First Disneyland Trip Questions. HELP!

[CherylLuvDW]

This will be my husband & my first trip to Disneyland. As Florida residents with DW Annual Passes & DVC membership we know about everything at DW but are looking forward to the new experience. We have LOTS of questions but first a bit about our trip.

We'll be there at the end of June and have 3 full days for the parks that do not include out travel days. We'll be staying at the Grand Californian. We will then continue on the Aulani.

QUESTIONS:
1) Should we go the extra money & get park hopper passes?
2) We are foodies so what restaurants are not to be missed?

3) Like at DW is there a place to make dining reservations in advance? If so, how?

4) We will be able to fill our 3 days in Disneyland or should we plan a trip elsewhere. The Disney Family Home place sounds cool. Would we need a car to get there?
A day at the pool, is cool with us too.

5) Is there a Dining Plan at Disneyland?

6) Any little things we might not notice that shouldn't be missed?

7) Heard about reservations for World of Color. Can these be made in advance & how?

8) Do Fast Passes work the same way as DW?

Any other information you think we'll need to make plans in advance or things we should know will be appreciated!

We look forward to walking where Walt walked and the whole Disneyland experience.

Cheryl
CherylLuvDW

 

[RayB]

I can tell you here that park hoppers unlike DW work real well.There is only a plaza here between parks and one is usually open later so you can go to the other park when one closes or back an forth.You will love the land here its always a nice 77 or so no humidity, cool in the evenings.I am probably in a minority here but I did not like DW as much.Disneyland has way more rides in a smaller area, it has Indiana Jones and the racers in CA.It has Hollywood, and Las Vegas is a day trip away.That Florida heat is a killer and the parks are miels apart.

My favorite eating place is the Blue Bayou.I also recommend the WOC meal with a fast pass.The food is pretty good and you skip the lines.

 

[CaptainEIEIO]

This will be my husband & my first trip to Disneyland. As Florida residents with DW Annual Passes & DVC membership we know about everything at DW but are looking forward to the new experience. We have LOTS of questions but first a bit about our trip.

We'll be there at the end of June and have 3 full days for the parks that do not include out travel days. We'll be staying at the Grand Californian. We will then continue on the Aulani.

QUESTIONS:
1) Should we go the extra money & get park hopper passes?
2) We are foodies so what restaurants are not to be missed?

3) Like at DW is there a place to make dining reservations in advance? If so, how?

4) We will be able to fill our 3 days in Disneyland or should we plan a trip elsewhere. The Disney Family Home place sounds cool. Would we need a car to get there?
A day at the pool, is cool with us too.

5) Is there a Dining Plan at Disneyland?

6) Any little things we might not notice that shouldn't be missed?

7) Heard about reservations for World of Color. Can these be made in advance & how?

8) Do Fast Passes work the same way as DW?

Any other information you think we'll need to make plans in advance or things we should know will be appreciated!

We look forward to walking where Walt walked and the whole Disneyland experience.

Cheryl
CherylLuvDW

1. Yes, its well worth it and unlike DW the park entrances are only about 100 yards apart from each other.

2. Blue Bayou (make reservations) and ask for a table by the water. They might not make your reservation by the water, but ask for it when you get there and if you have to wait then wait, its well worth it.

3. Yes, (714) 781-3463 60 days in advance.

4. 3 days will be what you need to see it all, you should get it all in, but you are going in June, a very busy time of year.

5. They have a dining plan, but dont do it. Its a voucher system, and if you don't use it all you loose it. Better off just paying cash.

6. While some of the rides are the same, many are different, and there are some that WDW doesn't have, like Indiana Jones. Even some rides are different with the same name like Pirates,so you will want to ride them all because they are mostly all different in some way or another. Dont miss Fantasmic, its better at Disneyland than at WDW, dont miss World of Color, and dont miss Aladdin on stage. There are actually more attractions in Disneyland and California Adventure that there are in all 4 parks at Disney World.

