Planning Hawaii...Stop at Disneyland???

[Ms.Mouse]

We are talking about going to Aluani but we would be bringing a 10 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old. Because we live in CT, it's a looonnnggg trip for children so I was thinking it may be worth it to fly from CT to LAX and going to Disneyland for a couple of days and then back to the airport to Hawaii... Good idea??? Opinions on how to break it up somehow please! Also, how far is it from LAX to Disneyland??? Do they provide any type of transportation (like Magical Express) or no??? Thanks in advance for the info...

 

[KathyK]

We're thinking of doing this too, but we won't be going to HI until 2013 when the kids will be 10 and 11. We've been to DL twice, and there is no magical express. We rented a car when we went, but you could make reservations with a shuttle service.

 

[KathyK]

Oh, and it was about an hour drive from the airport to DL IIRC.

 

[Ms.Mouse]

Thanks KathyK

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

There are several shuttle services from LAX to DL including one operated by Grayline (I think) that is a lot like ME with Disney themed busses. The difference is that you pay out of pocket for the service.

 

[TiffJ]

When I went I flew into John Wayne. Much closer than LAX & less traffic to get through. We took a taxi to the hotel & I don't think it was more than $40-50. Now you have me thinking about this too. We are planning 2013 & my kids have never been to DL. It would be cool to show it to them.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

We are from NJ and doing this exact trip leaving on Sunday. We are flying from Newark to LAX which is about 5 1/2 hours. Staying at the Grand Californian in DL for 3 nights using points and than flying from LAX to Maui which is another approximatley 5 1/2 hour flight. We are spending 5 nights in Maui and than flying to Honolulu to be at Aulani for opening day. Stopping in LA was a good breaking point which also lets our kids (and I) go to Disneyland. We are renting a car, exploring the LA area (which makes DH happy) the day we arrive since it is close to the airport and than will drive out to DL. The flight home is going to be LONG though. We are flying from Honolulu to Chicago which is about 9 1/2 - 10 hours and than to Newark. I will try to post when we get back.

 

[mousenyc]

I'm thinking of this same trip for 2015 (10yr Anniversary). I've been thinking about how to break up the trip for our son since it's a long way from NJ. Let us know how it goes.

 

[emilymad]

We are doing this but we are flying for Philadelphia to San Francisco instead of LAX. For our dates in mid-September the flights to Honolulu where way cheaper from SFO instead of LAX. We were kind of last minute in planning this trip though. Stopping in Disneyland sounds great! I can't imagine doing a 12 hour flight straight to Honolulu.

 

[izzy]

I'm planning on doing this next May if I can get the reservations at the 7 month mark. Fly to DL with 4 nights at GCV, then on to Aulani for 10 nights, and then to Maui for 4 nights.

Can't wait!

 

[bwvBound]

We are from NJ and doing this exact trip leaving on Sunday. We are flying from Newark to LAX which is about 5 1/2 hours. Staying at the Grand Californian in DL for 3 nights using points and than flying from LAX to Maui which is another approximatley 5 1/2 hour flight. We are spending 5 nights in Maui and than flying to Honolulu to be at Aulani for opening day. Stopping in LA was a good breaking point which also lets our kids (and I) go to Disneyland. We are renting a car, exploring the LA area (which makes DH happy) the day we arrive since it is close to the airport and than will drive out to DL. The flight home is going to be LONG though. We are flying from Honolulu to Chicago which is about 9 1/2 - 10 hours and than to Newark. I will try to post when we get back.

Yowza! Have a great time!

 

[dvc_john]

I do this every other year. Next time will be in 2012.

I fly into John Wayne Orange County airport and take a shuttle to Disneyland.

In the evening of my last day there, I take a shuttle to LAX, then take a hotel shuttle to an airport area hotel. In the morning I shuttle back to the terminal and catch a morning flight to Hawaii. That way I get extra time at DL, and don't have to be concerned about missing my flight due to traffic problems.

