Possible first Disneyland trip and on a budget

[kymom99]

Wanted to add, we also went to Cabrillo National Monument and Light house. A very cool area and it cost I think $7. There was a wonderful view from there. Also Sunset Cliff is free and has the best sunset views in the area.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

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.

We just enjoy the parks differently, and that's ok. I guess it depends on OP's traveling style. I'm usually go, go, go! So I guess I can just get that much more done. I've been able to do Splash, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, eat dinner and go back to do Buzz, Star Tours and Space Mountain with my 5 & 7 year old in tow in under two hours(during the week and on a Sunday) - but only because I plan accordingly and am constantly checking wait times and strategically planning my FPs. Not everyone has that style and that's ok. Had we been at the park the entire day we'd have been able to knock out the entire park.

And one day is CERTAINLY not enough to see all of Southern California but if it's a once in a lifetime or a place they've wanted to visit they might have a few places in mind they'd like to visit. If I weren't from Southern California I would certainly not want to JUST visit Disney no matter how big a Disney fan I am. It was just a suggestion though

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We just enjoy the parks differently, and that's ok. I guess it depends on OP's traveling style. I'm usually go, go, go! So I guess I can just get that much more done. I've been able to do Splash, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, eat dinner and go back to do Buzz, Star Tours and Space Mountain with my 5 & 7 year old in tow in under two hours(during the week and on a Sunday) - but only because I plan accordingly and am constantly checking wait times and strategically planning my FPs. Not everyone has that style and that's ok. Had we been at the park the entire day we'd have been able to knock out the entire park.

And one day is CERTAINLY not enough to see all of Southern California but if it's a once in a lifetime or a place they've wanted to visit they might have a few places in mind they'd like to visit. If I weren't from Southern California I would certainly not want to JUST visit Disney no matter how big a Disney fan I am. It was just a suggestion though

I appreciate all of the suggestions. We were actually in California last August for our honeymoon, though we hit national parks (Yosemite, Sequioa, King's canyon) and not theme parks. This isn't a once in a lifetime trip or anything. We will be back to California in the future, but I am not sure the next time we will dedicate this much time to Disneyland, so I am thinking we will stick with 4 days. Since everything is brand new to us, I think we will take things leisurely, not really rushing to hit everything in a single day, but rather enjoying the attractions, atmosphere and dining options.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I appreciate all of the suggestions. We were actually in California last August for our honeymoon, though we hit national parks (Yosemite, Sequioa, King's canyon) and not theme parks. This isn't a once in a lifetime trip or anything. We will be back to California in the future, but I am not sure the next time we will dedicate this much time to Disneyland, so I am thinking we will stick with 4 days. Since everything is brand new to us, I think we will take things leisurely, not really rushing to hit everything in a single day, but rather enjoying the attractions, atmosphere and dining options.

Then no need to use your vacation time for touring elsewhere It sounds like it will be a nice, leisurely trip. I'd like to do that with my husband at WDW one day - without kids! Just spend a week there and not have to worry about seeing all of our favorites and eat, enjoy the shows, eat some more and enjoy each other's company - ONE DAY!

 

[daughtersrus]

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!

Thanks for the suggestions. We decided to rent a 3 bedroom condo on Airbnb that is in LaJolla. It's about 10 mins from the beach and 15 mins to our friend's house in La Mesa. I was a little nervous having not used Airbnb before but the reviews are good and my friend went to check out the area. She said it's in an upscale neighborhood. We couldn't beat the price compared to what we would have paid for 2 rooms or a suite since there are 6 of us. It's less than 1/2 of th cost. Of course we won't have maid service but that's ok. The cost savings and having a full kitchen and laundry is worth it. It's the end of our trip so I can wash everything and unpack clean clothes when we get home.

 

[kymom99]

Thanks for the suggestions. We decided to rent a 3 bedroom condo on Airbnb that is in LaJolla. It's about 10 mins from the beach and 15 mins to our friend's house in La Mesa. I was a little nervous having not used Airbnb before but the reviews are good and my friend went to check out the area. She said it's in an upscale neighborhood. We couldn't beat the price compared to what we would have paid for 2 rooms or a suite since there are 6 of us. It's less than 1/2 of th cost. Of course we won't have maid service but that's ok. The cost savings and having a full kitchen and laundry is worth it. It's the end of our trip so I can wash everything and unpack clean clothes when we get home.

