Possible Disneyland Trip!

[klwa]

DH & I have been to WDW several times with the kids, but we were talking the other day & I may have convinced him to go to DL next summer instead of WDW. (I figure with all of the construction going on especially at DHS, it might be a good time to hit the other side of the country.) So, I'm in the starting phases of planning. Those who have been, I know it's a more local park than WDW. Does that lend itself to certain days of the week being less crowded than others, etc? What hotels do you recommend for a family of 5? (Probably off site based on what I've read.) Anyone who's flown in have preferences on airports? I think I've heard to fly into John Wayne. Also, any sites like Disboards that gear more towards DL?

And any info on the other parks in the area. Universal Hollywood, Legoland, etc.

Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

The new Courtyard by Marriott right at the entrance looks like a great hotel pick. Most of the hotels around are old school motor lodge motels. Now, we liked the Candy Cane Inn but we knew what we were getting. For what it was, it was great. But, certainly not a fancy experience. .
Weekdays will be less crowded though summer is always crowded. We went once in August and CA cleared out in the evening. The parks were open super late too.
It's such an easy park to deal with. You don't need to do planning like WDW.
Disboards has a DL page.
Legoland was fun for a Lego lover. Thrill riders will be bored with the rides.
We did Universal Orlando and it was awesome. Hollywood one is smaller and a bit different but still looks like fun. New HP section will likely be making for big crowds.

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[klwa]

Legoland was fun for a Lego lover. Thrill riders will be bored with the rides.

Legoland in Florida was a huge hit with my kids, so I figured we might enjoy seeing the differences.

[lalasmama]

Just so you know to expect it, there's a ton of construction at DL as well. Star Wars Land construction has affected a lot... Currently no river traffic, no trains, no Fantasmic!, no Tom Sawyer Island. Some of those may be up by next summer, but no official date has been given.

[Tenasparkl]

We've stayed at a few offsite hotels for RunDisney races that were fine, but nothing fancy. I'll double check the names and update.

Weekends are usually more crowded than weekdays, but during the summer the days don't seem to make as much of a difference.

Legoland is fun (especially the water park) but like others have been mentioned doesn't have many big, thrill-seeker rides. My kids are 4 & 7 and there's a ton to do for that age range. We just recently started going to Universal again (since it's five minutes away from home). It's fun, but you can do everything in a day. Harry Potter is drawing crowds, but they added lots more blackout days for passholders, so it hasn't been too terribly crowded.

[ckso]

Something to consider is maybe looking at (or projecting since its next summer) the block out dates for SoCal passes. I might be wrong but I feel like weekdays in June feels busier to me than weekends.

I have the grandfathered season pass so I can still go on Sunday but a lot of locals now have the weekdays only option. Most of June is still not blocked out but school is over so I feel like a lot of people who the SoCal passes are coming on weekdays before they're officially blocked out for the summer

That's my theory anyways. I went on Sunday and Wednesday (same week) and Wednesday was a whole lot more crowded than it was on Sunday.


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[klwa]

Something to consider is maybe looking at (or projecting since its next summer) the block out dates for SoCal passes. I might be wrong but I feel like weekdays in June feels busier to me than weekends.

Ooh, hadn't even thought about that. Based on this year, it looks like Saturdays may be blacked out for the Deluxe Annual Passports, and Fridays and Saturdays for the Southern California Annual Passport. And just about the entire time we're there will be blacked out for the Southern California Annual Select. Great info!

[twowhat?]

We've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian on-site. For a family of 5, the Disneyland Hotel hands down - it has larger rooms. The Grand Californian is way overpriced but has the best location (walk off of Grizzly River Run and right into your hotel!) We haven't stayed at Paradise Pier but the consensus is that it's far enough away that you don't get that immersive Disney feel that you do from the other 2 hotels that are closer and essentially right off of Downtown Disney.

This summer we have a room booked offsite at the new Courtyard Marriott with the waterpark which I've been hearing tons of great things about. Their large rooms were BUILT for families and would probably be the most comfortable for a family of 5! You don't get the onsite benefits (magic morning, immersive feel, etc) but it costs less and still looks great...can't wait to see what it's like and whether we can get upgraded with DH's Marriott points

The disboards can be totally overwhelming. I have just a couple of pieces of advice, both of which make use of magic mornings (for Disneyland) and the extra hour (forgot what it's called) for California Adventure. Both involve hitting the parks early so that you can head back to your hotel in the hottest part of the afternoon to nap/swim/refresh, and then head back out in the evenings when it's cooler.

For Disneyland - hit Peter Pan as soon as you get in the park! Everything else is pretty manageable but the line NEVER seems to die for that ride.
For California Adventure - hit Toy Story Mania (at the back) first while everyone runs to Radiator Springs Racers. After you ride Toy Story (which you might be able to do a few times!) then head to the Radiator Springs fastpass line (which doesn't open until the park is open to the public) to get your fastpass for later in the afternoon/evening. They can run out of fastpasses as early as 11-noon on busy days. If you're really lucky, you'll get a return time for the early afternoon, ride it, and might still be able to snag another fastpass for a nighttime ride, which is almost like a different ride, so pretty!

Disneyland feels more crowded than California Adventure. California Adventure at nighttime is especially nice because it seems like everyone else is over at Disneyland. The Disneyland walkways (which aren't wide like they are at Disney World) can get REALLY crowded.

eta: Oh and we fly into John Wayne (SNA). Avoid LAX at all cost, LOL.

