2 1/2 days at Disneyland- help me plan!

[ebjw]

I haven't a clue about Disneyland, I was a Disney World kid growing up! We haven't made it there yet with the kids, but we are going to California in December so I figured it'll be worth it to spend a couple days there for the kids first Disney experience.

They will be 4, 2 1/2, and 5 months. They are super into Mickey/Minnie & crew and all the princesses of course! We will have Grandparents with us.

Where do we stay? (We have Starwood points- so how are these options- Sheraton Anehiem Hotel- looks old (castle?), shuttle to parks / Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anehiem Resort- looks nicer than other Sheraton?)

Where do we go? Is there just 2 parks- Disneyland and California Adventure? And what is best for toddlers/preschoolers at each?

[lalasmama]

I haven't a clue about Disneyland, I was a Disney World kid growing up! We haven't made it there yet with the kids, but we are going to California in December so I figured it'll be worth it to spend a couple days there for the kids first Disney experience.

They will be 4, 2 1/2, and 5 months. They are super into Mickey/Minnie & crew and all the princesses of course! We will have Grandparents with us.

Where do we stay? (We have Starwood points- so how are these options- Sheraton Anehiem Hotel- looks old (castle?), shuttle to parks / Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anehiem Resort- looks nicer than other Sheraton?)

Where do we go? Is there just 2 parks- Disneyland and California Adventure? And what is best for toddlers/preschoolers at each?

Hi, my name is Mimi, and I'm in need of a Disneyland Addict group I'm sad that I don't get to go this December so here's my two cents... make that 10 cents. Or maybe my 50 cents. Yeah, it's going to be 50 cents worth of my opinion! LOL

First and foremost, I always recommend www.disboards.com . In the DLR section of the site, they have a "DLR for WDW vets" which is a huge help!

There are some differences to remember with DLR that are different from WDW. First off, DLR is more locals-based. In other words, people live nearby, and drop in randomly for a few hours, which means weekends, school holidays, and after-work hours are the busy times. And while there are two parks, they are VERY close to each other--seriously, when you are in line at the entrance for one, you could turn around and clearly see the entry lines for the other. Also, since it's just the two parks, and placed, esentially, in the middle of a city, staying "off-site" (against reccomendations at WDW I've been told) is the way to go at DLR.

First, as far as the hotel goes, you want one close to the parks, because at your kiddos ages, I'm sure you'll want to do afternoon breaks. My family never does afternoon breaks, but my DD was also 8 for our first DLR trip I think there's a Sheraton pretty close by.

As far as what to do, well.... ooohh my, there's a lot! While WDW is more spread out, Walt packed his Disneyland!

I think I would head for DL Fantasy Land first... The rides there will be all great for the little ones. They can be dark, but, in the case of my scared-of-the-dark kiddo, she was so enthralled with everything that she never noticed the "dark" of the ride--she was just too busy looking at everything. That's also where Dumbo is, and we can't skip Dumbo now, can we? LOL Other fun areas are the Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer Island, Pixie Hallow (Hollow? I don't know), Winnie the Pooh, and Tarzan's Treehouse. Oh, and don't miss Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters!

For DCA, they will LOVE the Bugs area. Everything is meant specifically for preschool aged kids. Also fun is Ariel and Toy Story Midway Mania. Personally, I'd stay away from Cars Land, but that's only because I imagine it will still be packed with long waits.

[smiles33]

I dragged DH and my then 2 & 5 year old DDs last Sept for 2.5 days during "off-season" so it wasn't as crowded. When in Dec are you going? If early (when school is in session), it should be ok to have a general plan but just wander. If it's during the break when all the locals are out, I'd have a set plan to make the most of "only" 2.5 days.

I was pretty much living at DISboards and even have a detailed trip report there. I think it's ok to still link to that since I don't get any money for having written it.

Feel free to ask me questions! We go back next April 2013!

[BayGirl2]

All the recommendations Smiles & Mimi gave I must 2nd. I was going to suggest the same WDW veterans link on the DIS boards. So much good info there. As for the Starwood points, I also considered using mine for DL and here's what I learned. There are 2 Starwood hotels near the park:
-Sheraton Anaheim is the castle like one you mentioned. Its supposedly very nice and resort like with large rooms. Its beyond walking distance to the park by all accounts but it does have a dedicated shuttle. (Walking is a big priority at DL, unlike WDW)
- Sheraton Park Anaheim is on Harbor Blvd. It is supposedly pretty nice, more like a conference hotel I'm thinking, but one of the closest higher end chain hotels on Harbor. It has a decent pool and you can get club floor for an additional 1000 pts/night, you need to call for this. It is within a long walking distance - so doable but many people choose to take the ART or go over to Disney's Toy Story lot and take the tram to the park. There are closer options on Harbor and they are cheaper but not free and not quite as nice, for the most part.

Here are various maps to help you figure out distances and a good article about walking distances.

http://anaheim411.com/Resort_Map.html
http://anaheimoc.org/sites/default/f...g_map_2011.pdf
http://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It

You should make your own decision on offsite vs. onsite and Sheraton vs. other hotels. There are so many options I have a spreadsheet model and 5 reservations on hold for our Sept trip. But in our case I think we'll end up at the DL Hotel for a variety of splurgy self indulgent reasons.

[jbbhb]

We are local to dland and also Starwood members. We stay at the castle Sheraton often just for fun. it's really nice. We have walked to the park as well as taken their shuttle. Both are easy. The other sheraton used to be another brand until a few years ago. We haven't stayed there, but from what I can remember its not as nice.

