How Early is Too Early to Plan??? - TR Link Added - 12/29

[Leshaface]

Your trip to KI sounds like so much fun! It kind of reminds me of Hershey Park and Six Flags for some reason. But so glad that DS did so well on the larger rides. He's definitely ready for WDW! I bet you're thrilled about that.

Love the picture DW got of you and the kids from behind walking into the park So cool! Um, what a creepy dude! Asking to kiss the baby?! Eck. Glad he moved.

Side note: Your kids have gotten SO big, holy cow! Especially your daughter

Glad Alison was here to chime in and help you. She's the best person to answer these questions. The only suggestion I have, is I would try and avoid traveling to/from San Diego at all costs. When I was living in Long Beach (20 minutes from Anaheim) we decided to go to Sea World in San Diego on a Saturday...3 1/2 hours. Awful! Like Alison suggested, look into Burbank, LAX and SNA if you're looking at flying with SWA.

I can't remember, is your conference in Anaheim?

 

[franandaj]

Is heading to San Diego for the weekend a big thing in mid-January?

If you live near any of the cities that you mentioned, I'm going guess that you have things like weather that impact your abilities to travel and do things during months like January. To Southern Californians, this is a totally foreign concept. There is no time of year that is not good to travel. January just means that temps won't be in the 90s or 100s, but it could be 80 degrees in January just as easy as it could be 50 degrees.

People here don't even consider the month or time of year when traveling. It's pretty much nice all the time and we don't think about things like bad weather unless we are going to places like Chicago, Toronto or Boston.

 

[afwdwfan]

Edited to add:
I texted my mom to let her know that prices are posted for 2015 now. We texted about a few other details as well. She said that they're thinking now about making it a 2 or 3 week trip for them and taking a road trip out west... That would make life so much easier. We could let them haul the stroller for us and they could pick us up... no rental car and it would be more cost effective to fly into SAN and return via SNA. Here's hoping...

Your trip to KI sounds like so much fun! It kind of reminds me of Hershey Park and Six Flags for some reason. But so glad that DS did so well on the larger rides. He's definitely ready for WDW! I bet you're thrilled about that.

Those are a fair comparison to KI. It is owned by Cedar Fair, which owns Knotts Berry Farm if you've ever been there. I was definitely glad to see DS enjoy the bigger rides.

Love the picture DW got of you and the kids from behind walking into the park So cool! Um, what a creepy dude! Asking to kiss the baby?! Eck. Glad he moved.

Thanks. I like that picture too.

That guy was just... out there.

Side note: Your kids have gotten SO big, holy cow! Especially your daughter

It happens fast.

Glad Alison was here to chime in and help you. She's the best person to answer these questions. The only suggestion I have, is I would try and avoid traveling to/from San Diego at all costs. When I was living in Long Beach (20 minutes from Anaheim) we decided to go to Sea World in San Diego on a Saturday...3 1/2 hours. Awful! Like Alison suggested, look into Burbank, LAX and SNA if you're looking at flying with SWA.

I can't remember, is your conference in Anaheim?

That sucks... Would it be a better drive in the afternoon?

Conference is in San Diego, which is why I was looking into flying in and out of there. Either way, I'd be making the drive to San Diego at the beginning or end of the trip on a Saturday if I fly to and from the same airport. I guess I can start pricing flights into San Diego and out of SNA and see what I come up with price wise?

If you live near any of the cities that you mentioned, I'm going guess that you have things like weather that impact your abilities to travel and do things during months like January. To Southern Californians, this is a totally foreign concept. There is no time of year that is not good to travel. January just means that temps won't be in the 90s or 100s, but it could be 80 degrees in January just as easy as it could be 50 degrees.

People here don't even consider the month or time of year when traveling. It's pretty much nice all the time and we don't think about things like bad weather unless we are going to places like Chicago, Toronto or Boston.

Figured, but always worth asking. I guess my thinking was cooler water temperatures would keep people away from beaches like Florida in the winter time, but then again, probably no reason to drive from LA to SD if that's what you're looking for.

 

[amandaw]

Edited to add:
I texted my mom to let her know that prices are posted for 2015 now. We texted about a few other details as well. She said that they're thinking now about making it a 2 or 3 week trip for them and taking a road trip out west... That would make life so much easier. We could let them haul the stroller for us and they could pick us up... no rental car and it would be more cost effective to fly into SAN and return via SNA. Here's hoping...

That would be great if y'all didn't have to get a rental car! Hope it works out that way for y'all.

After much researching and pricing out today, I booked our DLR package for next year. We'll be doing the same for flying.....flying into SAN and flying out of SNA. But, we'll have to rent a car for 3 days & YIKES it doesn't look cheap right now.

 

[afwdwfan]

That would be great if y'all didn't have to get a rental car! Hope it works out that way for y'all.

After much researching and pricing out today, I booked our DLR package for next year. We'll be doing the same for flying.....flying into SAN and flying out of SNA. But, we'll have to rent a car for 3 days & YIKES it doesn't look cheap right now.