[lalasmama]

DH & I have been to WDW several times with the kids, but we were talking the other day & I may have convinced him to go to DL next summer instead of WDW. (I figure with all of the construction going on especially at DHS, it might be a good time to hit the other side of the country.)

I meant to get back to this earlier for a fuller reply, and time got away from me. As noted in my other post, construction is also pretty heavy at DL, without an exact end date. That being said, they've got some neat alternative activities--boats are docked, but you can tour them; trains aren't going on grand circle tours, but you can still board them, meet the engineer, sit in the tinder, and explore parts of the station that aren't normally accessible.

Even with all the construction, currently, the Rivers of America is still full of water, so it doesn't affect that part of the ambiance too much.

So, I'm in the starting phases of planning. Those who have been, I know it's a more local park than WDW. Does that lend itself to certain days of the week being less crowded than others, etc?

The busiest days/times depend on a lot: season (summer is more busy), school breaks (Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and others' school breaks can all affect the park attendance), current promotions (the 60th Anniversary seems to have increased the crowds a lot; that promotion is expected to end this Sept), Annual Passport ("AP") black outs, weather (seems So Cal'ers hate rain), and so many other factors. I try to think of it like any other park--if my kids are begging to go, chances are it's going to be busy, because all the other kids are begging their parents too. That being said, in summer, weekends are still usually the busiest, along with the week before/after any holiday that you *may* get a day off for. When the blackouts open up, the crowds increase as well; while that affects my family's planning a little, we don't focus on it too much. Friday nights and Saturday nights seem to still be the busiest. If it helps your planning, we generally go for 3 days, in the middle of the week, in July. Crowds are bearable, overall.

What hotels do you recommend for a family of 5? (Probably off site based on what I've read.)

Courtyard by Marriott has been getting a lot of good publicity lately. It's about 4-5 hotels from the main pedestrian entrance.

Our family prefers Park Vue. While Park Vue is a bit old, it's literally the closest off-site hotel (and actually closer to the main gates than any on-site hotel as well). We like the 1-bedroom suite. It has 2 queen beds in the bedroom, and one pull out sofa in the living room. DD (12) says the sofa bed is pretty comfortable. It also has a kitchenette, fridge, 3 sinks, 2 vanity areas, 2 TVs. The pool area isn't anything special, but it's clean, clear water, not too hot or too cold, and despite the fact that it's in the middle of the parking lot, it feels more secluded to me. Bonus points for comfortable linens, and towels large enough to actually cover and dry my body! Woo hoo! It's about 5 minutes from room door to security tent, if you hit the stop light right. It's nothing "amazing" but we aren't there for the hotel, we're there for the parks.

Anyone who's flown in have preferences on airports? I think I've heard to fly into John Wayne.

Okay, this is one of my little soap boxes, so I'm sorry that I'm going to seem over the top There's 3 local ones: LAX (called LAX), SNA (John Wayne, Santa Ana, Orange County are all common names for this one), and LGB (Long Beach).

First DL trip, DD and I did SNA, as that was the airport my family flew into when we went to see my auntie growing up, so I was comfortable with it. It's close to DL, but also the most expensive. It's small and quick to get through. A taxi from here is about $45.

Second trip (by myself), I decided to brave LAX. Admittedly, I hoped to maybe see a celebrity while I was there, LOL. It was about $50-75 cheaper than SNA. However, it's also a $100 taxi ride, and double any other transportation cost when compared to SNA, so my cost savings were eaten up.

Eventually, like flight 20 in 4 years, I decided to try Jet Blue and LBG. First, let's discuss Jet Blue. Buy early, and your ticket prices are about half price. I fly out of Portland. I bought my most recent tickets in March for a October flight, and tickets were less than $70 each way. Same day, similar time on SW was $145. Same day, we bought DH's tickets for a July flight into LGB. $104 each way. Now, we've had 5 or 6 flights on Jet Blue, and we had enough miles to make my October trip on free miles. Yay me! Their frequent flier miles add up quickly, especially if you buy your free ticket early! Okay, so I'm a Jet Blue fanatic. Now, onto LGB. It's got 14 gates spread between 2 concourses. TSA is quick, but "behind the times" (for instance, they still make you take out your laptop and liquids, which Portland hasn't made me do in about a year). However, I'm still through in less than 5 minutes from getting in line to the other side. Someone told me LGB is "a bunch of modular buildings" which made me think of those old modular school buildings and scared me; no, they are regular, albeit not very plush, concourses, but not elevated. You board the airplane on the tarmac. They have multiple stores, lots of seating, (a wine bar!), and everything else that a normal airport would have. A taxi from LGB is $45. Oh, and it's about 25 minutes from DL, about the same as SNA. I now refuse to fly into any other airport!

Also, any sites like Disboards that gear more towards DL?

Disboards has 3 DL boards, and there is a great "DL for WDW" vets thread. It can look overwhelming, but it's a lot nicer than the WDW part of the boards.

And any info on the other parks in the area. Universal Hollywood, Legoland, etc.

Thanks!

No information on any other parks in the area. LOL, we are totally addicted to DL, and nothing else measures up

[SnuggleBuggles]

We used the Ontario airport, per my SIL's recommendation but we were visiting So Cal in general, not just Disney. It was small and easy.


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