We're going to Disneyland!!

[Aristomommy]

I have had the trip planned for a while, but I purchased our airfare today as the New Year's specials were finally posted for my area. So there is no turning back now, LOL!! We will be leaving on Valentine's Day and have 3 day hoppers. The it's off to visit with Greatgrandma and Greatgrandpa for rest of the week. Now I am truly excited to plan the rest of the details. Here are some questions for the pros:

What's the weather like in mid February? What kind of clothes should we pack?
Which character meal is recommended for DD8 and DS2? Are they likely to be all booked by now?
What about hotel suggestions? I have looked at Candy Cane Inn, Camelot Inn, and Ramada maingate. Ideally I would like a family suite or 2 bedroom suite that is within walking distance of Disneyland.

Thanks for all your help. You will likely see me with LOTS of questions for our upcoming trip. DH visited DL many times as a child when visiting family, I have only been to WDW.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have had the trip planned for a while, but I purchased our airfare today as the New Year's specials were finally posted for my area. So there is no turning back now, LOL!! We will be leaving on Valentine's Day and have 3 day hoppers. The it's off to visit with Greatgrandma and Greatgrandpa for rest of the week. Now I am truly excited to plan the rest of the details. Here are some questions for the pros:

What's the weather like in mid February? What kind of clothes should we pack?
Which character meal is recommended for DD8 and DS2? Are they likely to be all booked by now?
What about hotel suggestions? I have looked at Candy Cane Inn, Camelot Inn, and Ramada maingate. Ideally I would like a family suite or 2 bedroom suite that is within walking distance of Disneyland.

Thanks for all your help. You will likely see me with LOTS of questions for our upcoming trip. DH visited DL many times as a child when visiting family, I have only been to WDW.

We always enjoy Goofy's Kitchen, it has a wide variety of characters that applea to both girls and boys. And it serves all three meals unlike the other character meals that serve only breakfast or lunch and dinner. If you click on the link at the top of this page that is in brown, you can find pricing and information on all the character meals. You should be fine to book one, call 714-781-3463 to make reservations. Of your three hotels, the Candy Cane Inn gets the highest reviews. I don't know much about suites and if any of those three offer them. There are a few Residence Inns in the area you could check into. I would book quickly, February 14 is coming up! You should be fine however as that is after Presidents Day and middweek I think. For clothes, I would pack everything, we were at Disneyland last February and it was quite warm. But it can be cold too and the nice are always chilly that time of year regardless of the days. So maybe think in terms of layers. Have a great time with your planning and congratulations on your trip!

 

[npealer]

We will be there that week too! I haven't been tp DL in Feb. I have heard good things about Candy Cane Inn. We usually stay at Residence on Clementine. Goofy's Kitchen is a great character meal. Can't go wrong with it!

 

[Aristomommy]

Thanks for the replies. Here is what confuses me about the hotels. Some of them say 5 min. walk or 2 blocks from entrance when describing their location. How long of a walk is it from the main entrance? MIL says she has always driven just for the day and the walk from the parking lot is more than 5 min. So when you stay at the main entrance hotels do you first walk to the main entrance, then through the parking lot or are you actually closer than if you drove? I'm just trying to figure out the layout of the parks

 

[blackjackdelta]

We also stay at the RI on Clementine. Having a hard time trying to find a place other than the RI that meets our need that does not cost $$$$$.

Jack

 

[PrincessSitka]

Candy Cane is always receiving great reviews in here. My fav is Goofy's kitchen.

 

[Amy&Dan]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=785530

Click on this link and look at some of the maps. Basically there are some motels, right on the crosswalk of Harbor Blvd., that are literally across the street from the maingates of Disneyland and therefore a five minute walk. The Camelot and Ramada Maingate would be about 5 minutes from the crosswalk into Disneyland (in opposite directions of the crosswalk) Also, to let you know, the Camelot Inn used to be called the Park Inn so it may show as that on some maps. The Camelot is between the Carousel Inn and the McDonalds on Harbor. The Candy Cane Inn has its own private shuttle that goes to the main gates twice every hour (the Candy Cane is maybe a 15 minute walk depending on how fast you walk). As far as "two blocks" I would assume that is not as close as "five minutes" or they would say that. Two blocks that are city blocks can be a much further walk than you might think. Try that above link and that should help you get an idea for the layout of Disneyland and the surrounding area. Hope that helps you a bit!

 

[abby]

If your dd is into the princesses, try lunch at Ariel's Grotto, the food is good and 4 or 5 princess come to your table, my dd 6 loves it, also I like that it is a table servcie, not buffett place.......

As for hotels, when they say two blocks, that can mean very very long blocks. We stayed at HOJO in October and enjoyed it, but it was a 10-15 minute walk, ok if little one is in a stroller. Loved the pool and the service.

We were there last Jan. Dress in Layer, Jeans, short sleeved shirt and long sleeved or sweat shirt on top. Take coats for the night parades, amazing how chilly it felt.

 

[Aristomommy]

Thanks for all the help so far. I made a hotel reservations at the Camelot Inn. I was able to get a family suite with plenty of room for all of us. I also like the location of the hotel. We can just walk to the maingate and come back during the day. Now I'm off to planning rest of the trip. I have some more questions for the pros here:

What time are the parades and fireworks at DL and CA parks? We will be there feb 14-16.

Is there a way to find out what times the shows such as Playhouse Disney and Aladdin are? I know there is a website for the WDW shows. I would like to plan these shows around DS's nap.

Thanks again!!!

 

[jemilah]

Look on disneyland.com and click on the calendar , the show times should be up , they are for when we go the week before.