New to Disneyland

[onthemove]

We are not Disneyworld experts, but we have been several times over the years. I went to DL once as a teen and DH has never been. So I need a lot of help. We are targeting end of Feb or the first week of March before the spring breaks start. Kids will be 5.5 and 2.5.

I think we would rather spend our money in CA than FL even if the trip will be 2x the cost (flights and staying in hotel vs AirB&B).

We will most likely fly to LAX as it’s half the price of John Wayne and can go non stop. Should we Uber? Car service? Rent? We will have to bring 2 car seats depending on the transportation type.

I would like the trip to be a week, with WDW that is easy to do 5 park days and an off day, but what do you do at DL? 4 days for 2 parks? What do we do the other 2? Is 4 good or will we be board by the end? I don’t remember how long I was there before, 3 days I would guess.

We are fortunate we qualify for military tickets and rooms, but I’m not sure how big of a discount that will be. Where would you stay? I don’t see us spending $3000 for the week to be on site all 7 nights. On the other hand with the littles, we need to be close. I am willing to move once if it is logistically easy. Because the kids go to sleep so early it is nice to have a patio or something to escape to so we are not on our phones at night under the covers.

Thanks for any/all you can share!

[nancybotwin]

DL is much smaller than DW. You can easily do each park in one day (you can even do both parks in one day if you really want). Maybe do 2-3 days, max, in the parks and then do other things in SoCal?

[konapoppy]

I would check out the neighborhood hotels. There are tons right across the street - closer than some of the Disney hotels.

I think 3 days at the park is plenty unless you know there is a ton you want to do. A few rides will be overlaps. Park hoppers are great, so make at least one day a hopper. Plan for the beach or other SoCal activity the other day, though you would want a car.

If you are just doing the parks, Uber or Lyft is probably fine. You can check Disboards for a recommendation or if folks have had issues.

[konapoppy]

Oh also, my kids have looooved California adventure at 4 and 5. There is a ton for them to do. Toontown is reopened so there is fantasy land and toontown for littles at disneyland, but we just loved DCA. Plus there is a whole forest park area for them to run around. There is ore walking, but I imagine you will have a stroller. So don’t skip DCA!!

[goldengirlz]

The Courtyard Theme Park Entrance is great. It has a huge pool area with water slides and it’s practically across the street from the parks. I also remember it being pretty nice for a Courtyard.

I totally agree with PPs that you don’t need a week in the parks. We’ve done 2.5 days when we go — one full day in each park and then another half day in California Adventure. It’s just not as big DW.

Personally, I’d do three days at DL and then a few days at one of the OC beaches — like Dana Point. Or you could head back to LA and spend a few days there.

For transportation, I’d want a car if I were spending a week in SoCal, although you don’t technically need one in the immediate DL area. (It’s also kind of a nightmare renting one at LAX but that airport is a nightmare in general. Leave way more time than you think you’ll need.)

[jewel]

It really depends on how much your family loves the parks 😊

We’re fairly local, northern Ca, have had annual passes in the past, and can still happily spend 5 days at the parks. There’s so much to do, and I love not rushing from ride to ride.

We’ve stayed at all of the on site hotels. The Grand is my favorite but also the most $. Overall, the hotels on S Harbor, across from the crosswalk entrance, are our typical choice. They’re a closer walking distance than the other 2 on site, and so much cheaper. We’ve stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites quite a few times, and I definitely appreciate a separate closed off room for the kids.

I would Uber from LAX. If you want a car for a couple day trips, I’d look into Turo and see if can get someone to drop off at your hotel just for those days. Hotel parking is expensive and unless you really think you’d need a car daily, I wouldn’t rent one for the whole trip.

There’s a Great Wolf Lodge down S Harbor that would also be fun to do for a day/night.

[ksun]

I've had a DLR AP/MK for the last 10 or so years and go a half dozen times a year or so. We never stay on property. With so many hotels in even closer walking distance, it's a no-brainer (we HAVE stayed at DLD and PP before, but those were one and done). My favorite on Harbor is Howard Johnson and they have a great water park for kids. If you want a 15% dicouInt code, let me know.

No amount of cost differential would make me fly to LAX, but with more than 2 people I can understand.

You can do one park a day, but when DD or DH come we almost always do hoppers. It's just so easy to get from one park to the other. When I go solo, I usually go for 3 days; usually 4 when DD or DH come (though next weekend will just be 3 days for me and DD). Especially if you don't want to buy Genie+ you need more than a day for each park. I would never be bored in 4 days.

[thegan]

Sept 10, 2023 12:58:38 GMT -5 jewel said:

It really depends on how much your family loves the parks 😊

We’re fairly local, northern Ca, have had annual passes in the past, and can still happily spend 5 days at the parks. There’s so much to do, and I love not rushing from ride to ride.

We’ve stayed at all of the on site hotels. The Grand is my favorite but also the most $. Overall, the hotels on S Harbor, across from the crosswalk entrance, are our typical choice. They’re a closer walking distance than the other 2 on site, and so much cheaper. We’ve stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites quite a few times, and I definitely appreciate a separate closed off room for the kids.

I would Uber from LAX. If you want a car for a couple day trips, I’d look into Turo and see if can get someone to drop off at your hotel just for those days. Hotel parking is expensive and unless you really think you’d need a car daily, I wouldn’t rent one for the whole trip.

There’s a Great Wolf Lodge down S Harbor that would also be fun to do for a day/night.

I agree with this! We’re in central CA, and went for 3 days last spring and later discussed how 5 days would be the perfect time! 3 days at DL and 2 at DCA. I like to take my time to see characters, shows, eat, and ride rides, so I usually break the park into sections and focus on certain sections each day and really explore!

Last time we only had 1 day at DCA and really regretted it. We rode a lot of the rides we wanted, but we missed some of the characters and shows we would have liked to see. We did take time for Turtle Talk with Crush which was so fun!

If you decide to do less than the week, explore the area. Check out a local beach. If you want to do another park, check out Universal as they have the new Mario World. There is an area full of museums including the Natural history museum which is beautiful (not sure how big of a hit it would be after Disney though 😂). There is so much to do and see!