March Trip Thoughts Suggestions

[rlu929s]

Thinking of flying directly to John Wayne Aiport for a week long trip. We are WDW vets, but this will be the 1st time at DL.

I've got lots of Starwood Points that can be redeemed at either Starwood or Mariott Properties. I'm hoping to stay close by DL for 5 nights (We get the 5th night free). Best/nicest hotel? Should be 100% free.

For tickets should we get 1 AP for the dining discount or does that not apply in DL? Best options for food.

I doubt we'll need 5 days at DL, so looking for suggestions on other things to do while in CA, although I hate traffic ,so not sure I want to venture into LA.

Was thinking 3 Days at DL, 1 Day at Knotts Berry Farms and 1 Day?

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

For tickets should we get 1 AP for the dining discount or does that not apply in DL? Best options for food.

Yes you get a discount on food depending on which type of pass you get. Signature you get 15% off of food and 20% off of merchandise (most of the time). Exceptions include the food carts and the Cozy Cone I believe. Deluxe you get 10% off food and merch.

Signature AP also gives you free parking and free photopass downloads, Deluxe does not.

 

[figment_jii]

Disneyland.com has a list of the current AP discounts for each location by pass type:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/discounts/restaurants/

You only need one AP to get the dining and shopping discounts, but just note that some CMs will require the AP holder to be the one that pays.

Additionally, some pre-purchased three-day or longer park tickets include on Magic Morning. If you upgrade the ticket to an AP, you will lose that benefit. So make sure to use the Magic Morning before upgrading the ticket to an AP.

Is Courtyard by Marriott included in your points? There is a fairly new Courtyard by Marriott (Theme Park Entrance) located about one block north of the pedestrian entrance on Harbor Boulevard. It's a pretty short walk and the hotel was very nice when I stayed there.

 

[Nonsuch]

...For tickets should we get 1 AP for the dining discount or does that not apply in DL? Best options for food...

I have found the AP discounts for food and merchandise are much more common at DLR, compared to WDW.
There are AP discounts at all Disney table service restaurants in the parks and hotels, except Napa Rose.
Most counter service locations also have discounts.

 

[Mike482]

The Deluxe AP gives the 10% discount on food and merch but its double the 3 day park hopper ticket cost, and as mentioned, you lose magic morning. You would have to buy a lot of food and merch to make that worth while. We are in northern Cal and make four or five 3-day trips a year. Last year we went to Knotts one day and Universal one day. We were very disappointed in Knotts but loved Universal. We took Uber from SNA to hotel, and started our trip at Knotts. Then rented a car and went to Universal the next day. We did that on a Sunday so there would be less traffic compared to a weekday. Returned the car the next morning and used ART to go from hotel to DL for the rest of the trip. Then Uber back to SNA.

 

[texasgingerbread]

I'm not an expert but saw your post. We did our first trip to DL this past spring but still needed that 4th day to get in everything. Totally up to you, but I'd at least book 4. We used all 5 to revisit all the stuff we wanted to do again (Cars ride at night specifically). Question - do you have kids? If they are boys and under the age of 8 I highly recommend Legoland but that is further south. If not, I would do a whale watch out of Newport or do a beach day. We started in Carmel and drove Highway 1 south to San Diego over a course of 2 1/2 weeks.

 

[Pintail]

For Marriott, if you can stay a few miles away from Disneyland, a great Category 5 Marriott is the Fullerton Marriott. It has free parking, and a Concierge Lounge for breakfast and light dinner, if you are Gold or Platinum. Great location, and nice rooms.

The Courtyard mentioned is new, has a waterpark, and is across the street. The downside is it is a Category 7, no free breakfast, and you pay for parking. If you do want to pay the Category 7 points, stay here, and not at the Fairfield Inn next door.

The Fairfield Inn across from Disneyland is a Category 7, with no breakfast, so not really a good point value. Plus you pay for parking. I have paid to stay there, as the cash rate is good, but I don't think it is a good point value.

