finally booked Disneyland trip(our first)

[albertamommyof4]

I can't believe it we finnally booked our trip. We were going back on forth about driving or flying. we got a awsome deal so we are flying it is a direct flight, but from almost 5 hours away.
This is our first family vacation in almost 12 years lol, and we all have never been to disneyland before. We have4 kids and at time of trip they will be almost 3, just 7, 9 and almost 11
So what to do know lol, they mentioned trip insurance, is this needed?
We are going to be going to seaworld and lego land so we will be spending first part of trip in sand diego and carlsbad. then 5 days in disneyland
so is there any musts to eat, to do , to see??
also we will be renting a car for the first part of our trip and then taking the express bus to airport at the end of trip, ( it is to expensive to get the car for the full time) so we may just do a week)
thanks

 

[mystic_path]

Well CONGRATS on the trip How fun... now the real fun begins... the planning and the getting super excited part.

Travel insurance is always good no matter where you fly to.

To eat:
- Mimi's Honey Oat Bran muffins for breakfast ((Mouth is watering already))
- Corn dog from the little red wagon at the end of Main Street

Things to see:
- Fantasmic
- Aladdin Musical
- Fireworks
- Its tough to be a bug 3D show

 

[albertamommyof4]

i was also wondering how far is carlsbad to san diego? we want to stay in the west inn and suites and this will be for sure for 2 nights and i was thinking that we could just do it for 3 nights instead but 1 of the days we are going to go to sea world. if we didn't stay here for 3 nights is there a good hotel that has suites for under $180 a night as that would be what i get west inn for ?
Thanks

 

[albertamommyof4]

Well CONGRATS on the trip How fun... now the real fun begins... the planning and the getting super excited part.

Travel insurance is always good no matter where you fly to.

To eat:
- Mimi's Honey Oat Bran muffins for breakfast ((Mouth is watering already))
- Corn dog from the little red wagon at the end of Main Street

Things to see:
- Fantasmic
- Aladdin Musical
- Fireworks
- Its tough to be a bug 3D show

Thank you
i did get a quote for trip insurance and man it is expensive for the 6 of us , if we get medical and flight and baggage they say it will be $522 is there a better place to go through?
Thanks

 

[Canyon girl]

I honestly don't know about good places to get trip insurance. Have you tried CAA? One thing to consider is that if it covers medical, and someone gets hurt or sick, it may pay for itself. Medical costs are high in the states without health insurance. You might want to ask what kind of medical coverage is offered in that trip insurance.

 

[albertamommyof4]

I honestly don't know about good places to get trip insurance. Have you tried CAA? One thing to consider is that if it covers medical, and someone gets hurt or sick, it may pay for itself. Medical costs are high in the states without health insurance. You might want to ask what kind of medical coverage is offered in that trip insurance.

Thanks , i know that hubbie has medical through work and covers internation so i don't think that would be needed, but will double check

 

[KCmike]

We did that vacation last year. It was the kids' favorite vacation of all time. We ended up staying at the Hotel Del Coronado and went to Seaworld for part of our trip and then on to Disneyland. Have you ever been to Disneyworld?

SoCal is awesome. Drive the PCH and have a blast! The weather is to die for!

 

[abouley]

i was also wondering how far is carlsbad to san diego? we want to stay in the west inn and suites and this will be for sure for 2 nights and i was thinking that we could just do it for 3 nights instead but 1 of the days we are going to go to sea world. if we didn't stay here for 3 nights is there a good hotel that has suites for under $180 a night as that would be what i get west inn for ?
Thanks

Carlsbad to San Diego is maybe 40-45 minutes. We usually stay in Carlsbad and do the drive down it's not too bad although you will likely have traffic early morning weekdays.

Sounds like the makings of a great trip!

The younger kids would love a character meal so try to get one of those in. We really like Rainforest Cafe in DT Disney as well.

 

[WannaseePooh]

I don't know about trip or baggage insurance, but medical insurance is cheap. I got some through my credit union last year for our Disney trip and a million medical for a family of four for a week was only $ 35 ish.

 

[albertamommyof4]

thanks everyone, and to answer the questions , yes this is the very fist trip to disneyland or shall i say to anything disney lol.
Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming.
I would like to do Goofys kitchen for breakfast/ lunch 1 time as i have heard it was really good. As far as leaving carlsbad and going to san diego we would be leaving probaby around 9 as i think sea world opens at 10 in april.
so what does everyone think of the comfort inn and suites maingate i think is what it is called??? i read trip advisor and the reviews are so so , the other hotel is disneyland would be homewood suites, i also looked on trip advisor and the reviews are so much better lol, going with comfort with 1 bathroom it would be a savings of over $250 but with 2 athrooms it would be under $200 for savings, does homewood suites have 1 or 2 bathrooms in the one with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed( 1 bedroom suite)?
Thanks

 

[remfam5]

I would suggest doing "Dining with Shamu" at Sea World! It is a great buffet and the earlier you book, the closer your table will be to the water tank.
My kids 9 & 11 LOVED this "character" dining!
You also might want to check your Sea World tickets... ours were 2 days for the price of one. You definitely can do all of SW in one day.... but it was so nice to go back the next day and see a few of things we couldn't quite get to the day prior!

IMHO- you can't go wrong with the character dining at Disney! They're all good--- it's just a matter of which characters you want to see.
A non-character place we all really liked was the Carnation Cafe. We had breakfast there (had ressies for lunch too-- but didn't have time) and it was YUMMY!

Have a GREAT time! You're kids are all at the perfect age to enjoy the MAGIC!