Looking to Plan a Trip to Disneyland

[BachataMan]

So just a little bit of background, I'm an avid WDW guest/annual passholder who visits every week or so, and I know the inside and out of WDW, but I know little to nothing about Disneyland and would like to eventually make a trip. I don't care to stay in one of the hotels; I usually do AirBnB, but was wondering if there were any restaurants like character meals that are highly recommended (I wanted to do Ariel's Grotto but that closed down). I was thinking of doing one regular day at DL, then CA the next day, then do a third day at DL but sign up for something like Walking in Walt's Footsteps or even a fireworks dessert party. It's just going to be me going.

Any recommendations?

 

[HydroGuy]

I have no advice on character meals. I will be doing my first one in June.

I have done the tour you are considering and that is a good idea.

If you have to prioritize, based on today's night night entertainment I would suggest you do the following in this order of priority:

World of Color at DCA
Paint the Night parade at DCA

Disneyland has had some really good fireworks shows and some which are OK. Since you do not yet know when you would go it is hard to say if that would be worth it for you. The newest show just started this month based on Pixar.

DL also has Fantasmic which is better than the one at WDW but, given that you can at least see that show at WDW, I would put it down on the list for someone who who goes to WDW regularly.

This also might help: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599. Also check out the Newbie sticky thread in the forum.