The TownePlace Suites by Angels Stadium is closer to Disneyland than the Marriott, and is a Category 5 with free parking and breakfast. TownePlace has a kitchenette. There is a Denny's, Starbucks, and some restaurants in the same parking lot, which is nice.

For that last day, consider Newport or Huntington Beach, the weather should be nice then. Have a great trip!

 

[VandVsmama]

I don't think that 3 days is enough at DL. DL would be a minimum for me. 5 days is ideal because you can take your time and not feel rushed. With 3 days, you definitely won't be able to hit every ride or every primo dining locale (if that's something you're interested in). I'd recommend doing 4 days at DL plus 1 free day...preferably where you do day 1 and day 2 at DL, then day 3 of your trip is the free day where you do something else (and the "something else" is not a theme park), followed by day 4 and 5 at DL.

If you look on the DIS podcasts, Mary Jo has done a lot of "Day 6 Adventure" reviews of various cool things to do around southern California.

Also, you should consider doing the math because even 4 days at DL with an AP might not make it financially worthwhile to get an AP for...unless you're planning on coming back within 12 months.

Are you going to be renting a car? If you're not, a good option for your "free day" would be to take ART from your hotel to the Amtrak station in Anaheim and then take the train to San Juan Capistrano. Mary Jo on the DIS has a Day 6 Adventure podcast about it. The mission is within walking distance of the train station and she recommends some good places to eat nearby.

If you're going to go to Knotts Berry Farm, go to Knotts first and end the trip with DL. Otherwise, it'll feel like a bit of a let down comparatively speaking.

If you do decide to get an AP, you can most definitely use just the 1 AP for all of your AP discounts. BUT that means that whoever has the AP is the person who has to pay for everything. Just something to keep in mind in case you are with a mixed group with different households, bank accounts, etc.

 

[ADLFAN]

John Wayne is such an easy airport, we always fly to/from there and reserve a Super Shuttle shared van ride for the 20 minute drive to Disneyland. We always stay on Harbor because nothing beats that short walk to the parks.

We don't bother renting a car, because we gave the beach and Universal a try on a previous trip and considered them a one time experience but not a necessity on every trip. However, we have used the rental car agency in Downtown Disney, Alamo I believe, to rent a compact car for a weekend and it was super easy and affordable. They also let us pay way ahead of time, which we like to do as often as possible to spread out our vacation costs.

We split a trip to DLR with an ART bus ride to Knotts once, and enjoyed the change of pace. I loved the blackberry funnel cake and the western themed area at Knotts. They also had several insane roller coasters, including a super fun horse race themed one where you are seated as though you are on a motorcycle! I admit I was a bit shocked by the trash and gum and such at both Knotts and Universal, it made me thankful for the excellent job done by Disney's custodial department!

If I was you, I would allow for 4 partial days at DLR, with one day at Knotts, and stay at the brand new Courtyard Theme Park Entrance within walking distance. There is a Panera Bread, McDonalds, Pizza Press, and a Dennys and IHOP on the way to the park or just after the crosswalk to DLR on Harbor, so plenty of options for off site food. Several hotels have little food and gift shops along the way for drinks for the room, coffee in the morning, big bottles of water, etc.

Have fun planning!

 

[rlu929s]

Thanks so much for the great advice! We're thinking flying is for sure the way to go! I'm not a huge fan of flying, so we're planning to drive 6 hours to Dallas, TX and fly nonstop to John Wayne vs doing a 1 stop (more expensive) flight from our home airport. We also have reason to drive down to Dallas in June, so might move our trip to June instead of March.

We're not opposed to saying longer at DLR. We regularly go to WDW, so I'd for sure want to see it all. We're SPG Gold members, so I think once I sync up our Marriott, we'll be gold there as well. Free breakfast sounds enticing, but we're fine with McD's for breakfast, so the Courtyard may be the way to go.