Need help with San Diego/Disney schedule

[phishy25]

Hello everyone. We're planning to take a trip to So. Cal in the first week of May of this year. I've only been to Disneyland once before in June 2005 and we stayed at the HoJo.

We have 2 children, aged 3 and 5. Actually, our daughter will be turning 3 on the trip so I would like to do something special for her. She loves princesses, especially Ariel. Any advice over what meal or what to do would be great.

Right now my schedule is
May 2 - fly into LAX. Drive to Carlsbad hotel
May 3- Lego Land
May 4- Wild Animal Park
May 5 - Check into hotel near Disney. Do the park. DD's birthday, special dinner.
May 6 - Disney
May 7 - Disney
May 8 - Disney
May 9 - Fly home

Thoughts on the schedule? Am I giving us too much time in Disney? Would it be better to do only 3 days of Disney and break it up with some other sight seeing or another park? I also wanted to do some shopping, Ikea etc. and don't know what day to fit it in. I don't know if I should get a 3 day hopper or a 4 day hopper.

The other thought I had was:
May 2 - Fly to Lax - drive to San Diego hotel
May 3- Wild Animal Park
May 4 - Lego land, and then drive and check into hotel at Disney
May 5-8 Disney and other stuff
May 9 - go home

Also, any advice on what hotel to stay at near Disney? My DH only likes to stay at Hilton or Hilton family hotels because of Hilton Honors but I worry those hotels are too far. Would it be better to stay somewhere within walking distance since the kids are so young? How crazy is it if we drive every day? I'm not sure I want to do the Hojo again although the new pool area sounds nice. Last time in 2005 the rooms seemed kind of shabby, the walk was farther than other hotels, and we found a razor blade on the carpet of the room and the hotel staff totally didn't care (we did as we had a small toddler at the time). But I am being swayed by the cheap entertainment rate.

I have read a few posts about getting good room rates through priceline. How do you guarantee a decent hotel? Do I put 3 stars and up?

I would appreciate any advice. This really is my first time planning a full DL trip since last time we only did DL one day and Universal Studios another. We were in town for a wedding so didn't have time for much else.

 

[pjtm]

I am loving this thread! We are doing the same trip at the end of May. We are also doing Legoland. We are planning Sea World while we are close to LegoLand. Looking forward to these responses!

 

[wdhinn89]

Your first itinerary sounds fine to me. The only question I have is why are you flying into LAX and driving to San Diego? Why not fly into San Diego and fly out of LAX?

 

[camouseketeer]

On you going to DLR on her birthday? If so, she would get in free on that day (or you could take advantage of the other bday offers)

 

[Sarangel]

If your DD loves princesses, you should definately make a PS at Ariel's Grotto in DCA. All Princesses, all the time. We like lunch, but any meal is good.

 

[phishy25]

Your first itinerary sounds fine to me. The only question I have is why are you flying into LAX and driving to San Diego? Why not fly into San Diego and fly out of LAX?

We are going to fly to LAX because of ticket prices. We live in Honolulu and right now the roundtrip tix are around $250-300. Since we have to buy 4 tickets, this is good. I'm not sure there are any flights that go to San Diego anymore, since Aloha Airlines went out of business. We would probably have to fly to LAX or SNA (pricey) and then get another flight to SD. Seems like it would be cheaper to drive.

 

[phishy25]

On you going to DLR on her birthday? If so, she would get in free on that day (or you could take advantage of the other bday offers)

I was hoping to do DLR on her birthday, and a princess dinner. I read that she can get in free, how does that work if we already have hopper tickets? I am definitely going to look into the other birthday offers. I read about them here or somewhere else I think. I need to start a Disney planning folder so I can get everything right!

How does everyone stay organized??

 

[wdhinn89]

We are going to fly to LAX because of ticket prices. We live in Honolulu and right now the roundtrip tix are around $250-300. Since we have to buy 4 tickets, this is good. I'm not sure there are any flights that go to San Diego anymore, since Aloha Airlines went out of business. We would probably have to fly to LAX or SNA (pricey) and then get another flight to SD. Seems like it would be cheaper to drive.

If you save money, than definitely stick with LAX and drive to SD.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Ok, here is what I would do.....but I am cheep
Go with plan #2.
Buy 4 day hoppers for 2 people.
Buy 5 day hoppers for 1 person.
May 4th, head to Disney and actually go into the park- the person with the 5 day hopper and the still 2 year old. Since she will be under 3 at the start of your trip she technically will not require a ticket for the remainder of your trip.
May 5-8 Disney and other stuff

Oh and I would do Airiels for her birthday dinner

 

[DisneyNic]

Ok, here is what I would do.....but I am cheep
Go with plan #2.
Buy 4 day hoppers for 2 people.
Buy 5 day hoppers for 1 person.
May 4th, head to Disney and actually go into the park- the person with the 5 day hopper and the still 2 year old. Since she will be under 3 at the start of your trip she technically will not require a ticket for the remainder of your trip.
May 5-8 Disney and other stuff

Oh and I would do Airiels for her birthday dinner

I think this is a pretty good idea with just one little change. The difference between the 4 day and the 5 day is $10 each (through GAT anyway) so if it was me, I would go ahead and buy 5 days for everyone. Having a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old myself, spending the $20 would be a lot easier for me than telling my 5 yr old that the 3 yr old is going to DL but she can't go. Just my thoughts.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like the first schedule.

But I would make sure your hotel is closer to Legoland and the WAP than to San Diego...those are kind of far up from SD, so you don't want to be wasting time just driving back to SD, if you can get a hotel closer. That's just my opinion. I've never done it..my brother lives in Chula Vista and we stay with him, so our trips to San Diego involve quite a bit of driving to get anywhere!

