HELP! Be my DisneyLand TA. What are your tips?

[Forevermarypoppins]

I'm a WDW veteran. I've been visiting WDW enough to say I could give some advise. For quite awhile I've thought about going to DisneyLand. I know staying at one of the 3 onsite resorts will be out of my comfortable price range. IF you were my TA, tell me what you'd suggest.

My initial questions are:

How to I get to the Hotel/motel from the airport? What is the easiest?
I do not want to be more than 1 mile from the park because I would prefer to walk if possible. But to have the info: Do any of the Good Neighbor hotels offer free rides to the parks? Or does one hotel offer something better in terms of transportation over another?
I'm traveling with my sister and we're both a bit older so pools aren't that important. Are there any hotels a bit more adult atmosphere? Is the closest HILTON more geared to adults?
Tell me about Downtown Disney and what should I not miss?
If I want to avoid the busiest seasons when is a good time to visit?

I'd really appreciate any/ all input!!

 

[bjscheel]

We went in August and stayed at Park Vue Inn. You truly can't get any closer- so easy to cross the street and you're already there. The room was nice. Idk if it is adult oriented or kid oriented, it is motel style and the pool is in the parking lot. We went to the hot tub every day and there was usually no one else around. There is no breakfast but Ihop is in the parking lot and Denny's right on the other side. We ate at Denny's quite a bit.

We did Uber from SNA and back. Didn't need to schedule ahead, just get on the app when you're ready.

You definitely want park hopper. It was just the two of us so we sprung for PH and the lightning lane. Use your lightning lanes in one park and then when that's played out start over at the next! And you get all your photos with that ticket which was a nice surprise.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I know it costs more money, but ParkHopper is absolutely worth it at Disneyland. How many days are you planning? Do you plan on taking mid-afternoon breaks?

 

[Pluto468]

I'm a WDW veteran. I've been visiting WDW enough to say I could give some advise. For quite awhile I've thought about going to DisneyLand. I know staying at one of the 3 onsite resorts will be out of my comfortable price range. IF you were my TA, tell me what you'd suggest.

My initial questions are:

How to I get to the Hotel/motel from the airport? What is the easiest?
I do not want to be more than 1 mile from the park because I would prefer to walk if possible. But to have the info: Do any of the Good Neighbor hotels offer free rides to the parks? Or does one hotel offer something better in terms of transportation over another?
I'm traveling with my sister and we're both a bit older so pools aren't that important. Are there any hotels a bit more adult atmosphere? Is the closest HILTON more geared to adults?
Tell me about Downtown Disney and what should I not miss?
If I want to avoid the busiest seasons when is a good time to visit?

I'd really appreciate any/ all input!!

You can take a shuttle from SNA, there are a number of good companies. Karmel, Lansky, Sunny's.

Candy Cane Inn has a shuttle to the park and is also only a 10ish minute walk if you don't feel like waiting for the shuttle. There are a few hotels right across from the park entrance, too. Park Vue, Best Western Park Place Inn, Best Western Anaheim Plus Inn.

The Westin might have more of an adult atmosphere. I haven't stayed there so I'm not sure how long a walk would be and I know they don't have a shuttle. It's not near the main entrance, it's around the block facing DCA.

Downtown Disney has alot of restaurants and shops. People really like Earl Of Sandwich and Din Tai Fung.

The busiest seasons are Christmas, Halloween, Spring break. Summer in general lol. It's hard to find slow seasons these days. I like to go in April or May (But beware of grad nites in May.) Early June can be nice, too. Keep an eye on the annual event calendar because there are alot of After Dark events that can affect crowds.

I agree with @Kit Jackson that hoppers are really worth it at Disneyland.

 

[irlandaise]

To add to what Pluto468 said about checking the calendar, there are events not run by Disney that can affect how crowded DLR is. Forum member LKing has made a great list of both official and unofficial events that's updated as needed:

2026 Disneyland Resort Calendar

Feel free to ask for more information about how any of those events affect crowd levels. Folks on this board have experience with all of them, probably.

 

[Jawwdoc]

I'm a WDW veteran. I've been visiting WDW enough to say I could give some advise. For quite awhile I've thought about going to DisneyLand. I know staying at one of the 3 onsite resorts will be out of my comfortable price range. IF you were my TA, tell me what you'd suggest.

My initial questions are:

How to I get to the Hotel/motel from the airport? What is the easiest?
I do not want to be more than 1 mile from the park because I would prefer to walk if possible. But to have the info: Do any of the Good Neighbor hotels offer free rides to the parks? Or does one hotel offer something better in terms of transportation over another?
I'm traveling with my sister and we're both a bit older so pools aren't that important. Are there any hotels a bit more adult atmosphere? Is the closest HILTON more geared to adults?
Tell me about Downtown Disney and what should I not miss?
If I want to avoid the busiest seasons when is a good time to visit?

I'd really appreciate any/ all input!!

Most of the motels/hotels on Harbor Blvd between Katella and Ball road are a shorter walk to the main gate than the Disneyland and Pixar Place Hotels. The Courtyard by Marriot is arguably the nicest but also the most expensive in that area. Candy Cane Inn would probably be my recommendation based on your initial post. Close enough to walk but also has a shuttle. It tends to be more adult oriented, has a free breakfast and has recently been remodeled. The Westin is the newest “luxury” hotel within realistic walking distance but tends to be expensive and can actually be more expensive than the on-site hotels if there is a large convention in town. The walk from the Westin is now longer than usual due the sidewalk closure related to the construction of the new Coco ride in DCA. The Hilton at the convention center is likely the most adult oriented Hilton but it can be chaotic during larger conventions and the walk is longer than all of the previously mentioned hotels. The Hilton Garden Inn and the Home2Suites are newer properties and the walk is less than a mile. Downtown Disney still has a fair amount of construction going on and is much less of a “destination” than Disney Springs. I would describe it as more of an upscale, Disney-adjacent outdoor mall that happens to be next door to a theme park but that is my personal opinion. Not much in the way of entertainment but it does have a few good restaurants (Din Tai Fung, Paseo/Centrico and Naples), Earl of Sandwich is currently operating out of a temporary food truck like trailer with a limited menu and no indoor seating. I personally prefer to rent a car or use Uber/Lyft to get from SNA to DLR hotels.