First timer

[tylerrabe]

Okay, planning first trip to Disneyland for Nov. 30th-Dec. 6th. Need some advice/help with getting this planned. Plane tickets have been bought so need to probably get everything else lined up. It will be a family of four with my wife and 2 girls. My girls are aged 6 and 12. Right now we are thinking about doing the 3 day ticket with genie+. Or should I do the hopper? Looking at 2 days at disneyland Park and 1 day at DCA. We have also thought about doing 1 day at Knotts. Wondering if this is a good idea or not..? We wont have a car so will be using uber/lyft. Hotel rec's...? We are leaning toward staying at the residence inn/Anaheim resort. We like the kitchen area with a suite type feel. This is pretty expensive but thought it was pretty close. A lot of these hotels have outdoor water parks/pools but for my time frame will that even be an option? If not is there somewhere to stay without a pool with suite rooms that are maybe cheaper.

We will have 5 days not counting our travel days(Thursday-Monday). Any specific days you'd prefer to go to a particular park? Another option we could do would be 4 day disney tickets and then maybe we could play the 5th day by ear and see if we want a day to relax or otherwise we could probably get tickets to Knotts. How many days should we plan for Disney? Just dont want to be too burned out, but not real sure what we would do with our free day either.

I appreciate any input. This can be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer... Thanks

 

[kelmac284]

I am not familiar with that hotel but for us personally we like to stay as close to the parks as possible so we can walk. We stay at the Desert Inn which is right across the street. Not fancy but has suite rooms. They don't have kitchens but you can get rooms with 2 full rooms and 2 baths. So 4 total beds and hidabed. With little ones it is nice to sometimes take mid day breaks. Not sure if you are a morning person but I always recommend rope droping. There can be pretty long security lines and you can usually get quite a bit done first thing in the morning. I would wait to buy genie until you get into the park and see how crowded it is. It can work very well on a good day and the photopass that you get with it is well worth the price. I personally don't like Knotts but if you have never been it might be fun to check it out. It can be decorated very pretty and I have heard they have some good food but I found it very much like a 6 flags type park when we went but again I am not sure what your family likes.

Also if you can afford it hoppers are so nice because you can go back and forth. You don't HAVE to have them but with the parks being so close it is so nice if you are able.

It is always better to go to the parks on weekdays if possible and typically wed are the least busiest although now with the magi keys and reservations I don't know if that really applies anymore.

I am a key holder and have been hundreds of time. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I did a 1 park 3 day trip in January, you can find my trip report here

I did a no park day in the middle

Day 1 - Disneyland Main Park
Day 2 - California Adventure Park
Day 3 - No Park Day / Downtown Disney
Day 4 - Disneyland Main Park

I do open to close, I stay in the park in the afternoon but have some downtime. I bought Genie + and Individual Lightning Lanes and I stayed at Tropicana Hotel.

I dont drive and used a car service Midwilshuttle

 

[Federalist45]

I’d research Knotts some to decide whether your 6 year old will get much out of it. I tend to think that 6 is a bit young for Knotts, but I haven’t been in many years.

I like the park hopper option, especially if you are doing a three day trip. It’s difficult to tell what your budget is. If you have to sacrifice other things to do the park hoppers, then you may want to skip it. Hopping is nice to give you flexibility for Nighttime Entertainment and reservations.

Traditional wisdom for Genie+ is to wait until you are there and buy it daily if you need/want it. You are so far out though, that there’s some chance the price will increase before your trip. Locking it in at the current price is certainly something to consider.

Given your limited description of your trip, I’d be booking 4 Disney days. The added day will equal less stress, which adds value to each park day. You’ll have less of a feeling trying to decide between things as 4 days (if rope dropping or staying until close most days) will let you do almost everything.

p.s. If you are not sure about rope dropping, 4 days is a no brainer in my opinion.

 

[mouschievous]

How many days at Disney depends on your touring style, and what all is open. For us pre-pandemic, DLR was a 3 day minimum, and that was at a go-go-go pace. If we wanted something more leisurely, it would be 5 days.

We did 3 days, no hopper with 4 kids (6-11) and it was great. One of the reasons we chose not to do a park hopper was because with 4 kids we knew they'd want to be in different parks, and we didn't want to be splitting up so much or running back and forth. That may not be an issue with your family though, especially since you only have 2 kids. For our adult trips, and if we take the kids when they're older, we will definitely do park hoppers.

With our 3 days, we did first day in DL, second in DCA and third in DL. The only time we found ourselves wishing for a hopper was about 5 pm on our DCA day. None of the rides we wanted to do had short waits, nor were there any fast passes/lightning lanes available to use until the ones we had for 8 pm. We were tired and bored and it took a while to figure out what to do.

I personally don't do Disney without rope dropping. We like to rope drop and shut down the park, with a break in the middle of the day. It's a relatively long walk from the gates to the hotel you mentioned BUT you could look at utilizing the Toy Story lot and taking the shuttle from there, which would save you about a half mile each time. Or you could uber/lyft.

Speaking of the hotel, is there a reason you want the kitchen area? Are you planning to make breakfast there, make lunches to take with you, go back for dinner? Knowing exactly what you're looking for can help us recommend hotels that will meet your needs.

 

[tylerrabe]

How many days at Disney depends on your touring style, and what all is open. For us pre-pandemic, DLR was a 3 day minimum, and that was at a go-go-go pace. If we wanted something more leisurely, it would be 5 days.