7. Use the Fastpass system. Go first thing in the morning and get your fastpass for that night. GO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!!!

8. Yes, and they have just started enforcing the return times at Disneyland. They didn't really enforce them before, but they are now from what I have read here.

Others will put down more I'm sure, but thats a start for you.

 

[lana772]

Fantastic advice above. I just have one thing to add. You say beginning of June. Have you checked the calendar to see if you are there on Grad nights? Since you are staying at GCH you will avoid any craziness in the hotel with teenagers, but be aware that towards the evenings the parks will become crowded with them. Plan accordingly. Use your early entry that you get with your hotel and the dinner and a show seating for WOC. Also pay attention to show times. During grad nights times will be slightly different than normal.

Lana

 

[CherylLuvDW]

Thank you all for your responses and great information.

A couple of you mentioned WOC - what is this?

Cheryl

 

[CaptainEIEIO]

Thank you all for your responses and great information.

A couple of you mentioned WOC - what is this?

Cheryl

World of Color, its a nightly water/light show done at California Adventure. A must see!!!

 

[skier_pete]

This will be my husband & my first trip to Disneyland. As Florida residents with DW Annual Passes & DVC membership we know about everything at DW but are looking forward to the new experience. We have LOTS of questions but first a bit about our trip.

We'll be there at the end of June and have 3 full days for the parks that do not include out travel days. We'll be staying at the Grand Californian. We will then continue on the Aulani.

QUESTIONS:
1) Should we go the extra money & get park hopper passes?
2) We are foodies so what restaurants are not to be missed?

3) Like at DW is there a place to make dining reservations in advance? If so, how?

4) We will be able to fill our 3 days in Disneyland or should we plan a trip elsewhere. The Disney Family Home place sounds cool. Would we need a car to get there?
A day at the pool, is cool with us too.

5) Is there a Dining Plan at Disneyland?

6) Any little things we might not notice that shouldn't be missed?

7) Heard about reservations for World of Color. Can these be made in advance & how?

8) Do Fast Passes work the same way as DW?

Any other information you think we'll need to make plans in advance or things we should know will be appreciated!

We look forward to walking where Walt walked and the whole Disneyland experience.

Cheryl
CherylLuvDW

We did our first trip to DL after being regulars at WDW. Here's my perspective:

1) Should we go the extra money & get park hopper passes?
I would say yes. The parks are literally next to eachother, and the GCH where you are staying is on top of DTD and next to DCA. I would spend the extra time to hop.

2) We are foodies so what restaurants are not to be missed?
Someone mentioned Blue Bayou - which is inside Pirates, so quite an experience, but food isn't very good. We ate at Carthay Circle Theater in DCA and it was fantastic. Other foodie restaurants include Napa Rose (in the DGC), Steakhouse 55 (in Disneyland Hotel) and Catal (in DTD).


3) Like at DW is there a place to make dining reservations in advance? If so, how?
As previously mentioned - you can book 60 days in advance. Other than Blue Bayou, this is generally not necessary more than 48 hours ahead.

4) We will be able to fill our 3 days in Disneyland or should we plan a trip elsewhere. The Disney Family Home place sounds cool. Would we need a car to get there?
I would definitely give yourself the three days at Disneyland. We were there 3 days and it was just about right - but we still didn't get to everything.

5) Is there a Dining Plan at Disneyland?
Not worth it.

6) Any little things we might not notice that shouldn't be missed?
Don't miss the castle...it's really tiny. Actually, we missed the Sleeping Beauty castle walkthrough.

7) Heard about reservations for World of Color. Can these be made in advance & how?
You almost HAVE to get a FP, especially the early show. You can either get a FP in the morning neat Grizzly River Run, or if you book at a restaurant inside DCA they have special FP standing areas (no seats). We did this with Carthay Circle as mentioned above and it was a great viewing location and you only had to get there about 30 minutes early for a great view. The GRR FP machines are a step outside your hotel.

8) Do Fast Passes work the same way as DW?
Yes, they do.