The walk from Paradise Pier to
Disneyland is maybe 10-15 minutes up Downtown Disney. With the age of your kids you will definitely want to have you own stroller. We really enjoy that walk and it is much less hassle than waiting for the busses/boats/monorails at WDW. No long lines and wondering if you will get a seat or have to wait for the next one! Park hopping is so easy! You can start out at Disneyland, grab a fastpass for later and then when DCA opens go over there for awhile then walk back to Disneyland and use your fastpass and so on! We have gotten where we parkhop less each trip at WDW because it eats up so much time (especially if MK is involved), not so with Disneyland. You can catch the monorail in DTD and it will take you right into Tomorrowland which can be very nice. We do this a lot if we have taken a break midday and are returning. First thing in the morning the lines for the monorail can be long and its sometimes easier to walk. Plus you miss Main Street and seeing the castle if you take the monorail in. At night if you decide to take the monorail back you will probably want to leave well before park closing since many people have the same idea. Again, you can wait in line longer than it would take you to just walk back to the hotel. Also, there are numerous live musical acts on DTD each evening and we always enjoy listening and enjoying those while we eat or walk by.
The food at Disneyland is slightly more expensive but I find the quality to be better. Also, Disneyland has many wonderful counter service places with wonderful atmosphere. We love Rancho del Zocalo for the good Mexican food and our kids love to sit and watch the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as it comes into its last segment. In New Orleans Square in Disneyland (which is so beautiful and I miss it so much at WDW) there are a couple of places with great counter service food and atmosphere. At Riverbelle Terrace you can have breakfast (Mickey pancakes) and gaze over the River and Tom Sawyer's Island. During the day and evening you can hear live Dixieland Jazz while you eat. For sit down meals we love Hooks Pointe, Blue Bayou, Goofy's and Ariel's Grotto (now called Cap'n Mickey's I believe) Goofy's Kitchen is in the Disneyland Hotel and a very short walk from Paradise Pier. It is our favorite character meal at either DL or WDW. It is very similar to Chef Mickey's but has more characters. Since there are fewer character meals at Disneyland you generally see more characters at each one. For instance at Goofy's you will see Goofy of course and usually Pluto, Minnie, Chip N Dale, a princess or two and other characters such as Genie, Captain Hook and Aladdin to name a few. Goofy and all the others come out about every 15 mintues and dance with the kids, even my 10 year old son loves that! Ariel's at DCA is so nice at night, you can sit outside and enjoy the characters and the lights of Paradise Pier. Most of the counter service places offer such large portions you can share which really cuts down on your cost. We almost always eat in the parks during the day since it cuts down on the time and walking. On weeknights when the park closes early we enjoy having dinner at DTD on our way back to the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. You can make reservations for all of the DTD restaurants and if you are planning on going right after park closing you will probably need them since many other people have that same idea!
If you go to
www.allearsnet.com and go into the 50th anniversary section you will find quite a few Disneyland menus. There may not be as many choices as WDW but you won't starve or feel deprived of fun dining experiences I promise! I believe there are several other sites that have Disneyland dining info as well, maybe somebody else can give you those. Good luck!
