Possible first Disneyland trip and on a budget

[Jen and Ashwin]

DH and I have never been to Disneyland, so I know absolutely nothing about it. I need your help!

Alright, so I have a flight credit from a conference that got cancelled that could cover one airfare. I found flights to California for just $267 per person either the end of September or the beginning of November. This made me think that maybe DH and I could take a 5-night/4 day trip to Disneyland on the cheap. I have enough SPG points to cover 5 nights at the Sheraton Park Hotel. I have also already churned enough gift cards to cover 4 day park tickets. The remaining costs would be transportation to and from the airport, food and souvenirs.

We would get 4 day park tickets, but aren't sure about the park hopper. We always get the park hopper at WDW, but that's because we love eating at Epcot. What are the advantages of the park hopper at DL? We were thinking we would just go to each park for two days each.

What time is better to go, end of September or beginning of November? Are there any advantages to one time over the other?

What is the best way to get from LAX to the Sheraton Park Hotel? Our flight would get in later on a Thursday, around 10:30pm.

What are the best places to eat? We will be eating breakfast in the room and have some snacks to take with us to the parks. We are hoping to keep the food budget pretty reasonable with mostly counter service meals, but with a nicer dinner maybe 1 or 2 nights. What are the best places, both in the parks and even offsite or at Downtown Disney.

We are going to sleep on this tonight and make our decision to pull the trigger tomorrow, so this information is much appreciated in helping us decide. Any other advice or perspectives? Thanks!

 

[rnorwo1]

Go down to the DL forums, you'll be able to get some great responses! I will say, though, that you should definitely get the hopper. Unless something has changed sicnce we were there two years ago, you could get fast passes in both parks at the same time, and it is so easy to hop back and forth since they're so close to each other. We hopped several times a day. There were many shuttle services from the airport, I'm sure the DL forum can give you some specific recommendations. Try to go during the middle of the week and avoid the weekends when the locals are all there. I could not believe how crowded it became about 4 pm on Friday!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Go down to the DL forums, you'll be able to get some great responses! I will say, though, that you should definitely get the hopper. Unless something has changed sicnce we were there two years ago, you could get fast passes in both parks at the same time, and it is so easy to hop back and forth since they're so close to each other. We hopped several times a day. There were many shuttle services from the airport, I'm sure the DL forum can give you some specific recommendations. Try to go during the middle of the week and avoid the weekends when the locals are all there. I could not believe how crowded it became about 4 pm on Friday!

I was hoping to use as few vacation days as possible, but I will keep that in mind. And I will head down to the DL boards. Thanks.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Yay, we've been to WDW prolly a dozen times, but took our first visit to DL in June. If you've got that much covered already, you should definitely pull the trigger!

DL and CA are literally a paved courtyard away from each other, which makes hopping really easy. We don't hop at WDW, so I think it is absolutely about how much you like to jump back and forth between parks.

Downtown Disney is great, and you'll have lots of counter service options or TS there, and it's again "connected" to both parks.

Sept you'll probably have better weather, but Nov May have holiday decor!

Check out mouse savers for dining discount info!

 

[kymom99]

We went once and it was so fun! Very different from WDW. DEFINITELY get the hopper!
We stayed at HoJo so not sure about your hotel and what is around it. However, we ate at Mimis and it was really good. They give BOGO coupons if you sign up on their website and if you buy gift cards for fuel points or whatever you can come out ahead. I recommend breakfast or dinner. Mimis is a short walk from the DL gates on Harbor.
In the parks we ate at Flo's. It's pretty cool and the food is decent and filling. We also ate at Hungry Bear. Pretty good burgers, etc. We only had 2 days in the parks because we were also going to San Diego for a week, but we definitely could have stayed longer.
How awesome you have so much of the cost covered!

 

[Eighty8Keys]

We like November better than September. We were there the last three Septembers and it was miserably hot each time. Upper 90's most days. One year it reach 105 on one of the days. At least the nights cooled off. We only went last September because we wanted to get one last trip with our AP's so we could see the 60th anniversary celebration. But we vowed never again in September. We're taking a break this year so we can save for a WDW trip in January 2017.

If you can swing the price of a park hopper, I really recommend it. It's so nice to have the freedom to go back and forth between the two parks.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We like November better than September. We were there the last three Septembers and it was miserably hot each time. Upper 90's most days. One year it reach 105 on one of the days. At least the nights cooled off. We only went last September because we wanted to get one last trip with our AP's so we could see the 60th anniversary celebration. But we vowed never again in September. We're taking a break this year so we can save for a WDW trip in January 2017.

