Our first trip to Disneyland, where do we start??

[fostapeepz]

We have our travel date picked out (mid November), and we know we want to see SeaWorld while we are in CA. But past that I am overwhelmed by the amount of information to sort through! We have never traveled by plane before, so we are even new to that. We are trying to keep our expenses balanced - trying to keep the trip comfortable and fun, without spending a fortune. We don't need fancy theme meals or anything like that. But we also don't want to spend half the day shuttling to Disney from our hotel. Will we get a good deal if we go with a vacation package that includes our flight and hotel? Or would we do better to do everything separately? Where do we start??

 

[DisneyMax74]

A good place to start would be to look at Getawaytoday.com. You can type in the dates you want to go, how many people will be going and it will bring up the prices of the hotel and Disnylane tickets combined. It will tell you how far from the park each hotel is and give a description and pictures of the hotel. Then you can pick what you want. Im sure some people have a different way they like to do it but thats how we do it.

As far as airline tickets, what city are you flying out of? We always use Jetblue. You can go to Jetblue.com too see if they have flights to long beach from your city. Or you could Google Airplane tickets and im sure many services and airlines will come up.

Hope that helps somewhat.

 

[gethane]

A friend of mine told me she got a nice deal through Southwest Airlines for air, hotel (Disneyland Hotel) and tickets.

 

[goldies 5]

I would compare all options. The usuals: Getaway, Ares, WDTC, AAA, Costco, and on your own. Read Mousesavers.com for savings info. as well. Stay onsite or as close as you can to avoid shuttle. The middle of November is a beautful time to go. Have fun.

 

[fostapeepz]

We are flying out of Omaha NE. 2 adults, 3 kids - ages by Nov will be 12, 7, 7. Our plan was to fly out on a Monday, go to SeaWorld on Tuesday, Disney on Wed and Thur, and fly back home on Friday.

I think I've figured out that we would like to stay at the Desert Palm Suites. It looks like we can get a room that will fit all of us comfortably. I have been comparing pricing, and so far it looks like I can get the best deal by ordering everything separately. I thought there would be some nice group ticket or package pricing, but I haven't found it yet. 4 nights for a room that has 2 queen beds and a roll out couch looks like it will run us about $100-125 a night.

We can fly there for just over $100 a person, but flying back looks like it will cost almost double that! I don't know why that is?? That makes our tickets run around $1700. I could have gotten them just a little cheaper through expedia, but the flight times were going to be odd and it would have left us with hours of time to kill with 3 kids! I figured we'd be better off picking times that worked for us for a little more. We have never flown before. I have read stuff about bag check fees? I had been planning on each kid taking a small bag of things to do on the plane (game machine, mp3 player, books). Are we going to have to pay a fee to have each one to have a bag?

From what I've found it looks like it will cost us about $750-800 for Disney. I was shocked! I've only been to a couple of SixFlags in my life, so I just didn't have any idea. We are only planning on Disney for 2 days, but it looks like the 3 day pass isn't much more - so to be safe I figured we'd get that. That way if we get to our hotel and have extra time to kill the first night, maybe we can go do some nighttime stuff at Disney. Did any of you use the Ridemax software to plan your day? I think it sounds ideal, since it will tell us how to navigate the park most effectively for our group. Anyone have experience with it?

It looks like we can take a bus from Anaheim to get to Sea World. That looks like it will run us about $330 for the one day trip.

I had in my mind that the trip would be about $3000, but it looks like it will run closer to $4000 by the time we add in food and souveniers. Does that sound about right?

How far in advance should I start ordering flights, tickets and hotel? I assume the sooner I can get our flights and hotel the better. But should I wait to see if new offers come out for the entertainment tickets??

 

[goldies 5]

Usually Disney offers deals in the fall. You just won't have that info. for several months. I would secure my airfare. The other things have flexibility if doing seperately. That way you still have the option to change your hotel if you want. Also, last September, Expedia put PP up for 100 a night during the time you are planning. So if you are flexible and want to stay on- site, you might want to keep your eyes on this board or on Expedia when you get closer to your dates. Those deals sell out pretty fast.
Hydroguy has a sticky up top you may want to look at. Filled with lots of detailed info. on Ridemax and other things.

 

[lilsprstr]

Get the book "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland." I borrow it from the library because they update it every year. It is extremely helpful in helping to plan your trip.

 

[fostapeepz]

I think I may have found some better package deals than originally thought, so it looks like I need to keep digging. I also asked for a quote from the travel agency recommended at mousesaver.com. So maybe they will have a good package too. I have heard of that book - I will see if I can find it. It sounds like it would help us be better educated on what we're doing!

