I'm a newby for Disneyland..help!

[DMRick]

While I've logged in 28 trips to Disney World, I'm a babe when it comes to Disneyland. We have free SW tickets, and it looks like we'll come in SNA (is that a good choice? We could also do ONT). We're planning on the end of September for a week. Because I feel so lost making these plans, we thought an actual Disney Hotel would be best. But talk about sticker shock!! I'm used to paying $49 value or $79 for a mod on a pin code, or the AP rates, which aren't much higher. Whew..the Disneyland hotels are pricey! Anyone know of any deals? We're AARP, Disney Visa card holders..and I could be AAA quickly for enough savings. Any special packages? Will we feel as special if we stay off site, and if so, what would be a good hotel, and are any within walking distance? Are there any special perks for staying on site? Does the Disney or the offsite hotels charge for parking a rental car? Are there places I must have a PS, and eateries that are "don't miss" places?

How about tickets for the park? Anything special? I know my AP won't hold any water at this park (which means get me any specials).

How is car rental? We paid $106 insurance included at National in Fl..is that also a dream, to get those low rates?

Anyone know if there are any bus trips to outside the area, for a day of sightseeing?

Oh, I feel so out of my league.

 

[Albertan mom]

There is a few hotels right across the street from the Disneyland Entrance. We stayed at the Park Inn last year. It was literally a 5 minute walk to the entrance. It wasn't fancy, but you could see the park from the balcony. (and the fireworks) The pool was small, but OK. The rooms were decent. Service was good. There was two gift shops onsight. There was a continental breakfast that filled the void for a few hours--cereal, pastries, juice, coffee, etc.. (we always stuck an apple in our pockets for a mid morning snack!) On that street there is also BW Park Place Inn, Tropicana, Fairfield, and a few more. You walk out the front of your hotel, walk down half a block, cross the street, and you are right where the shuttle busses drop people off from farther hotels. It is so convenient. My hubby ran over to get me a sweater one day, and he was gone for 12 minutes. There is a McDonalds in the Park Inn parking lot too. It was cheap-but good enough. After a long day, all we need is a place to shower and hit the sheets! We will definately stay on Harbour Blvd again. Cheaper, just as close as the DL hotels, and decent!! Have fun!!

 

[CalGal]

1. SNA is a great choice for flying into. It is the closest to Disneyland, and it's a comfortable size; much much smaller than LAX. I don't really know much about ONT, but I can't see any reason not to fly into SNA in your case.

2. I would expect no possible deals this summer beyond perhaps around 10% off for AAA, AP, etc. However, since you are coming in late Sept., you may be able to find some deals. The Disney Hotels are much cheaper during the off-season, but still pricey. You should be able to get the 4th night free or some good AP rates. Rates tend to go down after school starts for good neighbor hotels as well, many of which may offer modest reductions for AAA or AARP.
3. Benefits to staying on-sight do not compare with WDW. Package delivery and the location (which is only better for GC compared to some of the places across the street) are the only added benefits to staying on-site unless you book through AAA. The multi-Fastpass option benefit that you get from booking a on-sight package through AAA is a really cool perk during busy periods, but won't help you so much during the week in late September when crowds are light. Of course, there is a special magic to staying on-sight, especially at the GC and DLH, but you can definitely still have a magical time staying off-site. Keep reading these boards.
One trick -- you can book a stay at a good neighbor hotel that allows you to cancel without penalty; then watch Expedia as your trip approaches. Often the rates drop dramatically at the Disney Hotels a few weeks out if they are underbooked, a real possibility at this time of year. However, that tends to work better if you are only trying for a couple of nights; you may not be able to get several nights in a row this way.

4. Many places charge for parking, but the on-sight resorts include it in your resort fee. Most of the smaller places, including many across the street, do not charge for one car. You'll need to check with the hotels you are considering.

5. I don't know of any way to safely get deals on passes that beat the price on the Disney web site and that are available to most travel agents. AAA offers ffree parking with their Disney passes, but that won't do you any good if you are staying on-sight or across the street.

6. PS for Blue Bayou (in Pirates) is necessary, as are PS's for the character meals (not nearly as many as WDW). PSs for most of the sit-down restaurants in DTD or DCA are also recommended, but may not be so necessary at this time of year. If you are spluring on the Fantasmic Desert Buffet, you will definitely need a PS for that. Read Mary Jo's sticky thread for more information about dining options. Many posters, including myself, will recommend Blue Bayou and Goofy's Kitchen.

Don't expect DL to be like WDW; it's much more compact, and not a world of its own. You have to escape Disney to golf, enjoy water parks, etc. But it is very special, so enjoy your planning and your trip.

 

[Blackunicorn]

My disclaimer: I love staying in the Disney hotels, and for me, that's definitely part of the magic no matter what the cost.

