Looking for guidance!

[mickeygaga]

Boy do I feel lost!!! We have always gone to WDW, and I have always been able to plan a great economy wise trip. This will be our first time to DL, and honestly I know NOTHING about DL. Where do I start? We are only coming for 2 nights and 3 days. Myself, DH, dd-14, ds-7,dd-9 and baby 8 mos, along with Grandma and Grandpa. We are flying to AZ. from Indiana, and then driving to DL with gram and gramps. Please, please, please you awesome pros, point me in the right direction. Where to stay? What to eat? Any good discounts or specials to look for? I will be so grateful for any help or guidance-my head is spinning.

 

[bumbershoot]

When are you going?


Have you read this thread about DL, made for WDW 'vets'? http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Actually, here's a link to ALL of that helpful person's hints and tips. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483 I don't want to overwhelm, but I also don't want to censor what info you get!

And this is a map of the area with many hotels and restaurants shown, to show you how close everything (especially off site) is (or isn't). http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

 

[Master Mason]

to me the biggest thing for planning of DL vs WDW is the fact that to me at WDW it is almost a must to stay on property, there are so many benifits to doing so that it doesn't make since to me not to stay on property at WDW.

DL on the other hand, I have been going for 42 years now, and have never once stayed on property. To me the benifits don't outweigh the extra cost. Stay at one of the good neigbor hotels to save some significant money.

Now some questions.
1. When are you planning on going?
2. Are you looking to share one room or suite, or do you plan for multiple rooms?
3. With what I said above, how important is it to you to stay on property or not?
4. Are you planning on eating most or all of your meals in the park, or in your room our outside the park?

 

[mickeygaga]

Thank you, Thank you, this is a start! We are going in October-talk about short notice. We really want to see the Halloween decorations and see as much as we can in this short of a stay. I have got alot of research ahead of me. As always, these boards and members come to the rescue.

 

[mickeygaga]

OOPS forgot, we are going Oct 17-19, maybe 20. We want to see as much as we can, so we probably will eat onsite mostly. We would like a character meal too, or two! Connecting rooms would be nice, but rooms next to eachother is probably more common. I just need to be close to the parks-with the kids and all. I am not sure how we should do tickets and all either. I am just excited about going to disney period! Any suggestions and advice will be welcomed. Thanks again!

 

[Master Mason]

you might want to think about upgrading one of the passes to an annual pass to get the discounts on food in the parks, it adds up really quickly.

 

[DLR29]

OOPS forgot, we are going Oct 17-19, maybe 20. We want to see as much as we can, so we probably will eat onsite mostly. We would like a character meal too, or two! Connecting rooms would be nice, but rooms next to eachother is probably more common. I just need to be close to the parks-with the kids and all. I am not sure how we should do tickets and all either. I am just excited about going to disney period! Any suggestions and advice will be welcomed. Thanks again!

If you want a character meal or two, I'd suggest booking through Costco. They give you a character meal with a package. If a hotel or DTD character meal is better than an inpark meal, I might consider staying onsite, but usually I wouldn't recommend it. There are a ton of motels closer than the onsite hotels to the parks. If you want cheaper hotels, there's the Ramada Plaza and the Desert Palms Hotels that are both within 5/10 minutes of the gates. They are both close to the 7-11, which is good for milk or breakfast items.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Boy do I feel lost!!! We have always gone to WDW, and I have always been able to plan a great economy wise trip. This will be our first time to DL, and honestly I know NOTHING about DL. Where do I start? We are only coming for 2 nights and 3 days. Myself, DH, dd-14, ds-7,dd-9 and baby 8 mos, along with Grandma and Grandpa. We are flying to AZ. from Indiana, and then driving to DL with gram and gramps. Please, please, please you awesome pros, point me in the right direction. Where to stay? What to eat? Any good discounts or specials to look for? I will be so grateful for any help or guidance-my head is spinning.

OOPS forgot, we are going Oct 17-19, maybe 20. We want to see as much as we can, so we probably will eat onsite mostly. We would like a character meal too, or two! Connecting rooms would be nice, but rooms next to each other is probably more common. I just need to be close to the parks-with the kids and all. I am not sure how we should do tickets and all either. I am just excited about going to disney period! Any suggestions and advice will be welcomed. Thanks again!