No kidding... Not sure who all you've checked with, but Thrifty was about the best price I found out of places that I've dealt with before. I was looking at full size car for about $37 per day with a $100 fee to drop off at a different location.

 

[franandaj]

Edited to add:
I texted my mom to let her know that prices are posted for 2015 now. We texted about a few other details as well. She said that they're thinking now about making it a 2 or 3 week trip for them and taking a road trip out west... That would make life so much easier. We could let them haul the stroller for us and they could pick us up... no rental car and it would be more cost effective to fly into SAN and return via SNA. Here's hoping...
That sucks... Would it be a better drive in the afternoon?

Conference is in San Diego, which is why I was looking into flying in and out of there. Either way, I'd be making the drive to San Diego at the beginning or end of the trip on a Saturday if I fly to and from the same airport. I guess I can start pricing flights into San Diego and out of SNA and see what I come up with price wise?


Figured, but always worth asking. I guess my thinking was cooler water temperatures would keep people away from beaches like Florida in the winter time, but then again, probably no reason to drive from LA to SD if that's what you're looking for.

That would be great if you didn't have to rent a car.

If you have to be in San Diego and do a round trip, then there's no way around it, but the drive only gets worse in the afternoon. So Cal folks are procrastinators.

Also no one really swims in the ocean, it's usually too cold. Unless you're a surfer or have a wet suit. Lots of people just sun themselves on the beach, and if you're like me, going to the beach means waterfront dining.

 

[amandaw]

No kidding... Not sure who all you've checked with, but Thrifty was about the best price I found out of places that I've dealt with before. I was looking at full size car for about $37 per day with a $100 fee to drop off at a different location.

I'll have to check them out. I was wanting to stick to Alamo since they have a place in DTD but I may just have to venture out. And now, Ed is telling me he doesn't want to do any driving over there. Soooo, now I'm pricing out shuttles to/from the airport and I'm looking into a car service from San Diego to the DLH. It's not a pretty number but it's not absolutely ridiculous either. So, if that's what the man wants, he'll just have to work a couple extra hours for it.

 

[Leshaface]

Edited to add:
I texted my mom to let her know that prices are posted for 2015 now. We texted about a few other details as well. She said that they're thinking now about making it a 2 or 3 week trip for them and taking a road trip out west... That would make life so much easier. We could let them haul the stroller for us and they could pick us up... no rental car and it would be more cost effective to fly into SAN and return via SNA. Here's hoping...

Ooh this would work out very nicely! Hopefully this would work

 

[afwdwfan]

That would be great if you didn't have to rent a car.

That would make things a lot cheaper.

If you have to be in San Diego and do a round trip, then there's no way around it, but the drive only gets worse in the afternoon. So Cal folks are procrastinators.

I'm definitely looking into flying into San Diego and returning from SNA right now. I think that will work out well for us. The only problem I'm having is finding return flights from SNA that I like - price wise and itinerary wise.

Also no one really swims in the ocean, it's usually too cold. Unless you're a surfer or have a wet suit. Lots of people just sun themselves on the beach, and if you're like me, going to the beach means waterfront dining.

Waterfront dining is always a winner for me!

I'll have to check them out. I was wanting to stick to Alamo since they have a place in DTD but I may just have to venture out. And now, Ed is telling me he doesn't want to do any driving over there. Soooo, now I'm pricing out shuttles to/from the airport and I'm looking into a car service from San Diego to the DLH. It's not a pretty number but it's not absolutely ridiculous either. So, if that's what the man wants, he'll just have to work a couple extra hours for it.

I didn't even realize there was an Alamo at DTD. I might look at pricing that one out. One thing I'd considered was renting a car the day we drive and just returning it to the airport and taking a cab back to Disneyland after we check in. But it might be easier, similar cost to do Alamo if I can return it right there. I just hate to pay for a rental car and parking if we aren't going to need it for 2 or 3 days.

I might look into the car service myself if it is cost effective... Is there anybody in particular you've looked into for that service?

Ooh this would work out very nicely! Hopefully this would work

It would. But the more I think about it... I'm not sure we could fit 6 people, a stroller and 6 peoples' luggage inside their Tahoe.

 

[KatMark]

Back from Vegas and just popping in to say hi.

 

[amandaw]

I didn't even realize there was an Alamo at DTD. I might look at pricing that one out. One thing I'd considered was renting a car the day we drive and just returning it to the airport and taking a cab back to Disneyland after we check in. But it might be easier, similar cost to do Alamo if I can return it right there. I just hate to pay for a rental car and parking if we aren't going to need it for 2 or 3 days.

I might look into the car service myself if it is cost effective... Is there anybody in particular you've looked into for that service?

From what I can tell, there is an Alamo listed as being in DTD. On Google Maps (the satellite image) it also looks like there is a National and Dollar very close by. I priced out on Alamo returning the car to the John Wayne airport and it was WAY cheaper to do that way. And a cab should only be about $40. So, we may consider that.

I priced out a car service with Limos.com going from Legoland Hotel to Disneyland Hotel. And I priced out SuperShuttle to get us to the Legoland Hotel from the San Diego airport as well as going to John Wayne Airport from DLH. Once I added all 3 fares together, it was close to what a rental car would be (at least at the prices I'm seeing right now). But, we wouldn't have to drive, we could just sit back & enjoy the sights.