If you can swing the price of a park hopper, I really recommend it. It's so nice to have the freedom to go back and forth between the two parks.

I was leaning more towards November because of the heat, so this is good to know. Also, if we go in November, it would be my birthday. And you all have convinced me to get the park hopper tickets.

 

[kymom99]

There are a couple restaurants in DTD that are part of the Patina group. If you sign up, you get a free meal for your birthday. Or at least that's the way it used to be.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

They have the Halloween parties at the end of September...those are fun.

 

[daughtersrus]

We went once and it was so fun! Very different from WDW. DEFINITELY get the hopper!
We stayed at HoJo so not sure about your hotel and what is around it. However, we ate at Mimis and it was really good. They give BOGO coupons if you sign up on their website and if you buy gift cards for fuel points or whatever you can come out ahead. I recommend breakfast or dinner. Mimis is a short walk from the DL gates on Harbor.
In the parks we ate at Flo's. It's pretty cool and the food is decent and filling. We also ate at Hungry Bear. Pretty good burgers, etc. We only had 2 days in the parks because we were also going to San Diego for a week, but we definitely could have stayed longer.
How awesome you have so much of the cost covered!

We are in the process of planning a similar trip. I have to hotel at Disneyland set but I'm struggling with the San Diego one. Do you have any suggestions on hotels? Ideally we would like to be on the beach but I don't think that our budget will allow that.

Our only plan right now is to go to the zoo, visit a friend near La Mesa and relax.

Any tips that you can suggest would be appreciated!

 

[DisneyMandC]

DH and I did one day at DL in January. Since we had never been before, I didn't do PH since I knew we would spend the whole day checking out DL. I would recommend getting it though, because as others have said, they're literally a paved courtyard away from each other, so very easy to access.

DL is a good ways from LAX. Not sure if you're planning on renting a car or not, I'm not sure how else you would get there. I imagine a cab would cost quite a bit. Maybe an Uber would be more economical?

As far as nice restaurants go, DH and I ate at Blue Bayou for one meal. It was VERY expensive, but the food was excellent. If you're looking for a splurge meal, I would recommend that. We also ate at Jolly Holiday Bakery and Cafe for quick service, which was excellent.

Have a great trip, we had fun!

Edited: Jolly Holiday Bakery and Cafe, not Carnation Cafe

 

[kymom99]

We are in the process of planning a similar trip. I have to hotel at Disneyland set but I'm struggling with the San Diego one. Do you have any suggestions on hotels? Ideally we would like to be on the beach but I don't think that our budget will allow that.

Our only plan right now is to go to the zoo, visit a friend near La Mesa and relax.

Any tips that you can suggest would be appreciated!

Absolutely! We stayed at the Island Palms on Shelter Island. Great location and beautiful place. We got a junior suite for about $200 a night. Expensive, I know, but not really considering the location. If you consider it, book the Casa Del Mar building. Much nicer than the Island Palms building. 2 nice pools, free bikes, overlooks a marina on one side and a view of Coronado island on the other.
We went to the USS Midway and it was pretty cool. We also went to the Safari Park, which was reasonable if you bought it with the zoo ticket. We took a bike tour in La Jolla for my son's birthday. It was truly a wonderful trip.

 

[hsmamato2]

sounds like a great plan.... I'd go either date, and when we went I was glad we had the hoppers, we went back and forth quite a bit,loved both parks so much! I was annoyed at the halloween overlay on haunted mansion when we went, I wanted to see the original one- they do halloween big out there for like 2 months

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Thanks everyone for the information! We slept on it last night and decided to go ahead! We decided to go in November because the weather will probably be a bit nicer and it's also over my birthday, which will make it extra special. I called Delta this morning and got our flights booked using my previous cancelled flight credit. After the credit was added, the flight cost from Michigan to LA was just $288.20 for two people!

I booked at the Sheraton Park hotel, paying completely with SPG points, so that cost is completely covered. I also went ahead and booked us a round trip Super Shuttle from LAX to our hotel for $54.40 (I found a 15% discount code, which helped). It's not the most luxurious way to get from the airport to DL and back, but it was the cheapest. And our flight doesn't get in until 10:15pm the first night, so it was also one of the only options other than cab or Uber.