Now--if you're looking for a package, you can stay at a Good Neighbor hotel just as easily as the Disney hotels, and for a lot less. They book just as easily as you could book a Disney hotel, and you can even do it through the Disney website or a travel agent who deals with Walt Disney Travel, just like you would with one of the Disney hotels. If you want to save money, that's what I would recommend. Just make sure that you check reviews before you book. My favorite map of area hotels is here. BTW, if you use your Disney Visa to book, even with one of the Good Neighbor hotels, you get some nifty perks, which you can check out at the Disney Visa website. Only you would be able to tell if you're going to feel less special when you stay at one of the other hotels--my opinion is, obviously, that you have to stay "on-site" to have complete immersion in the magic. However, LOTS of people feel just fine staying "off-site"--after all, a fair number of the "off-site" hotels are actually closer to the main gate than the Disney hotels are, and the Good Neighbor hotels get the same perks as the Disney hotels.

A lot of the hotels do charge for parking, so you're going to have to check with whatever hotels you're considering. The map that I gave the link to has links to hotel websites, so you can check some hotels online. The Disney hotels do charge a "resort fee" which covers parking.

I always recommend PS, even in the off-season. It takes the uncertainty out of the equation for me, plus I get a kick out of calling for PS that helps carry me through the remaining time until my vacation. It's going to depend on the restaurants that you want to eat at, of course. I love Blue Bayou, and I like to try for a waterside seat so I can watch the people on POTC. (Usually, call for your PS 45 days from the day you want to eat there, and book right when they open to get a waterside seat. Another way is to tell them that you'd be willing to wait a bit extra to get the waterside seat.) Also don't miss the tortilla factory tour in CA--I love those fresh, warm tortillas!

As for tickets, again, if you want it to be easy, then book a package. Park hoppers will be added in, and booking through the Walt Disney Travel Co. will get you some things like EE, and a $10 credit at ESPN Zone. You will also have the option of adding a dining plan. You can easily check out prices at disneyland.com, for both the Disney hotels and the Good Neighbor hotels. You can book online there; my personal preference is to use a travel agent who deals with the Walt Disney Travel Co.--even when they can't save you money, they won't cost extra, the experience is more personal, and they sometimes can get you extra perks or give you some tips that make your experience a little better.

 

[DMRick]

Whew..thanks for all the info. I'm going on overload LOL!

Are there tours that go out to the "touristy" areas, so we don't have to drive from the hotels?

 

[CalGal]

Whew..thanks for all the info. I'm going on overload LOL!

Are there tours that go out to the "touristy" areas, so we don't have to drive from the hotels?

There are buses that take you from many of the hotels to places like Universal Studios, Knotts, etc. I took it once to Knotts, and it seemed like it took forever, particularly getting back. When I did this, all the buses connected through a transporation center across from DL. If you are staying at one of the hotels across the street, it was fairly convenient; otherwise, you had to wait for connecting buses. If you are planning on doing much outside of DL, renting a car is worth considering.

You asked about rental car rates. I've heard you can get some great deals from LAX, but I don't know about SNA. I'd try Expedia, Hotwire, or some other travel website to get an idea of rates and which companies to try. I generally book directly with the company once I've narrowed things down though; they usually match the rates offered by Expedia, etc., but you don't have to commit yourself and pre-pay. Again, AAA, AARP, or various code might help you with rates. Try Mousesavers.com for codes.

 

[Snow Brite]

You have gotten lots of great advice on the other stuff so I will maybe help with the car rental stuff.

Two good companies that I have used that are very cheap are Ace Rental Cars and Fox Rent A Car. Both have easy to find homepages. Fox Rent A Car has rates of $136 with unlimited mileage for the week and has a location at SNA. Ace Rent A Car has a Burbank location and also is in the $130 range and also with unlimited mileage for a week. Both are located off airport property at LAX so I would assume the same there. And both will probably lower their rates as the time gets closer. I got a PT Cruiser at the LAX location the week of May 22-29 and only paid $80 (plus $10 tax).

Why do you want to do the bus tour thing? If you have a rental car just take off and drive around to where you want to do. With two of you, you can use the car pool lanes to get around. There are lots of cool things to see in the area, but personally I would not want to pay someone else to drive me around and have to stick to their schedule. Just a thought!

Jennifer

 

[Amy&Dan]

Okay here's my long winded two cents! Defintely check Expedia for the Disney properties. I currently have a $129 rate at Paradise Pier for September 8-12 using their "stay 4 nights, get one free deal". I got that same deal last year in September at Paradise Pier and again at DLH in December. It doesn't last forever however, my brother waited too long and missed the special when we all went in December. I think you can also get that deal through the WDW travel company? I agree with Blackunicorn, staying on property at both DL and WDW is a must for me. It does come with a pricetag and the perks aren't as plentiful as the onsite WDW hotels but Disneyland doesn't need those perks (namely the transportation). You can walk to both parks from many, many hotels offsite and onsite. They don't have the same EMH perks either but the hours are longer at Disneyland so I don't ever really miss that. I will tell you that if you get to Disneyland 30 minutes before park opening you won't need EMH. Disneyland fills up big time but it seems to take longer than it does at WDW. Many if not most of the patrons at Disneyland are locals who may have to drive a ways and they don't always get there at opening. If you do you will be amazed at how much you can get done even on a Saturday or Sunday.