All the options just seem so pricey I really don't know what we'll end up doing. Let me know if you find any good deals for transportation!

 

[afwdwfan]

To those of you who are writing TR's that I'm behind on again, I'm sorry. We've been busy here at work the last couple of weeks and I don't see that changing any time in the near future. Hopefully I'll get a slow afternoon sometime to comment on things. Maybe even today... but no promises.

Also, I want to add some good news. My sister gave birth last night a to a beautiful baby girl. We've got 3 nephews on my wife's side of the family, but this is the first baby from my side of the family and our first niece.

The kids got to go see her through the glass at the nursery at the hospital. DD was excited and smiling ear to ear.

Back from Vegas and just popping in to say hi.

I hope you had a great trip. You've clearly not missed anything around here.

From what I can tell, there is an Alamo listed as being in DTD. On Google Maps (the satellite image) it also looks like there is a National and Dollar very close by. I priced out on Alamo returning the car to the John Wayne airport and it was WAY cheaper to do that way. And a cab should only be about $40. So, we may consider that.

I priced out a car service with Limos.com going from Legoland Hotel to Disneyland Hotel. And I priced out SuperShuttle to get us to the Legoland Hotel from the San Diego airport as well as going to John Wayne Airport from DLH. Once I added all 3 fares together, it was close to what a rental car would be (at least at the prices I'm seeing right now). But, we wouldn't have to drive, we could just sit back & enjoy the sights.

All the options just seem so pricey I really don't know what we'll end up doing. Let me know if you find any good deals for transportation!

Thanks for the info!

I was looking at renting from San Diego and dropping off at John Wayne too. That seemed reasonable, but I'm definitely going to look into the car service thing. If there's a way to do that and not even have to bring car seats for the kids, that would be worth spending a little more money.

I just refuse to pay more to rent a seat from a car rental place than it would cost to buy one brand new.

 

[amandaw]

Also, I want to add some good news. My sister gave birth last night a to a beautiful baby girl. We've got 3 nephews on my wife's side of the family, but this is the first baby from my side of the family and our first niece.

Congratulations! That's so exciting! Hope your sister & baby girl are doing well.

Thanks for the info!

I was looking at renting from San Diego and dropping off at John Wayne too. That seemed reasonable, but I'm definitely going to look into the car service thing. If there's a way to do that and not even have to bring car seats for the kids, that would be worth spending a little more money.

I just refuse to pay more to rent a seat from a car rental place than it would cost to buy one brand new.

Yeah, in reading up on CA car seat laws, every kid under 8 has to be in some sort of car seat or booster. That means, we'll either have to bring Reid's booster seat or rent one. Some of the car services, shuttles and taxis don't have them for rent so just make sure to ask. I think buses are the only modes of transportation that don't have to enforce the law.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

What a fun weekend! I'm glad that the coaster test was a success for your son. Just looking at those pictures makes me dizzy lol I love the photo of the kids sleeping in the stroller - so cute

 

[afwdwfan]

Congratulations! That's so exciting! Hope your sister & baby girl are doing well.

They're doing great! And DD absolutely loves her baby cousin.

Yeah, in reading up on CA car seat laws, every kid under 8 has to be in some sort of car seat or booster. That means, we'll either have to bring Reid's booster seat or rent one. Some of the car services, shuttles and taxis don't have them for rent so just make sure to ask. I think buses are the only modes of transportation that don't have to enforce the law.

I know... such a pain to have to haul one all the way out there. But when you can buy a brand new one for less than you can rent one for a week, you've just about got to do it.

What a fun weekend! I'm glad that the coaster test was a success for your son. Just looking at those pictures makes me dizzy lol I love the photo of the kids sleeping in the stroller - so cute

Thanks! I was relieved that it was such a success. He still talks about it and asked if we could go back.

I told him that instead of going back, we'll go to Disney World and he can ride some new rides he's never done before.

 

[KatMark]

Congrats on the new niece.

 

[Leshaface]

Congratulations! I had the same situation as you...2 nephews and 2 nephews from DH's side and my Brothers was the first on our side. Super exciting!

 

[afwdwfan]

Congrats on the new niece.

Thank you!

Congratulations! I had the same situation as you...2 nephews and 2 nephews from DH's side and my Brothers was the first on our side. Super exciting!

It is kind of nice to have a little bit of a change. I mean we had DD of course but no nieces.



Our niece, by the way, spent most of last week in the hospital. She came home, but wasn't gaining weight fast enough. They kept bringing her in for weight checks and not only was she not gaining, but she was losing weight. After a few nights in the hospital and close monitoring, it was determined that she is just a "lazy eater." They're supplementing her with some bottle feeding everytime she eats and trying to get her to more actively eat, but she just likes to nurse for a while and fall asleep.

 

[amazingact21]

A little late, but congratulations on the new niece!

 

[afwdwfan]

A little late, but congratulations on the new niece!

Thank you!