That sounds great! La Jolla is beautiful! Check to see if the owners have bikes or beach equipment you can use. That seems to be common in the area for private rentals.

 

[MomToOne]

We live in Northern CA and hit Disneyland every few years.

When we fly, I just take a cab to/from the airport. Once at your hotel, if it is near Disneyland it is probably either within walking distance, or is on an ART shuttle bus route. Over on the DL board, lots of people complain about ART but if you are used to WDW buses, they really are just like them. The hotel we usually stay at is not in walking distance so we always use ART, and I'm fine with it. The shuttles costs a few dollars per day per person, but its easier and cheaper than parking if its just two of you. Most hotels in the area charge for parking, so using cabs/ART also reduces that cost.

BTW - Fly into Orange County if you can, not LAX. Easier airport to navigate, easier drive to Disney.

Our first few visits I didn't get Park Hoppers, and we didn't need them. It's easy these days to fill your day with just one park. That used to not be the case - CA Adventure didn't have enough really for a full go-go-go day, but now I think it does. Depending on our schedule, sometimes we get Park Hoppers now, sometimes we don't.

I agree with PPs that Downtown Disney is the easiest place outside of the parks to get food. It's very different than Florida - a wide variety of stores/restaurants, only a few Disney places. Short walk from either park (the entrance to both parks and Downtown Disney are all off of the same main area).

Weather in California in the summer - including September - is a crap shoot. It could be hot, hot, hot or it could be quite pleasant or even sort of cool, especially in the evenings. I've been at the end of August several times: once I needed to go out and buy long pants and a sweatshirt to wear out to the parks in the evening because I packed all wrong, another time I just wanted to live in the pool the whole time because it was miserably hot. November is generally OK, cooler but not seriously cold - although the rainy season starts about then so you might have to deal with that.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Thanks for the suggestions. We decided to rent a 3 bedroom condo on Airbnb that is in LaJolla. It's about 10 mins from the beach and 15 mins to our friend's house in La Mesa. I was a little nervous having not used Airbnb before but the reviews are good and my friend went to check out the area. She said it's in an upscale neighborhood. We couldn't beat the price compared to what we would have paid for 2 rooms or a suite since there are 6 of us. It's less than 1/2 of th cost. Of course we won't have maid service but that's ok. The cost savings and having a full kitchen and laundry is worth it. It's the end of our trip so I can wash everything and unpack clean clothes when we get home.

La Jolla is great! Sounds wonderful!

 

[Sagginit]

I was there for the first time last November (first week), here are my tips:

- it got colder at night than expected, so pack layers. a tee or long sleeve tee during the day was ok, but we needed two sweatshirts at least at night as a cold front dipped in. we never used the pool at our hotel as a result.
- QS in DL is better than I thought, so we only ate one meal a the breakfast buffett character meal just to see the characters and were fine with that.
- park hoppers are a must, crowds can vary between parks as locals show up in the afternoon and at night in large numbers. we used our PH to get fastpasses midday to stack up for use at night. we got the most done in the parks during mid-day. morning had a big rush and at night the locals were happy to stand in line for an hour for just one ride and drink beer/wine or play games.
- I had 4 days and it was perfect. rides were down much more often than I have experienced in DL. Splash went down three times our first day, we only were able to ride it once in 4 days. California Screaming also would go down a few times a day, but normally it was just for a bit and since so many left the line it made sense to stay in line.
- there is a Walmart marketplace not far. we had a rental car so we stocked up on snacks and water to take into the park. it save us a ton of money, we didn't really want churros anyway as most of our meals had junkfood in them.
- i forget the name of the complex but their is a mall/ strip mall type place with lots of chain restaurants. the park closed at about 9 so two nights we went to dinner after the park at one of the restaurants as it was a quick drive from our hotel (you actually could walk, its just odd as you don't see many pedestrians). we had leftovers in our room as we ordered a big entree each and used this as a lunch/afternoon snack some days too.
- if you have a disney visa they do the discount at the gift shops on a purchase of over $50 too.

 

[MAH4546]

It's disgustingly hot in September. LA's summer is basically two months: August and September. The weather sucks.