Tell me about Disneyland!!!

[Mercy]

My nephew (well kind of) is getting married next summer in California and DH and I are invited. His fiance said that Disneyland is only about 10 miles from where the wedding is, and she knows how much I love Disneyworld, so I will definitely be going!!!

How are DW and DL different, other than the obvious. How long does it take to do DL, more than 1 day? What attractions are a must do?

I've never been to California either, so this will be a very exciting trip!

 

[geffric]

You might want to check over at the Disneyland board.

We had a 4 day hopper for Disneyl and DCA and that was fine. We could have done 3 days but then we wouldn't have done our favorite things over and over again.

 

[cardaway]

The place is much smaller and easier to navigate.

Really the only big thing not repeated in any way now that Soarin made it to Epcot is the Aladdin show in DCA. Best show I've seen at any park and well worth whatever it takes to see it.

 

[Evil Genius]

Disneyland will take you a day and California Adventure will take another day. Must sees are POC and Indiana Jones ride at DL and definitely see the Aladdin show at DCA.

 

[Laz]

We were just at DL this past April and loved it. MUCH smaller, but it has Walt's unique touch!

 

[Dodie]

Loved Disneyland when we visited there a few years ago. This question gets asked frequently on the Disneyland Board. You should check there for details.

 

[grinningghost]

It's more compact - more quaint.

It has a better (IMHO) POTC, Haunted Mansion, Small World. It also has the Indiana Jones ride, which is amazing.

DCA is very easy to rip through in less than a day. It's still new, so there's alot of open space. I'm sure in the future it will have alot more.

I would suggest staying at the Grand Californian. It's pricey, but so worth every cent. It's located right in DCA and Downtown Disney. It's like, if you forget something in your room, and you're in the middle of the parks, it's no big deal to run back to your room quickly.

Oh, and it's a beautiful hotel with outstanding service.

Their DTD isn't as big and impressive as Florida's, but it's nice.

Only real complaint I had was the clientele at Disneyland isn't great - especially on Saturdays.

 

[Pop Daddy]

its like wdw readheaded step child

 

[HeatherinNC]

As you can see by my ticker, we are going in Oct

I have had a lot of fun planning this trip. We are staying at Paradise Pier which is one of the three resorts on site. We were most looking forward to riding Indy, POTC and the Matterhorn. However, I just found out last night that the Matterhorn is undergoing a refurb while we are going to be there so we'll miss it.
Space Mountain went thru a major refurb last year and it is supposed to be awesome!
I went to Disneyland when I was in the 7th grade, but I don't remember too much about it. I know we ate at the Blue Bayou and I will make sure we eat there on this trip. It's one of the most popular restaurants in DL. I just can't wait to go! I'm sure you'll have a blast! Don't forget to check out the Disneyland forum, which you probably already have. And the Mods just added new forums for Southern California.

 

[Dan Murphy]

DL/DCA is great. I would do 3 days, one at DL, then one at DCA and then back for another at DL. It really has a different feel to it than the Magic Kingdom, just nice.

 

[wdw4life]

It's more compact - more quaint.

It has a better (IMHO) POTC, Haunted Mansion, Small World. It also has the Indiana Jones ride, which is amazing.

DCA is very easy to rip through in less than a day. It's still new, so there's alot of open space. I'm sure in the future it will have alot more.

I would suggest staying at the Grand Californian. It's pricey, but so worth every cent. It's located right in DCA and Downtown Disney. It's like, if you forget something in your room, and you're in the middle of the parks, it's no big deal to run back to your room quickly.

Oh, and it's a beautiful hotel with outstanding service.

Their DTD isn't as big and impressive as Florida's, but it's nice.

Only real complaint I had was the clientele at Disneyland isn't great - especially on Saturdays.

Agree with everything but the last line. I'm there on Saturdays!

I prefer DL to MK. IMO we do have a better POC, HM, IASW, BL, SpM. I also prefer the way our 'lands are set up. I personally love to ride the Mark Twain on a hot day. It's just so relaxing and sometimes you can catch a glimpse of the cats. I also love staying at the Grand Californian. I usually don't stay overnight because I live so close but I've been known to hang out in the lobby so I can pretend I am!

 

[Amy23]

We went out to California in 2004 and stayed at the DisneyLand Hotel. We thought it would be nice to stay at the original hotel, but after getting there, wished I had went for the Grand Californian. The way I always describe the difference is Disney Land puts portions of 4 parks into 2 in a much smaller area. I had gone there many times before when I lived in San Diego back in the mid 80's. It changed a whole lot with the addition of another park. One thing I would suggest is to call AAA travel. When we went, I found that it was actually better to book through them. I could have booked the room with the AAA rate and purchased tickets seperately, but found that if I just did the package I made out better. I'm not sure if it would be the same now or not, but when we went we had unlimited fast passes with our AAA tickets. We also were given pins, lanyards and tags for our luggage included in the package. Oh yeah, there was also a few priority seating coupons too. One was for the Alladin show. That was great. I was also going to be going to San Diego while we were there so I got my package with what was called the Southern California Party Pass (or something like that, can't remember exactly). It had 3 days of Disney, 1 day at Knott's Berry Farms, 1 day at Sea World, and 1 day at either the San Diego Zoo or the Wild Animal Park. It was a great value for us. I think that I read somewhere that it now includes Universal, but I am not sure. I am sure you will have a great time no matter what you decide to do.

 

[cardaway]

I was also going to be going to San Diego while we were there so I got my package with what was called the Southern California Party Pass (or something like that, can't remember exactly). It had 3 days of Disney, 1 day at Knott's Berry Farms, 1 day at Sea World, and 1 day at either the San Diego Zoo or the Wild Animal Park. It was a great value for us. I think that I read somewhere that it now includes Universal, but I am not sure. I am sure you will have a great time no matter what you decide to do.

CityPass maybe?

 

[SandraVB79]

I prefer Disneyland way over Disney World, because it's smaller and cozier!

Must do's:

- Fantasmic! (it's the best thing ever, you have to see it, no matter what) (oh, and it's a gazillion times better than the one at MGM!)
- Indiana Jones
- Pirates
- Aladdin show
- breakfast with Mickey pancakes on the River Belle Terrace
- Dole whip while waiting for Tiki Room
- Storybookland Canal Boats
- Fireworks
- Parade
- Elecrical Parade at DCA (if it's running)
- Walk through the gardens of Disneyland Hotel and watch the kois and the fountains
- Enjoy the GCH lobby

In 1998 and 2000, I went for just 1 day. Since there was just DL, it was enough, mainly because I was alone and RAN from one thing to another.

In 2002 and last October, I was there for 4 days, and I think now in September, I'll go for 5 days. But 4 days is enough to see everything without being stressed.