If you are used to staying onsite at WDW you may be disappointed by some of the neighboring hotels. I know a few posters who are used to staying at moderates like POR haven't liked their offsite experiences. Only you know what your criteria are and how much you are willing to pay. Since this is probably a one time trip I would lean towards staying onsite if you don't mind the pricetag, JMHO! We have stayed offsite twice. We stayed at the popular HoJo and really liked it. We did miss the DLH but it was a last minute short trip and we needed to save. It was a very nice place with extremely clean rooms, great staff and lovely grounds. My daughter loved the pool even thought it didn't have the Peter Pan ship in it! Another time we stayed at the Park Inn (not the Park Place Inn) and it was clean and basic and fine for our 3 nights. No grounds whatsoever but the small pool area was a wonderful spot to watch the fireworks. I laughed when I saw a previous poster say it only took 12 minutes round trip to get a sweater! The location was wonderful for us too, especially when we rode Grizzly River Run about 4 times too many and needed to change clothes! We didn't enjoy it as much as the HoJo but got something like a $49 rate. Of course like you, we have gotten $49 AP rates at Pop Century and the Park Inn is not quite the the same thing! But it was clean and they had an okay free continental breakfast. If I stay offsite again I am going to try the Sheraton. Mary Jo posted some really nice pictures and comments about that property that made me think that is one off site property we might like enough not to miss the DLH quite so much! It also has a shuttle (its a bit too far to walk) that's free which would be nice. I see rates for them on Expedia for around $109 a night and they have the Heavenly Beds!

You will enjoy Disneyland I am sure, we love it. We don't allow ourselves to fall into the trap of spending all of our time at Disneyland comparing things (like the size of the castle) to WDW. As far as not being so removed from the city, that makes it MORE magical for me. You are on a busy city street one minute and then you walk through the gates and are in the Happiest Place on Earth! I never feel like I stuck in a big city when I am at Disneyland. If anything I do more comparisons at WDW when I walk into the Fantasyland area at MK and feel Disneyland withdrawl and have to listen to my daughter whine that there's no Alice in Wonderland ride or Storybookland Canal Boats! The things I love about Disneyland the most are: Lots of charm, its Walt's park, better Fantasyland, Indiana Jones ride, California Screamin, Electrical Parade, better, longer shows (especially Aladdin, do not miss that one) and its more compact. You will be able to park hop, and go to DTD multiple times in the same day. The fastpass machines at the two parks aren't linked so you can fastpass something at Disneyland, go over to DCA then come back to DL later and use your fastpass. So easy! Also no long waits for buses, boats and monorails in the evening. You can generally walk back to your hotel (really nice walk up DTD if you stay onsite), or if you are staying at one of the many closeby hotels that offer a shuttle take that back. They also have the ART for hotels that don't have a shuttle or if you don't feel like walking.

I agree, get some ps'. We love Blue Bayou and Goofy's Kitchen the most, I am not sure what happens to people who don't have ps' but I would imagine its not good! While the dining choices are not as plentiful I think the food is better at Disneyland but its more expensive. Have a great trip and enjoy your planning!

 

[lntsmom]

First, try Mousesavers.com and see what deals they've got going right now. I ended up paying $65 a night, but only booked 3 months early. I know that had I booked in January, the same room would have been $55 a night.

Second, here's a site that will give you some ideas about Disney dining:

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/menus/dl/menus.shtml

Third, I think each hotel has it's own policies on parking. I don't believe HoJo's charged...most charge a few dollars a night. Many hotels also charge fees for daily "services"...a vague term at best. HoJo's doesn't. I'm sure there are others in the area that don't tack on the extra fees, you'd just have to go thru the Good Neighbor Hotels link at Disneyland.com to check each one.

Be sure to visit the Orange County/Anaheim visitors website. They have downloadable coupons to local attractions, including the McDonalds there on Harbor Blvd.

They can also recommend tours...or if you want a private tour you could compare the packages to what Tony...I gave his link in reply to your post about HoJo's...would charge.

I'd suggest you either do a rental car or do tours...don't waste money on both! If you fly into SNA it costs $35 to get to the resort area by cab or by other transportation. I used both Yellow Cab and Jag...and would suggest either!

If you want to sit back and enjoy the scenery, forget the rental car. The roads there are not condusive to leisurely drives, lol!

I know how you feel about needing to know everything...that's where I was last January. My advice is hang out here, visit Intercot West, check out MouseSavers and themouseforless, hang around The Laughing Place website, and visit the websites for any communities you plan to visit.

Our trip came off without a hitch despite my having no idea what-so-ever about what I was doing, lol!!!!

 

[DMRick]

First, try Mousesavers.com and see what deals they've got going right now. I ended up paying $65 a night, but only booked 3 months early. I know that had I booked in January, the same room would have been $55 a night.

For which hotel? Thanks

 

[Amy&Dan]

I'm pretty sure she is talking about the HoJo. Also I know people have gotten the Entertainment Book discount at the HoJo.