First visit with 2 and 6 year old-how many days to spend

[SarahCarsLand]

We are planning to go to Disneyland for the first time in January with grandparents and a 2 yr old and a 6 year old. How many days do you recommend to stay at Disneyland/CA Adventure or should we try another theme park? 4 day park hopper or 3 day park hopper is the question.
Background:
Kids are obsessed with Cars (so CarsLand is the big get).
We are staying at the Disneyland Hotel.
We are thinking about car rental vs Disneyland Express from the airport.
Seems like keeping it simple and taking a shuttle from LAX (wanting to fly Virgin America direct so I think we can only do that to LAX) and not renting a car and carseats and going to another park.
Is the ride from LAX to Disneyland long and brutal with traffic?

Any advise greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[tarheelalum]

4 day park hopper is the way to go.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

I agree with getting a 4 day hopper; 2 days for each park so you won't feel rushed to do everything in 1 day.

The Disneyland Resort Express Bus takes about an hour to get to the Anaheim area, depending on traffic, what time you take the bus, and what hotel you are staying at. If you are traveling within "rush hour" (morning or afternoon) there is more traffic than midday, so it may take longer. The bus stops at the 3 Disneyland hotels first, so that is a plus for you! And you are not personally driving in the traffic, so another plus!

HTH,
Kriss

 

[talentedmummy]

You are doing the same trip we did a year ago! DD turned 2 while we were there. We are Going the last week of January again in 2015.

I recommend DK Livery for transport. They provided a car seat, booster and a stop at a grocery store. Great for stocking up on fruit and drinks for snacks.
I took a small cooler bag, size that would hold a 6 pack. Froze juice boxes in our room fridge, and then packed a couple each day with snacks for in the park.

We had 3 day, 1 park per day tickets. This year we are doing 4 day, 1 park per day, so we get 2 days in each park.

You are going to have so much fun!

 

[corinne76]

Definitely 4 days! We went last year when my kids were 2 and 5 and did a 5 day pass.

If you're going to have extra time, you may want to check out Adventure City. It's small, but all the rides are perfect for little ones
http://www.adventurecity.com/
And it's cheap

Have a great trip!

 

[SarahCarsLand]

Thank you! We will do the 4 day. Seems pretty clear!
Also thanks for the tip on getting to Disneyland. Seems like a private car is the way to go. Cheaper than the Resort Shuttle. DK looks like a good deal!

 

[GatorChris]

I'll chime in with everyone else. That first trip is great with 4 days. 2 days in each park let's you do nearly everything, plus the rides you want to repeat even more. Anything less, and you'll wish you'd stayed longer. Anything longer, and you may feel like it's Groundhog Day.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Definitely get a park hopper. Not really much for young kids at DCA in my opinion. DS was 4 when we went last year and loves Cars but he was afraid of the stuff in the ride (not the ride itself). He loves the tractor tippin in the movie but HATED the tractors on the ride. He also didn't care for any of the other Car themed rides, He surprised me by LOVING Ariel's ride even though he'd never seen the movie, wanted to go back on it but it was down a lot. I loved the Toy Story ride but he didn't. So you might want the option of going back and forth.

Have a great trip!