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View Full Version : Disneyland - any advice, information needed



momma_boo
09-20-2007, 09:33 AM
We're planning to visit my sister in LA sometime in the late winter/early spring and want to take the kids to Disneyland. I thought it might be easier to spend the night there and spend two leisurely days there. Some questions:

1. The kids will be almost 3 and 5 at that point. Is it silly to spend the night? Should we just do try to do it in one day?

2. What is the best hotel to stay at?

3. What do they have at California Adventure? I thought just hitting Disneyland would be enough, but I think I read that the Ariel's Grotto character dining was at California Adventure. A princess themed character meal is an absolute MUST for the girls.

Any other advice or information is greatly appreciated since I know practically nothing about Disneyland.

jeminaal
09-21-2007, 07:27 PM
Answer to #1: No, it's not silly to spend the night. Try to spend more than one day at the DL resort if you can. There so many things to see and do and if you know you'll be there more than one day, the pressure to try to "do it all" won't be there. My children are 4 & 6 and we never can do the entire park in one day.

2. It depends upon your bankbook and what you're looking for. If you want the convenience of being near the resort and be totally immersed in all things Disney, then staying at one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels would be your best bet (closest one is the Grand Californian). The price is steep, though. Another option is to stay on one of the motels/hotels on Harbor Boulevard, which is just east of the park. Less expensive and just a short walking distance to the park. When we go, we usually stay at the Howard Johnson's. It's about a 7 minute walk from the hotel to the entrance of Disneyland (a tram is available for $3/day for an adult). The pool area is nice for the little ones, the rooms are a good size and the grounds are well-kept. It's more of a hotel than a motel.

3. DCA has some nice things for your little ones. My kids like the Playhouse Disney show, the Monster's Inc ride, the Aladdin show, the "A Bug's Land" section of the park, the "Jumpin' Jellyfish" ride in the Paradise Pier section, and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which has slides, climbing areas and a nice tire swing. Great place to let off the wiggles, KWIM?

Some websites to help you decide:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/index.htm

Information in the above link were posted a while back but it's still a great resource for you.

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

The above message board is specifically for parents visiting Disney, with a slant towards Disneyland. There should be some info in here that will also help you.

Mousesavers.com is also a great resource for discounts.

Good luck and have a great time. :)

Jeanette
(formerly known as jeanmick, member since Feb 2003)

DD Born Christmas Eve
DS Born Valentine's Day

SnuggleBuggles
09-22-2007, 06:00 PM
1. The kids will be almost 3 and 5 at that point. Is it silly to spend the night? Should we just do try to do it in one day?

We stayed over the night before and checked out in the AM. I wished that we had a convenient hotel to retreat to for a bit during the afternoon b/c it got so darned hot! No one was napping anymore so I didn't think it was necessary to have a hotel room available. Really, we did make it through just fine though. I found a/c whenever possible.

I do think you can do it in one day though. We were there from 8:30-10:30 and felt pretty good about what we accomplished. It made a big difference to get there asap in the AM. Resort people I think got earlier admission and we were 30 minutes late from when the park opened but we were able to practically walk on several rides (Matterhorn had a 10 minute wait, Buzz Lightyear we could walk on, and some other rides were just as fast till about 10-10:30). Nemo had a huge line all day and we opted not to bother.

We actually could have left earlier but we won these Dream Fast Passes that got us into California Adventureland so we went there for a bit around dinner (it closed really early, btw).

2. What is the best hotel to stay at?
I would have stayed at the park just for convenience but they were all booked. I liked the suite and free breakfast at the Embassy Suites down the street. Decent price too. Not close enough to walk to though.

3. What do they have at California Adventure? I thought just hitting Disneyland would be enough, but I think I read that the Ariel's Grotto character dining was at California Adventure. A princess themed character meal is an absolute MUST for the girls.

DL has some princess things going on now. I would look into that.

I bet if they don't know about the character meals they won't mind missing them. I wasn't willing to take that much time for a meal when we were just there one day. There was just so much other stuff to do.

If people like to ride then there are some fun ones at CA. We didn't have time to see any shows. My ds was too into rids to be interested in shows anyway. Lots to see and do just in the park, imo. :)

I don't think the cost of admission would be worth it if you only had 1 day to do both. If price isn't a factor and you can do 2 days then go for it but get a park hopper pass.


We had a really good time there. It was a nice day. :)

Beth

Tondi G
09-25-2007, 06:08 PM
If you CAN stay overnight at the Disneyland Hotel then DO IT! It's fun and the tinkerbell wallpaper border has glow in the dark Pixie dust.... super cute! We've never stayed at the Grand Californian but it is beautiful. Just not worth the extra expense when we don't spend that much time in the hotel room! I also appreciated having the monorail drop us off fairly close to the hotel.... it was the one last ride for the night after a long day at D-land.... my train loving little guy was in heaven!

If you can swing a 2 day visit, go for it. I really like the California Adventure and think it's worth seeing. If Disneyland happens to be crowded it is nice to have the option to sneak over to the CA and get a little break from the crowds!

I've only ever been to Goofy's Kitchen at the Dland Hotel and it was great but no princesses... only girl was Alice in Wonderland! The food wasn't that bad either. Be sure to book your character meal in advance if you decide to do one!

Mousesavers is a great place for info on D-land

I know that So Cal Costco's do have discount tickets too. They are 4 single park passes per person... if I'm remembering correctly!

Have a great time..... we love D-land... we've had annual passes for 4 years running now!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/01 and Aidan 5/05