My goal will now be to continue churning gift cards to cover all of our other expenses. Given everyone's advice, I will definitely get the park hopper tickets, so it will be $640 for 4 day tickets, which I already have enough funds to cover now. I am going to err on the side of caution and budget $500 for food and another $200 for souvenirs. So I will need to generate another $700 in Disney funds, which I think is completely doable in the next 7 months (I think I can do this in just the next quarter between eBates, eBay Bucks, Target, Perk and Swagbucks.)

Out of pocket, I think this trip will cost us about $400!

Is there anything like the Memory Maker at DL? I saw something called photopass, but it didn't talk about pricing. I don't know that I would purchase it or not, but I just want to know what our options are in this regard.

 

[bjscheel]

We are in the process of planning a similar trip. I have to hotel at Disneyland set but I'm struggling with the San Diego one. Do you have any suggestions on hotels? Ideally we would like to be on the beach but I don't think that our budget will allow that.

Our only plan right now is to go to the zoo, visit a friend near La Mesa and relax.

Any tips that you can suggest would be appreciated!

We stayed at The Dana on Mission Bay. You can walk to the beach from there and it is the closest hotel to Sea World if that interests you. I think it's about a mile to the beach but it was an easy walk. But if you go there, reserve one of the rooms on the bay side, they are newer and nicer. We loved it there.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Personally, (and I know it won't save you that much) I would get a 3 Day Park Hopper. I can personally see everything I want in 2 days with both parks, but 3 if I REALLY took my time. Not sure if you've been to Southern California but I would use the extra day to explore the area. There's so much to do! JUST a thought. But the park hopper is a MUST at DLR. You'll need to download the wait time APPs and see which parks have the shortest lines (it's not like WDW - no real planning involved except maybe a couple of reservations a few days/week in advance).

As far as weather (and I know you already booked) but our weather is awfully unpredictable. I apologize. Just keep an eye out the few days leading up to your trip because in early November it could be a high of 90 or a high of 70. You just never know!

 

[Disney_1derland]

We are in the process of planning a similar trip. I have to hotel at Disneyland set but I'm struggling with the San Diego one. Do you have any suggestions on hotels? Ideally we would like to be on the beach but I don't think that our budget will allow that.

Our only plan right now is to go to the zoo, visit a friend near La Mesa and relax.

Any tips that you can suggest would be appreciated!

Not sure what your hotel standards are but you can get a decent hotel a block from the beac in Pacific Beach (which is 10 minutes from the sea world area). Hotels in San Diego tend to be fairly rundown compared to other area. If it's listed as a 3-star, it's really a 2 star. That's unless you get a hotel right downtown. Stay away from the hotel circle area, they are awful!

 

[Golf4food]

Personally, (and I know it won't save you that much) I would get a 3 Day Park Hopper. I can personally see everything I want in 2 days with both parks, but 3 if I REALLY took my time. Not sure if you've been to Southern California but I would use the extra day to explore the area. There's so much to do! JUST a thought. But the park hopper is a MUST at DLR. You'll need to download the wait time APPs and see which parks have the shortest lines (it's not like WDW - no real planning involved except maybe a couple of reservations a few days/week in advance).

As far as weather (and I know you already booked) but our weather is awfully unpredictable. I apologize. Just keep an eye out the few days leading up to your trip because in early November it could be a high of 90 or a high of 70. You just never know!

I disagree. For a first timer that loves Disney I'd stick with four days. We did five day hoppers our first trip and only used a couple of hours for one of those for breakfast and then rented a car to drive to the beach. While fun, and So Cal is certainly nice, one day is not enough to see a whole heck of a lot anyway, but would give a lot of park time to a first-timer. There's plenty to enjoy over 4 full days, IMHO. Lots to see two or three times. Enjoy it. Take some time and don't feel as rushed. And definitely do the park hoppers.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Not sure what your hotel standards are but you can get a decent hotel a block from the beac in Pacific Beach (which is 10 minutes from the sea world area). Hotels in San Diego tend to be fairly rundown compared to other area. If it's listed as a 3-star, it's really a 2 star. That's unless you get a hotel right downtown. Stay away from the hotel circle area, they are awful!

The two I've stayed in were Surfer Beach and Pacific Shores. Surfer beach is actually beach front. They are independent hotels, not chains and they were both clean and the staff accommodating.

 

[kymom99]

Not sure what your hotel standards are but you can get a decent hotel a block from the beac in Pacific Beach (which is 10 minutes from the sea world area). Hotels in San Diego tend to be fairly rundown compared to other area. If it's listed as a 3-star, it's really a 2 star. That's unless you get a hotel right downtown. Stay away from the hotel circle area, they are awful!