First time to DL - Where do I start?!

[MrsSilvaStrat]

DH and I are planning a week long tour through CA which ends with two full days and night in DL in October.

Neither of us have ever been to DL before - What are your suggestions on how to tackle the parks. Also, what are some fave rides, restaurants, or hotels? Any tips and thoughts are greatly appreciated!

xoxo Mrs. S

 

[blackjackdelta]

You start with the sticky's at the top and pay particular attention to Hydroguy's posts, then you ask all the questions you have. Stay active. There will be many posts.

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

DH and I are planning a week long tour through CA which ends with two full days and night in DL in October.

Neither of us have ever been to DL before - What are your suggestions on how to tackle the parks. Also, what are some fave rides, restaurants, or hotels? Any tips and thoughts are greatly appreciated!

xoxo Mrs. S

Oooh! Well, first of all, be prepared - you will get lots of feedback (maybe more than you can handle)! First of all, what a great time to go to DL for the first time - Halloweentime! DLR has made a much bigger deal of the Halloween season in the last couple of years, and this year will be no exception. You will get to see the (exclusive to DLR) Haunted Mansion Holiday (with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay), the brand new Space Mountain Halloween overlay, Woody's Halloween Round-Up, the assorted Halloweentime decorations and character jack-o-lanterns in both DL and in DCA (like a giant Mickey pumpkin at the start of Main Street and a giant candy corn in DCA), the Day of the Dead display near Rancho del Zocalo, and sample some of the great treats of the season. In fact, depending on your dates, you MAY even be able to catch Mickey's Trick or Treat Party.

Someone else will chime in with the tips on how to tackle the parks and the best rides to do. Are you a WDW vet, or is this your first time to any Disney park?

As for hotels, do you want to stay at the more expensive Disney hotels and get the full Disney immersion and perks associated with that, or would you like to save a chunk of money and stay offsite at a non-Disney hotel, which may be as close as right across the street?

As for restaurants, there are lots of good one. In DL, you have the Minnie & Friends character breakfast (tons of characters), the Blue Bayou is a unique to Disneyland experience - a restaurant located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It has a great atmosphere. Also there is the very popular Carnation Cafe, Cafe Orleans, Celebration Round-Up BBQ, as well as counter service places like River Belle Terrace (they serve Mickey Mouse pancakes), Plaza Inn, Bengal BBQ, Stage Door Cafe, Rancho del Zocalo and several others, as well as a great bakery - Blue Ribbon Bakery. My favorites of that group are Carnation Cafe (good for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert), River Belle Terrace, Bengal BBQ and Blue Ribbon Bakery.

Over in DCA, you have Ariel's Grotto, the lovely Wine Country Trattoria and Taste Pilots Grill (counter service), which are my two favorites, as well as all kinds of counter service places.

In the beloved Disneyland Hotel, you have Goofy's Kitchen (my favorite - huge buffet), Steakhouse 55 and Hook's Pointe.

In the Paradise Pier Hotel, you have the Lilo and Stitch character meals, and then the PCH Grill as the onsite restaurant.

In the gorgeous Grand Californian Hotel, you can find the critically acclaimed fine dining establishment, Napa Rose, and Storytellers Cafe, which hosts the Chip and Dale Critter Breakfast as well as operates as a regular restaurant, and the very popular White Water Snacks (counter service).

Just get us going on giving information and you will get tons of it!

 

[HydroGuy]

You start with the sticky's at the top and pay particular attention to Hydroguy's posts, then you ask all the questions you have. Stay active. There will be many posts.

Jack

For example see this link "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

and this link

DLR FAQ-MAPS, HOTELS, DISER HOTEL REVIEWS, HYDROGUY'S TIPS, DINING REVIEWS, ETC http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072276

 

[abouley]

I just wanted to comment on lodging....From your signature it looks like you often stay off-site at WDW. Staying off-site at DL is very convenient. You can walk to the parks and some are even closer than staying on-site. Of course instead of leaving the parks and walking through DT disney or taking the monorail into DT disney to get to the on-site hotels, you walk the opposite direction out onto a city street to get to your hotel. Advantages and disadvantages of both. One of the advantages of staying off-site is that you have things like MacDonalds and convenient stores along the way to buy food/supplies at non-disney prices! Staying on-site though you leave the park and then can shop on the way back to your hotel or grab a coffee and sit and watch entertainers and people watch for a bit. Something that comes in handy during off peak hours when the parks close earlier. We LOVE staying on-site but for 1/3 the price, we most often stay off-site. We stay at Hojo's usually. A lot of times we get the entertainment rate (you need one of those coupon books with the card that comes in it) and we get a room for $59-$79/night depending on view. There is also Best Western Park Place Inn, Carousel Inn and Suite, Fairfield Marriott, and Candy Cane that people talk a lot about. You want to be on Harbour between I-5 and Katella if you are looking at a map although some of the hotels down along Katella don't seem too far.

