check Southwest and some of the other discount carriers on their own website.

 

[HydroGuy]

Would like to take my 15 year old daughter to DisneyLand week of 7/29/07. She has had many trips to WDW and this will be her first trip to DisneyLand. I haven't been to DisneyLand for many many years. Would leave on Fri., 8/3/07. Any suggestions as to where to stay, off property or on property (suggestions, please)?

There are lots of options. I think the advantages of staying within walking distance of DLR are huge, especially in the summer. I have summarized this, and your options with links, here:

"HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862

Is it best to rent a car, is it better to fly into Orange County or Long Beach. Is there transportation from hotels to the park?

Whether or not you rent a car, I strongly recommend not using a car to get to the parks. For this you want to walk or, if you must, something else like a shuttle or (better) taxi. A car will waste more time than you can imagine. Walking is by far the best.

Only get a car if you want to use it for things other than DLR.

Flying into John Wayne is the closest to DLR. With LAX you will have more flight choices.

It's been so long for me, it's like the first time all over again! I'm sure there has been many changes in the area........

Here is some other info you might find helpful:

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599