[zag95]

Just went to DL/CA while 30 weeks pregnant, with DD age 4, DH and grandparents. For the ages of your kiddos, I'd probably just focus on DL- rather than trying to see/do both parks. The only ride DD did at CA was the Ariel ride.

We stayed at the DL hotel- I would totally recommend it because of the proximity, esp for naps, etc in the afternoon. It's a quick and easy walk to DL. You may also want to look at other Disney property options.

If you stay on property, you can get in 1 hr early (magic morning passes) on certain days (you may need to verify which days you'll be there for), which is really helpful to get to Fantasyland before everyone else! Some days we had 6-8 rides done before DL opened to the general public.

Another tip was, we placed an online order thru Vons.com (safeway) and have them deliver drinks and breakfast type things (fruit, yogurt, string cheese, etc) to our hotel and we kept them in the hotel fridge. It helped us get out the door earlier for magic mornings before everyone who was eating breakfast at restaurants.

A character meal might be a fun way to kick off your trip- we did Goofy's kitchen- which was fun- lots of characters, etc. We arrived Friday later afternoon- so did character meal. Spent Sat and Sun, and half of Monday at the parks, before returning home Mon evening.

Hope you have lots of fun- and I'd definitely bring strollers for all kiddos as our big walker often had to crash and rest- helpful for gear, etc!

[BayGirl2]

Just went to DL/CA while 30 weeks pregnant, with DD age 4, DH and grandparents. For the ages of your kiddos, I'd probably just focus on DL- rather than trying to see/do both parks. The only ride DD did at CA was the Ariel ride.

We stayed at the DL hotel- I would totally recommend it because of the proximity, esp for naps, etc in the afternoon. It's a quick and easy walk to DL. You may also want to look at other Disney property options.

If you stay on property, you can get in 1 hr early (magic morning passes) on certain days (you may need to verify which days you'll be there for), which is really helpful to get to Fantasyland before everyone else! Some days we had 6-8 rides done before DL opened to the general public.

Another tip was, we placed an online order thru Vons.com (safeway) and have them deliver drinks and breakfast type things (fruit, yogurt, string cheese, etc) to our hotel and we kept them in the hotel fridge. It helped us get out the door earlier for magic mornings before everyone who was eating breakfast at restaurants.

A character meal might be a fun way to kick off your trip- we did Goofy's kitchen- which was fun- lots of characters, etc. We arrived Friday later afternoon- so did character meal. Spent Sat and Sun, and half of Monday at the parks, before returning home Mon evening.

Hope you have lots of fun- and I'd definitely bring strollers for all kiddos as our big walker often had to crash and rest- helpful for gear, etc!

Not sure when you went, but DCA has Carsland and Bugs land. I can't imagine skipping those with little kids. DCA has been majorly redone this summer and has a lot to offer. Its so easy to park hop I don't know why you would only go to 1 park with 2.5 days. With a good strategy you should be able to cover the kid friendly areas of both parks in that time. DCA also has World of Color which is supposed to be an amazing show, although a bit challenging logistically.

Right now through late Sept. if you stay on site you can get early entry into either park any day. After Sept its expected to switch back to one park/day for onside guests, but who knows what will happen. Early entry is especially important if you want to do the Cars Land rides. But even without that, its great for getting on the kids rides in Fantasy land. With 3 day or more park hopper tickets you will get one Magic Morning early entry - DL only. That's your best option if staying offsite.

[fivi2]

We had about 2.5 or 3 days and thought it was plenty of time to see both parks last August, so a fairly crowded time. (my girls were 5.5)

We stayed at the Hojo, it gets good recs, but I didn't like it. Next time I will either stay at a Disney hotel or one with a dedicated shuttle (like the castle Sheraton). I didn't really think being in walking distance was worth it.

We did Fantasyland first thing in the morning. We did lots of character meet and greets. We spent a lot of time on Tom Sawyers Island... I can't remember our exact schedule, though.

We didn't spend too much time at California Adventure, but this was pre Carsland. My girls didn't care for the Bugs life area. We did the Ariel ride, the big wilderness playground/ropes area, the Aladdin show, the Toy Story Zoetrope (super cool to look at - not a ride) and the Playhouse Disney show and monsters inc. And Soarin. Oh and the Princess meal at DCA. That was our only character meal (and we ate at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney)

We did the fireworks at Dland one night, but none of the other night time shows. Fantasmic looks neat, but I was worried my girls would be scared.

[ebjw]

Wow, super helpful info from all- thanks! Those disboards were super overwhelming!
So it sounds like if we stay at one of the Sheraton's, it should be the castle one with the shuttle or stay onsite at the Disneyland Hotel, get to the parks first thing/early, be sure to go to Fantasyland first becuase it will be too crowded later, order food online from Von's for the room, have a character meal at Goofy's Kitchen or the princess one, and there are plenty of things for the toddler/preschool age group.
Did I miss anything?

What about transportation from the airport? Do people rent cars? Take a train? We are going to Santa Monica after and I don't think we'll need a car there... how do we get there?

[rolypoly27]

What about transportation from the airport? Do people rent cars? Take a train? We are going to Santa Monica after and I don't think we'll need a car there... how do we get there?

Which airport are you flying into? I would call the hotel and ask if they have a dedicated shuttle to/from the airport. If not, I would probably take a private cab or shuttle to the hotel since you won't really need a car once you are at the hotel. If you think you will need transportation throughout your stay, renting a car will be easier. Public transportation is not the greatest here so you are better off renting a car or taking a taxi/shuttle. Santa Monica, however, has buses that will take you everywhere so you don't really need a car there.

eta: Have a great trip! I think we will be going before the end of the year too. Let us know how the trip went. I love reading reviews!