West Coast trip for an East Coast Family

[darnheather]

I'd like to take my kids to Disneyland but the cost of airfare just to spend 2 or 3 days never seems to make sense to me. However, I noticed the Wonder trips out of San Diego are decently priced. Is there anything I need to know that's different about those trips than the ones out of the East coast? Is there Disney transportation from the park to the port? If not what is the easiest way to get there?

If you've done a land/sea trip I'd love to hear about that especially.

 

[ludari]

There is no Disney transportation from the port to Disneyland and I would suggest the easiest way to get from the San Diego to Disneyland is the Amtrak train. It will drop you off in Anaheim near Angel Stadium and from there you can take uber or taxi service to the parks.

 

[darnheather]

There is no Disney transportation from the port to Disneyland and I would suggest the easiest way to get from the San Diego to Disneyland is the Amtrak train. It will drop you off in Anaheim near Angel Stadium and from there you can take uber or taxi service to the parks.

Thank you. Is that something that needs to be reserved far in advance?

 

[ludari]

Thank you. Is that something that needs to be reserved far in advance?

No you can purchase your tickets at the train station. FYI - The Amtrak station is within walking distance to the San Diego port (I've done it three times) unless you have a lot of luggage then it might be a little more difficult.

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

We just went to Disneyland last month for the first time (we are NYers) and it was AMAZING!! LOVED it so much! Soooo worth the price of airfare! We have been to WDW like 20 times, but this was just so different and awesome!! I would combine that with a cruise, perfect!

P.S, we did 5 days in the parks and felt that was perfect!

 

[bcwife76]

We did the Vancouver to San Diego cruise in 2015 and then did a one way car rental from San Diego up to Anaheim to do Disneyland for another 3 days. We originally were going to do the train but in the end did the car rental (it was a bit cheaper but not by much) just to get us up there a bit faster. In the end I think the train would have been just as fast - not because we ran into any traffic (we actually didn't for a change!) but because we got off the ship late (stupid customs, grrr), the taxi line was huge (was a bit far of a walk to get to the car rental place) and then the line at the car rental place was insanely long.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'd like to take my kids to Disneyland but the cost of airfare just to spend 2 or 3 days never seems to make sense to me. However, I noticed the Wonder trips out of San Diego are decently priced. Is there anything I need to know that's different about those trips than the ones out of the East coast? Is there Disney transportation from the park to the port? If not what is the easiest way to get there?

If you've done a land/sea trip I'd love to hear about that especially.

You could easily spend 4-5 days at Disneyland also. We do it on a regular basis even having annual passes, we drive from AZ several times/year for weekend getaways, but also do a week in October almost every year.

 

[saxmangeoff]

You could easily spend 4-5 days at Disneyland also. We do it on a regular basis even having annual passes, we drive from AZ several times/year for weekend getaways, but also do a week in October almost every year.

Agreed. I'd say 4 days is the minimum for Disneyland. While it's "only two parks" as opposed to WDW's 4, the parks are much more packed with attractions and shows.