One Year Out

[MandNCC]

Hello! I greatly appreciate all of the advise I receive on this site! We are just about 1 year out from our trip. We will be traveling with me, DH and DS (2.5 at the time) from Chicago. I am looking for some input from others as this will be our first big vacation with DS.
1) LAX or SNA? It will probably come down to price of tickets, but if one is a significantly easier airport to manage I would love to know.
2) HOJO or BWPPI for off site? I have narrowed it down to these, my main concern is the walk from the HOJO. In a dream world we would stay onsite but not sure I can justify the cost and I gather that staying onsite at DL isn't quite as important as it is at WDW.
3) Rental car or Disneyland Resort Express, we currently have no plans to do much more than Disney and would have to bring a car seat if we rent a car. We are going to be there for about 5 nights, will we get bored and want to go somewhere else?
TIA!!!

 

[Imdboss]

SNA without a doubt! Such an easy airport to get in and out of. Off the plane and down to baggage within a few minutes and bags are coming out shortly thereafter.

Not advice for the hotel options you are looking at but others will chime in I'm sure.

If you are only doing disney then definitely skip a rental car. We always do disney for 5 days plus a day off in the middle and NEVER get bored! We will likely use Uber from SNA to our hotel.

 

[lalasmama]

SNA or LGB (Long Beach) are equally close, and both MUCH more comfortable/manageable than LAX, in my opinion. Since flying into LGB last month, I am generally sold on that airport, and it will be my first choice every time. Something to think about with LAX is that while tickets may be cheaper, a taxi or other transportation from LAX is typically a bit more. For example, a taxi from LAX to Park Vue Inn (across the street from the pedestrian entrance) is approximately $100; from LGB or SNA, it's $45. Of course, not all transportation to/from LAX is double the price, but it is usually at least marginally more.

With a 2.5yo, I'd consider the closer the better, which would be BWPPI. While a 2.5yo may try to get you to think they don't need a nap, this is Disney, and you may be walking 10 miles a day. Even in a stroller, he's being overloaded with new experiences--unfamiliar faces, unknown smells, different foods, HUGE characters that he normally sees on TV, amusement rides that he's never seen... That's a heck of a lot to take in from sun-up to sun-down, so if (when!) the novelty proves too much, it's nice to know that "home" and a pool, or a familiar TV show, is just a few steps away. Yes, HoJo isn't too much further, but at the end of a Disney day, or when nap time is eminent, every step counts I also imagine your DS is a little too young to fully appreciate the pool area for HoJo.

The Disneyland Resort Express is a GREAT option if you don't want to bring a car seat... That being said, a lot of people bring car seats on the airplane. First, it's the safest way for a toddler to fly. Airplane seat belts aren't rated for kids under 40lbs. Again, with all the new experiences, a known car seat provides a "safe" space. It also helps communicate that, like in a car, we sit in our seat buckled up when on an airplane.

With 5 nights, you'll have plenty of time to see everything at the parks, spend some time at the pool, and maybe even relax a little!

Have a great trip!

 

[MandNCC]

Thanks! If we end up bringing a car seat we may as we'll take a taxi instead of the bus depending on cost. Has anyone has good luck with that? I'm not familiar with Uber.

 

[figment_jii]

I concur that SNA is the easier airport to navigate, but I would fly into LAX if the prices or times were significantly better. I've flow into and out of three airports in the Southern California area (LAX, SNA, and BUR) and LAX is my least favorite to fly out of, but I'm a little more on the fence when it comes to flying into the airport. The shuttle (I used SuperShuttle) was easy to find, so it really wasn't all that hard to get out of LAX. Still, SNA is much closer to DLR, so it means less travel time and (probably) lower cost.

I haven't stayed at the Hojo, but I have stayed at the Fairfield Inn and the BWPPI. The Fairfield is slightly closer to the park than the Hojo. The distance was fine in the morning, but felt long(ish) in the evenings when our feet hurt. On our next trip, we stayed at the BWPPI and that's been our "go to" motel every since. The rooms are pretty basic and it is a motel (so nothing fancy), but it's really close to the parks. By the end of the day, when our feet are hurting, that's worth putting up with slightly older looking rooms!

 

[cherice95403]

Skip the rental....you won't get bored. I've flown SNA and it was super easy. I've gone with a 2.5 year old and I can tell you to stay as close as possible. When they are done, they are DONE. Plan to take mid day breaks.

 

[wildflower329]

Our last trip was when our son was 2.5 and we stayed at HoJo. It was not too far for us, although we did have a stroller. We only came back one day for a break, and we were there 5 days. However, my 2.5 year old was not a napper, and he just had lots of rests in the stroller.

We loved flying into Long Beach. It was so relaxed and not crowded at all. We ended up renting a car, because with a discount from Costco, it was cheaper than the shuttle or a taxi, and then we could have our kids car seats, and easily change plans to adding a rest day, or whatever we wanted to do. That said, we are rental car people anyway... when we go to Mexico, we rent a car too. We like the flexibility it gives us.

We were able to do a grocery run, and just have the ability to get what we needed. We also ended up with my daughter needing to go to the walk in clinic, so it was much nicer having a car.

 

[Imdboss]

Thanks! If we end up bringing a car seat we may as we'll take a taxi instead of the bus depending on cost. Has anyone has good luck with that? I'm not familiar with Uber.

My husband travels a lot and uses Uber all the time now, no more taxis. It's popular with the business travelers. Basically it's a private car service, usually close in cost to a taxi but less than booking a private car service yet you get private car service treatment (nice clean black suv or town car, professional driver). They have an app so when you land you can just go on the app and say you need to be picked up, you can see how many drivers are in the area, you will get the total cost to get to your destination and a driver will call to confirm he/she is on the way to pick you up and where to meet you. Super easy and convenient.