First timers at DL

[Lorraine]

We are going on the CA-FL cruise next August, and as we are flying in from the UK are intending to arrive a few days early to aclimatise. We will have two complete days in LA and are currently planning to stay at the DL hotel. I have a few questions which I am hoping (sure) someone will be able to answer.

1. As I said we are doing the cruise, is their a car rental company at the airport that has a drop off point at the port (not even sure at this point which port it is!).

2. As we only have two clear days how much of DL could we do. We intend to return in a couple of years and do DL/Las Vagas so may only look to be doing edited highlights.

3. Is there any other non Disney sights we could/should see in this limited time.

Many thanks

 

[iceskatejen]

Wouldn't the DCL include transfers to the Port of ? (I'm assuming LA, though it could be Long Beach)? If not, I recommened going with Enterprise rental, which I'm sure has a drop off somewhere near the port and will drive you over there when you return the car (they can pick you up, too). If you're only going to be in So. Cal. for 2 days, I'd focus on DL and DCA. Spend most of that time in DL, maybe half to 3/4 of a day in DCA--you should still be able to see a lot. That should keep you plenty entertained. If the cruise is out of Long Beach you may want to take a tour of the Queen Mary the day you depart (you should be able to see most of the ship in a morning and early afternoon) or go shopping in Seaport Village next to the Queen Mary. I know Carnival Cruise uses the old Spruce Goose dome for their departures now, so I don't know if that's where DCL will go or not. I don't know so much about the Port of LA, so I don't know if there's anything interesting to see there or not.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>Hi there,

We have a couple of threads stuck at the top that suggest some things to do while at Disneyland, and visiting the surrounding area.

 

[jlmarr]

I'm pretty sure the Disney ships will be using the Port of San Pedro, whose web page http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/crusshp.htm wasn't too helpful on the issue of rental cars (at least the pages I traversed weren't helpful). Since we drive on the "wrong" side of the road I wonder if you might be better off taking a shuttle bus such as Super Shuttle http://www.supershuttle.com/htm/cities/lax.htm from LAX to DL and then on to San Pedro. My wife and I just visited the port area to see the maiden US sailing of the Diamond Princess, and even for an LA native such as myself I'd say that navigating from Anaheim to San Pedro isn't for the faint of heart. (But as iceskatejen said, if you have transfers from DCL you're in business.)

As for a quickie DL tour, I guess a lot depends on whether you're familiar with WDW/MK and/or DLP. The DL unique attractions include Indiana Jones (a very turbulent ride - take the bad back warnings seriously), the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, and Alice In Wonderland. The DL Pirates of the Caribbean is generally felt to be better than the WDW version, and was, I'm pretty sure, the last ride that Walt personally worked on. You can have lunch or dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant overlooking the PotC loading area for some special atmosphere. That's just for starters...

 

[pcryan]

I would totally just stay at the resort and do the parks for that short amount of time. I would leave my driving to super shuttle and would not rent a car to get around, traffic is undescribable if you have never driven it before, and while things look close on the map it takes a long time to get around. If you wanted to go to Universal or some other place you can arrange for tours from the Disneyland hotel.

I think both the parks and Downtown Disney can keep you very busy for two days, espcieally in the summer when it is more crowded and hot!

 

[Lorraine]

Thanks both of you for your comments. Although my husband doesn't mind driving, it does sound a bit of a nightmare! Transfers are not included and as they work out about the same as car hire with the three of us we tend to get a car for convienience. I think in this instance we will probably take your advice and get the shuttle and then buy the DCL transfers and stay within Disney for the two day we are there. We intend to revisit LA and surrounding area in a couple of years (when the weather is cooler) and do Grand Canyon/Las Vegas and DL.


Thanks again for the info.