As for food, there are a lot more counter service options at DL than WDW and the restaurants in DT disney aren't too hard to get into (at least when we've tried). We might have an hour wait but we go early and then shop for a bit while we wait. You got some great options above so I won't give you more on dining!

 

[disney4metoo]

I like pictures so here you go!
For off site we like the Embassy Suites South on Harbor Ave. It is a beautiful hotel, with suites. We also love the made to order breakfast, and the evening manager's reception. The hotel is clean, the food is good and we just like the extra room! A refrigerator, microwave, mini sink, table for 4, pull out couch and in the bedroom either a king or two queen beds ( very comfortable). However, you will need to take ATA ( or whatever it is called) bus system to get to Disney ( not very far, just a skip and a jump, but too far to walk.) Rates $129-169 (last time I looked)

If we can get the Entertainment rate ($59.00) HoJo ( Howard Johnson's) is a inexpensive, clean, comfortable beds, a great value, within walking distance ( I have never walked it, but many do) and great customer service! It was designed by the same person who designed the Disneyland Hotel and it has the old Disney feel to it. We have stayed at HoJo once, the night before our Grand Californian stay and we were pleasantly surprised. The lobby is really cool too, very retro!
Here is the Entertainment book link!
http://orange-county.entertainment.com/discount/browse.shtml
2009 book $9.99

Our preferred hotel is The Grand Californian Hotel! We love the convenience of easy access into the parks, the Disney immersion, early entry on all early entry days, the overall experience, but it is pricey. We especially love staying in concierge, but that's another story! We love staying on-site! Here is a view from CA room view!

It has direct access to CA!

Make sure to have a corn dog in CA at the Farmer's Market, Tigger Tales in Critter Country, Curros, of course a Dole Whip!

We like StoryTeller's Cafe ( we tend to eat there a lot.) I am sure others with chime in on other things not to miss!

If Aladdin is playing (CA), see it, it's very nice! Have a great Trip!

** See Hydroguy's Thread!

 

[MrsSilvaStrat]

Well, all I can say is ... AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for posting - these links, opinions and tips are great! No matter how much I read, I always prefer to go on the opinions of the Disboard community.

We are WDW vets, which is somewhat helpful in planning this trip (Ie. Step One - cry for help to Disers lol) We tend to book last minute b/c we often find really cheap last minute flights down to Orlando, however that usually leaves us with an offsite hotel. Or, we take our dog with us and need to stay at a pet friendly offsite place. However, we are not planning on taking our dog on this adventure...I think.

Thanks again!

 

[Marciern22]

OMG!!! WELCOME!!!! You'll love DL and DCA!
Above they told you everything! Don't miss our Fantasmic! It's really better than WDW.
I love to have lunch at Cafe Orleans in DL. It's a great sit down eatery. It has the Monte Cristo like in Blue Bayou but cheaper. I usually get the house salad, so tasty and only $3.99 and Pomme Frites which will feed 2 people and I think they are about $5 and so good. You can eat just that or split the Monte Cristo and get away inexpensively and it has a great view when sitting outdoors. It has become my fave lately.
As you can see from my signature...Grand Californian is our fave place to stay. It really is beautiful. But any of the hotel are nice and very close by. Everything is within walking distance of 15 to 20 minutes.
Have a great time and Welcome again!!!

 

[Marciern22]

Also...Don't miss Space Mountain, POTC, The Aladdin Show in DCA, Its a Small World, Nemo Subs, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, California Screamin', and the newly redone Ferris Wheel in DCA! These are all different than WDW and the WDW versions.

 

[jpeka65844]

Speaking as a WDW vet who LOVES to plan, we found that a lot of our planning was unnecessary at DLR. Dinner reservations, ride strategies, etc...were not needed.

Now, I'd hate to say throw it all out the window and then you'd wind up having a horrible time, but I will say overall: Don't stress it!

The pace there seemed WAY more laid back than WDW. I think it's b/c you have more locals that have been there many many many times, rather than families who are making their one and only pilgrimage and are on the go trying to get it all in!

BUT, there are a few things that you mustn't miss b/c you won't find them at WDW:

Pirates- I know it's in FL, but it's WAY better here!

Space Mountain- same

Fantasmic- same; do the dessert seating; it's pricey but worth it!

Napa Rose- YUM!

New Orleans Square- some of the best theming Disney has ever done; take time to wander the shops

Blue Bayou- food was ok, but you can't beat the experience! Ask for a table by the water!

California Adventure- yeah, yeah, I know a lot of people don't like it but it's going away so make sure you get everything you can out of it!

Grand Californian- yeah, yeah, I know it's cheaper to stay off property but this hotel MADE our trip; beautiful, elegant, close toe everything; DH said it might (GASP) be better than the Boardwalk!

We LOVED DL; will be going back in 2011; We're probably lucky we didn't do the GCV tour b/c we would've walked away with more points!!!

 

[MickeyNikiNaka]

FIRST thing that you do is jump up and down!!!

THEN read the sticky's also, I found a lot of useful information from People's Trip Reports!