 

[nemofans]

I have been deciding this too to break up the long flight. Right now, we are planning to fly from Chicago into San Diego for a few days, do SD zoo & Sea World, then fly to Oahu (Aulani). I'm not sure whether to stop again on the way home, maybe in San Fran instead, or just take the long flight direct into Chicago. I guess it depends on how much time DH can get off work.

 

[nemofans]

We are talking about going to Aluani but we would be bringing a 10 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old. Because we live in CT, it's a looonnnggg trip for children so I was thinking it may be worth it to fly from CT to LAX and going to Disneyland for a couple of days and then back to the airport to Hawaii... Good idea??? Opinions on how to break it up somehow please! Also, how far is it from LAX to Disneyland??? Do they provide any type of transportation (like Magical Express) or no??? Thanks in advance for the info...

We are going to DL this year & from my research i have learned that you need a car seat even in a shuttle van or taxi. B/c we don't want to drag along our car seat for our 2.5 yr old, we will need to take the Disneyland Express bus. We are flying into John Wayne as well.

 

[arthur06]

We have thought about that same trip many times, but for the cost of airfare, we want the kids to be older.

We have thought about flying to San Fran, and visiting the Disney Museum, Alcatraz, and other area attractions. Then driving down PCH and slowly making our way to DL. Then spend a few days at the end at DL...

 

[3inthefamily]

We are going to do the same trip from CT next summer. I think we are flying Jet Blue to LAX or Burbank and staying for 2 nights at Disneyland. Then flying to Aulani for a week, then back to LA for a night and head home from there. I hate the flying, but I am dying to go to Hawaii!

 

[Ms.Mouse]

I hate flying too!!! I was playing around with prices and thought that Southwest had great fares flying out of Bradley to LAX, which made me think of making CA a "pit stop" for a couple of days... Have a great trip...3inthefamily... AND each of you going to Hawaii...

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

We are also planning at trip to Aulani. But we were tossing around the idea of staying at DL for a few days on the way back. We're from Boston. We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon, and found that the time change on the way home was brutal, more so than on the way out, not sure why that is. But I remember coming home from our honeymoon and feeling like death, and sleeping all crazy hours trying to get rid of the jetlag. The way out didn't seem as bad. We plan on arriving in HNL and staying a night at a budget hotel in Waikiki Beach area, and then heading out to Aulani bright and early the next moring. Our boys will be 7 and 10 when we go, hopefully it won't be too hard on them.
I can hardly wait until Aulani opens in 8 days, and all the trip reports start coming in!

 

[nu2dvc]

We were in Hawaii for 9 nights last month and I completely concur about the jetlag brutality of the return trip back East. We are from NY and traveled with our 4, 8, & 10 year olds. They did absolutely fine on the plane coming home b/c we traveled in the middle of the night mostly, but they were all wide awake for the flight out. All 11 hours of it. And there were almost no kids on either flight. Luckily they were well behaved, except for about 15 minutes where my 4 & 8 yr. old were fighting over an iPad and the stewardess asked them to physically separate b/c there was an annoyed passenger. It was pretty funny, b/c as far as "tiffs" go that take place b/w kids, this one was about a 4 on a scale of 1-10. I was so shocked when they got reprimanded over virtually nothing. Anyway, good luck and enjoy your trip to DL & Hawaii Just remember to allow yourself at least one full day after returning for down time to re-adjust to your time zone. It took me a full week to be fully functional & if you research jetlag, they tell you to expect 1 day for each hour of time zone that you cross over!

 

[Starr W.]

We went to Hawaii last summer for 17 days. Flew direct out of DTW, 8.5 hrs.

No problem for DH and myself, because we are used to long haul flights. Fly to Europe/Asia for work.

Surprisingly the boys(9/14) did wonderful. First day in Honolulu up and ready to hit Pearl Harbour. And we landed about 8am in DTW, they were fine, no naps and we were all back on schedule right away.

Over years of travelling, I've found eastbound long hauls are easier for me to deal with than westbound. Most of the times, I didn't have the luxury of taking a nap(work) which is the worse thing you can do to minimize jet lag. You need to stay up until a "reasonable" bedtime at your current local time. It makes a world of difference.

Also drink a lot of water on the flight!