Up until a month ago, I had never been to California in my life, but I will be moving there in just a few weeks. In April, I flew out there for 3 days to see what it was like and to check out Disneyland. Though I only spent about 8 total hours in the parks, I absolutely fell in love with both Disneyland and California Adventure. I've been visiting WDW 1-4 times a year since I was born 27 years ago and did not expect to be impressed by Disneyland, but I thought it was unbelievable.
I know that the first thing I do when I get to California is buy AP's for my family, not only for Disney, but for all the decent local attractions. But having had only 3 days of California experience in my entire life, I want to make sure I make the right decisions.
We are going to live in Oceanside which is about an hour from Disneyland and 45 minutes from San Diego. My thoughts are to get annual passes to Legoland (which is 5 minutes away), Sea World, San Diego Zoo (my son LOVES animals and zoos), and Disneyland of course. First of all, are these all worthy choices of AP's for the first year or do you recommend other things to spend our AP money on?
Second, WHICH Disneyland AP's should my family go for? I know that I will be getting a Premium pass for myself so that we won't ever have to pay for parking, and I also am the biggest Disney nut of the family and will probably be going more times than the rest of them. I have no idea what AP's to get for my family though. I have 2 kids (will be 6 and 8 when we get there) and my husband is a Marine. I feel like I should get the less expensive So Cal resident passes for them, but I am worried about the blackout dates. I'm assuming those dates are blacked out for a reason - because the parks will be crowded and miserable...so we won't want to go on those days anyway? Or are there some really good days that are blacked out that we will regret not having a pass for? I just have no idea what to do and want to make sure we get the right one. What happens if you get one of those less expensive passes and then you DO want to go on a blackout day? Do you have to buy a full price admission?
I guess I am mainly trying to figure out what are the BEST TIMES throughout the year to go to Disneyland (low crowds, nice weather, lots to see) that we won't want to miss because we have the wrong pass.
I know that the first thing I do when I get to California is buy AP's for my family, not only for Disney, but for all the decent local attractions. But having had only 3 days of California experience in my entire life, I want to make sure I make the right decisions.
We are going to live in Oceanside which is about an hour from Disneyland and 45 minutes from San Diego. My thoughts are to get annual passes to Legoland (which is 5 minutes away), Sea World, San Diego Zoo (my son LOVES animals and zoos), and Disneyland of course. First of all, are these all worthy choices of AP's for the first year or do you recommend other things to spend our AP money on?
Second, WHICH Disneyland AP's should my family go for? I know that I will be getting a Premium pass for myself so that we won't ever have to pay for parking, and I also am the biggest Disney nut of the family and will probably be going more times than the rest of them. I have no idea what AP's to get for my family though. I have 2 kids (will be 6 and 8 when we get there) and my husband is a Marine. I feel like I should get the less expensive So Cal resident passes for them, but I am worried about the blackout dates. I'm assuming those dates are blacked out for a reason - because the parks will be crowded and miserable...so we won't want to go on those days anyway? Or are there some really good days that are blacked out that we will regret not having a pass for? I just have no idea what to do and want to make sure we get the right one. What happens if you get one of those less expensive passes and then you DO want to go on a blackout day? Do you have to buy a full price admission?
I guess I am mainly trying to figure out what are the BEST TIMES throughout the year to go to Disneyland (low crowds, nice weather, lots to see) that we won't want to miss because we have the wrong pass.