When I was researching my dates, a lot of the most recommended hotels/motels in walking distance were selling out. I'm there 10/11-14. The Art shuttle runs to all the nearby hotels, including ones that may not be walking distance for your grandparents and kids. It's $3 a day or $12 for 5 day pass per person. If you can get a good deal on rooms further away from the park, it may be worth it to take the ART.

Buy your park tickets in advance from Disneyland.com. Last I checked, each ticket had a printable coupon worth 10% off shopping and I think 20% off shopping in a particular store. Not sure if this is still in effct or not. If you get 1 Deluxe annual pass you will save the extra 10% off meals in certain restaurants in the parks. This may be worth it for you. The trade off is no Early Entry, unless you use EE first and then trade up your PH to an AP.

For cheap, right across the street, some people recommend the Desert Inn -- they have 'family suites' for reasonably cheap. Last time I stayed there I thought the rooms could be cleaner and the parking was horrible over there. Very tight stalls... but if you are parking and not leaving until you leave Disneyland this may be fine for you. http://www.anaheimdesertinn.com/room_suites.htm
reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Desert_Inn_and_Suites-Anaheim_California.html

The cheapest and best deal is at Howard Johnson's Anaheim Plaza entertainment rates. However, they were already sold out of those rates for my dates and my dates are just a few days before yours. Try and call and ask for the sd50 rate. 714-776-6120 If you get it, you must have your entertainment card in hand before going to check in. Make sure you ask to speak to in house reservations. If you talk to the nationwide call center they will tell you those rates don't exist. Call the local number and ask for in house reservations.
This is the direct link to book it online: http://www.hojo.com/HowardJohnson/control/Booking/check_avail?promo_code=sd50&p_brand=HJ&p_pid=01051
If they tell you at in house ressies that they don't have it, then they don't have it. They only offer it for certain times of the year when they anticipate lower occupency.
reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...n_Plaza_Hotel_Anaheim-Anaheim_California.html

Best Western ParkPlace Inn is right at the crosswalk. But they may be sold out. Check and see. They have mini suites with 2 Q beds and a double sofa sleeper all in the same room. Hence the mini suites.
http://www.parkplaceinnandminisuites.com/
Reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Place_Inn_Mini_Suites-Anaheim_California.html

Some people like Carousel Inn as a decent place to stay. http://www.carouselinnandsuites.com/
Reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...rousel_Inn_and_Suites-Anaheim_California.html

If you are on a serious budget, just looking for a place to sleep,the Anaheim Plaza Hotel at 1700 South Harbor is very cheap. Rooms were clean when we last stayed there in '97. It is a good neighbor hotel so they do have to have certain standards. You can get a 4 bed 2 room suite w/ micro and fridge for a reasonble price. These rooms are open corridor, some have balcony and some have ground floor patios. They have an olympic size pool and jacuzzi which was nice to relax in after the parks. Their website: http://www.anaheimplazahotel.com/guest_room.htm
reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...laza_Hotel_and_Suites-Anaheim_California.html

Another motel is the Anaheim Islander Inn and Suites. They have 2 room family suites that sleep up to 8 people in a room and their prices are very reasonable. http://www.anaheimislander.com/rooms.html
Check this site out for reviews of Anaheim islander inn and suites. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...lander_Inn_and_Suites-Anaheim_California.html
You would want to take the ART if staying at this motel.

Keep in mind that places like Desert Inn, Carousel, Anaheim Islander Inn and Anaheim Plaza Inn are cheap places to sleep and that's it. It's no frills. Alot of the motels on Harbor are exactly that as well, no frills, but not necessarily cheap, either.

Check out Mousesavers.com for special money saving tips, guides, etc.

You should decide where you want to eat and call for priority seating now. Don't wait.

Getawaytoday.com has cheap packages and tickets are included in room price. They are also offering 2 EE admissions in their packages. They also have discounted Character breakfasts that you can buy through them. If you get the DAP then you'll get 10% off you character meals anyway, Premium AP should be 15% off, so weigh out the value to you to figure out where you'll save money. You can always upgrade PH to AP after you used your EE.

Costco is offering character breakfasts as part of their packages so you should price that out as well. Frankly, I've never really saved money by booking through an agency, I usually do better booking everything on my own, but some people swear by these companies so it may be worth a look for you to plan your trip. WhooHoo!!!! You're going to Disneyland!
Good luck!