Going to DisneyLand... help!

[Scrappin'Maniac]

We did DW in '08, and we're heading to SoCal and DL in '11. We're looking at either spring break (mid-March) or mid-July.

Any advice about which time-frame is better? What budget info do I need to know for a trip to DL? There is so much DW info on the boards, but i'm not seeing as much for DL. If you can point me in the right direction that would be awesome.

What's the best deal on tickets? Hotels? Any info is greatly appreciated!!

 

[720L]

There is a Disneyland board on the DIS. We just got back from Disneyland, stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. The weather was perfect, needed a sweatshirt a couple nights, shorts and t during the day.

 

[720L]

I think the July weather would be better, it's probably cooler in the spring?
We have previously stayed at a few of the hotels directly across the street from the park, and they were fine. Staying IN the park was a lot more magical.....but also a lot more money! You'll love DL have fun! World of Color is awesome be sure to see it!

 

[cats mom]

There is a Disneyland board on the DIS.

Yep, head over to the Disneyland board:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

I'm sure you'll get more answers there than you will here on the budget board.

 

[DisneyIT]

Once you get to the Disneyland board, search for Hydroguy and view his posts. Very informative and well done posts.

 

[magchavez]

We went to DL for the first time in June. It was so cool to see the original park. I agree, there is not as much info out there about DL. We stayed at the Doubletree Suites Anaheim. It was an awesome hotel. It was a 15 - 20 minute walk to the main gate. Nice pool on the second floor. We loved having the living room separate from the living room. There was also a microwave and refrigerator in the room. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

We ate 2 meals at the Disneyland Hotel. The first was at Hook's Point. Good food (steaks, fish, etc.). It overlooked the pool at the Disneyland Hotel. Also ate at Goofy's Kitchen (character meal) for dinner. We saw Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy, Princess Aurora, Belle, and Pluto. It was fun. It was a buffet style and the food was really good.

Have fun!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

There is less information about Disneyland in part because it is much smaller.

The main differences between WDW and DL, to get you started, are these:

There are three on-site hotels, and many off-site hotels. Many of these are considered "Good Neighbor" hotels. Disneyland is different from WDW in that there are many off site hotels within walking distance. At WDW, I have never stayed off site. At Disneyland, I have never stayed on site! Recently, I have stayed at Best Western Park Place Inn (02) and Candy Cane Inn (08). I preferred the Candy Cane Inn for the atmosphere, but the BWPPI is right across Harbor.

The two parks and DTD are all off the same plaza; park hopping is easy because you just walk across the plaza.

There is no DME. There are about five airports that you can choose from to fly in and out of. There is a Disneyland Express, but it is not free. I used Super Shuttle the last time I was there, and plan to use them again in September.

The dining plan is different, but I haven't used it at either place. Dining reservations are done 60 days out, and you don't get a confirmation number. They use your first and last name.

Also, many of the rides are different. Some are different versions of rides with the same name, and a few are entirely different and not found at WDW.

Good luck with your planning! And head over to the Disneyland board; they can help you with all the details!

 

[traveljunkie2]

I grew up going to DL several times a year, and have only been to WDW once.

The weather will be less predictable in March. Could be cool and rainy, could be beautiful. The crowds will probably be similar in either month. It will be hot in July, almost certainly, but will cool off in the evenings.

There are TONS of hotels surrounding DL, many within walking distance and many offering shuttles. There is also a public bus line that you can take to the parks. Many of the hotels surrounding DL have been there for decades. Read reviews on Tripadvisor carefully. I have read good things about the Annabelle, Candy Cane Inn and Alpine Inn. These are all budget hotels. The last time we went to DL we stayed at the Homewood Suites Garden Grove, about a mile from the parks. It was very nice, had a bus to the parks, offered free hot breakfast daily and light dinner on weekdays. It was also right across the street for a Super Target. The hotel next door had a Starbucks in it. I would recommend it.

The food options are way more limited at DL. You mostly only have CS, and the variety of food is limited. BUT, it is much easier to walk/drive off property and get a meal if you want some variety.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

We have gone to DL yearly in mid-March for many years, with the exception of this one when we went east and regretted it.

I love going to DL in mid-March. The weather is amazing. It is 50-70, although one year there was a hot day.

We stay at the Candy Cane Inn. It has a free breakfast, which we never eat because we walk to open the park every morning. CCI has their own shuttle whereas other hotels use the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation). That is a deal breaker for us. The Candy Cane is very nicely landscaped and clean.