We did 3 days, no hopper with 4 kids (6-11) and it was great. One of the reasons we chose not to do a park hopper was because with 4 kids we knew they'd want to be in different parks, and we didn't want to be splitting up so much or running back and forth. That may not be an issue with your family though, especially since you only have 2 kids. For our adult trips, and if we take the kids when they're older, we will definitely do park hoppers.

With our 3 days, we did first day in DL, second in DCA and third in DL. The only time we found ourselves wishing for a hopper was about 5 pm on our DCA day. None of the rides we wanted to do had short waits, nor were there any fast passes/lightning lanes available to use until the ones we had for 8 pm. We were tired and bored and it took a while to figure out what to do.

I personally don't do Disney without rope dropping. We like to rope drop and shut down the park, with a break in the middle of the day. It's a relatively long walk from the gates to the hotel you mentioned BUT you could look at utilizing the Toy Story lot and taking the shuttle from there, which would save you about a half mile each time. Or you could uber/lyft.

Speaking of the hotel, is there a reason you want the kitchen area? Are you planning to make breakfast there, make lunches to take with you, go back for dinner? Knowing exactly what you're looking for can help us recommend hotels that will meet your needs.

We thought maybe we could order in some meals for either a late dinner or early supper. Would it be more ideal to just eat in the park or not? Just wasn't sure how expensive that might me doing that... Kitchen wouldnt be essential just thought it might be beneficial. We usually are much for early risers but could do the rope drop a few days to help with the lines.

 

[mouschievous]

We thought maybe we could order in some meals for either a late dinner or early supper. Would it be more ideal to just eat in the park or not? Just wasn't sure how expensive that might me doing that... Kitchen wouldnt be essential just thought it might be beneficial. We usually are much for early risers but could do the rope drop a few days to help with the lines.

You could, but you have to weigh the cost/benefit. Yes, you can go back to your hotel to eat, but you have to either walk (about 1.5 miles round trip if you go back to the park afterward), or Uber/Lyft ($). Or, you can eat in the park, which saves you time and walking, but is more expensive.

We typically eat breakfast at the hotel (or on the way to the park), pack a lunch with us (we're lunchables type people) or go back to the hotel for lunch and a midday break, and then eat dinner either in the park or within walking distance of the park (there are several options in Downtown Disney or on Harbor Blvd - for example, IHOP is a 1/3 mile from the DLR gates). You can browse the menus and prices of in park offerings on the website or in the app, which might help you decide on the best option for you.

If you decide you don't really need an actual kitchen, I would highly recommend checking out the hotels on Harbor, right across from Disneyland. They're a super easy walk that's going to save you time and steps, and typically less expensive. Several even include breakfast!

 

[tylerrabe]

You could, but you have to weigh the cost/benefit. Yes, you can go back to your hotel to eat, but you have to either walk (about 1.5 miles round trip if you go back to the park afterward), or Uber/Lyft ($). Or, you can eat in the park, which saves you time and walking, but is more expensive.

We typically eat breakfast at the hotel (or on the way to the park), pack a lunch with us (we're lunchables type people) or go back to the hotel for lunch and a midday break, and then eat dinner either in the park or within walking distance of the park (there are several options in Downtown Disney or on Harbor Blvd - for example, IHOP is a 1/3 mile from the DLR gates). You can browse the menus and prices of in park offerings on the website or in the app, which might help you decide on the best option for you.

If you decide you don't really need an actual kitchen, I would highly recommend checking out the hotels on Harbor, right across from Disneyland. They're a super easy walk that's going to save you time and steps, and typically less expensive. Several even include breakfast!

Thanks. What is the temperature usually like during our time period. I notice a few have fun water areas but first week of december im not sure that is worth it or not.

 

[mouschievous]

Thanks. What is the temperature usually like during our time period. I notice a few have fun water areas but first week of december im not sure that is worth it or not.

We've never used the pool when we've been in November. Usually it tops out in the high 60s, low 70s. Of course, you can get those bizarre years where suddenly it's 90 in December, but that's not typical.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I was in LA at the end of January. I used the outdoor pool at The Hilton Universal Hollywood on one of my days. When the sun is out between 11am and about 2pm it is nice. But once the sun shifts the shade is very cool. I grew up swimming in the cool Atlantic Ocean on the south coast of Ireland, so it was fine for me.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I would do 4 days if you can afford it. It will allow to do everything you want in the parks (food, shows, rides, shopping, other things) at a nice relaxed pace. Also, with more park days you have the option of going back to the room for a few hours in the afternoon if one of the kids needs a break.

 

[Pluto468]

I would do 4 days, and add hoppers. it gives you much more flexibility.

If you're looking for a hotel with a kitchen, the Tropicana has family suites with a kitchen and it's right across the street. Park Vue, also, but I'm not sure if they have an oven or just a microwave.

For less expensive meals there are a few places right outside the park, like McDonald's and Panera. We sometimes eat breakfast at the hotel and bring sandwiches for lunch so we'd only buy dinner in the park. (and dole whips, pretzels, etc )

 

[Chickinvic]

I will go against the others. Do the day at Knotts, and eat the chicken dinner at the restaurant just outside of Knotts (go at an in-between time to avoid insane lineups). There's fun stuff for all ages at Knotts. Little kids should love the Ghost Town area and Camp Snoopy. If you like ice cream (and I LOVE ice cream), check out their wicked ice cream sandwich. Biggest I've ever seen. https://www.knotts.com/dining/ice-cream-shop

 

[gelatoni fan]

The Residence Inn is one of the nicer suite options. The Homewood Suites may also work for your situation and potentially be cheaper.

I would just make sure to do your Disneyland days on Friday-Sunday in case they don't run the night shows every night. California Adventure waits also tend to get longer on the weekends than Disneyland's.