I did check up on the deal Disney is offering this year to earn a free day to a park by volunteering. It's possible we could save our family close to $400 by volunteering. We could earn a 1 day 1 park pass. Would we be better off purchasing a 1 day parkhopper for our second day? Or would we be fine with a 1 day 1 park pass for our second day, also? It looks like there is plenty to do at both parks that would keep us busy for a day...but having never been there I just have no idea!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I do things separately ~ My favorite S. CA airport is LGB ~ it's small, we get great prices through Jet Blue. I book my hotel on my own by calling the hotel directly. My favorite DLR area hotel is the HoJo with the ent. rate *http://www.hojoanaheim.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14 Nov. dates should be available later. We've also stayed at the Anaheim Plaza and I'd stay there again, we've also spent at least one night at each of the 3 DLR hotels ~ I prefer to stay offsite. We visited San Diego this past July, we visited Sea World, San Diego Zoo (I wasn't very impressed) then we drove to Legoland then up to DLR. We were based in San Diego cause my mom was there for work *free hotel, but I prefer to base our S. CA visits around DLR, perhaps you could spend a night in San Diego if you wanted too.

 

[goldies 5]

Are you asking about doing one park one day and another the next? I always prefer to park hop as there are many advantages to this. I also believe, and someone else here will know for sure, that you can upgrade your give a day ticket at DL. I agree with the previous poster that HoJo's is a decent place to stay. The premium rooms are big and comfy, however I prefer not to cross Harbor if I don't have to. You will have many choices come available the closer you get to your dates. The other Hotel you have mentioned looks nice too. I believe that they have a Quizno's inside. It is a little bit of a walk as well. If you choose to stay offsite, the Candy Cane Inn might be another option. They are right next to Desert Palms but have a shuttle. You will get many good ideas on this board over the next few months.

 

[carebee21]

Have you looked at kayak.com or sidestep.com? They are free to use, you just put in your dates and airports,etc and it finds the cheapest flights available and the cheapest hotel rooms available. It searches all the major travel sites, except Expedia, Southwest and Priceline, so it saves a lot of time.

As far as the baggage fee is concerned, they only charge you for checked baggage, not carry on's, so if your kids have a backpack of toys or whatever, you won't be charged for that.

 

[fostapeepz]

Ok - I didn't understand that about the 'bag check' fee. If that is the case, then it will serve us well to only have a couple of large suitcases, vs a small one for each of us. Maybe less chance of them getting lost too.

If we do get the 'give a day' tickets, I thought maybe we could do one park one day, and get a parkhopper ticket for the second day. I need to learn more about what we're actually going to be doing while we're there. If we have the option to upgrade there, that would be awesome.

I will check out those other sites. I've never heard of most of these. We live in the armpit of the USA and have never gone anywhere we haven't driven. The longest trip we ever made by car was CA, when we went to pick up our son at birth. His birthmom is actually going to join us for a day at Disneyland. It will be the first time he's met her since he was born! Should be a very memorable trip!

 

[fostapeepz]

Is there a better airport to fly in to? SNA or LAX?

 

[goldies 5]

Wow! That is really incredible and will be memorable. Don't ever fly there but lots of folks here do so they will be able to help you. Maybe post a thread on which airport to use and another on Memorable things to do at DL. You will receive many responses. Veterans and first timers alike really enjoy and use his ideas.

 

[8timesblessed]

Since you want to do SeaWorld and DL you might want to look into the SoCal City Pass. At Costco I got it for $239 for adults and $204 for kids. That would cover 3 days in Disneyland and SeaWorld and if you had time it also is for SanDiego Zoo and Universal Studios.
It might be cheaper to rent a car then to ride the bus unless the driving scares you in a big city. The traffic can be bad.
Check different airlines websites and at different times during the day, their prices are always changing.

 

[tommya60]

Check into Amtrak between Anaheim and San Diego. You would have good views of the ocean for part of the trip and it might be cheaper than the bus.

 

[sasywtch]

When I was in travel agent school years ago, Friday and Sunday were the worst days to fly dollar wise. Is it possible to fly out on Saturday? Play around with the site and put in different days for round trip to see what you get, different airports also. if you can get cheaper air flights, it may pay for an extra day.

Anaheim Plaza is a block away and very walkable. We are use to staying across the street at BWPPI but going a little cheaper this year. We got the 2 bedroom suite (which is just two rooms with the connecting door open) for $109 a night. 4 queen beds and 2 bathrooms. Garden walk is right there if you get in later and looking for somewhere to eat. Bubba Gumps is fun.

If this is a first to DL, I'd see if it was possible to get an early flight or late Friday flight to fit in another day at DL. We get our tickets through our work union as they are the cheapest, don't know if you are with a union or not. If you do the volunteer and get the free ticket and don't want to upgrade, I'd use it in DL as that park would be the one I'd least likely want to parkhop. We can spend quite a bit of our day at DCA but I have 4 kids who love rollercoasters they ride over and over.

