Help me plan my trip!

[LMO429]

Hi!

We just booked part of our honeymoon and we will be spending Oct 8 - 12th at Disneyland's Grand Californian. I consider myself a WDW planning expert but when it comes to Disneyland..I have no clue!

Here are a couple of questions and maybe you can help me out.

We are at LAX at 6:35 in the morning on Wednesday Oct 8th. How long is the drive from LAX to Disneyland. Is it a confusing drive? or it is a direct highway? we dont intend on leaving Disneyland property so are we better off having a car or car service drive us there and back?

How would you suggest we vist the parks.Where should we go Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday!

Should we lay low Wednesday..Thursday go to Disneyland and Friday Californian adventure.

How long does it take to see each park..is one day enough? that leaves 2 extra days..what would we do??

as you can see i need major help...so anything would be much appreciated!!!
thanks so much in advance

 

[DLR29]

Haven't ever flown to DL, so can't help you on that.

But, I would recommend going all 4 days to the parks. October has gotten increasingly more crowded in the past years because of the Halloween Party. Thursday and Friday (during the day) should be fine, but Friday night, Saturday and Sunday might be pretty crowded.

It takes 2-3 days to see DL and a day to see DCA. Plus since your hotel is right there, it is nice to spend some time at Downtown Disney. One thing that is a big difference between DLR and WDW is the transportation and size of the resorts. Everything at DLR is within walking distance. You can easily hop from park to park in a minute on foot. Plus the hotels and DTD are the same distance away. No need for buses. There is a monorail, but it mainly helps guests at the other two onsite hotels. For this reason, I don't recommend that you rent a car.

 

[bumbershoot]

For transportation to and from the airport, you could hire a towncar, take SuperShuttle, take the (NOT part of Disney, despite the name!) Disneyland Express bus that's run by Grayline... that's just what comes to mind right now.

 

[mystic_path]

It shouldnt take any more then an hour to get from LAX to Disneyland. I would say there is no need for a car. Theres loads of transportation ideas that will save you money in the long run.

I say take Super Shuttle the cost is about $15.00 per person each way and there would be less people in a shuttle van who are going to the same area as you to drop off along the way then you would a bus.

But as for if you want to go to Universal Studios, Do an LA sight seeing or shopping tour, Sea World, Sandiego Zoo, Medieavl time dinner and tournament etc. Look at the Gray Line website. You can purchase tickets to these places from Gray Line and it includes a pick up from your hotel and drives you to those locations and at the end of the day or event will pick you up from there and brings you back to your hotel. I do this every time I go and its just brilliant.

Super Shuttle and Gray Line I personally believe is well worth it as your sitting back and relaxing while someone else drives, you get a personal tour guide (Especially with Gray Line drivers) and its cheaper then renting a car.

As for how you should tackle the parks... I would say that you have it right... go Wed to Saturday that way you have some slower week days but then have the opportunity to hit the weekend shows such as the fireworks, Fantasmic etc.

DCA park can be seen within about 5 few hours, and is a fantastic park to go mid day when the main park is in full swing. I would do the park hopping idea as you can switch parks when you feel that you need a break. You will find that you will want to keep switching parks anyway. Its not worth it just to do DCA for one day. You will get a chance to see it all as you keep switching parks.

 

[KerTggr]

I think I am going to be in the minority here and say do 3 days. Coming from NYC and arriving at 7 in the am, you are going to be battling a lot of elements: 1) sleepiness from the flight, 2) traffic (you will be getting in @ peak morning traffic time - granted you will be travelling the opposite direction as the majority) and 3) flight delays (I had a friend who had bought a whole extra day, but their connecting flight was delayed by over 8 hours and she basically lost the day @ the parks). Just think that the tone of a vacation can be set by the first day sometimes.

Are you traveling with just adults? If so, you may want to consider checking in, relaxing, and doing DD and resorts for the first day (Wed). Maybe have a nice long dinner @ Napa Rose that night. Then hit DL on Thursday, DL and DCA on Friday, and use Saturday to do anything still on your list or that your really enjoyed in either of the parks.

I have been able to do DL in one day (long day), but have been going for a while. You may want to concentrate on those things that are different than @ MK (note that just because they have the same name, they aren't necissarilly the exact same ride).

As for the car, if you aren't planning on doing other CA things, you should do a shuttle or car service. Usually cheaper and you won't have to fight CA traffic or figure out where to go as it is not like WDW with a ton of signs (plus you can nap or look around on the ride). HTH

 

[DLR29]

I think I am going to be in the minority here and say do 3 days. Coming from NYC and arriving at 7 in the am, you are going to be battling a lot of elements: 1) sleepiness from the flight, 2) traffic (you will be getting in @ peak morning traffic time - granted you will be travelling the opposite direction as the majority) and 3) flight delays (I had a friend who had bought a whole extra day, but their connecting flight was delayed by over 8 hours and she basically lost the day @ the parks). Just think that the tone of a vacation can be set by the first day sometimes.

I'm not recommending going to the parks on arrival day. I'm saying go Th, F, Sa, Su.

Just another unrelated advice is that it is a good thing that you are coming from the East Coast, which makes waking up early easi"er". Magic Mornings are a great way of riding a bunch of rides without long waits. Check out this thread I made about its details: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

 

[KerTggr]

Oct 8 - 12th at Disneyland's Grand Californian...

I'm not recommending going to the parks on arrival day. I'm saying go Th, F, Sa, Su.

IC - Sorry, didn't count the dates, just saw:

Where should we go Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday!

 

[LMO429]

Thank you so much for all the advice! I really need your input!

Just to clarify I do live in new york city. but for our honeymoon we are first doing 9 day in Maui, Hawaii ...on the way back from Maui we have a 9pm flight that gets us into LAX at 6:35 in the morning. Would this change anything in your opinion.

 

[tinkermell]

Be sure to check out Hydroguys Tips and Compilations Stickey at the top of this board. It has soooooooooooooo much info for WDW vets coming to DL for the first time!!!

Have fun!

 

[LMO429]

If we decide to just take car service from LAx to disneyland...how difficult would it be if we decided while we are there to rent a car.

does the grand californian have any way of helping us with that