First Time To Disneyland

[kncblue]

Hi all, I live in S. FL and have been to Disney World plenty of times. I am coming out to CA for the 1/2 Marathon weekend over Labor Day. I am running the DDD

Never having been anywhere near DL, I'm looking for ANY suggestions on where to stay. I've heard it's considerably smaller than WDW, and I'm not sure how the hotel situation is there. I'd like to be able to walk to the park if possible (and there are decent hotels within walking distance).

Thanks in advance!

 

[HydroGuy]

Here are some links to get you started:

ºoº DISNEYLAND RESORT & GOOD NEIGHBOR HOTEL INFORMATION & DISER REVIEWS ºoº

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

 

[rmgreenesq]

Hi all, I live in S. FL and have been to Disney World plenty of times. I am coming out to CA for the 1/2 Marathon weekend over Labor Day. I am running the DDD

Never having been anywhere near DL, I'm looking for ANY suggestions on where to stay. I've heard it's considerably smaller than WDW, and I'm not sure how the hotel situation is there. I'd like to be able to walk to the park if possible (and there are decent hotels within walking distance).

Thanks in advance!

Welcome kncblue! I'm a SoCal native and runner. I ran the WDW Half last weekend and registered for the double dumbo dare at the expo.

While the theme parks in California are a little smaller than their counterparts in Florida, the Disneyland resort compound is a whole lot smaller that WDW. Disney owns as far as the eye can see in Florida. The best way to describe Disneyland would be to take the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, place them next to each other, and then place them into the middle of suburban Orlando.

As to hotels, I can't really give you any specific hotel recommendations. As mentioned above, I'm a SoCal native and have never slept in a hotel in Anaheim as my house is 10 miles south of Disneyland. I can tell you that is that unlike WDW, you can both stay in a hotel off Disney property and walk to Disneyland. Its that small.

If you are coming to run the Diz Half and want to stay off property, I'd recommend that you stay in a hotel on the northern border of Disneyland. Look for a Ball Road address and near the Mickey and friends parking structure. Ball Road is the northern border of Disneyland. The starting corrals for the race form up on Disneyland Drive next to the parking structure. That will provide the shortest walk to the corrals.

Your next place to look for lodging is on Katella Ave. near Disneyland Drive. Katella runs parallel to Ball Road and is the southern border. There are more hotels on Katella than Ball.

Your last pick is Harbor Boulevard. Harbor is the eastern border of Disneyland and is the last place you want to go looking for a room. The problem with Harbor is that all of the runDisney action (Expo, startling line, & finish line) are on the west side of the resort. This will make for a very long walk.

If you have a specific property in mind, ask away in this board. There are many foiks who read this board who travel to Disneyland from outside SoCal and can give specific hotel advice.

Happy training!

Rick

 

[CaptainEIEIO]

You can stay off property for a lot cheaper and the hotels are within walking distance. Both parks sit side by side with only about 100 yards separating the entrances. Downtown Disney is right there also, and they have lots of shops and restaurants. It is actually convenient as you don't have to wait on busses to take you to the next park, you just walk out one gate and walk over to the other.

Hotel prices outside the park vary from the Super 8 type hotels to the Holiday Inn and Executive Suites, and all are within 1 to 10 minute walking distance to the parks. The Park View Inn is the closest, its right across the street from the entrance. And the city walk is right there too with lots of nice restaurants to eat at.

Disneyland also has quite a change in crowd sizes from summer to winter. Spring and Summers are packed and Fall and Winters are less packed. If you go at the right time (off season) and go on Monday through Thursday most of the lines are 5 to 10 minute waits, but thats during the off seasons.

Definately go with the park hopper pass while at Disneyland, because like I said the parks are side by side. And if you plan on visiting Universal Studios or going down to San Diego I would highly recommend the Southern California City Pass. It saves you money and gets you 1 day at Universal,1 day at Sea World, and a 3 day Disneyland/California Adventure with a park hopper built in.

Have a great time, its my families favorite place to go, we even like it better than WDW.

 

[Larissa]

Try Carousel Inn, Tropicana, Castle Inn, Camelot Inn, the Annabella. If you don't mind a 30 minute walk, the Hilton works. There are plenty of others.

 

[Sherry E]

Larissa --

You've been pulling up some old threads -- or threads that have been inactive for a while -- to share your tips. They're very helpful, but I just wanted you to know that some of the threads are old or not active anymore (such as this one).

No one had posted in this thread since January 2013.