DL has a lot fewer table service restaurants than WDW. I love the Plaza at the end of Main Street. If you want to eat at Blue Bayou (in Pirates) plan ahead. Mimi's across Harbor is reasonable and clean.

Tickets at DL are more affordable than WDW; airfare is what will cost you. We fly from IAH to ONT (Ontario, yes, California). It is a small airport with a minimum of hassle.

Enjoy Walt's park!

 

[SunnieRN]

Grew up going to Disneyland! My daughter is 26, moved out of CA 4 years ago and has been to Disneyland 24 or 25 times.

One of the more popular hotels is Howard Johnsons, fondly referred to as Ho Jo's, if you are not planning to stay onsite. It is across the street, down a couple of blocks. There are numerous restaurants within a mile or two from the parks. A lot of familiar places and different, independent ones also. Mimis is across the street and serves wonderful meals. The portions are HUGE!

One difference between WDW and Disneyland, is that Disneyland has a lot of "regular" visitors. People who have made multiple visits. There is a HUGE local fan base.

If you can,, try to eat at Napa Rose, in the Grand Californian. Pricey, but wonderfully good! For the experience, plan on having a meal at Pirates of the Carribbean, where you eat while watching the boats go bye. (Kind of like the Epcot restaurant in Mexico).

Disneyland and CA Adventure do not have the number of restaurants as any of the WDW parks. We usually ate lunch in the park and since we often went off season, ate dinner nearby.

Heck, I remember when Disneyland was closed on Monday and Tuesday in the off season!

Have a wonderful vacation! My vote would be for March, if it was not the weeks surrounding Easter. The weather can be "iffy", but the crowds should be lower. Bye the way, if you go in March and it rains, don't leave the parks, as most of the locals leave. The parks clear out nicely, especially early in the week!

 

[holden]

We went to DL for the first time in June. The weather was beautiful!!! Sunny, warm, with a cool breeze. We did one day in DL and one in DCA. We could have used another day in DL but didn't have the time. We tried to hit the rides they don't have in WDW, and our strategy worked out well. The top fav. was the Matterhorn!

Food is much better in DL than WDW. We find most of the food to be mediocre at best in WDW, but we had fabulous meals in DL. The Storytellers Cafe dinner buffet is pretty decent. Goofy's Kitchen was a ton of fun! The character interaction was long and entertaining, plus they dance with the kids. We had lunch one day at the Wine Trattoria and it was one of the best meals I've ever had in a Disney park! Cafe Orleans was yet another delish lunch - gumbo with pommes frites (I think that's how it's spelled)! Finally, our dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen was another great meal.

We stayed at the Hilton - fine but nothing too exciting. We did have a balcony as big as our room with a view of the parks.

Enjoy your trip! Hope this helps!

 

[brymolmom]

We are WDW'ers but did DLR in April for first time. We really liked it, but still prefer WDW. One thing that didn't work out for us was the weather...it didn't even reach 60 one of the days and hovered right around 60 with clouds the rest - it was COLD!

We stayed at Howard Johnson (HOJO - you'll see lots of info on it on the DL board) and would DEFINITELY stay there again. About an 8 minute walk to the gate of DL and CA - and it has a spraypark area (unfortunately we didn't use much due to weather) and it has a frig. Budget-wise - best thing we did there is the same as we do often at WDW - hit the grocery store and stocked up for the room. We had breakfasts in the room (except for our Goofy's Kitchen breakfast - LOVED IT - definitely recommend it if you want a character meal) and brought a soft sided cooler and put it in a locker for lunch one of the days. Saved a bunch there.

HOJO has 'entertainment rates' - do a search on the DL boards. You can sometimes get this hotel for like $59 a night - GREAT deal. We upped it for a deluxe room and paid $69 a night.

Sign up for Mimi's Cafe on their web site and get a B1G1 coupon for a meal there. It's right next to HOJO and yummy food!

 

[splash5]

If you are concerned about crowd size, then you may want to go in March. Spring Break times vary with different states/schools. We have found that for the most part, there are a lot less people in March (unless the CA and AZ schools have spring break at the same time). Summer time is usually a zoo and nearly impossible to navigate near noon or one.

Weather can be very warm or rainy in March - you can't totally predict that one.

 

[alyssa810]

I've been to DL twice in August, in April, and a SoCal visit in October. We found that the weekdays were better in the summer time, and the weather was pleasant in April and October. For previous trips, we had really good luck booking a package through AAA. Our upcoming trip is a DVC trip, we're very excited to be staying at GCV, but we're debating on our tickets, if we want to get APs, or the Premier APs, or just get DL tickets....