Since you have limited time, we take breakfast items to eat in the room so people are eating while others are taking showers to get to the gate and not have to wait in line to eat at a restraunt. When we flew to WDW, we took a box of cereal, package of plastic bowls and muffins. Bought milk, spoons and juice when we got there.

 

[jedijill]

If you are flying from Omaha, check into Southwest. I believe they fly to Omaha or you can always drive to KC which is a super nice airport. SW doesn't charge baggage fees. They should be posting their November schedule at the end of March. You may be running into Veteran's Day weekend depending on your dates which would cause your return airfare to go up.

Consider renting a car to drive to SeaWorld. Its not a bad drive at all and much cheaper than taking a bus. If you don't want to get the SoCal City Pass that someone pointed out (which is a GREAT deal!) then you can get 20% Seaworld tickets if you show the Southwest Rapids Rewards card. You can sign up for free on Southwest's website and print out the card.

I highly recommend HoJo's. I stayed there on my last trip and it was great. It was clean, comfortable, had free parking, and a fridge. I ran down to Target and bought soda/snacks and that saved me a lot over buying stuff at Disney. Since I had a car I could easily get to some of the off-site places like In-N-Out burgers (a must!) and El Pollo Loco for cheaper meals.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[KCmike]

First of all Congratulations!!! We did the flight like you over a long weekend about three years ago during Halloween. Oh it was amazing.

Ok. Does Southwest fly out of Omaha? It does in Kansas City like the last poster said and flights are cheap and you can get non stop from KC. Oh yeah and bags fly free!

I would check out the Disneyland website for hotels on Harbor Blvd like Fairfield Inn because they usually offer a free 4th night when you book at least four or more days. I know alot of people like HOJO around here and it is ok but to me its no better than Fairfield Inn. Plus its closer to McDonalds and the park. It can take five people to. Are your kids boys, girls, etc? We slept two girls together and the boy took the twin size big chair that folds out into a bed. No extra bed cost there!

You can rent a car from Downtown Disney if you want to drive to San Diego. It is a short hour and half ride to Downtown San Diego so it might be quicker since your going to Sea World. Sea World is alot of fun in San Diego. Our second trip we spent three nights at the Hotel Del Coronado in SD and then drove up for the rest of it in DL. I'll warn you though you will get hooked with California. We've now done LA, San Diego, beaches, Moneterey, San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park. YNP is the most amazing place I've ever been to. Put it on your bucket list. Plus its easy to put a DL vacation with it.

I would go to Newport or Laguna beach for the kids as well. Great locations. I would skip Hollywood as its dirty and not worth the time. You will find that the highways driving from LAX to DL are always busy and the scenery is awful. It looks nasty and dirty too. But once you get to Anaheim its better. Ocean and 101 HWY or PCH (Pacific Coast HWY) are amazing. San Diego is beautiful everywhere.

Cheapest flight are always to LAX for us from the midwest.

Like another poster said you can get books like Unofficial guide to Disneyland, Birnbaums, and others at the library. We always have the newest versions at our library but I'm not sure how they do it? Miceage.com and mouseplanet.com are great tools for seeing whats happening out there. Miceage regularly updates the park info with pictures. Disneyland is amazing. It is so small yet so detailed. You don't half to walk a mile to get to an attraction like WDW and the attractions are for the most part better.

Keep the thread alive with any questions or you can PM me if you have anything else you would like to ask. Half the fun is planning for me. Enjoy.

Have you been to Disneyworld?

 

[fostapeepz]

Awesome information, thank you so much! I rechecked flights if we left on Sunday, instead of Monday, and returned on Thursday, and they were much cheaper! I do think Southwest flies out of Omaha. I guess I will have to wait until March to check the pricing.

Kansas City is the same distance from us as Denver (about 7 hours), so we probably won't try to drive quite that far.

My husband is a definite on taking the bus down to San Diego. He does NOT want to EVER drive in California again. I think the bus tour will suit us fine.

Desert Palms also offered the 4th night free. I will keep hotel shopping, but most of them that I have looked at online were going to require us to have 2 rooms with 5 people. Desert Palms had reasonable suites with 2 queen beds and a foldout couch. That would fit us perfect. Plus it was very close. I will keep checking though.

I guess my big question right now is timing for booking and buying tickets. If I wait until March to check Southwests flights will I be early enough to get decent seats? I just don't know anything about flying or how quickly the hotels fill up. I believe we're going to be going in what's considered 'off season' - which was my goal - but we won't hit Veterans Day (it's the 11th this year) and they should have some of the Christmas decorations up, from what I understand. Very very excited! I will be checking our library for those books! Thanks again for all the tips!