Yikes! Total DL newbie needs help!

[GEM]

Well, after about a zillion trips to WDW, we are thinking of trying Disneyland this spring. I have a few questions, of course.

-We were thinking about the first week in May. How would that be as far as crowds and weather go?

-I have no idea where to stay! We always stay on-site at WDW. Are there any advantages to staying on-site at DL? We would like to be able to walk to the parks and DD. Is that possible? Any suggestions?

-Are there any good websites for DL, other than the official Disney site?

-How long do you think we should plan to stay to see Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney at a semi-relaxed pace? We will have a two-year old with us and we don't want to be commandos! oHw many days will we need?

Thanks for your help! I consider myself a total expert on WDW, but I know nothing about DL!

 

[Firefly777]

-May 5th is the beginning of the 50th Anniversary celebration. So I wouldn't be surprised to see it pretty crowded during that time. Weather shouldn't be bad at all, but you can never tell.

-If you stay onsite, you can easily walk anywhere around the resort. Although that is also true if you stay at one of the closer offsite hotels. If you order a package through AAA and stay onsite, you can also get "enhanced" Fastpass. Which allows you to get multiple FPs at a time.

In terms of suggestions, I always recommend the Grand Californian if you can afford it, as that's the best place to stay, IMO. It's the closest hotel to the parks and looks beautiful. The Disneyland Hotel looks nice too (Haven't stayed there since it was renovated in 2001). It's a cheaper alternative, but it's a little farther away from the parks (although still walkable).
Offsite, the Howard Johnson is close and always seems to get good reviews. The same goes for the Candy Cane Inn.
I would also recommend the Park Place Inn. It is directly across the street from the parks (5 minute walk), but it is a no frills motel type of place, if that's an issue.

- Some good vacation planning DL websites are:
Laughingplace.com
Mouseplanet.com
Utilidors.com
Mouseinfo.com

- You'll probably want 3 days minimum at the parks.

 

[daannzzz]

Here are a couple of links to hotels and motels (mostly motels and Inns) around DL resort.
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html


http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

The 3 Disney hotels at the resort are all nice though only one was built by Disney and iss fully themed. This is the Grand Californian Hotel. It was designed by the architect who did the WL and AKL at WDW and it is very nice. It is located "in" the California Adventure themepark...really it is adjacent but from our room into the park via the private entrance only took 1-2 minutes. It is expensive.
The Disneyland Hotel is three towers of older design but the room decore is great and the rooms are mostly large and all are comfortable.
The Paradise Pier Hotel is the least expensive and least interesting but has great views (on onde side) of the DCA themepark.
It is easy to get less expensive lodging and be with in a 5-10 minute walk of the parks.
My favorites are the Howard Johnson, The Candy Cane Inn and the Best Western Park Place Inn.
The first week of May would be good and the weather would be great. Might get hot but in general it would be in the low 80's. Crowds on the weekdays would be manageble to mellow. Weekends are always really busy at Disneyland.

To see Disneyland and DCA and downtown Disney and realaxe you will need 4-5 days not including travel days. 2 Days for Disneyland. One day ( or a day and a half) for DCA and a day and a half for relaxing and Downtown Disney.


Good websited about Disneyland are...

www.laughingplace.com Join the message boards and you will get lots of help in the trip planning section.

www.mouseplanet.com

www.mouseinfo.com

 

[GEM]

Thanks for the great info! So, do you think we would be better off moving back a week (to the last week in April) in order to avoid the 50th celebration crowds?

 

[jxgriffi]

I think anything around that time is going to be semi-crowded. It's hard to say, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime event that many people don't want to miss. However, since the official anniversary isn't until July 17th, you should be fine. Those are the dates to watch out for!

We have a DS7 and DD2.5 and we like to take the parks at a VERY leisurely pace. We usually go for 3-4 hours at a time and then go home (live only 10 min. away!). I would say 3 days would be good (2 DL / 1 DCA). Be sure to eat at Ariel's in DCA. Great character interaction for the kids and the food is pretty good with fairly large portions.

Since it's already been mentioned, if you can afford it, I'd go with Grand Californian. It makes it very nice to walk out the gate, go to the right and be "home." If not, try to go with DL Hotel. The others have alread mentioned Candy Cane and HoJo's.

If there's anything else...let me know. I'll do my best.

 

[daannzzz]

I personally would do what it takes to avoid crowds. I don't know how crowded it will be arounf May 5th but I suspect it will be more crowded than normal. If you can move your dates to not coincide with the date it couldn't hurt!

 

[JC Butterfly]

I too enjoy staying at Walt Disney World and am far more familiar with it but I have two cents to share.

At Disney World I have stayed at the All Stars, the Boardwalk, and Wilderness Lodge. Each one give that "Disney" experience, awesome cast members, unique theming etc. I also stay on site because anything "off site" is considerably farther away.

At Disneyland I have stayed off-site twice (the Carousel Inn and the Best Western Park Place) and on site once, Paradise Pier.

Paradise Pier rates are ranging $150-$200 a night summer 2005
Disneyland Hotel $205-$275 a night
Grand Californian $300 - $400

(realize these rates are very approximate)

but compare to

Howard Johnson $50-$90 per night
(haven't stayed there but it gets awesome reviews and I intend to stay there next year)

Candy Cane Inn, Carousel Inn $70ish per night


So, by staying on site, I felt a part of the Disney magic. It is close to the parks and in the middle of the action. If price wasn't a factor, I would always stay on site.

But to me, price is a factor and I wouldn't say that my stay at Paradise Pier was worth double the cost. For an extra five minutes of walking, I could afford to do another character meal in a day.

Or I could afford to spend 5-6 nights instead of 3-4 nights.

If you stay at Paradise Pier or at Grand Californian, you get a private entrance into the California Adventure theme park. However, with a two year old you probably won't find that much there that the whole family will enjoy as it caters to older children/adults,

If you stay onsite you can sometimes get early entry to one area of the park but I think it varies what area and what day that is available.

I second the idea that if you can be flexible with your dates with no additional hassle to you, I would avoid going in early May. Disneyland will be closed on May 4th to prepare for the big kick off on May 5th of the 50th anniversary. But on the other hand, I'm sure there will be lots of extra special things happening that week so it could be lots of extra fun!!

I think it's a tough call, I love the Disney experience but I don't like spending twice as much money for a place where I mostly change and sleep. Good luck with your decision.