Since your Dd's birthday is the first day of the trip, in other words she WILL be 3 on that first day, I think you'll need to pay for her ticket the whole trip.

On the birthday, there's a choice of admission that day (one day ONE park), or a special fast pass (the number of rides it is for depends on how busy the day is) for your party for that day, a one-day one-park ticket for a day before her next b'day, or a "fun card" (aka limited gift card) in the amount that a one-day one-park ticket for her would be. I'd get the 3 or 4 day hoppers for everyone, and get the fun card for her souvenirs, personally.


I got the Hilton for 59 base rate in December using hotwire. Basically if you're looking at the disneyland area and you look for 3.5 star and higher, you're very likely to get the Hilton or the Hyatt. but usually when you use pricline/hotwire you are NOT going to get HHonors credit for that stay, just like you don't get Wyndham points for an entertainment card rate stay at HoJo.

It was a nice hotel, but you would want to drive or take a shuttle in. Also, be aware that both Hyatt and Hilton have a 15/day parking charge!

If you're going ot use priceline or hotwire, check out betterbidding.com before doing ANYTHING with the sites. Look at the disneyland area and really know how to make sure you're getting something you want. Check out the websites of the hotels you're OK with and be familiar with the amenity lists, b/c that can be a way of being fairly sure you know what you're about to get, by comparing the lists.

You might also want to use them for rental car...we got a rate we were very happy with through hotwire. Not the lowest we could have gotten, but I do not like bidding, so hotwire was good for me.


If you do stay at hojo, be sure to check out the recent threads on the shorter way to walk to and from. It's really only maybe 4-5 minutes extra walk there than to the directly across the crosswalk hotels.

 

[Jessma9902]

We are doing a DL/San Diego trip next week! Our first California trip with the kids- should be interesting!

Our Agenda:

Wed Feb 4: Fly into John Wayne (Santa Ana). Downtown Disney this day. Staying at the Portofino Resort.
Thurs Feb 5: Disney
Fri Feb 6: DD's 7th bday- Disney day with late lunch at Ariel's
Sat Feb 7: Disney
Sun Feb 8: drive to San Diego- exploring day- Mission Beach area. Staying at Paradise Point in San Diego (next door to Sea World)
Mon Feb 9: Sea World Day
Tues Feb 10: Wild Animal Kingdom and then drive back to Anaheim- staying at Starbridge Suites.
Wed Feb 11: Fly home from John Wayne

I hope it goes smooth!!! A bit nervous since we do not know the area at all. I am realizing more and more that I am a bit of a Disney WORLD snob! I hope DL is as great as the World!

 

[Sarangel]

I was hoping to do DLR on her birthday, and a princess dinner. I read that she can get in free, how does that work if we already have hopper tickets? I am definitely going to look into the other birthday offers. I read about them here or somewhere else I think. I need to start a Disney planning folder so I can get everything right!

How does everyone stay organized??

The "Free on your Birthday" has provisions for a prize even if you already have a pass. Usually, I think, a gift card... Go for it.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I hope it goes smooth!!! A bit nervous since we do not know the area at all. I am realizing more and more that I am a bit of a Disney WORLD snob! I hope DL is as great as the World!

Make sure to read HydroGuy's info about DLR for WDW vets, if you haven't already. It will help you to be able to appreciate the differences between the 2 resorts so you will know what to expect. I thought it was a sticky at the top of the page but I don't see it. Try doing a search or maybe someone out there can post the link to that thread for you. Sorry I don't actually have the link to post.

 

[bumbershoot]

Here's his tip thread. In there is the DLR for WDW vets thread and lots of other good advice!

 

[phishy25]

Bumbershoot, thank you for your fantastic advice. It really helps a lot. I hadn't heard of the betterbidding.com website before.

So if we do DL on May 4, the day before DD's birthday, we won't have to pay for her the entire time? That might be worth it.

I think when we do Legoland and WAP we will stay somewhere in Carlsbad, probably the Sheraton right next to Legoland. I actually have no idea where WAP is so I'll have to look into. Thank you for letting me know that it's not right in San Diego.

Also, my DH just told me he is interested in getting the California city pass so we can do everything. I think that might be too much to cram into a week, no?

 

[phishy25]

One more question. I just went to the Hotwire site Bumbershoot recommended. I can do Disneyland North or Disneyland South. Which one is closer?

 

[LavenderPeach]

Here's his tip thread. In there is the DLR for WDW vets thread and lots of other good advice!

Oh, I didn't realize the thread for WDW vets was in the tip thread. I haven't clicked on it in awhile I guess. Thanks for posting the link!

 

[bumbershoot]

One more question. I just went to the Hotwire site Bumbershoot recommended. I can do Disneyland North or Disneyland South. Which one is closer?

I would check out the betterbidding site for that. I honestly can't remember if I chose north or south to get Hilton/Hyatt. I think it took a solid FIVE visits to betterbidding before I really started getting a true understanding, so I would really look around there. Hopefully you are quicker on the uptake than I am, but still, really read through, find the section where people post what hotels they got based on what criteria (x hotel when put in North, 3 star...y hotel when put in North, 3.5 star, etc).

Oh, I didn't realize the thread for WDW vets was in the tip thread. I haven't clicked on it in awhile I guess. Thanks for posting the link!

Glad I could help!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Hilton Suites are VERY nice. Every room is a suite, so you and your DH will have some privacy and can watch TV or whatever after the little ones go to bed.

You can book through getawaytoday.com

You can take the ART to and from the park, isn't THAT far.

And you get a hot breakfast buffet.

We really enjoyed our stay but prefer the convenience of staying either on site or right across the street. ART with a stroller is a PITA!